BRGNS Stuff a Bus and Okemo Food Drive Dates Are Set

Submitted by Christine Fuller

Before we know it the holiday season will be upon us.   It is also a time of year that marks significant need in our communities.  Black River Good Neighbor is already hard at work   This is a very busy time for BRGN as this non profit local organization prepares to deliver gifts and a full holiday dinner complete with turkeys and all the fixings to those in need.  It is estimated that over 125 families from the immediate and surrounding towns will be helped this holiday season.

To help make this possible two event are currently planned. The first  upcoming event is the “Stuff A Bus” on Saturday,  December 5th.  This important food drive will take place at the Shaws shopping center parking lot in Ludlow from 9am until 3pm.

The second event is Okemo Mountain’s food drive which will take place on Sunday December 6th.  Skiers are encouraged to bring nonperishable goods to the ticket windows in exchange for reduced priced lift tickets.  The food from the drive will help in large part to supply the much needed non perishables for the Christmas Baskets. 

There are many ways to get involved with this year’s efforts.  Volunteers are needed to sort food as it comes in and countless other tasks that are required to make sure everyone that needs help this winter gets it.  Please call Audrey at the Thrift Store 228-3663 or stop by and visit at 105 Main Street, to ask how you can get involved. 

Thank you for your continued generous support of our local food shelf and holiday gift basket program. Every contribution makes a difference.

THANKSGIVING, OKEMO STYLE

Submitted by Okemo Mtn Resort

Okemo Mountain Resort will be celebrating Thanksgiving with a weekend full of events and activities.

The festivities begin on Turkey Day, Nov. 26, with lifts opening at 9 a.m. Those first few runs of the season can wear a person out, so skiers and riders should plan to make it a short day and head to Coleman Brook Tavern for a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Buffet between 3 and 8 p.m. The feast includes chef-carved turkey breast with sage gravy, cranberry compote and cornbread and sausage stuffing. The groaning board will also feature braised lamb sirloin with mint demi-glace, and cider-poached king salmon with a Vermont maple dijon sauce. Diners can ladle up some Vermont farmhouse chowder and pile their plates high with salads, fresh fruit, roasted root vegetable casserole and mashed Yukon gold and sweet potatoes. Pumpkin cheesecake, apple pie and assorted petit-fours round out the repast. Adults can indulge for $29 and children 12 and under dine for $15. Reservations are recommended and can be arranged by calling Coleman Brook Tavern at (802) 228-1435.

Okemo offers a variety of ways to burn off all those Thanksgiving Dinner calories. Lifts start turning at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the season.

On Nov. 28, the Saturday following Thanksgiving, the First Annual Okemo Trot it Off 5k and Tots’ Trot will start at the Jackson Gore Round House. The 5k race is perfect for an avid runner or a family looking to get a little extra exercise on Thanksgiving weekend. The entry fee is $25 for adults and $15 for kids under 12. All proceeds support the Vermont Fuel Dealer Association’s Patch Chit Neighbor-in-Need Fuel Assistance Program. Participants will receive a t-shirt with their entry. The Tots’ Trot, a kids’ fun race, will take place just before the 5k. The course will circle the Jackson Gore Inn with a finish line through the stone archway.  A post-race awards ceremony will take place in the Jackson Gore Roundhouse. Registration opens at 8 a.m. The Tots Trot Kids Fun Race begins 9 a.m. The Trot it Off 5k starts at 9:30 a.m.

Also on Nov. 28, skiers and riders can strut their stuff at The Killarney What-I-Learned-This-Summer Rail Jam. This competition, open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages, encourages participants to showcase the new tricks they learned over the summer.  The entry fee is $20.  Registration is scheduled from 8 to 10 a.m. in the Okemo Clock Tower Base Lodge mezzanine. The competition starts at 11 a.m. and the best trick wins $200.

Okemo Season Passholders will gather in the Great Room of the Okemo Clock Tower Base Lodge later that same evening. Festivities with food, fun and a skiwear fashion show are by invitation only for Okemo skiers and riders who have purchased their season pass for 2009/2010.

Local Talents Return Home in Chester, VT

Submitted by Sara Colgan

The celebration continues for the 25th year of the Green Mountain Festival Series.  This season all of the performances feature alumni from the area and on Saturday, November 21st the series is thrilled to host a Reunion Night of Music and Comedy.  Music by Dylan Duncan, Ida Mae Specker, Brendon Thomas, and Matt and Kate Lorenz of Rusty Belle will be featured and Samuel Lloyd Jr. will also be on hand to entertain the audience with comedy.   During intermissions, local chefs and visual artists will also be on hand.  It promises to be an exciting night for lovers of music, food, art and more!    Live music will fill the stage from a host of different performers including Chester native Dylan Duncan. 

Dylan is an up-and-coming singer, guitarist and songwriter whose album "What To Keep & Let Go" is due out later this year.  Ida Mae Specker, Chester's fiddler extrodianaire will also be on hand to perform for the audience.  Brendon Thomas a creative songwriter and musician of "Forever in Motion" will perform and his 3rd album is due in early 2010.  The band Rusty Belle will also be on hand, with local natives Matt and Kate Lorenz.  Rusty Belle is know for a range of music including loud rock sounds, lullaby's and ballads, waltzes and honkey-tonk, pop and the blues.  Sam Llyod, Jr. returns from Hollywood to the Green Mountain Festival Series and is currently touring with his band, The Butties and acting in the hit TV show, Scrubs. 

In between performances, the audience will have the chance to see visual art from local alumni.  On display in the Green Mountain Union High School's "Gallery on the Bridge" will be art by Hannah Parker, Shana Merrow Currie, Heather Hawkins, and Miranda (Wheeler) McNamara in additon to several others.  Ross Jones, Chef at Springfield's 56 Main Street and Michael Kennedy, Sous Chef at the Inn at Essex in Essex Junction, VT will prepare food for the audience to enjoy during intermissions.  Both chefs are graduates from GMUHS.  

It's going to be a busy night with all of the local talent, so make sure to get to the show early!  The show starts at 6:30pm and if you would like an alternative to making dinner at home, you can enjoy a great Putney Pasta chicken alfredo dinner from 5-6:30pm in the GMUHS cafeteria. The dinner will include chicken alfredo (tri-color rotini, broccoli in a creamy alfredo sauce), salad, bread, vegetables, dessert, and a beverage. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children under 10 years old and will benefit high school students who are participating in an extended learning adventure trip to the Grand Canyon in April.

Green Mountain Festival Series performances are made possible by the generous donations of our underwriters which allow all profits from our shows to supplement the Arts in Education programs in our schools.  A special thanks to our underwriters for this show - Nancy and George Malin, Singleton's Store and Lynn and Barry Weinberg.

The show begins at 6:30pm on Saturday, November 21st at Green Mountain Union High School in Chester, Vermont. Tickets are $10.00 for Adults and Seniors, $7.00 for Students when purchased in advance. Tickets are an additional $2.00 when purchased at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Misty Valley Books, Chester; Village Square Books, Bellows Falls; 56 Main Street, Springfield; Blue Sky Trading Company, Ludlow; Northshire Bookstore, Manchester, and Green Mountain Pharmacy, Londonderry.  You may also call 802-875-4473 or  www.greenmountainfestivalseries.comfor tickets or additional information.

Black River First Ladies end 2009 season in Semi-Finals loss

Submitted by Staff - Photos taken by Shona Trimboli

The Black River girls soccer team had begun their march to defending their Division IV state soccer title but ran into the #2 seed South Royalton team who had a desire to get to the state finals for the first time in school history and stuck a 2-1 loss on the Lady Prexies in State Tournament semi-final action. The Lady Presidents have had an up and down season, but were finally peaking and clicking together.  Injuries had beset the team and they struggled with players playing different positions.  Finally the First Ladies had gotten back to almost full strength and were cruising in the playoffs. The team had come off a solid victory against the Proctor Phantoms at Dorsey Park several days before and were tuned to take on the South Royalton Royals.

The Lady Royals came out strong in a physical match and took control of the midfield.  The defense of Katie O’Neil, Sarah Hawkins, Tina Valente and Kaitelynd Palmer withstood the test thwarting many Royal runs.  Goalie Zoe Trimboli made some great saves in the first half.  Hannah Josselyn, Angie Valente and Gabrielle Macklin kept knocking on the goal but couldn’t slide one past South Royalton Goalie Allie Hull who had 3 saves during the game.  As the second half wound down, BR was pressing hard and finally got one on the board when Angie Valente touched a long throw-in by her sister Tina Valente.  That was all there was to be as the Royals ended a three-year run by the First Ladies as State Champions.  BR Goalie Zoe Trimboli ended the game with 3 saves and Black River ended the season at 13-2-2. Black River Seniors included: Katie O’Neil (Capt.), Kaitelynd Palmer, Tina Valente (Capt.), Hannah Josselyn (Capt.), Kirsten Corbin, Amanda Chambers, and Zoe Trimboli (Capt.). 

 

Presidents Win Division IV Boy’s State Soccer Title Third year in a row

Submitted by Staff

The Black River boy’s soccer team finished the 2009 Soccer season in dramatic fashion by winning the Division IV State championship at The College of St. Joseph’s soccer field this past weekend.  The boy’s team began the week facing a tough Proctor team in the state Semifinals. Proctor had soundly beaten the Prexies in their 1st game of the season with a 3-0 score.  Many who watched the game realized that the Presidents had many holes to fill after the previous year’s graduation and there were some players who needed to figure out their role.

As they faced Proctor for the second time, strength of schedule would play into their hand as well as desire. Proctor had only given up 4 goals during the season and scored upwards of 70.  Coach Tony Valente commented, “If a team is undefeated, they had to wins the games and score those goals, they don’t just happen”. 

The Black River team controlled the midfield and distributed the ball well.  The defense of the Cuccullo brothers, Victor and Justin as well as Goalie Chris Kowalski in goal kept the Proctor offense off balance, but the hard work of James Greenwood in marking the stellar Proctor goal scorer, Keghan MacDonald, was the true difference.  Dylan Normyle, Benji Farrow and Mathias Philipsen all had good runs, but were thwarted by the Proctor defense. Noah Schmidt distributed the ball well and had a couple good shots on goal.  The first half was scoreless.

The beginning of the second half continued with more of the same. At 10:17 into the second half, Proctor was called for a hand ball and BR was awarded a Penalty kick. Kippie Turco took the ball and buried it in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. The Presidents continued to knock on the door and Proctor never gave up.  Turco was controlling in mid-field and helpful in marking MacDonald as needed.  Finally at the 35:40 mark, Black River took a corner kick from Turco and after some bouncing around, Benji Farrow put the ball home to seal the deal.  Black River knocked off the #1 seed in the tournament 2-0 and was headed to the State Finals.

In the State Finals, The Presidents faced #2 seed Sharon Academy for the Division IV State Crown.  Sharon was the same opponent that they faced last year and came away with a victory. Sharon came into the game with a 17-0 record with the only common opponent being Twin Valley who they had beaten in the semi finals and BR had beaten and tied during the regular season. Black River used their 3 years of experience in the finals and came away with a victory beating Sharon Academy 4-2 on Penalty kicks. 

The game was played in front of excess of 600 fans from both Sharon Academy and Black River who were both very vocal in cheering for their teams. The first half saw plenty of action for the goalies, but no scoring.  Goalie Chris Kowalski made several nice saves, but the defense of the Cucullo brothers as well as Tyler Schaub and James Greenwood kept the shots outside the 18. Jake Covell was all over the field along with Dylan Normyle and Tim Rumrill tracking balls down and getting some good looks. Noah Schmidt playing like a big man moved the ball up the field and getting a couple crosses into the box.  At the 3:11 mark of the second half, Kippie Turco took a corner kick for Black River and assisted on a nice conversion with Jake Covell.  The Prexies kept pressing as did Sharon Academy as they were trying to wear down the Black River Boys.  Sharon Academy had a definite height advantage, but Victor Cucullo, Greenwood and Turco were equal to the task winning many head balls. With 5:21 remaining, Sharon Academy was whistled for a handball and BR awarded a PK. Turco stepped up as he has many times during the season and struck the ball only to see this one go wide. A collective gasp could be heard in West Rutland from the Ludlow faithful. In a desperate attempt to even the score, Sharon Academy sent all 11 players in the goal area on a corner kick and their effort paid off as they scored with 37 seconds to go in the game.

The 2 ten minute overtime stanzas were anti climactic with a couple good looks by both teams. There were some anxious moments with .02 seconds left in the first overtime when Victor Cucullo went down with a potential concussion and had to be assisted from the field. As he left the field to be seen by a Doctor, the President knew that they would have to adjust their defense and style of play. They would be adjusting as there is no replacing the soccer smarts and drive of the Junior Sweeper. After 20 minutes of overtime, both teams knew that the next step was Penalty Kicks. 

Each team selects 5 players to take their shots. First team to 5 wins.  Goalie Chris Kowalski was spectacular between the pipes in the Penalty Kick session. The 1st Sharon kicker was Torin Riddle and Kowalski stuffed him on his attempt. The first BR kicker was sophomore Noah Schmidt. Schmidt calmly stepped up to the line and buried the ball in the back of the net for the 1st goal. BR 1-0.  Sharon’s Erik Littlhales converted his PK as did Jake Covell with a nice corner shot. BR 2-1. Sharon’s Mike Young made good on his as did James Greenwood for BR in the right corner. BR 3-2.  Sharon Goalie Brad Farrell took Sharon’s 4th shot and was denied by Kowalski. BR could become State Champions for the 3rd time in a row with a Kippie Turco Goal. Turco was not to be denied this time and torched the twine for a BR win on PK’s of 4-2. 

The wild celebration began with players streaming on to the field and some being hoisted in the air.  BR Captains Chris Kowalski, Kippie Turco and James Greenwood accepted the State Cup and Trophy for the third time in a row and the BR players did the customary victory lap around the field with each player taking a turn to hoist the cup and trophy. 

Coach Tony Valente while excited was also subdued about winning on PK’s. “I say we keep playing until somebody wins”.  “I am so happy and proud of these boys,” he went on. “They have battled all year and really peaked when they needed to. It isn’t very often you see a #4 seed win a State Championship!”  After plenty of picture taking and hugs and congratulations all around, the boys boarded the bus and headed back to Ludlow to hoist their trophy hardware high as they paraded down Main Street riding the town fire trucks as have all the previous State Championship winners for Black River High School.

The President finished the season with a 14 – 3 -1 record.  The seniors on the team include: Josh Bickford, Benji Farrow, Jake Goraj, James Greenwood (Capt.), Chris Kowalski (Capt.), Kippie Turco (Capt.).  Team picture is below. 

 

Black River HS Boys Capture State Crown

By Tom HaleyRutland Herald STAFF WRITER - Published: November 8, 2009

Winning a state championship is special. Two in a row is remarkable in its consistency. Win three straight and people begin to throw around the word "dynasty."

Meet the dynastic Black River Presidents. They won their third straight Division IV boys soccer championship Saturday by beating Sharon Academy on penalty kicks 4-2, after the teams battled through a 1-1 tie through regulation and 20 minutes of overtimes.

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Health Care Bill Passes House

 

FOLA Meets Weds., Nov. 11

The Friends of Ludlow Auditorium (FOLA), a newly-formed group to promote the use of the Ludlow Town Hall auditorium, will hold its second meeting Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 3 pm at Town Hall.

Following its organization meeting in September, FOLA Chair Ralph Pace indicated that this mtteing would concentrate on increased membership, preliminary planning of auditorium events, and preparation for the Okemo Young Artists Programs scheduled for mid-June through mid-July of next year at the auditorium.

The meeting is open to the public.  For information, 228-7239.

VT Panel backs drastic court overhaul

By Louis Porter, Rutland Herald,VERMONT PRESS BUREAU - Published: November 7, 2009

MONTPELIER – A massive and controversial restructuring of the state court system was approved by a commission studying the judicial system Friday and will be taken up by lawmakers in January.

The proposal includes wholesale changes to court structure, dramatically reducing the number of probate courts and changing the role of the elected assistant or side judges.

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Chittenden Presents ID Safety Seminar, Nov. 18