The Addison County Independent

BRISTOL — Imagine a high school curriculum that takes a science lesson out of the lab and into nearby fields and forests, or an art class that requires students to take photos in their communities rather than in a classroom studio. Full Story »

BOOSTERS OF THE Addison County Dental Center, which is set to open early next year, receive a check from the United Way of Addison County for $5,000 Wednesday morning. Full Story »

BRISTOL — Bristol voters this week will consider the second of two large bond votes in recent months when they take to the polls Tuesday to weigh a $750,000 bond to fund Holley Hall repairs and renovations. Full Story »

WEYBRIDGE — Weybridge and Ripton education leaders are joining a growing statewide conversation about declining student enrollment and how to maintain vibrant local schools in the face of graying demographics. Full Story »

VERGENNES — When Addison Northwest Supervisory Union school board members sit down this month and look at second or third preliminary drafts for 2010-2011 school budgets, ANwSU Superintendent Tom O’Brien said they should be prepared to make some tough decisions. Full Story »

Last week, area and state legislators sent a letter to Gov. James Douglas recommending that the state set aside up to $1 million of the $8.67 million federal economic stimulus money to help Addison County businesses affected by the closing of the Champlain Bridge. Full Story »

BRANDON — If the Mount Abraham Union High School girls’ basketball team is going to win in the early going, the Eagles will probably rely on the formula they used to knock off host Otter Valley on Thursday, 49-41, in both teams’ opener. Full Story »

MIDDLEBURY — Bridgewater Corners-based Long Trail Brewing Co. is on the verge of acquiring Middlebury-based Otter Creek Brewing and Wolaver’s Certified Organic in a deal... Full Story »

A MONUMENT WATCHES over Larry Gile and Donald Lathrop as they work to create an accurate record of those buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Bristol. Gile and Lathrop are working together to catalogue everybody buried in Bristol cemeteries. Full Story »

MIDDLEBURY — A young and shorthanded Middlebury College women’s basketball team outlasted visiting Castleton on Tuesday for its first victory, 51-43. Full Story »

n listening to President Barack Obama outline his strategy for sending 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan on Tuesday night’s televised address, we found ourselves wanting to believe his rationale and his assessment, but what we recognized was that it was little more than a well-delivered political speech carefully calculated to cause the president the least amount of political damage. Full Story »

MIDDLEBURY — UD-3 school board members will consider cost cuts and the use of a fund balance to reduce the property tax impact of a draft 2010-2011 budget that includes a 3.2 percent increase in spending. Full Story »

BRISTOL — The Mount Abraham Union High School board of directors Tuesday continued taking tentative steps toward a draft spending plan that reflects a zero-percent increase in educational spending — a goal that board chair Lanny Smith said leaves the board “between a rock and a hard place.” Full Story »

MIDDLEBURY — Bridgewater Corners-based Long Trail Brewing Co. is on the verge of acquiring Middlebury-based Otter Creek Brewing and Wolaver’s Certified Organic in a deal expected to make the Exchange Street brewery more financially stable and competitive. Full Story »

THE FIRST OF five 108-foot-long girders for the Cross Street Bridge project slowly makes its way from Merchants Row onto Main Street in downtown Middlebury Tuesday morning. Full Story »

BRISTOL — The John Graham Emergency Shelter on Monday closed a deal for a $198,000 home in Bristol, which the Vergennes-based homeless shelter intends to covert into three units of transitional housing. Full Story »

ADDISON — State and local lawmakers on Tuesday urged Gov. James Douglas to dedicate $1 million in federal stimulus funds to help Addison County businesses — including farms — that have taken a financial hit since the Champlain Bridge was closed on Oct. 16. Full Story »

Back in the days before I felt obligated to buy holiday presents for my friends and loved ones, I came up with brilliant and crafty ideas from time to time. Or, well, they always seemed brilliant and crafty to me. Full Story »