Williston Observer

April 30, 2009

Victims of a six-run explosion by Mount Mansfield Union High Tuesday in Jericho Center, the 0-4 Champlain Valley Union High softball team will be on the road Thursday against 1-1 Colchester High.

MMU’s sixth inning bash produced an 18-14 victory over the Redhawks for the 1-2 Cougars.

Emily Himberg continued her solid hitting for CVU, lashing two hits, including a double and scoring a pair of runs. Sara Eddy-Stewart also connected for a pair of hits.

The Redhawks were held to five hits Saturday in a 10-7 loss at home to 2-1 Spaulding High of Barre.

Cassidy Maglaris produced two of the Redhawks’ hits and drove in a run.

— Mal Boright, Observer correspondent

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April 30, 2009

With three wins in their first three encounters, the Champlain Valley Union High boys and girls tennis teams will go up against an old rival Thursday when they take on South Burlington High.

The boys will meet their 2-1 counterparts at South Burlington, while the girls will host the 1-2 Rebels at Davis Park in Shelburne. Both sets of matches start at 3:30 p.m.

On Monday, both teams had little trouble in dispatching Bellows Free Academy of St. Albans, sweeping to 7-0 triumphs.

Playing at home, the boys got singles wins from Marc Vecchio, Tabor deGroot, Corey Dawson, Liam Kelley and Lucas Auger.

The doubles teams of Brad Barth-Tim Averill and Trevor Ogden-Asa Cloutier also scored wins.

On the road in St. Albans, the girls singles winners were Anna Clare Smith, Abby Stoner, Colleen McCarthy, Kate Farley and Jessica Novak. Victorious doubles tandems were Megan Henson-Wells Griffin and Laura Andrews-Samone Schneider.

— Mal Boright, Observer correspondent

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April 30, 2009

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

The lacrosse rocket known as the Champlain Valley Union High boys lacrosse team will find some possible turbulence in the next few days as the schedule enters a challenging time.

With a perfect 6-0 record following Tuesday’s rain-dampened, 10-3 home triumph over 2-4 Mount Mansfield Union High, the Redhawks will be home Friday to a strong Bellows Free Academy of St. Albans team.

On Monday, coach Dave Trevithick and his laxmen make the short trip to Essex High for their first meeting of the season with the defending state champion Hornets, the team that has nipped them in the last two Division 1 title contests.

In caging the Cougars Tuesday, the Redhawks took control of the game from Tim Reichert’s (as usual) capture of the opening face off. Dominating first period play, Jake Marston, Nick Hart and Sam Spencer all scored for a 3-0 lead by the start of the second period. The lead was increased to 5-0 at the half.

Hart finished with his first three-score game of the campaign. Reichert got two tallies. Spencer, Marston, Dean Priest, Nate Wells and Peter Hiser had a goal apiece.

Eric “The Stopper” Palmer made 15 saves in the CVU cage.

In Saturday’s 10-3 victory at Rutland, Spencer and Marston bagged three goals each to pace the Redhawks’ invasion of southern territory.

Thus far in its early season rumble, CVU has struck for 64 goals, an average of better than 10 per outing, while giving up but 26, or 4.3 per game.

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April 30, 2009

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

The Champlain Valley Union High baseball team may be 0-3, but coach Tim Albertson sees better things on the near horizon for his youthful Redhawks.

“We are improving,” the first-year coach said Saturday following a narrow, 5-2 home loss to visiting Spaulding High of Barre. “We played well against a very good team.”

The Redhawks took a 2-2 tie into the top of the seventh and final inning against the now 3-0 Tide, a team that popped CVU 11-1 the previous Saturday in Barre.

An opportunity to get that elusive first win Tuesday against visiting Mount Mansfield Union was put off until after press deadline on Wednesday by a game time drizzle that began just before the two teams were to take the field.

In giving Spaulding a time of it Saturday, CVU got a workman-like pitching performance from junior Theron Fuller, who scattered seven singles over the first six innings. Fuller limited the Tide to lone tallies in the second and fourth frames before weakening in the top of the seventh, when the visitors struck for three runs fueled by a single, two doubles and two walks, one intentional.

Fuller, who whiffed four, gave up five runs, four earned, before giving way to junior Collin Teator. Teator recorded the final out.

Spaulding righty Sam Fuller, who was hitting his spots with good pitch placement, cruised through the first four innings, allowing singles by Andy Leckerling and Shane Montani while striking out four.

The Redhawks pulled to within 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth. Leckerling struck out but reached when the third strike pitch went to the backstop. After a second out fanning, Teator singled Leckerling to third and freshman Andy Nick drove him home with a pop infield single that fell out of reach inside third base.

Cheered by that success at scoring, the Redhawks tied the contest in the sixth. Back-to-back two-out singles by pinch hitter David Titus and Leckerling drove home Jared Badger, who had reached on a fielder’s choice.

But Spaulding struck back in the top of the seventh, the key sock a bases loaded double to left center by Rueben Stone that pushed home two runs and put the Tide in front to stay.

Spaulding starter Sam Fuller departed after the sixth with six hits allowed — two by Leckerling — seven strikeouts, no walks and two hit batters.

The Redhawks committed one error. Sparkling plays included a superb rolling catch in left by Teator, plus a stellar stop and throw by freshman second sacker Lawrence Halverson.

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April 30, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

Williston seventh and eighth graders were encouraged to strive for world peace on Monday, with a presentation by British documentary filmmaker and peace activist Jeremy Gilley.

Gilley, who founded the internationally recognized Peace One Day, came to Williston to kick off a new project that looks to educate American students about peace and becoming better global citizens.

“If we’re going to live a united and sustainable world, it’s because of the work of young people like you,” Gilley told Williston Central School students during an hour-long assembly.

Peace One Day is celebrated the world over on Sept. 21.

Gilley, who visited Williston two years ago to talk about Peace One Day, said his new program — Peace One Day Education Resource — has already been a success in schools in the United Kingdom. The program gives schools a packet of 17 lesson plans, as well as a DVD of the feature length film “The Day After Peace.”

During the assembly, Gilley presented a clip of the film, which chronicles his efforts to raise awareness of an international peace day and spread the word throughout the planet. The film follows Gilley around the world as he interviews world leaders, global citizens and famous actors and musicians on his quest. Actors including Angelina Jolie and Jude Law are featured, as are musicians Lenny Kravitz and Sir Paul McCartney.

Gilley was also in the process of creating another film about his experiences, bringing a documentary film crew with him during the Williston kickoff event.

He said Williston was his first stop before moving on to New Hampshire and Maine. He’s launching the first phase of the education resource in New England, with 4,000 schools receiving packets.

“This makes them aware of what they can do to help,” Gilley explained.

To help fund Gilley’s work, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream stepped in to cover the cost of the education resource packets. Sean Greenwood, the company’s public relations director, said Peace One Day fits right in with Ben & Jerry’s social activism cause.

“These are the tools that give kids the abilities to make a difference,” Greenwood said.

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s and a Williston resident, said he was “astonished” at Gilley’s work over the past 10 years.

“He’s one of those really amazing people that believes in his heart that people can make a difference,” Greenfield said.

Greenfield provided ice cream for a picnic after the presentation, and also introduced Gilley to the students.

Gilley, a trained actor who was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, found his life’s calling in working to eradicate war and violence on the planet. He knew it wouldn’t be easy.

“I wanted to make a difference,” Gilley said. “I wanted to change the world, but I didn’t know where to start.”

Using his past film experience, Gilley set out to rally the world to his cause in 1998. In 2001, the United Nations unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing Peace One Day every Sept. 21.

“It’ll grow, it’ll really grow if you get behind it,” Gilley said while talking to the camera in “The Day After Peace.”

According to Gilley, Peace One Day has been a success, with actual ceasefires occurring and aid workers being able to deliver medicine and other goods while fighting stopped.

Gilley spent time with students answering questions about the film and brainstorming ways to spread the word about the day. Ideas included everything from being kind to fellow students to becoming pen pals with people in other countries.

Eighth grader Davis Mikell said he was interested in spreading the word about Peace One Day and what could be done.

“It made me aware of what I can do to help,” Mikell said.

Student Kari Lavalette also said she was keen to do something special for Peace One Day and make people aware of its existence.

“I was surprised that not as many people know anything about it,” Lavalette said.

Gilley said youth enthusiasm from all over the world is what drives Peace One Day to be a success.

“If everyone is celebrating Peace One Day around the world, we’ll have terrific change,” he said.

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