Williston Observer

May 20, 2010

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

After a two-game winning streak was snapped Tuesday by a narrow margin, the Champlain Valley Union High baseball team will be swinging away Thursday hoping to open another string of victories.

North Country Union High shows up at the Redhawks’ nest for a 4:30 p.m. encounter.

On Saturday, coach Tim Albertson’s charges will travel to Milton for an 11 a.m. tilt against the Blue and Gold, who entered the week at 3-6. On Tuesday, the Redhawks will be off to St. Albans to meet Bellows Free Academy at 4:30 p.m.

After a pair of decisive road victories over St. Johnsbury Academy and Middlebury Union, CVU was primed for Tuesday’s invasion by Spaulding High of Barre. The Crimson Tide came to town with a 7-4 mark.

But Spaulding put up six runs in the top of the fourth to erase an early 2-1 CVU lead and then held on for a squeaker of a 7-6 triumph, leaving the Hawks with a 6-6 season log.

Chief culprit for Spaulding was center fielder Sam Fuller, who bashed a pair of RBI doubles and made a big third out catch in front of the 350-foot marker in center off CVU slugger Drew Nick. CVU had runners at first and third, and Fuller’s catch ended a furious Redhawk rally in the bottom of the fourth.

After Fuller doubled home a run off Nick in the first inning, CVU took the lead in the bottom of the frame as Tucker Kohlasch (surprise bunt) and Alec Zullo got singles off Spaulding starter Scott Bigelow. Nick singled to left to drive in the swift Kohlasch and Lawrence Halvorson lofted a sacrifice fly to right for the run and the lead.

After three strong innings, Nick’s pitches started getting up in the strike zone in the fourth and the Tide followed a walk and hit batter with three singles and an infield miscue.

Theron Fuller relieved Nick with four runs in and runners at first and third. An infield ground out produced the fifth Tide tally and, with two out, Fuller slammed home the sixth with his second two bagger.

Fuller then finished with three innings of shutout hurling.

CVU got three runs back off Bigelow in the bottom of the inning, Zullo’s two-run single the key stroke after singles by Curt Echo and Fuller plus a walk to Tim Jones and a bases loaded pass to Kohlasch.

CVU provided some nervous moments for Spaulding in the bottom of the seventh after side-arming Bryan Hickey took over for Bigelow, who had thrown 100 pitches in his six frames of work.

With one out, Collin Teator worked Hickey for a walk, stole second, took third on a balk and scored on Halvorson’s single to left to reduce the Tide’s lead to a run. But the rally ended there.

At Middlebury on Saturday, the Redhawks scored a 13-4 victory as Andrew Leckerling tossed a complete game five-hitter while striking out eight. Nick unloaded four hits, including three doubles, to drive in three runs.

Kohlasch stroked a triple and single for an RBI and Jones cracked a pair of hits to plate two tallies. Teator bashed a homer and drove in two runs.

[Read more...]

May 20, 2010

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

With its gaudy 12-0 record — including five wins by two or fewer goals — coach Dave Trevithick was looking for a “complete” game Saturday morning when the Redhawks hosted a physical Bellows Free Academy combine that came within 9-8 of CVU on April 24 in St. Albans.

“Today we got three-fourths of a total game,” Trevithick said after his Hawks blew past the Bobwhites 11-3 in one of their best all-around performances of the season.

CVU was slated to entertain Middlebury Union High Wednesday before heading to Essex Saturday morning for an 11 a.m. session with the strong Hornets. Essex entered the week 8-2, the only local loss to the Hawks, 9-8, on a last-second score in an April contest in Hinesburg.

It did not take long for the Redhawks to take command Saturday. Taylor Gingras, with an assist from Lawrence “The Helper” Dee, snapped a 1-1 tie with 5:31 left in the first period. The Hawks bolted to a 6-2 lead by halftime and a 10-2 advantage by the opening of the final reel.

Gingras, team leader with 35 goals, posted four scores and added an assist. Dee passed off for six assists and also scored a third period unassisted goal with a nifty spin move in front of the BFA cage. He has 24 tallies for the campaign.

“We passed well, defended well and put it together today,” Dee said after the game.

Nathaniel Wells and Justin Beaudry each scored twice, Beaudry notching the game’s first and final goals. He has scored seven times in the last six contests.

Nick Hart and Jake Marston had single pointers while Robbie Dobrowski collected a pair of assists.

Marston made vital contributions on midfield face offs where he either came away with the ball or lured BFA into a violation, which also got the ball for the Red and White.

Trevithick lauded the play of defensemen captain Cully Millikin and Ben Teasdale, who kept BFA’s offensive thrusts and traffic in front of goalie Eric Palmer to a minimum.

Another stout defender was junior Konnor Fleming, who came up with several takeaways and subsequent rushes down the field into BFA territory.

“He had never played until this year,” Trevithick said of the midfielder.

One of the more spectacular scores of the season came early in the first period when BFA tied the score at 1-1. The Bobwhites’ capable goalie, Kaleb Nichols (11 saves), made a stop and then charged out of the net and downfield.

He kept trotting through a disbelieving Redhawk team and, resembling a light tank at full speed, rolled in on Palmer and deposited the ball in the net while colliding with the CVU net minder.

“I saw him coming and then … boom!” Palmer said. “We adjusted so that would not happen again.”

Palmer and senior Sean Keenan had eight stops for CVU, which outgunned the visitors 22-11.

Trevithik said CVU had several midfielders missing in that first tight contest at BFA.

“We had just about everybody back for this one,” the coach said.

[Read more...]

Redhawk boys aim for even record

May 20, 2010

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

The 10-0 Champlain Valley Union High girls tennis team will try to put the cap on an undefeated regular season Monday at Mount Mansfield Union High and Wednesday at Colchester High. Meanwhile, the 4-7 boys will be going after a .500 campaign, playing host to both schools on the same days.

Prior to that, the boys faced a tough challenge at Stowe High this past Wednesday (press time) while the girls entertained the Stowe girls at the Redhawks’ Shelburne courts.

The Redhawk girls opened the week with a 7-0 home triumph over Colchester. Kylie deGroot, Anna Clare Smith, Abby Stoner, Colleen McCarthy and Andrea Joseph scored victories in their singles matches.

The doubles teams of Kristen Donaldson-Molly Ziegler and Megan Henson-Laura Andrews also netted wins.

The boys picked up a second straight 4-3 victory by nipping the Lakers at Colchester High.

Tabor deGroot, Brice Grerriere and William Kelley won their singles matches and the doubles pair of Trevor Ogden and Tyler Murphy picked up a vital win.

[Read more...]

Suspect wanted

On May 10, police received a report of a suspicious person on the railroad tracks near Fay Lane. When an officer arrived in the area, a man fled on foot. The man was identified as Matthew Pepper, 23, of Williston, according to police.

Williston Police, along with officers from surrounding municipalities, searched for Pepper but could not locate him. Pepper has two active warrants for six counts of violation of conditions of release, according to police. Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Pepper is asked to call the Williston Police Department at 878-6611 or CrimeStoppers at 864-6666.

Burglary

Police are investigating a possible burglary at Curtis Lumber on Leroy Road on May 16, according to police reports. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Driving under the influence

• Alexandra L. Jasinoski, 22, of South Burlington was cited on a charge of driving under the influence on May 16 following a motor vehicle stop, according to police reports. Her blood alcohol test registered .140, according to the report. The legal limit for driving in Vermont is .08. She was cited to appear in court.

• Lloyd M. Ballantine, 47, of Claremont, N.H. was cited on a charge of driving under the influence on May 16 following a complaint of a “suspicious vehicle,” according to police reports. His blood alcohol test registered .230, according to the report. He was cited to appear in court.

Theft

Kathleen A. Quinlan, 52, of Williston was cited on a charge of retail theft from Hannaford on May 16 after allegedly stealing $183.78 worth of merchandise, according to police reports. No other information was released.

Gaping hole

A large pothole on Lamplite Lane that “someone could break a leg in” was reported to police on May 16, according to police reports. The public works department was notified and a repair was made, the report notes.

Driving with suspended license

• After receiving a report of a “verbal altercation” on May 11, police stopped a vehicle on Industrial Avenue and subsequently cited Eben Sexton, 41, of Burlington on a charge of driving with a suspended license, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court on June 7.

• Tammy M. Sink, 25, of Johnson was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on May 13 following a motor vehicle stop, according to police reports. She was cited to appear in court.

• Shawn P. Clark, 27, of Richford was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license-criminal on May 15 following a motor vehicle stop, according to police reports. He was taken to Chittenden County Correctional Center on an outstanding warrant for driving with a suspended license, and later released on bail, according to the report.

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Snacks and spuds

May 20, 2010

By Ginger Isham

One good thing about the recession is that it has made families think twice about spending habits and especially what goes into the grocery cart at the supermarket. Also, I hope this summer we see more emphasis on the word “local” in place of the word “organic” at the farmers’ markets to help families eat healthy, nutritious meals and snacks at an affordable cost.

I recently read an article on how to get your children to eat healthy snacks by using the alphabet. This summer, let the kids help with the shopping and pick out their snacks for each day, beginning with the letter A for one day, the letter B for the next day and so on. For example, Monday’s snack would be apples, Tuesday’s snack would be berries, Wednesday’s snack would be carrots …. When you have gone through the alphabet, begin again with a different food for each letter.

Also, let each child plan one meal a week and shop with you for the food needed for that meal. It can be fun and presentation can be creative. Set the table with a theme for the meal, make placemats, draw a picture of foods for a meal in advance, keep a journal of all the family meals and snacks for one week. Review it together as a family. Taking turns with setting and clearing the table, serving the dessert and loading the dishwasher can be a family event.

Now, related to a staple in our diets, I recently met a delightful young man who shared with me his love of potatoes. The following recipes are for Taylor:

Lemon Spicy Potatoes for Four

(Prep and cook in 30 minutes)

5 medium potatoes, cut into bite size pieces (peeled; if unpeeled, use thin skin potatoes)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon cumin (add more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon coriander (add more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon lemon rind, finely chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon cilantro or parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan and sauté onion for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 to 40 seconds. Mix in spices and stir and cook for 1 minute. Add potatoes and stir. Add lemon juice, rind, broth, salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir now and then until potatoes are tender. Garnish with cilantro or parsley. Serve with hamburgers or steaks from the grill.

Broiled Potatoes with Lime Dip

(Prep and serve in 25 minutes)

Cut 4 unpeeled potatoes into 1/2-inch slices. Cook in lightly salted water for 6 minutes. Drain. Gently stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil and chili powder to taste. Place in single layer on a pan lined with foil. Season with salt and pepper. Broil 5 minutes, turn, broil for 5 more minutes. Serve with 2/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise, to which you have added lime juice, rind and garlic. Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Ginger Isham lives with her husband on a fifth generation family farm on Oak Hill Road.