Williston Observer

Aug. 19, 2010

Photos taken at Lake Iroquois on Monday evening.

Aug. 19, 2010

Former CVU golfer in good form

Jack Tomashot, the top player on the Champlain Valley Union High golf team this past spring, has been faring well on the links this summer.

Tomashot recently finished second by a single stroke to Rand Burroughs in the championship flight for the 2010 Cedar Knoll Country Club championship in Hinesburg. Burroughs fired a 159 in the two title rounds while Tomashot posted a 160.

Prior to that, Tomashot took third place in the Vermont Golf Association junior championships at Middlebury’s Ralph Myhre course, shooting a 76 to finish seven strokes off the winning 69 of Greg Scott.

Annual Red-White grid contest Saturday

The Champlain Valley Union High football team will wind up its first practice week Saturday morning with the annual Red-White intra-team scrimmage starting at 10 a.m.

It is an opportunity for parents and the general public to get a look at the 2010 edition of the football Redhawks.

Two CVU foes are June Athletes of the Month

Two longtime opponents of Champlain Valley Union High athletic teams have been named Vermont’s June Athletes of the Month by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

Brittany Pfaff, a multi-sport star at Rice Memorial High, won four events in the state Division 2 track and field championships and followed up with a victory in the Vermont heptathlon to capture the girls Athlete of the Month honor.

Pfaff was also a standout soccer and basketball player for Rice.

One of the other nominees was Kylie deGroot of CVU, who led her girls tennis team to an undefeated season and the Division 1 crown.

The boys award went to Casey Harmon, a former South Burlington High star, who helped pitch Clemson University into the College World Series and then to third place at the Omaha, Neb. event.

Harmon was a familiar foe for CVU baseball teams and hurled the Rebels past the Redhawks three years ago in the Division 1 title test at the University of Vermont’s Centennial Field.

Aug. 19, 2010

Observer photo by Greg Duggan Kevin McCarthy, defensive coordinator of the Champlain Valley Union High football team, runs drills at the opening day of practice on Monday.

While head coach Jim Provost and his Champlain Valley Union High football team head into their second week of practice sessions Monday, the rest of the fall sports programs will conduct their opening day of tryouts and practices.

Early birds will be coach T.J. Mead and his defending Division 1 boys varsity soccer team, which will have a double session for juniors and seniors. The first workout will go from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. They will return for another two-hour stint at 4 p.m.

The junior varsity under Jeff Evans will be on the field from 9 a.m. until noon.

Coach Brad Parker’s girls varsity soccer team will hold its initial workout from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The junior varsity A and B programs, directed by Katherine Riley and Corinna Hussey, are scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Field hockey aspirants will be on the field from 9 a.m. until noon under head coach Kate McDonald, junior varsity mentor Enid Wonnacott and freshman coach Sara Malcolm.

The boys and girls cross country teams with Scott Bliss at the helm will work out from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

— Mal Boright, Observer correspondent

Aug. 19, 2010

With the start of the 2010-2011 school year approaching at the end of the month, the Williston School Board has a set of four goals to pursue.

At its annual retreat earlier this month, the board chose four goals for the year: technology, communication, action planning and board to school connections.

School Board Chairwoman Holly Rouelle said the goals stemmed from a discussion with District Principal Walter Nardelli about the school district’s initiatives. When Nardelli asked if the School Board had any goals for the year, ideas ensued.

Board member Darlene Worth suggested the technology piece, Rouelle said. The goal involves knowing what types of computers are in use at other schools, and using technology available through laptop and desktop computers at the school. Rouelle said it was about “staying up to date with 21st century learning skills.”

“Communication is ongoing from last year,” Rouelle said, “it was a recommendation from the work with the (Williston Conceptual) Frameworks Committee.”

The committee was a group of teachers, administrators, parents and community members that formed to issue recommendations about the reconfiguration of the school district, which included a directive to improve communication with the community.

“We felt it’s an area we can always improve on,” Rouelle said, adding that the board plans to continue writing Letters to the Editor and posting information on the school website.

Action planning, Rouelle said, is to make sure the board is held accountable and pursues initiatives laid out in the school district’s action plan. The Observer could not obtain a copy of the school’s plan prior to press deadline.

Rouelle suggested the goal of board to school connections. The board wants to have more meetings at the school, perhaps set up as morning coffee chats, where people in the school could converse with board members.

“We’re trying to improve visibility and transparency as a board,” Rouelle said.

Drug possession

Sandra R. Mason, 57, of Williston was charged with burglary and two counts of possession of regulated drugs on Aug. 16 after she allegedly entered a residence at Eagle Crest Senior Living, where she is also a resident, and stole prescription Oxycodone pills, according to police reports. Mason also entered the apartment of another resident “on a pretext” and stole Hydrocodone, according to the report. She was cited to appear in court on Oct. 4.

Disorderly conduct

Scott D. Perkins Jr., 24, of Northfield was charged with disorderly conduct on Aug. 11 after an incident at Best Buy in which Perkins allegedly became “very irate and upset” regarding his laptop computer, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.

Fender bender

The Williston Fire Department called police on Aug. 12 to report a fire department pickup truck had “backed into another vehicle,” according to police reports. No other information was released.

Theft

A Tamarack Drive resident reported to police on Aug. 13 that someone stole a laptop computer from the resident’s vehicle some time the previous night, according to police reports. No other information was available at press time. The investigation is ongoing.

Possession of stolen property

On July 8, police received a report that a storage unit had been broken into and approximately $2,000 worth of personal property had been stolen, according to police reports. On Aug. 13, Jason Martin, 34, of Winooski was arrested in connection with the theft, and later released on a citation to appear in court on Oct. 4 to answer to the charge of felony possession of stolen property, according to the report. Several of the stolen items were recovered from Martin’s home, the report notes.

False pretenses

On Aug.10, police arrested Adam Champagne, 28, of South Burlington and charged him with three counts of false pretenses, according to police reports. Champagne allegedly stole his mother’s Home Depot credit card and used it to purchase more than $4,000 worth of copper. Champagne was cited to appear in court on Aug. 17.

Home improvement fraud

On Aug. 12, police arrested Clifton H. Bevins III, 47, of Milton on a charge of home improvement fraud, according to police reports. Bevins is doing business as Around the Clock Property Maintenance, according to police. Bevins defrauded a Williston resident of several thousand dollars after failing to complete a job at a condominium unit, according to the report. He was cited to appear in court on Aug. 17.

Multiple charges

After a motor vehicle stop on Aug. 15, the driver, Marcus Watkins, 25, of Hinesburg, fled on foot, according to police reports. Officers chased Watkins and he was apprehended a short time later after resisting arrest, according to the report. During the arrest, police recovered a “large quantity of pills” from “near his person,” according the report. He was lodged at Chittenden County Correctional Center on $5,000 bail on charges of possession of narcotics greater than 100 doses, resisting arrest, impeding a police officer, violation of conditions of release and driving while license suspended-criminal, according to the report.

Stolen vehicle

Police are investigating the burglary of several storage facilities at Chase Moving & Storage in Williston. The storage units were recently broken into and numerous items were stolen. During the investigation of these burglaries, it was also discovered a truck was stolen from the business next door, Munson Earth Moving. Police say the suspects crashed through a locked closed gate with the stolen truck.

The stolen truck is a 1994 red Chevrolet pickup truck, with Munson Earth Moving lettering on it and the number “10.” The truck also has a plow frame on the front and a diesel pump in the bed of the truck. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611 or Crime Stoppers at 864-6666.