The 17th annual Vermont 50-plus & Baby Boomers EXPO took place on Jan. 28 at the Sheraton-Burlington. The event is produced by Williston Publishing & Promotions, which publishes the Williston Observer.

The Champlain Valley Union wrestling team finished sixth among 15 teams at the Colchester Invitational on Jan. 28. CVU scored two individual victories (Clark Poston and Liam Bowley) and three other top four finishes. In addition, Rahn Fleming was named the tournament’s outstanding coach

The Champlain Valley Union boys hockey team lost to South Burlington 6-4 in the annual CSB Cup game on Jan. 28.

The third and fourth grade chorus of Williston Central School performed its winter concert on Jan. 25. According to Danielle Trasciatti-Holmberg, K-4 music educator for Williston schools, the chorus has 142 students.

Feb. 2, 2012

2 & ½ popcorns

By Michael S. Goldberger

Special to the Observer

When first the Tuskegee Airmen take to the sky in “Red Tails,” director Anthony Hemingway’s action-filled chronicle inspired by the African-American 332nd Squadron’s service during World War II, you want to be a pilot, too. At least I did. And the six 15-year-old boys to my right, who quieted down once the pageantry began, apparently agreed.

Cut it any way you wish, this is a war movie, proving that all black casts are subject to the same bromides that have been a mainstay of the genre ever since the earliest celluloid depictions of man’s inability to keep the peace. For the most part we like such fare, an uneasy fact to be reconciled by the civilized we. “Red Tails” delivers it no differently.

Where it diverges, however, says a profoundly eerie thing about patriotism. The Red Tails, so nicknamed for how they’ve painted the rear wings of their planes, want the right to fight and, yes, even the right to die, for their country. You see, back in the 1940s, Jim Crow felt only white soldiers were good enough for that honor. “Red Tails” corrects him.

Willing to pay the price for said recognition if necessary is the gaggle of dedicated pilots who form the cast’s main hub. Bringing their little soap opera to the scenario are bickering best pals Captain Marty “Easy” Julian, portrayed by Nate Parker, and the finest ace under his command, the daredevil, Joe “Lightning” Little, played by David Oyelowo.

Getting into their bravado-laced saga, learning what drives them, why they squabble and what they admire, we pause in the stark realization that these are kids, that it’s they who do our fighting. And although there is scant if any antiwar sentiment intended in this account, just that fact alone makes us want to do away with the whole stinking business.

But that will have to wait until the next film, for alas, here there are Nazis to kill — if they’d only let us. Initially equipped with outmoded but really cool-looking P-40s and allowed only to attack ground installations, the young pilots, like athletes aching for championship competition, yearn to take on the Jerries and prove their worth.

But patience, patience, urges Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Major Emmanuelle Stance, who commands the men at the Ramitelli air base in Italy. Conscience, father figure and psychologist, by his demeanor alone he stresses that hundreds of years of prejudice can’t be eradicated in one fell swoop of heroics. Still, they must be vigilant and always ready.

Meanwhile, forces are at work. Fighting the good fight for his men, going toe to toe with the white face of reality, Terrence Howard’s Colonel A.J. Bullard advocates the Red Tails’s case — both at command headquarters and back in the U.S. championing his pilots, he argues for this small but important step in a greater cause doubtless not lost on him.

In camp, the flyboys alternately brood and swagger — sure they’ll never see real action — but are confident they’ll make quick work of Hitler and Co. They anxiously pass the time. To this backdrop, Easy and Lightning form the film’s only real character studies. Rather conventional, lightweight portraits, they add little to the film’s impact.

Captain Marty “Easy” Julian, hard driven to succeed by a domineering father, quells his inner demons with one too many drinks. Making it worse, Joe “Lightning” Little, his comrade in arms, drives him nuts by disobeying orders whenever they interfere with the risk-taking that salves his own anxieties. In turn, Joe anguishes over Easy’s alcoholism.

In a sometimes sweet but equally minor sidelight to this scenario, Lightning begins to court a pretty signorina (Daniela Ruah) from the nearby village (fill in all the usual clichés and what dramatics they may bode). Fact is, intentional or not, the story’s personal relationships play as filler and couldn’t survive without the accompanying air support.

While a less hackneyed subplot would make for a more complete entertainment, it’s apparent that “Red Tails” is not so much a good movie as it is an important movie. When out of desperation those powers that be finally accede, and the squadron is assigned to escort bombers to their crucial targets, we cheer not for the characters but for equality.

Yet, to remind again, albeit secondary to its social significance, this is a war film…one produced by George Lucas. And as such, expect no less than the best dogfights special effects can create. Thus, whether as a humdinger of a visual iteration for those who know this saga, or as a vital primer for those who do not, “Red Tails” accomplishes its mission.

“Red Tails,” rated PG-13, is a Twentieth Century Fox release directed by Anthony Hemingway and stars Nate Parker, David Oyelowo and Terrence Howard. Running time: 120 minutes 

Monday: at Spaulding, 7:15 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Friday: at Rice Memorial, 7:15 p.m.

Saturday: NORTH COUNTRY, 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday: SPAULDING, 7:15 p.m.

GYMNASTICS

No meets scheduled

BOYS HOCKEY

Wednesday: at Harwood, 7 p.m.

GIRLS HOCKEY

Saturday: COLCHESTER, 6 p.m.

Wednesday: MISSISQUOI, 5:15 p.m.

ALPINE SKIING

Friday & Saturday: at Essex Invitational, Smugglers Notch

NORDIC SKIING

Thursday: at BFA-St. Albans

Saturday: at U-32 (East Montpelier)

Wednesday: at Colchester

WRESTLING

Saturday: at Mount Mansfield, 9:30 a.m.

Wednesday: MIDDLEBURY AND COLCHESTER, 5:30 p.m.

HOME CONTESTS IN CAPS

Schedules subject to change

CVU BOYS FIND HOPE IN NARROW CSB CUP LOSS

“I think we got over a hump,” said Champlain Valley Union boys hockey coach Mike Murray the day after his Redhawks’ 6-4 loss to rival South Burlington on Jan. 28 in the annual CSB Cup contest at Cairns Arena.

Although it was the 4-9 Redhawks’ sixth straight defeat, strong second and third periods gave CVU optimism going into Wednesday’s home contest with Burlington (after Observer press deadline).

CVU is then off until Feb. 8, when it travels to Harwood.

Having scored just once in their last three games and blanked in their last two, the Redhawks trailed the hard skating Rebels 6-1 after the first 15 minutes.

“We got off to a slow start and made mistakes and they (South Burlington) took advantage of every mistake,” said Murray of the brutal initial period.

But the Redhawks added some grit to their game and got the final three scores before bowing.

“We had a power play in the final two minutes and 30 seconds but could not get to within one score,” said Murray, adding that the team played much better through the last two periods.

Patrick Pattison, Kirk Fontana, Cam Rivard and Alex Bulla scored for the Redhawks. Jason O’Brien had 22 stops in CVU’s cage.

Matt Baechle fired two scores for the Rebels.

Murray said the team is slowly recovering from the effects of a flu outbreak that swept through the combine the past couple of weeks.

CVU GIRLS HOCKEY HAS FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND

The winless Champlain Valley Union girls hockey team opened a four-game string of home ice appearances Wednesday (after Observer press deadline) by playing host to Essex.

On Saturday, Colchester will come to Cairns Arena for a 6 p.m. session. On Wednesday, a tough Missisquoi Valley Union squad comes to tangle with the Redhawks at 5:15 p.m.

The 0-11 ‘Hawks fell to 5-3-2 South Burlington 5-0 Wednesday (Jan. 25). On Saturday (Jan. 29), coach Ben Psaros’ CVU squad suffered their third single goal loss when Hartford potted a power play goal with about one minute remaining in regulation for a 3-2 win.

Rowan Hayes scored for CVU and busy netminder Nicole Sisk hauled in 42 saves for the Redhawks. Sisk tallied 80 saves for the week’s two games.

REDHAWKS GYMNASTS KEEP WINNING PACE

With the annual state championship meet looming late this month, the Champlain Valley Union gymnastics team continues to improve at the right time of the season.

The Redhawks had a home session with Middlebury Wednesday (after Observer press deadline) and are off until a meet on Feb. 9 at U-32 in East Montpelier.

Last Thursday (Jan. 26), unbeaten CVU rolled over South Burlington 138.95-126.35. Veteran Ashley Bachand took the all-around with winning performances on the vault, parallel bars and balance beam.

The stellar performance was another big step forward for Bachand in her recovery from a springtime knee injury.

Sophomore teammate Megan Nick came in second in all-around and was runner-up to Bachand on the vault, bars and beam.

Sarah Kinsley was first in floor exercise and third on the bars. Grace Carey came in third on the beam.

‘HAWKS NORDIC SKI SCHEDULE GETTING BUSY

After a slow, snow-starved to the season, the Champlain Valley Union Nordic ski team faces three events in seven days – starting with a Thursday afternoon event in St. Albans hosted by Bellows Free Academy at the Collins-Pearly Sports Center.

The Redhawks then travel to U-32 in East Montpelier Saturday morning and to Colchester Wednesday.

Last Saturday (Jan. 28), the CVU girls won their second race in two weeks at the Jericho Firing Range. The boys took the runner-up spot.

The girls had 18 points to 26 for second place Middlebury and 42 for third place Mount Mansfield Union.

Sienna Searles paced the ‘Hawks with a second-place finish, just one second to winner Britta Clark of Middlebury.

Three more Redhawks skied into the top 10: Taylor Spillane (third), Cally Braun (sixth) and Emma Hamilton (seventh).

Jack Hegman of Mount Mansfield won the boys race.CVU’s Emmett Peterson (fourth) was the lone Redhawk in the top 10. CVU had 41 points to 11 for the winning Cougars.

FINAL TWO REGULAR SEASON MEETS LOOM FOR CVU GRAPPLERS

Champlain Valley Union wrestlers will close out the regular season Saturday at Mount Mansfield Union for the Jason Lowell Tournament and Wednesday when the Redhawks play host to Middlebury and Colchester.

CVU is coming off Saturday’s (Jan. 28) sixth-place finish among 15 teams at the Colchester Invitational. CVU scored two individual victories and three other top four finishes. In addition, Fleming was named the tournament’s outstanding coach.

The Redhawks’ usual suspects earned triumphs: Clark Poston in the 182-pound class and Liam Bowley (99 pounds).

Alex Legg placed third in the 106-pound division. Fourth places went to Patrick Shea (145 pounds) and Sam Fortin (170 pounds).

CVU SEEKING TWO SPRING SEASON COACHES

Champlain Valley Union High School is searching for a girls varsity lacrosse coach and a junior varsity softball coach.

Additional information and applications can be obtained from athletic director Kevin Riell via email at kriell@cvuhs.org or by calling (802) 482-7113.

—Mal Boright

Feb. 2, 2012

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

“We are a good defensive team,” Champlain Valley Union boys basketball coach Scott Bliss said Monday night following a shutdown of South Burlington at the home Bremner Gymnasium.

The 55-27 victory boosted the Redhawks’ season mark to 8-5 and came on the heels of last Thursday’s (Jan. 26) 30-27 triumph at Burlington.

A trip to once-beaten Rice Memorial Wednesday (after Observer press deadline) will test the Redhawks, who bowed to the defending Division I champion Green Knights, 66-36, at home in mid-January. On Monday, CVU travels to 5-6 Spaulding in Barre.

The win over the 1-11 Rebels was CVU’s second of the season, the first a 58-40 thumbs-upper in South Burlington last month.

This outing was a contest only until the opening minutes of the second period. With the score tied at 16-all, John Keen — who does a little of this and a little of that to be a valuable Hawk forward — hit two free throws with five minutes and 22 seconds left in the quarter. The pops opened a 12-point run by the ‘Hawks that ended when Rebs’ co-captain Andrew Mallory nailed a pair of charity tosses after the halftime buzzer, leaving CVU in charge 28-18.

The Big D, primarily dude-to-dude, then blanked South Burlington through the third quarter and allowed only one hoop the remainder of the game (a three-pointer by Michael Miller 10 seconds into the final reel).

In the second half, the Redhawks limited the Rebels to one basket in 16 tries and a starvation diet 15 percent from the field for the game.

“At first they were beating us with dribble penetration, but we took care of that,” said Bliss.

CVU shot a nifty 48 percent (22-for-45). Junior Brad Bissonette led scorers with 12 points. He added nine rebounds and a spectacular blocked shot on a fast Rebel who appeared to have an easy layup after a mid-court steal.

Big Lucas Aube hit 4 of 6 tries from the field and 3 of 4 from the line for 11 points to go with three rebounds.

Keen collected eight points, six rebounds, an assist and a steal. Big man off the bench, Ryan Beaudry, was beastly on the boards with seven rebounds to go with three points. CVU had a 41-18 advantage under the glass.

Senior Trevor Seward, the quick guard and primary mover, led South Burlington with nine points, eight of those in the first half.

At Burlington, CVU broke out to a 22-10 lead by halftime but the Seahorses (3-8) made it tight late in the game.

“We didn’t shoot well in the second half,” Bliss said.

Brad Bissonette led the Redhawks with 10 points.

CVU 55, South Burlington 27 (Monday)

South Burlington (1-11)

Mallory, 1 5-8 7; Handy, 0 0-0 0; Hinchcliffe, 0 0-0 0; Miller, 1 0-0 3; Seward, 3 3-6 9; Shungu, 1 0-0 3; Piper, 0 5-5 5; Loiselle, 0 0-0 0; Price, 0 0-1 0; Burke, 0 0-0 0; Keogh, 0 0-0 0; Gregoire, 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 6 13-20 27

CVU (8-5)

B. Bissonette, 5 1-1 12; Keen, 3 2-2 8; Aube, 4 3-4 11; Whitbeck, 1 0-0 3; Kohlasch, 1 0-0 2; Beaudry, 1 1-2 3; Chevalier, 3 0-0 6; S. Bissonette, 1 0-1 2; Gilstadt, 0 0-0 0; Peck-Frame, 2 2-3 6; Brogna, 1 0-0 2; Waples, 0 0-2 0; Lynn, 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 22 9-15 53

SBHS     10    8    0    9  – 27

CVU       14   14  12  15  – 55

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

In a basketball sense, this is exam week for the high-flying Champlain Valley Union High girls basketball team.

On Tuesday night, in front of a loudly cheering home crowd, the now 10-0 Redhawks sent a strong Essex (9-2) combine packing with a 46-34 triumph over the Hornets.

A second big test awaits this weekend when Coach Ute Otley’s charges travel to 8-3 Rice Memorial Friday night. CVU then returns home Saturday for a rescheduled meeting with North Country.

Early on Tuesday, the much anticipated meeting with mighty Essex looked more like an uneven match of muscle on the boards as the Hornets took over the offensive glass and barged to a quick 9-2 edge.

Otley called a timeout to settle things down with two minutes and 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter, motioned senior Lazrin Schenck off the bench and watched as the smooth-shooting Schenck buried two consecutive three-point bombs to spark a nine-point run to end at the end of the first quarter.

“We were just atrocious in those first minutes,” Otley said after the game. “When Lazrin hit those shots, that settled us down and we knew we were OK.”

Essex was far from finished. The Hornets opened up 16-12 and 18-15 leads in the second quarter. CVU sophomore guard Kaelyn Kohlasch, however, then nailed three charity shots and a corner jumper. Schenck unloaded a threebie at the halftime buzzer to give CVU a 23-18 lead.

The Hornets — with Williston’s Kari Lavalette always a long range and ball-handling threat — maintained a menacing presence the rest of the game but were kept off stride by CVU’s motivated half-court defense that held them to 14 hoops in 53 shots.

The Redhawks led by as many as 14 points (twice) through the second half before a scrambling Essex press produced some late turnovers and got the Hornets back to within nine points in the closing minute.

Lavalette paced Essex with nine points on a trio of treys. Sophomore center Kara Sheftic produced eight points and nine rebounds.

After losing the struggle on the boards early, the Redhawks finished with a 30-30 standoff under the glass with all hands doing the rebound grabbing. Forward Elena Bayer-Pacht led with seven rebounds and also contributed six vital assists.

Emily Kinneston was another top all-around dealer with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Schenck paced all scorers with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting. She also had five rebounds and three steals.

How does she like coming off the bench?

“I love it,” she responded, noting that the foot injury that sidelined her during the opening weeks of the season is well wrapped and responding well.

Kohlasch wound up with nine points and three rebounds. Center Remi Donnelly had eight points, including three hoops early in the third period that fueled CVU’s second half surge.

Earlier in the evening, CVU’s jayvees swished 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 40 seconds to whip Essex 38-30.

CVU 46, Essex 34 (Tuesday)

Essex (9-2)

Esposito, 2 2-4 6; Miles, 1 0-0 3; Sheftic, 4 0-0 8; Wells, 0 0-2 0; Lavalette, 3 0-0 9; Barnett, 2 0-0 4; Harris, 2 0-0 4; Bessette, 0 0-0 0; Reed, 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 14 2-6 34

CVU (10-0)

Lozon, 1 0-0 2; Bayer-Pacht, 0 2-6 2; Donnelly, 3 2-4 8; Kohlasch, 2 5-6 9;

Kinneston, 4 2-2 10; Schenck, 5 1-2 15; Krupp, 0 0-2 0; Whiteside, 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 15 12-22 46

Essex       9   9   6  10  – 34

CVU        11 12 13  10  – 46

Driving under the influence

Andrew T. Faure, 21, of Randolph was cited on a charge of driving under the influence on Jan. 21 after police received a report of a car off the road near Rocky Ridge, according to police reports. His blood alcohol concentration was .214, the report notes. The legal limit for driving in Vermont is .08. He was cited to appear in court.

Driving with suspended license

• Eric Marsha, 24, of Enosburg Falls was cited on a charge of driving under the influence-criminal on Jan. 21, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.

• Amy Donna, 26, of Enosburg was cited on a charge of driving under the influence on Jan. 21, according to police reports. She was cited to appear in court.

Outstanding warrant

Evan Oellerich, 24, of Killington, Va. was arrested on an outstanding warrant on Jan. 17, according to police reports. He was taken to Chittenden County Correctional Center and subsequently “turned over to the Sheriffs Dept.,” the report notes. No other information was released.

Police notes are written based on information provided by the Williston Police Department and the Vermont State Police. Please note that all parties are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.