Apple Valley Drive closed
Apple Valley Drive at the north end of Apple Valley will be closed for about 60 days to build a new bridge. The bridge will replace six 72-inch culvert pipes that were installed when Apple Valley was built in the late 1970s and are deteriorating. They also catch debris in high water that washed over and washed out the road in the recent storms. The new bridge will be 43-feet long with a 26-foot roadway. The U.S. Bridge Company of Cambridge is the contractor. The cost is $275,000. (Virgil Shipley)
Wiggin Street wins book battle
Wiggin Street Elementary fielded the champion team in the 2011 Battle of the Books. Pictured are, first row, from left, Annika Kanuckel-Wolfe, Kennedy Kohlman and Sulekh Fernando-Peiris. Second row, from left, are team captain Sarah Powell, Ellie Broeren and Amanda Miglin. Coach Pat Callam is in the third row. (Pam Schehl)
Mount Vernon boys basketball honored
The Mount Vernon boys basketball team (15-6) was honored at a banquet at the high school on Thursday. From left, junior Bradley Fenton, OCC Special Mention; junior Riley Swanson, All-Central District Honorable Mention, OCC Second Team, Silver Certificate; senior Ben Hoar, All-Central District Third Team, OCC First Team, District 11 First Team, Gold Certificate and team MVP; senior Charlie Phillips, OCC Second Team, All-Central District Honorable Mention, OCC Scholar Athlete, Gold Certificate and Coaches Award; and senior Daniel Kelly, OCC Honorable Mention and Most Improved. (Bill Davis)
World’s Tallest Leprechaun
Mount Vernon resident Gordon “Stretch” Brennan makes the most of St. Patrick’s Day each year. The local Irishman was decked out in green from head to toe on St. Patrick’s Day when he visited the News on Thursday. “Stretch” claims he would also spend the day visiting his mother and eating corned beef and cabbage. “It’s one of my favorite days of the year,” said Brennan. (Alan Reed)
