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B Section
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016
MATT DICKERSON
SPORTS
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State parks and other summer opportunities We arose early to beat the oppressive August heat and humidity, strapped on our bike helmets, and headed out for a quick loop before breakfast. As it turned out, the early morning departure wasn’t necessary to beat the heat. Though only an hour and a half away from our house in Middlebury, the temperature on Grand Isle was 7 or 8 degrees cooler and the breeze coming off the lake wonderfully pleasant. It was one of the few times my wife has ever commented that she was enjoying biking into a headwind. (Only later did we hear from friends back home that the day had been oppressive down in Addison County. They were jealous of us when we told them the temperature in Grand Isle had been in the 70s.) We did, however, need that early departure to beat the morning showers. In fact, we needed to have left five minutes earlier. About 45 minutes into our 50-minute ride the skies opened up. After several days of sweltering heat, however, the cool rain — like the headwind — felt good on our skin. And a large hot breakfast and coffee awaited us back at our bed and breakfast. Though on this trip we stayed at an inn, and enjoyed hot showers and the chance to be under a solid roof when the rain fell, my wife and I have also stayed at Grand Isle State Park in the past, and enjoyed a similar overnight trip to explore the islands. We have a long-term goal to visit every state park in Vermont, and to stay overnight at all those with camping or cabins. Bikes on the back of the car, or a canoe strapped to the roof, or in some cases both, is part of the adventure. So is a fly rod packed in the back of the car, since every state park I have visited so far is close to good fishing. For those who don’t have their own fishing equipment, Vermont Fish and Wildlife is now teaming up with state parks to provide instruction and loaner equipment in a program called ReelFunVT. More information can be found at http://www.vtfishandwildlife. com/cms/. We are making progress on our goal. Two It was one summers ago of the few our new park times my was Little River wife has ever Reservoir. It may commented be my favorite so that she was far. (One obstacle enjoying to reaching our biking into a goal is that we headwind. enjoy the parks we visit so much we end up returning to them before moving on to new ones.) This year we will visit Brighton State Park for the first time. We’ve stayed in tents and lean-tos, though I admit I’m increasing drawn to the luxury of a cabin in those parks that offer them. We bike and canoe and fish and hike and swim. And sometimes just sit and read. We go alone. We go with family. We bring friends. We do camp cooking sometimes. Other times we explore the local dining season. In addition to the fishing clinics and equipment loans, the state park system also offers a series of free events throughout the summer months, including concerts, talks, nature hikes and educational events for adults and children. (More information is available at http://www.vtstateparks. com/htm/events.htm) While on Grand Isle, we also spent an hour visiting the Ed Weed Fish Culture Station, the flagship hatchery of Vermont ‘s Fish and Wildlife Department. It’s always worth a stop if you are driving by — as is the Salisbury Fish Culture Station, the only one of Vermont’s five in Addison County, which I had visited just a few weeks earlier. (Confession: although I am ambivalent toward the stocking of non-native fish such as rainbow and brown trout, and toward put-andtaking hatchery-supported fishing, I never get tired of throwing fish food to trout in a raceway.) Speaking of opportunities in Vermont, this fall’s bow hunt will be expanded. Vermont’s archery season will now be nearly a week longer, running a full four weeks in 2016 from (See State Parks, Page 2B)
EUGENE SHELDRICK, RIGHT, battles a competitor in Friday night’s armwrestling competition at Field Days. Sheldrick won the men’s left-handed 177-198-pound weight class.
Independent photo/Andrea Warren
Many do battle in Field Days armwrestling Annual event draws big crowd, many competitors to fair’s main show tent By ANDY KIRKALDY NEW HAVEN — The largest number of adult competitors in at least seven years signed on for the annual Addison Count Fair and Field Days armwrestling competition, held on Friday night in the fair’s show tent. In all, 166 adults locked hands in battle, more than the 152 who showed up in 2015, and that number was easily the highest total since 2010, when 126 adults competed. The numbers of younger armwrestling competitors remained down from the peak of 158 youths sign-
ing up in 2011, with 83 vying on this past Friday. That number was typical for the past few years, however: 73 in 2015, 99 in 2014 and 85 in 2013. Friday’s only multiple-event winner was Jeremy Messervy, who prevailed in the two lightest righthanded men’s weight classes and the lightest left-handed weight class. The top three finishers in each youth age group or adult weight class were: YOUTH RESULTS • Boys & Girls 5-and-under: 1. Alex Sinks; 2. Tucker Sheldrick; 3. Griffin Sheldrick.
• Boys 6 & 7: 1. Kyle Kelly; 2. Seaver Cadoret; 3. David Foster. • Girls 6 & 7: 1. Helen Curran; 2. Addison Huck; 3. Lydia Tupper. • Boys 8: 1. Samuel Luis; 2. Ethan Hallock; 3. Carter Gosselin. • Boys 9: 1. Isaac Preston; 2. Isaac Whitney; 3. Joseph Bergevin. • Girls 8 & 9: 1. Makenzy Briggs; 2. Hannah Larrow; 3. Navaya Adams. • Boys 10: 1. Timothy Whitney Jr.; 2. Evan Radowski; 3. Christopher Sartelle. • Boys 11: 1. Colby Butler; 2. John Elder; 3. Sawyer Cadoret.
• Girls 10 & 11: 1. Bella Gale; 2. Heather Dwire; 3. Elizabeth Munger. • Boys 12 & 13: 1. Jacob Hanlon; 2. Tim Curran. • Girls 12 & 13: 1. Emily Briggs; 2. Avery Gale; 3. Lydia Deppman. • Boys 14 & 15: 1. Derek Joiner; 2. Matthew Fox; 3. Hunter Gale. • Girls 15 & 16: 1. Sam FitzSimmons; 2. Anna Harrington; 3. Alyssa Hasbraecle. • Boys 16: 1. Brandon Plumadore; 2. Hunter Wablinske. ADULT RESULTS • Men’s Right Under 143 pounds: 1.
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Jeremy Messervy; 2. Asa Dupois; 3. Hunter Wablinske. Men’s Right 144-154: 1. Jeremy Messervy; 2. Ron Singley; 3. Jacob Steadman. Men’s Right 155-165: 1. Chris Gobby; 2. Jamie Hoburn; 3. Rob Ketcham. Men’s Right 166-176: 1. Ken McKinney; 2. Ray Calhoun; 3. Corey Dupris. Men’s Right 177-187: 1. Scott Latella; 2. Eugene Sheldrick; 3. James Mason. Men’s Right 188-198: 1. George (See Armwrestling, Page 2B)
Busy slate on tap at golf course
THIRD-PLACE FINISHER Will Hull, left, winner Bobby Hackel and runner-up Lacey Hanson of Orwell pose in the Sprint Cars of New England victory lane on the dirt track at Devil’s Bowl Speedway Sunday night. Photo by Andrew Cassidy
Orwell drivers make strong finishes at the Bowl WEST HAVEN — Orwell drivers Tim LaDuc and Lacey Hanson produced the best results among Addison County competitors at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in action on Wednesday, Aug. 10, and this past Sunday. LaDuc finished third behind winner Kenny Tremont Jr. in the Aug. 10 main event, a 35-lap Central Vermont Motorcycles Sportsman Modified race. On Sunday, Hanson led most of the way in one race on the dirt track, a 30-lap event, before settling for second place behind Bobby Hackel, a double winner that evening. AUGUST 10 ASPHALT In Wednesday action, Tremont narrowly escaped from a big pileup to win the special “Whelen Wednesday” double-points Mid-Season Championship feature. In spite of major damage to his car, the seven-time Devil’s Bowl champion ran to his second win of the season. Bill Duprey and Chris Conroy also scored victories on Aug. 10.
Three caution flags slowed the feature race. Tremont, of West Sand Lake, N.Y., was involved in the most serious incident, which stacked his car up with those of top championship point drivers Justin Comes, Derrick McGrew and Justin Severance. All but Comes were able to continue, though the body on Tremont’s car was severely damaged. Tremont was aided in part by more caution flags and a high-attrition rate. Race leader Brian Whittemore crashed on lap 18, setting up a secondhalf duel between Tremont and point leader Hackel of Rensselaer, N.Y. The pair squared off in the final 17 circuits with Hackel challenging Tremont nearly every corner, and Tremont scored his second Devil’s Bowl win of the season and the 72nd of his career with a sprint to the finish to edge Hackel, with LaDuc in third. Severance recovered for a career-best fourth-place finish, and Brandon’s Vince Quenneville Jr. took fifth. Whittemore, Chad Miller, and McGrew were the only other drivers running at the finish.
Unofficially, Hackel retained his championship lead by just five points over Tremont, 400-395. LaDuc rides in third 33 points back, followed by Quenneville and Severance. Duprey of Hydeville, Vt., extended his win streak to five in the 15-lap Rosen & Berger Auto Recyclers Renegade division, edging second-place Curtis Condon by inches after they traded paint out of the final corner. Through six Renegade features in 2016, Duprey has won all five races that he started and holds a 33-point lead for the championship over Condon, 357-324. In the Portland Glass Mini Stock division, Conroy, of Newport, N.H., earned his second win of the season and holds a nine-point series lead over Wayland Childs, who was fourth last week SUNDAY DIRT TRACK On Sunday, Hackel became just the second stock car driver in the track’s 50-season history to win in (See Devil’s Bowl, Page 2B)
MIDDLEBURY — Ralph Myhre Golf Course has a full slate of events scheduled in the next couple weeks. This weekend brings the annual home-and-home Ralph Myhre vs. Neshobe Club Challenge. Players from both clubs will compete at Ralph Myhre on Saturday and at the Brandon course on Sunday to determine the yearly victory. Next weekend brings the similar Ralph Myhre vs. Basin Harbor Club Challenge. On Saturday, Aug. 27, players from both courses will tee off in Middlebury, and the next day the competition will conclude on the lakeside course in Ferrisburgh. While that event is concluding on Sunday the 28th, Ralph Myhre will host its own nine-hole Parent Child Golf Tournament. Families that are interested in learning details or in signing up may stop by the course golf shop or call (802) 443-5125. In regular action, on Aug. 12 the threesome of Doug Biklen, Pete Hubbard and Pete Damone prevailed in Thursday Afternoon Bill Davidson Men’s Golf. The trios of Deem Schoenfeld, Marsdin Van Order and Joe Thilbourg, and Bob Kirkpatrick, Jim Twitchell and John Davis finished second and third, respectively. Kirkpatrick shot the best low gross score on the say. On Aug. 13, the foursome of Georgia Best, Gail Smith, Jay Best and Bill Laberge won the weekly Friday Night Golf Mixer. Taking second was the trio of Nicole Laberge, Wes Smith and Jim Reynolds, and the threesome of Jim Hadeka, Deb Hadeka and Jim Craig took third.