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Pages 11-14
SEPTEMBER 7, 2023
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
Man allegedly attempts carjackings in Village
Foot chase leads to arrest in front of school OBSERVER STAFF REPORT
Two drivers received life-threatening scares while traveling through Williston Village last Wednesday evening when a man reportedly approached them, flashed a weapon and demanded they get out of
their cars. The alleged attempted carjackings took place on Williston Road near the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library and Williston Central School, according to a sworn statement from responding Williston Police Officer Avery Lemnah. The incidents led to a foot chase around Old Stage and Maple roads and the eventual arrest of a man in front
“I was shaking and scared … It did feel like he was ready to harm me.” Alleged attempted carjacking victim
A new role for Redhawks: defending champs BY LAUREN READ Observer correspondent Last fall, the CVU football team walked off the field at Rutland High School with some new hardware and a new title — Division I champions. Now the Redhawks walk into this season in unfamiliar territory, as defending champs and the No. 1 team to beat. “When we look at the accomplishment — and it was history making, winning the state championship — we have to appreciate it and then understand that isn’t us, and we define who we are one week at a time,” said CVU coach Rahn Fleming. “Every practice, every game we have to earn it.” CVU captured its first-ever state title last season behind a powerhouse offense. But that offense will have to plug some holes to start the year — most notably Gatorade Player of the Year Jack Sumner and wide receiver Alex Provost. “Candidly, there’s no replacing an Alex Provost, there’s no replacing a Jack Sumner,” Fleming said. “But their leaving opens a space for somebody else to rise up into.” The Redhawks will look to some key returning players to set the tone early, includ-
ing quarterback Ollie Cheer, running back Jacob Bose and wide receivers Brian Rutherford and Jacob Armstrong, who all should give CVU some early chemistry on offense. Rutherford and Armstrong already had some standout moments in the team’s opening game, while Bose, Anderson McEnaney and Asher Vaughn will gets reps at the running back position to pick up where Sumner left off. “We’re changing our look a little bit to be able to best employ our athletes,” Fleming said. “We aren’t married to a system. We’re developing a system around the guys we have on the ball field.” The group will also rely on its defense, which made a dramatic stand on the final play of the title game last season to clinch CVU’s win. Confidence on the defense, and returning defensive linemen like Joshua Quad, Sean Kennedy and Connor Simons, will help as the program works to find its rhythm early in the season. Newcomers like Lucas Almena-Lee, Orion Yates and Dylan Terricciano will slot in at the linebacker positions to provide some new looks on the defensive side of the ball. see REDHAWKS page 9
The CVU football running backs, top, work on balance and ball security during a practice at UVM’s Virtue Field last week, and receivers, right, get a chance to show their skills. As a team, above, the players work on line bocking and practice running plays. OBSERVER PHOTOS BY AL FREY
of Williston Central School, according to Lemnah’s statement. It was the first day of the new school year. Both drivers were able to elude the alleged carjacker and were unharmed. They both drove to the Williston Police station nearby to alert police. The incidents occurred separately about 6 p.m. “I was shaking and scared,”
one of the alleged victims wrote in a sworn statement to police. “I thought that he was first approaching my car for money, but he seemed very lucid and clear and looked me right in the eyes. He held something in his right hand that was tube-like. It did feel like he was ready to harm me.” The other alleged victim see CAR JACKINGS page 7