BRADFORD—From mythical legends and modern day heroes to classic cartoons and contemporary public figures, you can find them in the form of a Pez dispenser. And right now, there is an extensive collection of these colorful candy compartments on display at the Bradford Public Library.
Amazingly, the hundreds of dispensers on exhibit represent just a small sample of a massive collection assembled by Linda Vitale of Bradford.
Still, there is plenty of variety as there should be for a popular confection that has been around since the 1930s when an Austrian developed a peppermint-flavored candy as a smoking alternative. Peppermint in German is “pffefferminz,” which was later shortened to “Pez” for the candy’s brand name.

WOODSVILLE—For the third time in a little over a month, a divided school board voted on a mask mandate at its three schools.
During a regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 13, Haverhill Cooperative School Board members voted 4-3 to require staff members to wear masks while indoors with students and when unable to maintain 6 feet of distance.

ORFORD—Students and staff will be wearing masks at Rivendell’s three schools for the foreseeable future.
“Our focus remains on keeping the school community healthy and our schools operational,” superintendent Barrett Williams wrote in a letter on Sept. 10.
On Sept. 14, the district reported two cases at Rivendell Academy in Orford, one case at Samuel Morey Elementary School in Fairlee, and a potential case at Westshire Elementary School that needed further testing.

BURLINGTON—A federal judge has denied more than 40 self-filed motions by a Vermont defendant charged with abducting a woman, crossing state lines, and sexually assaulting her in front of her son in Windsor County.
Everett A. Simpson, 44, most recently from St. Johnsbury, had filed about four dozen defense motions, including 11 requests seeking dismissal of the criminal case, two other motions to remove the prosecutors and one motion to disqualify the judge. All were rejected last week by Senior Federal Judge Williams K. Sessions III.
Simpson has pleaded not guilty to two kidnapping charges involving a mother and child and two counts of interstate transportation of a stolen car.

WOODSVILLE—The town’s assessor says the value of Haverhill’s grand list grew 16% in the last five years.
Tim Northcott of M&N Assessing told selectboard members on Aug. 30 that the schedule of property in town increased from $400,410,353 to $464,347,792 under the most recent revaluation conducted earlier this year.
Northcott said the revaluation examined all market sales that took place between April 2019 and April 2021.