Have you noticed the display of Christmas Trees lighting up East Burke Village? They are part of a contest organized by the Burke Area Chamber of Commerce. 20 local businesses, schools and families ‘adopted’ and decorated a tree as part of a friendly competition to benefit local charities. The winning trees were chosen at a Tree Lighting Celebration on December 13th which also featured songs from the talented young voices of the Lyndon Institute Chorus and Newark Balkan Chorus. Pictured are the winning trees. Once again, the imaginations of children proved hard to beat. From left to right: The first place winner with an owl themed tree is the Newark Street School which received $100 for their charity of choice, the Newark Kids Ski Program; second place belongs to RubyLee’s ice cream themed tree complete with a cherry on top which earned them a $50 check made out to their chosen charity, Umbrella; Tying for third place are the Thaddeus Stevens School with recycled, hand-made ornaments and Timothy Scott, Realtor/Broker with William Raveis BCK Real Estate who had help with the decorations from the Burke Town School Kindergarten class. Their respective charities of choice, Northeast Kingdom Youth Services and H.O.P.E. each received $50. The festive display of trees will be on display from now until early January on the green in front of the Burke Mountain Club/Library in the village.