POULTNEY — Jeffrey Roberts’ barbershop has a pretty good view of Main Street in Poultney, allowing him to help catch a handful of bank robbers in the last couple of years.

“I saw the woman get out of a car parked in front of the shop. When she came back there was steam or smoke from the money bomb the (tellers) had put in there,” said Roberts, 57, owner of People’s Choice barbershop.

He recalled the bank robbery at the local Citizens Bank just over a year ago. “I got the license plate number,” he said. “The police was very happy about that arrest.”

Roberts’ actions that November afternoon and his similar actions during an earlier robbery in 2009 led to the tellers at the bank to nominate him for this year’s Poultney Citizen of the Year, a nomination confirmed by the Poultney Area Chamber of Commerce.

“(Roberts) has a presence of mind to recognize something that didn’t seem ‘quite right’ in our small town, and take notice of details which led to the arrest of the individuals who robbed our bank,” said the nomination letter signed by seven employees at the bank.

“The information he provided assisted in apprehending the individuals and putting an end to their crime spree,” the letter continued.

“Who knows how long they would have remained unapprehended, or how many other robberies they would have committed had (Roberts) not been looking out for us on that day.”

Roberts said he was pleasantly surprised when he found out he was chosen as Citizen of the Year.

“I don’t think that I deserve it, as usual,” he said. “I don’t think I have done enough.”

For the complete story, see Thursday's Rutland Herald.