Jobs, a balanced budget, health care for all, improved telecommunications, cleaner water, green energy investments, open government, safer roads, agriculture investments, our first two-year capital bill, improvements in prisons/corrections, consumer protections, and workers rights all highlight the just-concluded 2011 session of your Vermont Legislature.
Your citizen legislators took on the challenges that the Great Recession continues to visit on Vermonters and helped move us forward into the future. In our short 16-week session, we accomplished more in this session than in any other in recent history.
Back in January, a lot of questions were put before us. Would health care reform be possible? Would our state be able withstand the pressure from out-of-state interests looking to boost profits by taking advantage of Vermonters? Would Vermont finally be able to make progress on wireless and broadband access and lose our reputation as the “Can-You-Hear-Me-Now State”? Would we be effective with the same party controlling both chambers of the Legislature and the Governor's office?
The answer to all is a resounding yes!...
The Westminster West Public Library will host a talk about beavers by naturalist and educator Patti Smith, a full course dinner by noted local chef Sharon Boccelli, and a concert with area musicians on Sunday, May 22, beginning at 5 p.m., at the library in Westminster West village. This...
Obituaries Editor's note: The Commons will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham County and others, on request, as community news, free of charge. • Margaret E. “Betty” (Wheelden) Behilo, 89, of Greenfield, Mass,. Died May 9 at the Buckley Health Care Center in Greenfield. Wife of the...
I understand that some people don't believe that Osama bin Laden is really dead. I'm not sure. I've heard a rumor that he's living in Nashville with Elvis. But it got me thinking about other things most people accept as true. Do I really know they're true? Can I be sure? Here are a few of the things that are currently troubling me. • The World Trade Center. When I lived in Manhattan, there were no twin towers. Now there...
Grafton Valley Arts Guild, a nonprofit marketing cooperative and arts education organization, will open its gallery in the Cricketers Building at 45 Townshend Rd. The guild membrs will officially open the doors of their new space with a group show, “Inception,” on Friday, May 27, from 2 to 6 p.m. “Inception” will feature work in a variety of mediums including sculpture, iron, textile, photography, painting, collage, wood, and ceramics. The organization was founded by several Grafton artists, including Frances Holliday...
The long-delayed reopening of the green iron bridge that spans the West River may finally happen soon. The bridge was to have reopened late last September, but workers found some unexpected rust in some of the upper support members of the bridge that wasn't part of the original state repair specifications. Renaud Brothers of Vernon, the main contractor for the job since work began last year, had to replace the rusty support members before the state would allow the bridge...
On Saturday, May 21, some 40 dentists across Southern Vermont are volunteering their time to help patients in need, as five locations in three different counties host a simultaneous Free Dental Care Day. Oral surgeons and dentists, along with hygienists, dental assistants and administrative staff, will be volunteering their time for an entire day. In addition, the United Way will partner with the doctors to help make this event an extraordinary day for uninsured low-income community members in need of...
Not that they would be the types to rest on their laurels, but the Brattleboro Colonels boys' lacrosse team has earned the right to step back and admire the body of work that they have created so far this season. The Colonels have opened the 2011 season with nine straight wins, their best start ever. They chalked up another milestone on May 7 when they rallied to beat the Woodstock Wasps, 10-9, at Natowich Field. It was the first time...
The Arts Council of Windham County (ACWC) is sponsoring a forum, “Business Training for Artists,” on Wednesday, May 25, from 7-8:30 p.m., at the Moore Free Library, 23 West St. This year, the ACWC provided scholarship funds to seven Windham County artists accepted into the two-day Vermont Arts Council (VAC) professional development workshop for artists, “Breaking into Business,” which was held in February. Windham County artisans Brad Dinwiddie, Antoinette Lane, Ellie Roden, Heather Bartels-Hallenbeck, Marilyn Buhlmann, Alyssa Morar, and Dianne...
The Friends of Brooks Memorial Library are currently accepting donations for the 10th annual Strolling of the Heifers Book Sale. This year, the sale will begin on Friday, June 3, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and runs through Saturday, June 4, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Remainders will have price reductions during the month of June. All books are reasonably priced to sell. This fundraising effort generates nearly $4,000, which is used to support library programs and events, ...
A weekend course on natural dyeing will be offered at Vermont Weaving School in Putney on June 4 and 5 Taught by Sara Goodman, this workshop is suitable for all fiber enthusiasts - knitters, spinners, weavers, and quilters. Learn the basics of natural dyeing in this two-day class, including fiber preparation, mordanting, immersion dyeing using concentrated natural dye extracts, and overdyeing with indigo will be covered. Students will make sample swatches of all the colors as well as dyed yarn...
Although much has been said about the efficiency of this year's legislative session, we should be judged by the substance of our accomplishments, rather than on the basis of procedural mechanics. All is well and good when the trains run like clockwork, but there isn't much point to getting on a train that arrives at the wrong place at the right time. Until this year, we had a sustained period in which the Legislature was under the control of one...
For nine years, our neighbor Frank has housed an emu he rescued from Santa's Land in Putney. Frank's emu is about 5 feet tall. In case you are unfamiliar with the emu, it's second to the ostrich in the largest existing flightless bird category. Not that I knew any of this until recently, as his emu lives in a stall on his property, and I'd never dared to stop there. One recent day, my husband Bill noticed something unfamiliar in...
In March, Entergy's Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant received a 20-year license extension from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); the NRC extension ends in 2032. Vermont's legislature, however, voted last year to shut down the plant in 2012, when its state certificate runs out. To keep the plant running, Entergy has sued the state of Vermont in federal court. There are many areas of contention in the Entergy lawsuit. One of the most important arguments is that Vermont is attempting...
The lineup for the 12th annual Roots on the River Music Festival is now set, and concertgoers will find this year's four-days of entertainment filled with old favorites and new faces alike. The festival of great roots music will be held June 9 through 12 at eight locations throughout Bellows Falls this year, with nearly two dozen performances scheduled, including headliner Fred Eaglesmith and his band, newcomer Todd Snider, and popular artist James McMurtry, returning for his third appearance. “Who...
It's amazing how much more efficient the Vermont Legislature can be when the governor and the lawmakers are both on the same page. Advocates of divided government maintain that having political power split between Democrats and Republicans means that bills don't get rushed into law, and that there is more time for discussion and deliberation. But the previous eight years of the Douglas administration took that idea to extremes. Republican Gov. Jim Douglas' veto pen scuttled many worthwhile initiatives, and...
Windham County is bucking some economic trends, but don't expect any accolades to appear on marketing materials anytime soon. Economic development consultant Mark Madsen of Vital Economy hopes to help turn Windham County's economy around. In 1992, Frank Knott founded the Maryland-based firm as a collaboration of independent economic development specialists who work with rural communities seeking to repair their respective economies. With $180,000 in seed money from FairPoint Communications, and another $50,000 to $75,000 expected for 2011, Vital Economy...
To applause from residents, representatives from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation (FPR) announced that they would recommend replacing the dam at the Sweet Pond State Park, rather than removing the structure and draining Guilford's only swimming hole. Tim Morton, FPR stewardship forester, told the audience at a Conservation Commission meeting last Thursday that, in light of the park's recreational opportunities, the pond's importance to the community, and minimal environmental impact, the local stewards were recommending to their...
What a bizarre world it is, in which a giant energy conglomerate from the region that gave us the Gulf of Mexico oil-spill disaster files a pleading with a federal court to deride Vermont for its allegedly secret desire to promote the safety of its citizens. But that is what it has come to, as the Louisiana-based owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant seeks an injunction in U.S. District Court to stop Vermont from shutting down the facility.
The roof of the new Brattleboro Food Co-op building may soon be the home of the town's first community-owned solar electricity system. According to Tom Simon, a local coordinator for Co-op Power of Southern Vermont, the consumer-owned energy cooperative has entered into an agreement with the Food Co-op to build a photovoltaic solar array that will generate 38 kilowatts of electricity. The cost of the project is estimated at $215,000. Simon said state and federal incentives will cover $65,000, leaving...
On a recent Friday afternoon, I was on my way from western Massachusetts to Manchester, N.H. to meet a flight of rescue dogs coming up from the south to be adopted. In anticipation of the many miles I had to put on my little SUV, I had recently purchased a set of tires. The next day, I was driving five of the 14 dogs to the Fingerlakes region of New York to another shelter. As I hopped onto Interstate 91,
If a proposed Windham County project to create hydroelectric operations on two existing federal flood control dams gains final approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), hydroelectric power development in southern Vermont may see a resurgence. After several years of meeting interim requirements, Plainfield-based Blue Heron Hydro LLC is now applying for its final federal license to install turbines at two dams – one in Townshend, and one on the West River at Bald Mountain in Jamaica. Blue Heron's...
Congratulations to you all on a terrific issue. One hundred issues is great cause for celebration. Here's to the next 100!
In the past weeks, with great sorrow and dismay, we have read editorial responses disagreeing with the settlement of the court case regarding the death of Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old girl from South Hadley, Mass. who committed suicide last year after enduring months of relentless bullying. As students of peace, justice, and environmental studies at Greenfield Community College, we are particularly sensitive to the challenges facing youth and families today. As our national community grieves for this loss of young...
After more than 35 years as a town manager around Vermont, Westminster Town Manager Sonia Alexander is retiring. Again. She thought she had retired for good in 2006, after nearly 30 years of service in Wilmington. She had actually “retired” once before in 1984, telling Wilmington that she wanted to take care of her children. But two years later, in 1986, the Selectboard there asked her to return. Her retirement in 2006 was even more short-lived. While on vacation in...
When Japan recently announced it will be starting from scratch - building no new nuclear reactors and replacing existing ones with renewable sources - it joined Germany and Denmark in leading the way to a healthy sustainable future. It is unfortunate that it took a catastrophic, preventable nuclear accident to result in this policy change, rather than reasoned forethought. Wind power could and most likely will replace the nukes in Japan as it could in the U.S., where wind potential...
Who says choral music has to be stuffy? On Sunday, May 22 at 4 p.m., the Brattleboro Concert Choir, directed by Susan Dedell and accompanied by a festival orchestra, will present Handel's Israel in Egypt on stage at Persons Auditorium at Marlboro College. Handel's choral masterpiece may be 250 years old, but Dedell likes to see it “as a baroque Phantom of the Opera.” She believes “if Handel was alive today, he could very well be writing hit Broadway musicals...
You printed my letter exposing Randy Holhut's whitewash of Tom Salmon's attempts to avoid a DUI charge last fall [“Story on Salmon was a whitewash,” Voices, March 10]. I “begged the question” about Salmon's integrity, or that of any candidate - an equal standard applies to all. But I referred specifically to Salmon's acts, and you deleted four words “on the record here,” thus diluting and confusing my meaning. Why are you so protective of Tom Salmon?
Saying that its interests are adequately represented by the defendants in the case, United States District Judge J. Garvan Murtha ruled Tuesday that the New England Coalition (NEC) may not intervene in the civil suit between Entergy and the state of Vermont. The antinuclear organization had petitioned the U.S. District Court last week to intervene as party defendants in support of the state in its defense against Entergy Corporation's legal bid to keep Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant open for...
Each year, I am startled by seeds that sprout and perennials that really do come up again. Somehow, spring always takes me by surprise, as if the long snowy winter had wiped out my memory of the songs of birds. But gradually, I become accustomed to the color green and the distinct possibility that both my garden and myself have survived another year. May is filled with a breathtaking promise of what is to come, but it has its own...