Osama bin Laden is finally dead more than nine years after 9/11. Fantastically, it turns out that he was holed up for the past six years or so in a three-story reinforced house in an elite suburb a few hours outside the Pakistani capital, with an entourage of almost 30, including his many wives and kids.
Obviously, for this to have been so, there must have been scandalous, probably criminal complicity of many interested parties, including his influential Saudi family, elements of the U.S., Pakistani, and Afghanistan governments and military, and players in the corporate and international monetary system, to say nothing of large segments of the local population who consider us to be invaders and the main cause of their woes.
Here are some questions that need to be answered, but probably won't be.
Where did the money come from to finance his relatively luxurious way of life? Who was the builder of his stronghold? Who was the architect? How was the money transferred to pay for the ongoing, substantial upkeep?...
At a public forum on Arts in the Schools, held on May 4 at the Academy School, a broad cross-section of Brattleboro residents spoke eloquently about the importance of the arts in education, in community, and in the maintenance of a healthy society. As the No Child Left Behind...
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. • Frances Helen “Fran” Cooke, 88, of Brattleboro. Died May 16 at Pine Heights Nursing Home. Wife of the late Francis G. Sanborn and...
Now that the battle over Vermont Yankee has moved into the courts, only the terms and the tactics have changed. Vermont Yankee still wants to produce 620 megawatts of low-cost, low-carbon, reliable, jobs-rich electricity. Having successfully stonewalled Vermont Yankee's legitimate effort to gain a state Certificate of Public Good (CPG), the state of Vermont will have to defend its anti-power, anti-jobs action in federal court. Not surprisingly, the state is seeking “more time” in a transparent attempt to force a...
The Vermont State Track and Field Championships will take place next Saturday, and the Brattleboro and Bellows Falls track teams are busy getting ready for them. The two teams participated in the Connecticut Valley Conference Championships in Windsor on May 14. Brattleboro's girls placed ninth out of 15 teams, while the boys were fifth out of 15. The BF girls came in 12th, while the boys finished in 11th. Brattleboro's Jacob Ellis had personal bests in all four of his...
After a year-long publicity campaign, numerous personal conversations, a desperate public appeal to rebuild the department, and the creation of an entry-level exterior firefighter course, the Grafton Fire Department recently welcomed 10 new members to its ranks. These 10 new firefighters have completed 40 hours of training over a 12-week period that combined classroom teaching with hands-on instruction. Topics included fire behavior, wildland fires, hose operation and care, hydrants, ropes, communications, ladders, traffic control, and personal safety. Initially, the trainees...
As Brattleboro celebrates the Strolling of the Heifers, farmers in Fukushima, who might like to participate in such a lighthearted affair, face terrible choices. While Japan's nuclear catastrophe unfolds, farmers are forced to choose between abandoning their farms and animals or risking their own health and safety. Some return to care for their starving animals. They milk their cows knowing that no one will ever drink the milk, because the thought of abandoning their animals is unconscionable. This once-rich farmland...
My good God! Right next to a constantly traveled service road between wind turbines at the Green Mountain Power (GMP) Searsburg wind turbine site, there is a huge turbine blade section, about 75 feet in length, and weighing several hundred pounds, suspended high up in a tree it crashed into more than two years ago when one of the turbines had a catastrophic failure and blew apart. Another piece is dangling head high from another tree. And yet other large...
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) was the recent recipient of a grant from C & S Wholesale Grocers. This grant was designed to assist in covering health care costs for those patients with inadequate or no insurance, and whose income is at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines for their family size. In Vermont, 53 percent of underinsured people and 68 percent of uninsured people, when sick, go without needed health care. Fourteen percent of Vermonters between...
More light. That is at heart the reason the public records bill, H. 73, was passed this year, though it's not just “defrosting the windshield,” as State Archivist Gregory Sanford puts it, so that citizens can see “the wheels [of government] go round and round.” H. 73 revises and amplifies earlier “government transparency” legislation that, post-Watergate, provided definitions and process around public records. The benefit? Proponents say citizens are more likely to trust their government when the system is more...
It's more than the pool. That's what Rockingham recreation officials have discovered since the newly refurbished pool and 3,000-square-foot recreation facility opened last August at the Bellows Falls playground. “Our recreation program has expanded incredibly because of this new building,” said Rockingham Recreation Department Director Brad Weeks. “We have been able to offer activities all fall, winter, and spring that we never had before. About 20 kids come up here every day after school to take advantage of the site.”
Whitingham and Wilmington voters have heard the details about two scenarios for consolidating the education provided to children in the two towns, as well as the support of educational leaders who say that joining forces will improve students' opportunities and save money. They also heard the details of a third scenario: doing nothing. The Wilmington and Whitingham school boards, and the three school principals, last week presented scenarios for a consolidated pre-K through grade 12 school system at two public...
Brattleboro Area Habitat for Humanity is seeking a partner family for an affordable home to be constructed in Dummerston on Rice Farm Road near the Green Iron Bridge over the West River. The home will be one-story with three bedrooms and the possibility of a fourth bedroom in the basement area. Deadline for applications is Friday, June 24. Application forms are available in Brattleboro at Brooks Memorial Library, Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, Brattleboro Housing Authority, and Youth Services. Applications...
The producers of Vermont Public Television's Headline Vermont won an Emmy at the 34th annual Boston/New England awards held May 14 in Boston. Headline Vermont chronicles the passion of Vermonters for newspapers from the frontier era into the 21st century. In discussing the importance of community newspapers, it features the work of The Commons. The Emmy for Historical/Cultural Program/Special went to Daniel Lyons, producer; Enzo Di Maio, executive producer; and Nate Huffman, videographer/editor. Lyons is a resident of Brattleboro. A...
The Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategy (SeVEDS) group sees three priorities for Windham County's economic future - reduce the region's population loss, increase the region's average wage, and increase the regional gross domestic product. All are worthy goals. Unfortunately, too many of the new jobs in Windham County are not paying a living wage. That simple fact leads to population flight, which leads to more economic troubles. Economic development consultant Mark Madsen has said that, while Windham County has a...
On Saturday, 40 dentists from around Vermont offered their services freely to those who needed them most. What's become known as Free Adult Dental Care Day has grown each year since its inception in 2008, and this year's event was the biggest yet. “It's about giving back,” said Dr. Robert S. Ruhl, of Wilmington, one of the founders of the event. He said that the day was created as a way of reaching out to the community and caring for...
If you need a break from all things bovine during the Strolling of the Heifers weekend, Brattleboro-West Arts (BWA) has the show for you. Fifteen BWA artists will be exhibiting and selling artwork at a group show called “Got Art?” It will be held from June 3-5 at the Gallery at Headroom Stages, upstairs at 17 Elliot St. These artists will exhibit work that includes fabric arts, furniture, paintings, pottery, sculptures, and works on paper. The artists collectively decided on...
Area residents interested in attending portions of the upcoming Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro may attend plenary sessions for a suggested contribution of $10, or they may avail themselves of special one-day-only rates. The conference, organized by Strolling of the Heifers in partnership with Marlboro College Graduate School and World Learning, will bring together a wide variety of speakers and panelists on sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and building local economies. Speakers and presenters include well-known figures from these fields, including Bill...
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful residents of Bellows Falls who signed my petition and cast their ballot my way for Village Trustee in the election on May 17. Although I ran unopposed, it matters to me to see that folks want clarity in their local government, and want Bellows Falls to be the place they call home. In addition, I want to let residents know that, as a gesture of good faith in...
The only surprise at the annual Village Meeting last week was that both the bond votes passed. Voters approved a $10.5 million bond for renovations to the Bellows Falls Middle School, 639-574. In the other vote, for the Rockingham Free Public Library, a $2,957,000 bond for renovations was also approved, 689-511. The library's event sign on the sidewalk in front of the library after last Tuesday's election read simply, “Renovations thank you.” Library Director Celina Houlne's years-long efforts were answered...
A small town of four streets and 600 residents tucked away in a corner of southern Vermont is adding another good reason to make it a destination for visitors. In an effort to create a sustainable, viable community for all its residents, and to provide yet another reason to visit Grafton, 12 local artists have joined to form the Grafton Valley Arts Guild (GVAG). For the past year, longtime blacksmith Adam Howard has worked out of the Grafton Forge, a...
Provide better information to those not regularly interested in government goings on; much clearer, easier access to candidates (bullet points on them); issue clarification; better, clearer info as to importance of issues. Apathy is like a disease; you have to know you've got it before you can correct or treat it. Apathy shields the non-voter from the importance of voting. * * * Extend the hours! * * * More easy-to-understand information about what will be on the ballot in...
The Brooks House fire directly cost the town $23,000, said Town Manager Barbara Sondag. The five-alarm fire on April 17 rendered the downtown 1871 building uninhabitable, displacing 60 residents and 10 businesses. Overtime gobbled up most of the $23,000, said Sondag. The fire caused multiple town employees to work longer hours - from the firefighters working to contain the fire, to employees who helped keep Brooks House open during the week the town took over the structure while residents and...
The new Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade project is entering its construction phase, a representative from Hoyle Tanner and Associates, Inc. informed the Selectboard at its May 17 meeting. Eugene Forbes, senior vice-president with Hoyle Tanner, told the Selectboard that after a winter of filling out permits, the project shifted into full gear in April. “We've made a good start so far,” said Forbes. The Selectboard also approved a budget of $40,000 for independent testing of the building's foundation and surrounding...
The Selectboard has authorized Town Manager Barbara Sondag and Town Attorney Robert Fisher to enter into a host agreement with the Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD). The agreement would credit the Brattleboro 8 percent of the town's assessment it owes to the district. Sondag said the credit would be considered a “payment in lieu of taxes.” Fisher, of Fisher & Fisher, explained that the 8 percent equals $11,624, or about the amount the town would have received from WSWMD...
Brattleboro's mandatory recycling ordinance is now being enforced. According to Moss Kahler, one of the Recycling Coordinators, on May 19 he would start traveling the trash collection route with Triple T Trucking and “sticker” 20 trash bags that show to contain recyclables. Cindy Sterling also shares the Recycling Coordinator post. Kahler said he would place a sticker on the trash bags explaining why they couldn't be hauled away. He would also leave a letter explaining the enforcement procedure, and recycling...
Before the flush toilet came into general use, most homes had an outhouse, which was a small shed. Usually, it was separated from the house, but sometimes it was attached as an ell, a configuration much appreciated in the winter, since there was no heating system. The outhouse had a plank seat with two large holes and one small hole for children. Underneath was a deep pit in the dirt to contain the waste. Often, on the seat, lay a...
Residents living in the valley along Westminster West Road may have thought they were “singled out for the Rapture,” as one local resident put it, when a localized thunderstorm dropped 4.25 inches of rain in an hour on Friday night, causing flash flooding along Hartley Hill, Hitchcock, and Bemis Hill roads. Hardest hit was Bemis Hill Road, which was completely washed out along its length. “We just finished getting a one-lane road open on Bemis Hill Road after Friday's deluge...