At the recent joint board meeting of the Rockingham Selectboard and the Bellows Falls Village Trustees, the boards were reminded by Counsel Ray Massucco of board roles and responsibilities.
At the May 31 meeting, Massucco reminded board members of the provisions of the state's Open Meeting Law, pointing out that where three or more board members are gathered, no discussions are to be had concerning town or village business.
If this happens, it would violate the law, Massucco warned.
Massucco also reviewed the use of e-mail and Facebook. Any discussion among three board members, copying an e-mail to more than two board members, or commenting on Facebook when two other members have also commented is a violation of the Open Meeting Law and the Public Records Act, he said.
With now a little over six weeks behind him on the job, newly hired Municipal Manager Timothy Cullenen said he is “getting a good sense of what's important” to the people and community he now serves. “I see a lot of diversity [within Rockingham], with some disagreements on some...
Matt Clark, a Guilford student, was honored by the Vermont Land Trust for his exceptional commitment to land stewardship in agriculture. The award was presented to Clark on June 13, at his family's dairy farm in Guilford, by Joan Weir of the Vermont Land Trust. Clark is one of...
The Center for Creative Solutions, a partnership of Marlboro College and Michael Singer Studio, will host its second summer workshop, “The Retreat Farm: Sustainable Solutions,” sponsored by The Windham Foundation and held at the Marlboro College Graduate School from July 21-31. Vermont is a leader in the local, sustainable agriculture movement. Internationally known artist and designer Michael Singer is at the forefront of the integrated design movement, creating models for successful urban and ecological renewal. The Center for Creative Solutions...
Challenges for Change may be a “dirty word,” as House Speaker Shap Smith put it, but “performance-based” budgeting, also known as “outcomes-based” budgeting, a concept derived from the C4C process, isn't dead yet, even though the Challenges approach to budgeting was effectively abandoned by lawmakers in the last legislative session. Only a handful of provisions passed in the budget bill specifically referenced performance measures. Nevertheless, Smith recently told members of the Government Accountability Committee that their charge – to ensure...
Thanks to recent changes in state law, farmers selling unpasteurized milk can now know whether consumers plan to use the raw milk for purposes other than “fluid consumption.” To celebrate the revision, farmer-advocacy organization Rural Vermont and farmer Lisa Kaiman hosted a raw-milk dairy class and ice-cream social on June 8. “We can party until the cows come home, and that isn't until 5:00 in the morning,” said Kaiman to the dairy class participants. Shelby Girard, an organizer with Rural...
Open Mic will be held at the new Marina Restaurant this summer on Thursday nights from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The Marina is located on Putney Road. It was destroyed by fire last summer but has since been rebuilt. It is expected to re-open sometime in July. Kevin Parry has been hosting Open Mic in Brattleboro since 1991, most recently at Adagio, which was lost in the Brooks House fire in April. With the re-opening of the Marina Restaurant,
The Brattleboro community is once again invited to come and help make bowls to support the Brattleboro Drop In Center. As part of its preparations for the eighth annual Empty Bowls Dinner, a benefit for the Drop In Center, the Brattleboro Clayworks is hosting a Bowlerama on Saturday, June 25. Bowlerama offers an opportunity for those who have little or no experience in clay to create a bowl to donate to the dinner. Bonnie Stearns, Alan Steinberg, and Annie Lauterbach...
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. • Miner Crego, 90, of Townshend. Died June 13 at Grace Cottage Hospital. Husband of the late Frances Wilson Crego for 54 years. Father of Robert Crego, and his wife Jean, of Newfane; and Donna Crego, and her husband, John, of Guilderland, N.Y. Brother of Burton Crego of Baldwinsville, N.Y.; Virginia Johnson (Andrew), of Tallahassee,
I am resigning from the Hayes Court Conversion Project implementation team, without prejudice toward the project itself. The recent decision by the Brattleboro Housing Authority (BHA) to take down all of the buildings at Hayes Court in order to build the Enhanced Living Facility was announced to the residents before the implementation team had heard of it. It is a major change and will have a substantial impact. There are pluses and minuses, with the major upside, in my opinion,
BRATTLEBORO - The Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) held its 24th annual meeting on June 9 and elected five new board members to its expanded organization, as well as two new advisory members. WWHT serves both Windham and southern Windsor County out of its offices in Brattleboro and Springfield. “The addition of these members will help ensure representation for our entire service area,” said Connie Snow, executive director of WWHT. “We are so fortunate to have with us people...
For the 22nd annual edition of its Shakespeare in the Park series, the Vermont Theatre Company has selected one of the Bard's most popular plays, Much Ado About Nothing. Often described as having all the romance and humor of Romeo and Juliet with none of the tragedy, this comedy with be presented on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 23-26, on the Rotary Stage at Brattleboro's Living Memorial Park. All performances will start at 6 p.m. Jessica Callahan and Nick...
Earlier this month, a great many new ideas emerged from the Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro. But one theme dominated the three-day conference: the way that the United States currently organizes its economic activity is no longer sustainable and a new path is needed. With long-term unemployment and home foreclosures remaining at levels not seen since the 1930s, it's tough to argue that the economy has recovered from the collapse of the housing bubble of 2007-2008. Eight million jobs have...
In response to Joyce Marcel's June 1 column, let me tell you of Vail, Colo.'s major problem with “trash bears,” “hummingbird feeder bears,” and “birdfeeder-and-dog-bowl bears.” Several years ago, upset at the number of bears euthanized as repeat offenders - and run down on local roads - the Vail Town Council passed an ordinance requiring bear-proof trash containers for all residents using trash/garbage pick-up. Residents were further required stow the containers inside, except during the daylight hours of their pick-up...
On Saturday, June 25, the 18th-century settlement of Packer Corners will be the focus as the town of Guilford's yearlong 250th anniversary celebration continues with a summer series of Saturday “Neighborhood Days.” For six Saturdays into early August, the series will highlight the four villages of Guilford and two other neighborhoods. Each of these days will also include an extended activity: a walk to nearby points, sponsored by the town's Conservation Commission. This Saturday will have multiple purposes: to highlight...
The Vermont connection to the Boston Bruins' victory in the Stanley Cup final goes beyond the presence of University of Vermont alumnus Tim Thomas in goal. If we dare to be so presumptuous, Brattleboro can argue that this town played an important role in the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972. On Sept. 26 and 27, just before the team was to head to the Czech Republic to start the 2010-11 season, the Bruins came...
Track construction work has begun on the New England Central Railroad and, as a result, bus service will substituted for Amtrak's Vermonter passenger train between Springfield, Mass., and St. Albans this summer. The Vermont Agency of Transportation said that train service between those two points will be replaced by a special transit coach service operated by Premier Coach of Milton. Premier will transport rail passengers between Springfield and St. Albans, beginning June 17 and continuing through Sept. 15, while construction...
It could be a lot worse, but despite a rainier than normal spring, the growing season in Windham County appears to be on schedule. That's the assessment from Vern Grubinger, a vegetable and berry specialist for the University of Vermont Extension and coordinator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. “In many years, things equal out over the season with ups and downs, especially on diversified farms,” he said. Grubinger said that things have...
Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro is offering its cardholders passes to selected local area museums. “This service just seemed to be something we needed to do for Brattleboro, which is an arts and cultural community,” said Library Director Jerry Carbone. In addition, Carbone noted, the economic recession is forcing people to take stay-at-home vacations, and this service will help families' vacation dollars go further. Most museums offer passes that allow library cardholders either free or reduced admission through their doors.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is accusing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of voting in a secret meeting to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene on Entergy Corp.'s behalf in the company's court case against the state of Vermont. Commissioners appeared June 15 before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works as part of an oversight hearing to report on the NRC's safety review of U.S. reactors in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster...
Would you believe that 30 volunteers spent over 145 hours sorting books, setting up shelving, hauling boxes filled with books, and getting the books in order for the library's book sale? And would you believe that volunteers staffed cashiers' posts for two days, and worked 18 person-hours to take down the lion's share of the sale area and get the library back into shape for Monday's regular activities? That's exactly what it took, thanks to all the volunteers: Bill Baker,
Near a brook in West Brattleboro, on a quiet street, stand the nine apartment complexes and a community building that comprise Hayes Court. Owned by the Brattleboro Housing Authority (BHA) and occupied by 72 families, it is a small piece of heaven. On May 24, in a meeting called by the BHA, we were told that all nine buildings would be torn down to make room for an assisted-living complex and for a building with 37 apartments. We were also...
Arthur Davis Brattleboro Union High School We have just reached a milestone in life and have grand ideas about what life will be like from now on. Unfortunately, these ideas don't always pan out the way they do in our minds; our realities might not match the life we dream about. The truth is that we really cannot know exactly where we're going and what will happen next. But if there is one thing we can all do as we...
Last year, the Brattleboro Planning Commission hired a consultant to provide a coherent plan for land use in specific Brattleboro neighborhoods, including the village of West Brattleboro. By redesigning these neighborhoods and setting certain guidelines for the construction of new buildings, the town hopes to attract more businesses to the area. The proposals are based on a number of studies conducted by the consulting firm, Hawk Planning Resources, LLC, of Concord, N.H. The proposed changes are primarily focused on improving...
On this mid-June day, with an All-Star Little League game going on in the background, kids tumbled inside the inflatable bounce rooms set up on the basketball court. Smaller kids, under parental supervision, played in another area with swings, a roundabout, and teeter-totters. The sounds of more than 100 happy children echoed around the new town pool, where a community came together to provide a venue for activities for kids and adults alike. This past Saturday, June 18, was declared...
Fuel bid ROCKINGHAM-The town has awarded bids to HB Fuels for fuel oil, at $3.449 for 35,000 gallons, and to Cota and Cota for a little over 5,000 gallons of propane, at a capped price of $2.79 per gallon. Committee to examine downtown issues ROCKINGHAM- In the May 31 joint meeting, the Selectboard and the Village Trustees discussed quality-of-life issues of noise in downtown, and the problem of dog owners not cleaning up after their dogs defecate in public space,
The deadline is fast approaching for entering Write Action's sixth annual Poetry and Prose Writing Contest. This year's theme is “How did I end up here?” This question may be interpreted literally, figuratively, or any combination thereof. Entries in each category will be judged anonymously by a distinguished panel of published authors. The first-place winners in each category will be awarded a $50 gift certificate, while the second and third place winners receive respective $25 gift certificates to a Brattleboro...
Gov. Peter Shumlin received the second annual Timothy J. O'Connor Jr. Award last Friday from the Brattleboro Town Democratic Committee. At an ceremony that took place at the Quality Inn on Putney Road, O'Connor, a former state Speaker of the House and a longtime fixture in Democratic politics in Brattleboro, explained the origin of the award that bears his name. “Last year, when I received this award, I was told that former Gov. Howard Dean was coming to speak and...
Every day each of us has a little bit of luck. Some is bad, but most of it is good. Many people believe that luck is random. But by following a simple, well-known formula, I believe that we can all make our own luck. The formula is this: “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.” I was delighted to see that quote in the Leland and Gray student handbook, but apparently the company that produces that book needs better fact checkers.
It was the semester from hell. In my 20 years as an adjunct faculty member, I had taught in the Ivy League and at community colleges, in Brattleboro and Bangkok, in undergraduate and graduate schools. Never had I seen such extraordinarily bad behavior in my students. It began the first night of the graduate class, spring semester 2010, when the students attacked the syllabus for being too demanding (although it was premised on previous syllabi for the same course at...