Now that the Development Review Board (DRB) has approved the site plan for a proposed 12,000-square-foot concrete skate park, what is the next step for BASIC (Brattleboro Area Skatepark Is Coming), the nonprofit group that has the prime mover for the project?
On July 18, the DRB approved the skate park proposal. It is slated to be built at the Crowell Lot, a town playground on Western Avenue.
BASIC president David Longsmith said that the big obstacle to building the park remains fundraising. Construction costs are estimated at nearly $300,000.
“We have over $40,000 pledged and donated to date, and are awaiting word on our application to the Tony Hawk Foundation for a $25,000 grant,” said Longsmith.
WVEW 107.7 FM, Brattleboro Community Radio, is moving closer to getting back on the air. The studio of the low-power FM station was badly damaged in the April 17 fire at the Brooks House, and aside from an Internet-only stream on its website, the station has been off the...
I hope my fellow citizens are taking close note of how the actions of the state Legislature and Gov. Peter Shumlin regarding Vermont's energy policy are harming the state's economic future. Shumlin openly opposes nuclear power, Entergy Corp., and other out-of-state corporations who operate in the state. Yet, in...
The United Way of Windham County (UWWC) recently established new Community Impact investment priorities. These priorities will guide the investment of all of its resources, such as staff/volunteer time, convening, data analysis, in-kind donations, and financial resources in partnership with Windham County's nonprofit community. “These newly-established investment priorities are the culmination of hundreds of hours of volunteer effort,” said Executive Director Carmen Derby. “Moving forward, all local United Way investment decisions will now be based on these goals, or target...
While Gov. Peter Shumlin has told reporters it is too early to say whether he will run in 2012 for a second term, his most recent campaign finance report is an indication that he is well on his way to raising the money he'll need to fend off any contenders - from the right or the left. With no declared Progressive or Republican candidates in the race, Shumlin, as the incumbent, is miles ahead politically, and his July 15 filings...
This is the point of the summer where the youth baseball programs play for state titles. From Little League to Legion, the local teams have been in the thick of it over the past couple of weeks, but sadly, all came up short. Legion playoffs • Brattleboro Post 5 got off to a rough start in the Vermont American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday with a 7-2 loss to S.D. Ireland, a Chittenden County-based team. While Post 5 got 12...
On July 28, out-of-staters and members of the Brattleboro community alike will gather at the Boyd Family Farm in Wilmington to celebrate the fourth annual Deerfield Valley Blueberry Festival. The festival was founded by Janet Boyd to celebrate Vermont farmers and agriculture. “We have a very community-minded population that appreciates their agricultural roots,” she said. “We all recognize what the local farms contribute to the local economy, entertainment, and food supply.” For a wide variety of local organizations, the festival...
In a small town, neighbors look after neighbors. That's why the Arts Council of Windham County will hold two raffles through Aug. 5 to benefit the United Way of Windham County's Brooks House Fund. Proceeds will go toward finding accommodations for the former tenants of the Brooks House who were displaced after the April 17 fire. “The community has responded pretty well,” said Greg Worden, owner of Vermont Artisan Design, which is displaying the raffle items at its galley on...
The last thing grieving family members want to think about is how much the funeral for a deceased loved one is going to cost, but the price point is hard to ignore. In most parts of the country, a traditional funeral requires a serious outlay – about $7,755 on average (minus the cemetery plot, flowers, monument marker and obituary), according to the National Funeral Directors Association. In Vermont, the average price tag is $4,330, according to a recent survey by...
The picture postcard of Vermont: a vibrant state offering a high quality of life. Residents guard this image and attempt to maintain its status quo in a fast-moving period in history. In Windham County, however, the lush, vibrant postcard has faded for those struggling economically. The county's workers earn less money compared to their peers in Keene, N.H., or Northampton, Mass., or in the rest of Vermont. Windham County breadwinners with a bachelor's degree take home about $6,000 less than...
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 H. Boomer, 84, of Newport, formerly of Bellows Falls. Died July 16. Wife of the late Donald W. Boomer for 60 years. Mother of Donald Boomer and his wife, Wanda, of Irasburg; Deborah Lowe and her husband Richard Lobdell of Chester; and Diane Laware and her companion Chris Gramling of Sharon. Predeceased by...
Have you walked along a river or stream bank recently and found discarded cans and plastic bottles, fast food containers or other trash spoiling a beautiful natural place? If so, the Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) wants to know. The conservation group is asking all watershed residents to report trash sites in need of cleaning up by logging onto their website at www.ctriver.org. There you can also sign up for the annual Source to Sea Cleanup on Saturday, Oct. 1,
On Wednesday, July 27, Tyler Excavating of Vernon begins replacement of a section of sidewalk on South Main Street. The sidewalk being replaced is between Reed Street and Left Bank Way and should take approximately three weeks to complete. Work will begin daily at 7 a.m. and continue through the day. Motorists can expect one-way traffic at times with short backups. Finding an alternative route would speed up your commute and help the contractor. Pedestrians should take care around equipment...
What charitable organization could afford to have a loss of 27 percent in its fundraising? In 2010, the United Way of Windham County raised $500,000 through community fundraising. Of that amount, Vermont Yankee employees, through personal contributions and a corporate match, provided $136,000, which was 27 percent of the entire amount generated by the campaign that year. How many local companies or businesses would be able to assist in the recovery of funds that would be lost if Vermont Yankee...
July is the very definition of “high summer,” that time of year when the green is just at its lush peak, the veeries are in full song, and life is wonderful. We have had lots of very hot weather and lots of rain. Tomatoes are happy. Beans are ecstatic. Garlic is in heaven. I love garlic. In years long past I grew it, but now my garden patch is small, my ambitions lean more toward the kitchen, and my home...
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is once again offering a six-week free (for Vermont residents) Healthier Living Workshops designed to help people with long-term health challenges maintain active and fulfilling lives. Occurring on consecutive Tuesdays, starting on Aug. 16 and continuing through Tuesday, Sept. 20, the Healthier Living Workshop will take place in the Brew Barry Conference Center (room 1) at BMH, 6-8:30 p.m. To register, e-mail wcornwell@bmhvt.org or call 802-251-8459. A course textbook and CD will be provided. These workshops are...
While it appears that Vermont has won the first round of its legal battle with Entergy Nuclear, the state still has a long way to go. On July 18, U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha refused to grant a preliminary injunction to Entergy that would permit its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon to keep operating beyond the scheduled expiration of its original 40-year operating license in March 2012. The NRC granted a 20-year license extension in March.
You see them in backyards, their hoods propped open. Sometimes you'll catch one sitting in a field up on blocks surrounded by high grass, sunning its rusty body. When you least expect it, you'll find one in the woods, its axles sunk into the forest floor, the bed that once held cinder blocks or lumber filled with dead leaves. There's a smell of used motor oil and rain. You look at the odometer and wonder where the truck has been...
The Windham Regional Commission (WRC) has received $1 million from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to start up a revolving loan fund for brownfield clean-up activities. The EPA defines a brownfield as property with the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant, complicating the expansion or redevelopment of the site.The WRC also received $400,000 for brownfield assessment work. This money is part of a $2 million EPA grant to the state to help advance the...
The Brattleboro Music Center has elected new trustees and officers and announced staff appointments. At the Board's annual meeting in June, a new slate of officers and five new trustees were elected. Incoming board president Tom Cain said, “the BMC has been fortunate to reap the benefits of a wonderful combination of continuity and an infusion of new members of the BMC community. Many faculty members have been with the BMC for more than 20 years. This combination of skills,
Entergy Corporation's board of directors voted Monday to approve the refueling of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The refueling, which will cost $92 million, including labor, maintenance, and fuel, is set to begin in October. A third of the fuel rods, or about 116 assemblies, must be replaced every 18 months. Spent fuel rods are stored at the plant. The refueling this fall will be conducted during a planned outage, and about 1,000 additional workers will be brought in from...
As the complaints about the new downtown traffic light system grow, the town is taking note and trying do something about it. At a special meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard on July 19, it was announced that the Brattleboro Police Department will begin enforcement this week of the “no right on red” law, with particular attention to the junction of Main Street, Canal Street, and Routes 119 and 142, otherwise known as “Malfunction Junction.” Police Chief Eugene Wrinn said that...
The Center for Health and Learning announces the launch of a new youth-suicide prevention, interactive website. The site is designed to reach Vermont youth, promote help-seeking behavior and build resiliency around the state and the country. The UMatter You Can Get Help website provides information and resources for youth to identify the critical warning signs of depression and suicide, and what to do if a youth or their friend is having suicidal thoughts and information on what to do to...
I logged into Facebook recently, and I observed that a friend had “Liked” a page for an organization that I had spent a few years working with. I automatically went to the page and clicked “Like” as well, without paying much attention. Within a few minutes, a mutual friend had also clicked the button. I then congratulated the organization for making the public-relations move of putting up the page and asked who was in charge of it. A short time...
Townshend auctioneer H.K. “Kit” Martin tells an illustrative story about his kitchen table, and the famously cantankerous Elden Mills who made it. Mills, a Windham furniture maker, wanted Martin to auction off the table, and he set the price at $700. “I told him I'd never get that much, but that's what he wanted,” Martin said. “I tried, and didn't get it, so I put the table in my kitchen.” A few years later, Martin asked Mills, “How long do...
Nearly 50 people, including lawmakers and local activists, gathered on Saturday to protest the recent draining of Sweet Pond by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR). Selectboard member Anne Rider said that she wanted to publicly thank the Save Sweet Pond organization, which organized the gathering, and its steering committee head, Linda Hecker, for working against the removal of the pond at the Sweet Pond State Park. “This has been a pond for 300 years, and it's...
The sky was still dark when a parade of pigs trotted out of the woods and stomped into our barnyard. There were about 30 of them - sows, boars, shoats, gilts, and a few piglets - all squealing and bellowing. The two horses and two mini-donkeys left their feed tubs and craned their necks out of their stall doors, heads raised, eyes wide, nostrils flared. I walked outside and stepped into the crowd. The pigs stopped clamoring. An old sow...
It's a rabbit. No? A wabbit, maybe? No. It's a Labbit. And for a year, that Labbit may be living dangerously, lounging about the kitchen, in the blog, Year of the Labbit, dedicated, according to its transplanted Canadian author, to one photograph a day. And vegetarian food recipes. In that order. Having never heard of a Labbit, the blog, or the blogger before my editor sent me the link with the subject line: “This is just so freakin' bizarre,” I...