Carol and I have been friends since we were barely past voting age, when we shared a country bungalow and would drive up the road six mornings a week to our jobs exercising racehorses on a neighboring farm.
Now we live miles apart. When we connect on the phone, it's a free-range conversation. We talk about politics, religion, horses, books, our work, our fears, and our dreams.
Recently we were talking about flirting, and Carol said, “If you don't go swimming, you won't drown.”
She borrowed this line from a groom she'd known on the racetrack.
As the 2012 election campaign starts rising on the horizon, expect more of the blame-the-victim propaganda being churning out to cover up the corporate attack on democracy. Across the country now, this propaganda campaign blames everyone from Occupy Wall Street protesters to government policy for our economic distress. In...
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. • Marion E. Bird, 84, of Jacksonville. Died Dec. 6 at Poet's Seat Nursing Home in Greenfield, Mass. Wife of the late Justin Carrier...
Gourmet coffee was a relatively exotic thing in Brattleboro in the fall of 1991. Pierre Capy and Ellen Tucker set out to change that when they transformed Joe DeAngelis' shoe repair shop in the basement of 82 Main St. into a coffee house. In honor of the previous tenant, the couple named it Mocha Joe's. On Dec. 2, the coffee house celebrated its 20th anniversary by rolling coffee prices back to 1991 levels, giving customers slices of birthday cake (with...
Chet Godfrey has lived in the area for four years. He is a single parent to 14-year-old twins, Stephen and Garret. “Everything is much better now, but I had some health problems,” says Godfrey. “For quite a while, I didn't even have a car.” “I thought maybe having a Big Brother would be good for my kids because I couldn't get out much,” he says. Godfrey acknowledges that he was hesitant at first. “I felt like I was trying to...
The legal dispute over a proposed skatepark in the Crowell Lot on Western Avenue has now gone to mediation. In July, the Brattleboro Development Review Board (DRB) approved a plan by the Brattleboro Skatepark Committee to build a 12,000-square-foot skatepark. On Sept. 12, Barry Adams, who lives near the Crowell Lot and is a member of the Save Our Playground Coalition (SOPC), appealed the decision to the Vermont Environmental Court. He is concerned about what he calls “the destruction of...
In the past few weeks, editorials, letters, and articles have been written about the Greater Falls Warming Shelter. Most have been supportive of the shelter and hopeful of the outcome of the zoning board decision. As most of you know, that decision was passed down and was a tie. Because of this vote, the GFWS will not be opening at this time. After this decision, more letters, editorials, and articles appeared in our local papers, most critical of the board's...
When you first come upon the Occupy London Stock Exchange encampment at the top of Fleet Street, you see two white tents, both larger than any in the tent city. The white Information Tent and the white Tent City University stand in the field of closely packed blue, teal, green, beige, brown, and orange single-person tents that roll out in front of you like colored snow moguls. The big, white, and inviting Info Tent is the place you go to...
West Brattleboro Association hosts holiday party on Dec. 15 WEST BRATTLEBORO - The West Brattleboro Association will hold its annual holiday party on Thursday, Dec. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the New England House on Marlboro Road. Free hors d'oeuvres will be provided. This year will see the presentation of the first West Brattleboro Community Leader of the Year award. Additionally, the activities of the Association during 2011 will be briefly reported on. You do not have to...
The Rockingham Zoning Board of Adjustment should be ashamed of itself. Because of the pettiness and mean-spiritedness that is part and parcel of politics in Bellows Falls and Rockingham, a necessary service for those in need is still not open this winter. This would have been the shelter's third year and the second year at Westminster Street, beneath Athens Pizza, a few doors down from the Riverview housing complex. There were few complaints about the shelter last winter. This year,
Regardless of how more traditional bibliophiles might feel about it, downloadable electronic books have become a major part of print publication. Kindles and Nooks are more popular than ever, and many people find a downloaded copy of a new or favorite book more convenient than carrying around a printed hardcover or paperback. According to the Association of American Publishers, e-books in 2010 accounted for 6.4 percent of all book purchases. The shifting landscape of bookselling naturally affects Windham County authors...
Re: “Artists! Stop giving away your work!” [Voices, Dec. 7]. Right on, Kate Anderson. I've been saying this for years, and it's not just about the arts. Other professionals are asked to volunteer their skills on a regular basis. And, as you say, with so much volunteering going on, how can those who have to make a living pay their bills? I have nothing against volunteers helping out, but when someone is asked to volunteer to do what they do...
Since the Occupy Wall Street movement took hold in New York City's Zuccotti Park nearly three months ago, many people have asked this question: What will the protesters do come winter? Anthony Gilbert, originally from Ann Arbor, Mich., has stood steady at the center of the Occupy movement in Brattleboro. Gilbert, 37, who set up his tent on the Brattleboro Common Oct. 7, has stayed despite early requests of local police and town officials to leave the property. He thinks...
Several lawmakers are floating proposals to ban a technique for extracting natural gas through hydrofracking in Vermont. In a curious sequence, Sen. Peter Galbraith, D-Windham, issued a press release announcing he would introduce legislation that would ban the practice in the state; then Representatives Tony Klein, D-East Montpelier, and Peter Peltz, D-Woodbury, submitted proposed legislation that would amend state law to disallow the Agency of Natural Resources from issuing a permit for the practice. So what is all the fracking...
Windham County Reads and Windham Child Care Association have announced that, after thorough deliberation by both organizations, WCCA will assume ownership of the county-wide WCR Bookmobile Program in early 2012. Windham County Reads piloted this library and literacy outreach program in the summer of 1998 and then raised $75,000 for a custom-built bookmobile, which went on the road in June 1999. For the past 12 years, the Bookmobile has been serving children at child-care homes and centers, families at housing...
Sarah London, an assistant attorney general in the Public Protection Division in the office of State Attorney General William Sorrell, who has focused on consumer protection and antitrust efforts, will become Gov. Peter Shumlin's legal counsel. London replaces former Counsel Beth Robinson, who resigned to take a seat on the Vermont Supreme Court. Shumlin called London “an exceptional lawyer who understands the legislative process, has great judgment, and will be a pleasure to work with.” As legal counsel, London will...
Holidays are lethal. The undue stress of celebrating holidays wrecks the health of our little golden biosphere. Since the turn of the 20th century, when southern soft drink brands started using Santa Claus as an advertising ploy to increase soda sales in the northern winter markets, the lethal nature of holidays has been tearing earth's resources asunder. Oscar Wilde said, “Give me the luxuries, anyone can have the necessaries.” Even Oscar Wilde would agree today that consumer-carnage holidays are a...
RE: “Bellows Falls winter shelter without a home,” Dec. 7. What's most telling is that the three members of the zoning board agreed that the claimed impact on traffic should be a real concern. That's claimed impact: • on the main road through downtown. • that is already below normal traffic levels because the bridge from downtown to New Hampshire is closed, and will be for a few years. • on additional traffic consisting of perhaps one or two vehicles...
As far as I can tell, democracy is designed to offer two basic protections from government tyranny: 1. Protection of the person, including personal liberty. 2. Protection of private property. If that's the case, then why has the Senate just “democratically” approved (93-7) Senate Bill S1867, the National Defense Authorization Act? The House has already passed its version of the bill, and a secret joint committee will now finalize the wording before sending a mutually agreed upon version back through...
Tropical Storm Irene left an indelible signature scrawled on our landscape. The costs are still being tallied, but we do know the flood changed how we see the future. Vermont Public Radio presents “The Irene Effect” on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at noon and 7 p.m. The program will be rebroadcast on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m., and Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 9 a.m. This hour-long special tells the personal stories of Vermonters still dealing daily with displacement and uncertainty...
The three biggest problems last season for the Brattleboro Colonels boys' hockey team were taking too many penalties, giving up easy goals late in periods, and a lack of scoring. Those problems cropped up again on opening night Saturday against the St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers at Withington Rink. The Colonels almost overcame them, but ended up losing, 3-2. Brattleboro committed only four penalties, but only killed off two of St. Johnsbury's four power plays. The other two resulted in goals. “That...
The road to Dover was paved with good intentions, but just a little too late. The Dover Road in South Newfane, heavily damaged in late August by the wildly flooded Rock River during Tropical Storm Irene, had been partially repaired and was due for guardrail installation. Although one graphic designer circulated a petition urging guardrails not to be installed as part of the road reconstruction from Tropical Storm Irene, the funding for the project requires them to conform to federal...
A nonprofit organization from Keene N.H., 100 Nights, will open an overnight warming shelter in Bellows Falls, founder Don Primrose said. Where that shelter will be located is still up in the air. Seeking a temporary permit for the shelter, Primrose said that he is just responding to a need following the permit denial of the Greater Falls Overnight Warming Shelter last month, based on a tie vote of the zoning board [The Commons, Dec. 7]. Hoping for a temporary...
For December, the Bellows Falls Third Friday (BF3F) on Dec. 16 will feature food, music, and other fun. The annual Bellows Falls Holiday Farmers Market at the historic Bellows Falls Train Depot will feature 15 local farmers and artisans. The market will feature an abundance of the region's best in local produce, meats, cheeses, farm-to-plate prepared food, breads, baked goodies, handmade wreathes, soaps, and crafts. The market runs from 5 to 7 p.m. and will feature live, family-friendly music and...
Sunlight glints off polished windows on a bright, but cold, Saturday afternoon. A second-story deck overlooks Sacketts Brook. A fresh coat of red paint reflects the movement of pedestrians crossing Route 5 to Kimball Hill Road. An early winter wind catches a red, white, and blue flag unveiling the long-awaited word. Open. A crowd gathers before a strip of yellow ribbon. On Nov. 1, 2009, many in Saturday's crowd stood on the same spot, behind another yellow ribbon - police...
The rigors of Tropical Storm Irene translated into a popular free-breakfast program at Leland & Gray middle- and high school in Townshend, paid for by more than $16,000 in contributions from nearly 60 donors from all over the country, including schools, organizations, and individuals. The breakfasts began in September and will continue through January. While Townshend was, relatively, spared the worst of the destructive storm, some teachers, students and staff from surrounding towns, including Brookline, Dover, Jamaica, Marlboro, Newfane, Stratton...
Whither goest Occupy Wall Street? From the beginning, we knew, didn't we? The Occupy movement was not the end game. It didn't matter. What we were thinking, feeling, getting enraged about, getting depressed about, was finally being said, in many ways: “We are the 99 percent, and we intend to be in your face, speaking truth to power.” It was said in the open, for all to hear, debate, be argued with, acted upon, even if those actions were symbolic.
There comes a time in every artist's life when assessments need to be made, and directions chosen and changed. Chicago-born dynamo Clara Rose Thornton, whose work has appeared in numerous regional publications, is moving on to greener pastures: New York City. Thornton, who bills herself as a film, wine, and visual arts critic, music journalist, and editor, is pulling out all the stops this weekend and in a grand thank-you gesture, is producing the Rose Harvest Midwinter Festival. The two-day...
A group of 11 artists from the Newfane area have joined forces to offer a holiday shop at Catherine Dianich Gallery in Brattleboro. On display and on sale are works by Kim Hartman Colligan, Ellen Darrow, Dan DeWalt, Richard Foye, Caryn King, Lauri Richardson, Georgie, Roger Sandes, Deidre Scherer, Christine Triebert, and Mary Welsh. Colligan, of Newfane, creates prints that “involve creating a surface that becomes an environment.” “As each piece evolves I begin making references to nature in some...
The Selectboard has asked to see a municipal budget with a 1 percent tax increase for the 2013 fiscal year. The board, which has worked on the 2013 budget over three meetings, has yet to finalize any changes. Once approved by the board, the budget travels to Representative Town Meeting for final debates, and votes by the Town Meeting members. The fiscal year 2013 budget-in-progress does not, yet, reflect any tax rate hikes. On Dec. 5, the board instructed municipal...
Tropical Storm Irene strengthened Mike Chudzik's resolve this year. Chudzik, owner of the Wireless Zone franchise branch on Putney Road, has hosted a fund drive for three local charities for the past three Decembers. It's about three charities, two weeks, with one goal of raising funds and provisions, he said. Chudzik is helping to raise food, donations, and provisions for Project Feed the Thousands, the Marine Corps League's Toys for Kids, and the Windham County Humane Society. The event launched...