It might surprise local residents to know that a loophole in local and state law allows even large-scale dog breeders to easily evade inspection and oversight.
A “backyard breeder” can have an overwhelming number of dogs in their home, and the state is powerless to inspect the premises for neglect and abuse, unless a search warrant is secured, as happened last summer in Bakersfield, where 59 labs were removed from a neglectful breeder after years of complaints.
A bill under consideration in the Vermont state legislature, S.142, aims to close that loophole by providing clear definitions for breeders so facilities that repeatedly breed dogs can be licensed and inspected to ensure that animals are not being neglected or abused.
I see firsthand the problems with the “personal use” language in the current pet merchant statute. Here in Windham County, we have pet owners who are convinced they can make money selling puppies and can easily evade oversight by claiming the “personal use” language.
Wilmington's dreams for a better community will take the form of a report by April. The next phase of the Long-Term Community Recovery (LTCR) process began last week when the town and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recovery specialists submitted a list of 29 proposed projects for internal FEMA...
In recognition of the work done by the American Red Cross in communities across Vermont, New Hampshire's Upper Valley, the country, and around the globe, March has been designated Red Cross Month. Thanks to support from individuals, organizations and businesses across Vermont and the Upper Valley, the American Red...
We don't want Entergy to be producing nuclear power and storing nuclear waste in Vermont: this is the view of many Vermonters (myself included). However, our ability to impact the decision whether Vermont Yankee is going to continue operating appears subject to serious restrictions. Our federalist system of government in the United States results in a division of authority between the federal government and the states. While some decisions are controlled locally, other matters are controlled by Washington D.C., where...
The Governor's Institutes of Vermont invites all Vermont youth to apply to attend one of seven summer institutes and prepare for college through what the institutes describe as “exhilarating and inspiring academic challenges.” GIV summer institutes are hands-on learning opportunities for Vermont students in grades 9 through 11, which let talented young scholars immerse themselves in educational and artistic ventures and connect with professionals who encourage their passion and curiosity for learning. Interested high-schoolers can select an institute that focuses...
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. • Toni Lynn Bittner, 57, of Westminster. Died March 2 at her home. Partner of Rick Stetson. Mother of Alan Grout Jr. and his wife, Pia, of Keene, N.H. Sister of Martin Bittner and his partner, Shelly Pacheco, of Brattleboro; Alan Bittner of Feeding Hills, Mass.; Deborah Howe and her husband, Christopher, of Keene; Cindy...
A rebuttal of Jeffrey Lewis's piece in the Feb. 29 edition: First of all, I dislike the framing of opposition to Vermont Yankee as a “war.” It's well documented that many for-profit corporations in general, and Entergy in particular, oftentimes lie, litigate, and lobby (the three Ls) to privatize profits and socialize costs. Environmental safety, public health, and other concerns are secondary. Lewis's assertion that “Vermonters are not against nuclear power” is false for all the Vermonters who would like...
It is a tale of terror in a place of intolerable repression. It is a country where people keep secrets, live in fear, trust no one. In this place, women are forced to undergo monthly pelvic exams in their workplaces to ensure that pregnancies are carried to term. High school girls cannot graduate without similar medical invasion. Miscarriages are investigated. Women die of illegal abortions. Children are abandoned to orphanages where they languish, maladapted and malformed for lack of affection.
Thank you for publishing my letter “How can we get the federal government to behave differently?” [Letters, Feb. 15], but the heading is a mismatch to my intention. Instead “How can we lead change” might have been better. Across the globe, the call of the protests should be focused on one simple command: public banking. That means that we, the people, must claim the right to dictate what credit is created for what purposes. Sanders, Welch, Leahy, and Shumlin must...
How does one make a living, stay creative, and have a career in the arts? What effect does commercial success have on artistic growth? What are the assets and challenges of working as an artist in Windham County? These are some of the questions to be explored at the fourth public artist potluck and forum to be hosted by Brattleboro-West Arts, the Arts Council of Windham County, and the Rockingham Arts and Museum Project (RAMP). The forum will take place...
Guilford church presents Sugar-on-Snow supper on March 17 GUILFORD - A spring tradition, the Sugar-on-Snow supper at Guilford Community Church, will return on Saturday, March 17. Ham, baked beans, deviled eggs, potato salad, cole slaw, freshly baked rolls, sugar on snow, homemade doughnuts, pickles, and a beverage (coffee, tea, or milk) are on the menu. Maple syrup will be raffled during the supper at each sitting. All proceeds benefit the church, which actively supports more than 15 local programs that...
I urge all Vermonters to ask their state senators and representatives to push the Death With Dignity Bill out of committee and let the full Legislature debate the issue. The bills, H.274 and S.103, follow the precedent set by passage over 10 years ago of the law in Oregon. This is not a religious issue, or one about slippery slopes or euthanasia. It will not disadvantage the disabled or the elderly. It's simply about choice. It's about allowing an individual...
After 10 years at the helm as CEO of Members 1st Credit Union, Judith “Judy” Wisell has decided to retire. Succeeding Wisell is Richard “Rick” Chapin. Under Wisell's leadership. the credit union has more than doubled its assets, from $5 million to $11 million. Membership also doubled during Wisell's years as the CEO and is now at 2,118 members. In 2007, she managed the construction of an addition to the credit union's office on Browne Court, and added a second...
Union Institute & University (UI&U), a private, non-profit university in Brattleboro, will host an Experience Day on Saturday, March 17, from 9 a.m. to noon, at its Academic Center on Old Guilford Road in Brattleboro. The event will feature an overview of the B.A. Weekend program by enrollment counselor Lindsay Guido. Guests will also have the opportunity to sit in on various faculty seminars to observe and experience being a student at Union. Optional information sessions on adult student concerns,
The Brattleboro Colonels boys' basketball team got knocked out of the Division I playoffs last Tuesday, but not without a fight. It took two overtimes for Mount Mansfield to subdue the Colonels, 64-54, in an absolute thriller at the University of Vermont's Patrick Gymnasium that produced eight lead changes and nine ties. The drama began with someone who wasn't supposed be in the line-up. Mount Mansfield guard T.J. Wesson badly sprained his ankle in practice the day before, and despite...
Nuclear engineer and former industry senior vice president Arnie Gundersen said he used to think people needed nuclear power. Only a few companies like Entergy we couldn't trust, he said at a Vermont Yankee forum held Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of the nuclear meltdown in Japan. The nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, however, pushed Gundersen from okay to no way. “We are not smart enough to anticipate what Mother Nature can throw at us,” he said.
A prolific area musician with a wide range of styles and a constellation of creative interests and a following in the United States and overseas, Erin McKeown will perform at the Next Stage Arts Project on Saturday, March 17 in a concert that will raise funds for the nascent arts venue. “Erin's music is very eclectic,” says Julian McBrowne, a Brattleboro sound engineer who has served on the nonprofit's board and now serves as Next Stage's program manager. “It exists...
I recently received a phone call from a registered nurse hired by my health insurer, hoping to enroll me in Blue HealthSolutions, a “series of health programs available to members at every stage of life.” This woman had a warm, Southern accent; she wanted to tell me how I could use her and her colleagues to manage my chronic health problems, about which she seemed to know quite a bit. Thanks to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of...
The town recently found itself in a bit of hot water when it was notified by the state Department of Economic, Housing, and Community Development that it did not follow the department's grant guidelines regarding a downtown sidewalk renovation project. While the amount of money in question - $23,750 - is a small piece of the municipal budget, Town Manager Barbara Sondag said the town is taking the matter seriously and is dealing with the problem as quickly as possible.
As a concerned taxpayer in Rockingham, I am writing in response to “Contract negotiations not about devaluing education” [Letters, March 7], which contained erroneous and biased information surrounding the current Windham Northeast Supervisory Union (WNESU) teacher contract difficulties. To make matters worse, it was signed “WNESU Negotiating Committee, Bellows Falls,” and yet none of the authors was even present for the last meeting of the Negotiating Committee for the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union. The authors of the letter compared a...
The death of Brattleboro Area Drop In Center executive director Melinda Bussino on March 4 prompted an outpouring of tributes from all over the state. She earned every one of those accolades, and then some. The work that she did on behalf of those in need was immense, and she will be a tough person to replace. But for all the praise and kind words after her death, the community, to a certain extent, took Bussino's efforts for granted. In...
The Brattleboro Rotary Club is seeking candidates for a Group Study Exchange (GSE) program to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean which will take place from Sept. 21 to Oct. 20. The application deadline is March 23. Sponsored by Rotary International's Rotary Foundation, the GSE program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for businesspeople and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who have been employed in their profession for at least two years. The GSE team...
After a couple years of nonexistence, the Town Finance Committee has regrouped and developed recommendations for the annual Representative Town Meeting. This move represents a new direction for the committee, said committee member Spoon Agave. According to Agave, previous finance committees would scrutinize the town budget line by line and make suggestions. The current committee is new, he said. The finance committee had dwindled away in past years because, as Agave understands it, members grew fatigued with constantly making recommendations...
Rockingham, Grafton, and Athens voters went to the polls last week with budgetary items topping the list of hotly debated articles. Rockingham was said to be “paying the piper” after level funding budgets over the last few years. Grafton found a way to lower the town's costs for repair and cleanup - drastically - following Tropical Storm Irene, and Athens decided to disband a library committee, buy the Athens Elementary school, and become a member of the National Insurance Program...
According to one of its organizers, Jacob Stradling, The No Film Film Festival (NFFF) is not a fully reflective name for the event. “Actually, it is both a contest and a film festival,” he says. Unlike traditional film festivals, contestants at the NFFF do more than present their work and perhaps even win a “best film” award, although they can do that, too. Participants literally make their films during the festival - or rather, they make their “no films,” since...
Uncertainty surrounds the future operation of Entergy's Vermont Yankee power station. One thing is certain, however: Windham County's fragile economy will face economic upheaval after the plant closes. The Post-VY Task Force made that point as it released a 13-page report on Monday, detailing the results of a year-long research and development process viewing the county's economic fate after the nuclear power plant ends its service. The report's writers admit that no one knows when the nuclear plant in Vernon...
On Saturday, March 17, supporters of Vermont Yankee will rally from 5 to 6:30 p.m. outside the front gate of the nuclear plant. “We need to show Vermont that a lot of people are happy that the plant will continue to operate, and the workers are appreciated,” said co-organizer Meredith Angwin, director of the Energy Education Project of the Ethan Allen Institute. “We will be there to support Vermont Yankee and nuclear energy.” Howard Shaffer, co-ordinator of the Vermont Pilot...
As we pass the first anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi tragedy and we approach March 21 - the expiration date of the original 40-year license of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission - the nuclear debate in Windham County and environs will generate some additional heat. Would that we could harness that for Vermont's energy future. In paid advertising in local media (including this newspaper), Entergy itself is noting both milestones in an ad...