As one of its final projects, the Guilford 250th Anniversary Committee has issued a memento of Vermont's only year-long semiquincentennial celebration in the form of a 2-disc DVD set.
Michael Hanish of Guilford, who also shot some of the video footage, began editing shortly after the last event on New Year's Eve, and finished production earlier this month. The set, priced at $20, is on sale at the Guilford Town Office.
The 50 or so events, which took place throughout the 12 months of 2011, have been distilled into six hours of video. Sources included a dozen video short features edited by Evelyn McLean, several BCTV programs by Theresa Maggio, a short feature by videographer Heather Maulucci, and video taken by Richard Davis and Catherine Wilken.
The finale New Years Eve event was shot by Hanish and filmmaker Chuck Light.
Tag, bake sales scheduled in West Brattleboro WEST BRATTLEBORO - There will be tag and bake sales on Saturday, May 26, at the First Congregational Church, 880 Western Ave. The tag sale will take place downstairs. The food sale will be outside, weather permitting. Both sales run from 9...
More and more schools around Vermont are adding lights so sports teams can play at times when more people can come to the games. Bellows Falls Union High School has become the latest to join the ranks of the presenters of after-sundown athletics. Thanks to a bequest from Alvin...
Grafton Elementary School was one of three Vermont schools recognized for outstanding programs that prepare students for careers in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, or STEAM for short. The school was presented with the Vermont Software Developers' Alliance's (vtSDA) Bentley Awards, initiated in memory of 12-year-old Bentley Davis Seifer, the son of a founding vtSDA board member who had a knack for creating inventions out of found objects and a strong interest in science, engineering, art, and math.
After reading Susie Crowther's Viewpoint “Plan A” [Voices, April 25] about her upcoming move to Central America, it was difficult to figure out where to begin a response. She has certainly come up with a huge laundry list of things she dislikes about Vermont. When freezing rain hits, she “loses access to our road for [...] a month.” Huh? She sounds like many newcomers who never took the time to learn how to safely and effectively drive in our winter...
Regarding Olga Peters' May 9 article, “Brattleboro citizens decry dog shooting”: While I thought the article was well-balanced, she obviously misinterpreted very relevant areas of what I understood as a conversation. Please allow me to offer some clarification. My personal experience with interacting with local law enforcement has historically been quite positive. You do, understandably, often have to chase them down, but I've always appreciated the respectful, forthright dialogue when sitting face-to-face and discussing an issue. What has changed is...
An open letter to Gov. Peter Shumlin and the Vermont Legislature: At this 11th hour of Vermont's energy independence, public and legislative opinion are unaware that the merger of Central Vermont Public Service into Green Mountain Power is fundamentally different from any other, because Vermont's electricity (and natural gas) future will be controlled forever by a foreign government. Gouvernement du Québec (no official name in English) owns Green Mountain Power via its $159 billion Caisse de dépôt et placement du...
A memorial celebration of the children's stories of the late Rev. Shirley Harris Crockett will be held at the Guilford Community Church, United Church of Christ, on Saturday, May 26 at 7 p.m. The event will mark the publication of “I Invite the Children to Come Forward,” a collection of 325 children's stories gleaned from tapes of Sunday services during the 22-year-long ministries of Rev. Shirley Crockett and her husband Rev. Larrimore Crockett. Four Guilford Community Church storytellers will recite...
Well known singer-songwriter, lyricist, and guitarist Cindy Kallet, and her musical partner Grey Larsen, will appear in a house concert at 25 Chestnut Hill on Sunday, May 27, at 7 p.m. Kallet and Larsen are each known for their decades of music-making. They have been collaborating for the past seven years. Kallet sings, writes songs, and plays multiple instruments. Larson is an acclaimed player of the Irish flute and tin whistle, and plays the concertina, fiddle, piano, and harmonium, as...
At the risk of being ostracized by the region's dilettante trustafarians, and also, I fear, by Globalists worldwide, I am compelled to note the glaring flaw in the rationale underpinning the newly launched “Connect the Dots” Warmist initiative. “Connect the Dots” is not, as it sounds, an attempt to prove that the moon landing didn't happen. (Although it's certainly in that ballpark.) Rather, it is a desperate and misguided political tilt at reconstituting the (mercifully) rapidly evaporating global Warmist cult,
Obituaries • Richard Eugene “Dick” Barrett, 67, of Brattleboro. Died May 11 at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction. Former husband of Irene Bukowski and Lois Golec. Father of Tanya Barrett of Hinsdale, N.H., and Patty Ann Kirker of Florida. Stepfather of Shawn Golic of Windham, Maine. Brother of Russell Barrett, currently a resident at Harborside-Applewood Healthcare in Winchester, N.H, and the late Ubie and Freddie Barrett. Born in Keene, N.H., the son of the late Howard...
RE: “Domestic violence: Messy, painful, and ugly part of society” [The Commons, May 16]. This article is full of inaccurate statements. Domestic violence is not a leading cause of injury to women. It's not even in the top 10. Less than 10 percent of women experienced a domestic violence incident in the past year. Half of all domestic violence is mutual and, of the rest, half the perpetrators are men and half are women. Two-thirds of all reported cases of...
Organizers say that the second annual Strolling of the Heifers Slow Living Summit, which begins on May 30, builds upon last year's successful gathering by broadening the term “slow living.” Slow living is seen as a fresher version of the term “sustainable,” according to Martin Langeveld, the conference spokesperson. “The conference goes beyond just agriculture and climate change,” he said. “It's finding new models for how humans deal with each other and become more mindful of how we connect with...
How do we honor sacrifice? After the Civil War, Decoration Day was established to commemorate the fallen Union dead. Over time, it became Memorial Day to honor those who have died fighting in any of America's wars. Today, while we pay lip service to the original intent, it seems to have morphed into a three-day holiday weekend that marks the beginning of summer, automobile sales promotions, and adventures in outdoor eating. Perhaps this is emblematic of how we have evolved...
It was a beautiful Saturday morning for a run, and 1,700 girls from all over southern Vermont descended on Brattleboro Union High School to do just that in the 10th annual Girls on the Run 5K Run/Walk. Nancy Heydinger, executive director of Girls on the Run in Southern Vermont, said she was thrilled with the turnout on May 19. Last year's event drew about 1,500 participants, so Heydinger and her colleagues were overjoyed to host 1,700 participants and more than...
RE: “A good session for our lawmakers” [Editorial, May 16]: A “good session” if you call redistributing other people's money good.
A silent auction of prints by renowned animal illustrator Gladys Emerson Cook (1899-1976) is being held through May 29 to benefit the Windham County Humane Society. The auction is taking place at Zephyr Designs, 129 Main St., in Brattleboro. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Windham County Humane Society. The 1947 portfolio of eight 12-by-16 inch prints was donated by Kevin Maloney and Barry Adams of Brattleboro. They have been matted by Zephyr Designs, and include pastel portraits...
I applaud Peter Galbraith as he breaks the smug-barrier in the Vermont Legislature [“State senator resigns from committee over campaign finance bill,” The Commons, May 9]! It seems that doing nothing is the preferred path for our elected officials once they are safely elected. That is not representation. That is not effective government. That is not the way to meet the very real challenges facing Vermont today. I can only imagine Peter Galbraith's rising frustration with his fellow representatives as...
Sylvia Renfrew hasn't slept under her own roof in eight months thanks to the one-two punch of Tropical Storm Irene and the regulations around mobile homes. But new legislation aimed at protecting some of Vermont's most affordable housing should help Renfrew and her Glen Park neighbors move back home. “I was surprised at how many friends I did have,” said Renfrew of the support she has received over the last eight months. Renfrew, 79, who moved to Glen Park in...
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., hosted the 31st Annual Congressional Art Competition for high school students at The Gallery at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier on May 14. Caleb Wimble, who attends the Austine School for the Deaf was honored with the Congressman Welch's Choice award for his piece, “Cat and Dog (Grant Wood).” “I am so impressed by the talent and creativity of these young Vermont artists,” Welch said. “Their work continues Vermont's storied tradition of artistic...
The Vermont Crafts Council is celebrating its 20th Open Studio Weekend in Vermont when 259 artists and craftspeople throughout the state will open their studios to the public. Locally, 20 Windham County artisans from Londonderry to Readsboro will host visitors. The two-day event will be held on May 26 and 27 this Memorial Day weekend. Visitors can expect to get to know some colorful people as they make their way to artisans' workspaces. “All the craft-persons opening their galleries to...
Robert Putnam has written extensively about decline of social capital - the social relationships and civic engagement that are key elements of a vibrant democracy. His 1996 best-selling title Bowling Alone was a seminal book in the field. But Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, is turning his research toward the growing inequality-of-opportunity gap in the United States. He says there is “a catastrophic gap” when it comes to social mobility, and it is...
I've never had money, but I've always been conflicted about revolution because of art. The wealthy - nay, the super wealthy - are the patrons who buy the finest jewels and crafts and couture and paintings and sculpture. Without them, what art and craft would we have? Now, as it has ever been, the art world is awash in money. While I was in New York a few weeks ago, a famous Edvard Munch pastel-on-board work called The Scream sold...
Visitors and members of the Sustainable Valley Group (SVG) wander through the Transportation Center sampling local foods and reading about industrial hemp. The meeting represents a celebration of sorts. Windham County could soon receive additional state funds now that the legislative session has closed. Sen. Vincent Illuzzi, R-Essex/Orleans, and Pat Moulton Powden, deputy secretary for the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, peer into shotglass-sized paper cups. “Chocolate ice cream made from hemp?” asks Illuzzi. “I don't know. You go...
With 18 months to go before the Shumlin administration's deadline for universal broadband Internet access in Vermont, the Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) says it has achieved that goal for 95 percent of the state. According to a March 2012 analysis by the VTA, broadband service at a minimum download speed of 758 kilobytes per second (kbps) is available to 94.8 percent of locations in Vermont. This figure includes DSL service from phone companies, high-speed service from cable companies, and providers...
• Mountain Painters and Artisans: 11 artists. Oils, watercolors, quilting, folk art. Mountain Marketplace, Routes 100 and 11, Londonderry, 802-824-6555. From Chester, enter Londonderry on Route 11. Mountain Marketplace is at the junction of 100 and 11. From Route 100, drive south to Londonderry and turn right onto Route 11. Travel a quarter mile to Mountain Marketplace. • Rockingham Arts and Museum Project (RAMP): Ten artists and retail craft spaces. 7 Canal Street, #15, Bellows Falls, 802-463-3252. From Interstate 91,
Plans to put a combined Community College of Vermont (CCV) and Vermont Technical College (VTC) academic center downtown have taken a big step forward. Presidents of both institutions came to town to meet with Martha O'Connor, who is in charge of the search committee for finding a suitable site. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has made a big commitment toward putting a CCV/VTC campus in downtown Brattleboro. Shumlin convinced the Legislature to appropriate $1.5 million from the general fund and authorize...
As Tim Weiner describes it, the FBI's role in secret intelligence operations is “the most important, but the least known” aspect of the federal agency. Why might that be? “The reason is, it's secret,” says Weiner, a 1973 graduate of The Putney School, who will return to Windham County to speak about the dual roles of the FBI and sign books this Saturday night at a benefit for the Next Stage Arts Project. Weiner has made a career of covering...