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Your support powers every story we tell. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
As a boy growing up in a Jewish neighborhood in Teheran, Iran, Esagh Shaoul could not have imagined that his love of music would open doors for him around the world and lead him, eventually, to a tranquil life in Vermont.
He will share those experiences and the violin music he played with pick-up groups in Afghanistan, Japan, Singapore, Ivory Coast, and Hong Kong at an evening of Iranian food and culture on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Main Street Arts (MSA).
Shaoul and pianist Jon Liechty will present a concert of European and Persian music at 7:15 p.m., preceded by an Iranian meal at 6 p.m. Tickets for dinner and the concert are $20, or $15 for the concert only, with dessert and coffee. Dinner reservations are required by Sept. 20 and can be made by contacting MSA at 802-869-2960.
Shaoul said Persian music is “hard to explain to Western musicians” because it is the opposite of Western music. The scales are different and improvisation is the key. Shaoul found this out the hard way when he was drawn to apply to the Juilliard School by his yearning for a return to music during his engineering studies at Columbia University.
Once again, the Connecticut River Water Council (CRWC) is trying its best to make Vermont Yankee the bad guy. This group, which according to its annual report is supported financially by an anti-Vermont Yankee charitable foundation, says Vermont Yankee's heated water discharge may be hurting the Connecticut River shad...
I spent a chunk of my day recently recounting ballots in a disputed Vermont primary election for governor, the culmination of an interesting conflict in the Progressive Party primary in which the party chairperson and designated candidate listed on the ballot (Martha Abbott), initially won by a single vote...
Obituaries • Dorothy Sibberns Davis, 98, of Treasure Island, Fla., formerly of Brattleboro. Died Sept. 11 in her home at The Allegro after a short illness. Wife of the late Ralph Latimer Davis. Mother of Guy Neilsen Davis. She was a graduate of Holy Name Hospital School of Nursing in Teaneck, N.J. During World War ll, she served as a registered nurse for the American Red Cross in Pittsfield, Mass. After the war, she and her husband moved to Brattleboro,
Pettee Memorial Library presents “Susan B. Anthony – The Invincible!” at Memorial Hall on West Main Street in Wilmington on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 3 p.m. Sally Matson has been touring the country as the feisty activist in this one-woman show for nine years. “People need to know about this woman who fought for abolition, women's rights, and woman suffrage,” explained Matson. “Anthony's influence still resonates in our society; women and minorities continue to fight for equity.” A graduate of...
Next Stage Arts Project presents world-renowned slam poet, educator, and performance artist Taylor Mali on Friday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m., in a performance to benefit the community nonprofit Next Stage Arts. Mali is one of the most well known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement. A dynamic poet, performance artist and author, Mali is described by the New York Times as “a ranting comic showman and literary provocateur.” A middle school teacher for nine years prior...
“Corporations are people, my friend,” said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney last year while campaigning in Iowa. That legal principle, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, has allowed corporations to enjoy the same rights as human beings, even though they clearly are not flesh-and-blood entities. That legal principle has come into play in Entergy's latest federal lawsuit against the state of Vermont. Entergy claims that Vermont violated the U.S. Constitution when the Legislature passed an increase to the state's nuclear...
The Vermont Theatre Company announces another of their popular mystery dinner theatre productions, this year a Las Vegas wedding and murder, Viva Las Vegas, to be presented at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center on Sept. 21 and 22. It's rocking Las Vegas and it appears that love has won out in the battle of wills between the spoiled Virgen White (Tracy Therieau) and her controlling and brilliant father and Pearly Gates Gamboling Emporium owner, Blackjack White. E.Z. Ryder...
Saxtons River to hold meeting on park SAXTONS RIVER – With the final piece of the park real estate now in place, the Saxtons River village trustees will hold a meeting Thursday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m., at Christ's Church on Main Street to plan the next steps forward in its goal to create a park in the village's center. Sandri Realty Inc. of Greenfield, Mass. recently turned over the small parcel to the village, which already owns the lower...
The unprecedented heat waves, droughts, and wildfires that have afflicted so much of the country this summer, along with recent scientific findings about global warming and climate change (GWCC), indicate strongly that we are in a new ball game. It's not just that we're way beyond reasonable denial at this point, it's also that what we're dealing with is no longer simply an ominous threat for future generations, for our children and grandchildren. To the contrary, what's becoming quite obvious...
I heard one man in the airport security line ask in a stage whisper why it was that one passenger was allowed so much extra luggage. “I don't know,” his traveling companion replied. “Maybe she thinks that she is special.” Their faces showed upset and anger. I decided to confront them to lighten their mood. “I'm moving to China for a year, so I had to break the rules to accommodate all that was coming with me,” I said with...
For the last two years, the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont's annual Wine Tasting & Silent Auction has sold out. To accommodate more people, event organizers and sponsors decided to change the format of the fifth Annual event, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 22, to two guided tastings for 40 people at each. Another change this year is the participation of the new business, Brattleboro Cheese, which will not only host the fifth annual event at its shop and cafe at...
The Brattleboro-based circus troupe Nimble Arts is creating a new show for national touring, and Bellows Falls will get a preview when the troupe performs at the Bellows Falls Opera House on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. The troupe, founded by twins Elsie Smith and Serenity Smith Forchion, features internationally known performers whose resumes include Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloize, Ringling Bros., and the Big Apple Circus. In early 2012, after returning from a whirlwind tour, the sisters decided...
Windham Child Care Association announced recently that this year's Early Childhood Educator of the Year Award was given to Lizzy Sheehan, lead teacher at Early Education Services Canal Street Head Start program. The award was presented at the River Valley Kids Fair on Sept. 15 on the Brattleboro Common. Sheehan said that she has always enjoyed being around children. Having faced her own difficulties in school, she became very sensitive to the struggles many children were having in the classroom.
Food is getting scarcer, while the number of people who need food is growing, and the impact of Tropical Storm Irene added to the 86,000 Vermonters served last year by the Vermont Food Bank. This was the consensus opinion at a roundtable discussion hosted by Our Place Drop In Center on the Island last week. The tension between the shortage of food and the growing need is felt not just in Vermont, but nationally. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
Renovations at the Bellows Falls Middle School are nearly complete, but the project will take at least through January to finish, according to Windham Northeast Supervisory Union Superintendent Chris Kibbe. The first day of school on Sept. 17 found the students “excited” and “happy,” according to the teachers interviewed. Last-minute project delays postponed the first day of school at BFMS from Aug. 28 to this week. “I've never seen so many kids happy to be back at school,” Afterschool Programs...
There is a reason why Vermont Public Radio will hold its annual listener appreciation picnic in Brattleboro this year. According to VPR President and CEO Robin Turneau, the Sept. 29 event is designed to coincide with the official sign-on for WVBA-FM 88.9, a new VPR frequency that will serve southeast Vermont. “We are so excited to be on the brink of serving Windham County with a full-power signal,” said Turneau. “And, by the end of October, our translator signal in...
The West Brattleboro Green looks smaller from the roof of a Vermont Fire Academy trailer. Brattleboro Fire Department firefighter Dan Hiner adjusts his gear and air pack. The air pack looks like a landlubber's version of a scuba tank. He has a flashlight in his pocket, just in case. Hiner lifts a hatch in the roof revealing a three-rung metal ladder and a wooden floor. “After you,” he says. I climb down into the semi-darkness scooting into the tunnel on...
The Brattleboro Development and Credit Corp. and the Springfield Regional Development Corp. are collaborating on an application for a small business Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery. The intent of the grant would be to provide direct funding assistance to area businesses that are still feeling the impact of Tropical Storm Irene. At the urging of state officials, the two southeastern Vermont Regional Development Corporations (RDC) are working with affected companies to understand their remaining unmet financial needs. The...
As steam billowed from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant's cooling towers against a blue afternoon sky, anti-nuclear protesters gathered on the water in a colorful assortment of boats and along an outcropping of rocks higher on the shore. On the minds of those participating last Saturday was Entergy, VY's owner, and its use of the Connecticut River to cool its reactor. The company discharges the resulting heated water into the river. Opponents say this higher temperature water poses a...
One hundred and fifty guests gathered on Saturday evening for the Lawton Hall 100th Anniversary celebration at the Brattleboro Retreat. The sold-out event offered attendees the opportunity to learn more about the Retreat's programs for mental illness and addiction, while supporting the launch of the 178-year old hospital's Endowment Fund. From this event, the Retreat raised more than $80,000 to be directed to its newly-established endowment. The gala, hosted by Brattleboro Retreat trustee Bette Abrams, began with hors d'oeuvres on...
Saturday, Sept. 22 • Peter and the Wolf (UConn Puppet Arts Program, Storrs, Conn.). 3 p.m.; Latchis Theatre main stage, Brattleboro; $11. • D-Generation (Sandglass Theater, Putney). 8 p.m.; NEYT, Brattleboro; $16 (students/seniors, $14). Sunday, Sept. 23 • Peter and the Wolf (UConn Puppet Arts Program, Storrs, Conn.). 3 p.m.; Bellows Falls Opera House, Bellows Falls; $11. • Of Bread and Paper (Company of Strangers, Putney). 5:30 p.m.; BMAC, Brattleboro; $11. • D-Generation (Sandglass Theater, Putney). 8 p.m.; NEYT, Brattleboro;
The team overseeing the project to restore the Brooks House is looking to win a $750,000 grant through the federal slums and blight (S/B) program, said Tom Appel, project team member. “This is more than just re-doing a building,” said Tom Appel, project team member. “There's not a person involved [with the project] who doesn't feel this is a responsibility to the community.” Although construction workers stabilized the building after the April 2011 fire, the building requires about $16 million...
The Bellows Falls field hockey team has gotten its season off to a good start last week with three straight wins. It's the first time in the school's history that the Terriers have started a field hockey season with a 3-0 record. Their season began last Monday with a 1-0 win in overtime at home against the Woodstock Wasps. On paper, it would have been no surprise if the Terriers had lost big. The Wasps had a 5-0 win over...
On Saturday, Sept. 29, Putney Cares hosts the 14th annual Intergenerational Walk for Healthy Aging. Participants can choose a 1- or 3-mile loop, or simply join the walk until they are done. Registration starts at 9:45 a.m.; the walk begins at 10 a.m. No registration fee is required, but donations are requested. Pledge forms are available by email from putneycares@svcable.net. They look forward to participation from students in the Putney Student Corps and are thankful for local business support of...
On Tuesday, Sept. 25, the League of Women Voters will join thousands of volunteers from more than 100 organizations in a nationwide field effort to register voters where they are - on their way to work, on campus, in the community, out shopping, in nursing homes, and online. By doing so, we're helping to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to register and participate in this year's election. The deadline to register to vote in Vermont is Oct. 31.
The Friends of the Moore Free Library Book Sale will be held Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Union Hall on Route 30. An annual Newfane tradition, this book sale is a major fundraiser for the library. It offers some 5,000 books on every subject from fiction and nonfiction, to biography, children's books, and picture books. All are priced to sell. In the latest issue of...
At this year's Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival, the performers may be coming from around the world, but Eric Bass believes the festival is really about local community. Bass - who with his wife Ines Zeller Bass co-founded Sandglass Theater in Putney, which is producing the event - said, “This festival would be absolutely impossible without the Vermont people.” The festival depends on major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Clowes Fund, Inc., Marlboro College and...
Live entertainment, health and wellness activities, fitness demonstrations, dance, music, prizes, and giveaways will be featured at the Wellness in Windham Health Festival on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the front lawn of the Brattleboro Retreat. This first-ever event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Brattleboro Retreat, and Grace Cottage Hospital. The festival includes demonstrations of Zumba, hula-hooping, Tai Chi, yoga, chair exercises, Sukyo Mahikari, and...
The second annual Deerfield Valley Food Pantry's Benefit Motorcycle Ride was a huge success. Aug. 25 was a beautiful day for a bike ride, the 110-plus mile route we rode was scenic, the number of bikes participating in this year's ride quadrupled from last year, and we raised $2,200. On behalf of the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry Board of Directors, special thanks goes to Valley View Saloon for sponsoring the event and t-shirts, Valley Tees for their t-shirt sponsorship, Hannah...
