President Obama, congratulations on your victory!
Since the 2009 depths of financial crisis devastation, your stimulus programs have produced modest-but-steady U.S. job growth, while Eurozone-adopted austerity-only measures - foolishly favored by many U.S. Conservatives - have faltered. Please keep it up!
Furthermore, would you please ignore the foolish, false, self-interested recommendations by banking interests to the effect that Social Security should be cut or privatized? It should be neither of those things.
Not only does Social Security provide an indispensable and irreplaceable living for so many of us who cannot work, it is also a form of stimulus since the program provides only for minimal needs and invariably is all spent each month.
RE: “Bellows Falls Trustees urged: hold homeowners 'accountable'” [News, Nov. 21]: True pride requires freedom in order to thrive. Here we're seeing “health and safety” used as an excuse to try to regulate the aesthetics of our neighbors' homes. So “a strong police presence” is to be used to...
This is the moment to plead secession, both against the Vermont Yankee menace and the F-35 (or “Bernie Bomber”), which carries targetable nuclear bombs that could create a self-sustaining thermonuclear chain reaction, turning its proposed base into Burlington-shima. I believe the best home base is in Kazakhstan: east of...
Recent studies find that between 50 percent and 70 percent of American workers feel disengaged and disconnected in their workplaces. Why? Betsy Myers is the founding director of Bentley University's Center for Women and Business, in Waltham, Mass. She also served as the chief operating officer for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and worked in the Clinton White House as deputy assistant to the president. Now, she's working with Fortune 500 companies to help them become stronger and more profitable...
June 2013 will mark five years that the Home Depot on Putney Road in Brattleboro and its acres of parking lot have been vacant. The government made a mistake by allowing prime farmland to be destroyed for this purpose. It's time to correct the mistake. There are two good options, either of which will require the government to buy the building. One is to remove the building and parking lot and return the area to farmland. The government could sell...
“We learn in moments of enjoyment,” are the words of Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, who founded the first Toastmasters club at the YMCA in Santa Ana, Calif., 88 years ago. Dr. Smedley, then-YMCA director, created the club in October 1924 for young men to practice their after-dinner speeches in a social environment. Today, nearly 300,000 men and women are improving their communication and leadership skills for a wide range of purposes and audiences using the values and model that Dr.
Obituaries • Ernest E. “Ernie” Benway, 86, of Chester. Died Nov. 17 at Springfield Hospital, following a recent illness. Husband of Bertha W. (Wheatley) Benway for 63 years. Father of Judi Mills and her husband, Norm, of Hinsdale, N.H.; Cindy Kehoe and her husband, Bob, of Windham; Jeff Benway of Goffstown, N.H.; and Stuart Benway and his wife, Jeanette, of Mount Kisco, N.Y. Brother of Ronald Benway and his wife, Corinne, of South Burlington, and the late Shirley Racine and...
Thank you, President Obama. Your accomplishments in health care have been huge. With federal agreement, Vermonters want to go even further. Your opponent wanted to decimate the new law and to reduce Medicaid as well. That's moving backward. Society and the states simply cannot handle that. The stimulus was huge around here; the busy highway repair activity felt especially good. Dodd-Frank finance improvements, an easily implemented change in “don't ask, don't tell,” fair pay for women, student loan attention and...
Equally at home on the concert stage as she is at a folk festival, Grammy-award winning Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster will perform her holiday-themed concert, “Christmas in Cape Breton,” on Thursday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m., at the Bellows Falls Opera House. MacMaster will be accompanied for several holiday songs by 40 members of the Kurn Hattin Homes Children's Choir. Concert producer Jay Craven of Kingdom County Productions selected Kurn Hattin's choir to perform with MacMaster, whose North American...
Festival of wreaths and greens for sale at All Souls BRATTLEBORO - The annual Holiday Bazaar at the All Souls Unitarian-Universalist Church will once again offer their unique artisan wreaths and greens on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Beautiful holiday handmade swags, wreaths, table arrangements made from locally cut fresh greens and natural wonders to decorate the largest and smallest of spaces will be available for sale. Berries, cones and other natural contributions adorn the wreaths to make...
I've been seeing a lot of traffic on my Facebook feed about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, all of which consists of a series of constant, strident, endless calls to take one side or the other. I keep wanting to respond, to discuss, and to find some common ground, but I can't do it effectively inside the “if you're not with us, you're against us” paradigm. I've always rejected that paradigm, for one simple reason: If people are being killed, or having...
Landen Elliott-Knaggs, 21, of Dummerston, and Tammy Richards, 38, of Williamsville, were the men's and women's overall winners at the 2012 Brattleboro Turkey Trot 3-miler. Last Thursday's race drew a record field of more than 300 runners, including the one-mile kids' race. The unseasonably mild November weather certainly helped swell the entry list; there were 237 runners last year. Elliott-Knaggs finished in 16 minutes, 1 second, 32 seconds ahead of runner-up Jared Oubre, 27, of Allston, Mass. Tomas Bok, 44,
I attended the Nov. 13 Bellows Falls Trustees meeting and was struck dumb by the behavior of Rockingham/Bellows Falls Town Manager Tim Cullenen. As a town manager, one must expect that there will be folks whom you do not like or you find difficult to deal with in your role, but as a supposed professional and a servant of the public, it is your duty to treat those people appropriately. Cullenen's behavior toward Jim Mitchell was totally unacceptable, rude, mean,
I am a nurse at the Brattleboro Retreat working on the State Hospital unit, newly opened this past year due to the demise of the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury as a result of Tropical Storm Irene. The patients that now come to us on the State Hospital unit, officially known as the Adult Intensive Unit, or AIU, often come with a history of spending much of their lives in institutional settings due to severe, ongoing mental illness. These patients...
Reaching for a new low, Rob Simpson, CEO and president of the Brattleboro Retreat, has taken the heinous and vindictive act of removing security personnel from the patient units. We now have security personnel to guard our cars and buildings at the Retreat, but they are no longer in the patient areas to help maintain safety for patients and staff. With increases both in the number of patients and the severity of their conditions, the direct care staff have made...
Shayne Michael Baker, who passed away Sept. 29, touched many hearts in so many different ways. He left many fond memories with all of us. I was lucky enough to spend so much time with him that some others didn't get to experience. Between his weird noises, beautiful smile, outgoing personality, and great singing voice, he will never be forgotten. His adventurous side was never-ending. He would want to go on bike rides, jump on trampolines, and dive in the...
Thank you to all who supported me in my reelection, and I look forward to representing everyone in the Windham-Bennington district. As we approach the new biennium in January, we face three major challenges: • Irene long-term recovery. Following our initial handling of the crisis, that gave us good reason to be proud as Vermonters, we need to continue working with FEMA for the funding that we in good faith have planned upon. • Economic development with livable-wage jobs. We...
Local fathers and those who love them have a new resource on the Web for all things Daddy, in the form of a blog on local businesses, restaurants, childcare and family-friendly events in the greater Brattleboro area. Or maybe that's five new resources: the winners of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital's new DaddyViews blog contest, five fathers representing a range and depth of experiences now share space at DaddyViews.com, with the bloggers committed to posting several times a week for at least...
Valley Cares will hold its first-ever art auction to benefit the expansion of West River Valley Assisted Living. All those interested in local artisan creations – or supporting the creation of senior housing – should not miss this event. The auction will take place on Sunday, Dec. 9 at West River Valley Assisted Living on Route 35. There will be a silent auction from 3-5 p.m., followed by a live auction from 5-6 p.m. Dr. Timothy Shafer will be the...
In Vermont, a key element to a successful village center is having a place where the community can gather. In many towns, that place is usually a general store - a place to get coffee, a newspaper, and any last-minute ingredients for dinner, along with a helping of town gossip. And Sweetie's Deli and Market, the town's only store, about a mile south of the town's center on Route 9, closed in September, leaving Marlboro without its only market and...
The Vermont Jazz Center Big Band hosts its 10th annual Big Band Gala and Dance on Friday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m. To mark this milestone, the VJC Big Band will perform with the legendary saxophonist Houston Person, and vocalists Rebecca Holtz and Mark Anagnostopulos. The VJC is at 74 Cotton Mill Hill, Brattleboro. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $28 for reserved tables, and include a dessert buffet. Person is renowned for his long tenure with the great...
On Sunday, Dec. 9, at 5 p.m., the Brattleboro Music Center invites everyone to come and enjoy the evening at a special holiday celebration. Festivities include live and silent auctions for your holiday gift giving, serious hors d'oeuvres for the gourmand, and seasonal libations for general refreshment. Proceeds benefit student financial aid and other BMC outreach and education programs. Hillside Organic Catering is providing a selection of delicious hors d'oeuvres and grilled items made with local organic ingredients. You'll find...
The Town Office, located in one of three buildings that constitute the town center, used to be the schoolhouse. Behind the listers' desk, two large and rare slate blackboards still hang on the wall as vestiges of the building's previous use. No one seems to know exactly the age of the building, which is in serious disrepair. But photographs from the early 1800s show schoolchildren in front of a neat, white-clapboarded building with freshly painted shutters. Sandi Capponcelli, a member...
Dave Allen of West Chesterfield, N.H., is a surveyor by trade, but he's also a history buff who loves trains - and all things having to do with railroading. “I love history, but I'm just like any kid,” he says. “If a train goes by, I have to stop and watch it. Once you get bit by the train bug, it's hard to stop.” His love of trains and history has manifested itself in the debut edition of the Windham...
From Toronto to the world stage to Memorial Hall, Canadian roots rock band Enter The Haggis is serving up a benefit concert for Deerfield Valley Food Pantry, and you're invited. The benefit at Memorial Hall is Thursday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $26. Fans know Enter The Haggis, or ETH, as an indie/Scottish/folk rock world-fusion powerhouse, and a true grassroots success story. Since its birth in 1996, ETH has kept the heat on with five albums and a...
Dec. 4 is the date for an important vote to adopt the amended charter for the Bellows Falls Village Corporation. The following is based on my personal perspective. This amended charter, the first revision of the charter in many decades, is the product of a revision process that began several years ago. Over the past 14 months, the Charter Revision Committee met 12 times in legally warned public meetings. The revision process included two public hearings for the public to...
Billy Joe Shaver is the real deal, the man who sparked the “outlaw country” movement. He's the man who has written some of the genre's most towering songs over the last half century. And he's coming to the Bellows Falls Opera House on Sunday, Dec. 2. Abandoned by his parents in infancy (“my father was half-French, half-Blackfoot Sioux, and 100 percent mean”) and raised by his grandmother, as a boy Shaver says he caught a Hank Williams show in Corsicana,
Are you doing at least half of your holiday shopping with local retailers, artisans, and craftspeople? The Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development hopes so. To support local communities, the Department has launched its 50/50 Challenge, a call to Vermonters to spend half their gift-giving budget in local downtowns this season. Here's why: With shoppers flocking to malls and online merchants, downtowns say they are hard-pressed to preserve their traditional standing as vital community and consumer hubs. A...
Friends of Music at Guilford, now in its 47th concert season, will present two Christmas musical events: The 42nd annual Community Messiah Sing on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 1 p.m., with the Christmas at Christ Church program, now observing its 40th anniversary, following on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7 and 8, at 8 p.m. Clark Anderson will take to the podium of Brattleboro's Centre Congregational Church to run 200 to 300 assembled choristers through a few demanding passages before signaling...
California singer/songwriter Mary McCaslin seldom ventures East, but she'll be stopping by the Windham Ballroom at Popolo Restaurant on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Joining her on the bill is guitarist and songwriter Rick Shea, a member of Dave Alvin's touring band The Guilty Men. McCaslin and Shea will each take a solo turn, then they'll perform classic songs from “The Bramble and the Rose,” a duo recording McCaslin and the late Jim Ringer made in a Vermont barn in the 1970s.
Recently, an informal memorial took place at the Colonial Motel in Brattleboro. On Tuesday, Nov. 20, about 75 friends and relatives gathered to honor the memory of Ruth Clark of Guilford, who had died Nov. 1 - two months short of her 90th birthday - at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. They gathered at the invitation of motel owner Betty Tyler, also the owner of the Colonial Pool and Spa. Most of the guests were from among the approximately...
Seen by many drivers passing through town as the intersection of Routes 9 and 100, and known as East, West, South, and North Main streets to residents, the intersection of the two state highways carries the perception of acting as a vehicular choke point for an average of 12,000 vehicles each day. The Windham Regional Commission (WRC) took feedback on Monday from residents and business owners about how such traffic affects their daily lives and businesses at Wilmington's compact downtown...
All businesses conducting business within the town of Brattleboro, including non-profit and home businesses, are required to obtain or renew their business license for the year 2013 by Dec. 31. The cost is $50 for the calendar year. In addition to capturing business and emergency contact information, the business license serves as the mechanism by which businesses receive an exemption on the first $5,000 of business personal property. The licensing process is now completely on-line - reducing paper and mailings.
Where can you go to see blown glass, woodworking, ceramics, circus, dance, painting, music, food, film, furniture, garden sculpture, jewelry, books, bodywork, jams, candles and more, all under one roof? This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Nov. 30 through Dec. 2, a self-described “mad gang” of artists, musicians, bakers, cooks, circus performers, and craftspeople of the Cotton Mill open their studio doors for the 11th annual Open Studio event. This celebration features the work of many artists and artisans, and promises...
Three prominent acoustic guitarists are set to join forces at a historic night of music and conversation to celebrate the Vermont instrument maker Michael Millard and his renowned Froggy Bottom Guitars. The event, also a benefit performance for the Next Stage Arts Project, is Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Next Stage on Kimball Hill. According to Next Stage Arts, Millard has built more than 5,000 steel-string guitars over 40 years, many of them to order. His award-winning instruments are...
What makes the musical ensemble Childsplay: Fiddlers, Fiddles and Fiddlemaker unique is that the group's fiddlers and violinists all perform on instruments lovingly crafted by Bob Childs. Childs' stringed handiwork will be on display on Friday, Nov. 30 at Greenhoe Theatre at Landmark College when Childsplay will perform in concert. The group features some of the best fiddlers in the world, from Boston Symphony violinists to Scottish and All-Ireland fiddlers (an Irish fiddle competition run by Comhaltas, the self described...
The Selectboard said “yes” on Nov. 20 to entering into contract negotiations with Fulcrum Arts to launch a business in the historic and dilapidated Archery Building, the town-owned structure at 26 Depot St. The approval came after lengthy discussion, led by Vice-chair David Gartenstein, about whether the business matched the town's vision for the property. The board approved contract negotiations with glassblower Randi Solin and ceramic artist Natalie Blake, the team behind Fulcrum Arts' proposal for a gallery, workshop space,
About 125 residents from Windham and Grafton crowded into the White Chapel Monday night to hear from a panel of six speakers to discuss a proposed wind farm that straddles both towns. The meeting was organized by Liisa Kissel of Friends of Grafton Heritage, with state Rep. Carolyn Partridge, D-Windham, as moderator. Iberdrola, operating as Atlantic Wind LLC, is a Spanish company and the second-largest wind company in the United States. The firm seeks to erect three meteorological test towers...
The Overflow Shelter at the First Baptist Church of Brattleboro on Main Street has opened this week, but volunteers are still needed. “A lot of my volunteers who started the first year have burned out,” said Lucie Fortier, the executive director of the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center, who organizes the winter shelter, now in its sixth year of operations. Fortier said the shelter runs in two shifts: one from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., and the second from 1...