The Brattleboro Selectboard will conduct a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m., to receive public input and testimony concerning the proposed Town Plan.
The hearing is in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center, 230 Main St.
According to Sue Fillion, of the Planning Services Department, the Selectboard held several public hearings on the proposed Town Plan throughout November and December, and worked their way through most of the plan.
This hearing will begin by taking comments on the Land Use chapter. The public is encouraged to review the draft, attend this meeting, and provide the Selectboard with their feedback on the plan, Fillion said.
I have been watching the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., and trying to comprehend how society has become completely unsafe for our children. Since our mental health and developmental services system have been undergoing major systems changes, I'm sharing some of my thoughts about Vermont's future, which I sent as...
When I was 19 and newly married, I quit my teaching job at PS 70 in the Bronx on the spur of the moment to be a writer. For five days, I sat in front of my Smith Corona staring at the blank white page and chain smoking Marlboros.
Obituaries • Kåre Andersen, 96, of Londonderry. Died Dec. 20 in Brattleboro. Born in Kolbotn, Norway, he was educated in the Norwegian public education system before apprenticing as a tailor. He worked first in Oslo as a master tailor/designer with his sister Martha before travelling to India in 1953. There, he worked until 1957, personally designing outfits for maharajahs, ambassadors and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. In 1957 he travelled to Montreal, before emigrating to the United States in 1958,
I tried to imagine what it must have been like at Sandy Hook Elementary School on that Friday morning which will forever be part of our collective psyche. Then I tried not to. I thought about a precious three-year-old child to whom I am deeply attached, and I felt the pain of what it would be like to lose her in so vicious and horrific a way. Again, I tried not to. I wept for the loss of the six...
I spent the better part of the weekend in shock and grief at the slaughter of innocents in Newtown, Conn. in the days following the shooting. Shock and grief over the killing of children and dedicated teachers, yes, and at the fact that our culture, the country I call mine, has been unwilling to take any meaningful measures to stop the carnage that is repeatedly perpetrated on innocent and unsuspecting citizens, many of them children. We as a nation have...
I've probably “lost” hundreds of pounds in my lifetime, but I've really only misplaced them, because I've always found them again. Every time I've lost weight, I've been motivated by vanity. Since childhood, I'd been told I was “heavy” - and I quickly learned that “heavy” was not the feminine ideal. Even if I failed to grow to runway height, I always believed that I could and should achieve runway thin. Only now do I appreciate what a fabulous body...
The announcement of large spikes in health-care premiums for school and town employees is generating a lot of concern among taxpayers. Insurance companies are raising our premiums because they can't make money on their investments. Since Wall Street trashed the financial system, stocks and bonds and money markets pay practically nothing. Take a look at your savings account since 2008, and you'll see the problem. Insurance companies can do this because we the people don't have the expertise to comparison-shop...
Like many people I know, and public figures I've seen recently, the killings in a Newtown, Conn. elementary school have made me reconsider my position on gun control. As a hunter, a veteran, and a dyed-in-the wool radical, I want to show fellow gun owners - and, more importantly, fellow Americans who are distrustful of an armed government with an unarmed populace - that the logic I espoused for most of my life is bankrupt. Until December, my stance on...
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center's new ARTravel programs offer art enthusiasts unparalleled opportunities to expand their horizons through guided small-group trips to Spain, Cuba, and California Wine Country. Visit the great museums and art destinations of Spain with acclaimed artist Eric Aho and author Tim Weed as your expert guides. Or join Weed and fellow travelers for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Cuba, where every day will feature encounters with Cuban artists, musicians, dancers, academics, and entrepreneurs. If you love wine,
Join Lyndon State College Professor Paul Searls on Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 7 to 9 p.m., for a talk on his research toward an upcoming book on Swedish immigration to Vermont in the 19th century. The talk, “Major Valentine's Swedes: the story of Brattleboro's Andersons,” is at Brooks Memorial Library's meeting room, and is free and open to the public. According to Searls, in 1890, Alonzo B. Valentine, Vermont's commissioner of Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests, launched a program to repopulate...
A leading manufacturer of recycled paper products now owns Putney Paper Co. Soundview Paper Co. LLC, of Elmwood Park, N.J., last week acquired Putney Paper, a subsidiary of the Claremont, N.H.-based APC Paper Group. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. “We are excited about the Putney acquisition,” George Wurtz, Soundview's CEO, said last week in a press release. Soundview has no plans to make immediate changes at Putney Paper. Wurtz said that Putney Paper's “operational capabilities and paper-making skills...
There are days when all that a basketball coach can do is put the best five players he can muster on the floor, and hope for the best. Bellows Falls girls' basketball coach Jason Aube had one of those days last Saturday when the Terriers played host to the Richford Rockets at Holland Gymnasium. Injuries left Aube having to play mix-and-match with his lineup, but the end result was a 38-30 win. Aube said point guard Kya Coursen is still...
Rescue Inc. offers National Registry Basic Emergency Medical Technical Course BRATTLEBORO - Rescue Inc., offers a National Registry Basic Emergency Medical Tech course that will be sponsored and taught by Rescue's Technical Rescue Team. The class begins on Tuesday, Jan. 15, and runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and one Saturday per month, ending in early May. The classes will rotate between Newfane and Jamaica. The course is a total of 145 hours, combining lectures and practical hands-on experience. No...
Susan Dedell is returning to a powerful requiem she had scheduled to conduct a decade ago, until she was sidelined by a heartbreaking loss. The Brattleboro Concert Choir, under Dedell's direction, is set to present the choral concert “In the Light,” a pairing of two contemporary requiems, Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, and Bob Chilcott's Requiem. Performances are at the First Baptist Church on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 3 p.m. Dedell initially programmed...
In its continuing effort to bring exciting and interesting music to Windham County, the Grafton Music Festival presents the internationally acclaimed, Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry at the White Church at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20. The White Church, located on Main Street, is acclaimed for its excellent acoustics, making it ideal for a chamber music performance. A Far Cry consists of 18 string players, and is based in Boston. Many of its members graduated from the New...
Vermont Technical College and Strolling of the Heifers have teamed up to present the 2013 Vermont Farm/Food Business Plan Competition, offering $60,000 in total prizes. The competition, an outgrowth of regional collaboration between the two organizations in 2012, seeks to encourage new and expanding farm, food, and forestry business development throughout Vermont. “In the process of developing their business plans, contestants will gain practical experience in analyzing their business, their markets and their ideas,” said Steve Paddock, director of the...
The state Tax Department is asking lawmakers for an extra $150,000 to prepare for potential litigation by TransCanada against five towns on the Connecticut River - including Vernon and Rockingham - where the hydroelectric giant is disputing 2010 state property valuations. Tax Commissioner Mary Peterson explained to the House Appropriations Committee that the extra funds would go to defend a 2010 statewide appraisal of the dams, which cost $200,000. If necessary, the funds would cover the expenses of expert witnesses...
The Rich Earth Institute has completed its first season of scientifically controlled field trials using sanitized human urine to fertilize hay on a Brattleboro farm. Sixty enthusiastic community members have already donated 600 gallons of urine for this ground-breaking project. The state-approved experiment is a United States first, according to the institute. Preliminary results reportedly are “impressive.” Researchers said they found that an experimental urine-treated area produced an approximately three times greater yield than the unfertilized control area. Further analysis...
Crabgrass Puppet Theatre presents its newest production, Jack and the Beanstalk, at Sandglass Theater in Putney on Saturday, Jan. 12. This retelling of the tallest of tall tales is loaded with laughs. The stage houses a life-sized cow, a mysterious Funny Little Man, and Jack's ever-patient mom. And that's just at ground level. Once Jack finally tracks down his oft-disappearing cow and trades her for some magical juggling beans, he returns to his mother triumphantly only to find her nonplussed.
As the Vermont Legislature begins a new biennium this week, it faces many of the issues it faced in the last biennium: a lousy economy, increased demand for state services, and a shrinking tax base. The state's General Fund is estimated to be short by between $50 million and $70 million for fiscal year 2014. Then there is the uncertainty of the state seeing federal funds to pay for a new state hospital and the full cost of rebuilding roads,
In the wake of the school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a PBS journalist interviewed a college student who had been in classes with the shooter, Adam Lanza, both at Sandy Hook and during high school. The student reflected on how highly intelligent Lanza was and how isolated he was at school. His extreme shyness kept him from making friends. Other accounts described Lanza as always sitting alone while riding the bus to school and having...
Sheriff Keith Clark is finally starting to see movement on a process he started some two years ago to replace the aging radio tower at the Windham County Sheriff's Department Newfane headquarters, through accessing grant monies for broadband communications. By partnering with VTel, a Springfield-based firm, the tower would be replaced at no cost to the department. Clark told the Selectboard Dec. 20 that there are locations in the town where he cannot reach dispatch - and thus his other...
After discovering a hole in the heat exchange unit, and numerous potential code violations in the oil tanks and chimney of the Town Hall, the Selectboard met with Town Hall Renovations Committee member Bob DeSiervo on Dec. 17 to discuss the replacing of the furnace and, potentially, the building's entire heating system. “We have a 35-year old furnace, a cracked heat exchanger, no oil, it's Christmas, and we can't wait until Town Meeting [to discuss this]. We elected you to...
Election season has begun in Brattleboro, and prospective candidates are taking out nomination papers to run for office. However, the longest-serving town official has decided not to seek re-election after 22 years on the job. Tim O'Connor, Town Moderator since 1991, said he is not running this year. “It's time for a change,” said O'Connor, who turned 76 last month and retired from his legal practice in 2011. Also not seeking re-election are two members of the Selectboard: Chair Dick...
Organizers say that the inaugural edition of the Brattleboro Film Festival (BFF) was a reel success. Approximately 1,000 turned out for 12 films and various special events Nov. 2-4, and Nov. 8, 2012, at the historic Latchis Theatre in downtown Brattleboro. Plans for an expanded festival to begin in early November 2013 are under way, organizers said. Some shows sold out, including the repeat showing of “Best in Fest” winner “Chasing Ice,” which, along with another BFF selection, “Ai Wei...
The Vermont Jazz Center presents a concert led by Grégoire Maret, respected by audiences and fellow A-list musicians as one of the world's greatest jazz chromatic harmonica players. The event is Saturday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m. The Vermont Jazz Center is at 72 Cotton Mill Hill. Maret is found on recordings by such luminaries as Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, David Sanborn, Carlos “Patato” Valdes, Charlie Hunter, George Benson, Jacky Terrasson, Marcus Miller, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Lionel Loueke.
Donna Simons said she can't walk down the street without someone suggesting how to “save” the Robert H. River Garden. People ask, “Have you guys tried this?” said Simons, president of the board of directors of Building a Better Brattleboro (BaBB), which owns and operates the building. Her answer, so far, has been, “Yes.” Simons said BaBB's board of directors hopes by the start of the new fiscal year on July 1 to divest the organization of the River Garden,
For the first time this flu season, the Vermont Department of Health has reported widespread influenza activity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with influenza-like illness confirmed in all areas of the state. “Everyone age 6 months and older should be vaccinated against seasonal flu,” said Patsy Kelso, state epidemiologist for infectious disease. “Flu can be a serious illness, especially for the very young and very old, and a typical season can last well into March.” Ask...
The town's downtown program is up for its mandatory five-year renewal. The Selectboard will decide at its Jan. 15 meeting whether to continue with the program after considering the work plan and budget for Building a Better Brattleboro, the designated downtown organization, which is undergoing what board president and founding member Donna Simons has called “necessary self-reflection.” The Selectboard can also decide to change the organizational model for delivering the downtown program, swapping BaBB for another organization that meets the...
Two proposed towers - one a cell tower for AT&T and the other a VTel broadband tower that would replace the existing radio tower belonging to the Windham Sheriff's Department (see related story, this issue) - have kept the Selectboard busy listening to concerns from residents and deciding how to move forward getting their concerns addressed. Selectboard Chair Jon Mack expressed his frustration repeatedly to AT&T and VTel representatives at meetings this past month that the town had been left...
As the opening event of its Spring Workshop Series, the Greater Falls Community Garden Collaborative is sponsoring a hands-on workshop where participants will learn to build a worm composting kit. The workshop is Sunday, Feb. 10, at 1 p.m., at the United Church of Bellows Falls. Participation is limited to 10 people, and registration is required by calling Tim Stevenson at 802-869-2141. The workshop is free; however, there is a $25 fee for materials and worms. Participants are encouraged to...
Townspeople are invited to a joint meeting of the finance and vision committees of the Marlboro Store Group, a consortium of volunteers who are seeking to establish community ownership of the convenience store on Route 9 that was formerly Sweetie's. The meeting will adopt bylaws and elect officers for the store group and establish it as a sub-group of the Marlboro Alliance, a nonprofit civic organization. The Marlboro Alliance has been serving as the Marlboro Store Group's fiscal agent. The...
State Sens. Robert Hartwell, D-Bennington, and Joseph Benning, R-Caledonia, say they will introduce a bill this legislative session that would establish a three-year moratorium on wind projects with a production capacity of more than 500 kilowatts. Hartwell and Benning say they drafted the bill in response to increasing public pressure from their constituents who want to slow down the Vermont Public Service Board's (PSB) permitting process for renewable energy developers, and to allow for more participation and consideration of municipal...
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) announces expanded hours and new services for visitors beginning this month. BMAC will now be open on Wednesdays, later on Fridays, and earlier on Saturdays, increasing its open hours by 30 percent. On Fridays, BMAC will stay open until 7 p.m., making it easier for visitors to combine a museum visit with dinner or a movie. From 5 to 7 p.m., there will be a cash bar at the museum, with wine and...
Firefighters battled a two-alarm blaze that started at 11:40 a.m., Jan. 2 at a commercial building at 10 Island St. According to Det. Sgt. Mark Potter of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Fire Investigation Unit, the fire started by accident in Blodgett Auto. According to Potter, owner Robert Blodgett was working on a vehicle when gas dripped from the car's tank and ignited on a drop light. The fire, which displaced four tenants and cost an estimated $250,000 in damages,