Town employees have a potential variety of new options for health insurance under a new federal law that aims to see all Americans covered in a health care program by Jan. 1.
According to Larry Smith, manager of risk management services of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, town employee coverage could be available through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, MVP Healthcare, or the open market, depending on what Selectmen opt for this October.
Smith spoke at the scheduled public comment period of the Aug. 1 Selectboard meeting to deliver an overview of insurance options Newfane will get to offer through Vermont Health Connect, a new state clearinghouse for privately offered insurance benefits.
“One thing that will change in 2014 is that the employer really choses the funding level: how much you're going to contribute. Employees, starting 2014, have a choice of plans” within the two carriers, Smith said.
The Selectboard is weighing whether to warn a town meeting over creating a Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) District here, which would allow special financing to help qualifying homeowners invest in specified energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. But first they wanted to learn from the other four Windham County...
I am one of the many Vermonters who is angry and saddened, but not surprised, by the will of the federal courts to twist the law in favor of corporate interests. Entergy's win in its immoral lawsuit against the state of Vermont is an example of right-wing judges asserting...
Obituaries • Herbert W. Eisenberg, 87, of Brattleboro. Died July 17 in a hospital in Boston. Husband of Carolyn Eisenberg of Brattleboro. Father of Stephen, Melinda, Bethany, and Martha, all of Massachusetts; Peter, of California; and Clyda, of Florida. A presence in Brattleboro and Townshend for more than 60 years, he born in Boston, the son of Ida and Samuel Eisenberg. After graduating from high school, as World War II was coming to an end, he enlisted in the Navy...
Tour of Jamaica Cottage mill to be offered SOUTH LONDONDERRY - Windham County Forester Bill Guenther will lead a tour of the Jamaica Cottage Shop manufacturing facility up in South Londonderry on Friday, Aug. 30, This free tour will be held rain or shine and will start at 2 p.m. sharp and run till 3:30 p.m. Domenic Mangano, the founder and owner, started up the business in Jamaica in 1995. Using native lumber and Vermont craftsmen, Mangano's company is building...
Friends of Music at Guilford's 48th annual Labor Day Weekend Festival presents French organ music in an intimate rural barn, and orchestral works by composers from five countries on the expansive lawn just outside. The Festival opens on Saturday evening, Aug. 31, at 7:30, with “Vive la France!” on the Guilford Tracker Organ. Clark Anderson, who has performed recitals of solo and ensemble works by English and German composers on this instrument, has chosen a program of solo works by...
The Brattleboro Women's Chorus is registering for its 18th fall session. If you love to sing, would like to mingle your voice with a choir of many voices, are female, and are age 10 or older, you're welcome to join. No experience is necessary, and there are no auditions. Reading music is optional, as music is taught by ear with part recordings provided. The first rehearsal, with no obligation to register, is Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m.,
On Aug. 30 and 31 and Sept. 1, The Future Collective hosts its second annual Future Fest, a three-day music and arts festival expected to draw more than 40 bands and performance artists from all over New England. Music performances on Friday night and Saturday are at the Stone Church, 210 Main St., Brattleboro. Sunday, an outdoor variety show and carnival in Brattleboro includes games, skill shares, and acoustic performances. The location will be revealed in a zine guests receive...
I'm basically a trusting person. I'm also over 70 and have limited computer savvy. The other day I received a very polished phone call from a “technical assistant for Windows representing www.windowscare.net” (it's a real website). He was initiating the call “because of an abnormally large number of infections and viruses that were on my computer.” My “license key,” he said, had expired, my antivirus program was therefore not working, and I needed a new key. His voice was friendly,
The Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association asks professional and budding artists to save the date and spread the word about a special Plein Air Event to be held along beautiful Ledge Road Brook in Grafton on Sunday, Sept. 8, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Ledge Road Brook and its surrounding terrain offer abundant intriguing possibilities for the artist's eye: tumbling small waterfalls; ferns; moss-covered boulders; deep, dark pools; and stately trees. To help artists get their supplies to and from their...
Mondo Mediaworks has named the Brattleboro Film Festival (BFF) its initial recipient of fundraising campaign support under its Community Crowdfunder program. The Brattleboro-based digital marketing agency said it will provide free video production and marketing services to help BFF launch a Kickstarter fundraising campaign this fall. In making its announcement, the company said it chose BFF because it “clearly benefits the southeastern Vermont community and the arts.” BFF Vice President Lissa Weinmann said festival staff - all volunteers - and...
When they were installed and switched on last August, the lights at the Hadley Field athletic complex at Bellows Falls Union High School in Westminster were something to celebrate. Unfortunately, those lights have turned out to be one big headache for the BFUHS administration. Last week, school officials closed sections of the field temporarily over safety concerns about the stability of the light stanchions. Windham Northeast Superintendent Christopher Kibbe told the Rutland Herald last week that the poles' installer, Techline,
Two young veterans of the New England Youth Theatre (NEYT) in Brattleboro, and a seasoned 12-year-old actress from Rutland star in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the final production of the Weston Playhouse's 2013 season. Cast members who assemble in Weston for productions typically hail from New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, or perhaps are just off the national tour of a Broadway show. This year, the stage doors of the Weston Playhouse have opened to talented young performers from southern...
More than 200 farmers, lawmakers, and members of farming organizations attended a federal hearing on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), hosted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College on Aug. 20. Many expressed concerns with the proposed rules, saying that they are designed for larger farms and have a one-size-fits-all approach to food safety regulations. “I think there are some real challenges for small farms in the set of these regulations,” said...
Parents, guardians, other adults, and students aged 16 and up can now learn from a resource coordinator dividing her time among NewBrook Elementary School, Townshend Elementary School, Jamaica Village School, Wardsboro Elementary School, and Leland & Gray Union Middle and High School. The resource coordinator will explain, and help people sign up for, housing assistance, credit assistance, child care or elder care, transportation services, health care services, disability services, community resources, and other government programs. That resource coordinator is Amanda...
The Brattleboro Music Center announces new and returning workshops, classes, and ensembles this fall. The Music School semester begins Sept. 9, and registration is underway. Lessons are available for all ages and levels in 19 instruments and voice, taught by 40 dedicated faculty members. According to the fall program announcement, new workshops include “Conducting for All!” with Hugh Keelan; an early music vocal workshop with Jennifer Hansen; and introduction to new approach techniques with Michelle Liechti. (Enrollment for Liechti's workshop...
Tropical Storm Irene tore through Vermont two years ago. Aug. 28, 2011 will be remembered not only as a day of destruction and devastation, but also of community resilience. Still, the recovery process continues. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin released the state's Irene Recovery Status Report during a press conference in Wilmington on Wednesday commemorating the anniversary. The report quantifies the state's recovery from the devastation and serves as the fourth and final written testimony from the Irene Recovery Office. It...
Vermont's first community solar farm started producing power last week. The grand opening of SunFarm Community Solar, a 588-panel array that can produce 147 kilowatts of electricity, was celebrated last Friday afternoon. Although there are bigger solar installations around Vermont, SunFarm was the first to have a third party develop the project to give homeowners and businesses unable to install panels an opportunity to buy in and receive credit for the power that is generated. The panels, which are expected...
The man who helped create the deconstruction industry in southern Vermont is getting ready for the next incarnation of his passion. Erich Kruger of West Dummerston, the founder of ReNew Building Materials & Salvage in 2005, helped popularize the idea of keeping building materials out of landfills and reusing them for other projects. ReNew, a nonprofit, had a dual mission: recycling building materials and providing local jobs under its building deconstruction program. It closed the doors to its retail store...
It began as a routine Sunday morning. Hurricane Irene had been weakened to Tropical Storm Irene the night before, so we didn't think anything of the steady rain pattering on our roof as my wife fixed coffee and I fed our infant daughter mashed pears. I was excited to have a gray, rainy day as an excuse to lie around and catch up on pre-season football news. I drained my second cup of coffee while issuing smart-ass remarks to TV...
Alex Wilson, a member and former chairman of the Town Energy Committee, told Selectboard members on Aug. 21 that a number of developers are eager to construct a municipal solar electric system in or not far from town, but Wilson was unable to provide the kind of specifics the board said it would need to bring the idea before voters. “There's a lot of interest out there within the commercial community for putting in these systems, and there are investors...
“Taking Power: Photographs from the People's Movement to Shut Down Vermont Yankee” opens from 5:30 to 8 p.m. during Gallery Walk on Sept. 6. The show, representing three outstanding photographers' work, is hosted for September and October by the Elliot Street Café. At the opening, the photographers and the event's sponsor, the Safe and Green Campaign, will discuss the context of the photos and activists' ongoing struggle to close Vermont Yankee. Refreshments will be served. The artists are Cate Woolner...
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,” the Argentine author and poet Jorge Luis Borges once wrote. Meris Morrison, the librarian at the Moore Free Library for the past 12 years, wouldn't disagree with Borges. She's been living in a paradise of books all her life. After a half-century as a librarian, Morrison is saying goodbye to her professional life of reading and the joy of discovery. She is retiring on Sept. 16, but not...
Road Foreman Lee Chamberlain told Selectboard members Aug. 21 that the Dutton Farm Road project is going well, is on or under budget, and is taking a bit longer than the three weeks the project was planned for. Chamberlain cited unexpected ledge, rain, and more material to excavate than expected as factors in a delay of about a week. “It's quite a project,” he said. He added that he hoped to have the road passable for kids to traverse by...
Two years ago, the site on the Dover Road that was the staging area for this year's Rock River Revival parade was covered in three feet of mud and silt. On Sunday, the yard was green and there were few signs that an epic flash flood had taken place. But one didn't have to go far to see the signs of the damage that Tropical Storm Irene left behind in 2011. Just a couple hundred yards up the road from...
Even two years later, the images are indelible. On Aug. 28, 2011, the floods of Tropical Storm Irene surged through the rivers and streams of Vermont, gouging new pathways for the waters within. For so many people in Windham County, particularly those who were living and working along these waterways, the impact ranged from disruptive to catastrophic. The depth and breadth of Vermonters' resolve during this crisis was truly remarkable as neighbors, especially our EMS workers and volunteers, often risked...
Louise Sirois knows she has big shoes to fill as the new librarian at Moore Free Library, but she's ready for the challenge. Sirois said she grew up in northern Maine, “where any trip to town was special,” and she especially liked going to the library. “I was one of eight children,” she said. “Just being alone with books, and not having to share, was magical.” Her educational background is in languages and education. She has a B.A. in French...
RE: “A semi-rural economy has unique needs” [Viewpoint, Aug. 21]: Jonathan Mack apparently made his money long before moving to Vermont. For him and many like him, this state is some kind of wonderland, and, in a way, he's correct. But scenic beauty aside, this is hardly the truth. The makeup of so-called Vermonters has been diluted to a point where Vermonters are no longer what they used to be. Years ago, perhaps farming was a way to make a...
Jonathan Mack, in his analysis of the “semi-rural economy,” [Viewpoint, Aug. 21] fails to acknowledge that for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Vermont's small towns, from Springfield to St. Johnsbury, and much of the Champlain Valley, were hubs of industrial innovation and excellence, developing products and processes, many of which are still in use today. Along with robust participation in the industrialization of New England, and the Northeast in general, these manufacturers also provided well-paying, stable employment...
Voting is at the heart of the democratic process. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was a turning point in the work of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America. Several states have rushed to implement racially discriminatory anti-voter laws, including several states where the League of Women Voters had previously succeeded in blocking voter restrictions in the courts and state legislatures. Sadly, the U.S. Supreme Court recently gutted key components of the VRA. Only strong...
Frederic Noyes Once the electricity came back on, we started seeing images and video of the destruction. It was a shock to see the state of the Brattleboro Farmers' Market site and the raging Whetstone Brook, Flat Street, and what happened in Wilmington. When we started seeing military Humvees on Western Avenue, it solidified the understanding this wasn't a typical storm by any stretch. The national media missed it completely at first and then scrambled to try and get cameras...
In the last couple of weeks, entertainment duties in my backyard venue have been taken over by my favorite bird, the Tufted Titmouse. A troupe of these tiny, crested, gray birds gather around the feeders, coming in from all directions, grabbing a seed, and taking off in all directions. There is at least one family, with at least six members - it is hard to count because they are always on the move. When an adult flies to the maple...
I'm not a sailor or a swimmer, but I love being beside the water. While my husband and our second son gallivant around town, I retreat to a quiet table on a floating dock. I order a glass of Chardonnay and coconut shrimp and set to scribbling notes to myself. The sun is high above my umbrella, the day is crystal clear, and the mountain ranges across the great expanse of Lake Champlain are a sea of waves unto themselves.
A member of the Town Energy Committee has apologized to the Selectboard for not running the town's recent residential energy survey and its cover letter by them before mailing it to the town's nearly 1,000 residences. Some residents have complained to board members that they object to their names being associated with their survey responses. Others have complained that they don't want town officials following up with them should they elect to disregard the survey. Still others complained they didn't...
In 2006, when Entergy Nuclear applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 20-year license extension for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, it seemed like a slam dunk. The NRC had never rejected a license extension, and then-Gov. Jim Douglas and his administration were solidly behind the extension, as was most of the Vermont Legislature. The business community was in Entergy's corner, as were the state's electric utilities. But over the past seven years, what seemed...
What many nuclear wonks have predicted over the past year has finally come to pass: Entergy announced on Tuesday that it would close its Vermont Yankee nuclear plant long before its 20-year federal license extension expires. The company anticipates closing the 41-year-old plant in the fall of 2014. Entergy refueled the plant earlier this year. The plant's anticipated 2014 fourth-quarter shut down coincides with VY's next scheduled refueling. In a press release, the company attributed its decision to “a number...