Brattleborians of a certain age have long awaited the return of the Snack Theatre, an irreverent troupe that illuminated the Aughts with a series of theatrical evenings augmented with libations and delectable sweets.
The wait is over. In a production to benefit the new home of Strolling of the Heifers, Snack veterans Beth Kiendl, William Stearns, and Bill Hickok reprise “Cabin Fever,” a “comedy of menace” penned by Joan Schenkar.
Performances are at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden on Friday and Saturday, March 21 and 22, at 8 p.m.
The play takes place on a rural New England front porch, a set designed by Clay Coyle, whose design credits range from off-Broadway to regional theaters in New England and the East Coast.
I enjoyed this piece, as it was well written. But columnist Susie Crowther should keep in mind that gardening in California is a year-round activity, unlike gardening in the Northwest or the Northeast. Just because Crowther saw no one picking ripe veggies in California gardens at the instant you...
District 1 Marion Abell: 254-2653, Water_music@Comcast.net Peter Abell: 254-2653, Water_music@Comcast.net Kate Anderson: 258-3077, Jandc@Yahoo.com Robert Bady: 254-9098, Bobbady@Gmail.com Carol Barber: 254-8783, Halmoni@Myfairpoint.net Orion Barber: 254-8783, Gr8books@Myfairpoint.net Donna Borofsky: 254-9118, Sborofsky@Samsoutfitters.com Stanley Borofsky: 254-9118, Pborofsky@Samsoutfitters.com Michael Bosworth: 258-6475, Mlb@Sover.net Hugh Bronson: 254-8762, Greatone3@Comcast.net Sally Brunton: 257-1677, Otistheman56@Yahoo.com George Burrows: 603-630-0012,
Bellows Falls Union High School has been awarded a $10,000 Personal Learning Plan (PLP) grant from the Vermont Department of Education. The grant comes on the heels of a working committee whose mission was to figure out how to implement Act 77, a law the Vermont Legislators passed recently that requires all students in grades 7-12, create a personal learning plan based on their interests and goals. Missy Wilkins, Ph.D., BFUHS's family liaison and student advocate, will work with BFMS...
A couple of years ago, I read a book that changed my life forever. Okay, it didn't do all the work but it planted some seeds of change. With the cost of cigarettes rising and my health declining, I read The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. (If you're a smoker, this is a must-read. I highly recommend it.) I was determined to sever my addiction to cigarettes and finished the book in one afternoon. I was 28...
Rich Earth Institute presents an evening of fun and education with artist, comedian, and sustainability activist Shawn Shafner on Friday, March 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. The event, at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, is free. Included are hors d'oeuvres, interactive activities for all ages, door prizes, urine donor recognition, and an update on Rich Earth Institute's recent accomplishments. Shafner is founder of The People's Own Organic Power Project (The POOP Project; www.thepoopproject.org), a grassroots organization working since...
My husband and I had to drive to Massachusetts on New Year's Day. The shortest route to our destination was all on well-traveled state highways: Route 202 west to Route 119 south to Route 31 south in Massachusetts. We had had a snowstorm a day or so before, but the snow had stopped at least 30 hours before we had to leave, certainly long enough for the roads to be cleared - or so we thought. But as we made...
Howard Fairman questions whether the Southern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) board is qualified to lead a Windham County and regional economic development effort. He suggests that somehow it is not, on the basis that only three of its 18 board members represent what he calls “proven innovative employers.” He lists those three as Grafton Village Cheese, Chroma Technologies, and New Chapter - which are certainly innovative enterprises. But Fairman dismisses as unqualified to contribute to the SeVEDS board (because,
The Putney Energy Committee announces it's bringing affordable solar energy to homes and businesses in town. On offer are electricity, domestic heat/hot water, and community solar services from three companies at low cost. The committee says its Solarize Putney program, part of a larger “Solarize Windham County” initiative, is the first of its kind in southern Vermont. It works by leveraging bulk-purchase arrangements to reduce installation costs. The project aims to help homeowners and small businesses overcome the financial and...
Obituaries • Lynn Ellen Barnes, 59, of Bellows Falls. Died unexpectedly at her home. Daughter of Marjorie (Farrands) and the late Richard Crowell. Sister of Loreen Miller and husband, George, of Cromwell, Conn. Born in Middletown, Conn., she was a graduate of the Woodrow Wilson High School in Middletown. Following graduation, she joined the Army, serving for four years, some of that time in Germany. She worked in security at Vermont Yankee and had been the ISO Safety Manager at...
Pet vaccination clinic offered in Wardsboro WARDSBORO - The Wardsboro Town Office will sponsor a pet vaccination clinic at the office of the Town Clerk on Saturday, March 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dr. Miles A. Powers of East Dover will be vaccinating both dogs and cats. This clinic is open to anyone. For the convenience of Wardsboro residents, the Town Clerk will be present to issue licenses. Fees will be $10 for rabies and $15 for a...
Post Oil Solutions presents a Tar Sands Teach-In on Tuesday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m., in Brooks Memorial Library's community room. The teach-in seeks to address questions and concerns about tar sands oil, the Portland-Montreal pipeline, and how in the pipeline's crossing of part of Vermont our state could be at environmental risk. The event, part of Post Oil Solutions' fourth-Tuesdays Climate Change Café, is free. Light refreshments are provided. The teach-in is led by Jade Wallace, field organizer with...
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) holds its Spring Gala & Benefit Auction at Alyson's Orchard in Walpole, N.H., on Saturday, April 5, at 6 p.m. The event features appetizers and buffet dinner by Hardy Foard Catering; a wide selection of wine and beer chosen by wine expert David Howell; and silent and live auctions of artwork, jewelry, fine wine, and vacation getaways. Among those donating items to be auctioned are South Africa's Zulu Nyala Game Lodge; Napa Valley's...
This scathing letter about Turning Point seemed misdirected. Since our governor recently pointed out that we are in the midst of an addiction crisis in Vermont, all people of our human family need to get behind a bunch of people - the people at Turning Point - who are trying to help with this crisis. Please pass the word about this worthy organization, which is about to move back to Elm Street in Brattleboro.
Elayne Clift should put the blame where it belongs: on herself and the few others who interfered with the work of public officials who had no agenda, but were led by the facts to an unhappy but inevitable conclusion. Her interference caused months of disruption, heartache, and unnecessary tax dollars to be wasted. Her entitled behavior belongs at her doorstep.
The bridge across the Rock River in Williamsville is in disrepair. At our recent Town Meeting, we learned that the state has begun the preliminary studies for its repair or replacement, which is good news. That this might take a very long time, as it did with the replacement of the Williamsville Covered Bridge and the Bridge in South Newfane, is of great concern, as is the possibility of simply closing the road while the bridge is fixed rather than...
The Selectboard on March 10 cleared the way for the Planning Commission and Broad Brook Grange to pursue “village center” designation for Guilford Center and Green River Village. The designation has been on town planners' minds since at least 2011 and already exists in language in the draft Town Plan. Planning Commissioner Michelle Frehsee and Grange member Sara Coffey asked the Selectboard for their support, enshrined in minutes, to take the next steps toward the town's application. Frehsee and Coffey...
Marlboro College's Music for a Sunday Afternoon series features a concert by the award-winning Heath Quartet on Sunday, April 6, at 3 p.m. in Ragle Hall. They will perform a program of Beethoven, Bartók, and Mendelssohn as the kickoff of a debut tour in the United States that includes Carnegie Hall. The Heath Quartet (www.heathquartet.com) are Oliver Heath and Cerys Jones on violin, Gary Pomeroy on viola, and Christopher Murray on cello. All four are faculty members at Guildhall School...
Work has been halted on a park and ride project while the state and opponents to the project are scheduled to meet in a mediation session this week. The state Agency of Transportation (AOT) has sought to build an 84-space lot on a site it owns on Route 5 near the Putney Fire station and the southbound Exit 4 on Interstate 91. As the parcel sits on the Putney/Dummerston town line, the Development Review Boards in both towns signed off...
Nationally acclaimed musician Scott Ainslie - a singer, songwriter, and master of the acoustic guitar, National slide guitar, fretless gourd banjo, and diddley bow - will perform “The Land Where the Blues Began: Music and Images of Mississippi Delta,” a benefit concert for the Friends of the Brooks Memorial Library. Ainslie, also a master storyteller, describes this event as a “teaching concert” and will accompany his music with archival photos, historical anecdotes, and personal stories about the Mississippi Delta region.
It has been widely reported that last year, Google filed a motion in U.S. District Court last year to dismiss all claims against the company for violations of Gmail privacy, claiming that a Gmail user has “no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties.” Google and others claim that assertion is supported by the U.S. Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The laws permitting and expanding domestic spying created or modified after Sept. 11, 2001 in...
Director Ben Stockman spent a good part of his free time last year reading. “I had been studying as many scripts of new plays as I could get my hands on,” he says. “I wanted to get a sense of what was being done now in theater, so I read play after play.” One of the best he found was a relatively unknown drama by Sarah Ruhl, which Apron Theater Co. has assigned him to direct. Beginning on Thursday, March...
Bellows Falls Village Annual Meeting petitions are available at the town clerk/village clerk's office weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They must be returned to the clerk's office by April 14 at 4:30 p.m. and contain a minimum of 18 valid signatures. One-year seats to be filled include moderator (currently held by Michael P. Harty), president (currently held by Roger Riccio), clerk (currently held by Kerry Bennett), treasurer (currently held by Donna J. Harty), and three auditors (currently held...
Despite all the snow still on the ground, softball season is just around the corner. If you're in the Brattleboro area and want to join the fun, this calendar will get you started. All meetings are held at the Gibson-Aiken Center. For the Brattleboro Area Men's Softball League: • Wednesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. - Organizational meeting for managers; election of board members; overview of 2014 season. • Wednesday, April 2, at 7 p.m. - Review of league rules,
Here's a modest proposal: a swap of westbound road names for Brattleboro and Westminster. Both towns have only one paved road to their west villages. Westminster's road is free of potholes and worthy of a grand-sounding name like “Western Avenue” to go along with “King's Highway.” The Patch family wouldn't object if Brattleboro borrowed the existing name. That way, Route 9 would have periodic street signs that state “Patch Road.”
Laura Sibilia is working to add “state representative” to her extensive résumé in November. Sibilia, who is running as an independent, announced her candidacy for the Windham-Bennington-1 district seat in the Vermont House in a letter emailed to The Commons on Monday. The district includes the towns of Dover, Readsboro, Searsburg, Somerset, Stamford, and Wardsboro. The seat is held today by Rep. John Moran, D-Wardsboro. “As a result of having six of my family members serve in the Iraq and...
Over abutters' objections, and with officials not in favor, AT&T reportedly is proceeding with its petition for a state Certificate of Public Good to erect a 135-foot cell tower on residential land here. Following a nearly four-hour public hearing March 11 at which an AT&T representative once more addressed impassioned public concern about the project, officials denied the company token support it sought with the Vermont Public Service Board. Nevertheless, the state's section 248a process authorizes the PSB to permit...
Youth librarian Sam Maskell has made the Rockingham Free Public Library the place to be for the youth of Bellows Falls and beyond. Her work engaging the community through youth programming at the RFPL over the years is well known statewide and deeply appreciated in her home town. Earlier this month, Greater Falls Connections honored Maskell with its Active Community Engagement (A.C.E.) award. Maskell started as a part-time assistant in 2001. As Youth Services librarian, she oversees the Youth Department...
Walkers gasping for breath as they trudge up the 11th hole of the Brattleboro Country Club may find it apt that the name “Stiles” derives from an Old English word meaning “steep uphill path.” For most of its soon-to-be-100-year existence, the Brattleboro Country Club was a Wayne Stiles design. The Massachusetts-born landscape architect redid the original layout - which opened for play on July 1, 1914 - in 1930, maintaining only one hole from Tom McNamara's original design: the par-3...
Town Meeting members will once again vote on whether to enact a 1-percent local option sales tax at Annual Representative Town Meeting on March 22. Meeting members last year did not approve the tax, which, in general, applies to items that are already taxed under the statewide sales tax. The Department of Taxes has a two-page list of taxed and exempted items. Opponents of the tax fear it will hurt local businesses feeling the strain of a down economy. “We...
The issue of decommissioning has occupied many post-Vermont Yankee discussions since Entergy announced last summer that it would close its 40-year-old nuclear plant in Vernon. Another group hopes to shift the focus of discussion to the long-term socioeconomic ramifications that result from plant closings. As it develops strategies to help host communities gird themselves for closing a nuclear plant, the working group will hold a working meeting at Landmark College on Wednesday, April 2. Members of the working group and...
After all the lofty descriptions of Annual Town Meeting (like “proud tradition”) are peeled away, the core remains. It is, in the words of University of Vermont Professor Emeritus of Political Science Frank M. Bryan, a legislative session of the town's lawmakers - in this case, its registered voters, who make legally binding decisions. These decisions can include actions like approving a town's funding or slashing departments, with consequences that can ripple into the services that a town can afford...
How can the state foster a better business climate, help create more jobs, and ultimately create a better economy for Windham County? Members of the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce posed these and other questions to seven of our county's legislative delegation during a regular Chamber breakfast speakers series held at the Brattleboro Retreat on March 17. Most audience questions centered on economic development, and two bills in the Legislature - one that would mandate paid leave and another that...