Pettee Memorial Library presents “Journalism and War Coverage,” a Vermont Humanities Council event, on Saturday, Aug. 16, at 7 p.m.
The venue is Memorial Hall, 14 West Main St.
It may take years for a war's objective truth to be told. It is challenging enough for a reporter to cover city hall without the obstacles of bullets and bombs. Presenter Mark Timney, who explores war news coverage from the American Civil War on, explains this and more.
Timney also will take up the effect of new technologies and the practice of embedding reporters for war reporting.
The Garland School is moving, and expanding, from West Brattleboro to the 100-acre Austine Campus off Maple Street. The expansion is in both indoor and outdoor space, which includes two more classrooms, an office, a kitchen, and access to the fields and woodlands of the Austine Campus. Garland officials...
After 18 years of rehearsing only on Wednesday nights at 7, the Brattleboro Women's Chorus is adding a second rehearsal: Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon at Main Street's Centre Congregational Church. The 19th fall session begins Sept. 3 and 4. If you have never sung with the chorus,
DPW to begin street paving projects BRATTLEBORO - Milling on three streets here begins Thursday, Aug. 14, starting with Fairground Road. Motorists can expect alternating one-way traffic with delays and should seek alternate routes. Crews will move on to mill Chapin and Grove streets. Crews plan to allow traffic in one direction only from Oak Street to Linden while work takes place. Traffic aiming to enter Chapin from Linden will be directed down Linden. When work gets to Grove Street,
Births • In Lebanon, N.H., (Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center), June 16, 2014, identical twin sons, Caleb Robert Gaines and Collin John Gaines, to Sarah Emmons and Brad Gaines of Guilford; grandsons to Bob and Jackie Gaines of Guilford, and Laurie Bayer of Putney and the late John Emmons of Langdon, N.H. College news • Zachary Wilkins was recently awarded a $250 scholarship by the Townshend Business Association. This was the second time Wilkins received this scholarship, presented to a Leland...
Think pithy: Flash fiction is the style for this year's Write Action writing contest. The winning entry will be a work of original fiction of up to 820 words. Organizers say contestants can choose as their theme “planting seeds the day before the end,” “hope in the dark,” or “fixing what can be fixed.” First prize is $100, second prize is $50, and third prize is $25. The first-prize winner will be invited to read at Write Action's Literary Festival...
“¡Hola! Bonjour! Ciao! Saluton! Goededag! Guten Tag! Salut! Zdravo! Dobrey Dyen! Merhaba! As Salam 'Alaykum! Habari! Neih hou! Annyeong-hasimnikka! Konnichiwa! Bondjou! Namaste! Aloha! Hello!” * * * Those were the first words I heard at orientation on a hot August day 11 years ago. Retired School for International Training Professor Alvino E. Fantini made such an impression on me with his ability to say “hello” in several foreign languages. I was one among 162 students attending SIT's Program in intercultural...
The Food Security Collaborative is pleased to announce its Canning Workshop to be held on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 1 p.m., at Christ's Church on Main Street. This hands-on workshop will cover canning basics. The focus will be on water bath canning, but the differences between canning methods and reasons for using different methods for different foods will be covered. Types of containers to use and best storage conditions will also be covered as well as basic economics of canning...
Marlboro Music's 75 resident artists celebrate their summer's exploration of more than 200 works with three remarkable concerts at Persons Auditorium on the season's final weekend, Aug. 15-17. The Friday, Aug. 15, at 8:30 p.m. concert is extra, and offers one of the best and least-often-heard works for woodwinds: Mozart's Serenade in B flat, K. 361 for 13 winds, “Gran Partita.” Notably, this will be Marlboro's second performance of the revered work since 1981. The program includes the Brahms String...
We hear from people all the time who are trying to create a brand for a new venture or are thinking about rebranding an existing venture. Often, by the time they come to us, they're pretty certain that the timing is right and that they need our help. So, how do you know when it's time to get help and when you might be able to handle it on your own? First off, a quick idea of what we mean...
The Brattleboro Retreat will host the fifth Annual Ride for Heroes event starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 16, with registration beginning at 10 a.m. The motorcycle ride starts on the Brattleboro Retreat campus and ends with a barbeque lunch, also on the Retreat campus. This is the fifth annual Ride for Heroes aimed at supporting the Retreat's Uniformed Service Program (USP). USP offers specialized trauma and addiction treatment for people who are, or have been, active military, law...
Vermont Theatre Company announces auditions for Goldoni's “The Servant of Two Masters,” directed by Jessa Rowan, on Sunday, Aug. 17, at 3 p.m., and Monday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m., in the Chill Room/Room 2-D of Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St. “The Servant of Two Masters,” adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi, is a modern Italian commedia adapted from Carlo Goldoni's play, written in 1743. It is a hilarious, convoluted story of mistaken identities, disguises, miscommunication,
Selectboard chair David Gartenstein's statement at the Aug. 4 site visits, which called into question the status of public comment in the meeting, left some members of the commenting public frustrated and confused. Gartenstein convened the special Selectboard meeting with a caveat: since the voice recorder used to tape meetings had been left at the Municipal Center, public comment at the meeting would not become part of that meeting's “official record.” The board held the meeting [“Disharmony lot,” News, Aug.
A first-round pool of $2 million is available for applicants to try for under the terms of an agreement between Vermont and Entergy as managed by the Windham County Economic Development Program. Grant-winning projects will promote economic development in Windham County. Eligible applicants will include municipalities, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies. Applications from businesses will be considered for financing via the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA). As part of this application process, attendance at one of two application workshops, hosted...
This is a well-written article on Crescent Dragonwagon. I am an alumnus of Fearless Writing and love her honesty when she speaks. She is an outstanding instructor and positive influence.
Several Windham County towns shared in an allocation of $2.4 million in downtown tax incentives that Gov. Peter Shumlin announced in downtown Burlington on Monday. Shumlin said that the tax incentives, for 37 projects in 26 communities statewide, administered through the state Downtown Development Board and Downtown Development Program, support nearly $78 million in downtown, village, and village center construction and rehabilitation projects. The State's Downtown Development Board targets state resources and training to build strong communities and promote the...
I have no right to speak on behalf of the town of Townshend. I do, however, have a right to speak to the recent, rambling comments by Senator Jeanette White regarding Townshend's decision to take its website down. While some believe I controlled the website and the content, I did not. I built it, I maintained it, and I am the only person in town who has been involved with it from the beginning to its current archived state. Any...
It took much explaining and re-explaining, clarifying and re-clarifying, assuring and reassuring, and a few metaphorical packets of smelling salts, but the Selectboard approved an amendment to the town zoning ordinance for the future home of Red Clover Commons. The Brattleboro Housing Authority sought the zoning change for 464 Canal St. from commercial to Residential Planned Unit Development (“Residential PUD”). The board approved the measure during an Aug. 5 public hearing. According to the Town Plan, a PUD is an...
In the next issue of The Commons, we will expand the Voices section to ensure publication of as many letters as we can about the Aug. 26 Vermont primary election. We have a considerable number of contributions on deck already, for which we are grateful. We warmly invite candidates to contribute short statements and a photo. Please submit any materials for this section by Friday, Aug. 15, at 5 p.m.
Town Finance Director John O'Connor says he anticipates the municipality will end the fiscal year on a positive note despite a deficit on paper. With one month left before closing the ledger on fiscal year 2014, which ended on June 30, O'Connor said he expects additional payments, such as delinquent taxes, and cost savings, such as energy efficiencies, to be accounted for in the coming weeks. “We're in good shape,” he said. On paper, according to O'Connor's preliminary end-of-year report,
At the end of September 2010, the Boston Bruins were preparing for the 2010-11 National Hockey League season - and trying to get rid of the bitter taste of blowing a 3-0 lead to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs as only the third team in NHL history to lose a seven-game playoff series after winning the first three games. So the Bruins came to the High 5 Adventure Learning Center, on the...
Almost one-fifth of the fruits and vegetables raised on American farms never make it out of the field. Combine that with the fact that 50 million people aren't sure where or when they will get their next meal, and you have a big problem in this country of plenty. “Crop shrink,” the difference between the food available for harvest and the volume that makes it to market, is due to many factors. If the weather has been good, there may...
Marlboro College is breaking ground in early September on a new building for the arts on its undergraduate campus here. The Snyder Center for the Visual Arts was made possible through a $2.6 million anonymous donation, part of a total $3.5 million gift. The donor is described in a press release as “a loyal, longtime supporter.” Marlboro College said it named the center in honor of the Snyder family's long commitment to the arts at Marlboro and in southern Vermont.
The Community College of Vermont opened in its new location at the renovated Brooks House on Main Street on Aug. 11. CCV will share 18,000 square feet on the building's first and second floors with Vermont Technical College. According to CCV President Joyce Judy in a news release, the move puts CCV “right in the heart of downtown Brattleboro and we expect the college to have better visibility and a stronger tie to the community in this new location.” Judy...
African Dance Vermont and the Arts Council of Windham County present the 10th Annual Abene African Dance and Drum Festival from Aug. 21-24 at the Stone Church, 210 Main St. This festival presents world-renowned performers and teachers of African dance and drumming. It is an opportunity for Brattleboro African Dance to showcase its teachers who give weekly classes at the Stone Church throughout the year, as well as some of its visiting guest teachers. The festival includes dance and drumming...
Many issues came to light during a contentious site tour of locations for a town skateboard park. Neighbors' quality of life resonated with the Selectboard. The board held a special Selectboard meeting Aug. 4 to view five locations recommended by a town committee charged with vetting properties suitable for constructing a 6,500-square-foot skatepark. Members of the public also commented. Heated discussions and a couple of yelling matches punctuated the tour. “There's quite a lot of controversy and quite a lot...
The cap is back on the Grafton Brick Meeting House after the Grafton Historical Society completed repairs to the building's spire. Repaired most recently in 1922, the spire needed a new vertical beam and boards repaired to keep it sturdy for the next 100 years. The iron weather vane also was repaired, as it was found to have been pierced by a bullet. The restoration of the spire of the brick meeting house that used to house the South Congregational...
Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, with its affiliate the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies, in partnership with the Windham Higher Education Cooperative, says an internship program it launched, which places area college students at Windham County businesses, is paying dividends. Students learn while they earn and get credit to boot. And at least one student has just landed a job through the program, supported by Vermont Technical College, Community College of Vermont, Marlboro College, SIT/World Learning, Union Intuition, and Union Institute...
NewBrook Volunteer Fire and Rescue has completed a major project, in the works since last year, to overhaul its Pierce Saber pumper-tanker, designated 23-Engine 3. This truck, in service since 1996, recently returned from the Pierce Manufacturing Company's plant in Appleton, Wis., following three months of renovation and upgrades totalling approximately $150,000. “Pierce has done its usual excellent job, and today we have what is effectively a new truck,” NewBrook Fire Chief Todd Lawley said in a news release. “Now...
As dorky as it sounds, I remember watching the Watergate hearings after school when I was a young boy and thinking, “I'm not really sure who did what, but this must be what it looks like when a government cleans house and sticks to its rules.” Powerful men caught lying, covering microphones, repeating the mantra “I don't recall.” A U.S. president resigning in disgrace. Many players going to jail. Then came the change. * * * It started with the...