A recent Brattleboro Selectboard meeting was a safety-common-sense shocker.
Board members were discussing how to spend the taxpayers' money. It is imperative that the emergency vehicles be kept in good operational condition. The rotation of two vehicles keeps the mileage at a maximum of about 100,000 miles or five years old. This policy is appropriate for how often these vehicles are used.
As a citizen, I protested when board members went to cut money for such a safety issue.
At the same meeting, the Selectboard voted to accept $30,000 for windows at the Gibson-Aiken Center, which had only one appraisal and no research into solar options, which would have lowered the cost of heating the building. Installing windows at this point would not be an appropriate expenditure for such a large building.
Vermont Women in Higher Education (VWHE) recently awarded its annual scholarship to Ellen Wood, a resident dean, communications professor, and coach at Landmark College. Named for Lyndon State College's president, the Carol A. Moore Scholarship recognizes women working in Vermont higher education who want to advance their careers. This...
The Brattleboro Boys & Girls Club and four other clubs in Vermont will share in $550,000 in federal grants to fund activities and programs. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced the grants Jan. 16. It represents an increase of nearly 10 percent over the previous year. The grant announcement...
The only International Skiing Federation (FIS)-approved ski jump in New England will soon be fully active as the 93rd Harris Hill Ski Jump sets to take off on Feb. 14 and 15. The world-class competition will feature more than 40 of the world's top male and female jumpers from the United States, Europe, and Canada, who will compete on the 90-meter Olympic-sized jump off Cedar Street. Founded in 1922, the annual competition held at Harris Hill attracts several thousand spectators...
The Townshend community presents the Last Saturday Concert Series, with free monthly performances and potluck supper for all ages at the Townshend Town Hall on Route 30, at 6 to 9 p.m. Bring a potluck appetizer or dessert to share with your friends and neighbors, new and old. Five Saturdays of performances are scheduled for Jan. 31, Feb. 28, March 28, April 25, and May 30. The debut concert on Jan. 31 features contra dancing and supper with calling by...
The Brattleboro American Legion Band, the only American Legion band in Vermont, is planning to enter a national American Legion band competition in August in Baltimore, Md. The band competed in a similar competition in 2002 in Charlotte, N.C., where it took fourth place. The band from Joliet, Ill., took first place. Brattleboro competed again in 2006 in Salt Lake City, where Joliet won again, but we came in second, missing first place by 1.8 points. At the time, the...
College news • Aubrie Gillam, a creative media major from Putney, and Jessica Malone, an Accounting major from Brattleboro, were named to the Champlain College Dean's List for the fall 2014 semester. • Sarah Bemis, a senior early childhood education and sociology major from Brattleboro, was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2014 semester at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn. • James Moore of Saxtons River has been named to the Dean's List for the fall...
In November 2014, I attended a national conference with 70 other activists opposed to the use of nuclear energy. Many have worked in this field for decades and have a deep technical grasp of the overwhelming and intractable problem of safely isolating toxic radioactive waste. I learned to ask questions I had not known even existed about the post-shutdown period. As Vermont Yankee is in the process of closing, local people are learning the ugly truth of nuclear energy, the...
High liability/low probability events cannot be insured using the standard method. Take, for example, the recently renewed terrorism risk insurance program. Private insurers refuse to insure businesses against a terrorist act except at a very high premium. But just to be clear about how the Price-Anderson Act works, any nuclear accident claims above $12.6 billion (2011 value) would be covered by a congressional mandate to retroactively increase nuclear utility liability or would be covered by the federal government. So there...
The Lentils, a Brattleboro-based band, bills its genres as “post-dad-rock,” “fake pop,” and “mermaid-punk.” Lentils leader Luke Csehak describes the band's sound as incorporating varying degrees of complexity: “It's not punk-rock simple, but it's simple.” The sound changes from show to show, Csehak says, explaining this helps differentiate it from his former group, The Happy Jawbone Family Band, which he describes as a classic five-piece rock-band format “where we tried to protect the song. There wasn't much variation.” The Lentils,
Southeastern Vermont's Northern Roots Traditional Music Festival kicks off Saturday, Jan. 31. Now in its eighth year, the Brattleboro Music Center's annual festival brings together local and regional musicians representing the best of various northern musical traditions. This year's festival features more than 20 musicians and the rich traditions of New England, French Canada, England, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Scotland. The festival is a celebrated opportunity for Brattleboro's community of traditional musicians to come together to share their music with each...
Brooks Memorial Library has Trustee vacancy BRATTLEBORO - The Board of Library Trustees of Brooks Memorial Library seeks an enthusiastic and dedicated library user to fill an open position on the Board. Candidates for this position should have an interest in maintaining a strong and visionary library in Town. Trustees must be residents of Brattleboro. The Board, which numbers nine trustees, meets at the Library from 4:45 to 6:45 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month, September through June.
Recently, we have seen a fair amount of upheaval in our two local food co-ops. I'm referring specifically to various labor and management issues at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, and the current “streamlining the by-laws” debacle at the Putney Co-op. However, this all might have a positive effect, because the open debate encourages more member participation - something in short supply. Participation is what these highly democratic organizations actually depend on. I am a food co-op member-owner who has been...
On a cold, rainy day when icy surfaces kept many people at home, local musicians heated things up in a benefit concert for people who don't have homes. In spite of the conditions, the adventurous drivers and walkers who came out for “Gimme Shelter” were treated to an amazing concert, and a little over $2,000 was raised to help the First Baptist Church heat the Brattleboro Winter Overflow Shelter. Singcrony, our female a cappella group, organized the concert, and we...
In November 2014, the Brooks Memorial Library Board of Trustees and the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library board and membership joined together to launch an annual appeal - the first ever in the library's history. Prospective donors were asked to think about how the library serves them - be they regular visitors who are rarely without at least one book or video on loan, or even too-infrequent members who don't get to the library often but couldn't be more proud...
Six great undergraduate singing groups will perform at the Latchis Theater on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Brattleboro's 12th annual Collegiate A Cappella Concert. A benefit for the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) sponsored by Brattleboro Savings & Loan, Twombly Wealth Management Group, The Richards Group, and Brattleboro Community TV, the concert will feature the Tufts Amalgamates, the Middlebury D8s, the University of Vermont Cat's Meow, the Clark Bars, the Williams College Ephlats, and the Tufts Beelzebubs.
The Dummerston Conservation Commission and Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC) sponsor “How Nature Models Sustainability: An Introduction to Community Ecology” with Tom Wessels. This four-part series runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 10, 17, and 24, with a possible snow date of March 31. Participants should meet at The Learning Collaborative, 471 Route 5. Wessels will discuss the principle of self organization and how it plays out in co-evolved, symbiotic relationships. He says in an event...
Is there a “Brattleboro sound”? Luke Csehak, leader of The Lentils, thinks so. The Brattleboro sound earned street cred in the national and international underground music worlds, Csehak says. He describes it as “a small, small niche,” and maintains that one still hears it referenced as the Brattleboro sound. Csehak places The Lentils firmly in the Brattleboro zeitgeist. In his view, the local scene is marked by “a spirit of true freakdom” that's rare to find. He also worries “that...
On Jan. 5, a strong wind storm toppled a dead tree onto some power and phone lines, snapping off the top of a utility pole and knocking out our electricity, phone, and Internet. This took place on an unplowed section of Old Cheney Road in Jamaica near the Windham border. It affected only five homes, including ours in South Windham. We immediately called Green Mountain Power and FairPoint to report the outages. Within two hours, GMP had two workers there...
What a well-written and thoughtful piece. I enjoyed reading it. Thank you, Ann Landenberger!
Under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the United States turned within four years from the biggest creditor nation in the world in 1981 to the world's largest debtor in 1985. Supported by numerous foreign assignments of the U.S. armed forces, the public debt increased constantly, reaching $18 trillion in recent years. This is a very serious issue for the United States, not only because it deepens the dependence on creditor nations like China or Saudi Arabia, which neglect values like...
The adults, perched on wooden seats designed to fit elementary-aged students, shifted their weight and stretched their legs. At the front of the Green Street School library, Special Education Coordinator Shelley Wilson explained a PowerPoint image of a triangle divided into blue, green, yellow, and red sections. The Brattleboro Town School Board held the third of four community forums on Jan. 21. The well-attended forum focused on methods that the schools and Early Education Services use to educate students with...
In spite of Vermont's recent designation as the safest state in the nation by Yahoo Homes, events in Ferguson, Staten Island, Cleveland, and elsewhere across the nation have many residents of our state wondering about racial bias in our law enforcement. Where there is scant information, we tend to fill the void with whatever the prevailing negative narrative might be. Let me fill that void by describing how Vermont State Police (VSP) leadership has been shaping a more responsive, culturally...
Two of the most innovative and provocative groups in World Music are joining forces for a 29-date American concert tour, with a stop on Feb. 9 at the Latchis Theatre. In association with Marlboro College, Kingdom County Productions presents its biggest event of this season: the exclusive northern New England concerts by America's premier Afrobeat big-band, Antibalas, and Marie Daulne's acclaimed Afro Pop vocal group, Zap Mama. The groups are collaborating like this for the first time. Antibalas and Zap...
Entergy and the town have agreed to a property value of $250 million for the recently decommissioned Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant as of April 1. This figure represents a $30 million decrease from the past tax year, when the plant was still active. Selectboard Chair Patty O'Donnell believes the current agreement “was a very generous proposal,” and said that Entergy was easy to deal with. She acknowledged at the Jan. 19 Selectboard meeting that residents can expect taxes to...
The town has failed to deposit more than $10,000 collected from dog licensing fees for three years, according to an audit of town finances by Montpelier-based accounting firm Mudgett Jennett & Krogh-Wisner PC. According to the audit for the town's fiscal year ending in June 2014, approved at the Jan. 7 Selectboard meeting, the town owes approximately 30 percent of that total to the state. The board approved paying those fees, which will be covered by depositing the payments from...
Two Brattleboro Union High School students were named among the top 20 finalists from more than 400 Vermont youths in a State of the Union Essay Competition organized by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Ryan Taggard won second place in the contest, and Friedemann Schmidt, an exchange student from Leipzig, Germany, placed as one of 20 finalists. The annual competition, now in its fifth year, is an opportunity for high-school students across the state to identify the issues they find most...
Many co-ops today, including the one I first joined, Bloomingfoods, are barely recognizable descendants of those co-ops of yore. Instead of a members-only co-op where you could be a member only if you worked, many co-ops now sell to non-members in the name of increasing profits. Instead of a cooperative and consensus form of government, there are now in many co-opted co-op leadership teams, i.e., a management elite, who guide the co-op toward increasing profits and we-need-to-grow-grow-grow expansion. Instead of...
Many area residents are receiving mailings from HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp. in regard to water service line responsibility. According to Highway & Utilities Superintendent Hannah O'Connell, HomeServe is an independent company that offers residential repair coverage plans and is not affiliated with the local utility that supplies water to residents. She said that this mailing is a solicitation to purchase insurance from HomeServe and is not associated with any utilities furnished by the Town of Brattleboro Water Department. “While...
Recently, The Commons printed an article and letters regarding the Putney Food Co-op, proposed changes to its by-laws, and its involvement with CDS Consulting. As members - we mean, shareholders - of the Brattleboro Food Co-op, we assume that means that the Putney Co-op is going to become like our co-op in Brattleboro; perhaps not in size, but in the management structure, profits, and corporate feel. In August a few disheartened shareholders started the Brattleboro Food Co-op Shareholder Forum -
With town elections and Representative Town Meeting less than two months away, the Selectboard will soon approve the town meeting budget and hold the second of two public hearings on items appearing on the ballot in early March. The special board meeting where board members will address those tasks will take place Thursday, Jan. 29, at 5:15 p.m. in the Selectboard Meeting Room, on the second floor of the Municipal Center. As of the board's Jan. 20 meeting, the proposed...
A pair of homicides that occurred in town in quick succession last year have led to a gathering of community. On Aug. 21, 2014, Shane Brodeur, 26, shot and killed his partner, Katelyn McFadden, 20, and then himself. Exactly three months later, Town Lister Robin O'Neill fatally shot her ex-fiancée, Steve Lott, 60, and his 28-year-old son, Jamis Lott. She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. The devastation to this small town was met in part...
Town departments and members of Brattleboro Area Skatepark is Coming (BASIC) committee are set to consider yet another location for a town skatepark. Next area up for a feasibility study is land near the Upper Field of Living Memorial Park. The Selectboard approved a feasibility process and potential development of land near the Kiwanis picnic shelter and outdoor theater at the park's crown during its regular board meeting on Jan 20. Approval for developing the land came after reports from...
Ahead of townwide elections in March, Brattleboro's candidate races won't be races at all. According to information from Town Clerk Annette Cappy, incumbents were the only people who filed candidate petitions by the Monday, Jan. 26 deadline. Write-in candidates would be the only surprise for elections in March. Sitting Selectboard member John Allen submitted his petition for a three-year term. Chair David Gartenstein and fellow board member Donna Macomber filed for one-year terms. Board members Kate O'Connor and David Schoales,
Three musical acts, two puppet shows, one silent auction, and “delicious desserts” round out the bill for Wildflowers Playschool's fundraising benefit happening Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Putney Community Center. The benefit features a variety of local performers, including puppetry with both Angela DiVeglia's “Modern Folktales from a Sparkling Mind” and “An Incredible Cranky Show” with Shea Witzo. Musical sets include Mike Roberts of Wooden Dinosaur; Anneke Dunnington, billed as a “superb songbird and string strummer”; and Jonas Fricke, who...
The Leland & Gray girls' basketball team has been playing a tough schedule this season with seven of their first 14 games against Division II opponents. But the Rebels ran into an even tougher opponent on Jan. 24 in Townshend as they took on Burr & Burton, the third-ranked team in Division I. Rebels coach Terry Merrow knew it would be a tough game. Before coming to Leland & Gray two seasons ago, he was Burr & Burton's coach. “I...
On Dec. 28, while doing my rounds petsitting, I came upon a chickadee, stunned and fluttering, in a small puddle on the stone doorstep to the house. I picked up the little bird and put it in the front pocket of my down coat to keep it warm. The little chickadee curled its little feet and never moved. I continued with my chores, walking the dog and feeding the cats. When I was finished, I put my hand into my...
The Washed Up Beulah Band returns to New England Youth Theatre on Friday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. with a program of exciting a capella radio-gospel quartet songs from the 1930s and '40s. Combining playful rhythms of ragtime and jazz with the soulful sound of blues, spirituals, and occasional train-whistle harmonies, this pivotal moment in American folk music history comes to life through the collaboration of four Vermont boys: Luke Hoffman, Kenny Shimizu, Wheaton Squier, and Brattleboro's Arthur Davis. This...
Sick of the cold, snow, and ice? Sandglass Theater in Putney says it has a remedy for the wintertime blahs. Sandglass has resumed its Winter Sunshine series to provide - in the words of Shoshana Bass - “a lively respite from the cold, a creative interlude between snow shoveling and wood schlepping, and the shine of laughter through the darkness of our Vermont winter months.” Kicking off the eighth season of the series is “Queens is New York City” storyteller...
Rescue Inc. recently received a $9,943 grant from the Fanny Holt Ames & and Edna Louise Holt Fund. The money was used to fund installation of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in Leland & Gray Union High and Middle School and the elementary schools in Jamaica, Marlboro, Newfane, Townshend, Wardsboro, and Windham. Each of these Windham Central Supervisory Union schools received an AED unit and training for selected staff members in the unit's proper use from Rescue Inc. Rescue Inc. is...
The state of our country has seen marked improvement over the last year. Unemployment is at its lowest level since before the recession, the stock market is setting record highs, and a manufacturing sector has added jobs for the first time in nearly two decades. But we're working to regain lost ground while neglecting the importance of innovating, creating, and aspiring - the very aspects that once made our country great. * * * Throughout the '60s and '70s, America...
If you were expecting a blizzard in Windham County on Tuesday, you were disappointed. If you were hoping that predictions of 1 to 2 feet of snow were just a lot of hot air, you are rejoicing. Windham County was spared the worst of what was a major snowstorm in southern New England. According to forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Albany, N.Y., a combination of a dry air mass over Vermont and a slightly more easterly storm...
According to Robert Putnam, Harvard professor of public policy and author of “Bowling Alone,” retired UVM political scientist Frank Bryan is widely recognized as the world's leading expert on town meetings. In the words of John McClaughry, founder of the Ethan Allen Institute, Bryan is “a backwoods libertarian, populist decentralist, ox-team logger, occasional deer jacker, junk car collector, great speaker, and full-time real Vermonter.” On Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m., Brattleboro will have a chance to form its own...
As a Jim Carrey comedy plays on the television at the back of the community room in the First Baptist Church on Main Street, approximately 15 women and men of varying ages sit at tables and in chairs, some watching the movie, others chatting. One woman asks to borrow a phone. A smaller-than-expected snowstorm that swept through southern Vermont on Monday night and Tuesday closed many of the agencies, organizations, and businesses in the area. However, here at the Overnight...
DPW Truck No. 4, a 2004 15-ton green dump truck carrying an orange salter and matching plow, growls and eats through drifting snow on a steep incline of Guilford Street. Driver Kyle Rabideau crunches forward in his seat, one hand on the truck's steering wheel and the other on the plow controls. As if moving with the heavy truck's momentum, Rabideau first leans left as he maneuvers the vehicle around a corner, then right, around the next corner. Finally, he...