A pageant in the Main Hall of West Village Meeting House will be held on Friday, July 10, at 10:30 a.m. NEYT's Theatre Adventure Summer Troupe presents the culminating show of their three-week theater arts camp, “Extravaganza Journey!”
The production features a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, and stories. One student has helped create an original “Journey” song. Two other students have created an original story. All of the actors will demonstrate the power of imagination and creativity for kindling fires of learning and change.
The Theatre Adventure Summer Troupe has explored many meanings of journey - from the natural world, in fantasy, and from one's personal life. The camp has explored joy, obstacles, dedication, perseverance, bravery, humor, working together, resourcefulness, awe, love, and triumph.
“Extravaganza Journey!” is a pageant created from the students' ideas. This one-hour show weaves together acting, physical comedy, creative movement, drumming, fabric arts, projections, singing, and sound.
Situated next to a classic red-clapboard barn on land farmed since the early 1800s, a new piece of Vermont history is taking shape: an award-winning community solar array poised to provide energy to both businesses in town and residents. Contributing companies Soveren Solar, the Vermont Agricultural Business Education Center...
A group of Saxtons River area residents has been meeting informally for several months to explore the need for and feasibility of establishing a community organization to provide services and support primarily to elderly or disabled residents of the village and surrounding areas. The group envisions a model similar...
A hiking trail connecting neighborhoods in West Brattleboro and a trail map and interpretive guide for Guilford are among five projects that will receive financial support, thanks to grants from the Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions (AVCC). Grants were awarded to conservation commissions for these projects in Brattleboro, Cambridge, Cornwall, Guilford, and Northfield. Groups will receive between $400 and $500 depending on the project, from the AVCC Tiny Grant program. “We are proud to be able to help advance, in...
Dog owners who have yet to renew licenses for their pets must do so or face penalties. The Selectboard approved the annual dog warrant at its June 16 meeting. Town Manager Peter Elwell noted that the list does contain some errors because some pets have either died or the families have moved. That said, there are “dozens” of dogs in town who need their licenses renewed, he added. With the warrant, the town can take action against households that have...
The Grafton Inn has cooked up a delicious day for the third annual Grafton Food Festival in historic Grafton Village. The festival, scheduled for July 11, will feature tastings of local products, cooking demonstrations, and children's activities, culminating with a five-course dinner prepared by celebrity guest Chef Mary Ann Esposito of the PBS series Ciao Italia. Featuring the unique cuisine of more than 20 local vendors, the festival and dinner will highlight the culinary traditions of southern Vermont. “Over the...
Stratton Mountain School (SMS), a ski and snowboard academy based in the heart of southern Vermont's Green Mountains, hosted a dedication ceremony on June 13 for the new Education, Arts & Student Center in honor of Patti Kaltsas, late wife of SMS Headmaster Chris Kaltsas. SMS administration, trustees, parents, and friends officially welcomed the addition of the new Patti Kaltsas Education, Arts & Student Center to campus by remembering Patti Kaltsas, who was beloved by students and a loyal supporter...
The Apron Theater Company and Next Stage Arts Project present Top Girls by Caryl Churchill, directed by Hallie Flower. Performances are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, July 16-19, and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, July 23-25, and will be held at The Grammar School, 69 Hickory Ridge Road, while Next Stage undergoes renovations. Playwright Caryl Churchill wrote this modern classic - still considered daring in construction and relevant some 30 years after first opening at London's Royal Court Theatre. Katrina Spenceman...
College news • Mary Donald, an international relations major from Grafton, graduated from Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. She is one of 732 members of the Class of 2015 that graduated from Colgate during the university's 194th commencement on May 17. Transitions • Adult-Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (AGNP) Devan Lucier will begin seeing patients at Grace Cottage Family Health starting July 13. A graduate of Leland & Gray Union High School, Lucier received her BSN and her MSN from the University...
Summer comes with various seasonal opportunities for struggling families, seniors, and others to get the food they need, including farmers' market coupons, summer meals for children, and the chance to use 3SquaresVT benefits to grow your own food. Southeastern Vermont Community Action's (SEVCA) Family Services staff can help area residents find out about the programs they may qualify for and assist them to apply for 3SquaresVT food benefits. Many people don't know that 3SquaresVT benefits (i.e., food stamps) can be...
The Recreation and Parks Department, as part of the Arts in the Parks Program, presents Three Way Street on the Common on Putney Road, on Tuesday, July 14, at 7 p.m. This is the third concert of the Summer Arts in the Park series for 2015. Three Way Street, an acoustic trio, plays a range of styles from country to Cajun, bluegrass to blues, and swing to soul. The band has been performing together for half their lives. All three...
Next WBA meeting scheduled for July 9 WEST BRATTLEBORO - The next monthly meeting of the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will be held at the New England House restaurant, 254 Marlboro Rd., on Thursday, July 9, at 6 p.m. After a review of the treasury report, the WBA will tackle organizational issues such as progress toward making the group officially nonprofit. There will also be discussion of a letter to the Planning Commission regarding notification to abutters about public hearings...
Police have arrested a woman suspected of two robberies on Putney Road and have also obtained an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with the June 29 robbery of the Peoples United Bank on Main Street. According to a press release from the Brattleboro Police Department, detectives in the department's Criminal Investigation Division identified suspect Christina L. Kelley, 38, of Brattleboro, as responsible for the robbery of a McDonald's and the attempted robbery of a Dunkin' Donuts, both...
Joe Green, cheesemonger at Grafton Village Cheese, recently hosted an evening of cheese and beer tasting at the company's Linden Street location. Although the cheese and beer are made in two separate locations and are different entities, the common thread is familial: both are from the von Trapp family. Yes, those von Trapps. Cheesemaker Sebastian von Trapp said in an email to The Commons, “My grandfather Werner was the youngest boy in Sound of Music, they changed his name to...
Library project makes progress GUILFORD - After soliciting bids for work needed on the Guilford Free Library, the town received one response from Mathes Hulme Builders. The offer was $19,207 to add insulation to the building, constructed in 1891, and to repair its floor. Selectboard Chair Anne Rider, upon opening the bid at the June 22 regular board meeting, noted it exceeded the budgeted amount for the project by $4,207. Board member Gabrielle Ciuffreda wondered aloud how the town would...
I was shocked but mostly saddened today as my eyes glanced at the front page to see a photo of Pat Smith, now formerly of the Brattleboro Reformer. I have known Pat for nearly a decade, but mostly in her professional life as a staff member. She has been my Reformer “right arm” and always my “go to” person for as long as I can remember: fielding questions, pointing me in the right direction when I couldn't navigate the newspaper's...
Pat, Pat, Pat! After all these years of great dedication, I'm so sad that you, Pat Smith, did not get your own exit at your own time! You deserved that. Thank you for all your help over the years; during all the various times of turmoil, there you were, quietly making things right. Your next chapter will be even better!
Thank you for sharing this story full of tears and love. I am happy for the happy ending.
The big Quarry Road culvert project nears an end, according to Dummerston's Roads Foreman Lee Chamberlin. Chamberlin told the Selectboard at its June 24 regular meeting the work may be finished within two weeks. “Everything seems to be going well,” he said. “They're pouring the headwalls now,” Chamberlin reported, adding, “once they get that complete, then they backfill, and [put in] guard rails." The project is “a little bit behind schedule,” Chamberlin said. Weather is to blame, especially the heavy...
Our sincere thanks to everyone who made Brattleboro's 42nd annual free family Independence Day celebration such a rousing success. The all-volunteer “By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth” citizens committee and town Recreation & Parks Department were able to present the event only because of the generosity of countless individuals and organizations that donated their time, money and talent, including: - Brattleboro's Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which not only led our parade with its giant U.S. flag but also...
On Friday, July 10, at 7:30 p.m., Stone Church Arts will present an evening of new music for cello and guitar featuring Eugene Friesen with Ian Ethan Case at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St. The evening will include solos and duets plus new collaborative compositions that involve “looping”: live recorded layers of sound resulting in a large ensemble effect. Eugene Friesen, four-time Grammy-winning cellist with the Paul Winter Consort and faculty member at the Berklee College of Music in...
The Brattleboro Union High School Class of 1965 gathered for their 50th Reunion Marathon Weekend on June 19, 20, and 21. The weekend officially kicked off with a “meet and greet” on Friday evening at the Elks Lodge. An extensive buffet was catered by David Follensbee and his crew. Good weather provided a backdrop for the Saturday morning dedication of the class gift, a granite bench, situated in the newly created “Colonel's Den,” eating and gathering area near the football...
Twilight Music continues its 13th annual Twilight on the Tavern Lawn series of folk, world beat, rock, jazz, zydeco, Celtic, swing, blues, and bluegrass summer concerts on Sunday, July 12, with an evening of American music by The Mike + Ruthy Band. The seven-concert series continues every other Sunday through Aug. 23. All concerts begin at 6 p.m. in downtown Putney on the Putney Tavern lawn (bring a lawn chair or blanket) or at The Putney Community Center at 10...
Like some of the little towns where the fruit is grown, strawberry season could best be described as “blink, and you'll miss it." With June behind us, so are most locally-grown strawberries. Many of the berries grown in this region are June-bearing. As Read Miller of Dummerston's Dwight Miller Orchards explains, traditional June-bearing strawberries are sensitive to that month's daylight conditions, producing fruit from roughly June 1 to early July. “They aren't very productive,” Miller said of the June-bearing plants.
Brenda Siegel, founder and executive artistic director of the Southern Vermont Dance Festival (SVDF), looks for ways to inspire the community through movement. “For some, they are inspired by moving themselves. For others, it is being a spectator of the art of dance and, for others, it is the image of dance or movement that inspires,” says Siegel. “Showing the multi-venue exhibit is a way to show dance and movement as it is captured by the visual artist. It is...
The Jeremy Kittel Band brings its bluegrass-Celtic-gypsy-jazz to the Hooker Dunham Theater in Brattleboro on Friday, July 10, at 7:30 p.m. Grammy-nominated fiddler Jeremy Kittel was a five-year member of the Turtle Island String Quartet, and works with artists from My Morning Jacket to Aoife O'Donovan. His latest CD Chasing Sparks (Compass) features Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer. This year, Kittel has teamed up with Florida mandolin prodigy Josh Pinkham and Vancouver guitar whiz Quinn Bachand for a summer tour.
Stacks of memos and projects line the office desk and meeting table of outgoing Marlboro College President Ellen McCulloch-Lovell. When asked what she wished she'd accomplished while Marlboro's president, McCulloch-Lovell responded, “Oh, my gosh, so many things. That would be a very long list.” She joked that she's compiling a memo to incoming President Kevin F. F. Quigley: “Things I wished I'd done.” After listing a number of wish-list projects that included expanding internship programs, increasing enrollment, and better marketing...
What do Youth Services, Vermont Yankee, the Brattleboro Farmers' Market, and Act 250 have in common? At one time, they were the projects no one tackled. And then, they were tackled by the Windham Regional Commission (WRC). Founded in 1965 as the first regional commission in Vermont, the WRC celebrated its half-century with 150 guests at a June 23 gala. Guests crammed into The Stephen and Nita Lowey International Center at the School for International Training, drinks in one hand,
Addition to cell tower planned PUTNEY - The town recently received notice from the state Public Service Board about a planned addition to the controversial Shag Bark Hill cell tower. [See “Despite opposition, AT & T to go ahead with cell tower plan,” Town & Village, March 19, 2014.] Verizon requested a Certificate Of Public Good to add their cell site onto AT & T's wireless communications tower. It doesn't change the size of the tower, Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard...
Whenever domestic violence homicide makes the news, we all get a brief look at the most extreme form of an abuser's sense of entitlement. But his victim likely experienced a whole range of control tactics well before that fatal moment. Across the country, thousands of women work to stay alive despite graphic death threats, and every day three more batterers become killers. Because we're all downstream of this potential safety hazard, it's worth understanding a batterer's M.O. * * *
This is a great piece of journalism. It's quite obvious that Randy Holhut worked with a one-of-a-kind editor, and one of the best in the newspaper business. It was a real privilege for me to have known Norman Runnion and to have worked at the Reformer when he was editor. That newspaper has never been quite the same since he left; obviously, it's taken a nosedive in recent years, and there is no recovering from it. Keep up the good...
It's a sad day when a writer loses a job. I hope Pat Smith and Mike Fahar find meaningful work that will continue to contribute to their community.
What a great story. It is heartwarming to read a tale of such hard-won redemption of a family history, as well as the hard work and kindness of so many willing organizations and individuals. Great work, Wendy!
I am so sorry to lose Pat Smith. She was the voice of the Reformer for me, and always helpful.
Love this story! Ana was my son Leo's preschool teacher. I am so happy for the family and the amazing resourcefulness and commitment that brought them all back together. So happy for Ana.
Thanks to Randy Holhut for the thorough report. Obviously, efficiencies can be gained by eliminating non-revenue-producing units such as reporters, editors, and especially longtime newsroom employees, who are all just drags on a newspaper's bottom line - it only makes sense. It's not surprising that a hedge fund would have no more interest in the people who put together their “product” every day than Dean “I love newspapers” Singleton, the founder and chairman of Media News Group, who purchased the...
The River Garden was filled with business owners and their families and well-wishers on June 25 as The Strolling of the Heifers and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation handed out $64,000 in prize money to 20 new and existing businesses in the 2015 Windham Regional Business Planning Competition. “This is like the Academy Awards of Brattleboro,” said Strolling of the Heifers founder Orly Munzing. She was exaggerating only a little. There was much anticipation surrounding the announcement of winners of...
World-renowned drummer Marla Leigh Goldstein will offer a donation-based “Yoga of Drumming” workshop on Sunday, July 12, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center on Townshend Road. Cooperman Company will provide frame drums for this interactive event. There will also be some drums available for purchase after the workshop. All abilities are welcome. Bring something to sit on - a blanket, yoga mat or camp chair. The plan is for this event to take place outside...
Brattleboro Post 5 pitcher George Atkins is on a hot streak to start the American Legion Baseball season. In his first three starts, all wins, he has given up just two hits over 20 innings. Against Bellows Falls Post 37 on July 2 at Hadley Field, Atkins just missed out on his second straight no-hitter. He settled for a complete game, one-hit, 92-pitch shut out in a 4-0 win for Post 5. Atkins struck out eight and walked two over...
Last month, Pope Francis released an encyclical on climate change, describing it as the moral issue of our time and calling for immediate, global action. The significance of this publication cannot be overstated. The Roman Catholic Church has 1.2 billion followers worldwide; when he talks, lots of people listen. Even so, some scientists fear that changes in our atmosphere may already be too great to prevent catastrophic changes in the Earth's climate. But as a parent of toddler, I can't...
She has been taking a generic drug for 20 years when suddenly her big-chain-pharmacy says they can no longer obtain the drug from the manufacturer that had been the supplier because their “local distributor” no longer carries the necessary medication from that manufacturer. The pharmacy gives her first one, then another generic, but both prove ineffective because while the essential chemical compound is present in the new generics, the material used as “binding” differs from that of the original manufacturer.
We hope that someday we can tell you the full story about why someone would take 1,500 copies of The Commons last week. Right now we have more questions than we do answers. Thanks to two eyewitnesses and security footage at a third location, this we do know: as afternoon turned to evening on Wednesday, July 1, two people - a tall, dark-haired man with a “strong brow,” accompanied by a young boy - shadowed our distribution efforts. They removed...
Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark visited the Selectboard at its June 22 regular board meeting to introduce himself to the new members, and to discuss the increase in the contract price his department charges the town. The original agreement was for the Sheriff's Department to patrol Guilford 1½ hours responding to calls, and 6½ hours for traffic enforcement, every month, at a rate of $4,000 per month. Clark now seeks $4,608 for the same services. “I think we can probably...