Recently, there have been news stories and letters to the editor in the local media about the efforts of our newest Selectboard member, Dennis Mirante, and his attempt to rein in town spending.
Mirante has asked for accountability, transparency, and consistency in reporting - all seemingly reasonable requests of town officials and employees. We should all applaud his willingness to tackle this and take the heat.
Yet this effort has brought much criticism from a vocal few in town. Understandably, family and friends of town employees are very concerned that this examination of town expenses might result in cutbacks that would reduce their incomes, never a welcome event.
But at the same time, asking the question - just what should a town our size need to pay for the staff, equipment and services required to maintain our roads - seems like the responsible thing to do. The majority of residents so far have not weighed in on the matter, so we wonder how they see it.
The man suspected of robbing the People's United Bank on Main Street last month turned himself in to Brattleboro Police on Sunday night. Jared R. Fahmy, 22, of Bedford, N.H., was arraigned Monday in Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division, on a felony charge of larceny from a person. Judge...
Nineteen smiling New York City children boarded buses on July 8, headed for Southeastern Vermont, to reunite with their host families at the Fresh Air Fund bus drop-off point at Brattleboro Union High School. This summer, close to 4,000 children will enjoy a summer outside of the city with...
With only 3,000 residents, it's hard to justify a full-time unionized fire department with a budget of $321,775. Many towns with far larger populations are superbly served by volunteers. Village President Nancy McAuliffe is right in identifying crushing taxes as a key factor in the town's decline. But with union members dominating the meeting and sowing unjustified fear in the few folks who did show up to vote, the excessive municipal budgets will continue. A classic case of a special-interest...
Solar isn't just for wealthy homeowners anymore. As a renter with a modest income, I can't install solar panels on my building, and don't have the money to make the up-front investment. So I'm planning to take out a low-interest loan through the new Windham County Solar Loan Program and use it to purchase shares in a community solar project. I estimate that by doing so, I will cut my electric bill by two-thirds and save more than $10,000 over...
The good folks in Vermont should be studying what we have been going through for several years after the decommissioning of San Onofre. Check out SanOnofreSafety.org. We did a poll, and 92 percent favored naming it the Darrell Issa Nuclear Waste Dump. We are supposed to be one of the six nuclear power plants in the country that the National Academy of Sciences wants to study for cancer streaks. But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has held up the funding for...
College news • Katherine Hambleton of Wilmington graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in biopsychology. • The following local students recently graduated Cum Laude from the University of Rhode Island: Dustin O. Powell of Westminster received a B.S. in Landscape Architecture and Joseph M. Sawyer Shaw of Brattleboro received a B.A. in Film Media. • Conor Madison of Londonderry has earned Highest Honors, while Kelsey Patterson of Brattleboro has earned Honors during the spring 2015 semester at the University...
Putney Library holds StoryWalks in school forest PUTNEY - The Putney Public Library, in partnership with the Putney Central School, are happy to present a new summer reading program that will get you out of the house and into the School Forest. StoryWalks are picture books, mounted as signs along the Loop Trail in the School Forest. Families can read the story as they walk along the trail. Take a right after crossing the bridge and begin their latest StoryWalk,
It's sad when you're a devoted employee for decades and when you leave it's no big thing to an employer. People wonder why no one wants to work at one place for long.
The deadline for artists to submit a proposal to the town for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town grant is fast approaching. But with the deadline for the initial proposals only days away - Sunday, July 26 at 9 p.m. - many questions remained for the almost 20 people who gathered on the stage in the Latchis' main theater on July 9 to discuss the grant. The $56,000 matching funds grant, awarded in 2012 to the Brattleboro...
The Vermont Humanities Council recently awarded a $3,000 grant to the Brattleboro Literary Festival. This year's Literary Festival takes place Oct. 1-4, and is a four-day celebration of those who read books, those who write books, and of the books themselves. The Festival includes readings, panel discussions, and special events, featuring emerging and established authors. All events are free and open to the public. VHC's Grants program supports nonprofit organizations that conduct humanities-related projects; this spring VHC awarded a total...
I just received a letter from Brattleboro Area Middle School teachers Julianne Eagan and Liz Scanlon stating, “Reading logs will be due on the first day of eighth grade, and, at that time, students will have an opportunity to share their summer reading experience with their peers. It is important for you and your student to know that these reading logs will be counted toward the first quarter fall grades.” Vermont law says: “A person having the control of a...
The Paisley Fields are taking their boundary-pushing brand of country music on the road, and will be riding into Brattleboro on Thursday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m. at The Root Social Justice Center on Williams Street. Opening are local folk acts badweatherfriend and Bella. Along with their award-winning original music, The Paisley Fields will add some classic country covers to their raucous live shows. “The Paisley Fields have a good bit in common with contemporary country - rich production, songs...
Wendy Redlinger's Jazz Soiree will host the Bob Stabach 4tet on Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m, preceded by a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. The quartet includes Eugene Uman, piano: George Kaye, bass; Jon Fisher, drums; and Bob Stabach on sax0phone. In this performance, the quartet celebrates Dave Brubeck's best selling jazz album, Time Out, which went platinum (1 million copies sold) in 1961. “Take Five,” from this album, became the best selling jazz single of all time. Time...
As part of an effort to increase community connectedness, the FEET Neighbors group has started its Neighborhood Pride Zone campaign in the Frost, Elm, and Elliot streets triangle. The campaign will create a visible presence of connection and safety within the area. “Instead of having a neighborhood watch program, which creates an 'us versus them' mentality, our goal is to continue to unite neighbors to work together, embracing our diversity and getting to know one another,” Robyn Flatley, a resident...
Newfane fires Sheriff's Department NEWFANE - Citing his displeasure with the Windham County Sheriff's Department from the perspective of his role as Roads Foreman, Chair Todd Lawley suggested to his fellow Selectboard members that the town decline to renew the department's contract. Lawley's complaints involved what he saw as a lack of responsiveness from the department. He said he had asked the sheriff to send someone to the Selectboard “once a month” to give an update, and that has not...
Rockingham deals with Act 148 ROCKINGHAM - Act 148, the state food waste recycling law, moved one step closer to full implementation on July 1, with the second of five phase-ins leading to residential food recycling in 2020. The rules introduce a statewide pricing structure that requires residential trash be charged based on volume or weight. They also ban recyclables from landfills and require transfer stations and drop-off facilities to accept leaf and yard debris. Residential haulers must now offer...
Other Rock River artists participating in the tour: • Rob Cartelli (functional ceramics) • Kim Hartman Colligan (printmaking) • Rich Gillis (wrought iron work) • Caryn King (paintings) • Leonard Ragouzeos (painting and drawing) • Lauri Richardson (mosaics) • Roger Sandes (painting and prints) • Deidre Scherer (thread on fabric) • Christine Triebert (photography) • Mary Welsh (collage)
Brattleboro Community Television (BCTV) has won two national “Hometown Media Awards” from the Alliance for Community Media. This marks the third time that BCTV's highlight reel of local programming has won a national award from the Alliance for Community Media. Production Manager Roland Boyden produces the video each year for BCTV's Members Meeting to showcase the variety of video subjects produced annually and the stories “behind-the-scenes” of how those videos are created by volunteers and staff. Boyden distilled more than...
Guilford Center Stage announces auditions for its first production, Tourists Accommodated, a comedy by Vermont author Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Auditions will be held on Wednesday, July 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Grange in Guilford Center. Those unable to attend during those hours may contact the directors for an audition. Guilford Center Stage is the work of Grange members Laura Lawson Tucker and Don McLean, and was formed in response to community requests for more arts and other...
The Rockingham Historical Commission (CLG) is seeking nominations for the Rockingham Old House Awards. “This is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the property owners in our town who are restoring and renewing their historic homes and commercial buildings,” wrote Christy Hotaling, CLG Coordinator for the Town of Rockingham, in a news release. There will be multiple award categories and, therefore, multiple awardees. In the past, categories have included awards for best commercial building, apartment building, private residence, long term maintenance,
Silver Moon School of Feng Shui Certificate Program 2014-2015 graduates recently celebrated their accomplishments. Feng Shui is the ancient art and science of creating harmony, balance and intention in our homes and work environments, to promote health and success for the occupants. Students apply the concepts to their own living spaces while taking the course. This allows them to study the basic principles learned in class and experience the profound positive effects the practice of Feng Shui may have on...
The Selectboard has approved $27,000 for use over the next three years by the Apartments in Homes (AIH) program, an initiative of Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing (BAAH). The funds will be used to create nine new apartments in single-family homes in town by providing grants of up to $4,000 ($3,000 per unit from the town and $1,000 from BAAH) to assist with the cost of constructing a separate living unit within the recipient's home. Established in 2003 by Brattleboro Area...
It's playoff time for the Brattleboro Little League All-Stars. The 11-12-year-old team is in the midst of a best-of-seven series against Bennington for the District 2 championship. The winner plays in the state tournament. The tournament began last Saturday night in Bennington as the hosts crushed Brattleboro, 13-0. For Bennington, the momentum they thought they had going into Game 2 at South Main Street Field on Sunday vanished as Brattleboro came back from a 5-1 deficit to win 7-6 in...
For much of the past eight years, well before Ferguson and Baltimore were on all our minds, the leadership of the Brattleboro Police Department (BPD) was considering various approaches to officer education in unbiased policing. New recruits attending the Vermont Police Academy participated in anti-bias policing workshops. In 2014, all BPD officers and dispatchers participated in a training provided by the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity. This year, under Chief Michael Fitzgerald's leadership, the department is taking the bold...
David Stern of Westminster has been appointed artistic director of Main Street Arts community arts center. Stern directed MSA's recent productions of Les Misérables and The Pirates of Penzance. He is founding director of the New Ensemble Theater in Concord, Mass., and has run theater programs at Springfield High School, the Middlesex School, The Meeting School, and Kimball Union Academy. He has a master of fine arts in theatrical design from Rutgers University and has directed shows and created innovative...
As Newfane weighs its options on the needed replacement of the Arch Bridge, a new possibility has emerged that may bridge the gap between those who want to retain it as a single-lane span, and those who feel it should have two lanes. [See “Arch Bridge needs replacing ... but with what?” Town & Village, May 27] During the July 6 regular Selectboard meeting, Chair and Roads Foreman Todd Lawley noted one possible solution named at the June 29 special...
Since its inception 16 years ago, Compass School's mission has been to provide real-world learning for its students. The school has a Community Service Winter Term; its junior class travels to the Dominican Republic in its Global Connections program; it holds all-school spring trips and Project Week that connect students to the world beyond the classroom walls. “Next year, Compass will encourage even more connections by providing computers to assure every student has access to the technological world,” according to...
On the weekend of July 18 and 19, the quiet, flower-lined roads along the Rock River become an open studio. Since 1993, artists have opened their homes and workplaces on the third weekend in July for the Rock River Artists Tour. Guests can interact with them, purchase their creations, and sometimes see art in action through their demonstrations. This year, 14 artists are included in the tour, which begins at the Old Schoolhouse in South Newfane village. Attendees can view...
“Physical theater is more than what most people think when they hear the term,” says Ben Grinberg, co-founder of Almanac Dance Circus Theatre. “It is not just mime or red-nose clowning.” The genre also pursues storytelling through primarily physical means which rely on motions of the performers rather than (or combined with) text to convey the story. “As we do Almanac, performers talk through hand gestures, body language, thought track [when a character speaks aloud inner thoughts], and many more...
Both the 2008 and the 2012 U.S. presidential elections seemed like a mark that the United States had distinctly changed direction. But even in the Democratic primaries, the discussion between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was of incidental tweaks on policy - nothing grand. Although the Obama presidency proposed to be an invitation to review new priorities, his presidency has turned out to be mostly Clintonesque “small ball.” Even the Affordable Care Act was incremental in effect - important, but...
Summertime is here, and the days are busy for the crew of Department of Public Works. The department has approximately 14 projects lined up for the summer. If funding and the weather cooperate, most of the work will wrap by the fall. Any time of the year, DPW has a full plate. Brattleboro's aging infrastructure needs constant repairs. “A lot of the town needs fixing,” said Water and Highway Superintendent Hannah O'Connell. “We just can't get around to all of...
Roses have long symbolized love, beauty, war, and even politics. According to fossil evidence, the rose is 35 million years old. About 150 species of roses grow throughout the northern hemisphere. Cultivation of roses did not begin until about 5,000 years ago, most likely in China. The “War of the Roses” in 15th-century England was so called because the groups fighting for control each chose either a white or red rose as their symbol. To this day, the rose is...