Former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin will be the commencement speaker for the 18th Marlboro College Graduate and Professional Studies commencement, taking place on Saturday, August 22.
The event celebrating Marlboro's 44 graduating students will take place at Centre Congregational Church, Brattleboro, starting at 10 a.m., and is free and open to the public.
“I can imagine no more appropriate or auspicious send-off for our graduates than an address from Governor Kunin,” said Kevin Quigley, incoming president of Marlboro College, in a news release.
Quigley served for 10 years on the board of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, a non-governmental organization founded by Kunin in 1991. “Madeleine brings a wealth of experience in government and civil society that will add tremendous significance to this final ceremony for our graduate and professional studies students.”...
Vermont Theatre Company announces auditions for the Neil Simon play California Suite at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20, and Friday, Aug. 21, at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center, and at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 22, in the basement of the Dummerston Congregational Church (across the...
The Route 5 bridge crossing the Broad Brook in Guilford is scheduled for a full replacement, according to officials at the Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT). “Construction is scheduled for the summer of 2017 after school is out,” wrote AOT Project Manager Rob Young in an email to The...
There will be a multi-band benefit concert featuring many well-known local bands on the Townshend Common on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 4 to 7 p.m., to raise money in the aftermath of an Aug. 3 fire that damaged one wing of the Valley Cares assisted living facility. Valley Cares was struck by lightning on Aug. 3, and the lightning strike ignited the attic, according to fire officials. The 39 residents of Valley Cares were safely evacuated as the facility's sprinkler...
As I start my car in the morning to drive to work, I hear in my head the opening measures of the Prelude of the Bach D minor cello suite. Pushing the waiting CD into its slot, I hear those measures in the same key that played in my mind. After some 12 measures, however, I lose the melody; I hear dynamics, I hear vibrato and the sound of the bow sliding over the strings, I sense some rise and...
Births • At Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), July 28, 2015, a son, Sanai Alderfer Newal, to Daya and Ray Newal. Grandson of Lauren and Henry Alderfer of Brattleboro and Bebe and Bob Newal of Toronto. College news • Keith Walsh of Marlboro earned a place on the Dean's List for the spring 2015 semester at Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Mass. • Davin Freeman of Vernon was awarded a Master of Business Administration degree and Ashley Watson of...
The Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro is seeking donations to fund its purchase of a used van. The club has existed in Windham County since 1999. Since its inception, it has expanded to include three locations, serving hot and nutritious free dinners for children, and a summer camp program serving more than 60 kids this summer. Its mission is, “to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive,
The 98th annual Deerfield Valley Farmers Day Fair takes place on Aug. 20 to 23 at Baker Field off Beaver Street in downtown Wilmington. Daily admission to the fair is $12 for adults, $6 for adults over 65, and free for children 4 and under. The adult admission price includes unlimited carnival rides. The fair begins on Thursday, Aug. 20, with a truck pull. Gates open at 4:30 p.m., with the midway open at 5 p.m., and the first heats...
The Latchis Theatre's Off the Beaten Path film series concludes this weekend with The Wolfpack, a unique documentary critics have described as “undeniably fascinating” and “stunning (and amazingly well done) and hard to believe.” The Off the Beaten Path series, presented in collaboration with the Brattleboro Film Festival, showcases recent films which may have slipped under the radar but are worth seeing. The Wolfpack will be presented on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22 and 23, at 4 p.m. Directed by...
Grace Cottage Hospital invites the community to a presentation of its 2015 Community Health Needs Assessment. This past spring, Grace Cottage Hospital worked collaboratively with Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Brattleboro Retreat and the Vermont Department of Health to gather information through community focus groups and surveys. Additionally, the Vermont Department of Health provided population health indicators. Based on the data gathered, Grace Cottage has prepared its 2015 Community Health Needs Assessment Report, which analyzes the survey results and population health...
Webster's House has the most wonderful community support from the area, both from our big-hearted hardworking volunteers and from our dear adopters. Recently, we reached out to some of our supporters. We needed help fast. And just as quickly as the call went out, the love and help showed up. It is difficult as a small, non-financed, all-volunteer animal shelter that relies only on kind and generous people to keep us doing what we do. They come out of the...
History Fair set for this weekend NEWFANE - Residents are invited to step back in time at the fifth biennial Windham County History Fair on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Held on the historic Newfane Common, the fair is a festival of vintage exhibits by the county's Historical Societies and the Vermont Historical Society, along with demonstrations and historic tours featuring Windham County's rich heritage. Residents can bring attic treasures for a professional antique appraisal and...
Hilltop Montessori School has received funding to help bring 13 residents from Gee's Bend, Ala., to Brattleboro from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 to display their renowned quilts in downtown Brattleboro, share their stories, and perform the play Gee's Bend at Hilltop's new Arts Barn. The grants ($5,000 from The Thompson Trust and $1,500 from Brattleboro Savings & Loan), along with donations from Hilltop supporters means the project is a go. Hilltop has collaborated with Guilford Sound, the Catherine Dianich...
Like the simple home improvement project that turns into a gut renovation, the building upgrades to the Guilford Free Library keep expanding. The initial plans to add attic insulation and repair the library's floor, at the budgeted cost of $15,000, was approved by Town Meeting earlier this year. The only bid the Selectboard received for the work, from Mathes Hulme Builders, was for $19,207. It did not end there. The Fire Marshal recently visited and told the town it needed...
The Estey Organ Museum will sponsor an old-fashioned hymn sing on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 3 p.m. The museum is located at 108 Birge St. in the old Estey Organ complex. Organist for the event will be Ed Boadway of Claremont, N.H. He has been a church organist for 67 years, and is currently music director at the United Church in Ludlow. He was a founder of the Organ Historical Society and is a Past Dean of the Monadnock and...
West River Valley Veterinary Service in Newfane will host a tenth anniversary open house celebration on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its clinic on Route 30. Numerous events are planned for the day, including free medical laser therapy demonstrations, a pet dental check-up event, pet photos, a check-the-chip microchip event, and a drawing for free blood screenings, microchips, and flea and tick preventatives. The prizes awarded in the drawing range in value from $30 to...
What a wonderful recipe! My wife made it last weekend with bacon fat, sour cream, and some fresh local corn. The contrast between the corn bread and the creamy layer in the middle is refreshing. She plans to make it again for our next family party.
Brattleboro Community Radio, WVEW-LP, is hosting an all-ages party, a “conscious party,” on Saturday, Aug. 29, on the Common in downtown Brattleboro. from noon to 5 p.m., to benefit the station. Admission is free, but the station will be asking for donations. Proceeds from the show will help keep WVEW on the air. Heirloom Seeds, a Vermont-based reggae band, will headline the show with DJ Thomas and DJ Ray. There will be vendors, community groups, and face painting. A raffle...
I don't think Bernie Sanders is that clueless. As Curtiss Reed Jr. wrote, he just needs a sharp reminder (a kick upside the head), especially if he hopes to compete on the national stage. Racism is alive and kicking all across this land - and apparently in Vermont as well.
I live in a rural town in New Hampshire that was targeted by Iberdrola for an industrial-scale wind project on our ridgelines. Residents of my community learned that we could not trust a word from Iberdrola. Its representatives gave us the same speech: “If the town votes against the project, we will leave.” Well, we had a 60-percent - yes, 60 percent! - voter turnout that year, and there was overwhelming opposition to the project - at least 3-to-1 opposed.
This story was a great read, and it brought back many memories. I'm looking forward to the Putney Grade School reunion, and seeing all of you. Thank you for all your hard work.
I think Curtiss Reed Jr. wrote an excellent, serious, well-thought-out statement of outreach to Bernie Sanders and his presidential campaign. I have to add, however, that in light of the recent disruption of one if his campaign rallies by alleged members of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as Reed's dismissal of his past record on civil rights and apparent disregard of Eagle Scouts, he fails to give credit where credit is due. Can Bernie and his campaign do...
Vermont's health care system is in flux. The state's path to reform the system - to increase access, prevent disease, and contain costs - has come with as many potholes as advances. The state announced increases in premium costs for Blue Cross Blue Shield (5.9 percent) and MVP (2.4 percent) insurance plans last week. And right next to this announcement, state officials highlighted forward movement on a backlog with its online health insurance exchange, Vermont Health Connect (VHC). The dance...
It started with a poster I saw hanging in the Dummerston Historical Society. The top half showed high cirrus clouds in a bright blue sky. The bottom half was of late summer foliage in green with just a hint of the autumn colors to come. In the center, peeking out above the treeline, is the cupola of the Dummerston Congregational Church. But what caught my eye was the lettering at the bottom of the poster: village fair august 30 1945...
SoBo Studio, 74 Cotton Mill Hill, will offer a free trial week of dance and fitness from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 and opens registration for the fall session of dance, fitness, and fencing classes for kids and adults beginning Sept. 8. This fall, SoBo Studio is expanding its community offerings. Participants during the free trial week can sample full length dance and fitness classes in Hip Hop, Modern Dance, Ballet, Zumba, Belly Dance, Journey Dance, Choreography, Creative Dance, Kid's...
Twilight Music concludes its 13th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn series of summer concerts on Sunday, Aug. 23, with Cajun/Creole roots music sextet Slippery Sneakers. The seventh and final concert of the 2015 series begins at 6 p.m. in downtown Putney on the Putney Tavern lawn (attendees are asked to bring a lawn chair or blanket) or at The Putney Community Center at 10 Christian Square in case of rain. Slippery Sneakers is a high-energy dance band that brings...
The fall high school sports season in Vermont has officially begun with the start of officially-sanctioned practice time for football, soccer, field hockey, and cross country. • The first games of fall sports season is set for Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m., when the Brattleboro Colonels open the football season at home against Hartford at Natowich Field, while Bellows Falls is on the road to take on Springfield at Brown Field. The Colonels' football opener will mark the debut...
The newly-formed Rock River Players present Thornton Wilder's Our Town Aug. 27-30 at Williamsville Hall. In its review of the 1938 opening on Broadway, The New York Times hailed Our Town as “hauntingly beautiful,” endowed with “immortal truth” with its understated, but resonant depiction of a quest we all share - to find love and fulfillment, and to appreciate life's abundance and minutiae. In writing the Pultizer Prize-winning Our Town, Wilder joined others, such as Robert Frost, who searched for...
In honor of 20 years of singing, the Brattleboro Women's Chorus has various celebratory events planned from now until May, beginning with the fall session of chorus on Sept. 2 and 3. New and former singers are encouraged to join and sing many of the most loved songs from past years. There are two rehearsal times and places – either Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:30 (new time) at All Souls Church in West Brattleboro, or Thursday mornings from 10 a.m. to...
Writer Deborah Lee Luskin will be teaching a workshop in narrative nonfiction at Marlboro College Graduate School in the fall semester. This 3-credit course is open to educators across the curriculum and to writers beginning or already engaged in a work of narrative nonfiction. It will meet on four Sundays (Sept. 20, Oct. 11, Nov. 15, and Dec. 13), from 12:30 to 6 p.m. at the Marlboro Graduate Center; all other work will take place online. Students will learn the...
Bartleby's Books will host an event with cookbook author Sarah Leah Chase, who will discuss her new cookbook, New England Open House Cookbook. The event will take place on Friday, Aug. 21, at 5:30 p.m., at Bartleby's Books, 17 West Main St. From a born-and-bred New Englander comes a book that sings with all the flavors and textures of the beloved region. Chase is a caterer, cooking teacher, and prolific writer whose books, including The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook...
In a unanimous vote, the Selectboard has selected a 28-foot-wide arch-bridge design to replace the Arch Bridge. Although this width will allow for two vehicular travel lanes, the board opted to have the road striped for one car lane with additional striping along the sides for expanded pedestrian use. The design addresses concerns by allowing emergency vehicles and plow trucks an easier passage with the wider width. Also its meeting on Monday night, the board decided to create a three-way...
Samirah Evans and Franz Robert will perform a duet concert at the new 118 Elliot art space in Brattleboro on Thursday, Aug. 20. The concert marks the first time the two will formally share a stage, says Evans. She credits Vermont Jazz Center director Eugene Uman with urging her to work with the young pianist, who will be attending the Manhattan School of Music this fall. “Franz is so incredibly gifted and a lovely human being. I'm so delighted that...
Thirteen animals found new homes on Aug. 15 when the Windham County Humane Society (WCHS) participated for the first time in the nationwide Clear the Shelters event. On this Saturday only, humans in need of new cats and dogs could come to participating shelters across the country and pay what they wanted to adopt a furry friend. Normally, the Humane Society charges adoption fees from $30 to $300, depending on the species of the animal and its age. Two hours...
We all knew there would be a gay moment IN the recent GOP Presidential Debate Games Night. We just weren't sure who would be the culprit in this round of Clue: Family Values Edition. Would it be Marco Rubio in the conservatory with the knife-edged Religious Freedom Protection Act? Or maybe Mike Huckabee in the kitchen with the poisonous wedding cake? Or possibly even Scott Walker in the billiards room with his lethal Eagle Scout badges? But no, we were...
Wayne Davis, project manager with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT), said he has his “fingers crossed” for the Putney park-and-ride to open this fall. It has been a long time coming. For about a year, the area behind the Putney fire station has been under some form of construction to build the park-and-ride, but the AOT's plans for it go back much further. “In the late 1990s, [the AOT] started thinking about a park-and-ride” for the area, Davis told...
People turned out at a meeting this week to express worry that a fast-food franchise in the heart of the business district could damage the town's economy and character. A large audience filled most of the second-floor meeting room of the Town Office building on Aug. 17 as the Design Review Board heard the Sandri Companies' application to add a Dunkin' Donuts to its current gas station on Route 9. There, most of the public comments focused on saying “no”
Next month, Hollywood will arrive to the Deerfield Valley. Directors, writers, producers, and network executives will descend on the region for the 10th annual ITVFest, starting Sept. 24. The four-day independent television and film festival showcases projects that have appeared in realms outside the major networks. Members of the film industry have been the festival's biggest champions, said Executive Director Philip Gilpin Jr. - so much so that the festival has committed to making Dover its permanent home through at...