Local author Archer Mayor will soon release his 27th Detective Joe Gunther novel, and fans are invited to celebrate on Aug. 27 by participating in a photographic scavenger hunt through many of the Brattleboro locales that are important to Mayor's books.
The event will begin at the Brattleboro North KOA Campground on Route 5 in Dummerston at 9 a.m. with a complete pancake breakfast ($8/person, $10 gluten free).
Mayor will give a talk that will include hints about his next Gunther novel and his experiences during the past 30 years as firefighter/EMT, a constable, and a death investigator for Vermont's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He'll also be signing books that will be for sale.
Next, participants will be given a Gunther map of Brattleboro to find the locales individually or with friends and family along with information about parking and “friends of the hunt” businesses in Brattleboro. At each “friends” locations, participants may rest, enjoy an event-themed treat, or receive special gifts or discounts.
After months of Selectboard meetings and multiple detailed public hearings - and in spite of the water dripping through the roof on board member Mike Fitzpatrick's head last year - town officials and employees are back to evaluating their options for addressing the drafty, deteriorating town offices. In a...
“Something has changed” this year in Guilford Center, Laura Lawson Tucker told members of the Selectboard. Although Lawson Tucker - who has lived in that part of town for 30 years - said she “can't put her finger on” the cause, she was confident about the effect: too many...
College news • Sophie Rodenbush of Putney was named to the Dean's List for the spring 2016 semester at Binghamton (N.Y.) University. Obituaries • Justin R. Beebe, 26, of Bellows Falls. Died Aug. 13, while fighting the Strawberry Fire at Great Basin National Park in Nevada. He was born in Springfield, Vt., on Feb. 1, 1990, the son of Sheldon and Betsy (Burrington) Beebe. He was a 2008 graduate of Bellows Falls Union High School and attended a post-graduate year...
Brattleboro Conservation Commission seeks members BRATTLEBORO - Are you a Brattleboro resident interested in the natural environment? Do you have special natural-resource knowledge that you are interested in sharing? Are you concerned that invasive species are threatening the health of our environment? If so, the Brattleboro Conservation Commission needs you. The Commission's responsibilities include raising public awareness about the town's natural resources, guiding development in sensitive areas, and encouraging community stewardship regarding town conservation issues. The commission is developing a...
In our age of over-built houses and the ubiquitous McMansion, there's an alternative to consider: the tiny house. “More and more people are choosing the option of making their homes tiny,” says Erin Maile O'Keefe, one of the three co-founders of Tiny House Fest Vermont. “A lot of concerned folks see this as a way to build a customized space of their own, which they can afford, is aesthetically appealing, and is environmentally aware.” To promote this innovative idea, the...
This summer's drought is slowly easing in southeast Vermont, but the long-term trend heading into the fall months, according to the National Weather Service, is for drier than normal conditions. The variability of rainfall and runoff has affected results in round four of the Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance's summer water-quality monitoring program on Aug. 17. According to a news release, all but one site in the West River and watershed passed the “suitability for swimming” standard set by the state...
Although I am a white guy, I share Curtiss Reed Jr.'s outrage about what happened to Shela Linton and what has been happening to other people of color. I support Curtiss's call for action, including action by those he has labeled as “allies.” But to me, “allies” is a positive label for people banding together in a common cause, such as was used during World War II, conveying the willingness to take decisive action to achieve that cause. Being an...
Vermont Theatre Company announced auditions for its fall production, “They Don't Pay? We Won't Pay!” an Italian farce written by Dario Fo and directed by Michelle Page. According to a news release, auditions will be held on Monday, Aug. 29, at 6 p.m., in the Brattleboro Union High School auditorium. Enter the building through the first door on the right when approaching from Canal Street (Route 5) There are roles for three men and two women ages 20-60. The show...
Due to an editing error, there is now a mistake in the letter I wrote about the “wild” parsnip. I had written, “In the Midwest, where the wild parsnip is abundant, land managers say that it is unlikely to 'invade' well established prairie - i.e. it is land disturbed by humans where the plant may become abundant.” By taking out the words “it is,” and putting the rest of the phrase inside parentheses, the letter now implies that well established...
If it weren't for our African-American brethren representing this country in Rio, where would our Olympic medal count be? Much much lower than our current grand first-place standing. And yet, these young athletes, and their sisters and brothers cheering them on in the stands, in their ordinary lives are subject to suspicions and violence from those in positions of power far in excess of the white population back home. The irony! Further, for the most part, these athletes seem full...
We would like to express Sam's Outdoor Outfitters' deep thanks to Dick DeGray and Missy Galanes for their extreme efforts and deep dedication to making Brattleboro's business district and Pliny Park so beautiful and welcoming to the shopping and visiting public. It is very hard to really understand how much work and consideration they have given and undertaken for the betterment of the town. A big thanks from all of us at Sam's.
Helpers are needed at Brattleboro's very own, first-ever Tiny House Fest Vermont on Sunday, Sept. 4. Many jobs and different shifts are available, including pre-event tasks. Volunteers will gain admission to the festival and some other fun perks. For more information about volunteering or to sign up, contact Jennifer Jacobs, volunteer coordinator, at jennifer@thriveeap.com. For more information about the festival or to buy a festival pass (and tiny house inspired local art), visit indiegogo.com/projects/tiny-house-fest-vermont#/.
WKVT thanks the community for making the fifth annual Load the Latchis a success. Once again, we accomplished the goal of putting a full bag of groceries on each of the 750 seats inside the Latchis' main theater. All the food and cash donations help stock the Groundworks Collaborative food shelf. A special thanks to LatchisArts for the organization's continued partnership and to all the volunteers who took shifts, first to transport the donations into the theater from the drop...
The Brattleboro Women's Chorus will start up again in early September, and women and girls over 10 who love to sing are invited to come and join the fun, according to a news release. Wednesday night rehearsals are at All Souls Church from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Sept. 7, and Thursday morning rehearsals at Centre Congregational Church begin Sept. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon. This fall, the music centers on the theme of the Earth, our home. There...
Elliot Street Bridge to reopen on schedule BRATTLEBORO - The Elliot Street Bridge will reopen to traffic in time for the start of school. According to Town Manager Peter Elwell, state contractors plan to reopen the bridge by Friday, Aug. 26. If weather slows work, contractors plan to work through the weekend and open the bridge on Monday, Aug. 29, Elwell added. The town, in partnership with the state Agency of Transportation, closed the bridge June 27 to replace the...
The disco ball will spin Saturday, Sept. 17, when Studio 33, WOOL-FM's first annual Disco Dance Party, complete with light show and Soul Train streaming video, brings a 1970s flashback to the wooden dance floor of the Moose Lodge at 59 Westminster St. DJ Skar of Chicago will mix the beats of disco, funk, soul, and hip hop classics. At 8 years old, according to a news release, DJ Skar began spinning records in his parent's basement in Maywood, Illinois.
Good day to you, southern Vermonters and denizens of Windham County. We've got plenty of sunny weather ahead, which is good and bad. It's good because it's easy on the bones, and very pleasant. It's bad because we need rain very much, and there's not much of it in the forecast. In terms of the drought, we need autumn to arrive and bring with it an abundance of gifts in the form of long-duration (i.e., 24 hours or longer) rainy...
After a town employee warned the Selectboard of security issues with her computer in the town office building, board members said they will address the issue. “I need to let the board know that on two separate occasions very recently, I have come [to my desk] to find my computer had been turned on,” after she had turned it off, Administrative Assistant Shannon Meckle told the Selectboard at the Aug. 15 meeting. During one of those occasions, someone accessed files...
The Brattleboro Fire Department will see the first of multiple staff changes this month. Assistant Fire Chief Pete Lynch steps down this month after 32 years with the Department. Lynch will take the position of Chief of Fire Service Training for the State of Vermont at the Vermont Fire Academy. Captain Leonard Howard III takes over the role of assistant fire chief in early September. A second captain, Mark Geno, also recently stepped down. These staffing changes have triggered promotions...
School zones Be particularly alert at all times for children and pedestrians in a school zone. Also watch for school buses which may be arriving and departing. Signs or flashing lights warn you that you are approaching a school or school crossing. Many school zones have lower speed limits, and the speed limit signs will have the words “when flashing” “when children are present” to let you know when the speed limit is in effect. Note that regular school hours...
The stage is set for a vote that could have big implications for the town of Windham's landscape and for the wind industry in Vermont. Windham Selectboard has authorized a Nov. 8 Australian Ballot vote to determine whether residents support construction of the 28-turbine Stiles Brook Wind Project, which would be the state's largest wind power site. While Vermont towns don't have statutory veto power over such projects, Stiles Brook developer Iberdrola Renewables says it won't move forward if residents...
The whole world today is in the throes of anxiety and fear. But let me assure you that right will be restored and evil characters put down, regardless of race, creed, religion, or any of the multitudinous menu of -isms claimed. Your duty: yearn to understand the history of race consciousness and its apparent multiplicity. Strive to become communities of love, compassion, service, mutual forbearance, and tolerance. Freedom to me means loving, being an ethical citizen, using culturally inspirational educational...
The author of an anonymous letter sent to some voters prior to the Aug. 9 vote on the Town Office building has been identified, following a public complaint to the Selectboard and some distress from board members over suspicion that the letter originated from within town government. “I sent the letter,” Town Clerk Gloria Cristelli told The Commons. “I sent it as a citizen, not as a town official.” As Cristelli saw it, “nobody had enough information” after the Selectboard's...
Dana Zelenakas of Brattleboro was recently inducted into the American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame. The formal induction ceremony took place on Aug. 6 in Frontenac, Minn. Zelenakas got his start in the Brattleboro Outing Club's junior jumper program at Living Memorial Park. He graduated to Harris Hill as a teen, and eventually grew proficient enough to be a member of the U.S. Ski Jumping Team from 1967 to 1972 and participate in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
I once did a job for Donald Trump. That is, my tiny little company once did a job for his giant casino business. It was not a positive experience. It was 1991, and I was working in a two-person ad agency outside Philadelphia. One day my partner and I had a call from a former colleague who'd taken a job with Trump Plaza Boardwalk. Dave told us the casino was planning a big advertising campaign and asked if we could...
The folk duo Neptune's Car, featuring Holly Hanson and Steve Hayes, will bring their “watertight harmonies, tasty guitar and solid songs” to Main Street Arts for a performance Saturday, Aug. 27, at 7:30 p.m., according to a news release. The duo's down-to-earth music has earned the praise of the Great American Song Contest, which called their “Fly Fishing the Big Hole” “...vivid, focused and engaging.” The name Neptune's Car comes from the true story of a clipper ship captained by...
For years, state troopers based in Windham County had to work around obstacles that have nothing to do with criminal activity - problems like cramped quarters, outdated electrical systems, subpar security, and an evidence area that “leaked like a sieve.” On Aug. 18, state police opened the Westminster complex's doors to the press and public to show off improvements including enhanced security and evidence-handling infrastructure; greatly expanded work and storage space; and a modern dispatching center that handles thousands of...
“Where's our goddamned history?” filmmaker John Scagliotti wants to know. Where are the archives, museum exhibits, textbooks, and films documenting the history and contributions of queer people, those who make up the ever-expanding LGBTQI acronym? “We had to do it on our own. We had to. The institutions are homophobic,” Scagliotti said. “But to get there involved a fight, a struggle,” he noted. Scagliotti knows quite a bit about that history and that struggle. As a young, out, gay man,
With its thick layer of peat, drooping ferns, and twisted black gum trees purported to be hundreds of years old, some say walking into Vernon's Black Gum Swamp is like taking a trip back in time. State officials want to make sure it stays that way. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation is laying the groundwork for making Black Gum Swamp a “Class 1” wetland, giving it the most stringent preservation and protection standards available. Only three other wetlands in...
My mother is a refugee, and my father is also an immigrant. Whenever I see refugees coming to the USA, I identify with them. Even though this is a country made up mostly of immigrants, xenophobia - like racism - still lives deep inside all of us. Many won't admit it, but it's true. Hard economic times tend to fan the flames of racism and xenophobia. So does certain kinds of rhetoric by politicians. Certain types of charismatic leaders -
What do your rivers mean to you? The Connecticut River Watershed Council, in partnership with Art and Dialogue, has gathered river stories and hopes and dreams for the future of our rivers in a new community art project, “The Power of Water/The Power of Words,” that will be on display at the River Garden on Main Street through the month of September. Participants young and old wrote personal notes on sculpted pieces of colored paper that are transformed into a...
As students return to area schools this year, serious changes are afoot in the way that teachers teach, students learn, and everyone is evaluated. Many of these changes come as the result of Act 77, an educational reform bill that became state law in 2013 but whose effects are only now beginning to show up in classrooms across Windham County. Act 77, the Flexible Pathways Initiative, was designed to get more students to complete high school and college and to...