Mollie Burke has been my representative in the state legislature since 2009, and I will be voting for her on Nov. 8.
Burke has been an effective member of the House Committee on Transportation, always looking for creative ways to balance our need for mobility with our stewardship of the environment. Her support for expanding public transportation is a case in point.
She has also championed issues relating to women, working people, education, criminal-justice reform, and health care. She seeks to understand the underlying causes of the problems she is trying to solve, rather than just going for the quickest fix.
Burke takes her responsibilities to her constituents seriously. Every time I have left her a phone message or sent her an email, she has gotten back to me. That's a 100-percent response record!...
Phil Scott, the Republican candidate for governor, says he is pro-jobs and pro-business, but he has repeatedly shown a negative interest in one of Vermont's fastest growing sectors: renewable energy. Since Scott's campaign has received significant funding from the fossil-fuel industry, including the infamous Koch brothers, I cannot help...
The Vermont Theatre Company announced their upcoming season for 2016-17, their 33rd year of bringing community theater to the Brattleboro area. There will be four shows, including a musical, performed at three locations: the Hooker Dunham Theater at 139 Main St. in Brattleboro; the Evening Star Grange on East-West...
Despite some residents' requests to close a portion of the road on Kimball Hill to vehicular traffic on Halloween night, town officials opted to keep it open - at least until next year. A group of parents asked Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard to close Kimball Hill and Westminster West Road between Route 5 and Sand Hill Road between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 “for safety reasons while the kids are trick-or-treating,” Stoddard said. During the discussion, Stoddard and...
As a longtime local resident, I would like to express support for the re-election of our state senator, Jeanette White. In all my interactions with White, she has been always been thoughtful and willing to take the time to discuss any issue in question. I have been grateful to be represented by a legislator who has promoted the “death with dignity” bill that allows a person to have some control over their life at the end of a painful disease.
On long-neglected issues of family law in Vermont, state senators Becca Balint and Jeanette White have listened to many individuals for whom inadequate and outdated laws, judicial activism without accountability, and insurmountable barriers to appeal have led to unfair and prejudicial outcomes, particularly in Windham County Family Court. They have led their Senate colleagues in calling for examination of laws long overdue for review, and have encouraged drafting new guidelines to achieve consistency, predictability, and fairness for all parties involved...
Newfane Garden Club to meet NEWFANE - The Newfane Garden Club will meet on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m., at the Newfane Congregational Church. Sally Winchester of Windham Flowers will be presenting. She will be sharing the art of stress-free flower arranging. Guests are always welcome. Eagles host craft fair BRATTLEBORO - The Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary #2445 will host a craft fair on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Eagles' home on...
Next public safety hearing scheduledPUTNEY - Members of the Selectboard and Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard invite the public to attend and participate in the next public discussion on community policing on Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Putney Fire Station. This discussion is part of a series of hearings on the future of Putney's law enforcement. Earlier this year, the Windham County Sheriff's Department notified town officials they could no longer serve the town in the same capacity and...
Anaerobic digester research, renewable energy education, and Rutland solar development are the latest beneficiaries of funding from an old Vermont Yankee insurance policy. The state Public Service Board has approved Green Mountain Power's plans to distribute $302,719 from a Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited fund to various projects around the state. The power company once had an ownership interest in the Vernon plant and is entitled to long-term proceeds related to insurance coverage, with a state mandate to allocate most of...
Thank you for the best benefit motorcycle ride event yet! Eighty-seven participants enjoyed the beautiful weather, the great ride, and the tasty chicken lunch. They rocked to Cadillac Envy and participated in our raffle. Together, we raised $3,625 for the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry!! Huge thank yous go out to Valley View Saloon, Catamount Environmental, Inc., and Gray Ghost Inn for sponsoring this year's event; Jessica Butterfield for designing the T-shirt graphic; Rev. Jim Littrell and Rev. Fr. Ilayaraja Amaladass,
I will be voting for Jill Stein on election day. I hope and pray that “the goddess of war,” Hillary Clinton, is not elected president, especially after reading Dr. Gilbert Doctorow's recent long and comprehensive article on just how close we are to a hot war with Russia. (Doctorow is the nonprofit European coordinator of American Committee for East-West Accord.) I feel that anti-Russian propaganda has reached a fever pitch in this country, and I think this is so important.
College news • Emily B. Cowles of South Londonderry participated in an off-campus study abroad program during the fall 2016 semester through St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. Cowles, a member of the Class of 2018, was in St. Lawrence University's fall off-campus program in Italy. • St. Lawrence University also welcomed Allison V. Stamler of Brattleboro as a member of the Class of 2020. Stamler attended Northfield Mount Hermon School. Transitions • Brattleboro Memorial Hospital recently announced the promotion...
Tickets are on sale for the 19th annual Empty Bowl dinner and auctions Sunday, Nov. 6, at 5 p.m., at Alyson's Orchard in Walpole, N.H., to benefit the food programs of Our Place drop-in center. The event includes a supper featuring soups from local restaurants and chefs, and silent and live auctions with auctioneer Sharon Boccelli, according to a news release. Tickets are $35 at Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls, Galloway Real Estate in Walpole, or at Our Place.
Next Stage Arts Project present Putney Vaudeville, back by popular demand, for a family matinee featuring Troy Wunderle on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 4 p.m., at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill. Putney Vaudeville is the ongoing project of director Rebecca Waxman and musician Peter Siegel and other members of The Gaslight Tinkers. A showcase for first-class entertainment and community talent, the event includes a stellar professional act, a rousing house band, assorted friends and neighbors displaying surprising talents, and good-natured...
I'm responding as one of the “faceless” members of GunSense VT to Bob DePino's and Eddie Cutler's respective assertions [Letters, Oct. 26]. As Michael Corleone says in The Godfather, “It's not personal, it's strictly business.” So I ask both of you to stop attacking Ann Braden (“lies, lies, lies”) with perverted logic and outdated arguments. I know Ann Braden. She's a caring mother of two, a loving, inspired teacher of children in Brattleboro, and a tireless advocate for public safety.
The Crowell Gallery in the Moore Free Library features the work of the Saxtons River Art Guild during the month of November. A “Meet the Artist” reception will be held on Sunday, Nov. 6, from 1 to 3 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Seventeen Guild members working in oil, watercolor and pastel will show their work. Participating artists include Carolyn Allbee, Bob Askey, Patricia Ballou, Nancy Calicchio, Maisie Crowther, Nancy DiMauro, Barbara Greenough, Kathy Greve, Deedee...
Latchis Arts is launching a “Movies for Kids” series on Sunday mornings in November. Kids, parents, “and everyone who is a kid at heart,” are invited to showings of movies at the Latchis on Sundays at 11 a.m., in November, according to a news release. Admission is by donation. Movies for Kids will have a monthly theme and offer both contemporary and older films that fit that theme. The theme for the first month is “November Has Secrets.” The series...
The Vermont Transportation Board will hold a public forum on Nov. 9, at 6 p.m., at the Brattleboro Museum & Arts Center, 10 Vernon St., on transportation policy associated with trains, both passenger and freight. The Board wants to discuss railroad related issues with the public - including rail-side economic development and the possible initiation of commuter rail service to Massachusetts - to determine how future policy can be shaped to best position Vermont's rail interests to meet the needs...
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has mostly rejected a state complaint about decommissioning spending at Vermont Yankee, thus ending the last such appeal that had been pending before the federal agency. Nearly a year ago, Vermont officials had demanded a “robust, comprehensive and participatory review” of the ways in which Entergy Vermont Yankee administrators are spending money from the shut-down plant's decommissioning trust fund. But the NRC's ruling, issued Oct. 27, dismisses Vermont's challenge to federal trust fund supervision. Commissioners said...
A concert featuring Egyptian pianist Mohamed Shams will benefit the Brattleboro Music Center's Music School, which this year marks the 40th anniversary of its founding. The concert is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 pm, at the Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St. Shams, who last year made his Carnegie Hall debut with a solo recital, also will be a visiting artist at Brattleboro Union High School, meeting with students and faculty and performing a short recital, according to...
School officials have reached an agreement that would allow Vernon to leave the Brattleboro Union High School regional district due to concerns about Act 46 and school choice. While voters and state officials still have to sign off on the deal, a “withdrawal agreement” approved on Oct. 24 provides the framework for Vernon's exit from the union. Its most notable provision is that no financial exchange is required, since Vernon's debt to the regional district and the assets it would...
In 2015, Vermont Performance Lab launched the SEED Program in response to a growing need for support for dance artists working in New England. In its second year, the SEED Program will offer support to professional dance-makers living in Vermont who want to develop performance projects for small-scale touring. Artists can apply online at vermontperformancelab.org/seed, and applications are due by Dec. 1. “The SEED Program was designed to cultivate a stronger ecology for dance in our region by connecting artists...
The Brattleboro Water Department has received complaints about slightly discolored water from customers of the Brattleboro Water System. Because of drought conditions and the replacement of a million-gallon storage tank, the Water Department says it was unable to conduct fall water-main flushing, according to a news release. Flushing normally occurs in the spring and fall and removes organic materials and minerals from the water distribution system. The department says that naturally occurring minerals, primarily iron, are typically to blame for...
I am happy to see Becca Balint run for a second term as senator from Windham County. She has my support once again. The most exciting news in the senate race is to see that David Schoales has agreed to run for one of the county's two seats as well. Many folks have encouraged him for some time now to step in and run, and now he's done so - hallelujah! His experience on the school boards in Brattleboro and...
We can understand why some people might be persuaded that Senator Jeanette White supported cannabis legalization in the last session while Senator Becca Balint opposed it. But the truth is that Senator White supported and voted in favor of a bill regulating cannabis. And there is a profound difference between regulation and legalization. Senator White promoted a regulation bill with cultivation licenses limited to a few well-funded and well-connected industrial growers. The bill was loaded with pork, mandating that the...
Sometimes when I walk into the Newfane Town offices, I am overcome with nostalgic feelings of attending five of my eight years of grade school in that building. It was in that building in sixth grade that I used to wait for Leo Laitres to hand out the Weekly Reader. Every Tuesday, I had a craving curiosity to find out how people could make positive change all over the world. That newspaper, as well as that grade school, taught me...
I support David Schoales's independent candidacy for state senator for Windham County. I have known Schoales for more than 40 years, and I'd like to share with you my feelings about him, about his qualities and his accomplishments. Schoales was a strong union member when he worked at the shipyards in Boston and in Philly. He has been committed to civil rights for all people, and he has taken on a range of civic duty roles in our community. He...
Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos says he's “greatly concerned” about a turbine developer's monetary offer to voters during meetings last month in Windham and Grafton. Though the state attorney general's office has said Iberdrola Renewables' proposed “direct partnership payments” don't violate election law, Condos asserts that the developer is “pushing the envelope in an attempt to influence the vote.” Voters in both towns are scheduled to weigh in on Iberdrola's controversial Stiles Brook Wind Project on Nov. 8. The...
Recently, there was an attempt to steal money from members of the Brattleboro area community in the form of a text message sent to cell phones with local prefixes. Although this message stated that it was from Brattleboro Savings & Loan, the scammers had simply picked our name to use and sent out a blanket message to cell numbers regardless of whether or not we are your bank. There was no breach of information, and we've been working with the...
The film “Dear President Obama: The Clean Energy Revolution Is Now” calls upon the president to act boldly on climate change during his last months in office, and to cease being a president who also responds to the special interests of big oil and gas corporations. As outlined in the opening minutes, the president who wants his legacy to include that he was the “climate president” has followed a contradictory path. While doing positive things such as enacting the automobile...
The Brattleboro Film Festival will present what the event's organizers describe as “a 10-day cinematic feast of 30 unique and unforgettable films” beginning Friday, Nov. 4, corresponding with the downtown's monthly Gallery Walk. Festival volunteers culled the final selection of films from approximately 120. “We are honored to bring award-winning documentaries, dramas, and shorts that truly represent the best of current cinema today to our community to share on the big screen” Merry Elder, BFF president and head of film...
Over that past 16 months, as superintendent of the Windham Southwest Supervisory Union, I have been working with our school boards to come with our district's Act 46 proposal. During this time, John Moran has attended many of the school board meetings as a citizen, even long before he had announced his candidacy to run for state representative. In many discussions with Moran over the past few weeks, I found that he has many of the same concerns and frustrations...
Only one of Brattleboro's three House seats is being contested in this year's election. Incumbent state Reps. Valerie A. Stuart (District 1) and Tristan Toleno (District 3), both Democrats, are running unopposed. Three-term state Rep. Mollie Burke, a Progressive/Democrat, is running against newcomer and independent candidate Adam Salviani to represent District 2. All four broke muffins and drank coffee with constituents at the Sept. 16 Citizens' Breakfast at the Gibson-Aiken Center. Candidates made opening statements and took questions from the...
As we campaign around the county, it has become clear to us that many voters are confused about our election for state senate. We wanted to clarify a few things before Election Day. First and foremost, all state senate candidates run every two years. Secondly, in Windham County, we send two senators to Montpelier. We are the two Democrats you will see on the ballot, as we ran unopposed in our primary. The Republicans did not have any candidates for...
This year, Windham County residents are lucky enough to have three excellent candidates running for the Vermont state senate. I have decided to support David Schoales, because for several years I have watched him in action as he has served Brattleboro in his role as both a school board member and a selectboard member. In this unique position, he has been able to see the big picture of the numerous issues challenging our financial resources as both a hub town...
Good morning, afternoon, or evening to you, depending on what time of day you've picked up the paper! After our unseasonable early snowfall last week, we're flipping the cards with some unseasonable warmth that will visit our environs for Wednesday and Thursday. Shortly thereafter, a disturbance and associated cold front will push through southern Vermont by Friday morning, dropping us squarely into Autumn once again. To the details! For Wednesday, high pressure will dominate, and we'll enjoy a partly sunny,
Project Feed the Thousands will kick off its 22nd annual food drive on Friday, Nov. 4. The launch will take place at Brattleboro's Price Chopper Supermarket on Canal Street in the morning with a live broadcast hosted by longtime media supporter 96.7 WTSA-FM followed by an afternoon launch at the Brattleboro Food Co-op in downtown Brattleboro hosted by another generous media supporter, 104.9 WYRY-FM. “The community goal this year is to raise $90,000 in cash, as well as to collect...
The Selectboard and department heads continue to work on the Fiscal Year 2018 budget. At the Oct. 18 special budget work session, David Walker of the Highway Garage and Kevin Turnley of Buildings & Grounds discussed proposed cuts. During the summer, the Board agreed all departments must cut their FY18 budgets by 6 percent in response to the town treasurer's announcement that 2016 property taxes were going up by about $185 per $100,000 of assessed value for the homestead tax...
School solar project is back on … maybe NEWFANE - The delayed 500-kilowatt solar array planned for an unused field behind the NewBrook Elementary School may happen after all. Ken McFadden, chair of the Brookline-Newfane Joint School Board, visited the Newfane Selectboard at their Oct. 17 regular meeting with an update on the project, which hinges on SunEdison filing a Certificate of Public Good with the state's Public Service Board by Dec. 30. “SunEdison is back in the game,” McFadden...
As the keynote speaker at an early October conference in New Hampshire, the Brattleboro Retreat's top administrator delivered a stark summation of mental health treatment. “There is no mental health system,” said Louis Josephson, Retreat president and chief executive officer. “I defy anyone here ... tell me what our mental health system is and what it looks like.” Josephson went on to detail a litany of issues including a “patchwork” of underfunded services, chronic workforce and bed shortages, and dramatically...
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of acoustic/electric Americana music from Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., by The Slambovian Circus of Dreams (a.k.a., The Grand Slambovians) on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill. The music of The Slambovian Circus of Dreams has been described as “hillbilly-Floyd,” “folk-pop,” “alt-country, roots-rock,” and “surreal Americana,” according to a news release. The quartet employs a broad palette of styles, from dusty Americana ballads to huge Pink...
The New England Center for Circus Arts offers its 19th Circus Workshop Weekend, extending extra days from Thursday, Nov. 3, through Monday, Nov. 7, to accommodate the demand for introductory one-off classes, advanced training opportunities for local and visiting students, and a performance for circus fans to attend. At this Fall Circus Workshop Weekend, attendees age 12 through adult can pick one or many experiences fitting their skill level and interest. The Center offers an array of workshops including juggling,
In most particulars, I was the ideal faculty member at the Community College of Vermont. After a fully funded course of study, I received a doctorate from one of our country's most-esteemed institutions, Columbia University. I am a passionate, engaging, committed, caring, knowledgable, extremely hard-working teacher. I have brought many years of teaching experience at Columbia and Barnard to my teaching at CCV, and I have offered CCV students the same high-quality learning experience that I offered students at those...
In a year when humanity is being sorely tasked, an area film festival dares to reclaim humanity for human beings. For the fifth year in a row, the nonprofit Brattleboro Film Festival is running 30 remarkable films at the Latchis Theatre. This year's festival takes place from Nov. 4 to 13. While man's inhumanity to man will be on shining display - Want to know how many different ways there are to torture somebody? Tune in and find out! -
Five new exhibits have opened at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center. They include an artistic celebration of paint, a collaboration among three artists mourning the deaths of their sons, and solo shows featuring sculptures fashioned from found objects, images created through a hybrid of photography and printmaking, and an immersive installation reflecting a day's walk in the Connecticut River Valley. A celebration of paint, “Luscious” investigates the myriad ways in which artists make conscious statements of painterly intent. The...
Brattleboro-area artist Marilyn Allen will present an exhibit of recent paintings, “It's time...” at the Oxbow Gallery, 275 Pleasant St., in Northampton, Massachusetts. An opening reception will be held on Friday, Nov. 11, from 5 to 8 pm. The show, which will be on display in the back room gallery, runs through Nov. 27. Allen, who is primarily self-taught, launched into painting when she moved to an old house in the deep woods of Vermont in the early 1990s, according...
For the first time in 14 years, Windham Southeast Supervisory Union is headed for a change in leadership. But the Oct. 26 decision to name Lyle Holiday as the pending successor to retiring Superintendent Ron Stahley was overshadowed by intense debate about the way officials had searched for a new top administrator. That search didn't include any external candidates, and Holiday - a Windham Southeast curriculum coordinator - was the only candidate put forth for hiring consideration. While no one...
Opposing girls' soccer teams think they know the secret to beating the Leland & Gray Rebels - shut down senior forward Ashley Bates. Bates has scored 49 goals in her high school career, establishing herself as one of the top players in the state. The problem with the strategy of focusing your efforts on stopping Bates is that there are several other Rebels who can put the ball in the net, and you ignore them at your own peril. Fifth-seeded...
In a performance sponsored by Yellow Barn, an innovative quartet of musicians from Chicago will showcase a work-in-progress written for a classic film based on a beloved children's novel. Yellow Barn, the international center for chamber music in Putney, opened its 2016-17 residency season with Third Coast Percussion, a four-man percussion ensemble that has come to Vermont to work on a new soundtrack for the Academy Award-nominated film “Paddle to the Sea” in advance of the premiere at the Cleveland...
The documentary “Political Animals,” follows the story of four remarkable lesbians in the California State Assembly whose work for equal rights, particularly for those of gays and lesbians, comprises the twists and turns and hard-won progress against such odds as would leave most of us in despair. The film begins with an obvious but perennial truth: “It's so easy looking back to take the progress for granted.” And, sadly, we do. “Political Animals,” directed by Jonah Markowitz and Tracy Ware,
In a festival lineup of hard-hitting, immensely consequential “big picture” issues, writer/director Michael Curtis Johnson's first feature film “Hunky Dory” offers an invigorating change of pace: an intimately striking character study about a former glam-rocker turned drag performer. While it might not be an epic blockbuster, this quietly subtle indie deserves your attention and consideration. The film's title and subject matter are clearly a nod to David Bowie, even if our protagonist utterly lacks the talent or notoriety achieved by...
The following summaries are provided to The Commons by the organizers of the Brattleboro Film Festival. All films screen at the Latchis Theatre at 50 Main St. • “50 Feet from Syria.” (Short documentary, 2015. Skye Fitzgerald; 39 min.; Turkey/USA/Syria; partly subtitled. Warning: this film contains graphic images of injuries caused by war.) Syrian-American surgeon Hisham Bismar arrives at a Turkish hospital on the Syrian border, ready for anything. What he finds is horror, chaos, and an ocean of refugees...
Imagine a week behind bars. Imagine one day. One day apart from your loved ones. One day without the open sky or natural light. One day without the freedom to be alone or the freedom to be among others. Imagine the feeling that for the duration of your incarceration, be it for a decade or for one day, the world is going on without you, oblivious to your existence and impervious to your retraction from society. One might assume that...
In the movie “Tanna,” the setting isn't the “fair Verona” of Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet.” Rather, it's an island of that name in the archipelago of Vanuatu, a republic formerly known as New Hebrides, located east of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean. This story of star-crossed lovers centers on the Yakel people, a traditional rain-forest-dwelling tribe. Members of the tribe collaborated on the writing of the script and acted all the roles in this film and, although they are...
In this final stretch of the reality show that has been the “election” of the next U.S. president, it is hard to conjure any of the emotional responses that usually spur voters to cast their ballots. Whatever one's predominant feeling in this election cycle - whether anger or revulsion or excitement or hope - it seems all have been obliterated by the igniting and exploding daily news bombs (and the unsavory details in their aftermath) of candidates' dubious character traits,
When supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called the recording of him bragging about assaulting women “normal locker-room talk,” respectful, courteous men across the internet replied in unison, “That's not normal!” Even my husband joined in, telling me, “I've spent plenty of time in locker rooms, and I've never heard anybody brag about sexual assault.” To my husband and well-meaning friends: I get it. We should not accept this behavior as “normal.” But in your denial, you are unintentionally...
Seven years ago, Robbie Leppzer found himself beginning to film a story that had started three decades before and still had no ending. But in making “Power Struggle,” the documentary filmmaker has managed to distill the bitter last years of Vermont Yankee - more than 700 hours of raw footage - into a 104-minute story that he describes as a “chronicle of a political drama.” The film will hit the big screen at a benefit screening on Thursday, Nov. 3,
The Town Office Building Committee has been “working overtime,” to get residents ready for the Nov. 8 town office bond re-vote, according to Selectboard Vice-Chair Carol Hatcher. Town Office Building Committee members Karen Astely, Doris Knechtel, Mel Martin, and Frank Suponski visited the Oct. 17 regular Selectboard meeting to give the Board an update on their work. Martin designed a “simple and straightforward” brochure, using input from the other members, explaining their findings. They include costs for a new, 4,000-square-foot...
The five candidates for Windham County's state senate seats agree on many of the big issues facing Vermont. The differences rest in the details of their proposed solutions. The candidates met with voters and answered questions on Oct. 28 as part of a Citizens' Breakfast event at the Brattleboro Senior Center. Incumbent Democrats Becca Balint of Brattleboro and Jeannette White of Putney are running against independent David Schoales of Brattleboro and perennial Liberty Union Party candidates Aaron Diamondstone and Jerry...
The art and performance venue 118 Elliot presents “Haiti Alive,” a Haitian Gede Lwa, or Day of the Dead, celebration featuring traditional music by Ayizan and Azouke Sanon, a dance performance choreographed by Julio Jean, a costume party, and refreshments, on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. All ticket sales and fundraising from the event will go to Haitian relief efforts. Venue owners Lissa Weinmann and John Loggia are producing the event, including underwriting the cost of bringing the artists...
In what was a surprise to staff at the local parochial school, students at St. Michael School pried a combination of white, red, green, and blue gum off the pews on Friday. “We're going to forgive them,” Thies said, praising the students for taking “a community minded approach to cleaning the pews.” Chewing gum is against school policy, but some students speculated that the gum might have been on the pews when they were placed in the chapel at least...