We thank all the 100-plus people who came and worked over a two-week period to make the Dummerston Congregational Church Apple Pie Festival a successful event.
We had people of all ages, from 6 to past 90, sometimes working side by side, and it was not uncommon to have more than 30 people working at once.
Especially pleasing was to see so many of the children and teens learning the secrets of pie making from our seasoned experts.
We also thank those in the area who donated goods and/or services. Without them, this festival would not be nearly as successful.
We at the Putney Foodshelf thank the Putney community for the generous response to our Top the Truck food drive on Sept. 28. We collected 2,261 pounds of food and $2,182.12 in cash. None of this would have been possible without the help of a number of people and...
'Diaper Dump' will support Time for a Change, a new diaper bank BELLOWS FALLS - The community is invited to help fill a dump truck with diapers and baby wipes for local families in need at the “Diaper Dump” on Thursday, Nov. 10, from noon to 6 p.m., at...
Southeastern Vermont Community Action will provide free tax preparation for lower income taxpayers for the 2017 tax filing season through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. In order to help as many families as possible claim the tax credits and refunds available to them, the antipoverty nonprofit is recruiting volunteers to work at its Westminster site during tax season. A volunteer orientation meeting will be held Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m., at SEVCA's main office at 91 Buck Drive.
House Blend, a Saxtons River-based a cappella chorus, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a concert on Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Congregational Church of Westminster West. The self-led chorus, composed of experienced singers from local communities, will share songs from many cultures and traditions. The anniversary concert will include some of the group's favorites from their years singing together, according to a news release. Joining House Blend at this concert will be guest artist Peter Blanchette of Northampton, Massachusetts.
The New England Center for Circus Arts has received a very useful donation from Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, and we express sincere appreciation to the company for sharing its resources with such community spirit and allegiance. As you all know, NECCA is on the move! We celebrated groundbreaking for the first custom-built Trapezium in the country on Sept. 29, and we will be occupying the new building within the first half of next year. Entergy's contribution of office cubicle dividers...
On Thursday, Nov. 10, from 6 to 8 p.m., David Schutz, curator of the Vermont State House, and Tom Slayton, writer and former editor of Vermont Life magazine, will be at the Rockingham Free Public Library to celebrate the Windham County launch and signing of “Intimate Grandeur, Vermont's State House.” The evening will be hosted by the Friends of the Rockingham Library in the third-floor meeting room. The beauty of Vermont's State House is coupled with the legislative history of...
There is a simple solution to I-91-bridge-project traffic jams: drivers leaving room to take turns “zipper merging.” “One Driver Can Prevent a Traffic Jam” explains (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 12, gratis online at wsj.com), as does interviewed traffic researcher William Beaty's website (trafficwaves.org). Why not here?
Next Stage Arts Project presents the iconic blues of The Cedric Burnside Project on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill. The Cedric Burnside Project has been hailed as the next generation of Mississippi Hill Country blues, and rightfully so, as it is composed of Cedric Burnside - the grandson of renowned blues artist R.L. Burnside - and Trenton Ayers, son of renowned blues artist Junior Kimbrough. Cedric Burnside (drums and guitar) spent his early...
Why do vandals attack other people's property? In the many cases locally where “Black Lives Matter” signs have been stolen, it is hard to construe any reason other than racism, mixed with a disregard for freedom of speech and cowardice. What can we surmise when the infraction is not theft of private property, but graffiti or other intentional marring of public property? Here, the messages left will reveal much about the intentions. Within only a few days recently, there have...
The Windham Regional Commission has released the Request for Proposals for the newly developed Windham County Renewable Energy Grant Program. The Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund awarded $400,000 to the Commission to develop a funding program to support renewable energy projects in Windham County. The program will focus on small-scale projects. Award amounts begin at $10,000, with a maximum of $320,000. The funds for the program are among those within the Development Fund that were earmarked for Windham County in...
Friends in Windham County, Do you know about the Koch Brothers and their friends in the oil and gas industries who are trying to use their billions to control political races and to influence public opinion and voters, all while hiding behind a smokescreen of nonprofit organizations set up to conceal their true motives? Google the American Bird Conservancy and the “Koch Brothers,” and soon you will see how the group tries to use supposed danger to birds and so...
The Brattleboro Music Center's 2016-17 Chamber Music Series continues with a performance by an eclectic ensemble of five musicians curated by BMC Music School faculty member Judith Serkin. Called Con Moto, the ensemble includes musicians well known to Brattleboro audiences. The concert is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m., at the Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro. Clarinetist William Amsel, violinists Michelle Ross and Lucy Chapman, violist Dimitri Murrath, and cellist Judith Serkin will play an early string quartet...
I wish to be.... I wish to go.... I wish to meet.... I wish to have.... These are the general categories into which wishes fall for Make-A-Wish kids. These kids have faced challenges that no kid should ever face. But during their Wish, there are no challenges - only fun, laughs, family, friends, and excitement. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Vermont grants the wishes of Vermont kids with life-threatening medical conditions. We are proud to say that no eligible wish is...
On Nov. 14, artist and social justice performer Carlton Turner will present “Imagining the Re-integration of Art and Humanity” at Next Stage Arts at 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. Turner's event kicks off the Voices of Community conference, a weeklong celebration of local artists and activists. It is also the final Landmark College Academic Speaker Series event in 2016. Turner's presentation will be from 7 to 10 p.m., with a reception following, and is open to the community. Admission is...
New England Youth Theatre's Theatre Adventure program will present glitter, glamour, and theatrical treats during its annual Putting On Our Finery fundraiser Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at the West Village Meeting House/All Souls Church at 29 South St. in West Brattleboro. This talented troupe of actors with and without disabilities will transform the Meeting House into a showcase of Shakespearean characters from “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” according to a news release. The evening will include “live music, fabulous fashions,
The Windham Orchestra will collaborate with Michael Finckel and Bennington's Sage City Symphony to present two concerts around the theme “People who Change Our Lives." Performances are Saturday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., at Shaftsbury Elementary School, and Sunday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m., at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro. First, Philip Bloch's “For Nick and Alex” speaks of the deaths of two people adored locally, Alex Firth and Nick Widomski, with the music reflecting “loss, the horror of circumstance,
College news • Castleton University student Patrick Cote-Abel of Londonderry was recently awarded an institutional research grant for the 2016-2017 academic year. Twelve different faculty-student groups earned a grant, ranging from $500-$2,000 each. Several disciplines are represented by the various projects, which utilize many different methods for answering research questions and generating knowledge. In addition to presenting their work at the Castleton Scholarship Celebration in May, many groups will present their work at national conferences this spring and summer. Cote-Abel's...
Buckley, Wagner donate time GUILFORD - Recently-resigned Town Administrator Katie Buckley and development consultant Isaac Wagner offered to donate their time to the municipality and the nonprofit Community Collaborative for Guilford to assist them with grant administration. The town and the nonprofit are considering applying for a $30,000 Vermont Community Development Program planning grant to study the feasibility of establishing a community center and childcare facility in Algiers Village. Because Buckley has extensive experience administering these types of grants, she...
The first show for the Leland & Gray Players' 21st season is Eric Idle's “Spamalot.” Adapted from the classic film comedy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Spamalot” retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table with some very quirky knights, a bevy of showgirls, a flying cow, a killer rabbit, French taunters, and dwellers of Ni - all with outrageous music, lyrics, dialogue, and dance. Spamalot boasts a large cast featuring sophomore Gabrel Vanni-Phillips...
Incumbent state Rep. Mollie Burke won in a landslide against newcomer Adam Salviani in Tuesday's voting. Burke, a Progressive/Democrat, and Salviani, an independent, campaigned to represent Brattleboro's second House district, also known as Windham 2-2. According to the unofficial results on the Secretary of State's election website, Burke earned 81.82 percent of the votes. Salviani took the remaining 18.18 percent. Representative Burke was first elected to the House in 2009. She has served on the House Transportation Committee for eight...
Board changes speed ordinance DUMMERSTON - At the Oct. 26 regular Selectboard meeting, the Board unanimously voted to change the town's speed ordinance, making the speed limit 25 mph on Town Highway 48, also known as Wickopee Hill Road, from the intersection of Bear Hill Road to the town line. The speed limit on this stretch of the road was formerly 35 mph. The new ordinance is within Article IV, Speed Restrictions, Section 2, West Dummerston, in the added section...
Cautious optimism was the prevailing mood after Entergy announced the pending sale of Vermont Yankee. There was applause at the news that the plant's prospective buyer - New York-based NorthStar Group Services Inc. - is promising to dramatically speed up decommissioning of the shutdown Vernon nuclear plant. At the same time, observers - including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gov. Peter Shumlin, and local officials involved in Vermont Yankee affairs - pledged to take a close look at the details of...
In observance of Veterans Day, all town offices will be closed on Friday, Nov. 11, with the exception of emergency services. Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots. All other parking regulations will be enforced. Brooks Memorial Library will be closed. The skating rink at Living Memorial Park will remain open for its normal hours, and all Recreation & Parks programs scheduled after 1:30 p.m.will take place as planned. Trash, recycling, and composting will not...
The staff and board of directors of Groundworks Collaborative thank the many individuals and businesses that made our sixth annual Hike for the Homeless on Oct. 1 a great success! Despite the rainy weather, 55 participants turned out to help Groundworks raise over $24,000 in support of our work to house our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Teams and individuals started hiking at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. - some trekked to the summit of Mount Wantastiquet, while others walked the River...
From the late 1970s through the 1990s, when I worked internationally on women's health issues, alarm bells sounded regularly about the dramatic and unacceptable rate of maternal mortality in the so-called developing world. Today, those alarm bells are ringing again, but this time because of the rising maternal mortality rate (MMR) here in the U.S. The MMR is defined as the number of registered maternal deaths due to birth- or pregnancy-related complications per 100,000 registered live births. Maternal death refers...
If an unnamed resident doesn't license two aggressive dogs, the town's animal control officer, Zeke Goodband, may seize the animals, as per the Selectboard and state statute. Goodband, who also serves as the Selectboard chair, told Board members about the issue at their Oct. 26 regular meeting. He said there are two unlicensed, aggressive dogs in town, and despite his sending the owner letters ordering the animals “be kept kenneled, tethered, or kept control of by the owner,” and licensed...
The town will vote against the Windham Solid Waste Management District continuing to operate a materials recovery facility in Brattleboro. In the WSWMD Board of Supervisors' Nov. 10 vote on municipal assessments for the district, Selectboard member Troy Revis - the town's alternate representative on the regional board - has been directed to vote for the “50/50 model” of assessments to member towns. During the Oct. 24 regular Selectboard meeting, Cheryl Franklin, the town's WSWMD representative, made recommendations for the...
Voters in Grafton and Windham on Nov. 8 resoundingly rejected a 24-turbine wind project proposed for a ridgeline separating the two towns. In Grafton, residents voted 235 against and 158 in favor of the Stiles Brook Wind Project, according to town officials. In Windham, the vote was 181 against and 101 in favor. Developer Iberdrola Renewables will honor those votes and plans to “cease development of the Stiles Brook Wind Project unless the communities reconsider their decision,” spokesman Paul Copleman...
BRATTLEBORO - Democrats Becca Balint and Jeanette White have clinched the Windham Senate race, according to the unofficial count on the Secretary of State's elections website. As of 10:30 Tuesday night, with 19 of 24 districts reporting, Balint had captured 29.62 percent of the vote and White, 30.15 percent. This will be Balint's second term. White will start her 15th year in the statehouse. Incumbents Balint, of Brattleboro, and White, of Putney, ran against independent David Schoales and Liberty Union...
Opponents of the proposal to sell the Newfane Town Offices building and construct a new one met with victory on Election Day, but it was very close. Town Clerk Gloria Cristelli announced the results late Tuesday night, reporting that of 990 ballots cast, 484 voted in favor, 494 were opposed, and there were 12 blanks. “Article 1 failed,” Cristelli wrote in an email to The Commons. This vote was a do-over, accompanied by complications during the past few months. After...
Three incumbent representatives will keep their seats in two Windham County House districts. In the Windham-Bennington District, Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Dover, fended off a challenge from former Rep. John Moran of Wardsboro. With five of the district's six towns reporting Tuesday night, Sibilia was leading Moran 951 to 729, and she said her opponent had called to concede. And in the Windham 4 District, incumbent Democratic Reps. David Deen of Westminster and Mike Mrowicki of Putney easily beat Republican challengers...
The feature film “Vengo Volviendo” (“Here and There”) will be shown at the Latchis Theatre on Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers, Gabriel Páez and Isabel Rodas of the Ecuadorian film production company FILMARTE. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles and is suitable for all ages. The story follows Ismael, a 22-year-old raised by his grandmother Mariana, a midwife and skilled healer, after his parents emigrate from the Ecuadoran highlands to...
This school year, Brattleboro Museum & Art Center Museum Educator Linda Whelihan wants to bring more children to the museum. One way she hopes to accomplish that is by first bringing the museum to the children. “I want kids to be more involved in the museum as a resource,” Whelihan said, “not just to look at art here.” She wants youth to “connect to it.” In a new partnership between the Museum and the Windham Central Supervisory Union, Whelihan is...
It's easy to take for granted the run of excellence by the Bellows Falls field hockey team. In their third trip to the Division III state championship game in four years, the top-seeded and undefeated Terriers came away champions for the second straight year with a 4-0 win over the No. 3 Missisquoi Thunderbirds at the University of Vermont in Burlington last Saturday. Bellows Falls has built a dynasty, but it didn't just happen. The foundation was laid a few...
When the doors open at 9 a.m. and the crowd pours in for this year's Christmas Stocking Bazaar at Christ's Church on Saturday, Nov. 12, only a handful of attendees will remember the beginnings of this annual event 60 years ago. The story is that the bazaar began with an ice cream soda social at the former Congregational Church that now houses the historical society museum and moved to its present location when the Baptist and Congregational churches decided it...
Peter Gould wears many hats. In a long and distinguished career, he has worked as a writer, a director, an actor, a mime, and a clown. Nonetheless, first and foremost, Gould considers himself an educator. And in recognition of his longtime dedication to education, he has recently won the 2016 Ellen McCulloch-Lovell Award in arts education from the Vermont Arts Council. “Teaching is such a responsibility, such a trust,” says Gould. “It informs everything I do. In fact, all the...
Entergy has agreed to sell Vermont Yankee to a cleanup contractor, paving the way for decommissioning and site restoration to be completed by 2030 - 45 years sooner than had been planned. The sale of the shut-down Vernon nuclear plant and all its assets - including the decommissioning trust fund, which held $574.9 million at last report - to New York-based NorthStar Group Services Inc. is expected to close by the end of 2018, administrators announced Nov. 8. The deal...
Donna Macomber aimed to spark a hopeful discussion, but it was only a minute into her welcome when she burst into tears. “I've watched the absolutely inhumane way people of color are treated in this country,” the Brattleboro resident said. “This is one of the most painful years of my life, and I'm a white woman. I am really worried about the conversations that are not happening.” Then again, that's why Macomber and 60 other local and state leaders assembled...
Crews are expected to soon link the two cantilevered halves of a new Interstate 91 bridge in Brattleboro, marking a “significant milestone” in the years-long, $60 million project. In similar fashion, the Vermont Agency of Transportation and the project's lead contractor have bridged their differences over significant construction delays by reaching a settlement that will save the state nearly $1.4 million. Taken together, the developments signal that the high-profile highway job is nearing completion. Officials say northbound traffic should begin...
Beautiful weather on Tuesday and a record number of registered voters combined to make the 2016 election one for the record books in Vermont. As of Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of State Jim Condos said that 470,799 Vermonters were registered to vote, which Condos said is an all-time high. The previous Vermont record was about 454,000 in 2008. That year's election saw a 71.9 percent turnout, also a record. This year, Brattleboro reported a 69 percent turnout, or 6,005 of 8,701...
With the sun shining brightly for the Nov. 8 general election, voters in Brattleboro, Dummerston, and Vernon arrived in steady numbers to cast ballots. The pace remained constant in the three towns despite Brattleboro and Vernon having already broken their early voting records. Before voting had even started on Election Day proper, 39 percent - 3,387 people - of Brattleboro's registered voters had cast ballots, said Town Clerk Annette Cappy. This early turnout busted the town's previous early voting record...