The Sweetback Sisters return to The Stone Church, 210 Main St., on Wednesday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m., with their ninth annual Country Christmas Singalong Spectacular.
According to a news release, “this wildly popular show delivers a veritable explosion of yuletide splendor, complete with trivia, prizes, and, of course, all the holiday tunes you know and love.”
The Sweetback Sisters and their band are known for their precise, family-style harmonies and blazing instrumentals. For this show, the group brings their signature mix of modern nostalgia to a wide array of holiday classics and hidden gems.
Songbooks will be provided.
State police plan sobriety checkpoints WESTMINSTER - During the last two weeks of December, the Vermont State Police will be conducting sobriety checkpoints within Windham and Windsor counties. According to State Police Sgt. Dan Martin, the patrol commander at the Westminster barracks, an aggressive effort will be made to...
Our way of life, our principles, and the most vulnerable people living here are under attack. The travesty that was last year's presidential election exposed not only the rampant bigotry and continued bitterness of the GOP, prompting them to put forward such an incompetent, hate-fueled monstrosity as their candidate,
Brattleboro's Last Night Committee is planning a fun-filled and substance-free day of celebration for all ages for New Year's Eve on Sunday, Dec. 31. The day kicks off with activities for both seniors and toddlers. There will be a Senior Potluck Luncheon at the Brattleboro Senior Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year's featured guests are “Sing, Sing, Swing.” From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., KidsPLAYce is holding Toddler and Preschool Free Play. For more information call 802-254-5212.
The Landmark Trust USA, the nonprofit group that manages Rudyard Kipling's Naulakha in Dummerston, has been offered a challenge grant from the Thomas Thompson Trust of Boston to increase the capacity of the historic preservation organization. The Thompson Trust has agreed to provide a grant of $25,000 if the Landmark Trust USA can raise an equivalent amount by March 31, 2018. The challenge grant will help the Landmark Trust USA extend the impact of its public programs and increase its...
Births • In Phoenix, Ariz, Dec. 12, 2017, a son, Joel Philip Ketchum, to Rachel (Darling) and Eli Ketchum of Buckeye, Ariz. Grandson of Judi Ketchum of Brattleboro and Roy and Sarah Darling of Greenfield, Mass.; great-grandson of Phil and Dottie Turner of Brattleboro, Charlie and Peg Ketchum of Melbourne, Fla., and Clare Hawes of Hadley, Mass. Obituaries • Norman J. Bergeron, 83, of West Chesterfield, N.H. Died Dec. 7 in Englewood, Fla. He was born on May 1, 1934,
It's that time of year again. That lovely time of year. The decorations, the Santas ringing their bells, the holiday music, Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney in a letterbox version of White Christmas, Rudolf, Christmas cookies, Christmas parties. There are many Christmases. There is the religious Christmas that has nothing to do with Santa or Bing or Rudolf, none of whom appear in the Bible. There is the family Christmas: turkey, presents, gatherings, travel, cleanup. There is the public Christmas:
Citing personal reasons, Emergency Management Director Dawn Hubbard attempted to resign from her position at the December 7 regular Selectboard meeting. “I can't guarantee I'd be available during a crisis,” Hubbard said. But Selectboard members wouldn't let her go. Because Hubbard said she may fully return to her position in the future, Board member Maria Glabach suggested the Board grant Hubbard a leave of absence instead of accepting her resignation. “Would that help you?” Glabach asked. Hubbard and most Board...
Brattleboro School of Dance and Company of Muses bring The Nutcracker back to the New England Youth Theater on Friday, Dec. 22, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 23, at 1 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 24, at 1 p.m. The cast for Pyotr Tchaikovsky's holiday-themed ballet is composed of students, faculty, and alumni of the town's esteemed dance studio, as well as members of the local community, ranging in age from 6 to over 60 years old. Featured guest...
Marlboro College announced last week that all of its graduate teaching programs have been approved to partner with the Peace Corps as part of the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program. The Coverdell program will offer significant financial assistance for returning Peace Corps volunteers choosing to attend Master of Arts in Teaching programs at Marlboro College Graduate and Professional Studies. “As someone with a keen appreciation of the value of both Peace Corps service and a Marlboro education, I am especially...
Hatcher resigns, Dowling named chair NEWFANE - Selectboard Vice-Chair Gary Delius announced Chair Carol Hatcher's resignation from the Board at the Dec. 4 regular meeting. Delius said Hatcher sent a resignation letter to each Board member, but she didn't want it read publicly. He said Hatcher quit the Board “for a number of reasons, mainly health and stress, and she needs to be looking at other things in her life.” The Selectboard accepted Hatcher's resignation. Delius noted the “passion [Hatcher]
It's the holiday season, and for many, it's a time of year filled with traditions among families and communities. In Vermont we also have a unique tradition that kicks off the month of December: the annual receipt of the Vermont's Tax Commissioner's statutorily required letter to the legislature regarding anticipated property-tax rates. This event, while not anticipated with as much fondness as other time-honored religious and secular conventions, is a predictable, if not pleasant, opening salvo in the annual education-property-tax...
There is no such thing as a moderate Republican in the U.S. Congress. Arizona Senator Jeff Flake wrote a book brought on by a guilty conscience. Being a Republican will do that. I give him credit for expressing disgust at President Donald Trump. Flake voted for a health-insurance bill that will take away health care from tens of millions of people, yet he writes about principles. Maine Senator Susan Collins reportedly was told by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that...
One hundred forty-six million U.S. residents had their personal information hacked or stolen as part of the recent Equifax security breach. Here in Vermont, one out of every two adults, or 240,000 Vermonters, had their privacy invaded and their trust shattered by such breaches. This violation of Vermonters' trust was the subject of four recent House Commerce and Economic Development Committee hearings that gave a wide cross-section of Vermonters the opportunity to share their personal experiences with being breached and...
Hungry for a holiday from cooking breakfast this Christmas? Jadi Flynn and Megan Walker are hoping to help out some people. Make that 1,000 people. Flynn and Walker are the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Charlie Slate, the local man who started the free annual Christmas Breakfast that his family and 60 friends are set to continue for hundreds of diners and delivery recipients. Slate began the tradition in 1982 upon noticing most restaurants closed for the holiday. This year, volunteers...
In late-September, Food Connects's Food Hub set a new sales record: just over $11,500 in one week. All items the Food Hub sold were grown or produced in Vermont and southern New Hampshire. The Food Hub is a program run by Food Connects, a nonprofit that started in 2013 with a mission to deliver “locally produced food as well as educational and consulting services aimed at transforming local food systems.” The Food Hub sells fruit, vegetables, meats, dairy foods, and...
Newly retired from 21 years with the English department and theater program at Leland & Gray Union High School, I am baffled by the school's administrative proposal to eliminate the social worker from in-house staff. Such a move seems myopic and ill-advised in the face of the 21st century's technology blitz, the impact of which has been steadily intensifying for years. I have a smart phone, and I try to be a smart user, but I curse what the device...
Emily Mason, the noted New York abstract painter and longtime half-year resident of West Brattleboro, is presenting a show of monoprints and monotypes at Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts on Main Street, up until Jan. 7. The works, 40 of them, are basically paintings painted on a separate plate and then transferred to paper by running it through an etching press. There are often many layers, and the techniques have many elaborations. The gallery staff does quite a good job explaining how...
After a series of tragedies that threatened to derail the long-established Northampton, Mass.-based band, The Alchemystics are now back on track with a new tour, including a concert on Dec. 22 at 8 p.m. at The Stone Church. The Alchemystics fuse reggae and hip-hop “to form a beat-laden mold of world conscious groove music,” as the band says on its website www.alchemystics.com. Rooted in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, this dynamic band combines “diverse individual styles, backgrounds, and experiences into...
A group of local artists and fine craftsmen have initiated a call for art that reflects on the current political situation. Organizers of “Raised Voices: Local Artists Resist!” invite participants to “stand up and express your hopes, your outrage, your vision,” in the face of the current times. This call for art is open to all mediums, including writing (one page maximum and presented as visually engaging) that can be wall-hung. The process will culminate in an exhibit throughout May...
In a dramatic rendition of Langston Hughes' poems and short stories, actor and writer David Mills will celebrate the life of the Harlem Renaissance writer and poet at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St., on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. His performance, An Evening with Langston Hughes, is part of the Vermont Humanities Council's First Wednesdays lecture series. Mills has worked professionally in the dramatic and literary communities for more than a decade. For three years, he lived as writer-in-residence...
As in past years, The Commons will not publish next Wednesday. The next issue will appear on Wednesday, Jan. 3. Deadline for news and advertising is Friday, Dec. 29. Your friends at The Commons and Vermont Independent Media wish readers, members, volunteers, contributing writers, and advertisers a safe and happy holiday season, and we look forward to serving you in 2018.
Good day to you, fellow humans. We've got some up-and-down temperature swings to roll through this week, but the main story is the potential for wintry impacts starting Friday afternoon and lasting through Christmas Day before another blast of very cold Arctic air moves back into southern Vermont to close out 2017. The details want to be gotten into, so let's get into them! For Wednesday, a cold front passes through the region and clears us out after some morning...
Ellie Lascore stayed at the Putney Diner hours after her shift ended on Dec. 13. Instead of going from table to table to take patrons' orders and bring them food and coffee, as she had done for 17 years there, Lascore sat down and a line of customers brought things to her. Cards, gifts, hugs, kisses. “Oh, I got everything!” Lascore said. “A lot of flowers. And a lot of money!” Lascore's boss, Putney Diner owner Eleni Maksakuli, threw her...
Suddenly, you are dead. Nobody likes to think about dying. That is probably why more than half of us do so without a will. Planning for death has been greatly complicated by our increasing reliance on the internet over the last two decades. Most of us today have intangible assets consisting of email; social media accounts such as Facebook; photographs; and links to bank and brokerage accounts that may not be readily accessible to our survivors. As I will explain,
I was full of Christmas cheer as I took a trolley from Cambridge to Boston to wait for the train to Brattleboro. It was snowing heavily. I was excited about spending a Vermont Christmas with my brother Paddy, his wife Betty, and their little daughter Leish, but I was also excited at the thought of meeting my girlfriend Tina in New York after Christmas. To my surprise, I began to realize how very close we'd become in a short time.
In the fall of 2004, my friend Kay's husband, the love of her life, left this world after a long illness. Kay decided to keep their tradition, and so, three months later, without her Richard, she went to the annual extended family Christmas weekend celebration they'd always gone to together. If you're a fellow widow, you will understand how surreal those days were for her, how deeply out of place she felt. How she went through the motions, physically present...
Girls' basketball • Sometimes, all it takes to have a great game is just a little adjustment. Leland & Gray center Kelsi Bostrom wasn't having much luck scoring inside against Poultney. Coach Terry Merrow suggested that she try taking some outside shots. The result was 18 points in the first half for Bostrom on the way to a 52-17 blowout of the Blue Devils on Dec. 11. The visiting Rebels turned a 7-7 tie at the end of the first...
Project Feed the Thousands has been around since 1994, and a big part of this fundraiser's tradition is getting local schools involved in the process of collecting and distributing food for those in need. On Dec. 15 in the parking lot of Hannaford supermarket on Putney Road, a school bus from First Student Transportation was parked in front of the store. From mid-morning to late afternoon, a steady stream of boxes and bags of groceries were loaded into the bus.
The West Brattleboro Association announced its 2017 Community Leader of the Year recipient during its annual Holiday Party on Thursday, Dec. 14, at Dalem's Chalet. The winner of this seventh annual award is the Thurber Family and their Lilac Ridge Farm. Accpording to a news release, Lilac Ridge Farm has been operating for more than 80 years and is now under the third generation of family management. It keeps a herd of milking cows, which supplies organic milk to the...
Dan Yates, president and CEO of Brattleboro Savings and Loan, serves as a member of the Taxation and Regulation Subcommittee of the state's Marijuana Commission, which is looking into legalizing marijuana in Vermont. I find it fascinating. When we talk about legalizing marijuana - and it does look like the state is moving in that direction - we pay attention to very important things like impairment and prevention and regulation. But for Yates, who is heading up a bank, he...