I always thought the reason my daughter Asia felt uncomfortable in my house was because it was so full of unorganized stuff, because it was so messy. So when I found out she was coming to visit this summer, I had a plan.
Instead of trying to get my whole house in order and failing (as in previous years), I would concentrate my entire effort on one room, making that room a place where we (she, her husband Mike, and I) could sit and visit comfortably. I decided on the living room with a hardy effort at the bathroom thrown in for good measure.
When I told her my plan, she said, “There's no way you'll ever get all the dust!”
Dust? I thought. Really, dust had been off my radar entirely. It was dust that concerned her? I'd never had an inkling. How could I have gotten through all those visits of her avoidance of and discomfort in my house without finding out about the dust?...
World Learning, Dutton Berry Farms, and Holton Home were honored with the annual Sustainable Business Awards, presented by Paul Cameron, Brattleboro Climate Protection director. The Sustainable Business Awards are given to Brattleboro area businesses that work to reduce their carbon footprints while promoting local food production, using recycled materials,
Village Trustees have approved a replacement for a one-ton water utility truck that had to be towed back to town after breaking down on Interstate 91. Out of three quotes for new and used vehicles, Public Works Director Everett Hammond recommended to Bellows Falls Village Trustees that they approve...
At the request of the Bellows Falls Trustees, Police Chief Ronald Lake has instituted a zero-tolerance policy on the presence of “youth in the square” found loitering at any time day or night. A curfew is also in effect from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and after 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, on youths “who have not reached the age of 17 who are not in the company of a parent, adult or relative.” Lake explained that...
The soundtrack is the clink and tinkle of crockery and glasses being shelved, the clatter of pots and pans, the soft-shoe shuffle of sneakers on cement. On Saturday mornings the 20-by-60-foot shed is a beehive of activity. Roberta Bremmer, a volunteer staff member at the Windham Solid Waste Management District's Swap Shop, estimates that the swap keeps from 500 to 1,000 pounds of material out of the landfill every week. It's a winning trifecta: depositors don't pay to dispose of...
Village Trustees have approved rate hikes in response to a decline in water use. The decline has affected the flow of money to municipal coffers, according to a recent report to Village Trustees by civil and environmental engineer Joe Duncan. “The trend over the past few years shows a decline in water usage,” said Duncan, an engineer with Forcier Aldrich and Associates of Essex Junction. “This affects both water and sewer revenue.” The flow capacity has recently been measured at...
At the rainy Marlboro Fair, the closest thing to sunshine is the bright yellow striping on the Hogback Mountain Conservation Association's tent. Fairgoers wander through the tent, stopping at the multiple displays or to ask questions amid an environment steeped in Hogback ephemera. A history of the mountain compiled from land deeds dating back to the 1770s takes over one wall. Photos of spotted salamanders and information about vernal pools hang next to drawings and poems by Marlboro Elementary School...
The police harassment issue has gone from a slightly amusing nuisance to a downright menace. Allow me to explain. You might have heard of an incident where a group of teenagers were told to, and I quote, “Stop sitting on benches.” by the police [“A decree - nay, a demand - to remove Brattleboro benches,” The Commons, July]. Today, I witnessed an incident tantamount in its ridiculousness. An officer of the law, one M. Gorman, and another officer whose name...
The breezes have forced my neighbor's Macintosh apples to sway on their branches and turn Cover Girl red. I first noticed them two weeks back. My neighbors, Laurie and Paul, started their stove on Sept. 17; Jane and Andy, a few days later. But I have held out the longest by donning a wool sweater instead of giving in to the thermostat. This is the game we Vermonters play in the fall of the year. The woodstove has been ready...
The last time the town considered building a multimillion-dollar combination fire and police facility in 2001, voters instead approved a $55 million bond issue in renovations for school construction and renovations. Now, a proposed $10 million combination fire and police facility, which would replace three outdated facilities, is again before the Selectboard for review for the 2012 capital plan. At the Sept. 1 meeting, Selectboard member Dora Bouboulis, facing members of the police and fire departments, expressed concern about the...
Vermont’s unemployment insurance trust fund is on a fast track to broke. The state will borrow federal money, will raise the amount of money subject to employer taxes, and has frozen benefits for four years, measures to prevent the fund from running dry in January, according to Vermont Department of Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden, who spoke recently with 11 business owners at Mount Snow at the first of six statewide meetings to describe the crisis and its potential solutions.
The 2008 amendments to the 1996 Vermont lead law enforce time limits between identifying the problem and completing repair work on hazardous surface. The law also restricts access to identified surfaces and components, and areas directly below deteriorated surfaces, including physical barriers. Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, new legal tools will be in place to make it easier to enforce the law. A $400 ticket may be issued by the Dept. of Health for failure to file Essential Maintainance Practices (EMP)