One of the many threads of the national discussion of the constellation of issues around the #MeToo movement is, of course, the media.
We have treated such stories as too legally fraught to touch, let alone explore. We have avoided these stories, buried them, sanitized them in a wash of false equivalence and equivocation.
And women have been the worse for the way we have covered these issues - or not covered them.
We in the media must change. We deserve scrutiny. And we need to embrace transparency and work hard on stories about these themes.
We made the connection between pollution and garbage, and everybody recycles. We made the connection between fossil fuels and this bizarre weather. Now there are solar panels and windmills. Now we are struggling to connect school shootings and - something. Anything but the hardware. But we don't seriously want...
In 2011, Parks Place Community Resource Center began hosting an annual gardening event reflective of the theme of “helping people grow” - a concept Center staff say is at the heart of what we do. This year, they are pleased to welcome back Henry Homeyer as guest speaker of...
A rare copy of the Brattleboro Hydropathic Messenger was recently donated to the Brooks Memorial Library by former library director Jerry Carbone. Carbone is a member of the leadership team of the Brattleboro Words Project, a National Endowment for the Humanities-backed effort led by five area nonprofits to celebrate the rich but undersung history of writing, printing, and publishing in the greater Brattleboro area. The Hydropathic Messenger was a newspaper issued by the Lawrence Water Cure from 1858 until the...
Peter Rizzo is 60 years old, a tall, imposing man, well-built but with a gentle style and charisma. He was born in the Bronx, grew up in New Rochelle, and lived in Manhattan for 27 years, where he had a yoga practice for more than a decade. About 14 years ago he relocated to Windham County and founded Bhava Yoga. For more than an hour one December day in his Bhava Yoga center, a warm and inviting space at 21...
I hope the protests against the availability of guns escalate into a protest against the war in Afghanistan. Two or three years ago, I saw a devastating photography show at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center. It featured large-scale photographs of soldiers maimed in that war. Guys with prosthetic arms and legs. For what? What a waste! How many years have we been over there - 16? Are we trying to export democracy to a region stuck in the Middle...
On April 9, Gov. Phil Scott announced the arrival of an AT&T Inc. Cell Site on Wheels (COW) at Grace Cottage Hospital, which will reinforce and enhance wireless network coverage for the hospital and the surrounding area. The hospital and surrounding area were facing a loss of coverage due to a potential shutdown of current wireless provider CoverageCo. According to a news release, Scott worked with AT&T to ensure there would be no coverage gaps in the hospital's critical operations.
The town of Brattleboro urges all residents to sign up for VT-Alert, a mass notification system. A free service, VT-Alert has been upgraded and improved. Even if you have signed up for VT-Alert in the past, you must re-register if you want to continue to receive emergency information. By signing up for VT-Alert, you can receive notification information via your phone, the web, your cell phone, email, and other technologies. The town is currently using VT-Alert to disseminate vital information...
Gerda's Equine Rescue will participate in the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' national Help A Horse Day contest, a nationwide competition for a chance to win a portion of $110,000 in grants. The contest kicks off April 26 and is a chance for rescue groups, shelters, animal control agencies, and sanctuaries to raise awareness about the year-round lifesaving work they do to find homes for horses. As a participating group, Gerda's Equine Rescue, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit,
Come hear what's on the minds of our local youth at the Brattleboro Literary Festival's second annual Teen Poetry, Prose, and Pizza Slam at the Boys & Girls Club on Saturday, April 21, at 8 p.m. The winner receives a $100 cash prize and publication online at Green Mountains Review, and the runner-up receives a $50 cash prize. There will be door prizes and a raffle with gift certificates from local businesses, a performance by the Burlington teen slam quartet...
Brattleboro winter parking ban is lifted BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Parking Department says the winter parking ban has ended for the season. Overnight parking will be allowed on all streets, except in the downtown area. Overnight parking is never allowed on the following streets: Main, High, Elliot (from School to Main streets), Flat, Canal (from the Plaza to #63), Church, Elm, Grove, and Harris Place. For further information, contact Parking Enforcement Coordinator Carol Coulombe at the Parking Office at 802-257-2305,
Brattleboro Utilities Division crews will start spring flushing of the town water mains on Thursday, April 26, at 10 p.m. and continue through Saturday, May 12. Some daytime flushing will continue throughout the weeks of May 14 and 21. Water-main flushing will occur during both night and day. Customers are asked to check the flushing schedule closely, as flushing causes water discoloration, low water pressure, and, in some areas, periods of no water. Night flushing will take place from 10...
Obituaries • Emeline C. Bezio, 98, formerly of Brattleboro. Died Friday, April 6, 2018 at Applewood Harborside Healthcare in Winchester, N.H. Born on March 3, 1920 in Easthampton, Mass., the daughter of James and Laura (Rabideau) Barcomb, she was raised in Moores Forks, N.Y., where she attended a one-room schoolhouse. She eventually moved to Brattleboro with her family and worked for several years at the former Guilford Paper Company. Most of her life, she was a devoted homemaker. A devout...
On Saturday, April 21, at 8 p.m., Cracked Glass Productions presents “Dylanophrenia, Classic Dylan for the Age of Trump.” The Same Thing Band performs classic songs of Bob Dylan chosen for their relevance to our current political scene. For more than 20 years, The Same Thing has been dedicated to giving voice to Dylan's music. “Dylan was instrumental in so many political awakenings, including my own,” Jon Mack, manager of the Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery and a member of the...
There will be a Pansy Tea Party and Photo Op on Saturday, April 28, from 4 to 6 p.m., at Singing River Farm in Rockingham. Bring your camera and your love of color to visit the pansy field in full bloom. A guided tour, the chance for participants to snap photos to their hearts' content, the elusive scent of a field of flowers, and a cup of herbal tea made with dried pansy blossoms will be included. “We love pansies!”
I think the people of Vernon and Guilford have been extremely fortunate to have had Mike Hebert represent us since 2010. I wish we could clone his fair, responsible, bipartisan, and very personal approach to governance and spread it from Montpelier to Washington, D.C. As chair of the Guilford Democratic Committee, I have been very pleased to see support for Mike grow across the board, from Republicans to Progressives. It is a proud Vermont tradition - the legacy of Governor...
For as long as a decade, women in town talked in whispers about a local yoga teacher whom women should avoid. The hidden conversation included unconfirmed - and often unconfirmable - stories of injury and sexual impropriety. On Dec. 3, 2017, as the #MeToo movement erupted on the national scene, Diana Whitney, a local writer and teacher of yoga, posed a question on a Facebook post. “I can't stop thinking about the men who violate sexual boundaries, both in public...
It was a great way to start the baseball season for the Brattleboro Colonels. The Colonels' ace pitcher, Leif Bigelow struck out 16 batters in throwing a no-hitter against Bellows Falls for a 9-0 victory on a cool, mostly overcast April 9 afternoon at Tenney Field. Bigelow walked two BF batters - Griffin Waryas in the first inning and Noah Rawling in the second - and hit one batter, Lucas Saunders, in the third inning. He needed just 84 pitches...
Windham County is a community with a wealth of artists and makers of fine crafts. Local photographer William Dixon has made it his creative goal to document the studios and products of some of these creators. A series of his portraits are on display at the Putney Public Library, 55 Main St. Dixon's work captures the essence of the daily lives of those who are dedicated to the process of creating something unique for our enrichment, according to a news...
The Arts Council of Windham County will host a public conversation with regional artists about creativity on Thursday, April 26, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., at 118 Elliot Street in Brattleboro. “A Room of One's Own: The Creation of Inner Space,” refers to Virginia Woolf's famous essay about the necessity for “a room of one's own” in order to successfully support a creative practice. Questions to be explored include: What do we mean when we say “creative space” within ourselves?
On Sunday, April 22, at 2 p.m., Open Music Collective will present its final concert, “Closing Ceremony,” at the Cotton Mill in Brattleboro. After nine years, close to 100 classes, almost 40 concerts, and hundreds of area students, OMC will close its space at the Cotton Mill. As a way of celebrating the time spent, a special concert will be performed with OMC and local favorites Jamie MacDonald (bass), Mitch Seidman (guitar), Claire Arenius (drums), and Melissa Shetler (vocals), with...
As I heard its lyrics the other night while making dinner, I realized that “Oh Very Young” is one of those songs that has left a permanent imprint on me. It is the kind of song that intertwines with a specific memory or a specific life juncture: when your feelings of happiness, sadness, or confusion collide with music, and your sense of life's fleeting nature becomes acute. I was introduced to Cat Stevens by a girl I had an intense,
Last September, we, along with Ned's brothers and sisters-in-law, had a custom-made bench installed on our land at the corner of Bonnyvale and Miller roads in West Brattleboro. The bench was meant as a memorial to our late mother, who took great delight in the view from that spot in her failing years. It was also intended to give pleasure to the numerous people, many of whom we've never met, who admire that same view while walking, biking, painting, photographing,
The Selectboard began to identify their yearly goals at the April 11 regular Board meeting. “Traditionally, each year in the spring, when the daffodils start coming up, the Selectboard begins thinking about if there are any special projects they want to undertake for the rest of the year,” explained Selectboard Chair Zeke Goodband. He invited Board members to begin compiling their own lists of goals for the year for future discussion. Board member Maria Glabach noted there is often a...
I am not fond of Dollar General stores; I call them “the Chinese store” as most of the products sold there come from a country where there are no pollution controls, notorious human-rights abuses, super tankers burning illegal high-sulfur fuel oils to carry these products to our shores, and trade imbalance. We have lost U.S. employment opportunities due to these greedy, toxic trade practices. Dollar General stores are cropping up everywhere for a reason. I can afford to boycott them,
I am glad that Milt Eaton has laid out for us the hard realities getting in the way of making progress. I am sorry, however, that he has shortchanged so greatly the need to still do so. Yes, it is helpful to be reminded of the enormity of the challenge, including population growth itself plus having the world moving toward a higher standard of living. No, we cannot back away from doing all we can to reduce greenhouse gases if...
With Newfane's current Town Plan set to expire this year, the Planning Commissioners are working on a new draft to submit to the Selectboard for their approval. At the April 2 regular Selectboard meeting, Planning Commissioner Lynn Forrest gave Board members an update on their progress on the document. She also sought, and received, the Board's support for the Commission's work plan, which includes scheduling public hearings on the draft Town Plan. The Planning Commissioners will mail copies of the...
Having worked for 10 years as a medical social worker at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) Comprehensive Care Clinic, I was devastated to learn that BMH has recently paid the federal and state Medicare and Medicaid programs $1.65 million to settle a federal lawsuit against the hospital for filing false billing claims. I first need to note that my hard-working colleagues at the Comprehensive Care Clinic and in the oncology department are incredibly knowledgeable, and experienced. They are some of...
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts will host an artist talk with Matt Brown on Saturday, April 21, at 5 p.m. Brown will discuss his current exhibit “Conversations with Color Woodblock Prints,” on display at Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts through May 6. The talk will include a demonstration by Brown of the Japanese hanga method of printmaking used by Hokusai, Kunisada, and Hiroshige, a technique in which each print is created entirely by hand, using water and pigments applied to multiple carved wooden blocks.
On Saturday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Strolling of the Heifers will present its Home Improvement and Garden Expo at the River Garden. With summer home improvement and gardening season approaching, organizers say the expo will get participants started with ideas, repairs, projects, and renovations. “We have builders, landscapers, home goods, and cleaning supplies,” said Vicki Friedman, Strolling of the Heifers' River Garden coordinator, in a news release. “We have green energy and efficiency solutions, and financing...
The creative economy in Vermont is no longer just a sideshow. Arts and culture have become a significant part of the state's overall economy, which was why, on April 9, the downstairs hall at Next Stage Arts in Putney was filled with visual artists, circus performers, photographers, writers, and representatives of various cultural institutions from all over Windham County. They had gathered for a conference titled “Southern Vermont Creative Meeting: Nexus of Art & Economy.” Organizers of the conference -
Two social-service organizations that generally serve opposite ends of the human life-cycle plan to merge. Representatives from Putney Cares and Putney Family Services made the first public announcement of their intention to combine forces into one entity at the April 11 regular Selectboard meeting. Putney Cares provides programs and services, including exercise and movement classes, art instruction, low-cost community meals, and medical equipment and clinics, to residents aged 60 and older. Some programs are specifically for Putney residents, and others...
On Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, Centre Congregational Church on Main Street will celebrate “God's amazing gifts in nature” during and after its 10 a.m. service, according to a news release. Rev. Joseph David Stinson will lead the service. The Children's Choir will join the Adult Choir, under the direction of Mary Milkey May, with a special song and then the children will participate in planting spring flowers. Following the morning service, beverages and light, healthy snacks will be served...
Since the #MeToo movement broke like a wave last year, a key question - across the board - has been how so much harassment and abuse could be known about and whispered for years without seeing the light of day. There are many reasons, but a lot it has to do with how the law works. In recent months, anyone who has followed the news has grown accustomed to learning about non-disclosure agreements, out-of-court settlements, and threats of defamation, libel,
Good day to you, southern Vermonters! This early spring has been more like late winter, and that trend continues through the end of this week, unfortunately. For skiers, this has been a wonderful season to be sure, but for the rest of us, it's been a slog. There is at least some short-term light at the end of the tunnel, and the weekend into early next week is looking pleasant, calm, and milder. However, the Wednesday night through Friday period...
Gail Golec really digs graves. Just not with a shovel. Golec, a professional archaeologist, told The Commons, “Because I'm a huge nerd, I love going to cemeteries to just walk around, mostly the earlier ones.” “The art, the carvings, are beautiful. I like studying the names and the epitaphs,” she said. Golec has “always been fascinated by cemeteries,” even as a child growing up in North Walpole and Alstead, N.H. “My family are good storytellers and joke-tellers,” she said, “and...
On Saturday, April 21, the Village Dance Series is inviting the public to a community dance in celebration of New England Dancing Masters' 30 years of collecting and publishing traditional dances and singing games for children and communities. The dance will be held at the Evening Star Grange, 1008 East-West Rd, in East Dummerston. There will be a pot luck dinner at 5:30 p.m. and a dance (free admission) from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The four New England Dancing Masters...
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of traditional and contemporary Celtic music featuring high energy bagpipes/fiddle/guitar trio Cantrip and folksinger/multi-instrumentalist Lindsay Straw at Next Stage on Saturday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. The concert celebrates Cantrip's 20th anniversary, with the band performing a mix of brand new music, as well as their entire 2001 album, Silver. From the strong base of its Celtic roots, Cantrip branches out into the music of other European cultures. Weaving together...
Hannah Tyler has just left her job as water and highway superintendent of the Department of Public Works in Brattleboro. She has traded that title in to become director of public works 67 miles north at the Windsor County town of Hartford, where she will manage the department and its 30 employees. There, she will lead her department in providing services to the town and its five villages (Hartford, Quechee, West Hartford, White River Junction, and Wilder), including maintaining 140...
My friend Sarah Ovenden and I run a small company called Roots on the Rails. A couple of times a year, we book moderately well-known musicians (the “roots” part) who can draw a crowd of 50 or so fans, charter five vintage, privately-owned passenger railroad cars (the “rails” part), and set out to visit some cool places that are served by passenger train. We've done 45 or so trips since 2003, with musicians ranging from Cowboy Junkies to Ramblin' Jack...
Students in Brattleboro and Dummerston recently received a visit from an ambassador named Juliet Lubwama. Unlike some ambassadors, Lubwama isn't a diplomat from another country. She's a literary ambassador from suburban Philadelphia, and she is traveling around the northeast U.S. visiting schools and community groups to give workshops on poetry. Lubwama, a high school senior from Downington, Pa., was recently chosen from thousands of young writers to be one of five National Student Poets. The award is granted by the...