The Bellows Falls Area Senior Center thanks our incredible volunteers from the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program.
Vicki Lucius, Paul Sackevich, Andrew Thompson, and Linda Lennox collectively donated more than 215 hours of their time, while processing more than 150 various types of tax returns for our local residents.
This is such an appreciated and generous service.
...On behalf of the board, staff, and clients of Health Care and Rehabilitation Services of Southeastern Vermont (HCRS), I sincerely thank residents of Windsor and Windham counties who voted to support HCRS's town-funding requests at their recent Town Meetings. This critically important town funding will help HCRS to achieve...
If somebody had told me, just a few years back, that one day I'd be eating a plant-based diet, I'd have rolled my eyes dismissively. Not me! I loved cheesy nachos and full-fat Greek yogurt, juicy steak, butter-dripping lobster. My idea of heaven was a bowl of rich crème...
Back in the early 1990s, I was a teacher at a junior high school for the arts in East Harlem, N.Y. There was an elementary school in our building as well. It was a dangerous time and place. If the weather was good, I rode my bike - at a very crisp pace - to school. If I took the subway from my apartment in SoHo, I sprinted the three blocks from the subway station to the school. One day,
I read your article about the tearing down of Melrose Terrace. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be less expensive to build a concrete barrier along the bank of the Whetstone to prevent flooding. Those are (or were) beautiful apartments, and between the cost of building them, and the cost of tearing them down, I just think that there must be a cheaper, and more useful, solution.
An open letter to Senators Jeanette White and Becca Balint: It is my understanding that the appointment of Karen O'Neill as a “neutral” on the Vermont Labor Relations Board is pending confirmation by the Senate. I am writing in opposition to that appointment. The applicable law states that “'Nominees with neutral backgrounds' means individuals in high standing not connected with any labor organization or management position, and who can be reasonably considered to be able to serve as an impartial...
I was shocked by what I have read. I know nothing about the Bhava Yoga studio on Elliot Street - it was only a place I would pass by. The fact that so many women are making these allegations is deeply troubling. I've only dabbled in yoga a little bit; I've taken a couple classes and have practiced at home. I do know enough about it to know that you should not expect to be injured when you go to...
It has come to our attention that recently there was a presentation shown at local elementary schools in the Brattleboro area and at Brattleboro Area Middle School, whose subject matter was the condition and plight of Palestinians in Gaza. It seems this program was introduced to third graders and other young students who are much too young to fully grasp, understand, or fathom the complexity and complications of the delicate, multifaceted situation in the Middle East. Not only was this...
In his statements in Brattleboro on April 7 and in his letter to me, Representative Peter Welch has not clearly thought through his position on the nuclear-waste issue. While none of us are overjoyed with leaving radioactive waste at the Vermont Yankee reactor, that does not translate to forcing the waste on an unwilling state like Nevada. Representative Welch supports the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017, which would reopen federal proceedings over the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. Welch's...
This is a news story that should have been possible a long time ago. We are impressed that The Commons was willing to take on the challenge of reporting a story like this, while carefully examining the phenomenon of an “open secret” in our own community. We view the breaking of silence as a very positive trend. How could it not be? The challenge, to date, has been whether we are willing to give social currency to the voices of...
Several of the women quoted in support of this article seem to miss the point of the #MeToo movement. When an employer engages in unwanted touching or doesn't respect boundaries, a female employee is often powerless to stop it. Economic necessity and desire for career stability or advancement can render her powerless. However, when a paid yoga teacher publicly crosses boundaries and makes a woman uncomfortable, she holds the power. She can publish a scathing Yelp review and take her...
I attended the Brattleboro Union High School student walkout on March 14 to support my daughter and her classmates in protesting the lack of reasonable gun laws in our country. Because of my distress over the lives lost everyday to gun violence, and specifically the growing threat of a shooting in our schools, I chose to carry a U.S. flag upside down. I have spent half my life working on the ocean, where it is well known that flying a...
Every seat was occupied at Youth Services' annual Gala & Dance Show at the School for International Training on Saturday, April 28, with 135 guests witnessing local “celebrities” showcasing their dance skills and supporting a great cause, according to a news release. New to the much-anticipated annual event was a twist on the hit reality show Dancing with the Stars. Presented by SIT, the evening of food and drink started with a silent auction featuring art and crafts, gifts, and...
The country of Nicaragua: Students, elders, and private industries started a peaceful protest Wednesday, April 18 regarding the 5 percent reform announced two days earlier by the country's president, Daniel Ortega. The cuts targeted Social Security, including an increase of the quotas of workers and employers up to 22.5 percent and a 5-percent tax on current and future pensions. These measures provoked a strong rejection and protests throughout the country. As a response, the government sent armed forces and police...
Springfield's Evan Hall drained an impossibly long three-point basket and Cameron Colon scored the game-winning hoop with 6.4 seconds to play to give the Cosmos a 46-45 win over the Brattleboro Colonels in a Unified basketball playoff game on May 3 at the BUHS gym. It was a tough way to lose a playoff game, but few on the Brattleboro side were complaining. The last minute had thrills to spare and everyone there on both sides who witnessed it will...
When Wardsboro Curtain Call hosted their first concert in 2015, a new cultural vision was hatched. One of the first shows was a summer dance party, featuring the notorious Miles Band, and the event included a pork and jerk chicken sandwich dinner. “The Town Hall was hopping that night,” Curtain Call board member Lise Fortin said in a news release. “I remember looking outside to see two teenage girls dancing to the music that was wafting through the open windows.”
On Friday, May 11, at 7 p.m., the Windham World Affairs Council will present Dr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former nuclear negotiator for Iran, at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Sanctuary of the Church, which has a large capacity and is handicapped accessible. Mousavian's talk, “Revisiting the Nuclear Agreement between Iran and the U.S., the JCPOA,” comes after President Trump announced to the world...
College news • Gabriel Trenchard of Brattleboro graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Dec. 16, 2017. Trenchard was among more than 700 students who received degrees. • Colton Butler of Whitingham has been named to the Elmira (N.Y.) College Dean's List for the winter 2018 term. • Cassidy Santorelli of Bellows Falls, a student at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Florham Campus, located in Madison, N.J., has been named to the Honors...
The Jamaica Community Arts Council welcomes Laura Molinelli and friends for a Mother's Day concert on Sunday, May 13, from 4 to 6 p.m. Molinelli will be joined by friends Patti Casey, Susannah Blachly, and Sally Newton in a round-robin song share “to delight everyone, not just moms,” according to a news release. This will be the second year that Laura has hosted a special show at the historic Jamaica Town Hall on Mother's Day. Blachly is a fiddler and...
New cemetery group forms in Brattleboro BRATTLEBORO - The Friends of Brattleboro Town Cemeteries will hold its first meeting on Thursday, May 10, at 6 p.m., in the Brattleboro Historical Society on the third floor of the Municipal Building at 230 Main St, Suite 301. (There is an elevator by the back door). The stated purpose of the Friends of Brattleboro Town Cemeteries is “to maintain the beauty and accessibility of the town-owned cemeteries by clearing brush, cleaning up trash,
If you've always dreamed of owning a downtown business, 2018 could be your year to do so in Wilmington, thanks to a $20,000 cash prize. On May 24, Wilmington Works will kick off a business plan competition: “Make it on Main Street: The Wilmington Downtown Business Challenge.” “We are very excited to showcase Wilmington as a great place to live, work, and play,” Board Chair Lisa Sullivan said in a news release. “Our historic downtown has some buildings to fill...
The Selectboard unanimously voted to authorize a $38,000 contract for the design of a waste process water line. This final design work, conducted by the Dufresne Group, will provide the town with blueprints for connecting the Pleasant Valley Water Treatment Facility to the sanitary sewer system. The project involves laying 3,640 feet of 8-inch pipe. Department of Public Works Director Steve Barrett said he and his staff began the process a year ago. They have already completed the preliminary work...
The Windham Regional Energy Plan was adopted as an amendment to the Windham Regional Plan on April 24, during a meeting of the Windham Regional Commission. “This concludes our regional energy planning process that began in July 2016. We wish to extend our gratitude to everyone who participated in this effort,” Chair Jodi French said in a news release. The complete adopted plan is available online at www.windhamregional.org/energy/act-174-energy-planning. Per statute, the regional energy plan will be considered duly adopted and...
Local traditional music luminary Keith Murphy will present an evening of traditional and tradition-inspired song at the Brattleboro Music Center on Sunday, May 13. The 7 p.m. concert in the BMC Auditorium will showcase material from Murphy's newest release, Land of Fish and Seals, his third solo recording. Tickets are $15; contact the BMC at 802-257-4523 or visit bmcvt.org. A highly respected traditional singer, Murphy's direct and intimate style of singing brings the focus back to the beauty of traditional...
This is a thank you for all the help and support after the fire on Dec. 17, 2017 which took the lives of our daughter/sister/aunt, Elizabeth Cutts, and our husband/father/grandfather, Bruce Cutts. I never intended to take so long getting to this but I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank the community for their generous support during this very difficult time. Though we are burdened with sadness and grief, your many kindnesses have upheld us in...
Music, performing artists, theater, and open studios are featured during the month of May in Bellows Falls, Rockingham, and Saxtons River through the Memorial Day weekend. Visitors and residents of Rockingham will have no less than 21 opportunities to enjoy arts events and recognize the work of local artists. “We're organizing a local effort throughout the month to draw attention to the unique artistic offerings found in Bellows Falls,” said Robert McBride, Rockingham Arts and Museum Project founding director, in...
Jeffrey Lewis is showing the first 12 images from his year of work on a photo project he calls “Strong Bodies: Circus Women.” The show opened during Gallery Walk in Brattleboro on May 4 and will remain up for the rest of the month at Windham Movement Apparel, 2 Elliott Street. Lewis's images of circus women show strength, flexibility, and grace with trapeze, lyra, fabric, and juggling. The nudes are meant to illustrate pride and dedication to the ancient, reviving...
Officials with the Town Manager's office and the Department of Public Works proposed an increase for the water and sewer rates for Fiscal Year 2019. These increases - 6 percent for sewer and 2 percent for water - will end a five-year cycle of the same raises and is covered by an ordinance the Selectboard approved in 2014. This proposal came during the FY19 utility fund budget talks at the May 1 regular Selectboard meeting. The Board will continue the...
It's a perennial gripe of southern Vermonters - the people in power at the Statehouse in Montpelier rarely pay attention to the needs of the cities and towns south of U.S. Route 4. That feeling of neglect is particularly keen in Bellows Falls, whose residents feel like they are at the end of the line when it comes to state programs and funding. So when Democratic gubernatorial candidate James Ehlers visited Bellows Falls on May 3, the people who came...
A beloved pig and his spider friend weave a beautiful friendship as E.B. White's classic tale Charlotte's Web makes a return visit to Main Street Arts after 30 years. Performances of Joseph Robinette's adaptation will be Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 13, at 2 p.m. As MSA begins a year-long celebration of its 30th year, it has dug back to its first-ever performance piece, a 1988 original dance production of Charlotte's Web...
According to a recent downtown parking study, “there are more parking spaces than people think there are,” said Planning Services Director Rod Francis. Francis was at the May 1 regular Selectboard meeting to present some findings from the study, which was funded by a municipal planning grant to address how the town could improve downtown parking facilities. Also present was Andy Hill of Desman Design Management, the firm that conducted the study, the results of which could inform imminent budget...
In this amazing essay by Annabelle Thies, a sixth grader at St. Michael's Catholic School, she explains clearly and strongly why she defends her gay and lesbian aunt and uncle. She loves them because God loves them. And nobody can tell her otherwise. We support totally Annabelle's convictions towards the LGBT issue, and we praise her for defending her relatives. We have lived in this area for nearly 50 years, teaching in local schools. We have been blessed with five...
An open letter to Bernie Sanders: On March 31, you tweeted: “The killing of Palestinian demonstrators by Israeli forces in Gaza is tragic. It is the right of all people to protest for a better future without a violent response.” The situation in Gaza is of the utmost urgency as the conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate and as peaceful demonstrators are killed and injured by the Israeli state. We agree with you that the United States should call...
Unless people get active to stop the plan, thousands of acres of Green Mountain National Forest that are about 10 miles from Brattleboro will probably be clear-cut logged soon. “They are coming hard with the the chainsaws to Green Mountain National Forest,” Chris Matera told me. Matera lives in Northampton, Mass., and was the main subject of a New York Times article about logging. To get an idea of what this logging will look like, see “before and after” photos...
Like many, I grew up in a small rural Vermont community where the country doctor was king. No matter the time of day or evening, our doctor could be contacted, and if the problem was severe, a visit to the home would be in order. The country doctors of my early youth knew and treated every member of the family, from birth to death, and the minutes or hours spent with a patient was not a criterion; better treatment and...
Over the past several weeks, the proposal of the sale of Vermont Yankee has gained momentum through the passage of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and the overwhelming support demonstrated for the project voiced at the April 12 Vermont Public Utility Commission meeting in Brattleboro. While almost every other interested party sees the sale as an environmentally sound, well-funded, community-supported path forward to decommissioning the state's only nuclear power plant, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) sees only problems. It's a...
Next Stage Arts Project will host contemporary bluegrass and folk music quartet, The Stockwell Brothers Band, with their special guests Doug and Tim Harlow, Geoff Sather, Phil Bloch, Pat Holiday, Lou Trombley, Derrik Jordan, and Maria Basescu at Next Stage on Friday, May 11, at 7 p.m. This free concert is part of the 10-day festival “Legacy Putney,” a collaborative celebration of Putney history, arts, and culture. In addition to performing as the current Stockwell Brothers Band (Bruce, Barry, Alan...
Three officers from the Brattleboro Police Department and one Vermont State Police trooper have been placed on paid administrative leave as an investigation continues into the May 4 shooting of a Texas man on Black Mountain Road. According to a news release from Vermont State Police, Brattleboro Police Sgt. Chase Stanley and officers Michael Cable and Sean Wilson, as well as State Police Trooper Jason Lengfellner from the Westminster barracks, were involved in the shooting of a Texas man who...
The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Helm Construction the 2018 Vermont Woman-Owned Business of the Year. Helm, owned by Mel Baiser and Kate Stephenson, is a construction management and consulting company specializing in high-performance, energy-efficient, and low-carbon buildings. Helm has offices in Brattleboro and Montpelier, and over 50 clients across the country. The SBA lauded Helm for their achievements in employment growth, financial success, expansion, and community development, according to a news release. “As a small but growing business,
Good day to you, southern Vermonters! Aside from a few chilly mornings, spring continues to settle into our region. Leaf-out is underway, lawns are greening up, and Old Man Winter (stubborn as he's been) is finally ambling off well to our north. While he sleeps it off for the next six months, we can finally enjoy the 2018 warm season. We've got a mix of fair and inclement weather to move through during the upcoming week, so let's jump into...
Shouldn't such commentary be indicated as such, in contrast to the admirably straight reporting in the rest of this special section? As to its implication that Peter Rizzo's threat of a lawsuit is akin to a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) action, the Media Law Resource Center describes SLAPP as a “retaliatory lawsuit brought to intimidate and silence opponents or critics who had spoken out in the public sphere, typically on land use and development issues.” Regarding Chandler v.
Just out of curiosity - was the Yoga Alliance, or any other professional accrediting outfit, ever asked to investigate this situation? Perhaps the yoga industry will have to become subject to state licensing (as, say, hairdressers are). Too bad.
Such an important piece of journalism for our community. Thank you. As a teacher and yoga teacher, I feel it is of paramount importance that we do no harm, that we check for readiness in any task and confirm that permission is granted, and that clarity of what the support will be is provided, so permission given is about specifics. I have never been to Bhava or met Peter Rizzo. However, I do know that sexual and physical abuse has...
The race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination got another candidate over the weekend. Brenda Siegel, the executive/artistic director of the Southern Vermont Dance Festival in Brattleboro, announced her candidacy via an email to media outlets and supporters. She joins three other Democratic candidates - environmentalist James Ehlers, former utility executive Christine Hallquist, and eighth-grader Ethan Sonneborn. The four current candidates have one thing in common. None of them has served in, or has run for, public office. Vermont's party primary...
I feel sad about this. I have always felt that Peter Rizzo has been a good yoga teacher - one of the best. I don't discount the feelings of the women who have spoken, but I sense that there has been a grave misunderstanding between Peter and some of his students that maybe should have been sorted out much earlier. I, for one, was comfortable with the physical assists and even the intimate bodily contact it entailed. For me, it...
Thanks to all who bravely shared their stories here. These words echo an ongoing conversation taking place in the yoga community about similar allegations around several prominent teachers, some of whom have influenced the style of yoga that Peter Rizzo appears to have trained in. You are not alone, and your speaking up helps to protect future generations of yoga practitioners and students! A powerful article by Matthew Remski, “Yoga's Culture of Sexual Abuse: Nine Women Tell Their Stories,” was...
Sadly, I have heard about this man since I moved to Brattleboro. I heard that he had inappropriate relationships with his students and that he was dogged legally for alleged injuries. Yoga Alliance, the U.S. overseeing body for certifying yoga teachers, has a clear set of ethical standards, which Rizzo does not seem to follow. I also teach a style of yoga that involves adjustments. I have never felt the need to adjust someone under her clothes, nor to put...
Recently, I attended a “high-level nuclear waste summit” in Chicago. The purpose of this gathering was to lay out the various possible options for keeping the most toxic waste in the world isolated from humans and other species for up to a million years. The conference was comprised of people who feel strongly that creation of this waste is immoral and needs to stop - the sooner the better. Those of us living in Windham County are a short distance...
The assault on local retail began with the Sears catalog. Unless things change, it will be finished by Amazon. A big change in U.S. rural life began in 1913 with the introduction of Rural Free Delivery. This change paved the way for retail's decline, which has happened in several distinct phases. * * * Phase 1: A forebear of Sears, in business since 1886, adopted the Sears Roebuck Co. name in 1893. Catalog sales began in 1888, and by 1895...
The Vermont Jazz Center will present a performance with Brazilian guitarist Chico Pinheiro and his working quartet on Saturday, May 12, at 8 p.m. The group's members are all top-level Brazilian musicians now based in New York City. Each is comfortable connecting the boundless, rhythmic vocabulary of their home country with the swinging language of North American Jazz. In a recent interview on WMUK (West Michigan University), Pinheiro emphasized why Brazilian music is so rhythmically varied. “In a way, it's...
A two-woman show of paintings and sculpture by April Judd and Bev Larson has recently been installed in the foyer and other gallery spaces at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. While each artist was featured in group shows during college and in their respective home states, this first major gallery show continues through June 30. The Arts Committee at All Souls invites the public to meet the artists at an opening reception on Saturday, May 12, from 2 to 4...
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main St., will host an opening reception for sculptor Bruce Campbell's “Thinking the Cosmos: Kinetic Sculpture” on Saturday, May 12, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with an Artist Talk scheduled for Saturday, June 9, at 5:30 p.m. Campbell graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in printmaking and received an MFA from Indiana University. In the early 1970s, he began designing books and manuscripts, and soon began specializing in the design of art museum books and...