“It's not often people call you up and say, 'We've got money for you,'” said Josh Davis, executive director of the Groundworks Collaborative.
On Sept. 14, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development awarded four grants, totaling $204,200, aimed at combating Vermont's opioid epidemic.
The USDA gave Groundworks a $6,400 matching grant.
Groundworks provides services like housing, food, and case management to people who are homeless and low-income.
The West Dummerston Volunteer Fire Department has received some substantial upgrades the past few years: a bigger station in Dummerston Center, a new truck for fighting brush fires and, next year, the arrival of a state-of-the-art fire engine. But it takes more than that to fight fires. A good...
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has recently been awarded a Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant of $19,000 over the next two years. According to a news release, this grant will provide support for the College to Career Program and BMH and Community College of Vermont's accelerated Medical Assistant training program and...
The 15th annual Empty Bowls Dinner will take place on Saturday, Oct. 6, at Landmark College. The event is the largest fundraiser of the year for Groundworks Collaborative's Food Shelf, which provides high-quality supplemental food for more than 1,000 individuals each month. This year, Groundworks hopes to sell out the dinner - 700 tickets - and raise $35,000. “Hunger is much more prevalent in this area than people realize,” said Rosie Gardner, who has managed the Groundworks Food Shelf for...
For nearly 50 years, volunteers have organized the Newfane Heritage Festival in the center of historic Newfane Village. Once again this holiday weekend, people will celebrate community, crafts, food, and entertainment at the event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 and 7, rain or shine. The outdoor food booth, headed by Maggie Bills, will serve breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and warm homemade doughnuts. Later in the day, volunteers will serve chili, chowder,
Groundworks Collaborative will hold the eighth annual Hike for the Homeless fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 13, on Mount Wantastiquet in Hinsdale, N.H. The hike will begin at 10 a.m., with check-in beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Mountain Road trailhead in Hinsdale (an immediate left after the second bridge on Route 119 when coming from downtown Brattleboro). Whether hiking to the summit or walking the River Trail at the mountain's base, participants can anticipate spectacular fall-foliage views of Brattleboro. Hikers...
After a successful first year, the Vermont Ukulele Harvest is back for another event filled with ukulele fun - including two concerts, a full day of workshops, jam sessions, and an open mic. The second Vermont Ukulele Harvest is scheduled for Oct. 12 and 13, and will again be held at Main Street Arts. Performers include Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee, Ben Carr, Bernadette McMahon, The Dirty Hillers, and Veronica Stevens. Headliners Maisel and Chee, who hail from the West...
Many students say there just isn't enough time in their morning to get the nutrition and energy they need from a good breakfast. Bellows Falls Middle and High Schools are looking to correct that problem. The two schools have received a combined grant totaling more than $3,700 from the New England Dairy & Food Council. According to a news release, the “Fuel Up to Play 60” funding will support the purchase of new equipment needed for their expanded breakfast programs...
NAMI Vermont will offer a new, free family support group on the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Compass School, beginning Oct. 16. The 90-minute meetings let family and friends of individuals living with a mental illness talk frankly about their challenges and help one another through their learned wisdom and coping strategies. Participants are encouraged to share actively in the work of the group. The meetings offer a safe and confidential place for shared experiences...
Senior Center gets climate control BRATTLEBORO - This winter, the Brattleboro Senior Center will be a little warmer. Workers installed a Mars Air Curtain on the exterior door of the Senior Center, located on the ground floor of the Gibson-Aiken Center. This should stop the cold air coming into the room and help maintain a more pleasant climate for guests and staff. Town Manager Peter B. Elwell explained how it works: When someone opens the door, the device sends a...
On Sept. 20, residents, funders, community members, and two affordable housing organizations gathered to celebrate the completion of 18 new apartments on Neumann Lane and the renovation of seven apartments at the historic Noyes House. According to a news release, Windham & Windsor Housing Trust and Housing Vermont assembled a financing package that included support from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Community Development Program, the federal HOME program, and the Green Mountain Housing Equity Fund from the...
As the first few hard frosts appear, Wardsboro rolls out the red carpet to honor, sell, and cook up the harvest of their very special turnip. On Saturday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., people will come from all over New England to celebrate Vermont's state vegetable at the Gilfeather Turnip Festival. Craft and farmers'-market vendors will arrive early on festival day to set up shop inside and outside of Town Hall and under big and small tents...
College news • Forrest Lisle of Grafton recently graduated from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., with a bachelor's degree in anthropology. • The following local students have enrolled in the Class of 2022 at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.: Samuel M. Cowles of South Londonderry, Emma E. Griffith of Halifax, and Guthrie W. Little of Putney. • Murphy Hicks, a Liberal Studies major from Bellows Falls, has been inducted into the Athletic Director's 3.0 Club at American International...
In the tradition of the New England Bach Festival, the Brattleboro Music Center's Blanche Moyse Chorale will present four cantatas of J.S. Bach in two performances: Friday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 7, at 2:30 p.m. Both concerts will take place at the BMC at 72 Blanche Moyse Way. The program will include Bach's BWV 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden; BWV 14, Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit; BWV 20, O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort; and BWV...
With the leaves starting to turn, more and more people are looking for trails and hikes to make the most of our outdoor vistas. To help Vermonters and visitors find trails that meet their abilities and interests, the Windham Regional Commission, in collaboration with the Brattleboro office of the Vermont Department of Health, has created a resource guide, “Trails in the Windham Region” as part of the Windham on the Move initiative. The guide, available at windhamregional.org/trails, will, when complete,
Weston Playhouse hosts craft show WESTON - The Weston Craft Show at the Weston Playhouse on the Green will feature the work of dozens of juried artisans from throughout Vermont. The show opens Friday, Oct. 5, and will run through Sunday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Proceeds from the show will benefit the preservation of the historic museums in Weston, including the Farrar-Mansur House & Museum, the Old Mill Museum, and the Craft Building, as...
The 16th annual Heirloom Apple Day, at Scott Farm Orchard on Kipling Road, beckons apple lovers of all ages to celebrate this iconic fall fruit on Sunday, Oct. 7. Come visit the 571-acre historic farm and orchard that border Rudyard Kipling's former Vermont home, Naulakha, and other historic rental properties owned and renovated by Landmark Trust USA. At 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m., Scott Farm's orchardist, Zeke Goodband, will entertain guests with the history of the orchard and its...
Traditional Celtic and folk music from Québec, Nova Scotia, and New England will come to Next Stage, with performances by Québec-based trio Genticorum and fiddler/singer Zoe Darrow on Friday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. Over the past 18 years, Genticorum has become a fixture on the international world, trad, folk, and Celtic music circuits, releasing six albums and performing more than 800 concerts in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Genticorum is fiddler, singer, and arranger Pascal Gemme, guitarist Yann Falquet,
Holiday closings BRATTLEBORO - In observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day, all town offices will be closed on Monday, Oct. 8, with the exception of emergency services. Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Monday. All other violations will be enforced. Brooks Memorial Library will be closed Monday. Trash, recycling, and composting will be picked up on the normal schedule. The pick-up schedule is not affected by the holiday. For information about the town bus,
As he prepares to present one of the most daunting operas in the Italian repertoire - Giacomo Puccini's Turandot - Huge Keelan, conductor of the Windham Orchestra, reflects on the undertaking. “We're insane,” he says. With its huge cast and orchestra as well as exotic locale, Turandot is grand opera at its grandest. Set in ancient China, the opera deals with passion and vengeance. Prince Calaf loves the cold Princess Turandot. To obtain permission to marry her, a suitor has...
New England Youth Theatre presents She Kills Monsters, by Qui Nguyen, directed by Micheal Trzos, to be performed on at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 5, 6, 12, and 13, and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6 and Oct. 13. The play will be staged at the theater at 100 Flat St. According to a news release, Nguyen's play is inspired by the phenomenally successful role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and is an action-packed adventure that weaves in...
With 18 art studios and one gallery just a short drive from Interstate 91, visitors to the Vermont Crafts Council's Fall Open Studio Weekend Oct. 13-14 will find an entire weekend's worth of fine art and craft in the region. Studios will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Many sites will offer demonstrations as well as the opportunity for visitors to purchase art and craft and to talk with the professional creators. The...
Tacos were on the menu at the Gibson-Aiken Center on a recent evening. So were hubbas, hips, and half-pipes. This wasn't a dinner, though. It was a meeting to help design the town's future skatepark. As any skateboard enthusiast can tell you, tacos, hubbas, hips, and half-pipes are cast-concrete features of a skatepark, components that make skating fun and dynamic. This workshop, held on Sept. 20, was the second one the Recreation and Parks Department has convened to gather public...
Too much Cady. That was the story as Jake Cady, the senior quarterback for St. Johnsbury, accounted for eight touchdowns, five with his arm and three with his legs, as the Hilltoppers spoiled the homecoming game for the Brattleboro Colonels with a 61-20 rout in Division I football action at Natowich Field on Sept. 28. Cady was 17-of-25 for 438 yards and five touchdown passes. He also ran for 60 yards and scored three more TDs in a stellar display...
“Technology and the workload has burned me out,” said Bill Guenther, who has served as the Windham County Forester from 1987 until he stepped down on Sept. 28. No more providing education to the general public about the wide variety of trees in Windham County. No more offering technical assistance to landowners on current-use practices. No more certifying and inspecting forest-management plans. No more hunting down and eradicating invasive pests. For a man who described his job as “more than...
Like a tote board at a telethon, a sign in front on the Dummerston Congregational Church is keeping track of the most important question on the minds of Dummerstonians this time of year: How many apple pies have been baked so far? As of the evening of Sept. 28, the number was 602. It is but a fraction of the 1,500 8-inch pies that need to be prepared for the annual Dummerston Apple Pie Festival on Sunday, Oct. 7. The...
A person experiencing homelessness in the United States typically has to jump through a series of hoops before finding safe and secure housing. Although the sequence varies by community, most of the time it looks like this, according to Pathways Community Relations Manager Patrick Gallagher: “Find a shelter with space available, meet the shelter's behavior requirements, make an appointment with a case manager, get to that appointment, fill out a bunch of forms to prove [you] are, in fact, homeless,
From Oct. 5 through Nov. 18, Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts presents “Human Textures,” an exhibition showcasing Deidre Scherer's paper and fabric weavings, as well as collaborative vessels with artist Jackie Abrams. An opening reception takes place on Friday, Oct. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m., during Gallery Walk. An artist talk featuring both Scherer and Abrams is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m. Scherer pioneered the medium of thread-on-layered-fabric, and her collages, both in fabric and paper media, “engage...
118 Elliot Gallery presents a selection of recent portraits painted by multiple artists with Brattleboro people as subjects. According to a news release, “Who We Are” sets forth “a demonstrative statement about Brattleboro: who's here now, living, working, painting and 'being the portrait' in a town known for its eclectic downtown shops and thriving arts community.” The show features the paintings of Leonard Ragouzeos, Robert Thomson, and a series from Leigh Niland's drop-in class, “Shopkeepers & Secret Lives,” hosted by...
“Do you think that you should be saying these sorts of things about other people?” “Why can't you forgive?” “Do you know what you started? Don't ever call here again.” “This issue is irrelevant.” “We're only providing a place for him to play. He can't play anywhere else, because of what you did.” “Why can't you forget about it and move on?” “I hope that this has not caused you too much trouble.” “Did you enjoy it?” These are just...
The color of Vermont in autumn is not yellow or orange, it is apple red. We once lived in a cabin in the woods in the mountains. The edge of the property carried a small stand of extremely old apple trees. More dead wood than live, and shrunken in stature to almost-grotesque shapes, the trees had seen more glorious days. However, every few years, they bore an incredible flush of apples, an heirloom variety I never identified. They were beautiful,
Good day to you, southeastern Vermonters! Overall, we're watching the resurgence of a very strong high pressure ridge that looks to set up shop east of the Mid-Atlantic region in the western Atlantic Ocean. This will likely keep us on the warmer side through the middle of October before we have a chance to step down into cooler climes for the back half of the month. Sometimes these ridges are stubborn, especially when combined with or influenced by any tropical...
I am finding myself drawn deeply into the Kavanaugh controversy, especially Christine Blasey Ford's part, because of the disturbing memories it awakens, and their implications. Although I have not lived in the Washington, D.C. area for over 30 years, I come from exactly the same community and setting as Kavanaugh and Ford. My parents grew up in Chevy Chase, Md. I was baptized at Blessed Sacrament, where Kavanaugh is a parishioner. Relatives are members. In my early childhood, I lived...
Is there proof? No - not unless Mark Judge comes forward, and that seems highly unlikely. Why can men come forward after 35 years to testify about sexual abuse by priests and be believed, but when a woman comes forward with her story, the first question is, “What's her motive?” Did we ever stop to think that maybe her motive was to be a good citizen? To offer another view of the character of a man who will be put...
In the end, it wasn't what “she said, he said.” It was what she did, what he did. She gave moving, credible testimony. He rambled and raged. She was composed and coherent. He was defiant and disrespectful. She was polite and dignified. He was rude and belligerent. She was calm. He dissembled, putting to rest the myth of female hysteria. She was quietly self-assured. He threw a self-pitying, tearful tantrum. She told the truth. He lied. * * * The...
Sometimes victims are not able to hear about other victim experiences because they are still coming to terms with their own. Here is mine - and why I believe that many victims and survivors don't share theirs. My virginity was taken by a 38-year-old family friend when I was 16, a scenario that played out several times after. He had already encouraged me to embrace my sexuality and had taken pornographic pictures of me at 15. I received only a...
The recent Kavanaugh confirmation hearings illustrate to me the confluence of heterosexual white male privilege, sexism, and power. To be honest, I thought Kavanaugh lied in the initial hearing before the accusations of sexual assault. But before these allegations, I was simply an angry progressive helplessly watching the Supreme Court turn definitively toward the right. This week was different. I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual assault. I have “dealt” with these experiences over the course...
As a woman (or really, as a human being), this week has been incredibly intense. What it boils down to is that Brett Kavanaugh is credibly accused of assault by multiple women. He should step down. The fact that he has not shows that he does not care or view sexual assault as a serious matter. The fact that the Senate Judiciary Committee is pushing his confirmation through shows they do not see sexual assault as a serious matter. The...
Watching Christine Blasey Ford's testimony, I could not help but feel like I was hearing pieces of my own story told out loud, and it was indeed terrifying. Most survivors of sexual assault or rape choose not to report, or even share, due to complex feelings, including guilt, fear, or shame. I feel physically sick thinking about the choice Dr. Blasey Ford faced and her feelings of obligation to share some of her darkest moments publicly. Odds are that at...
It's not about one man or one woman, it's about the integrity of the Supreme Court. Though my gut is screaming for justice and my emotional response drives my beliefs to accept without a doubt Christine Blasey Ford's account, I took a few breaths today to put aside those personal and emotional responses so I could give a thought to the bigger picture. The testimony of Brent Kavanaugh and Ford last Thursday was devastating and primed to create emotional responses...