• Carrie Gest Blum, 59, of Northborough, Mass. Died unexpectedly Jan. 2, 2020 at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass. Carrie was born in Pittsfield, Mass. on June 18, 1960, the daughter of John Hodge and Nancy (Hart) Markgraf. She was raised and educated in Williamstown, Mass., graduating from Mount Greylock Regional High School, Class of 1978. She attended Middlebury College where she received her bachelor's degree in biology. She went on to earn her PhD in Psychology from the University of Vermont. At the time of her death, she was a research scientist for the Sunovion Pharmaceutical Company in Marlborough, Mass. Previously, she worked for the Merck Corporation in New Jersey and had taught at the University of Texas in Houston and the University of Miami. Most recently, Carrie had the distinguished honor of being appointed president of the Safety Pharmacology Society, where she held membership for the past 16 years. While residing in New Jersey, Carrie was a founding member of the New Jersey Brain Bee, an advocacy educational group to introduce and inspire children into the field of science. Carrie was an independent, strong and well-organized woman who was known for her kind, gentle and giving spirit. Professionally, she was well respected by her peers and colleagues in the pharmaceutical field. She was a lover of animals, enjoyed traveling and time shared with her family. In 1989, she married Philip C. Blum, who survives. She leaves one sister, Sarah Markgraf of Weehawken, N.J., one aunt, and several uncles and nephews as well as a host of friends. She was predeceased by her son, Justin Philip Blum, in 2019, and her parents. Memorial information: A memorial service will be conducted Saturday, Jan 25, at 11 a.m., at the Guilford Community Church in the Algiers...
If you'd like to be part of Retreat Farm's Food Truck Roundup this year, now is the time to get involved. The 2020 Roundup begins June 18 and continues each Thursday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. until Sept. 3. The application window for new vendors is now open...
Guilford Center Stage continues into its sixth year with spring and fall productions of plays with some connection to Guilford, continuing its mission to present place-based theater. This year, two venues in Guilford Center will be used, owing to the second phase of renovations to the Broad Brook Community...
Auditors' reports available at town clerk's office BRATTLEBORO - The town and 2019 town school district auditors' reports for fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 are available upon request and may be picked up at the town clerk's office at the Municipal Center, 230 Main St. The auditors' reports will also be available as part of the town annual report, which will be available there by Feb. 21. Persons interested in obtaining a copy of the reports should contact the...
The start of the new year provides an opportunity to reflect, and set out our intentions for the months ahead. This year, I am asking all legislators to join me in committing to protect and expand access for Vermonters who are seeking access to public records. The bottom line is: open government is good government! Vermonters shouldn't have to pay for access to inspect public records their government creates in the course of agency business. Navigating who to ask, and...
I read with interest a recent editorial in the Addison County Independent, which concluded that the objective should be to find a common cause with a plan that allows our rural communities and our farmers to build a sustainable future. Doing so will require bold leadership at all levels around that common cause. Such leadership currently is lacking in our state, but is achievable, I believe. The trends have been there for some time. The export market for fluid milk...
In many ways, aside from impeachment and what comes out of garbage mouth (President Trump), including his many irrational actions, Washington actions are distant from our lives. And what happens in Congressional committees, such as the Congressional Budget Committee (CBC), is even further hidden from public view. But these votes do impact us, particularly in what happens at Vermont Yankee. Vermont Yankee is being taken apart, leaving no reactor building and over-50-ft.-tall concrete containers or casks containing extremely radioactive nuclear...
River Singers Community Chorus led by Mary Cay Brass will start its spring session on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Westminster West Church. The chorus, in their 29th year, is a multi-generational community choir dedicated to singing soulful, thrilling music from many lands. Every spring, the choir invites guest teachers from various world traditions to work with and perform with the choir. This spring's special guests are from the New York City-based, internationally known Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band. Zlatne...
As expected, corporate media and the White House are pushing lies to rationalize Donald Trump's criminal act of assassination. In reality, the justifications used by the Trump administration for the murder were false. Qassem Soleimani was not planning any attacks on the U.S. or its interests in Iraq. He was targeted and assassinated because of his recent political activism in convincing Russia to intervene in Syria and for his support for the Houthi tribes in gaining control of northern Yemen.
The residual thoughts from my year-end trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar focused on being Black and inconspicuous in Africa in contrast to being Black and highly visible in Vermont. Some of you may know that I spent 18 years as an expatriate - all of which, except for a year in France, was spent all over Africa. This was my first trip back since I left Mali in 2001. Not much has changed in nearly two decades except the proliferation...
The Northern Roots Traditional Music Festival - set for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 25 and 26, includes performances by noted musicians, workshops, and a session of pub singing. Now a cornerstone of the traditional music calendar in New England, the festival, directed by Keith Murphy, continues to offer a unique showcase of a variety of northern musical traditions, including Irish, Scottish, English, and French Canadian. The festival, which musters the considerable local talent in the area as well as a...
This year, the West River Education District (WRED) will be electing one of the two “At Large” seats on the WRED Board. This position is currently held by Michael Foley. The term is for three years and will expire at the end of March 2023. This elected position is different from the town-specific positions. All towns, except for Windham, will be voting for at least one position on the board this year at their town meeting. These positions will be...
In January and February, the Putney Public Library, 55 Main St., is displaying work by self-taught artist Jeffrey Reddick. Reddick's Putney connection comes through a 10-year correspondence with Gordon Hayward. In 1967, aged 16, Reddick and his five siblings experienced the violent death of their parents at their father's hand. In 1983, Reddick, by then an ex-Marine, was convicted for assault with a deadly weapon and has since been serving a life sentence at a medium security prison in North...
Next Stage Arts Project presents Jay Craven's 2016 seaside drama film Peter and John as part of its [FRAMED] hosted film series on Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. The screening will include an introduction and discussion with director Jay Craven. Peter and John marks Craven's eighth narrative film based in New England - and it was nominated for a 2016 New England Emmy Award. The director's previous pictures include five collaborations with Vermont writer Howard Frank Mosher, among them...
Vermont has an active network of restorative justice centers and relies on volunteers to support their programs working with people who have committed felonies and are returning to their communities. Circle of Support and Accountability (COSA) programs can play a critical role in helping re-integrate people into the community after serving time in prison. Former prisoners who participate in a COSA program have a much lower rate of recidivism than those lacking supports. The individual benefits and the community does...
Starting in April, Oak Meadow will begin its move from Brattleboro to Putney, an effort to consolidate staff from two sites in a building well-suited for its publishing and mail-order activities. Oak Meadow will rent approximately two-thirds of the first floor of Basketville's headquarters at 8 Bellows Falls Rd. in Putney, said Steve Lorenz, its executive director and school liaison. The international organization provides distance education curriculum and programing for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Students in 69 countries...
Sherlock Holmes returns to the Hooker-Dunham Theater in Brattleboro on Jan. 23, at 7 p.m., to begin the Baker Street Readers' second season of monthly dramatic readings, this time from Arthur Conan Doyle's The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. When Sherlock Holmes announces he's headed for Dartmoor, Watson knows exactly why: Colonel Ross's prize horse has been missing for three days and the Wessex Cup is days away. But matters are even worse: the horse's trainer has been found dead. Holmes...
On Jan. 15, the Vermont Supreme Court heard the appeal of the case challenging the state's school consolidation policy - that infamous boondoggle known as Act 46 - in a suit brought by 33 school districts throughout the state. A number of residents of towns in our area attended the proceedings. Had it occurred to me that there would be no press coverage of this hearing for southeastern Vermont, I might have thought to take more thorough notes. There were...
Thank you for the in-depth, well-researched, and insightful reporting on how Marlboro College has ended up just a few months away from permanently closing. Kudos to MacLean Gander on his reporting excellence and to The Commons staff as well for publishing such a thorough article.
The 1973 War Powers Act was passed as a reaction to the Vietnam War. It provides a layer of checks and balances on the president before war can be declared. Since then, presidents have (or should have) taken action whenever Americans were in “clear and present danger.” They were called conflicts or police actions if they even were named. Nobody has blinked an eye. Now we have the Congress wanting more power over the president. This is a very bad...
On Wednesday evening Bill McKibben spoke at the Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro. He reminded the room of 320 people (with both glimmers of optimism and bone-chilling clarity) that this year is the year for humans to make the radical changes necessary to keep civilization from collapsing within our children's lifetimes. McKibben said that here in the U.S. - a country with a still-functioning democracy and resources - we have the great privilege and honor of truly fighting for our...
We must stop President Trump from starting another war. Trump has no morals, and he doesn't care if we protest. He will give the orders to start another war of aggression, which is a war crime. We have to interrupt those in his chain of command. To do so, we simply legally remind them that their oath is to uphold the Constitution, not the president, and that we are starting a legal defense fund for them. Ask the Selectboard to...
On Jan. 15, I attended Bill McKibben's talk at the Centre Congregational Church hosted by 350Brattleboro, of which I am a member. I have heard Bill speak many times, and am grateful he is willing to work so hard as a spokesperson against climate change. The hall was filled. Some were there, I am sure, to learn about climate change itself, but also for fortification, for inspiration, for direction. It can feel so disorienting to know how dire climate change...
In the dull afterglow of the Jan. 15 Democratic debate, it occurred to me that it's probably a good time for liberals to begin preparing themselves and their liberal-leaning friends for the landslide 2020 re-election of President Donald J. Trump. It's important to be immunized against Trump derangement syndrome for his next four glorious years in office. I must state clearly that I am neither a psychologist nor a medical doctor in any capacity, but my Scout leader first aid...
“I write songs, and I play guitar while singing those songs,” says Gibson Chase-Pinkney, who prefers to go by his first name only. However, Gibson's music is more complicated than that. Think Jonathon Coulton plus Tom Lehrer times two minus satire; hyper-strummed, yet somehow deeply rooted in throwback coffeehouse folk. Often earnestly dark, but always with an impish grin - geeky, enthusiastic, energetic. There's not an easy way to describe Gibson's music, but he's smart, a load of fun, and...
Since a former administrator's challenge to re-examine Marlboro College's decision to merge with Emerson College was brought forward to an open meeting on the campus on Dec. 16, it has been the mainstay of discussions within the college's alumni community about how to forestall closure of the college. Now that period has ended - with the college claiming to have accepted the offer and with former Vice President Will Wootton insisting that the trustees did not meet his terms. A...
The United Methodist Church's Religion & Race website lists how “the Beloved Community” manifests and protects agape love as its guiding principle and is expressed in the following ways: 1. Offers radical hospitality to everyone; an inclusive family rather than exclusive club; 2. Recognizes and honors the image of God in every human being; 3. Exhibits personal authenticity, true respect, and validation of others; 4. Recognition and affirmation, not eradication, of differences; 5. Listens emotionally (i.e., with the heart) -
Hello and good day to you, residents of the snow-covered hills and dales of Windham County! All in all, our week ahead is looking mostly calm, cool and collected, but this weekend will serve as the fly in that forecast's ointment. We'll have mostly sunny skies Wednesday and Thursday, with more clouds than sun on Friday. Temperatures will be increasing gradually though that three-day period, with dry conditions expected. Clouds will build on Saturday, and it appears that we could...
In close games, free throw shooting often is the difference between victory and defeat. Against Mill River, the Brattleboro Colonels went 18-for-20 from the line and pulled out a 63-57 win over the Minutemen in boys' basketball action in North Clarendon on Jan. 14. Tyler Millerick was 12-for-12 at the line and led the Colonels with 25 points. Charlie Galanes added 14 points in a game that was close from start to finish. The Colonels led 36-28 at the half,
Vermont author and climate activist Bill McKibben believes humanity is in a race it cannot afford to lose. “It's not that we're going to eventually have wind and solar energy. By the time you're my age, we will because it's cheaper,” the 59-year-old author, scholar, and activist told Hilltop Montessori School's middle school students. “That's not the problem,” he said. “The problem is, will we do it fast enough?” McKibben, the co-founder of the global environmental advocacy group 350.org, was...
Shoot the Moon Theater Company opens its 2020 season as the company in-residence for Hooker-Dunham Theater with a two weekend-run of Lucas Hnath's A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, and Feb. 7 and 8. The 2013 dark comedy is an early career effort by Hnath, who has gone on to win an Obie Award for his 2016 play The Christians and receive a Tony nomination...
As Donald Trump sends the U.S. spiraling down in a morass of chest puffing and violence, it is time for us to take stock of what we are prepared to do to stop another nightmarish war in the Middle East. It will take more than hand-wringing and clicking on internet petitions. Most likely, we will have to be willing to get arrested, to stop business as usual, to do whatever is necessary to make the unstable boss-man and the neo-con...
Nearly three years ago, during a Selectboard candidates forum, Curtiss Reed Jr. of the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity brought up a topic that had remained mostly unnoticed and unspoken: that the town didn't employ a single person of color on its municipal payroll, despite having nearly 9 percent of its citizens identifying as persons of color. Suitably abashed, the town has been working since then to rectify that. Town Manager Peter Elwell told the audience at the annual...