• Patricia E. “Pat” Austin, 90, of Brattleboro. Died March 5, 2022 at Thompson House, the result of injuries she sustained from a fall at her home. She was born Dec. 19, 1931 in Plainfield, N.J., the daughter of Addison and Audrey (Block) Ely. Pat was raised and educated in Westfield, N.J., later attending Stephens College in Missouri and the University of Vermont in Burlington. Pat had been employed as a sales associate at the former Wilsons LTD, Candy and Gift Store on Main Street in Brattleboro. For many years she was a volunteer working in the coffee shop at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and was also an active volunteer at the Thompson House Nursing Home. She was a member of Centre Congregational Church, where she served on several church committees. Pat enjoyed golf and was a member of the Brattleboro Country Club. She also enjoyed collecting miniatures, scrapbooking, and time spent with her family. In 1958, she married Kenneth S. Austin, who predeceased her. Survivors include a daughter, Carol Coulombe and her husband, Larry, of Hinsdale, N.H; a son, Addison E. Austin of Fort Thomas, Ky.; a sister, Joan Carpenter of Birmingham, Mich.; and five grandsons, three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. Memorial information: A memorial service will be conducted on Saturday, March 19, at 11 a.m., at Centre Congregational Church with a reception to follow the services in the church's parlor. Pat will be laid to rest beside her husband in Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery later in the spring. Donations to Centre Congregational Church Book of Remembrance, 193 Main St., Brattleboro, VT 05301; Brattleboro Area Hospice, 191 Canal St., Brattleboro, VT 05301, or to a charity of one's choice. To share a memory or send condolences to the family, visit www.atamaniuk.com.
• Scott Anthony Brooks,...
The Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department has begun taking reservations for the Stockwell Drive Community Garden Site. Now in its 12th season, the garden in the nine-acre Stockwell Park overlooks Ames Brook and offers 17 100-square-foot plots along with common crops of raspberries, a small asparagus patch, and flower...
Genre-bending jazz and prog rock fusion trio House of Waters performs at Next Stage Arts on Friday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. “Our goal is to widen the palette of what makes its way to southern Vermont, and House of Waters is something truly unique. Max's virtuosity on the...
Farm Bureau offers scholarships for county students BRATTLEBORO - The Windham County Farm Bureau has scholarships available for county residents who are planning to attend college in advance of careers in agriculture. Scholarships of up to $1,000 per semester are available by applying to the Farm Bureau by Friday, April 1. Applications are available by contacting Carlene Hellus at foulmt@gmail.com or 802-254-3601. Birdhouse building workshop offered EAST DUMMERSTON - The Conservation Commission invites you to build a bluebird birdhouse on...
The humanitarian crisis that resulted from the sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan last August has inspired more than 30 Bellows Falls area residents to form a group called Rockingham Area Refugee Resettlement (RARR). In a news release, RARR said its mission is “to aid those Afghan allies who helped our troops during our long war there.” In order to streamline organizational requirements, RARR said its effort is allied closely with the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) office in...
Windham County Prevention Partnerships (WCPP) will share text messages with anyone interested in learning how dining together as a family leads to healthier eating and improves children's learning and well-being. According to a news release, the Dinner Together program is designed “to strengthen family connections by providing caregivers and youth opportunities to express care, provide support, share power, challenge growth, and expand possibilities through the preparation and eating of family meals.” For eight weeks, participants will get a text message...
The Brattleboro Area Jewish Community (BAJC), Congregation Shir Heharim, announces the release of their community cookbook, Song of the Mountains, Vol. 2, Favorite Family Recipes, Past & Present. According to a news release, the cookbook's theme is “family and the memories which are brought to mind by the foods that were shared at holidays, special occasions, and everyday meals.” Spearheaded by BAJC's fundraising committee - Deb Schiller, Susan Auslander, and Stephan Brandstatter - this project has been a year in...
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main St., celebrates its move into spring with a large group exhibition, “Creative Edge,” which opens Saturday, March 19, at 11 a.m. There will be a gallery Artists Reception with refreshments from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit continues through Sunday, May 1. Many of the 20 exhibiting artists will present new work. “Working at the edges, literally and figuratively, they offer their visions and questions and invite us all to see and react to shared...
The Brattleboro Music Center's Chamber Series welcomes the return of the Musicians from Marlboro on Friday, March 25. The 7:30 p.m. concert will feature the works of Britten and Schubert. Schubert's String Quartet, D. 87, written when he was only 16 years old, “provides a youthful counterpoint to Britten's String Quartet, No. 3, written within the final year of his life,” according to a news release. “The lyrical 'Auf dem Strom' for tenor, horn, and piano offers a personal narrative...
Susanna Gellert, Executive Artistic Director of Weston Theater Company (WTC), formerly known as Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, announces the 86th season of Vermont's oldest, award-winning professional theater; and introduces audiences to Weston's rebranding. “We are very excited to launch our 2022 season by introducing you to our new name and look,” Gellert said in a news release. “Our rebranding came together through conversations with members of our community and our artistic family.” She said the new name “unites the historic...
The Vermont House on March 11 narrowly overrode Gov. Phil Scott's veto of H.361, a measure that allows Brattleboro to amend its charter so that 16- and 17-years-olds can vote in local elections. The chamber's 99-member coalition of Democrats and Progressives was joined by one Republican and two Independents to pass the measure by a vote of 102-47. One hundred votes are necessary to meet the two-thirds threshold required to override a gubernatorial veto in the House. Municipal charter changes...
On Wednesday, March 23, at 7 p.m., Vermont Independent Media (VIM), publisher of The Commons , will host an online panel discussion and question-and-answer session with Vermont publishers and editors and local journalism students and interns about saving our broken system of journalism. Topics of discussion include: What are our young people learning about journalism...is it enough? Why are young people getting involved in journalism? What issues do they face from parents and principals who might be uncomfortable with controversial...
Like most people, I don't know the details regarding the WSESD superintendent search beyond the fact the process has stalled. However, if Acting Superintendent Mark Speno applied for the job, I urge the board to jump at the chance to appoint him leader of our district. Because what I do know is that he is the finest school administrator I have ever witnessed. When you talk to Green Street School parents, students, or staff members, you will find people who...
Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund's Windham County Action Team is looking for volunteers! If you're passionate about reproductive rights and want to make history in Vermont, we want to hear from you! We're looking to connect with as many Vermont voters as possible between now and Election Day in November to talk to them about the Reproductive Liberty Amendment. If the amendment passes, Vermont's constitution will protect every person's right to make their own reproductive decisions, like whether and when...
I was not huddled around a radio on the night that threw darkness upon souls. I did not stand in a silence that paralyzed my voice and crushed my breath. But I know that moment. I feel it as if it were my own. I was raised in its shadow. Even on sunny days, its pall can lurk just beyond the brightness of a day that was not encumbered by war. We have seen the unleashing of hatred and privileged...
Probably because I am not a scientist, it never occurred to me to question where all the highly toxic elements were going after being constantly filtered out of the cooling water at Fukushima. TEPCO, the owner of these incapacitated reactors, wants the world to believe that the water will be safe enough to dump into the Pacific ocean after the bulk of the most damaging radioactive elements are removed. Let me explain: March 11, 2022 was another terrible anniversary. On...
On Tuesday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m., the multimedia arts venue Epsilon Spires will screen Aquarela, a provocative feature-length documentary that uses breathtaking footage shot on three continents to explore the evolving role that water plays in our lives and our environment. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring four local experts in sustainability who will examine the relationship between water and our community in a crucial conversation on World Water Day. “Water makes and unmakes everything...
When the call came out last fall from the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center to create an “Artful Ice Shanty,” a group of nine Brattleboro-West Arts members got inspired. Their shanty would be a part of the village that would be on view at the Retreat Farm across Route 30 from the Retreat Meadows, a popular spot for ice fishing and actual functioning ice shanties. “A full-on winter festival celebrating art, culture, and the great outdoors, coinciding with the 100th...
“You'd really do that?” I had asked the night nurse. You'd make me an English muffin and a hot cup of tea?” It was 4:30 on the third morning of my 10-day hospital sojourn. I was starved, and breakfast was many hours away. She soon reappeared with muffin and tea, and left me munching wearily, in a rare, quiet moment. I thought, Dear Lord, please - bless her forever and ever as I sipped the warming brew. Would I have...
The hoopla that surrounded the centennial edition of the Harris Hill ski jumping competition last month focused on the rich history that has been made on Cedar Street over the past 100 years. But there is just as much excitement about the future of ski jumping, and Brattleboro's role in keeping the sport viable in the United States. The great season that the Harris Hill Junior Jumpers had this winter is proof of that. Coach Todd Einig, Harris Hill's Chief...
The UMass Percussion Ensemble will perform in the Wolf Kahn & Emily Mason Gallery at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) on Sunday, March 27, at 7 p.m. “We love presenting music in the museum's galleries,” said BMAC director Danny Lichtenfeld, “especially contemporary music that resonates with the contemporary art on our walls.” Ayano Kataoka, the ensemble's director, is a percussionist and marimbist known for her “brilliant and dynamic technique, as well as the elegance and artistry she brings...
Coming from a strong background of community growing and support, Wichie Artu sees his decision to seek one of the Democratic nominations for Windham County's two Senate seats as “another way I can see myself empowering folks on the ground.” He will be contending with Nader Hashim in the primary. Tim Wessel of Brattleboro is running as an independent. Democratic incumbent Sen. Jeanette White of Putney has not yet announced her decision about seeking re-election. Artu, who has a bachelor's...
The Brattleboro Retreat's chief executive is leaving for a job in the Boston area. Louis Josephson joined the Brattleboro Retreat in January 2016, according to the nonprofit's website. The Retreat's executive vice president, Linda Rossi, will replace him as interim CEO in early April, the chair of the Retreat's board said Tuesday. Josephson did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon, but board Chair Tom Huebner said the staff learned of the news Tuesday afternoon. Rossi has been...
Confusion and misinformation reign following a five-hour executive session of the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) board on March 1 that ended with no final candidate named for superintendent. A movement is brewing among constituents who deeply admire the work of Interim Supt. Mark Speno and want the school board to give him the job. Alternatively, some supporters have wondered if Speno has had his hat in the ring as an applicant and have been upset that, as Chair Kerry...
For the second straight year, the annual Representative Town Meeting will be a virtual affair. This year's meeting will be held Saturday, March 19, starting at 8:30 a.m., via Zoom. The proposed fiscal year 2023 General Fund budget includes total revenues and expenditures of $20,063,642, an increase of $379,651, or 1.9 percent, over the fiscal year 2022 budget. Notable cost decreases from FY22 to FY23 include a transfer to the Capital Fund (down $91,000), debt service payments (down $149,775), and...