With an increase in the number of pet owners accessing the nonprofit's Pet Food Pantry at 916 West River Rd. and a decline in pet food donations to the shelter, the Windham County Humane Society (WCHS) is looking to restock during the organization's second annual Pet Food Drive, from Saturday, Nov. 12 to Tuesday, Nov. 22.
The shelter staff and volunteers replenish the Pet Food Pantry daily. Each week, more than 250 pounds of dog and cat food and 100 cans of wet pet food are packaged for households. The shelter offers up to one week's worth of food per pet.
“We know providing supplementary food support keeps pets in their homes rather than giving them up to a shelter or rescue due to financial reasons,” WCHS Executive Director Maya Richmond said in a news release.
Keri Roberts, the shelter's director of operations, said that one person “comes on behalf of her elderly neighbor who lives on 'the edge of our county' and doesn't have a way to get here on her own [...] but she loves her dog. Her dog keeps her going.”...
On Friday, Nov. 11, at 5 p.m., the Brattleboro Literary Festival is back with another Literary Cocktail Hour, featuring 2022 National Book Award Finalist Tess Gunty with her debut novel, The Rabbit Hutch. Gunty will be in conversation with Vermont author Robin MacArthur. This is a compelling story of...
I have been lucky enough to have economic mobility in my life. My biological mom's and dad's family grew up in the “projects” of Puerto Rico. So poor, that they could only afford up to $100 in rent and utilities combined. To avoid death by poverty, my family members...
Deadline extended for Charter Review Commission applications BRATTLEBORO - The Selectboard has extended the due date for applications to the Charter Review Commission. Submissions will now be due at the Town Manager's office by Monday, Nov. 14, at 5 p.m. The board seeks to establish a seven-member Charter Revision Commission before the end of this calendar year. According to Article 4, Section 5(H) of the town charter: “At least as often as every 15 years, the Selectboard shall appoint from...
“It's all about your go-to market strategy” stated Jeffery Thomas, executive director of Lever Inc. and one of the judges for the 2022 Windham County Economic Development Program (WCEDP) Business Plan Competition, in addressing the finalists before the winner was announced. Thomas was one of the six judges on this year's panel, alongside Bronna Zlochiver of the WCEDP Council, Sara Powell of the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship, Meg Streeter of Southeastern Vermont Economic Development, Ed Sheldon of Key Bank,
The Fine Arts Gallery at Landmark College will host an artist reception for the “Forest Composition” exhibit on Friday, Nov. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. “Forest Composition” is a multimedia exhibition with works by Brantner DeAtley, Betsey Garand, and Gina Siepel. The works by these three artists explore themes of nature and environment, our place within it, and our human connection to it. Landmark College Associate Professor of Fine Art and Gallery and Exhibitions Director Samuel Rowlett says the...
Everything connected to Linda Dierkes' death was planned. As the pain increased and became less and less bearable, she took advantage of Vermont's Death with Dignity Law after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. An incredibly brave thing to do. Linda called it her “liftoff.” She chose the time: 11 a.m. on July 10, 2021. She was lying outside on a chaise lounge overlooking the hills of West Brattleboro, wearing a brightly flowered shirt that she bought for herself...
Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, Vermont Humanities, and the Center for Cartoon Studies have joined forces to release a new comic book, titled Freedom and Unity: A Graphic Guide to Vermont Democracy. It focuses on civics education, local democracy, and the Vermont election process. “The state of our civil discourse is in disrepair, and trust in our democratic institutions is at an all-time low” said Condos in a news release. “I believe that the antidote to these divisive times...
Watch innovative circus artists from across the globe grace the cyber stage in the New England Center for Circus Arts' (NECCA) Virtual Alumni Showcase on Nov. 12. NECCA is the premiere circus school in the United States with the longest running professional training program in the country. The Virtual Alumni Showcase is the second annual fundraising show featuring graduates of NECCA's programming. From the comfort of home, audience members can enjoy captivating circus acts on hoop, trapeze, acrobatic dance, and...
Obituaries • Todd Eric Brooks, 59, of West Wardsboro. Died Oct. 24, 2022 at home. He was born Feb. 2, 1963 to Nancy (Robinson) and Thomas Brooks at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend. Todd was a longtime painter in the area who also enjoyed many outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, bird watching, foraging, hiking, and camping. He spent many days at home gardening, cooking, listening to music, and dancing with his fiancé of 28 years, Wendy Fitzpatrick, and his...
All Souls Church is in the final stage of a fundraising campaign to pave the driveway to the West Village Meeting House. “Members and friends of the All Souls congregation have made generous gifts and a $14,000 grant was awarded from the Thomas Thompson Trust,” campaign organizers said in a news release. “Community members are invited to make a contribution to help the campaign meet its overall goal of $60,200 to cover the expense of this critical paving project.” This...
Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) Principal Steve Perrin has been fired. Windham Southeast School District Board Chair Kelly Young called for a vote in open session following approximately half an hour of executive session on Tuesday, Nov. 8. She cited state law that outlines the procedure for dismissal of a principal. The vote was unanimous, with no discussion. According to the statute, Perrin, who lives in New Hampshire, has 15 days to request a hearing. The board then has another...
I live in a house with a porch that has been described as having the best view in the county. Maybe yes, maybe no, but it is in the middle of Williamsville and faces south, straight across the road into the Rock River from a slightly elevated vantage point. I used to enjoy sitting here and relaxing. I don't any more, to a large degree. To think that our kids used to skateboard and bicycle around in front of Jim...
Theatre Adventure, a nonprofit organization that provides year-round expressive arts programming for people with disabilities in a nurturing and accepting environment, will present its original musical, The Costume Shop, in-person and online on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 9 and 10, at 10:30 a.m.; and Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. at the West Village Meeting House, 29 South Street. According to organizers, The Costume Shop “takes place in a small sleepy village called Navin. The arrival of a costumer and...
In 2003, Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing (BAAH) looked at two growing housing problems: shortage of decent rental housing affordable to low-income people, and homeowners' difficulty keeping their homes in the face of rising costs. It struck us that there could be a way to address both problems together: help the homeowner create an apartment. With our Apartments-in-Homes program, we have helped homeowners create more than 50 apartments - most in houses, but others in garages or barns. BAAH provides technical...
History - what could be simpler? Things happen, they get written down, we read about it. For instance, the Boston Tea Party was an act of piracy, the revolution was a criminal enterprise. Not so fast, you say? This take might have been the historical view of the British, but it misconstrues the noble acts of self-determination and free speech that is the real story of that conflict. Or consider the Spanish-American War, which gave the Cubans a new American...
For nearly 50 years, William “Bill” Holiday taught history through immersion - having students learn by reading primary sources, visiting places where some of the most important events of the 20th century took place, and talking to the people who were in the middle of it all. The Windham Southeast School District teacher retired from classroom teaching in 2020, but is still very much an educator. His newest project is a self-published book, Beyond the Classroom, which captures his teaching...
Brattleboro native Jake Charkey, a cellist whose unusual career has led him to spend the last two decades immersed in the study of North Indian Classical music, presents a program featuring the rare sound of the Hindustani cello at the Brattleboro Music Center, Sunday, Nov. 13. Charkey will be accompanied by tabla player Naren Budhkar, who has accompanied artists like Pandit Jasraj, Aashish Khan, and Pandit Ramesh Mishra, among many others. As one of only a small handful of cellists...
Robert “Bob” Thibault has been named Superintendent of the Windham Central Supervisory Union (WCSU). Thibault, 51, will replace William Anton, who has been in the post since 2015 and is moving on to other things. “Well, for the first time in a quarter century, my wife and I get to make some decisions about what we want to do in life,” Anton said about his future. “Our offspring are grown, independent, and out of the house, living in Boston (Colette,
Soft snow fencing and handwritten signs proclaiming the possible presence of lead paint have had residents of the Windham and Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) property at 27 Old Depot Rd. concerned for months. Now, as the window for outdoor work starts to close, they're more worried - but there may be no lead paint at all on the site, and WWHT leaders say the signs emerged not from any new evidence of lead but out of compliance with state regulations...
When Peter Galbraith heard that Russia had invaded neighboring Ukraine last winter, the former U.S. ambassador and United Nations envoy figured the headlines would melt by spring. “The expectation on the part of many Western analysts - I have to say myself included - was that the Russians would prevail in a quick victory,” the Townshend resident said. Nearly a year later, Galbraith recently returned from a trip to the scene of Ukraine's surprisingly tenacious resistance. “Wars very rarely go...
It had been 31 years since a Leland & Gray girls' soccer team has hoisted a state title plaque. Abby Towle emphatically ended that title drought by scoring three goals in the first half to give the top-seeded Rebels a 3-0 win over the No. 2 Proctor Phantoms in the Division IV championship game on Nov. 5 at Applejack Stadium in Manchester. The loss ended Proctor's bid to win a fourth straight state title as the Rebels shut down one...
A woman's place is in the House...of Representatives. Vermont made history on Election Day as Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint, D-Brattleboro, cruised to an easy victory in her race for the state's lone Congressional seat. Balint became the first woman - and the first openly gay woman - Vermont has sent to Congress, when she trounced Republican Liam Madden of Rockingham. Vermont had been the last state to never have had a woman represent it on Capitol Hill. With...