The Brattleboro Colonels have turned into road warriors at the most important time of the year, going 2-0-1 last week.
The unbeaten streak began with a 3-0 triumph over Leland & Gray in Townshend last Monday. Jackson Batchelder gave the Colonels a 1-0 halftime lead with a goal in the 26th minute. Travis Elliot-Knaggs then salted the game away with two goals - the first off a lead pass from Matt Dunn, the second on a header of a cross from Travis Beeman-Nesbitt.
On Wednesday, the Colonels went to Rutland and avenged their only loss of the season with a 6-2 beat down of the Raiders. Jose Diego-Silva scored three goals, Elliot-Knaggs added two more and Greg Reuter also scored. Goalkeepers Galen Finnerty and Evan Darling combined for a dozen saves.
Their week on the road ended Saturday with a 2-2 tie with Mounment Mountain in Great Barrington, Mass. Reuter scored both goals to cap off what could have been a difficult week for Colonels, which improved their record to 9-1-1.
Vermonters are forever encountering weird things in the woods, and when they do, Joseph A. Citro is there to document them. He's spent years collecting stories of Vermont's weirdness and wonders. His book, The Vermont Monster Guide (UPNE, 2009), includes all the creatures on this list, plus more than...
The race for Brattleboro's District 1 House seat - now open due to the retirement of Democrat Virginia “Gini” Milkey - is a contest between two political rookies. The Republican candidate is Richard Morton, the compliance and security officer with Brattleboro Savings & Loan. He is opposed by Democrat...
The days when you could spend $17.09 for a statewide political campaign in Vermont - the sum that U.S. Sen. George Aiken reportedly spent on his last campaign in 1968 - are long gone. Republican Brian Dubie and Democrat Peter Shumlin are throwing around enormous sums of money in the governor's race, at least by Vermont standards. VTDigger.org recently reported that, as of mid October, the Dubie and Shumlin campaigns have paid out $1.98 million on advertising, campaign payroll expenses,
Like chalk and cheese, incumbent Rep. Oliver Olsen and hopeful Claire Trask vie for the Windham-Bennington-Windsor-1 District seat, each saying they've listened to the people and know what they really want. Olsen, a Republican from Jamaica who was appointed in January by Gov. Jim Douglas to fill out the remainder of the late Rick Hube's term, describes himself as a “glass-half-full person” who believes people want good things and move instinctively toward success and what works. “I care deeply about...
Please vote in the Tuesday, Nov. 2 general election. Vote at your polling place election day, vote in person now at your Town Clerk's office, or request an early vote ballot for yourself or others from your Town Clerk (just call, e-mail or write) and vote when and wherever you wish (as long as the voted ballot with proper signature is returned to the Town Clerk by 7 p.m. on Nov. 2. If you are not registered to vote, you...
The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) says the unemployment rate for Vermont is 6 percent, as of August. However, that figure does not count those who have maxed out their unemployment benefits and extended benefits, or those who have become disillusioned or depressed and have given up looking for a job for a year or more. It takes a closer look at other figures to get the full extent of poverty and joblessness in Vermont. For example, the percentage of...
Local chapters of Mensa, the discriminating society for smart people with high IQs, are testing across the country during October. Windham County will play host to a Mensa test on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m., at the Townshend Library. Why Townshend? Because it is the home of Stephen McConnel, who is Mensa's local proctor and testing coordinator, and has been a member for more than 30 years. Formed in 1946 in England, Mensa has more than 110,000 members, about...
Jonah Bolotin After reading First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung, my life has been impacted in a profound way. Loung's heartbreaking story has opened my eyes to the fact that this is not a perfect world, and while I wake each day to simple challenges such as doing chores, some people in the world are waking to the challenge of staying alive. This book tells about the hardships and challenges that one family goes through in the search...
Brattleboro Climate Protection and the Brattleboro Energy Committee have announced the three recipients of the 2010 Sustainable Business Awards - New Chapter, Inc., The Putney School, and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. These awards are given annually to Brattleboro-area businesses and nonprofits that are making extraordinary efforts to reduce energy and water use, lower carbon emissions, use renewable fuels, reduce solid waste, promote local food production, and use recycled materials and other environmentally-friendly products. The awards will be presented on Tuesday, Oct.
A Hospice counselor may tell you that the most difficult people to recruit for a support group are bereaved parents and people who have lost a loved one to suicide. They cannot imagine anyone understanding the depth of their pain. Imagine being the parent of a child who died by suicide and you will have an idea of the impact that effective youth suicide prevention can have. The stories are heartbreaking. Last year at Cornell University, the suicide deaths of...
To celebrate the 55th year of the Brattleboro Winter Carnival, the carnival committee is raffling off a new Subaru Forester. Tickets for the car, which was donated by Brattleboro Subaru, are $100 each and only 300 tickets are being sold. The Brattleboro Winter Carnival, which began in 1957, has become a Brattleboro tradition, said former carnival president Rosemary Harris. The carnival committee is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization, and relies upon lots of help from the community to make the event...
Peter Shumlin recently brazenly misused the people of Vernon, a town we both have the privilege to serve. It's not the first time and probably won't be the last, and it says a good deal about the man who wants to be governor. For the past year, Senator Shumlin has been doing everything he can to chase out of town a great neighbor: the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. So I was appalled, but not really surprised, when Peter Shumlin...
Music • Cuban music comes to Saxtons River: The sounds of son, guaracha, bolero, guaguancó and rumba will flow out of Main Street Arts as the group Septeto Típico Tívoli (Typical Septet from Tivoli) performs traditional Cuban music there Friday, Oct. 22. The 8 p.m. concert is one of several organized for the group's tour of New England under a special cultural exchange program arranged by Cuban native and Vermont resident Maricel Lucero. The group formed in 1995 in the...
The clutter of negative ads in the governor's race is obscuring the most important issue facing us today - creating the conditions for the growth of good new jobs in Vermont. In order to have any kind of decent future, we need new businesses investing in good-paying, new-technology jobs. But no one is going to create or move a new business to Vermont if they can't use their cell phones to see if the kids got home safely or check...
Obituaries Editor's note: The Commons will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham County and others, on request, as community news, free of charge. • Ronald L. Bezanson, 62, of Brattleboro. Died Oct. 10 at home. Partner of Betty Kimball. Father of Lea Ann Sochin and Crystal Miramontes, both of Jamaica. Brother of Darlene Clark of Townshend;Edward Bezanson, Jr. of Northfield, N.H.; and Chester Bezanson of Andover, N.H. Predeceased by brothers James and John Bezanson. Graduate of Brattleboro Union...
Last winter, far away from my Vermont home, I stumbled into a danger zone. It wasn't comparable to inadvertently crossing the border from Iraq to Iran. All I did was accept a gracious dinner invitation from casual acquaintances. How could I have imagined that when the door opened, I'd need a flak jacket? The table was set for eight in the cavernous kitchen. The center island - topped with glistening black marble - rivalled my whole kitchen for square footage.
Windham County legislative candidates answered questions on universal health care coverage, early childhood education and the economy at a forum last Thursday hosted by the Vermont Workers' Center, Vermont Citizen Campaign for Health, Early Educators United, and the Vermont Center for Independent Living. “We expect our elected representatives to overcome obstacles, not use obstacles as excuses,” said moderator Shela Linton. Linton works with the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity and the Vermont Workers' Center's “Healthcare is a Human Right”
Michael Obuchowski of Bellows Falls won his first election to the Vermont House in 1972. Carolyn Partridge of Windham won her first House election in 1998. Together, they have operated as a team representing the Windham-4 district towns of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Grafton, Athens, Brookline, Windham and a portion of Westminster. But neither Democratic candidate takes the power of incumbency for granted, and both Obuchowski and Partridge have both been vigorously campaigning for their respective seats from Windham-4.
It might seem awkward to run against a candidate who cannot campaign for himself, but William Manch, a Republican from Vernon, is up for the challenge. Manch is challening incumbent Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark of Westminster, now serving on active duty with the Vermont Army National Guard as a captain and company commander in Afghanistan. Federal rules prevent active duty military officers from campaigning for elective office. Clark's wife Bonnie has had to act as his surrogate during his...
“It's a shame the house had to come down,” says Andy Shapiro, local landlord and new owner of the property at 42 Canal St. “The previous owner was trying to renovate the house, but she didn't have a game plan and by the time I bought it, it would have been much more expensive to fix it than to remove it.” Shapiro is referring to previous owner Rebecca Sue Raspet, who purchased the house only about one year ago and...
Looking for some spooky books and films to get you in the mood for Halloween? Here are a few suggestions from some area experts. The Book Cellar in Brattleboro Esther Behling and Veronica Gianotta offered some of their choices. • The Crucible by Arthur Miller. “Even though the witch trials are definitely Halloween appropriate, the subverted McCarthyism bit is even spookier.” • World War Z by Max Brooks. “This novel is a collection of first-person accounts of the zombie apocalypse,
Listen to the sweet sounds of renovation banging and bouncing from the Guilford Country Store. The Friends of Algiers Village, a nonprofit civic group, has entered the early phases of renovation after a year of fundraising culminated in purchasing the historic building in August. According to Anne Rider, a member of the store renovation subcommittee who serves on the Selectboard, Friends of Algiers Village is in phase one of construction. The old shelving and antiquated equipment have been removed. FOAV...
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend will both present a new series of tobacco cessation classes in the coming weeks. Grace Cottage Hospital hosts “Your Quit. Your Way,” a free six-week tobacco cessation class from Oct. 26-Nov. 30, Tuesdays, 5-6:30 p.m., in the hospital's Community Wellness Center, 133 Grafton Rd. (Route 35). Those who have tried to quit but are still smoking are particularly encouraged to attend. Sindy Hassig, Grace Cottage physical therapist and tobacco treatment specialist,
While the race for governor between Democrat Peter Shumlin and Republican Brian Dubie has monopolized all the attention, perhaps the most intriguing statewide race is the contest for auditor. The incumbent, Bellows Falls native Tom Salmon, ran as a Democrat in 2006, was re-elected in 2008 while on active duty with the Naval Reserve in Iraq, and switched to the Republican Party in 2009. He's received more attention for his personal foibles, such as a drunk driving arrest last year...