GUILFORD - Enrollment in the Guilford Chamber Singers is now open to all choral singers for their Christmas concert, Dec. 13 and 14, at Broad Brook Community Center. All voices are welcome, with the repertoire being several settings of O Magnum Mysterium (O Great Mystery). The text describes the animals' wonderment as they look upon Christ in the manger.
The Guilford Chamber Singers have been together for more than 50 years, and are essentially an a cappella group. They give two concerts a year, in June and December. Rehearsals are on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 at the West Village Meeting House in West Brattleboro, starting on Sept. 9.
Tom Baehr has been the conductor and artistic director for 12 years, and also directs the All Souls Church choir. He has both a bachelor's and a master's degree in music education. Interested singers can contact Baehr at 802-387-2796 or tombaehr43@gmail.com to enroll or ask for further information.
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BROOKLINE-For the past 40 years, visionaries from two local conservation groups have imagined a network of trails that extends the ridgeline trails of Putney Mountain Association and Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association to a trail network in Dummerston. On Saturday, Aug. 24 (rain date is Aug. 25), that vision will...
MONTPELIER-The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has launched the Blue Envelope Program for drivers on the autism spectrum to ease interactions during routine traffic stops. The DMV modeled the new program on similar programs in other states and worked with the University of Vermont Autism Collaborative to develop...
BELLOWS FALLS-The Rockingham Energy Committee offers assistance for greater comfort and fuel savings for owners of homes that get drafty and cold in winter. They will once again host assembly of low-cost insulating window inserts at an all-volunteer community workshop for local residents through the Window Dressers program, run by a nonprofit in Maine. The workshop will be held from Oct. 11–16 at the St. Charles Social Hall, 25 Cherry Hill St., the same site used in past years. Everyone...
PUTNEY-The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents dance trio Soles of Duende on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 6 p.m. at The Putney Inn, 57 Putney Landing Rd. A Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican from New Haven, a Mexican Puerto Rican Jew from the Lower East Side, and a Bengali Indian from Jersey walked onto the wooden floor, and the rest? History. "Bonded by their deep love of music, their crafts, and true connection," write organizers in a news release, "Soles of Duende...
BRATTLEBORO-How does a reed organ make music? The most recent addition to the Estey Organ Museum is a circa 1871 J. Estey & Company Cottage Organ cut in half to reveal the inner working of a reed organ. The cross-section allows a viewer to witness what happens when a key is pressed. When pressed, piano key creates sound by striking a string with a felt hammer. Pressing a key on a reed organ produces sound by directing the movement of...
Obituaries • George Caron, 60, of Westminster. Died suddenly on Aug. 4, 2024. George was born in Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada, to Jeannette (Bosse) and the late Belone "Ben" Caron on Aug. 9, 1963. George grew up in Forestville, Connecticut, with his family of six until he relocated to Vermont in the early 1990s. George was most happy and at peace amongst the serene landscape of Vermont. He found comfort in the quietness of the woods that surrounded his home...
CHESTER-The 20th Music in the Meadow fundraising concert to benefit Susan G. Komen (komen.org) - an organization dedicated to supporting breast cancer research, community health, global outreach, and public policy initiatives - will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Motel in the Meadow, Route 11 West, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. This year's entertainment is performed by local musicians donating their time and talent. The lineup includes James Joel, Better Days Band, John Sullivan, (1)The Illusion, Bear...
BRATTLEBORO-Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts (MGFA), 183 Main St., presents "Beyond Reason," an exhibition of stop-action images of burlesque dancers and circus performers, by New York photographer Amy Arbus, who is represented by MGFA. There will be an opening and artist reception Saturday, Aug. 24, 5 to 7 p.m. The next day, commencing at 3 p.m. at the Brattleboro School of Dance, MGFA and New England Center for Circus Arts will host a short circus performance followed by an artist talk at...
BARRE-The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) joins law enforcement agencies across the state and nation in urging drivers to make plans and drive sober this Labor Day holiday. From now through Monday, Sept. 2, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be working alongside law enforcement across the country for the impaired driving high-visibility enforcement campaign. "Safety is always our highest priority," says Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn in a news release. "The statistics for impaired...
MARLBORO-On Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. at the Thrush Hill Outdoor Stage, 314 Upper Houghton Rd., a pair of singer-songwriters - Vermont Blues Society Contest winner Jesse Lepkoff and guest musician Joe Boris - will team up for a night of original music. Boris has been part of the East Coast music scene since the early 1990s, performing alongside other New York/New Jersey musicians such as Clarence Clemons (Bruce Springsteen), Michael Falzarano (Hot Tuna), and Garth Hudson (the Band).
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Concert Choir and Brattleboro Camerata each offer singers the opportunity to join their musical communities for a new season. The Brattleboro Concert Choir is a symphonic choir with 90 members from across the region who perform a challenging repertoire, ranging from classic choral masterpieces to rarely heard and newly commissioned works. New singers of all genders and voice types are invited to schedule a low-pressure placement hearing for the 2024–25 season. Weekly Wednesday evening rehearsals at the Brattleboro...
BRATTLEBORO-The Root Social Justice Center will host a Back-to-School BIPOC Hair Clinic for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) children and adults in southern Vermont on Sunday, Aug. 25, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at The Root's community space at 28 Williams St. The clinic will provide free professional services specific to Black people and people of color for hair care needs that are often overlooked and difficult to access in predominantly white areas. In a region where...
Kelly Salasin, a longtime prolific blogger, is currently in the throes of writing a memoir. She originally posted this piece, a work in progress, on Facebook. MARLBORO-We're seeing more and more unhoused people in downtown Brattleboro, many with mental health challenges and substance use. It can be a disturbing sight. "It's a shame what's happening," many friends say, especially those returning for summer visits. "So much homelessness and drug use on the streets." My husband, Casey, often poses a question...
-High school athletes around Vermont began practicing for the upcoming fall season last week. The first athletes to report in were the football players in Brattleboro and Bellows Falls, who began practicing on Aug. 12. They'll be the first on the field for the fall season as Brattleboro opens its season against the Burr & Burton Bulldogs on Friday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m., at Natowich Field. Bellows Falls opens its football season on Saturday Aug. 31, at 1 p.m.,
BELLOWS FALLS-Elderly Vermonters have been going down to New York City this summer and getting arrested in the name of climate change. Protestors in the 1960s lay down in the streets and got arrested while trying to stop the Vietnam War. These days they're grayer and a little more frail, but they're still at it. While getting arrested probably won't be enough to stop forest fires in the West, houses washing away in the East, or islands disappearing in the...
BRATTLEBORO-The Windham World Affairs Council (WWAC) annual Galbraith Lecture, is a tradition begun by world-renowned economist and longtime Newfane summer resident John Kenneth Galbraith, an early founder of the organization. That tradition has been continued by his son, former diplomat Peter Galbraith, of Townshend, whose talks have always been newsy and full of inside knowledge on U.S. foreign policy. This year's will likely be in that same vein as he shares the platform with another Vermont foreign policy expert, Tim...
BRATTLEBORO-What a difference it would make if absentee ballots were made accessible to those biding their time in agencies' and organizations' waiting rooms - those that are providing treatment to the mentally and emotionally as well as the physically challenged. Kelley L. Murray Brattleboro This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons. This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper...
Ann Manwaring represented Halifax, Whitingham, and Wilmington in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017. WILMINGTON-For six of the ten years I served in the Legislature, I was on the Appropriations Committee. We spent a good deal of our time in that committee listening to state agency administrators present their financial needs for the ensuing fiscal year, which would begin the next July 1. By the end of the budget process, when the governor would finally sign the...
BRATTLEBORO-Stop making Brattleboro a dumping ground for all the greater region's criminal and drug population. Other towns need to share in the effort to combat these societal problems. It cannot all rest on Brattleboro's shoulders. Otherwise, Brattleboro will eventually collapse under the weight and become a dystopian hellscape of crime, drugs, and homelessness, as Portland, Oregon has become and as Burlington, Vermont is becoming. To be clear, homelessness does not always coincide with drug behavior and crime, but it is...
BRATTLEBORO-I would like to thank the voters of Brattleboro District 8 (formerly District 2) who came out to the polls in the Aug. 13 primary and elected me to represent the Democratic Party in the Nov. 5 general election. I am honored to have your vote and appreciate your trust and support. If you are not registered, you can do so at the Brattleboro Town Clerk's office. For information call 802-251-8126. If you want to check your registration status, you...
WESTMINSTER-When, exactly, was privacy in America perverted into an increasingly unattainable and meaningless concept? Did it vanish with the 20th century? Did it go away when the internet and digital tech culture infiltrated our sacred spaces? I remember Robert Bork's Supreme Court confirmation hearing, when he said that there was no Constitutional right to privacy. He was not confirmed largely because of that statement. How prophetic and true that statement was, and it is even more true today in 2024...
David Clark has been serving off and on on local school boards - first on the Westminster School board and currently on the Bellows Falls Union High School board - since 1988, which informs his historical perspective. You can read more of his commentary about public education and his journey on the roller coaster of local school governance on his website, thisishowitreallyworks.com. WESTMINSTER-I'm gonna come right out and say it: The two major stumbling blocks to improving public education in...
BRATTLEBORO-Since my first primary seven years ago, Windham County was known for some sleepy election cycles. But in this election, voters had the choice of another strong candidate. Someone with a trusted family name and a strong work ethic. Putting your name on the ballot and your face in the paper is hard no matter the reason you do it. Running for office allows you to see our community in a new way - the beautiful people and bends in...
BELLOWS FALLS-Teachers in the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union have a new three-year contract, retroactive to July 1. The settlement was reached on July 24, and the Windham Northeast Education Association (WNEA) membership voted to ratify the agreement on July 29. The new contract was signed just prior to WNESU schools opening on Wednesday, Aug. 28. The district's school boards ratified it at separate meetings, with the final meeting held on Aug. 14 when the WNESU Negotiations Committee signed the new...
BRATTLEBORO-Recent research is showing that circus arts instruction improves physical literacy and helps develop other cognitive and social-emotional abilities. What does this mean? If you are looking for fitness and friendships, fun and physical engagement, join the circus! Physical literacy is the knowledge, confidence, and competence to be physically active throughout life. In a multiple-case study on circus arts instruction published in 2022 in the journal Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, it was reported that "circus arts can help students...
WESTMINSTER-Work to replace the roof over the gym at this summer at Bellows Falls Union High School, among some $9 million in projects underway, has suddenly stalled. The project "is on hold because the PCB-laden roof decking itself has to come off," WNESU board member David Clark wrote to The Commons. Clark said the project would cost an estimated additional $500,000 to $1 million, "with no current funding stream." BFUHS Board Chair Rob Weltz said the board is working on...
BRATTLEBORO-New housing development in the pipeline could result in an additional 400 homes in town in the next five years if all the projects come to fruition. The individual projects, in various stages of development from conceptual planning to putting together funding, address the area's urgent need for workforce housing, affordable housing, and refugee housing. In 2021, Brattleboro's Housing Action Plan reported "a pressing need for more than 500 [housing] units." While none of the projects in the works are...
BRATTLEBORO-Talk to longtime locals who've witnessed a rising number of Main Street closures and crimes and they'll tell you the community they remember is cracking. Mary Lacy and Corrine Yonce, armed with cement and creative eyes, instead see things as the start of a potentially surprising metamorphosis. The 33-year-old Vermont artists, commissioned to create a wall-size mosaic in downtown's Pliny Park, recently asked residents to donate ceramic household scraps, be they chipped plates or scratched tiles. Children added outgrown marbles...
GUILFORD-Thank you to the voters of Vernon and Guilford. I am honored to step forward as the Democratic nominee for Windham-1 and humbled by the trust you have placed in me. By a 3:1 margin, voters embraced our positive, issues-based campaign. This victory is more than just for me - it's a win for our communities. Our campaign celebrates the enthusiastic efforts of so many. To the volunteers who wrote postcards, canvassed, hosted lawn signs, organized events, and made get-out-the-vote...
BRATTLEBORO-In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene changed the landscape of Vermont, including turning a house lot at 805 Western Ave. into a flooded, vacant, unbuildable space bordering Whetstone Brook. Now, Edible Brattleboro is changing that piece of the landscape yet again, partnering with the town to create a public "food forest" there. The organization, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2025, is a community nonprofit with the overall mission of "growing food - everywhere, for everyone." Edible Brattleboro has established...
NEWFANE-There is a massive conversation happening right now among Democratic voters of conscience - people who oppose Israeli bombardment of Gaza using U.S.-made weapons - about whether to vote for Kamala Harris for president. While Harris's rhetoric - which at least conveys empathy for Palestinian suffering - shows perhaps some daylight between her and Joe Biden, the substance of any policy difference remains to be seen. For voters of conscience, this is a critical moment to push her administration toward...
Hannah Sorila is a writer and community organizer who aims to align intention and impact in community safety and public policy. BRATTLEBORO-Have you ever had a rough mental health day where staying calm around other people wasn't possible? Maybe you were really reactive and raised your voice more than you would have liked to. Or maybe you coped with a drink after a long day to try to unwind. Or, possibly, you had an emotional breakdown and really just needed...
VERNON-A newly enacted state law - Act 122 - will likely be used to make fossil fuels the ultimate cause of our "climate damage." No substitute on a large-enough scale exists. Renewable solar and wind farms cover massive tracts of land and also need - Oh, my! - fossil-fuel power generation at times! A nuclear backup in Vernon is now being removed. Our power companies will work through rain and flooding, no matter whether we call it "heavy weather" or...
BRATTLEBORO-I commend all those who attended the recent Selectboard meetings to address the plight of Brattleboro's downtown. And kudos to Susan Bellville for pointing out that Brattleboro cannot "ticket" its way out of an increasingly desperate situation by only addressing the symptoms of a deepening crisis of crime and addiction in our community. Nor will blaming public officials, our police force, or society at large stem this rising tide. As in any problem, the root cause must be addressed for...
Diane Newton, submitting this piece on behalf of "the friends and neighbors of Hamilton Falls," adds: "If you want to be part of the effort to preserve Hamilton Falls Natural Area, please sign this petition: change.org/hamiltonfalls." WINDHAM-The Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation recently released a draft master plan for the Hamilton Falls Natural Area in Jamaica. Three scenarios proposed all include the construction of a connector trail, viewing platform, stairs, gate, and fencing in the Natural Area. We...