SOUTH NEWFANE-Thank you to all the first responders who came to the scene of our car accident on Nov. 23. We were driving north on Route 30 when a truck in the oncoming lane suddenly crossed over the center line and crashed into us.
Our car is a mess, but luckily we are both fine.
We want to give a huge thank you to the team from the Dummerston Fire Department, Rescue Inc., and the state trooper who showed up at the scene. Everyone was so personal, caring, and concerned for our health and safety.
It was very reassuring, and made us realize how fortunate we are to live in this corner of Vermont.
The writer notes that this letter was inspired by the post-World War II prose confession by Pastor Martin Niemoller. PUTNEY-First they came after the Indians, and we did not speak up, because we were not Indians. Then they enslaved the Africans, and we did not speak up, because we...
BELLOWS FALLS-The iconic AIDS Memorial Quilt signifies loss and love. Since 1985, when the quilt was conceived by Cleve Jones, it has served to provide context as a teaching tool for a generation that cannot comprehend the enormity of AIDS pandemic devastation in the world. In collaboration with the...
Brooks Library conducts tech survey BRATTLEBORO - The Technology Committee at Brooks Memorial Library is conducting a survey to assess community technology needs. The committee says they "are hoping to learn more about how patrons currently use - and would like to use - the library's technology services." "Technology services" are broadly being defined as the resources and support designed to enhance public access to digital tools, information, and learning opportunities (e.g., computers, Wi-Fi, printing, technology assistance, loanable technology, and...
WARDSBORO-The Wardsboro Public Library, in collaboration with the Wardsboro Curtain Call, invites the community to a night of mystery and drama with their upcoming event, "Murder by the Book." This murder mystery, set against the backdrop of Wardsboro's library, "promises to deliver intrigue, laughter, and suspense," say organizers. The story follows Lucy the Librarian and a band of quirky volunteers as they stage a fundraising performance to rescue the library from financial peril. However, the plot thickens when an actual...
Obituaries • David Michael "Dave" Austin, 72, of Hinsdale, New Hampshire. Died in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his family, on Nov. 22, 2024, following a period of declining health. Dave was born in Brattleboro on March 24, 1952, the son of Richard "Tink" and Dorothy (Ratte) Austin. He was raised in Brattleboro, attending public schools, and graduated from Brattleboro Union High School with the Class of 1970. Dave attended New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire. For...
BELLOWS FALLS-The second annual Liberty Food Fest, featuring national and regional leaders in the local food movement and newly elected Vermont Lt. Gov. and hemp farmer John S. Rodgers, will be held Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 12–14, at the Bellows Falls Opera House and The Hungry Diner restaurant in Walpole, New Hampshire. Rodgers, who operates his family's hemp farm in Glover, will speak on "Growing Cannabis and Freedom" on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m. at the Bellows Falls Opera...
BRATTLEBORO-Vermont Theatre Company will be hosting auditions for The Bacchae by Euripides on Monday, Dec. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Brattleboro. This production will use an original translation by playwright Alex Hacker, who will also direct. Hacker has translated Euripides's tragedy into a modern idiom that explores music and dance as vehicles for the experience of the divine Dionysus, god of wine, theater, and ritualized madness. The play pits the values of openness, fluidity, and...
WEST BRATTLEBORO-The First Congregational Church in West Brattleboro has an excellent handbell choir, and a big bell in its historic clock tower. But on Sunday, Dec. 15, different bells will resound. Christmas carols will emanate from the bells of tubas and euphoniums in Brattleboro's 15th annual celebration of TubaChristmas. TubaChristmas brings together local players of valved low-brass instruments, including the tuba and euphonium (also known as a baritone horn), to rehearse and perform Christmas carols specially arranged in four parts.
BRATTLEBORO-Rita Corbin, a graphic artist and printmaker, became involved in the Catholic Worker movement while living in New York City in the 1950s. The co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement and Catholic Worker newspaper, Dorothy Day, hired Corbin to make illustrations for the newspaper, and they became friends. Corbin became a lifelong contributor and was one of the three primary Catholic Worker artists, along with Fritz Eichenberg and Ade Bethune. In 1954, she married Martin Corbin, editor and literary critic.
BELLOWS FALLS-Canal Street Art Gallery, 23 Canal St., hosts "Free Self-Expression"on Bellows Falls 3rd Fridays, every month from 5 to 8 p.m. Beginning Dec. 20, the public is invited to celebrate open and accepting community by sharing performance, music, reading, speaking, dancing, and take-home art and writing. Everyone is welcome to join in, to add what they will, when they will, throughout the evening of "unconditional and free-spirited creative revelry." Since 2017, Canal Street Art Gallery's mission has been to...
The community is invited to hear stories written by Palestinians at two upcoming events. Vermonter actors and other readers will present Gaza Monologues: Testimonies Written by Youth From Gaza, Saturday, Dec. 7, at Sandglass Theater in Putney and on Saturday, Dec. 21, at New England Youth Theatre in Brattleboro. Addie Mahdavi, one of the organizers of the two events, writes in a news release, "Americans don't get a full or accurate picture of what the people of Gaza are experiencing,"
-Dashing through the snow may be a theme of a song connected with a certain December holiday, but the Red Clover Rovers took this year's Thanksgiving snow storm in stride as they held the annual Brattleboro Turkey Trot 3-mile road race on Upper Dummerston Road. "When I got there, after almost sliding into the guardrail, folks were setting up," Fred Ross, one of the volunteer organizers of the race and longtime member of the Red Clover Rovers, said in an...
NEWFANE-As a rural emergency medical services (EMS) nonprofit, Rescue Inc. faces formidable challenges on any number of levels. Case in point: 650 pages of new requirements recently received from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). "These 650 pages of new regulations will affect every aspect of what we do at Rescue Inc.," said Drew Hazelton, chief of operations, as he calmly explains that a plan is already in place. "Meet Corey Miner," said Hazelton. "Her new position at...
BRATTLEBORO-Bullying is a distinctive pattern of repeatedly and deliberately harming and humiliating others, specifically those who are smaller, weaker, younger, or in any way more vulnerable than the bully. It's the power imbalance that marks it as bullying, according to Psychology Today. With that in mind, it is interesting to wonder why a political party would seek to demonize a tiny 0.9% of the population - those people who identify as transgender - in order to seek power. Or to...
BRATTLEBORO-It is no exaggeration that the first days of October saw more than one million Lebanese flee in fear of a military onslaught. Disputing this number - well-reported as it happened - is the first of many willful deceits infecting Rhonda Wainshilbaum's reply. The notion that Israel has repeatedly sought peace and its wars are only defensive is baldly baseless as evidenced by its never-ending assassinations, abductions, massacres, incursions, and invasions. At this moment, north of the Netzarim Corridor, nearly...
BRATTLEBORO-It has been reported that our elected leaders are in the midst of addressing the issue of public behavior. Persons who presumably exhibit "good" behavior are attempting to define "bad" behavior. Once that is completed, various signs are to be produced and posted in key areas around town especially where "bad" behavior often takes place. As a sort of summary invocation, not categorizing types of said behaviors, would be signs merely urging that one treat others with kindness and respect.
Heidi Mario is an artist. BRATTLEBORO-Call this "A Tale of Two Shoe Stores." There has been a great deal of discussion lately regarding the difficulties and challenges facing the brick-and-mortar retail businesses in our community, whether it be rising rents, the cheapness and convenience of ordering online, or the behavior of people downtown. One has only to observe the empty storefronts to be aware that times are tough for these, our friends and neighbors. I have felt fortunate to have...
BRATTLEBORO-The 18-piece Vermont Jazz Center Big Band is excited to celebrate 20 years of music, and what better way to celebrate than by honoring the legacy of Count Basie? For this year's annual scholarship gala, which takes place on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m., they will pull out all the stops with a swing-dance performance featuring Grammy-award winning singer Carmen Bradford. Carmen Bradford is a third-generation vocalist who has ascended to jazz royalty through pedigree, talent, and hard work.
WARDSBORO-First, I am not a resident of Brattleboro but a frequent visitor since the mid 1970s, so I have seen many "flavors" of the town over that time period. I am wondering what the big deal is about the Acceptable Community Conduct Ordinance. These types of ordinances and policies are part of everyone's life. I have never worked for an employer that didn't have an employee policy manual which clearly defines unacceptable conduct, including things like sexual harassment, bullying, dress...
BRATTLEBORO-Hannah Sorila argues that the way to solve many of the town's social problems is to see ourselves as a community instead of a business. At the same time, I can't help but wonder what it would look like if we saw ourselves as a community and a business. Brattleboro is a business. In and of itself, that's not a bad thing. After all, it takes money to run libraries and recreation centers, to pave roads and put out fires,
Ralph Meima notes that "completely coincidentally, a situation demanding strength in the face of the worst unexpectedly hit my family and me" only a few days after submitting this piece. BRATTLEBORO-Sometimes, in life, the worst happens. The ship sinks. The house burns. The child dies. The war is lost. The beloved parent's lies are revealed. Then comes a distraught time of ashes, tears, ruin. When I was much younger, I had no concept of this. I was born into a...
BRATTLEBORO-Just like many of you, I've been wrestling with what our nation has decided is to be our future. The fear I have for my family, my friends, and people I'll never meet but will hear on the news is real. There is no ignoring it. We know the Supreme Court has given the presidency unlimited bounds to actions without consequences. We've seen children be separated from their parents and put in cages just because their families didn't follow an...
BRATTLEBORO-A nonprofit that created housing rapidly and under duress during the pandemic is looking to further develop the 17-acre property with 60 apartments and 10 homes. Preliminary details of the plans come amid criticism of the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) management track record by members of the Selectboard and an admission by WWHT Executive Director Elizabeth Bridgewater that drug use and safety issues at the nonprofit's multiple properties need to be addressed. At the Nov. 19 board meeting,
EAST DUMMERSTON-I am writing primarily in response to the "Why we lost: the fake-news bubble" [Viewpoint, Nov. 13] by Steev Lynn. I'm tired of the seemingly bottomless well of reasons blaming the Democratic Party for our recent loss. I share Lynn's assessment that the defeat stems from the fact that so many voters are consuming what they believe to be news but is actually right-wing propaganda. This is pretty devastating because it is so hard to fight against. JD Vance...
BRATTLEBORO-The day after the recent presidential election, there was a noticeably dour tone among the people I spoke with in this deep blue community. People were racked with fear for the safety of their vulnerable neighbors: queer and trans folks, recent immigrants, refugees, people of color, people with disabilities. They were anxious about what Trump would do to an already-fragile economy, or how he would impact already-atrocious conflicts abroad being fueled by U.S. weapons. They were worried about the resilience...
JAMAICA-Listening to Rescue Inc. dispatch recently, I heard a paramedic asking if law enforcement would be on the scene they were currently working. Dispatch: "Negative, they [Vermont State Police or any law enforcement] are not responding." The police are not responding to calls because they are in an uproar about Vermont's laws, particularly the "Officer Use of Force Laws." It's political. How do I know this? Because two years ago I had the unfortunate experience of having to call 911...
Editor's note: Given the not-unreasonable concern for her safety, we've withheld the letter writer's name. We hope her words add to the ongoing discussion of issues centered around fostering a community where all can feel, and be, safe. BRATTLEBORO-I have been on the receiving end twice this month of threatening behavior by erratic white men, either outside my house or right nearby, after dark. Both incidents scared me so much I could barely speak above a whisper. Recently, I went...
NEWFANE-During December, Crowell Art Gallery at Moore Free Library, 23 West St., will present "Nature's Joy," a show featuring a variety of artwork by Jen Wood. The show includes landscapes and other subjects of nature in watercolor, a medium that Wood says she has been doing seriously only for about three years. "I've been doing oil painting since my early 20s, sporadically in and around kids and life," says Wood. Born in Putney, Wood grew up on a farm, so...
Sarah Turbow, a member of the Brattleboro Human Services Committee, is a licensed clinical social worker, community organizer, and a District 9 Representative Town Meeting member. BRATTLEBORO-Everyone agrees there's a "community safety" problem in Brattleboro. But what exactly the problem is - much less how to fix it - has been a matter of great debate. Some feel that the presence of people experiencing homelessness, substance use, or mental health problems downtown has become "dangerous" and offensive to patrons who...
WINDHAM-The Windham School District Board addressed a variety of concerns over the merger that resulted in the closing of Windham Elementary School and also responded to letters from residents who called on Board Chair Abby Pelton and Vice Chair Daniel Roth to resign. At issue has been confusion around public use of the now-shuttered elementary school, once one of the smallest in the state, since voters approved the measure at a May 18 School District Special Meeting. Windham resident Russ...