NEWFANE - For those who live or work in Newfane, there's a Town Plan survey at bit.ly/833-survey. It's also available at newfanevt.com/newfane-planning-commission.
Newfane will be adopting a new town plan in 2026. By filling out the survey, participants can help make sure the new plan reflects their experience and opinions.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.
BELLOWS FALLS-A pair of acoustic duos, Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards, and Luminous Crush, will play Stage 33 Live Sunday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. Mandeville & Richards's vocal harmonies, lyrics, and personae "are soul-soothing, even when they're singing about difficult things," wrote organizers in a news release. Their...
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts wraps up its 2025 Bandwagon Summer Series with a finale featuring Hazmat Modine, an eight-piece band blending international traditions with American roots. The performance takes place Saturday, Sept. 27, at 4 p.m. on the Putney Inn Field, 57 Putney Landing Rd. "Hazmat Modine embodies the adventurous,
BRATTLEBORO-Thrush Hill Stage, 314 Upper Houghton Rd., presents slide guitarist Sunny Lowdown Sunday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. With a vibe that's raw, hypnotic, and steeped in tradition, Lowdown "brings the kind of soul-stirring sound that warms you from the inside out - perfect for a crisp autumn evening," wrote organizers in a news release. Lowdown is also Vermont's state blues competition winner. "Expect storytelling through song, back-porch rhythms, and the kind of guitar work that makes you close your...
BRATTLEBORO-The annual "Brattleboro on Wheels" car show and cruise-in, presented by the Brattleboro Rotary Club, will be held Saturday, Sept. 27, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Common, just north of downtown. Admission to the show is free for both cars and spectators. Donations are appreciated. All proceeds from the show will support local Rotary gift-giving projects in the community. All makes and models of classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles are welcome at the show, and an assortment...
BRATTLEBORO-The In-Sight Photography Project will launch its fall session of youth photography classes Monday, Oct. 6, offering opportunities for young artists to explore, experiment, and express themselves through the lens. Classes are open to students ages 11–18 and will be held Monday through Thursday afternoons, with a Wednesday morning option for homeschooled students and others with flexible schedules. This fall's lineup includes both new offerings and returning favorites. Students can dive into "Night Photography: Exploring Light After Dark" with instructors...
MONTPELIER-The Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF) at the Vermont Public Service Department announces a new program to help low- and moderate-income households in Windham County convert to wood pellet heating or to change out their old wood stove to a new, more efficient model. With these new incentives, an income-qualified Windham County homeowner can receive $800 for cord wood stoves, $1,200 for wood-pellet stoves, and $15,000 for low income households and $12,000 for moderate income households to install a central...
Obituaries • Douglas Philip Burnett, 84, of West Brattleboro. Died peacefully, surrounded by family, on Sept. 15, 2025. Douglas was born Jan. 1, 1941, in Brattleboro to Philip and Irene Burnett of Hinsdale, New Hampshire. He served in the Air Force and received an honorable discharge. Douglas was an avid hunter, trout fisherman, and golfer. He made amazing memories with family and friends while fishing Harriman Reservoir. He was predeceased by his sister, Lois Adams of Hinsdale. Douglas is survived...
BRATTLEBORO-Beginning Friday, Sept. 26, the Vermont Jazz Center (VJC) will host the Jazz listening and history series, Jazz 101. The course was developed at Jazz at Lincoln Center 25 years ago. Jazz 101 will meet for eight weekly sessions on Mondays at VJC headquarters at Cotton Mill Hill, on Fridays from 10 a.m. until noon, between Sept. 26 and Nov.14. The sessions will embrace the breadth of how Jazz music works and where it came from - and also how...
BRATTLEBORO-Boston-based Juventas New Music Ensemble presents "Bloom, Blaze, Fall, and Frost," a musical journey to mark the seasons of the year, Saturday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Brattleboro Music Center (BMC), 72 Blanch Moyse Way. The program will include Gina Gillie's "To the Seasons," Salina Fisher's "Komorebi," Brittney Benton's "Remember," Carson Cooman's "Of Ice and Silver Swans," Stephanie Ann Boyd's "Photinus," Bella Rose Kelly's "Bloom/Decay," and Oliver Caplan's "The Slanting Sun." Juventas New Music Ensemble includes Ryan Shannon,
BRATTLEBORO-The wheels are back on the bus, as Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) bus company TravelKuz and bus drivers' union, Teamsters Local 597, have reached an accord. "Teamsters Local 597 is happy to have a tentative agreement to vote on and is looking forward to holding a vote on it soon," said Union President Curtis Clough Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 17. Earlier this week, before press time, Clough told The Commons that school district drivers were prepared to "engage in an...
BRATTLEBORO-Other Side, a documentary about a terminally ill Connecticut woman's quest to end her life using Vermont's Patient Choice and Control at End of Life law (Act 39), will be shown at the Latchis Theatre Sunday, Sept. 28, at 4 p.m. Directed by Carter Oakley and Heather Hogan, Other Side offers an intimate portrayal of Lynda Bluestein's final year, emphasizing themes of autonomy, love, and the right to choose one's end-of-life path. The documentary premiered to large audiences at the...
BRATTLEBORO-It took one lockout and a threatened strike, but now the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union's (WSESU) bus company, TravelKuz, and bus drivers' union, Teamsters Local 597, have signed a five-year agreement that will last through June 30, 2030. "I think that this is going to be a good milestone for the drivers that work for the district, and it should work out well for everybody," Teamsters Local 597 President Curtis Clough said Monday, Sept. 22. "I'm glad it worked out...
-The Hartford Hurricanes may have dropped down to Division II in football this season, but they still have the same powerhouse team they have had for the past several years. Just ask the Brattleboro Bears. They got steamrolled by Hartford, 43-6, at Natowich Field on Sept. 19 to fall to 0-3 on the season. This game was all but decided in the first 4:35 of the first quarter, where everything that could go wrong for the Bears did. It started...
KEENE, N.H.-The Colonial Theatre, in partnership with Keene State College, welcomes the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. This performance is part of the group's 50th Anniversary Celebration Tour. Founded in Washington, D.C., in 1973, Sweet Honey in the Rock has performed globally for five decades with the aim of furthering empowerment, education, and social consciousness. Known for their harmonies, the ensemble has been a voice for civil rights, women's issues,
The Connecticut River Conservancy's (CRC) 29th annual Source to Sea Cleanup is back on Sept. 26 and 27, with flexible opportunities for individual groups to choose their cleanup day. The goal is to remove as much trash as possible from waterways, riverbanks, and communities to reduce the impact of pollution across the 410-mile Connecticut River watershed, including the tributaries that feed the mainstem river in NH, VT, MA, and CT. Registration is open for group leaders and volunteers at SourceToSeaCleanup.org.
BELLOWS FALLS-Join the Bellows Falls Downtown Development Alliance (BFDDA) for the first-ever "Bellows Falls Book Crawl" Saturday, Sept. 27, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. All day is BYOB (Bring Your Own Book, or Bookmark, or Bookbag) to the cafes and bars to hang out with authors and readers alike. Participants will find coffee and cocktails, read-ins, a writing workshop, and other author events, booksignings, a bookmaking class, an open studio, and literary-inspired window and store displays. Books will also...
BRATTLEBORO-Community members of all ages are invited to attend the "Community Health & Wellness Fair" Saturday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Brattleboro Union High School. This free event will showcase local resources and organizers say it will provide a day filled with fun, learning, and connection. Visitors can enjoy interactive activities, live demonstrations, and educational displays focused on health and wellness. Local organizations will be on hand to share information about services and programs that support...
Knowles Wentworth came to Brattleboro 18 years ago to study peace building at the School for International Training and never left. He works as a police liaison with Brattleboro Police Department and lives in the community with his wife and two kids. His views here are his own "and do not represent the views of my employer or any affiliated organization," he writes. BRATTLEBORO-I feel compelled to speak to this growing trend of both highlighting victimhood and underscoring a perceived...
Fran Lynggaard Hansen, a Brattleboro native with deep connections to local history and to people everywhere, is a longtime Commons reporter and columnist. SPRINGFIELD-I grew up on Marlboro Avenue in Brattleboro in the 1960s, one of upwards of 100 kids who lived around the Oak Grove School neighborhood. Those were the days when you would play outside until dark, when your mother called you in for supper. In the summer we would play kick-the-can or hide-and-seek, or we'd build rafts...
NEWFANE-We are deeply saddened by the mass shooting at two homeless encampments in Minneapolis on Monday, Sept. 15. Eight people were wounded, at least three with life-threatening injuries. In the last year, stigma about our most vulnerable Vermonters and Americans has increased to dangerous levels across our state and country. This puts people experiencing homelessness at extreme risk. In response to the shooting, victims were not offered grief counseling, shelter, or support for the trauma. Rather, their encampments were cleared...
WESTMINSTER-After over half a century of service to the Westminster/Rockingham area, John T. Stoodley of John T's Appliance Repair is retiring. Known as "John T" all his life, Stoodley began his career in 1972 after graduating as part of the first class at the new Bellows Falls Union High School in Westminster. He went to work for Donat Perrault, who owned and operated Perrault's Appliance at the time. Perrault also happened to be the father of Stoodley's high school girlfriend,
BRATTLEBORO-I'm grateful for the recent actions of our three Vermont legislators, calling for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Sen. Peter Welch introduced a resolution in April to challenge the famine in Gaza, which Sen. Bernie Sanders joined, in addition to 44 other senators. Rep. Becca Balint introduced a bill in June along with 120 other representatives In matters of war, there are congressional resolutions known as privileged. Three in the Senate and one in the House have the...
BRATTLEBORO-Our members of the Vermont State Legislature should support Defend the Guard legislation, which would prohibit the deployment of the Vermont National Guard to foreign combat in the absence of congressional authorization. Our legislators' support will protect the specific power outlined in the Constitution stating the Congress shall have the sole authority to declare war. It is imperative that Congress fulfills its duty to prevent the president from unilaterally engaging the United States in war without a congressional declaration. If...
MARLBORO-I truly appreciated the Jeff Potter's sincerity in the recent Editor's Notebook column. It put a human face on the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making The Commons available each week. First and foremost, I want to appreciate Jeff for making the Voices section of the paper possible. With that established, I would like to challenge his example of the United Nations as a reputable source of information. The U.N. has a well-documented history of corruption, including (but not limited...
SAXTONS RIVER-The Preservation Trust of Vermont has awarded a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grant of $100,000 to 24 Main Street Ltd. for the rehabilitation of the 24 Main Street community building. The 24 Main Street Community Building, built in 1840 as a Baptist church, now serves as a community center, housing a preschool, food pantry, and meeting rooms, and offers year-round public programming. The Bruhn grant will support restoration of the building's main facade, including removal of deteriorating vinyl siding,
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Police Department officially welcomed four new officers during swearing-in ceremonies held throughout the month of September. On Sept. 5, Officer Jeremy Ducharme took the oath during a ceremony at the police station. On Sept. 12, Brattleboro Police Chief Norma Hardy welcomed officers Cole Hennessy, Ahmed Elfawal, and Eric Johnson to the department during a special swearing-in ceremony before the Brattleboro Union High School football team's first home game of the season at Natowich Field. Johnson also sang the...
BROOKLINE-"Every day's a blessing," says Michael Winot of Brookline, who has reason to mean it more than most. Winot has been living with a donor heart longer than almost anyone else in the world. This weekend, Winot will celebrate his 40th year of living with a heart transplant by holding a big party open to everyone who wants to celebrate with him and his wife, veterinarian Heidi Winot. Her clinic in Newfane is also celebrating an anniversary this year, its...
Laura Sibilia, an independent, represents the Windham-2 district (Dover, Jamaica, Somerset, Stratton, and Wardsboro) in the Vermont House of Representatives. DOVER-Political violence is not protest, debate, or disagreement. It strikes at the heart of democracy - and the responsibility we all share to govern ourselves. The recent assassinations of Charlie Kirk and Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband show how quickly violence is replacing dialogue in our national life. Vermonters cannot afford to think it will not touch...
It's been a dry, dusty summer, and Lilac Ridge Farm co-owner Amanda Ellis-Thurber has had to take some unusual measures to combat the distressing weather. "With our farm stand on a dirt road and lack of water, everything became quite dusty, which was disheartening," she says. "You know it's bad when I have to water the road just to keep the dust down; these aren't normal conditions at all." Not only that, but Lilac Ridge Farm is on Ames Hill...
BRATTLEBORO-After massive water damage forced it to close its doors for nearly 10 months and move from the storefront it called home for more than three decades, Beadniks and its nonprofit educational Bead Museum will formally mark their reopening in their new location in the Hooker-Dunham block at Gallery Walk on Friday, Oct. 3. A fire last year at the store's former location just down the street set off sprinklers that could not be shut off for at least two...