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Your support powers every story we tell. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Jazz Center (VJC) invites the community to celebrate the culmination of its fall semester at the Student Showcase on Saturday, Dec. 6, from noon to 5 p.m.
Over the course of the afternoon, nine ensembles will share the results of three months of study, rehearsal, and collaboration. Listeners can expect a mix of jazz standards, Latin jazz, samba percussion, vocal harmonies, improvisational forays and tunes from the Blue Note era.
This performance tradition highlights the depth of talent within the VJC’s education program, bringing together musicians of all ages and backgrounds.
The Saturday afternoon performance will kick off at 12:30 p.m. with the Fearless Improv group. Led by horn player John Clark, this ensemble encourages musicians of all backgrounds to explore creative expression through composing, analyzing, and improvising in a welcoming, community setting.
S’mores with Santa at Living Memorial Park BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department presents “S’mores with Santa” Saturday, Dec. 6, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on the Lower Softball Field at Living Memorial Park. This is a free event open to children of all ages, with free...
-Decent weather on Thanksgiving morning led to one of the largest-ever turnouts for the Red Clover Rovers running club’s annual Turkey Trot on Nov. 27 on Upper Dummerston Road in Brattleboro. There were 271 runners who participated in the 3-mile race. Darius Parker, 22, of Hinesburg, was top male...
BOSTON-Can we have a "faith in ourselves" through a politics of love? I savored Meg Mott's column. However, I found it very sad, even if true, and a little ironic that "In 2025 fewer people may be persuaded by references to Jesus." Is it possible that in 2025 we won't recognize that Jesus's radical message, which changed the entire course of human history by sharing in painstaking detail the gold standard for dealing with "fear, deception, and hatred"? Christ's personal...
GREENFIELD, MASS.-I really love Vermont! I often travel there to visit my wife's 99-year-old mother who lives down a dirt road. We like to visit Newfane, a beautiful and captivating New England small town. Fat Crow, Four Columns Inn, and the Newfane General Store give me hope that we can survive and enjoy each other's company in these times of environmental disrespect. What disturbs me - and, I am sure, many other water lovers - is the pile of burned-out...
MARLBORO-At a special meeting held on Nov. 20, the Marlboro School Board told gathered public that in the coming months, it will hold an Australian ballot vote in which the district’s voters will be asked to determine the future of its school. The move comes as the board acknowledges that, facing declining enrollment, the town cannot continue to operate its school as it stands currently. The options currently being considered by the board are a full closure, which would give...
BRATTLEBORO-I and many community members see the incredible work our police department does in Brattleboro to make it safe and hospitable for all people. As an employee working downtown, I also know that the police do not issue trespassing citations without good cause. To even repeat that police officers no-trespass someone for trying to stay warm is reprehensible. The Selectboard needs to publicly apologize to our police department. It is disturbing that a Selectboard member, Isaac Evan-Franz, would take such...
Nick Biddle is a retired professor of Latin American history who lives in Brattleboro and works with nonprofits in Vermont and Ecuador. He and Tim Kipp, a retired Brattleboro Union High School social studies teacher, will present a discussion, “How Did We Get Here? Democracy in Peril,” on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. at 118 Elliot Gallery. BRATTLEBORO-A small group of billionaires, headed by Donald Trump, have captured the federal government. Their authoritarian, hyperpartisan actions make a mockery of...
BRATTLEBORO-Local events help make a town feel alive. They give people something to look forward to, and they give small businesses a chance to connect with the community in ways we normally don't get to. We at Thrifting New England believe in the importance of those connections. That's why we are so appreciative of the opportunity to participate in the Brattleboro Festival of Miniatures. In the four years since we've opened, it's the first time we've had an opportunity to...
BRATTLEBORO-On Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. Cherish the Ladies presents their Celtic Christmas program — a festive, family-friendly concert featuring their signature sound on classic carols such as “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “The First Noel,” and “Silent Night” at the Latchis Theatre. Each piece is arranged to highlight their Celtic instrumentation, harmonies, and step dancing that has characterized their performances for four decades. This tradition has inspired four albums: On Christmas Night (chosen by the The New...
BRATTLEBORO-The students of Hilltop Montessori Middle School have been making and delivering apple pies to organizations that serve people in need in our community since the program’s inception more than 30 years ago. “Since that time, the number of hungry Vermonters has only grown,” the school said in a news release. “Making and offering pies to those who feel hunger most acutely in our community is an important part of our humanities curriculum, which engages in real and tangible ways...
BRATTLEBORO-A lecture and discussion, "How Did We Get Here? Democracy in Peril," led by retired history teachers Nick Biddle and Tim Kipp, takes place Thursday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. at 118 Elliot Gallery. According to a news release, this lecture explores what Kipp and Biddle call "an authoritarian coup began during the first Trump term and has matured significantly since 2016. Not since the Civil War has the United States confronted such a crisis of democracy. This is not...
Obituaries • Shirley (Starkey) Castine, 90, of Brattleboro. Died Nov. 19, 2025, in the comfort of her home, surrounded by family. She was born at home Aug. 5, 1935, to William A. Starkey and Myrtle E. (Joslyn) Starkey in Hinsdale, New Hampshire. She graduated from Hinsdale High School in 1953. After graduation, she began her career as a bookkeeper at Baker’s Book Store in Brattleboro and later continued her profession at Grand Union in Brattleboro and Hannaford in Keene, New...
WILMINGTON-Deerfield River Valley Resilience in Shifting Environments (RISE) is inviting all residents of Readsboro, Wilmington, Whitingham, and Dover to attend its public presentation Friday, Dec. 5. The presentation will begin at 9:15 a.m. and will include an hour-long informational session and discussion. Deerfield River Valley RISE is a collaboration between the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning and the Windham Regional Commission. The mission of this project is to help the four towns adapt...
BRATTLEBORO-Vocal quartet Windborne presents “Music of Midwinter” at the Brattleboro Music Center, Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. at the BMC. Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan will perform. In contrast to other Windborne programs, this one is infused with the holiday spirit, accentuated with added instrumentation including banjo, guitar, Lithuanian kanklės, and Irish bodhrán. Windborne’s music draws on the singers’ roots in traditions of vocal harmony, while “their artistic approach brings old songs into the present,”
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO) invites audiences to celebrate the holiday season with its annual Brass “Quintet and Counterpoint Chorus Holiday Concert” tour, which will be visiting Warren, Newport, Grafton, and Manchester between Dec. 11 and 14. Conducted by Nathaniel G. Lew, this VSO tradition brings together brass and choral music in a program featuring traditional carols, contemporary works, and a world premiere by a Vermont high school composer. This year’s performances include carols and focuses on compositions by Vermont...
BRATTLEBORO-The Windham Philharmonic invites everyone to its third annual “Beethoven in December — with Holiday Treats” concert at the Latchis Theatre on Monday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. This concert “pairs the energy and nobility of a Beethoven symphony with music of fantasy, compassion, and sparkling good humor,” wrote organizers in a news release. It’s about “Beethoven’s unstoppable vitality meeting Berlioz’s compassion and Anderson’s laughter, with much fantasy and scintillation in between,” Music Director Hugh Keelan said in a news...
BRATTLEBORO-During the month of December, a pair of group exhibitions — “About The Size of It” and “Holiday Windows: All Under One Sky” will be featured at 118 Elliot Gallery. “About the Size of It” features the work of six painters who make up the 118 collective of artists: Tina Olsen, Ellen Cone Maddrey, Gayle Robertson, John Loggia, Liza Cassidy, and Mary Therese Wright. The exhibit explores the notion of size in painting — the miniature and the monumental. Also...
WESTMINSTER WEST-The River Singers Community Chorus, led by Mary Cay Brass with Andy Davis, is celebrating its 35th anniversary of joyous singing together with two special holiday concerts Saturday, Dec. 13, at 4 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 4 p.m., at the Westminster West Church. The 70-voice River Singers is a multi-generational chorus known for what it calls “an eclectic mix of community-based music from many cultural and musical traditions.” Songs from Bosnia, South Africa, Macedonia, and Belarus, are...
WILLIAMSVILLE-A child asks, “Mama, will the rain last all night?” His mother smiled softly, trying to comfort him while concealing all the pain she was carrying. Meanwhile a father declares, “No matter what, my child, we were going to celebrate your first birthday.” Such universal expressions of love take on greater meaning when families are doing their best to survive in war-torn Gaza. Southern Vermont for Palestine will host a community gathering, “We Are Not Numbers: An Evening of Palestinian...
The writer served as Newfane town moderator from 2010 to 2024. NEWFANE-In response to recent letters regarding Newfane Town Meeting: All Newfane voters have the right to petition the Selectboard to put an article on the warning. It is then up to the meeting to vote on it. Majority rules. I would welcome any article regarding a question of local, state, national, or international concern that followed the guidelines for what makes an effective article. An effective article asks a...
BRATTLEBORO-The goal set by the New England Center for Circus Arts in creating the Vermont Circus Festival, on Nov. 2–9, was to culturally and economically enliven New England's rural community through circus arts. NECCA's leadership team extends a deeply heartfelt thank you to all the supporters in our community who helped make this event a resounding success. It was the first Festival of its kind, and brought visitors to Vermont from far and near - from all over the U.S.
BRATTLEBORO-In response to peers’ concerns about safety for themselves and others, including those experiencing homelessness as well as a desire for more multigenerational connections in the community, the Brattleboro Area Youth Council led a crucial conversation on Nov. 11 on how safety issues affect youth security, happiness and belonging in southern Vermont. In an evening event at Brattleboro Union High School, arounbd 70 adults and young people convened to share their thoughts on community safety and brainstorm solutions. The summit...
Isaac Evans-Frantz is the clerk of the Brattleboro Selectboard. His views do not necessarily represent those of the board or the town of Brattleboro. BRATTLEBORO-We need to be able to ask questions without them being framed as an attack. At the Nov. 4 Brattleboro Selectboard meeting, I raised questions and concerns brought to me by local residents who had received no-trespass orders from town property. I asked for legal information at that time. People often approach Selectboard members with questions...
BRATTLEBORO-The state Superior Court has upheld the firing of former Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) Principal Steven Perrin for misconduct, effectively closing the case. Judge David A. Barra, of the court’s Bennington unit, ruled Nov. 26 against Perrin, not only upholding his termination by the Windham Southeast School District board in November 2022, but also dismissing all Perrin’s civil claims against the district and individual school board members. BUHS alum and survivor Mindy Haskins Rogers unveiled a decades-long history and...
BRATTLEBORO-Days before the lease was to run out at 69A Elliot St., the community space there known by its address has found a new home at 134 Elliot St. And it’s bigger. And better. And cheaper. “It’s awesome,” says Coordinator Lisa Marie, and you can see her smiling through the phone. “It’s humongous and amazing and beautiful.” The new space is owned by dermatologist Dr. Rebecca Jones. Her practice is in a building where she rents space across the parking...
ATHENS-Many initiatives, small and large, individual and collective, have ramped up across the state and the country to combat the sudden hunger crisis caused by the loss of SNAP benefits at the start of November. Here in Athens, Krista Gay and her husband, Christian Rogerson, started their own Free Food Pantry at the bottom of their driveway. Athens doesn't have a food pantry, and Krista knew that many of her neighbors who are struggling with food insecurity would also have...
NEWFANE-Christopher Sproat leads his letter in response to the story about Deb Luskin ["I don't just want to read the landscape, I want to eat it," News, Oct. 29] by calling her entitled and a sociopath, and it doesn't get a lot friendlier from there. There are several issues at play here that are complicated and worth more discussion, including, for instance, the morality of killing wildlife, whether we need to reduce the deer population, and the health of southeastern...
BRATTLEBORO-With a mention in Rolling Stone, recent tour dates in New England and New York, and a new album on the horizon, local favorite Jatoba returns to Stone Church with its signature high-energy blend of bluegrass (“groovegrass”). Formed in 2008, the trio includes John Jamison of Guilford (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Jason Scaggs of West Chesterfield, New Hampshire (guitar, banjo, vocals), and Jeff Richardson of Saxtons River (upright bass, vocals). As described in its publicity materials, the band and its members...
Also signing this letter: Rachel Feldman, Moretown; Ari Moskowitz, Burlington; Eileen H. Arama, Townshend; Topaz Weiss, Burlington; Ethel Goldstein, Westford; Marina Shpaner, Colchester; Michael Gantt, Brattleboro; Ed Grossman, Chester; Jeff Levine, Guilford; Draizy Junik, Burlington; Lorraine Marucci Westcott, Newfane; Ernest Herz, South Burlington; Caryn Schwartz Oliveti, Burlington; Nancy Goodhue, Brattleboro; Sheldon Wein, Wilmington; Denise Gebroe, Proctorsville; Melissa Mendelsohn, Charlotte; Dr. Jan Feldman, Northfield; Elizabeth Morse, Brattleboro; Rick Westcott, Newfane; Chaim Lodish, Burlington; Monica Schwartzbach, Ludlow; Rabbi Seth Daniel Reimer, Bennington;
BRATTLEBORO-Are you searching for a copy of an old Elton John album, some DVDs of The Sopranos, or perhaps something by someone more contemporary, like Taylor Swift? The best place to find both new and old vinyl, compact discs, DVDs, and even cassette tapes is Turn It Up! at 85 Main St. in Brattleboro. The store has been part of downtown since 2003 and is now entering a new chapter, as longtime manager Carson Arnold officially became the store's owner...
Richard Berkfield publishes “GenX Widower,” a Substack newsletter, where this piece first appeared recently. PUTNEY-I lit a fire this morning, instantly sparking several connections in my brain. For the last several days, the recent suicide of a young man in our community has opened up the portal to grief for me. I’ve learned that the portal opens and closes, and I’ve been really busy with the mundane for a while. When it opens, I need to find the time to...
BRATTLEBORO-Those who grew up as baby boomers might remember “think big” as a phrase that seemed to guide the pursuits of a whole generation. It was the handle for an economic strategy, it added too many floors to skyscraper design, it was the moniker of a favored racehorse, it was even the title of a book by Donald Trump. Bigger is better? Hmm. Some might say that’s where we’ve derailed. This season, you can find an antidote in the Brattleboro...
The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont is honored to host sections of the internationally renowned AIDS Memorial Quilt in recognition of World AIDS Day which is Monday, Dec. 1. A 12-foot-by-12-foot panel of the Quilt, including a panel memorializing local Ron Squires, Vermont's first openly gay legislator, will be displayed at three public locations in Windham County. On Thursday, Dec. 4, the Quilt will be on display from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the third floor of the Rockingham...