I always seem to find confirming evidence that things are horribly wrong. Nightmares about corruption and control have crept into my consciousness and are now giant objects of reality for me.
I firmly believe that by controlling money and media, a very small cadre of ultra elites are also controlling an unsuspecting public. They are marching us into a stark Orwellian future, a world of elite rulers and a sea of debt slaves totally dependent upon government for their very existence.
In his book 1984, which was published in 1949, George Orwell was warning us. Sixty-two years ago he saw it coming, a totalitarian world run by the power elite with party slogans of “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” and “Ignorance is Strength.”
Words like doublespeak and doublethink (a willingness to believe contradictory statements when the Party demands it), a Ministry of Truth (an organization to ensure that the Party's version of the past is never questioned), the perpetual surveillance of Big Brother and the specter of Thought Police and Thought Crimes: what were mere novel terms in 1949 are now realities that pervade our society. Even the most ignorant and naive among us cannot fail to see the parallels.
Conflict resolution does not work when addressing bullies, John Halligan asserts. “Why?” he asked his audience in the auditorium of the Bellows Falls Union High School. “Because the bully will say whatever [the mediator] wants to hear,” one student replied. “Yes,” Halligan agreed. “The bully enjoys the power he...
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I remember when refrigerators were called “iceboxes.” Most people didn't have electricity. Therefore, keeping perishable food any length of time was a problem. If you lived in a house with a cellar, people often stored food there for a short time. If that was not an option, an icebox was necessary. These boxes were about 5 feet tall and about 2 feet wide. They had short legs at the corners and resembled a piece of furniture. The box had a...
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. • Dennis Amidon Sr., 55, of Athens. Died April 3. Husband of Pamela Johnson. Former husband of Susan Moffit. Father of Norman Amidon of Putney, Dennis Amidon Jr. of Athens, Scott Amidon of Bellows Falls, and Chrissana Christiansen of Rockingham. Brother of John Amidon of Winchester, N.H., and Frances Amidon Jr. of Florida. Predeceased by...
Performing arts • The Grammar School presents “Once on This Island”: On Wednesday through Saturday, April 13-16, at 7 p.m., the seventh and eighth grades at The Grammar School in Putney will present their annual musical. For this year of celebration, highlighting the school's 50th anniversary, the offering is the junior version of Once On This Island , the spirited one-act musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. They are the award-winning duo...
Last week at a health care reform forum sponsored by the Vermont Citizens Campaign for Health (VCCH), Vermonters heard yet another indication that overhauling the state's health care system will not be easy. Anya Rader Wallack, special assistant to the governor for health reform, said that H.202, the health care reform bill now in the Legislature, will control health care costs, insure every Vermonter, preserve individuals' choice of physician, reduce complexity and administrative waste, and encourage prevention and access to...
The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department will offer the following programs during spring vacation week, April 18-22. To register, learn more about the offerings, or request accommodations for special needs, call the Recreation & Parks Office at 802-254-5808, weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon or 1 to 5 p.m., or visit www.brattleboro.org. • Bowling Day: The Recreation & Department and the Brattleboro Bowl will co-sponsor a Bowling Day on Tuesday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event...
According to the calendar, the spring sports season began April 4. But, as is usually the case in Vermont, scheduling baseball, softball, or lacrosse games in early April is an act of faith. For example, the Otter Valley softball team was to play Brattleboro at Sawyer Field last Monday afternoon. The day began with snow showers, mixed with a bit of sleet, before changing to rain. The temperature didn't get above 40 degrees. As a result, the Colonels' opener got...
There's something just a little too creepy for my taste about a computer as smart as Watson, the new electronic genius that made its debut on the TV quiz show “Jeopardy” recently. The machine, named after IBM's founder, Thomas B. Watson, was developed over the course of several years by IBM and a company with the onerous name of Nuance Communications, Inc. On “Jeopardy,” Watson was able to defeat two champions of the game hands down, firing off 24 of...
From April 17-23, and May 24-29, Yellow Barn welcomes the Jupiter String Quartet back to Putney for a journey through one of the greatest chamber music cycles ever written. In two residency weeks, the Jupiter Quartet prepares itself to perform the Beethoven string quartets, one of the defining experiences in the life of any string quartet. The six concerts they present during their stay are given in anticipation of their performance of the complete cycle at the 2011 Aspen Music...
Brattleboro-area residents will get a chance to exchange their gas-guzzling lawn mowers for a brand new, discounted Neuton, the leading battery-powered lawnmower, thanks to a special offer by Vermont-based Country Home Products and Central Vermont Public Service. The Mow Down Pollution lawnmower exchange will be held on Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Windham Solid Waste Management District facility at 327 Old Ferry Road. The discounted price will be offered for both the Neuton CE...
Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg's March 23 Viewpoint, “Death with Dignity bill promises only indignity,” is right on in many respects, but less so in others. She states that “most kinds of physical distress” that a person in a terminal condition experiences “can now be managed by medication... and if such is the case, why should (he or she) want to end his or her life prematurely?” It's certainly true now, from what I've learned and observed, that most kinds of physical pain...
My Dad spoke six languages, traveled the world, fl flew planes, manned battleships, hobnobbed with dignitaries, and played a mean game of tennis. To me, he was a big and powerful person, despite his 5' 7” stature. I remember him as quick to criticize and uneasy, even disdainful, around emotional displays. He was not around much when I was growing up, and I spent most of my youth hoping to elicit from him some show of “fatherly affection.” I was...
Bowl for Kids' Sake, a community-wide Youth Services event that raises money for Windham County's Big Brothers Big Sisters program, grossed over $61,000 on Saturday, handily surpassing their goal of raising $50,000 to fund the mentoring program. This is the most successful year for Bowl for Kids' Sake in its 30year history. Big Brothers Big Sisters is still collecting outstanding pledges and donations. According to organizers, Bowl for Kids' Sake attracted people from all walks of life, ranging from friends...
Katy Haas of South Acworth, N.H., and Mark Piepkorn of Bellows Falls, are the winners of community radio station WOOL's first audio documentary competition. The two documentarians were presented with trophies at WOOL's popular Radioke performance on Saturday, March 26, and will receive cash awards of $50.00 each for their success in the competition. The trophies were crafted and donated by area glass artisan Chris Sherwin. Haas, an associate at Ken Burns' Florentine Films, took first place in the 30...
Signs of spring are beginning to appear, and I thought this would be a fitting time to send out a heartfelt thank you to each of the foundations and individuals who have helped make the dream of building a network of folks into the thriving Time Trade (T2) community we've become. We now have 254 active applications and 203 folks already making exchanges. In the last 30 days, 468 hours have been exchanged, which include supporting one another through household...
The Meeting Waters YMCA, the region's largest provider of camp programming, has announced its plans for its 47th consecutive summer of providing enriching experiences. It is anticipated that more than 300 youth, ages 5-15, from more than two dozen Vermont and New Hampshire communities will attend a Meeting Waters YMCA camp this summer. The regional Y's camps will take place over an eight-week period from June 28 through Aug. 20. Eight one-week and four two-week sessions are offered this summer.
The Windham Foundation is organized as an operating foundation under the federal tax code, which declares that it spend at least 85 percent of its adjusted income - or its minimum investment return, whichever is less - directly for the active conduct of its exempt activities. Other kinds of foundations - corporate, private, independent, and community - live by other rules. The Windham Foundation's designation as an operating foundation means that the 48-year-old historic preservation, land management, and grant-making entity...
Robert “Jake” Stewart, one of the charter members of the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution (NEC), believes that the economic impact of Vermont Yankee's closure cannot outweigh the consequences of a disaster at the plant. He also reminds people that the decommissioning process will require skilled employees. But he said that, ultimately, people need to conserve energy. “We need to stop the increase of energy use,” said Stewart, who worked with solar power in the 1970s, and remembers the...
Paul Blanch flicks the ash from his cigarette. Behind him, in the West Village Meeting House, the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution (NEC) continues. The whistleblower and nuclear engineer is not a member of the NEC but has served as an expert witness for the organization. He also works with the New York State Attorney General's office. He says that, as an expert witness, he's never taken money from the NEC. Blanch...
Ryan's Law, passed in 2004, defined bullying as “any overt act or combination of acts directed against a student by another student or group of students.” To meet the standard of legal bullying under the state's education statute, this act or acts must: • be repeated over time; • be intended to ridicule, humiliate, or intimidate the student; and • occur during the school day on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored activity, or before or...
John Bramley, president and CEO of the Windham Foundation, will retire May 31 after three years at the helm. He will be succeeded by Robert Allen of Dorset, former president and CEO of the Vermont Country Store, as well as a board member of several businesses and nonprofits. Allen will come on board in early May, so there will be a bit of overlap. Enthusiastic, welcoming, and informal, Bramley, 61, was wearing a green Windham Foundation sweatshirt for our interview.
Every spring, once the snow melts and the temperatures warm up, spotted salamanders start their nocturnal journeys in search of vernal pools - small bodies of water that fill with spring runoff and dry up in the summer - to spawn the next generation. But when that journey involves crossing a roadway, the result is often flattened salamanders. The Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC) of West Brattleboro has been trying to reduce the carnage by training people to be crossing...
Fred Ventresco always preferred public service to businesses seeking to increase their shareholders' stock value. Fifteen years ago, the desire to help “build communities” drew Wilmington's new Town Manager from the private sector, where he had worked in banking and travel/tourism, to the public sector. Wilmington is Ventresco's third community. Seven years ago, he stepped up to the job of Town Administrator. Now, he is the new Town Manager. It's week one on the job, and Ventresco, 48, checks his...
It was 1967 when Diana Sidebotham and her mother, Esther Poneck, first heard about the plan to build a nuclear plant in Vernon. Sidebotham, then living on her mother's farm in Putney, said she first thought, “What a good thing to do with the destructive atom.” But Sidebotham's second thought was that nuclear energy possesses the potential for catastrophic damage. That thought she has held for more than 40 years. On April 9, 1971, Sidebotham, Poneck, and 19 other trustees...
When you sell something that people want, you are going to become a magnet for thieves. Patrick Brown knows this. He is the owner of Brown Computer Solutions on Birge Street, a full-line dealer of Apple computer products. Brown says he's had to deal with shoplifters and break-ins of the mischievous variety, but he has never been the target of professional burglars until last Friday night. According to Brattleboro police, officers responded to a burglar alarm at the store shortly...
Tense discussion broke out at the April 5 Selectboard meeting over - what else? A Vermont Yankee issue. But the proposed letter of concern from an antinuclear group over the fate of the 39-year-old Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee plant - the topic at the center of the conflict - has led to a broader discussion centered on the Selectboard's procedure for selecting agenda items. At issue: if citizens place a non-binding referendum question on the Town Meeting Australian ballot -
A piece of land in the Connecticut River, between Brattleboro and Hinsdale, N.H., was once the center of entertainment for Brattleboro area residents. Now barely noticeable, there once stood a grand pavilion and baseball field. And it all started 100 years ago this summer. It was in 1909 that a group of Brattleboro men, led by George S. Fox and M.J. Moran, formed the Island Amusement Co., and built a baseball diamond and bleachers. Many rivalries sprung up between the...