• Thomas R. Abare, 79, of Saxtons River. Died Feb. 1 at Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland, N.H. Husband of Jeannine (Dion) Abare for 56 years. Father of Kimberly Cuiffo of Bayville, N.J., Reginald Abare of Westminster, Michael Abare of Ventura, Calif., Christopher Abare of Los Angeles, and Jason Abare of Springfield. Born in Barre, the son of the late Reginald T. and Eloise (Rickert) Abare, he was a graduate of Spaulding High School in Barre. He attended the Massachusetts Radio & Telegraph School in Boston for two years, graduating with a Certificate of Completion. He worked for New England Telephone as a toll tester, owned and operated Saxtons River Cable Co. and Vermont Amusement, and worked as a DJ with WOOL-FM in Bellows Falls. He was a member of the American Legion, the BPOE 1619, Polish American Club, and the Moose Lodge, all in Bellows Falls. He was a great ham radio operator and was a former member of the Bellows Falls Fire Department. He was the president of the former local Junior Chamber of Commerce and served as a Bellows Falls Trustee. He also served in the National Guard. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held at St. Charles Church in Bellows Falls on Feb. 4, with burial in St. Charles Cemetery. Arrangements were under the care of Fenton & Hennessey Funeral Home in Bellows Falls.
• Bernice E. Barton, 79, of Putney. Died Jan. 31 at her home. Mother of Gary Barton of Putney; Tony Barton and his wife, Stacy, of Lakewood, Colo.; Jeannie Quest and her husband, Benjamin, of Putney; and Elaine Howard and her husband Kevin of Deltona, Fla. Sister of the late Arthur Page. Born in Springfield, Mass., the daughter of the late Pearl Vielleux, she was a...
Pete Seeger, 94, died on Jan. 27. His passing has been on my mind since then, but his songs and his legacy had been in my thoughts even before he died. Our country is facing human rights crises - in health care, income equality, racism, and climate change -
As a former employee of the Rockingham Free Public Library, I would like to express my concern regarding the current trustees of the library. I feel the trustees have not shown good management and that they have disregarded the wishes of the majority of the public. I have attended...
Just So Pediatrics is moving to a new location in the Medical Office Building at 19 Belmont Avenue, Suite G102 on the ground floor, at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Situated just across the street from their old location at 16 Belmont Ave., the new office provides larger space and updated facilities, including five exam rooms instead of four. The move will take place on Friday, Feb. 14, with the office reopening in its new location on Monday, Feb. 17. Just So...
The Selectboard is looking into sources of funding, and seeking bids from engineers, to arrange for permits to site and dig a well to provide Town Hall with potable water and to test for contamination from nearby septic systems. Two engineers have been identified, but bids were not complete in time for discussion and vote at the board's Jan. 27 meeting. Currently, Town Hall depends on a running spring for potable water, but that water source isn't always reliable, Board...
Thank you for your support of the annual Brattleboro Rotary Club Christmas Tree fundraiser. Since 1965, the Brattleboro Rotary Club has sold Christmas trees to raise money for local student scholarships. Four hundred Vermont-grown trees were sold and netted $5,500 for Gateway Foundation, a local fund to support scholarships awarded annually to Brattleboro-area students pursuing college. We will give $18,000 this year to graduating seniors at Brattleboro Union, Hinsdale, Leland & Gray high schools and at the Austine School. For...
Sen. Peter Galbraith, D-Windham, has introduced S.252 in the Vermont Senate as proposed financing of ShumlinCare (Green Mountain Care). It seems Sen. Galbraith is calling Gov. Shumlin's bluff. Act 48, Sec. 9 of the state health-care reform law, passed in 2011, directs that financing plans be prepared and submitted to the legislature by Jan. 15, 2013. This is a law which the Governor continues to ignore. He continues to refuse to release a study paid for by taxpayers which, reportedly,
One of Brattleboro's two AM radio stations is broadening its coverage area. WKVT AM-1490 recently received approval from the Federal Communications Commission to rebroadcast the station on a low-power FM translator station. W262CL is rebroadcasting WKVT-AM's programming on 100.3 FM. The 105-watt signal is broadcast from a directional antenna attached to WKVT-FM's tower in West Brattleboro. WKVT AM-FM is owned by Michigan-based Saga Communications Inc., which also owns stations in Keene, N.H., and in Greenfield, Northampton, and Springfield, Mass., among...
Is there an unsung hero in your community? We need your help so that we can tell their story. At its first-ever Heroes Breakfast, the Vermont & New Hampshire Upper Valley American Red Cross will honor community members who have demonstrated heroism through extraordinary acts of courage or kindness. The Heroes Breakfast will celebrate a celebration of spirit and community. Whether it's helping someone escape a burning building or changing a life through acts of generosity and caring, examples of...
As an active member of the Manchester/Dorset-area community and a person deeply involved with a number of not-for-profit entities, I have had the privilege over the years of working with some of the state's older, more committed, and certainly generous citizens. Many of these individuals have had a great impact on their local communities in a variety of different ways and, unfortunately, we might quickly be losing this vital section of Vermont's population. Not only are we losing their good-natured...
• Oak Meadow, which provides homeschooling curriculum for students in grades K-12, recently added two new members to its staff at its offices in Brattleboro: Steve Lorenz as School Liaison and Ben Mitchell as Director of Admission. Lorenz is the former head of The Grammar School in Putney, and a member of the Oak Meadow Advisory Board. He has been involved with independent and public educational institutions, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and community service projects in Vermont for over 30...
We've got to talk. With the holidays behind us and the serious work of economic development for the next half century clearly in our sights, it's a great time to discuss how we can keep our Main Street and local businesses viable for the long term. Leading up to the holidays, Jacob Roberts and Bethany Thies wrote excellent articles touting both the benefits of shopping locally and the challenges with executing such a vision in a community of limited means.
Despite numerous snags and delays, longtime Hinsdale resident and entrepreneur William Faucher is hopeful that his effort to open an off-track betting (OTB) facility on Route 119 will cross the finish line. Faucher said he was planning a soft opening in January, but that his filing for a OTB license with the state was delayed. “It's in the attorney general's office, and it is in their hands to decide whether we get the license,” Faucher said late January. “They've got...
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) presents its Seventh Annual Domino Toppling Extravaganza on Monday, Feb. 17, at 5 p.m. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for audience members to choose their vantage point and inspect the fanciful, colorful domino course before it all comes tumbling down. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis: free for kids 8 and under, $3 for BMAC members, and $5 for everyone else. Every audience member will have a chance to guess how many...
For nearly two decades, it was sitting in Merrill Yeaw's garage in West Chesterfield, N.H. Now, it has a place of honor at the Brattleboro Historical Society. The Henry B. Allen Trophy Cup was awarded annually at the BHS/BUHS Alumni Parade to the class that built the best overall float. But when the Brattleboro Union High School Class of 1960 won the trophy at the 100th annual parade in 2006, it turned out that they would be the last class...
Hunger Free Vermont (HFV) encourages anyone who earned less than $52,000 in 2013 to see if they qualify for the state Earned Income Tax Credit, as doing so might open the door to valuable food benefits. HFV, an education and advocacy organization aimed at “ending the injustice of hunger and malnutrition for all Vermonters,” says the EITC can amount to as much as $6,044, which can make life easier for working Vermonters struggling to make ends meet. Faye Conte, the...
Our community has lost yet another local staple. At noon on Friday, Feb. 4, the Jamaica Coffee House closed its doors, never to open again. For eight years, Jamie and Dave Phillips were pillars of what remains of the downtown Jamaica business community. In good weather and bad, they opened up to serve hot beverages and food to locals and tourists alike. They weathered Irene with us. The paid their taxes. They hosted community meetings. They extended credit to the...
The Leland & Gray Rebels and the Bellows Falls Terriers are both going through down seasons in high school girls' basketball. But when these two schools play each other, the result is usually close, and the action usually intense. And that's how it was Feb. 6 in Townshend as the Rebels squandered a big second-half lead, getting it together at the end to hold off a scrappy, determined Terrier squad for a 46-43 win. Bellows Falls was coming off their...
Toastmasters meets Feb. 13 at Marlboro Grad Center BRATTLEBORO - BrattleMasters, the Brattleboro-based chapter of Toastmasters International, meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the second floor of Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St. The club's next meeting is Thursday, Feb. 13, and three speeches and evaluations are planned, as is the meeting's popular table topics challenge on off-the-cuff speaking. Guests are welcome, and refreshments are provided. There is no pressure...
On Friday, Feb. 14, the Vermont Suicide Prevention Coalition and State Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Washington, sponsor a luncheon event, “Supporting Suicide Prevention and Positive Mental Health Strategies in Vermont,” with support from Rep. Joanna Cole, D-Chittenden. Lunch and a brief panel presentation are set for noon to 12:30 p.m. in State House Room 10. All are welcome, and there is no charge. During the luncheon, panelists will present Vermont suicide data, perspectives of suicide survivors, and prevention efforts of the...
I saw Dad sitting next to the piano in the nursing home dining room. At first glance, he looked like my dear, old dad, with a fresh shave, recent haircut, and wearing his favorite blue plaid shirt. I stooped down and gave him a hearty bear hug. As he kissed my cheek, he squeezed me with his strong right arm, his paralyzed left arm and wrist contorted in permanent flexion. With his muscles long ago atrophied in his motionless left...
March introduces a daytime educational series for adults at Brattleboro Music Center, including monthly music appreciation gatherings, a chorus for seniors, and a beginners' violin class. According to the BMC's Pam Lierle, the adult daytime track “is a direct response to the region's decidedly older adult population and mounting evidence that engagement in music as we age has significant positive health benefits.” Lierle says in a program announcement those benefits include elevated mood, relief of pain, reduction in stress, improvement...
Latchis Arts is looking for teams of spellers to mount the stage on April 5 for Latchis Arts' popular game show “Spell Check! A Spelling Bee for Grown Ups” at the Latchis Theatre. Each team has three spellers, and three teams appear on stage at a time. Master of Ceremonies, author and humorist Tom Bodett of “Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me” fame will weave the spelling words into fanciful tales, while lawyer/local radio host/Beekeeper Jim Maxwell will use his radio voice...
On President's Day weekend, The Western Wind vocal ensemble presents its annual “Winter Wonderland” Workshop in Ensemble Singing at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. These workshops are opportunities for singers at all levels to experience the joy of ensemble singing. Focusing on the small group experience, participants sing music from a diverse repertoire: medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Early American; 19th and 20th century part-songs, rounds, hymns, and folk songs; jazz, pop, doo-wop, and improvisation. Coaching in vocal style, performance practice, and...
With comments like “Time is running out on us as a species” and we have “five minutes before midnight,” Tim Stevenson reminds me of that pastor who insisted the world was going to end in May of 2012 because of an interpretation of the Mayan calendar and even posted billboards about it. When that date came and went, the pastor changed it to Dec 21, 2012. We all woke up on Dec 22, 2012, and he was totally discredited. In...
Trying to sustain a stable, productive, and enthusiastic workforce? The Working Bridges Employer Workgroup, convened by United Way of Windham County, offers vital training on Monday, Feb. 24, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St. “Working Bridges Concepts” costs $25 per person, and includes training, materials, and light refreshments. Pre-registration is encouraged, as space is limited. The training is co-sponsored by Employer Workgroup members Chroma Technology, Omega Optical, and Economic Services (Brattleboro district).
I am so looking forward to voting on Town Meeting day, March 4, in Bellows Falls. I will be filling in those little ballot bubbles and casting my vote for the new slate of trustees running for the Rockingham Free Public Library: Doreen Aldrich, Carol Blackwood, David Gould, and Ray Massucco are the names to remember. Finally, a way for the community to be heard. “Trustees You Can Trust” is their campaign slogan, and it sure rings true. I hope...
Citing advice of their attorney, the Town School Board and supervisory administrator have decided against developing an anti-workplace bullying policy for Brattleboro town schools. According to Superintendent of Schools Ron Stahley, legal counsel considered the district need not duplicate existing state anti-bullying policies and protections in the negotiated teachers' union contract. The discussion about bullying in the schools was scheduled business for the board meeting held at Academy School on Feb. 10. Eight teachers and residents attended, saying they are...
The Brattleboro Union High School Music Department presents the popular musical “The Boy Friend” on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Feb. 13-15, in the BUHS auditorium. The show is directed by Robert Kramsky, stage director; Stephen Rice and Anthony Speranza, music co-directors; and Mitch Davis, producer. It also marks Rice's 26th year with the BUHS musical - and Speranza's 20th affiliation with BUHS. This is Kramsky and Davis' 38th year of collaboration on BUHS musicals. The production staff also includes Mary...
With the opening of a medical cannabis dispensary this week, Brattleboro will join Burlington, Montpelier, and Brandon as locations that provide marijuana under the provisions of a new state law. Shayne Lynn of Southern Vermont Wellness plans on opening the new clinic on Thursday in the Vermont Building at 1222 Putney Rd., next door to the North Brattleboro post office, the Internal Revenue Service, several insurance agencies, and other medical offices. According to the Vermont Criminal Information Center, 106 patients...
The Leland & Gray School Board is faced with trying a new tack on a proposed fiscal year 2015 budget after voters from the district's five member towns on Feb. 5 shot down the board's nearly $7 million spending plan by Australian ballot, 132-122. That budget called for a 2.8 percent increase over the current year's spending plan. An Australian ballot is conducted without discussion, and was registered at each of five polling places: in Brookline, Jamaica, Newfane, Townshend, and...
We'll never know how many victims do the best they can at work or anywhere else, even with domestic violence woven through every part of their lives. But what's clear from national headlines and our local experience is that a batterer's violence doesn't always stay home when victims leave the house. Each of us actually has the issue woven through our lives, whether visibly or not. Here in the U.S., one in five employed adults is the victim of domestic...
At their Jan. 20 meeting: the Selectboard approved the following warrants: 120-06 General Fund, $5,241.72; 120-05 Equipment Fund, $6,065.18; 120-04 Highway Fund, $6,027.87; 120-03 General Fund, $7,667.81; 120-02 Payroll Tax, $4,484.57; and 120-01 Payroll, $10,600.82. All were unanimous. According to approved meeting minutes, Selectmen also discussed two matters in closed executive session: the first was a 12-minute meeting to discuss contractual matters with Kathy Hege of Rescue Inc. No action was taken on the matter afterward. The second was an...
The greatest play ever written by the greatest writer in the English language is coming to southern Vermont. That is how highly William Shakespeare's Hamlet is regarded by Ian Belknap, the stage director of this lavish world-class touring production. On Thursday, Feb. 20, at the Latchis Theatre, two Tony-winning theater troupes, New York's The Acting Company and The Guthrie Theater from Minneapolis, team up to present two performances of this classic tragedy. “I loved directing Hamlet,” says Belknap, who besides...
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) will be the setting for “Royal Flush: A Drag Queen (and King) Valentine's Day Party,” presented in collaboration with The Harral Show, on Feb. 14. Led by Brattleboro native Harral Hamilton, The Harral Show is a collection of Brattleboro-area theatrical talent committed to showcasing alternative, experimental, and original performances. Best known for his turn as Hedwig in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at Headroom Stages in 2011, Hamilton will serve as host as BMAC's...
A process that uses ultraviolet (UV) light instead of chlorine chemicals to treat wastewater before it enters the Saxtons River is being considered as the least expensive option for the village's treatment plant upgrade. About 250 Saxtons River households, plus Vermont Academy, use the wastewater treatment system, which has been online since the early 1970s. Experts say the facility needs to be either upgraded or replaced. An evaluation of the plant in 2007 found the plant to be nearing the...
For the first time, a new drama about one of the 20th century's greatest folk artists will be performed by the author herself. In honor of February's Black History Month, Next Stage Arts Project will present on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m., a staged reading of Pierce to the Soul, a one-man play about Elijah Pierce (1892-1984) written and performed by Chiquita Mullins Lee. Pierce to the Soul tells the story of the life of the son of a...
George and Joan Weir, longtime Windham County residents, have donated a conservation easement on 287 acres of woodland in Guilford. The property, a large working forest managed for long rotations of hardwood timber, abuts previously conserved lands and borders the Green River just below the historic Green River covered bridge and crib dam. The couple have a long history of working with forestland in southeastern Vermont. George, a private consulting forester, has helped landowners manage southern Vermont woodlands for more...
Broad Brook Grange will hold its annual Pre-Town Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. at the Grange hall. This is the only opportunity for voters to hear details of the articles which will be presented at the Town and School District meetings, and to meet and discuss issues with the Selectboard and School Board all in one evening, in advance of Town Meeting. Candidates for town and school board offices are urged to attend to introduce themselves to...
At the Police Department's first public swearing-in ceremony, held during the Feb. 3 Selectboard meeting, four cadets solemnly swore to protect the people of Brattleboro, and joined the ranks. They are cadets Caleb Currie, Matthew Petlock, Steven Chase Stanley, and Colby Kerylow. The four, graduates of the Vermont Police Academy's 16-week training course, will now ride for the next 12 weeks with seasoned members of the BPD as part of their field training. According to Police Chief Eugene Wrinn, the...
Move over, Kelly Clark. There's a new Olympic medalist in West Dover. Devin Logan made history on Tuesday when she earned a silver medal in the Olympic debut of slopestyle skiing at the 2014 Sochi Games. The event is a hybrid of snowboarding and freestyle skiing, with competitors performing the stunts and spins that snowboarders do in the halfpipe - only on skis instead of a board. Logan, who also became Twin Valley High School's first Olympic medalist, shot into...
After standing vacant for months, or sometimes years, a number of properties have sold in Wilmington's historic village, including the grande dame of West Main Street: The Vermont House. Recent property sales mark a positive trend for the village socked by a down economy complicated by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. At a point after Irene, the downtown had more than 20 vacant buildings, said Adam Grinold, executive director of the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce. Not all those...
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) is excited to announce the formation and launch of a Southern Vermont VBSR Chapter. Designed to give forward-thinking professionals an ongoing forum to network with like-minded peers, learn about operating their businesses in a socially responsible context, and discuss issues unique to the region, the chapter is open to VBSR members and guests from Rutland, Windsor, Windham, and Bennington counties. “VBSR Chapter meetings are a great, informal way for our members to stay connected,”
In anticipation of a Feb. 11 Development Review Board (DRB) meeting, the project manager and architect behind the Police-Fire Facilities Upgrade project provided the Selectboard with an project update on Feb. 4. The upgrade project will make needed improvements to the town's two fire stations and its police station. Many of the improvements fall into the area of life-safety issues such as air quality and structural repair. Paying for the more than $14 million project, however, has met with controversy...
Lisa Taylor began her adventure with Swirl by working for the consignment store for two years before she became its owner. Now, after 10 years at her present location, she gets a chance to “put her fingerprint on it” at a new location, she said, with the business's Feb. 1 move to the old Saw Mill building at 52 Main St. The building, next to River Valley Credit Union, is a far cry from her humble single-room renovated gas station...
Members of the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce received a side of finance with their scrambled eggs at the chamber's monthly breakfast series. Town Finance Director John O'Connor gave an overview of the proposed $16.3 million fiscal year 2015 budget and the proposed 8.5-cent increase to the property tax increase. Interim Town Manager Patrick Moreland followed O'Connor's presentation with an outline of the services and infrastructure the town budget supports. “If we want to preserve the life that we have...
The attorney representing the former director of the Rockingham Free Public Library said that he has filed an injunction to halt any further action by the library's search committee to hire a new director to replace Célina Houlné. Houlné's lawyer, Richard Bowen, told The Commons on Tuesday that he expected the injunction would be “filed today and served either later today or first thing tomorrow.” Houlné, who was terminated last August, has already filed suit against the library trustees and...
I'm quite surprised how American journalists are acting in Russia as they cover the Winter Olympics in Sochi. They're taking it out on Twitter about poor hotel conditions, dirty water, dual bathrooms, rudeness, and this, that, and the other thing. It doesn't matter what kind of international sporting event this is. It's going to be chaotic and unpredictable. It's in Russia. Don't expect things to go smoothly. What is happening is no different from what happened in Beijing, Sarajevo, Athens...