The Vermont Theatre Company announces auditions for its 2015 Shakespeare in the Park production, Romeo and Juliet, directed by Michelle Page.
Auditions will be held on Tuesday, March 10, at 6 p.m., and Sunday, March 15, at 1 p.m., in the Brattleboro Union High School Auditorium. Actors need not prepare anything for the audition.
Show dates are June 25 to 28 on the Rotary Stage in Living Memorial Park.
Contact the director at [email protected] with any questions or to schedule an alternate audition time.
The Leland & Gray Players celebrate its 19th season with Hats Off 2015 on March 6 and 7 in the Dutton Gymnasium on the Leland & Gray campus on Route 30. An eclectic parade of music, dance, and comedy, Hats Off offers Leland & Gray Players in grades 7...
Primordial radionuclides heavier than lead end up at the stable lead endpoint. Lighter primordial nuclides like 40K have a different endpoint; likewise, fission products and activation products. What really helps you by waiting is reduction in exposure from cobalt-60 (60Co). With a five-year half-life, you can get over a...
This the same story. Everyone is standing around with their hands out, waiting for the cash. How all these experts on radiation and decommissioning got their education, I have no idea, but people continue to give them creditability. It is silly. Let the people who have the knowledge and training do their job. I realize you want to keep the big money flowing into Vermont, but you stopped that when you closed the plant. Get over it - it's done!
More scare stories! No basis in physics for waiting? The physics I took says that radioactive elements decrease in intensity and potency with time, as they give off their radioactivity. Every radioactive element eventually results in non-radioactive lead, through a long chain. Waiting years will decrease the potential exposure to workers. Poor practices could still result in overexposure, but nothing lethal. Whatever radioactive material is in the ground will be moving toward the river, but also decaying, thus decreasing in...
The Brattleboro-based 12-piece Afrobeat band, Alafia, is looking to audition lead singers (some backup as well), rhythm guitarists and set drummers. Their repertoire includes Afrobeat covers (Fela Kuti, Antibalas) and some originals. Demo links are available at www.jaycookmusic.com/alafia/listen. If you know Yoruba or other West African languages, even if you're not singing, that's a bonus! The knowledge and experience is helpful, as the band wants to continue to develop its understanding of the cultural context of the music. Jay Cook,
“We came in as friends, and Robert's Rules Of Order offers 19 pages on civility. Let's leave as friends.” And with those words, Moderator Michael Harty began the 2015 Annual Town Meeting on Monday night. Harty invited state Reps. Carolyn Partridge and Matthew Trieber, who were in attendance, to come up and speak to their constituents, but they politely declined, instead encouraging audience members to approach them during breaks. After, Harty gave his introduction and described the structure and rules...
A 38-year-old Westminster man entered a not guilty plea to a charge of manslaughter after a fatal stabbing at a Westminster home early Sunday morning. Lonnie Place appeared in Windham Superior Court in Brattleboro on Monday to answer to the charge. He is being held without bail. Vermont State Police said Michael Johnson, 37, of Bellows Falls, was stabbed in the chest at the home of Christina Allcock in the Shady Pine Mobile Home Park shortly before 1:30 a.m. on...
Each year, the Roots on the River Festival brings a mix of musicians, both veterans and newcomers, to our local stages, and the 16th annual event promises a memorable, fresh experience. Southern Vermont's premiere music festival, produced by Vermont Festivals LLC, will take place June 4 to 7 in a number of venues around town, ranging from a massive tent at a mid-century motel to a 230-year-old meeting house. This year's artists include Grammy-nominated John Fullbright and festival favorite Mary...
Sugar on Snow supper March 7 GUILFORD - Broad Brook Grange's annual Sugar on Snow Supper will be held Saturday, March 7, at the Grange hall in Guilford Center. Always the first sugar supper of the season in Windham County, the meal features ham, baked beans, deviled eggs, cole slaw, potato salad, rolls, pickles, homemade donuts, and Guilford maple sugar on Guilford snow. There will be three seatings: at 5, 6, and 7 p.m. At each seating, a half-gallon of...
Our nation's police departments' primary objectives have to be enforcement of existing law as enacted by the legislatures of the various states and the U.S. The latitude exercised by each department is affected by a dizzying array of various police-departmental and community circumstances. There is no template except that which falls back upon established law. In a real sense, the executive summary and, therefore, the full report, released in January, of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to...
The Vermont Higher Education Collaborative (VT-HEC) and Marlboro College have formed a partnership to increase high quality professional development to Vermont teachers. Working through Marlboro's Master of Arts in Teaching with Technology (MAT) program, the partnership enables VT-HEC to have some of its education courses include the option for graduate credit. “Collaborating with VT-HEC to provide more high-quality, educational technology–oriented professional development to Vermont teachers compliments our mission,” said Caleb Clark, faculty chair of Marlboro's MAT program. “It builds on...
The Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) will host a series of ice jam/spring flood summits across the state in the first part of March. The purpose of the meetings is to update city and town officials on the local flood outlook, and to review state resources that are available before, during, and after a flooding event or other disaster. This is the second year DEMHS has hosted the summits. The briefing for southern Vermont will be...
College news • Keith Carr Walsh of Marlboro was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2014 semester at Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Mass. • Malcolm McNair of Landgrove was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2014 semester at Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J. • Jack DelPriore of Brattleboro and Matthieu Fortier of South Londonderry, along with their faculty advisor, Chris Boettcher, are among the 24 faculty-student groups that have been awarded institutional...
At the February Board of Directors meeting, Putney Cares announced the final tally for the 2014 annual fund appeal. Donations totaling $7,097.25 were received in response to the appeal, monies which will go toward continuing to provide a range of programs and services for the Putney area's senior population. Putney Cares would like to extend its thanks to the generous members of the community for making the fund appeal a great success. In January, the Meals on Wheels program delivered...
On Wednesday, March 12, at 7 p.m., the Rockingham Free Public Library is scheduled to present Alive Inside, winner of the documentary audience award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. This opportunity was made possible by Bridgette Hartman, a Bellows Falls Union High School senior who has chosen the film as the subject of her senior project, and Tammy Mellish, health careers facilitator at Southern Vermont Area Health Education Center (SVAHEC). Alive Inside is a cinematic exploration of music's capacity...
Although this year, winter in Vermont may seem to be never-ending, on March 16, at 7 p.m. at the Latchis Theatre, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is presenting a Masterworks program tantalizingly entitled, “Paris in the Spring.” Partnering with Brattleboro Music Center, the orchestra will be led by its Music Director Jaime Laredo, and joined by its guest soloist William Short. Living up to the program's name, VSO will perform the Symphony No. 31, “Paris,” by Mozart, and Symphony No.
The written word and all luminous art will take us to places we never dreamed we'd go. But what is art? “Ay, there's the rub,” as Hamlet said. Debates about what qualifies as art are eternal, often contentious, and dreadfully boring. In her book Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery, author Jeanette Winterson wrote that “every day, in countless ways, you and I convince ourselves about ourselves. True art, when it happens to us, challenges the 'I' that we...
Some local musical legends will celebrate and support Hilltop Middle School students' upcoming 2015 Alabama Odyssey with a winter-chasing, down-home, family contra dance on Friday, March 6, from 7 to 9 p.m., in the new Arts Barn at the Hilltop Montessori School. Keith Murphy will lead community dancing with musicians Becky Tracy (fiddle) and Andy Davis (piano). Participants don't need to bring partners or have any dance experience. All dances are easily taught on the spot. The event includes gourmet...
The Vermont Historical Society will be holding public forums statewide to talk about the influence of the 1970s on Vermont. The society is seeking input to help guide their collections, documentation, and public programs about this transformative era. “Did you live in Vermont in the 1970s? Did you move to Vermont in the 1970s?” asked Vermont Historical Society curator Jackie Calder in a press release. “If you would like to learn more about that important and influential decade, or if...
The Gleanery Restaurant in Putney will present an exhibition of photographs by students from the In-Sight Photography Project in Brattleboro. Join students, staff and board members in a public celebration with an opening reception Sunday, March 8, from 3 to 5 p.m., and enjoy special treats prepared by The Gleanery. This exhibition is a celebration and showcase of students' work. The opportunity to show their work in a venue outside of the gallery space at In-Sight offers the students a...
Stone Church Arts brings Tim Ray on piano to the Stone Church on the Hill, 20 Church St., at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, March 7. On mike, during her 2002 summer tour with Tim, Bonnie Raitt declared, “...and that Tim Ray at the piano - he slays me every single night!” Trumpet legend Herb Pomeroy said, “[Tim Ray] is unquestionably a world-class musician.” Come and be slayed by Tim's genre-defying virtuosity. Perhaps best known as long-time pianist for Lyle Lovett,
On Sunday, March 8, at 4 p.m., at Centre Congregational Church on Main St., the Brattleboro Music Center presents Music School faculty members, violinist Michelle Liechti and pianist Chonghyo Shin in a benefit concert for the BMC scholarship fund. The concert program includes Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96; Brahms' Violin Sonata No.3 in D minor, Op.108; Chopin's Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60; Schumann - Liszt's Widmung, and the Chaconne from the Partita in D...
There are more than 50 flats of flower seeds in Melissa Masters' basement. They are waiting for the ground to thaw beneath specialized heating pads, so their tender roots can crawl through the soil and shoot upwards into “snap dragons, columbine, blue bonnets...old fashioned flowers.” Masters remembers her backyard as a child and her mother's garden. Flowers you don't find in the supermarket these days. She believes there's a market for these flowers today. Imperfect, of varying sizes and colors,
With back-to-back undefeated championship seasons in soccer and a total of only four losses on the basketball court over two seasons, the Twin Valley boys know what it takes to be victorious. It wasn't a shock that the top-seeded Wildcats blew out No. 9 Arlington, 69-41. in a Division IV basketball quarterfinal in Whitingham on Feb. 27. They had already beat the Eagles, 53-26, on Jan. 20, and 54-28 in the regular season finale on Feb. 19. But Wildcats coach...
A morning fire on Feb. 24 at the base lodge of Stratton Mountain Resort caused more than $200,000 of damage, but authorities say it could have been much worse. Assistant State Fire Marshal Paul Spicer said in a report issued last week that “proper maintenance and operation of installed fire protection systems, such as fire alarm and sprinkler systems” made a difference in keeping the fire under control. Spicer said the Stratton Mountain Volunteer Fire Department got called at about...
Thanks for the great coverage of the film Boy Meets Girl! It's wonderful to have the support of The Commons for our work and this event. I wanted to send a quick note regarding the use of the word “transgendered” in the article. “Transgender” is an adjective - used to describe folks and their gender identity - and should not have an “-ed” added.
The major issue facing the approximately 130 Dummerstonians who spent about five hours in the Elementary School gym at Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday involved proposals to increase the town budget for farmland protection and social services. By paper-ballot votes, Town Meeting voters rejected a proposal to double the town's allotment to the Farmland Protection Fund by $2,500 to $5,000. And voters increased the town's contributions to local health and welfare service nonprofits - for example, Brattleboro Senior Meals and...
State elected officials - Representatives David Deen and Mike Mrowicki, who jointly represent Putney and Westminster, and State Senator Jeanette K. White - offered their traditional legislative updates to voters attending Annual Town Meeting. Deen spoke briefly on his work as chair of the House Committee on Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources, specifically mentioning the bill to ban microbeads in personal care products. He also spoke about H.35, “An act relating to improving the quality of state waters,” which Rep.
At Eli Rogosa's farm in Colrain, Mass., einkorn is king. Rogosa grows the ancient grain, mills it, and bakes bread from it. Her goal is to save the endangered wheat by getting people to eat it, before it disappears forever. “At least 22 species of wheat are on the brink of extinction. Modern farming obliterated many of them,” says Rogosa. The intersection of climate change and modern farming could kill off modern wheat, but Rogosa believes einkorn, a traditional, indigenous...
Dover Warrant OK'd with little debate DOVER - Voters approved a $2.20 million General Fund budget and a $1.31 million Highway Fund budget for fiscal 2016. Capital appropriations that were approved included $450,000 for the Capital Paving Fund, $200,000 for the Capital Equipment Fund, and $75,000 for the Capital Building Improvement Fund, and $65,000 for the Town of Dover Legal Defense Fund. Voters approved a $2,989,722 school budget, and set the tuition rate for students in grades 7 through 12...
According to the qualitative research I have (inadvertently) conducted during my many years of cheesemongery, the second-scariest aspect of cheese is its exterior. Other than, “If I don't refrigerate this cheese within the next 20 minutes, will it instantly kill me upon contact?” the most anxiety-inducing question people have asked me is, “Can I eat the rind?” Would that they asked me in a neutral, inquisitive tone. No. The query is always accompanied with a sense of dread suggesting cheesemakers...
The Vernon School Board members might need to sharpen their pencils for a school budget redo. Unofficial election results show voters defeated the $4.4 million school budget by four votes in an Australian Ballot on March 3, in a 245–241 defeat. Voters at Annual Town Meeting also approved funding for a full-time town administrator, eliminated the elected town auditors' positions, approved a move of the preschool program from the town offices to the Vernon Elementary School, and rejected a call...
President and Brewmaster Chrisophe Gagné slid the glass barn door aside to give two photographers glare-free shot of the Hermit Thrush Brewery's new piece of canning equipment. The file-cabinet-sized stainless-steel apparatus is small compared to the expansion it will facilitate in the brewery's business. Hermit Thrush will start distributing canned versions of its Belgian-inspired ales in May, nearly nine months ahead of the growing business' timeline. Along with canning its beer, Hermit Thrush will double its production floor space. By...
It was another low-turnout election in Brattleboro on Tuesday, but the voters who did show up were clear in expressing that they would like the Town Charter to remain as is. All three amendments proposed by the citizen group Brattleboro Common Sense were rejected by voters. Voters also voted no on a proposed 1-percent local sales tax in a non-binding referendum vote, 672-361. Even though the vote was non-binding, downtown merchants vigorously lobbied against the tax, saying it would severely...
The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market is now accepting applications for new members to vend their products at the Saturday and/or midweek markets. The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market is the region's largest and oldest open-air market and supports local agriculture, prepared foods, and crafts. The market features more than 50 diverse vendors from the local area and attracts thousands of visitors annually. The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market is a not-for-profit membership organization and welcomes applications from those who grow and/or create...
The Wardsboro Public Library's Artist of the Month exhibition for features works by Alison Williams. Williams is originally from Cheltenham, England, and grew up in Havant, England, and Campbeltown, Scotland. It was in Scotland where she met her husband, Warren Williams, when he was stationed with the Marine Corps at what was then known as RAF Machrihanish, an air base at the tip of Kintyre. Williams came to the United States in 1979 with her husband when he was reassigned...
The Keene Jazz Orchestra (KJO) and Bellows Falls Union High School (BFUHS) Jazz Ensemble will be presenting a concert on Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m., at the Bellows Falls Union High School auditorium. The music for the evening will be traditional Big Band Swing as well as contemporary big band jazz music. The BFUHS Jazz Ensemble will open the concert under the direction BFUHS director of bands Nick Pelton, who is also a saxophonist with the Keene Jazz Orchestra.
At a recent meeting in town, one of our residents decided to have a rant about Vermonters. To him, Vermonters are - like himself - born and bred in this fair state, and he said in no uncertain terms that he had no use for “flatlanders” or “outsiders.” He said that “we” came into “his” state with (and I paraphrase) “dollar ideas when there was a 50-cent budget.” I must admit that I was offended by his outburst and his...
The Women's Film Festival is a major fundraiser for the Women's Freedom Center, which began as a grassroots response by local women to local problems and needs, according to the nonprofit organization's website (womensfreedomcenter.net). “In the late 1960s, several women gathered at the Common Ground Restaurant in Brattleboro and decided to start a women's community center. They rented a few small rooms above some of the downtown stores and held gatherings for various activities and discussions. “At that time, much...
Next Stage Arts Project present Libana, an internationally renowned world music and dance ensemble that is celebrating its 35th anniversary season, on Saturday, March 7, (the eve of International Women's Day) at 7:30 pm. In 1979, a group of women sharing a passion for international music, dance, and women's issues formed the global music ensemble Libana. Inspired by Judy Chicago's groundbreaking exhibit “The Dinner Party,” Libana took its name from a woman honored by the artist - a 10th century...
Tickets are now on sale for the Main Street Arts production of the musical Les Misérables, which opens Friday, March 6, at the newly renovated community arts center for a two-week run. The play by Alain Boulil and Claude Michel Schonberg is based on Victor Hugo's classic set in the lead-up to the French Revolution and claims to be the world's longest running musical and winner of numerous awards. The MSA production is directed by David Stern, with musical direction...
As we move ever hopefully toward spring, film lovers are asking the burning question: What does the Women's Film Festival have for us this year? The answer is, as always, a mixed bag of excellence and interest. The theme is quite general: films by women and about women. But since women encompass more than half of the human race, that makes for quite a range. And speaking of range, this year's festival is huge - 42 films! - and will...
Ask the average person around the region “What's the fastest growing segment of the alcoholic-beverage market?” and you'd probably expect to hear “craft beer.” Makes sense, right? The growth of beer from small-scale breweries in the United States has indeed been phenomenal, but in the last few years, sort of under the radar, sales of another traditional American brew have tripled. And that's cider - or, as we Americans call it, hard cider. Long a staple in the United Kingdom...
Following are descriptions of the films that will be screened during the Women's Film Festival, as provided to The Commons by the festival organizers. Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq 2013 • Nancy Buirski • 91 min • US • Doc Of all the great ballerinas, Tanaquil Le Clercq may have been the most transcendent - mesmerizing viewers and choreographers alike. But, at the age of 27, she was struck down by polio and paralyzed. She never danced again.
On Tuesday morning at the Putney Central School, five students directed incoming cars into an orderly parking arrangement on the ice-covered lot. Inside the gymnasium, three sections of folding chairs quickly filled with attendees, the majority of whom sported an inked stamp on one hand. One could be forgiven for thinking the house lights would soon fade and a band would take to the stage. Not quite. Those stamps identified registered voters, there to make their voices heard and their...
Join the Arts Council of Windham County (ACWC) as it celebrates the 35th year of Student Arts Month in March. Throughout Student Arts Month, the community celebrates blossoming young artists in Windham County and recognizes the teachers and school infrastructures that help these artists to bloom. ACWC has partnered with venues, schools, and teachers to arrange activities featuring the work of young artists throughout Windham County. Gayle Marie Weitz, artist, co-owner of Artageus1, and an Arts Council of Windham County...
Celebrated Vermont beekeeper Ross Conrad will host an organic beekeeping workshop on Saturday, March 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This workshop includes two highly-requested topics by local beekeepers: “Overwintering Bees and Spring Management” and “Beeswax: Production, Collection, Processing, and Uses.” The event is presented by The Nature Museum at Grafton and will take place at NewsBank Conference Center at 352 Main St. in Chester, across from the main NewsBank campus. One of the most challenging aspects of keeping...
July 31, 2012: As of this evening, it will be exactly one year since I nearly slid into the abyss. The dates are etched in memory. On July 31, 2011, month-long headaches devolved into calamity. At 12:05 a.m., Aug. 1, I was admitted to Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, N.H., and later rushed to Dartmouth-Hitchcock. On Aug. 2, 6 a.m., my first craniotomy, a 4.3-cm tumor removed. On Sept. 6, second craniotomy to remove residual brain cancer tissue. On 11/11/11,