Printed newspapers are often seen as an endangered species these days. I've described them that way myself in blog posts about the media business, and even the publisher of The New York Times has allowed that “We will stop printing The New York Times sometime in the future, date TBD.” Weekly newspapers are still faring better than dailies, but generally that means they are just declining less rapidly.
There are many reasons for this, but the biggest one boils down to this: There are no advertisers, brands, or ad agencies on Main Street or on Madison Avenue who are trying to figure out how to spend more money in newspapers. Instead, they are taking money out of print and out of broadcast and putting it into digital media like websites and mobile apps. At the same time, new generations of consumers prefer to consume news and information online rather than in print or on broadcast.
The Commons, over the course of 300 issues, has learned to buck both of these trends. Especially since shifting from monthly to weekly publication a few years ago, it has gained both readers and advertisers and continues to improve its coverage of Windham County affairs. Probably no other weekly newspaper in the country can say it has doubled its readership in such a short time.
What accounts for this contrarian performance? It's simple: The demographics of Windham County give it a strong appetite for good journalism, and The Commons happens to do a great job filling that need.
I became a published author when I was in high school. The organist at my church, Alan Dann, became involved with a newspaper in Brattleboro, and he urged me to give it a shot. If memory serves, I wrote a piece about armed forces recruitment officers on campus at...
Many people claim that “journalism is dead.” They argue that nobody reads newspapers anymore, and that YouTube bloggers and people on Twitter are the new sources for news updates. They say there are no jobs left for journalism students, that there is no hope for the press. Well, the...
WBA plans April 9 meeting on village streetscape WEST BRATTLEBORO - On Thursday, April 9, at 7 p.m., the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will host a meeting to discuss ways to spruce up the West Brattleboro village streetscape. Called a charrette, this meeting will provide a forum in which stakeholders collaborate in a creative design process. It will be held in the Melrose Terrace Community Room. All residents are invited to talk about such topics as where to place new...
The Windham County localvore scene just got chocolaty with the addition of Tavernier Chocolates. The fledgeling confectioner occupied its new commercial kitchen space on Feb. 1 in the Cotton Mill in Brattleboro. A factory store is set to open in April. Dar Tavernier-Singer, along with her husband, John Singer, make handmade, small-batch, artisanal chocolates, including bars and confections. “We're not currently making bean-to-bar, but we'd like to get there,” Tavernier-Singer says. The chocolates they make include truffles, tiles, tablets, pavés,
The first Saturday in April brought the 34th annual Bowl for Kids' Sake, a community-wide Youth Services event at Brattleboro Bowl that raises money for its Windham County Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program. More than 500 individuals of all ages participated in the event, which is the primary fundraiser for BBBS. According to organizers, Bowl for Kids' Sake attracted people from all walks of life; ranging from friends and colleagues who formed teams to entire families and many area...
Gardeners' green thumbs are beginning to twitch. For those whose taste buds are craving something fresh and vibrant, it's time to explore the magical world of herbs. The public is invited to learn how to grow herbs and how to cook with them at the Parks Place fifth annual gardening event on Sunday, April 12, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Alyson's Orchard in Walpole, N.H. This year the theme is, Better Herbs, Better Flavor, Better Health. Admission is by...
While there are many ways to cook a potato, there are also many ways to ruin it. As with most vegetables, over-cooking is the culprit. Harold McGee, in On Food And Cooking, recommends boiling or steaming, as opposed to baking or roasting, for better nutrition, as the baked potato suffers from an especially precipitous drop in Vitamin C. As McGee reports, when baking, the potato warms up very slowly, and the enzyme that destroys the nutrient has “more time to...
Which states are most committed to locally-sourced food? According to the 2015 Localvore Index, the top four localvore states (in order) are Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Oregon. These four states also topped the 2014 Index, which is compiled annually by Strolling of the Heifers. “The purpose of the index is to stimulate efforts across the country to use more local food in homes, restaurants, schools and institutions,” said Orly Munzing, founder and executive director of Strolling of the Heifers.
Births • In London, England (Kings College Hospital), March 20, 2015, a daughter, Sybilla Alana Lazoi Distler, to Aaron Distler and Sandra Lazoi of London; granddaughter to Arlene Distler of Brattleboro and the late Alan Distler, and Renna Gabriela and Luigi Lazoi of Lecce, Italy. Obituaries • Patricia Fenton, 93, formerly of Brattleboro. Died March 27 at Devon Senior Living in Devon, Pa. Sister of the late Edward J. Fenton Jr., Cordelia Frances (Fenton) Biddle, and Mary Katherine (Fenton) Hooper.
United Way of Windham County's fifth annual Adult Dental Care Day takes place on Saturday, April 25, in Brattleboro. Adult Dental Care Day serves people for whom affordability of dental care is the largest barrier, with the majority of participants earning less than $15,000 per year. Residents in need of dental care will receive it from five participating dental offices and their staff who are donating their time and expertise. Participating practices in Windham County include: Dental Health, Dr. Suzanne...
In 1983, I walked through the doors of my first newspaper job in western Massachusetts. When I was first permitted to shadow the staff as this weekly paper was assembled on deadline long into the still of the late fall night, I was drawn in by the energy and the adrenaline as I witnessed something I can only compare to beautiful jazz improv. In front of my eyes, a reporter took copy submitted to the paper on the back of...
On Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m., Brattleboro Area Hospice will host a staged reading of the end-of-life drama, Vesta, at the River Garden in downtown Brattleboro. Tea, cake, and discussion will follow. The event is offered free and open to the public. Vesta is a 90-minute, seven-character play about the final five years of the title character's life. Vesta offers a warm and often humorous exploration of a family's struggle with a variety of end-of-life issues as they come...
Saxtons River residents will have an opportunity to hear the latest update on the village's park project at an open meeting Monday, April 13, at 6:30 p.m., at the elementary school. The session precedes the village's annual meeting at 7 p.m. Julie Moir Messervy of JMMDS Design Studio in Saxtons River will present plans, a section, and perspective sketches and will outline the cost savings that underpin the JMMDS plan. JMMDS, LE Environmental of Waterbury, Grover Engineering, and Hartgen Archeological...
The Friends of Brooks Memorial Library Spring Booksale will be held Friday, April 10, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, April 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Join your fellow community members and sift through the thousands of paperbacks, DVDs, and audio books for the Big Spring Booksale, to raise funds for the support of the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library. The books and other items are piling up for this important annual event. Remainders will be on sale...
The voters of the Village of Saxtons River will hold their annual meeting Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m. in the library of the Saxtons River Elementary School. Voters will hear reports from village officials and be asked to approve a budget for general operating expenses of $55,250. Elections for four trustee positions will also be held, including the remaining one year on a two-year term that resulted from a death and is currently held by Ari Jackson. Additionally, two...
If Vermont had to choose a “second-in-command” cheese to sit beside cheddar, I would nominate gouda. Sure, gouda is not nearly as ubiquitous here as cheddar is, but not only is it up-and-coming, with three Vermont makers currently producing it, ۥ but gouda's flavor profile nicely straddles that of cheddar. Plus, smaller shops and even some larger grocery stores are catching on, and offer interesting Dutch goudas rarely found just a few years ago. Taylor Farm is perhaps the best-known...
Leading up to Older Americans Month in May, Senior Solutions and the Brattleboro Senior Center are teaming up to show the award-winning documentary film Age of Champions on Wednesday, April 15, at 1:30 p.m., at the Latchis Theatre. Age of Champions is the story of five competitors who sprint, leap, and swim for gold at the National Senior Olympics. You'll meet an 100-year-old tennis champion, an 86-year-old pole vaulter, and rough-and-tumble basketball grandmothers as they triumph over the limitations of...
When he smiles, laugh lines crinkle around Edwyn “Ed” Cross' eyes and mouth. Tonight, his smile is a rare sight. “Is my picture going to be in the paper?” Cross asks. “Good. Because I want my picture in the paper. I want people to know.” Cross, 48, wants to advocate for people in the homeless community. “I'm still homeless,” he said. Cross lost his housing three years ago. First he lost his job. When the unemployment ran out, he could...
My relationship with Brattleboro and its daily newspaper, the Reformer, and its weekly paper, The Commons, has been a complicated one. Norm Runnion, the now-legendary managing editor of the Reformer hired me in February 1989 to fill a vacancy in the sports department with the retirement of longtime sports editor Ken Campbell. I had only one year of working with Norm, but it was a year that I treasure. The Reformer was hitting on all cylinders then, with a talented...
For the students of Brattleboro Union High School social studies teacher Bill Holiday, the tumultuous years of the Vietnam War era are as far away to them as World War I was to Holiday and his classmates when they were sitting in the classroom in the mid-1960s. Holiday, a member of the BUHS Class of 1968, lived the history that his students now study. Before the memories fade, Holiday, together with fellow BUHS social studies teacher Joe Rivers, is working...
The salamanders are beginning to cross our roads on their way back to the vernal pools where they were born. And, just in time, Dummerston author and forest expert Lynn Levine has published a new book, Is It Time, Yet? This children's picture book is a story for ages 4 to 10. It tells the tale of Spot's early spring journey to a vernal pool to find a mate. On the way, Spot, a yellow spotted salamander, meets with Leo,
On Sunday, April 12, at 4 p.m., Latchis Arts will present Where the Rivers Flow North, a film by Jay Craven, based on the novel by Vermont author Howard Frank Mosher. Admission is by donation, and proceeds will benefit Latchis Arts and the Next Stage Arts Project. The screening of Where the Rivers Flow North is presented in conjunction with Howard Frank Mosher's appearance as part of the Landmark College Speaker Series on Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m., at...
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., will address the class of 2015 at Marlboro College's 68th graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 17, at 10:30 a.m., in Persons Auditorium. “We are very honored to welcome Senator Leahy, who has been a dedicated supporter of higher education over many, many years,” said Marlboro President Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, who was chief of staff to the senator from 1983 to 1994, in a news release. “His global perspective, leadership, and commitment to active citizenship are consonant...
“Are you ready to weather the next ice storm?" By asking this hypothetical question - which is all too real for most anyone who has spent a winter in New England - Putney's town administrators and the Windham Regional Commission invite Putney residents to the next Hazard Mitigation/Resiliency Meeting, set for Tuesday, April 14, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Putney Fire Department. At the meeting, organizers will present the current draft of the town's hazard mitigation plan (HMP)
The second community conversation on homelessness this month grew from a discussion between downtown business owners, service providers, and town employees. Richard French launched the discussion during an early morning meeting on March 5. “Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll are happening in the bathrooms here at 118 Main St.,” said French. In a quiet voice, French said he wanted to be honest with everyone. This winter has been a tough. “I'm looking for help here,” said French. It's hard...
Vernon Town Meeting season continues VERNON -A Special Town Meeting has been scheduled for May 5 to take up two matters. One was expected. A second vote on a revised town school budget was already scheduled for May 5 at the Town Office between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. At the annual Town Meeting last month, voters narrowly rejected the school budget, a result that was upheld in a recount a few days later. Two informational meetings on the proposed...
“Any Vermont child has seen these, or any curious one anyway,” Patti Smith said, pointing to a picture of one salamander at Thursday night's presentation on spring salamander crossings at the Learning Collaborative in Dummerston. “A good, curious, log-turning kid will have seen them.” And she's right, if the nods and satisfied “hmms” of three or four self-identified born-and-raised Vermonters is any evidence. In part because of thin attendance, which allowed for everyone in the room to introduce themselves, and...
The business of brewing is thrumming right along in Brattleboro. McNeill's Brewery has a new Czech-style pilsner on the chalkboard, Doc Feelgood's Pils, that Ray McNeill put through traditional paces - Bavarian malt, 100 percent Saaz hops, Czech yeast, in a combination of upward infusion and decoction mashing. Whetstone Station recently hosted its second (and sold out) Tap That Brewers Dinner, matching four beers with a cheese plate and then a five-course meal with five other beers. And over at...
The BLUE Project wants to spread the word about autism. On Saturday, April 11, at the River Garden and Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS) is presenting a free family-friendly event to promote autism awareness. The BLUE Project will feature an assortment of activities designed for children and teens with autism and their families. “HCRS has an annual golf tournament that raises money for autism awareness,” says Michelle Emery, HCRS therapeutic activities coordinator. “With the money...
Stone Church Arts presents the Bohemian Quartet, performing classic gypsy music in concert, at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St. on Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. The Bohemian Quartet was formed in 2005. Violinist, Stan Renard, a composer and virtuoso player, assembled the group with the idea of preserving the tradition and indulging in the virtuosic playing of classic gypsy music. Renard recruited like-minded friends: Dave Zinno on upright bass, Christine Harrington on cello, and Nancy Richardson on viola.
The Community Thanksgiving day meal at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden is open to one and all. For the feast to happen this November, however, the feast requires new leadership. For more than 10 years, the same committee of six has planned, organized, collected donations, and cooked for the Thanksgiving feast. A team of volunteers turn out on the day for the meal to help. That said, Katherine Barratt, Mark Schultz, Ray Branagan, Ian Bigelow, Lindsay Cobb, and Peter...
For this, the 300th issue of The Commons, we wanted to shine the spotlight on community journalism - and especially its future. Our staff and a number of other media professionals with ties to the Windham County region reflect on these issues and help us celebrate a milestone. • When business principles are turned upside down: The small newspapers I worked for were founded not to make money but to fill a need - and the bond they had with...
The ubiquitous potato. Grown on every continent - yes, even Antarctica, where they grow in greenhouses -ۥ potatoes are the world's largest, non-grain food crop. According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, in 2013, the world production of potatoes was about 368 million tons. Not exactly “small potatoes,” by any measure. Back home in Windham County, potatoes are a life-saving crop for farmers. Because many varieties of potato store well during the cold months, farmers can rely on...
Nationally-acclaimed comedian and writer Lizz Winstead returns to Vermont to participate in The Hatch's “Storytellers on a Mission” benefit for Brattleboro's Winston Prouty Center, hosted by local humorist - and voice of the Motel 6 lodging chain - Tom Bodett. Winstead joins renowned storytellers Ernesto Quinonez, Catie Lazarus, David Martin, and Adam Wade, who “will tell moving and hilarious stories to raise money for a great cause, The Winston Prouty Center for Child Development in Brattleboro,” say the organizers of...
Fireworks. Bursts of impossibly bright colors cascading through a night sky. Fourth of July fireworks have graced the sky above Brattleboro going on 42 years. They're a community tradition that a local company is stepping up to preserve. With a fundraising goal of $5,000, Brattleboro Savings & Loan (BS&L) has stepped forward to spearhead the fundraising campaign for Brattleboro's Fourth of July fireworks. “We want our community to enjoy this special day with friends and family, and the fireworks play...
Do you need a little spring fever to break out of your cabin fever? Join SoBo Studio on Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m., for the SoBo Showcase of Dance. The showcase is a fundraiser for the SoBo Studio scholarship program for mothers of young children. The audience can expect to see a mix of belly dance with some flavors of tribal fusion, hot pop (a dance style that is rhythmic with smooth curves), modern, contemporary, improvisation, central African, and...
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present Americana/roots quartet Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem at Next Stage on Friday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. This album-release concert celebrates the brand new CD Violets Are Blue, a collection of sugar-free love songs infused with the band's signature lush vocals and supple grooves. Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem bring fiddle, guitar, bass, and junk percussion to bear on 100 years of American music, from Appalachian ballads to Bruce Springsteen covers, songs...