The Inclusion Center will host an open house on Friday, June 10, from 1 to 3 p.m., in the lower level Meeting Room at St. Michael's Episcopal Church on Putney Road.
Visitors can help celebrate the Center's third anniversary and meet members and staff, according to a news release.
The event will include organized dance for all abilities, disability-awareness exercises, and art activities, as well as art, videos, and presentations about the Center's activities in the past year. Refreshments will be served.
The Center's T-shirts, designed and made by members, will be available for purchase.
WBA to meet at Hayes Court WEST BRATTLEBORO - The next monthly meeting of the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will be held on Thursday, June 9, at 6 p.m., in the Hayes Court Community Room on Garfield Drive, just west of the West Brattleboro post office. After a review...
The Rock River Players' summer season, slated for Aug. 18 to 28, features two summer-worthy plays to be played in repertory: “On Golden Pond,” directed by Cris Parker-Jennings, and “Arsenic and Old Lace,” directed by Sara Vitale, according to a news release. Auditions will be held at the Williamsville...
There has been much debate about how Vermont Yankee administrators are using the plant's decommissioning trust fund. As it turns out, the federal government has been taking its share of that same pot of money. In response to an information request from the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (VNDCAP), Entergy administrators have disclosed that they paid $34 million in federal trust fund taxes over a 10-year period. Those tax payments - the result of a 20 percent federal levy...
State regulators have rejected an anti-nuclear group's last-minute objections to spent fuel plans at Vermont Yankee. The state Public Service Board still is considering Entergy's plans to build a new storage facility for radioactive spent fuel at the Vernon plant. But in an order issued June 1, the board declined to admit new evidence offered by New England Coalition in the case. The Brattleboro-based coalition had asked the Public Service Board to consider information about the proposed fuel facility's visibility...
College news • Emily Dow, an event management major from Brattleboro, received her B.S. degree from Lasell College in Newton, Mass., at its commencement on May 15. She was also named to the Dean's List for the spring 2016 semester. • Charlotte Elwell of Brattleboro, a physics major at St. Olaf's College in Northfield, Minn., was recently inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society. • Irene Shamas of Putney graduated summa cum laude from Bard College at Simon's...
Express Fluency, an innovative language school based in Brattleboro, is offering two-to-five-day intensive language classes in Spanish, French, and Latin this summer. Teachers from throughout the United States will be coming to Brattleboro to learn these teaching methods in the summer teacher-training program. Express Fluency's unique approach to learning a language has helped thousands of people, including many who had been unsuccessful in conventional language classes, gain proficiency quickly and easily, according to a news release. “Our classes make learning...
In a presentation that seeks to place the current unrest in the Middle East into historical context, former Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith will discuss “The New Map of the Middle East: The Disastrous Centennial of the Disastrous Sykes-Picot Agreement” on Friday, June 10, at 7 p.m., at the Marlboro College Graduate Center at 28 Vernon St., according to a news release. In May 1916, as the World War I raged, diplomats Mark Sykes of Great Britain and Francois Georges-Picot of...
The Leland & Gray Players celebrate their 20th season with “Hats Off 2016!” on June 10 and 11 in the Dutton Gymnasium on the Leland & Gray campus on Route 30 next to the Town Hall. An eclectic parade of music, dance, and comedy, “Hats Off” offers Leland & Gray students in grades 7-12 an opportunity to select what they want to perform, to display their strengths, to hone new skills, and to discover different ways to contribute to the...
Twilight Music continues its 14th annual “Twilight On The Tavern Lawn” series of folk, world beat, rock, jazz, zydeco, Celtic, swing, blues and bluegrass summer concerts on Sunday, June 12, with Brattleboro-based rockabilly quartet Cadillac Envy, according to a news release. Cadillac Envy is “a young, exciting, retro influenced band with roots in 1950s rockabilly, early rock & roll, and rhythm & blues, with a pinch of punk thrown in for good measure,” according to the release. Maggie Bernhard, Dawn...
Five world-class musicians will join forces for an evening of jazz, gypsy-jazz, rock, blues, free improvisation, Brazilian and more. The concert, at Immanuel Episcopal Church on Friday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m., is a part of the Creative Cello Summit, which brings together cellists from all over the world for an intense celebration of non-classical styles, techniques, and contemporary practice methods, according to a news release. There will also be a free student concert on Saturday, June 11, at 7:30...
Gotta dance? The Brattleboro Music Center's Celtic Mega Band will provide the music for a Contra Dance, set for Sunday, June 12, according to a news release. The event will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. (a beginners' session is set for 6:45 p.m.) at the Stone Church, 210 Main St., and no experience or partner is needed. Contra dance is a social dance with deep roots in New England history. The dance form can be traced to English,
After spending a year researching the best ideas and locations for an entrepreneurial community in the heart of downtown, Coworking Plus is hosting an event on Tuesday, June 14, at 5:30 p.m., at Duo's Lounge on Main Street to talk about the project and get feedback. Dave Evans will kick off the gathering with a brief presentation covering the efforts to date, what has been learned, and what remains to be accomplished. Attendees should plan on sharing how they might...
On Saturday, June 11, from noon to 4:30 p.m., beginners and experienced writers alike are invited to spend an afternoon wandering the woods of Manitou, guided by experienced nature-writing group leader Fred Taylor, according to a news release. Participants will explore the outer landscape of Manitou and see how it resonates with their inner landscapes. There will be time for quiet meditation and writing, as well as group sharing. Taylor will guide the afternoon with a series of poems, readings,
Kusikuy is hosting a Bolivian party and relaunch fundraiser at its headquarters on Sunday, June 29, from 4 to 8 p.m. The fair-trade, sustainable fashion brand's event will include Bolivian food such as chunos (freeze-dried potatoes) and api (a Bolivian drink made from corn and quinoa), Bolivian music, an Andean fashion show featuring the company's hand knits. The festivities mark nine months of significant work and investment in the business, launched in 1996. In December, founder Tamara Stenn wrote on...
The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department will present a free concert on the Brattleboro Common on Park Place on Sunday, June 12, at 2 p.m. The U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band will present Heritage Brass, a pioneering symphonic brass ensemble. Representing Air Force professionals serving across the globe, Heritage Brass comprises 10 brass players and a percussionist that presents a diverse repertoire featuring orchestral transcriptions, patriotic favorites, jazz standards, new compositions, and distinctive arrangements. According to its website,
As a national dialogue rages about a higher minimum wage, a small-town Vermont restaurant recently announced its new mission: to ensure that every one of its employees earns at least $15 per hour. In 2012, according to a news release, Friends of Bellows Falls decided the town needed a restaurant. The village's only full-service eatery had burned down a few years earlier. Meanwhile, a historic building in The Square - the former Hotel Windham - was sitting mostly unused. The...
Elaine Clift's article on women and (some) men's attitudes regarding their fitness as writers makes a point we all know well. However, when it comes to voting, we're not voting for gender, are we? Don't we profess voting for someone on the basis of values demonstrated by personal and political actions? If this is the case, our female candidate doesn't hold up well. If you're interested in learning more, Queen of Chaos: The Misadventures of Hillary Clinton, by Diana Johnstone...
If you are a person with disabilities or someone who cares about disability issues, please let all 2016 Vermont statewide candidates know that the need for accessible and inclusive campaigns is very real. Tell them what makes something accessible for you and helps you feel included! As a person who has a 50-year interest and involvement in the concerns of people with disabilities, and now as a person with disabilities myself, I am contacting statewide candidates with a request and...
The former Wilmington High School may have a new owner before autumn. The Wilmington School Board plans to select the building's potential new owner July 1, pending voters' authorization, School Board member Phil Taylor told an audience during the board's informational meeting May 31. According to Taylor, the board seeks to transfer the building to a private owner vetted through a request for proposals (RFP) process. The RFP deadline is June 27. The School Board will speak about the sale...
Now that the legislative session has come to a close, and for the moment our Windham Southeast Supervisory Union district has not been able to move to the quick track for implementation of Act 46, my unspoken deep reservations about this act need to be expressed. At Town Meeting, I was impressed by the sincere hard work of the Putney School Board under Alice Laughlin's leadership to understand the act and find a good response for the town. Board members...
In light of the very serious allegations of fraud and financial impropriety currently being investigated in the Northeast Kingdom - an investigation that has politicians on both sides of the aisle running for cover - I would like to ask gubernatorial candidates Scott, Lisman, Minter, Dunne, and Galbraith to answer the following question: “Iberdrola Renewables was recently convicted by a federal regulatory judge of defrauding the state of California and its ratepayers of millions of dollars by essentially running an...
My very first solar class in 1989 was with Rich Gottlieb at his place in Guilford. He and Carol Levin were very welcoming to me. I really wanted to work in the solar field, way before this was really possible for too many people. Rich was one of the people who gave me the inspiration to keep the dream of renewable energy. Now, I'm a solar manager for an electrical contracting company. I manage projects far bigger than we would...
I feel compelled to air a pet peeve that I have had for years. Every year I get a property tax statement that contains four tear-off tabs that I am to mail in to the town with a check for quarterly payment of my property taxes. I am almost 66 years old - I forget to mail in the stubs or I lose them. The town sends me no notification that tax payments are due. In fact, the only notification...
WKVT Radio will present a live broadcast of a public forum about child welfare in the community from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 16, in the Brooks Memorial Library Meeting Room at 224 Main St, according to a news release. This is the latest edition of the station's “Call to Action” series, which brings local and state officials together with individuals and organizations to create awareness around a critical issue and seeks to foster greater collaboration in...
Laurie Bayer, I know you have made the best decision for Ruby and yourself. I do hope that one day you and Ruby are reunited - if not running barrels - on the trail. Thinking of you today and knowing you are okay with your decision. Love to you and Ruby!
What a lovely piece! It's so hard to make such a huge sacrifice, even when we know it's the best and right thing to do.
Aspiring authors have an opportunity to shine as Write Action announces its 14th annual Poetry and Prose Writing Contest. First-place winners in both categories will be awarded $100, second-place winners $50, and third-place winners $25 each, and the opportunity to read at this year's Literary Festival. Entries will be judged anonymously, according to a news release. Judges this year include poetry judge New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alice Fogel; prose judge Joyce Marcel of The Commons and Vermont Business Magazine; and...
The Dummerston Historical Society has two reasons to celebrate. Forty years ago this month, the society was founded. And, just a few weeks ago, the final coats of paint were applied to the new wing of the group's circa-1801 headquarters. To commemorate both occasions, the organization's Board of Directors invites the public to an open house on Sunday, June 12, for the formal dedication of the new Bunker addition, and to toast the historical society's birthday. In a conversation with...
In an attempt to help improve community communications and devise a better way of letting townspeople know what's going on locally, the Planning Commission is inviting townspeople to assemble to get some ideas - and “is having an ice cream social for the fun aspect of it,” said commission member Michelle Frehsee. The social and meeting, on Friday, June 10, runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Broad Brook Grange, with child care available. “We're just hanging out for...
Next Stage Arts Project will present an “extraordinary” triple bill with Pete Bernhard, MorganEve Swain, and O'Death, on Monday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m., according to a news release. Bernhard is a guitarist and member of the band The Devil Makes Three. He hails from Putney, with a family rife with musicians. Immersed in music, he was drawn to older, traditional blues from a young age, and also studied the style and aesthetics of music traditions like New Orleans R&B...
Since late 2013, Vermont residents have had access to free doses of naloxone, a drug that can reverse the deadly effects of an opiate overdose. But the state's biggest users of naloxone - its ambulance services - have had to pay out of pocket for the increasingly costly drug. That's about to change: A new allocation in the state Health Department's budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 will fund distribution of free naloxone - also known under the...
A large-scale - and specially legislated - solar array atop Brattleboro's old landfill is supposed to bring big financial benefits to 19 towns. But progress on the 5-megawatt project has stalled, and landowner Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD) is talking with solar companies to formulate a “plan B” if current developer Pristine Sun defaults on meeting contractual milestones. District officials say they remain optimistic that the solar array will become reality, and they're hopeful that San Francisco-based Pristine can...
In the summer of 1980, I was a young television news intern standing on the floor of the Democratic National Convention when an emotional Senator Ted Kennedy formally conceded the nomination to President Jimmy Carter. I was back on the convention floor two days later when President Carter accepted the nomination, and although the delegates were dutifully cheering for him, it was clear that many had not fully embraced him as their nominee, and his candidacy felt doomed. Now, 36...
They're going to have to make some room in Holland Gymnasium, for the Bellows Falls Terriers have two more state championship banners to hang. Last Saturday at Green Mountain Union High School, the Bellows Falls girls and boys teams swept the Division III track and field state meet. It was the fourth straight title for the boys, and a big step up from last year's third place finish for the girls. Depth helped the BF girls edge Oxbow, 111-108, to...
Of the many ways school administrators gauge the success of a new program, some are intangible: Are the kids happier? Are they more interested in learning? Some indicators, though, are unmistakably clear. Robert Brooks, a para-educator at the Putney Central School, reflected on the institution's first after-school program, and noted the positive changes he believes it inspired. “Discipline referrals this 2015-16 school year are down by at least 50 percent, and major referrals are down by 80 percent,” Brooks said.
The planned “reinvention” of downtown Brattleboro's Harmony Place isn't an economic development project in the traditional sense: It won't directly create or retain jobs, and it doesn't carry a big price tag or occupy much land. But the project - which includes a park and performance stage - is attracting attention despite its relatively small size. That's partly because Harmony Place will serve as an exclamation point to the $23.6 million redevelopment of Brooks House, the downtown landmark ravaged by...
The West Brattleboro Association (WBA) has put up its new “Welcome to West Brattleboro” signs. These signs are displayed at the borders of the village on Route 9, according to a news release. One is viewable heading west on Western Ave, on the sign post a little past the Creamery Bridge. The other stands at the intersection of Marlboro and Cooke roads, on land owned by the Whetstone Valley Farm. Michael Bosworth of the WBA said in the release that...
My wife and I have been in Vermont since 1977. We filed our 1977 tax returns and paid Vermont tax on what was, at the time, income generated in New Hampshire. We currently live in the same house, we use the same post office box, and our Social Security numbers are the same. The only thing that has changed in 39 years is that our road was given a name when E911 came in to being. We started paying a...
The Putney Mountain Association (PMA) plans to open a new trail network on the southern end of their reserve. The trails - Dine, Hannum, High Road, and Hinton - are located between Holland Hill and Putney Mountain Roads, according to a news release. The official ribbon cutting is Sunday, June 12, at the new Hannum Trail kiosk on Holland Hill at 1 p.m., with light refreshments from 1 to 3 p.m. None of the trails are difficult, and the terrain...
The Vermont Jazz Center will present Eugene Uman's Convergence Project on June 11 at 8 p.m. The Convergence Project is Uman's vehicle to present his original compositions as well as music that has influenced him. The Project includes Michael Zsoldos, saxophones; Jeff Galindo, trombone; Uman, piano; David Picchi, bass (electric and acoustic); and Jon Fisher on drums. There will also be surprise musical guests performing at this event, according to a news release. After spending several years in Colombia, Uman...
Next Stage Arts Project presents Putney Vaudeville, back by popular demand, for a family matinee on Sunday, June 12, at 4 p.m. Putney Vaudeville is the ongoing project of director Rebecca Waxman and musician Peter Siegel (of The Gaslight Tinkers). A showcase for first-class entertainment and community talent that has been delighting Next Stage audiences for two years, the event includes a stellar professional act, a rousing house band, assorted friends and neighbors displaying surprising talents, and good-natured audience engagement,
Marlboro Elementary School staff are planning a rich roster of events for 2016 and 2017 to celebrate the Year of the Book. In March, the Marlboro Elementary School won a $25,000 literacy grant from the Children's Literacy Foundation (CLiF) for the 2016/2017 school year. The “Year of the Book” grant provides funding for literacy programs, events, support, professional development, and new books. Parent Jess Weitz is coordinating the Year of the Book events with Principal Francie Marbury, Rochelle Garfinkel, librarian...
A community is defined by the arts it produces and nourishes; art makes each community unique. The chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Jane Chu, pointed that out on June 2 when she visited Windham County. “When you've seen one community, you've seen one community,” Chu said. Chu enjoys keeping in touch with arts organizations all over the country. Whenever she's going to visit a new place - as she did last week when she gave the commencement...