I was seriously shocked and saddened by the cover of the Voices section this week.
Were you aware that Jessica Mack's rant about a local business had been debated and responded to on Facebook over a three-to-four-day period? And that the signs were put up by an employee, not the owners, and were taken down immediately once the owners realized people felt they were in bad taste?
Also, the signs had nothing to do with homelessness and everything to do with local businesses fed up with being on the front lines of the opioid epidemic in this town.
All that was revealed on Facebook; did you see it?...
Grace Cottage Hospital has been named a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital for “Best Practice - Patient Satisfaction.” The National Rural Health Association has chosen Grace Cottage for this exclusive “Top 20” list out of all 1,339 CAH facilities throughout the U.S. It is the only CAH in the...
Covered bridge is fixed, but ant damage is found DUMMERSTON - Construction on the covered bridge spanning the West River is complete. “That went well,” Roads Foreman Lee Chamberlin told Selectboard members at the April 12 regular Board meeting. Renaud Brothers finished the work early in the week of...
Despite its being a cold, overcast, and rainy Saturday morning, citizens and corporate sponsors throughout Vermont participated in Green Up Day on May 6. The local turnout was a bit smaller than in the past, but coordinators and volunteers at two Brattleboro Green Up sites expressed contentment with the ways in which the event was a success. “Obviously, every day should be Green Up Day,” Robin Rieske said with a laugh. Rieske, a certified prevention consultant for the Vermont Department...
The Bellows Falls Village Annual Meeting Day is May 15 in the Bellows Falls Opera House at 7 p.m. Warned Articles 4 and 5 surely need taxpayers' attention. Something alarming has happened to the village annual budget in terms of the fund balance, and the now urgent need to replenish that fund, given Article 5's request for an additional $58,000 to be levied toward that end. Ask each of our elected trustees to explain where the money went. They are...
The Brattleboro Concert Choir presents four exciting works from composers who will awaken audiences' thoughts and touch their hearts. “Sanctuary” will be performed at the Centre Congregational Church on Main Street on Saturday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 21, at 4 p.m. The program will benefit Vermont Migrant Justice, according to a news release. The Concert Choir, led by Music Director Susan Dedell, will be joined by a string orchestra and special guest Karen Guthrie at the...
Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire will host “Care For a Dance,” a contradance benefit for home care and hospice on Saturday, May 13, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, 10 Vernon St. The fun-filled evening will raise money to help support VNH and the many programs and services the organization provides to over 160 Vermont and New Hampshire communities, according to a news release. In addition to dancing, attendees will...
Citing financial problems, a partner in the proposed cleanup of Vermont Yankee has suspended its plans for a high-level nuclear-waste storage facility in Texas. But that development apparently won't jeopardize Waste Control Specialists' role in the accelerated decommissioning of the shut-down Vernon nuclear plant. That's because Waste Control Specialists still will be able to accept and dispose of the majority of radioactive waste at Vermont Yankee. Anything beyond that was never part of the decommissioning plan here, said Scott State...
The United Way of Windham County invites the public to “Handbags for HOPE,” on Thursday, May 25, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., at the VFW on Black Mountain Road. The “fun, ladies night out,” will feature a silent and live auction with local personality Jean Gilbert as auctioneer according to a news release. Appetizers and desserts will be provided by Hardy Foard Catering, Top Tier Baking Co., and Vermont Country Deli, with a cash bar available. Handbags for HOPE will...
Brattleboro taxes due May 15 BRATTLEBORO - The fourth installment of the 2016 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on May 15 by 5 p.m. Payments made after May 15 will have an additional 1 percent interest, as well as an 8 percent penalty added to the unpaid balance. The utility billing is also due on May 15 by 5 p.m. Payments made after May 15 will also have an additional 1 percent interest, as well as...
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Community College of Vermont are launching an accelerated program to prepare qualified candidates for jobs as certified medical assistants. Enrollment in the one-semester program will be limited to 20 participants. Classes will be held on the CCV Brattleboro campus, and all clinical aspects of the course work will be completed at the hospital. As part of the joint initiative, BMH is providing full scholarships for eight successful applicants to the program. Scholarship recipients will have their...
On Sunday, May 14, two of Vermont's favorite acoustic duos will take the stage at the historic Jamaica Town Hall on Main Street for a Sunday afternoon concert. The bands, Shady Rill and Acousticrush, will fill the Hall with old-time traditional music and new original folk tunes. The show starts at 4:30 p.m. Refreshments provided. Tickets are $10 at the door. According to a news release, Shady Rill features musicians Tom MacKenzie and Patti Casey playing everything from French Canadian...
New England Youth Theatre's Theatre Adventure presents: The Princess and The Goblin, May 17-19, at 10:30 a.m, at the West Village Meeting House, 29 South St. A special “sensory friendly” performance will be held on the May 17. The Theatre Adventure Wednesday Troupe brings to life this classic fairy tale, originally written in 1872 by George MacDonald and adapted by Carol Lawson in 1941, and NEYT's Theatre Adventure in 2011. An ever-present Great Great Grandmother, a doting nursemaid, a devoted...
College news • Castleton University student Cassidy Yrsha of Londonderry was recently selected to present at the annual Castleton Scholars Celebration: A Showcase of Original Student Work. The annual celebration gives the university the opportunity to showcase the rich variety of students' scholarly and creative endeavors at Castleton across academic departments and programs. Each presentation arose from course assignments, capstone experiences, and independent study programs, all supported and guided by faculty mentors. • Elias Park of Wilmington, an undergraduate student...
On Thursday, May 11, the children of the Westminster Schools, the Marigold Mornings Preschool Program, and the area's homeschooled children will be treated to a storytelling event from Duncan McDougall and will be given brand-new books to keep. This event is sponsored by the Children's Literacy Foundation (CLiF) through a grant won by the Westminster West Public Library with the help of the Community Education Support Committee of the Westminster Community School Board. According to a news release, there will...
Rock River Players present The Shadow People, an old-time radio drama Friday, May 12, at 7 p.m., at Williamsville Hall on Dover Road. In a news release, director Debbi Reed-Savory says “The Hall of Fantasy was a series of radio dramas dedicated to scaring the living daylights out of its listeners.” The Shadow People by Richard Thorne aired in the early 1950s with professional sound effects and cast. “The Rock River Players' chilling version will be more of a journey...
Tearing down Vermont Yankee could produce more than 2.1 million cubic feet of crushed concrete. And new documents show that more than half of that concrete - 1.1 million cubic feet - might be buried on site as part of a “rubblization” plan developed by NorthStar Group Services, the company that wants to buy the shut-down Vernon nuclear plant. Both NorthStar and current plant owner Entergy pledge that only clean concrete will be used as fill. And administrators are touting...
For many, the jury's still out on whether a New York company can or should decommission Vermont Yankee. But Vernon's elected leaders have made up their minds. The town's Selectboard recently voted unanimously to urge the state Public Service Board to approve the former nuclear plant's sale to NorthStar Group Services. Officials also sent a letter to the state to formalize the support of the plant's host town. Town officials wrote that they are “confident in the company's ability to...
I think most folks in Brattleboro are not as despicable and uncaring as this piece alleged. Nor as extraordinarily self-righteous as the author. And the decent, hard-working family who own the Turquoise Grille didn't deserve the public lynching.
Police-Fire Facilities update BRATTLEBORO - At the May 2 regular Selectboard meeting, Police Chief Michael Fitzgerald and Fire Chief Michael Bucossi both gave a thumbs-up to the progress made on the police and fire facilities. Town Manager Peter B. Elwell reported on the current status of the work at the future police station at 62 Black Mountain Rd., and the rehab of the Central Fire Station on Elliot Street. Extensive interior projects at the police station continue. In the next...
Company of Muses and Brattleboro School of Dance present Earth Dances at the New England Youth Theatre the weekend of May 19-21. The theme of this year's spring concert celebrates the woodlands that are part of the New England landscape, says Mucuy Bolles, a member of the Brattleboro School of Dance faculty making her debut as the artistic director for the annual showcase of students. “Through movement, we can provoke further awareness concerning the relationship each one of us has...
The next Wardsboro Curtain Call event is the dance party with The Wyld Nightz Band on Friday, May 19. Admission is $10 at the door; this includes a pasta supper, so doors will open at 6 p.m. Music begins at 7 p.m. at Wardsboro Town Hall on Main Street. The Wyld Nightz Band is a Brattleboro favorite, formed more than 10 years ago. Founding members Michael McKinney (guitar, trumpet, vocals) and Jeff Brewer (guitar, vocals) work to emphasize dance music...
On a Facebook page last weekend, I read about the Turquoise Grille putting up signs and how angry people were. I then met with the owners of the café, contacted a few people who were so angry, and immediately facilitated a meeting with the owners and the people who were so upset. The meeting was interesting, everyone understood one another's points, apologies were made, friendships were born, and we moved on with our lives. Then a long piece was printed...
Upon death, your property passes into the estate, unless it was in trust or jointly owned. The probate process determines how that property is to be distributed. This process has its benefits and its costs. Probate provides a forum in which a family can air concerns and work out differences. But it can also aggravate those issues, taking time and money before the matter is resolved. Many estate planning attorneys assist their clients to avoid probate altogether, if possible -
I sat down with Turquoise Grille owners Declan O'Donnell and Hale Kiziltan; we talked about the issue, sharing feelings on both sides. I have been homeless and I have fought addiction, so for me the signs triggered feelings that I hadn't had in many years. After talking this through and learning about one another's feelings, we came to an understanding about several things. I truly believe that there was no ill-will meant toward those dealing with being addicted and homeless.
With the first three months of Donald J. Trump's presidency in the books, three aides who work for Vermont's Congressional delegation offered a bit of short-term optimism on May 3 about what might happen to critical federal programs under the Trump adminstration. At a forum at Landmark College presented by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp.'s Southern Vermont Economy Project, the overriding theme was for Vermonters to not panic over proposed cuts to programs that aid rural communities. “There are a...
After learning of a grant recipient's pending closure, Vermont officials are seeking ways to strengthen the Windham County Economic Development Program. The changes will be aimed at making it easier to “recapture” state funding if a receiving company subsequently leaves the state as Bellows Falls-based Vermed reportedly is planning to do. “You can't foresee every situation, [but] we're trying to make sure everybody's covered,” said Fred Kenney, executive director of the Vermont Economic Progress Council. The Windham County Economic Development...
An anti-nuclear group is asking the state Public Service Board to reject several key requests made by the company that wants to buy Vermont Yankee. In a motion filed May 5, Brattleboro-based New England Coalition argued that several elements of NorthStar Group Services' decommissioning plan - including a controversial proposal to bury concrete on site - shouldn't be considered as part of the Public Service Board's current deliberations. The coalition is arguing that NorthStar is improperly attempting to get out...
Months after former Town Energy Coordinator Paul Cameron resigned from the position and returned to his home state of North Carolina, the Selectboard unanimously passed a resolution on May 2 recognizing him for his efforts. The Board also appointed a new Energy Coordinator. Cameron, who served the town for 14 years, left the position in September 2016. In 2003, Cameron co-founded the nonprofit Brattleboro Climate Protection and shortly thereafter began working with the town to address the energy efficiency and...
It wasn't exactly with a stroke of the pen, but on May 2, in a unanimous voice vote, the five members of the Selectboard declared the town “compassionate.” Brattleboro is now a Compassionate City as articulated in the Charter for Compassion. What does this mean? And what are the town's responsibilities? These are questions Town Manager Peter B. Elwell and his staff researched to help the Selectboard prepare for their vote on the resolution. During the winter months leading up...
On May 1, George Harvey, Tom Finnell, and I drove over the foggy Green Mountains to Bennington to attend a Public Service Board hearing on proposed new regulations for wind power in Vermont. The new rules would set a noise standard of 42 decibels (dB) during the day and 35 dB at night. They would also establish minimum setback distances of 10 times a turbine's height, so a 300-foot-tall turbine would have to be 3,000 feet from the nearest property...
We thank all who attended our recent production, Voices, and made the benefit such a success. Our goal is to keep Voices going as a concept and an ensemble, focused on using word, music, and image to convey a message of inclusiveness and authentic expression in a very difficult political time. During the course of production, we became aware that the venue we had chosen, the Hooker-Dunham Theater, is not accessible to people with physical disabilities. The theater itself is...
In 1995, my husband and I moved to Dummerston, pregnant with our first child and dreaming of the good life. We had bought a parcel of land that was too expensive for our modest budget, but it was perfect for the solar- and wind-powered home we planned on building. Located at the top of a hill, in a class 7 wind site, with south-facing solar exposure and an open field, we had the ideal location to use the complementary technologies...
Good day to you! We're having a slow start to spring this year as a trough in the east has caused a return to unseasonably cool conditions, which brought some recent frosts and even snow showers to southeastern Vermont. While there are signs of at least a brief warm up by the middle of next week, we have another several days of cooler-than-average conditions to get through, including the potential for a rather rainy Mother's Day 2017. So let's jump...
Mark Twain must have been predicting our 2017 New England spring when he said, “In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” While the chilly temperatures and general lack of sunshine might have held spring back, plants in my garden are about two weeks ahead of their usual timetable. The Korean Spice viburnum, with its heavenly fragrance, can normally be counted on to bloom around Mother's Day, but it has been in bloom...
The Brattleboro Women's Chorus presents their annual spring concert “Sing, My Sister” on Mother's Day, May 14, at 4 p.m., at the Latchis Theatre. Under the direction of founder/conductor Becky Graber, 90 local women sing uplifting songs about perseverance, courage, hope, and the power of singing. They will be joined by five exceptional local musicians: Cathy Martin on piano; Julian Gerstin, Lisa Newell, and Ben James on percussion; and Lisa McCormick on guitar and banjo as well as with her...
On Friday, May 19, Groundworks Collaborative will host the fifth annual “Camp for a Common Cause” on the Brattleboro Common. This fund- and awareness-raising event has been a great success each year since it began in 2013 as a collaborative fundraiser to support both Morningside Shelter and the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center. The two organizations went on to merge in June 2015 to form Groundworks Collaborative. All funds raised through Camp for a Common Cause support Groundworks' efforts to house...
Singer-songwriters Lucy Wainwright Roche and Suzzy Roche have devised a special way to celebrate this Mother's Day. They're giving a concert. “That at least guarantees that we'll be together for the weekend - on stage,” says Wainwright Roche, who is known for her crystal clear voice and straightforward, funny stage presence. Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche are a mother-daughter duo whose most recent CD, Mud and Apples, was released in 2016. Their previous CD, Fairytale and Myth, was the...
Panhandling is a polarizing issue. Charitable giving is a personal, sometimes private, topic that strikes chords in many realms: religious, political, practical, moral, economic, philosophical, philanthropic. When requests for charity approaches us on the street in the form of panhandling, it can be disquieting for many. Giving money to panhandlers is a personal choice, one that does not have a right or wrong response, even though many of us are confronted daily with the question in the public forum of...
The second season of Interscholastic Unified Basketball, a partnership between Special Olympics Vermont and the Vermont Principals' Association, wraps up this week, and the Brattleboro Colonels have made it to the final four. Brattleboro earned the South's top seed with a 4-1 regular season record to secure the home court advantage through the finals. The Colonels hosted No. 8 seed Leland & Gray in a first-round game at the BUHS gym on May 2, and came away with a 46-38...
The Vermont Theatre Company's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Rachel Sheinkin, concludes its two-week run this weekend at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center. The show is a musical comedy that tells the story of an eclectic group of six quirky youngsters (overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves) who vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime at the fictional Putnam...
Derrick Harnish has just been selected to represent the state of Vermont in the northeast regional Youth of the Year competition in New York City this summer. He will compete against other Boys & Girls Club members from 14 northeast states for the title of the Northeast Regional Youth of the Year and an additional $10,000 scholarship. As the Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro, Harnish is among hundreds of local youth across the...
Although plans for the Putney Road Improvement Project haven't taken as long as the Brattleboro-Hinsdale Bridge re-do, many locals wonder if this is another grand idea that may never happen. Will it be like New York City's Second Avenue subway, which officially opened on New Year's Day, 2017 - 100 years after its inception? Or, will the dream of near-seamless travel up and down Brattleboro's busy northern strip actually come true? It's hard to say right now, because the project...