The Planning Commission is in the midst of updating the Town Plan, and a recent community survey - and a grant from the state - are helping commissioners get there.
Planning Commission Chair Lynn Forrest explained the purpose of a town plan: “It sets the direction the residents want to go in.”
In this document, town officials have a set of expressed recommendations to guide them in such areas as land use, public services such as communications and transportation, environmental protection, economic development, and land conservation.
The town plan helps officials create zoning bylaws, if a town has them, Forrest explained. Newfane's zoning bylaws were revised in 2015.
Enthusiastic Vermont learners in grades 9 through 12 are eligible to apply to one of the 11 fun and intensive summer programs through the Governor's Institutes of Vermont. Applications are now open at www.giv.org/applynow. The Governor's Institutes offer enthusiastic young Vermonters the opportunity to dive into a topic they...
I want to speak directly to the homeless people in our community, and through them, to all homeless people in our state, and across our nation. I am sorry to say, try as we might, that we are letting you down. Thousands of people like you - including women,
Back in 2015, Wells Fargo was caught imposing illegal bank practices on its California customers. The company's tactics included having accounts opened by customers without their permission, while bank employees were instructed by senior management to “do whatever it takes” to meet sales goals by pushing checking account customers into savings, credit, and online accounts that could generate fees. Workers were told to withdraw money from customers' unauthorized accounts to pay Wells Fargo fees and to place customers into collections...
Yes, the climate is in peril, and most of us are too busy to stop and look through the forest. You see, in Vermont, we are protected, somewhat. Our proximity to Canada, always good, gives us a northern edge. Our Northeast Kingdom, in fact, is a world unto itself, teeming with trout, bears, wild and untamed mountains and bogs, and people who inhabit a world of slow living. Down south, in Brattleboro, where I live, we are linked by our...
Landmark College, in partnership with the HollyRod Foundation, will offer a new, full-tuition scholarship for a student diagnosed with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder beginning in the fall 2018 semester. The Landmark College-HollyRod Foundation Scholarship will be available to a first-year or transfer student with ASD who has been accepted to Landmark College; who has demonstrated financial need; and who will be pursuing a bachelor's or associate degree at Landmark College beginning in fall 2018. The award, which will cover tuition...
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has arranged for a shipment of 25 surplus computers to five Vermont Schools through the U.S. Senate's Computers for Schools programs. Overseen by the Senate's Sergeant At Arms, the program was established to offer surplus computers to classrooms across the country. Leahy worked with Vermont Agency of Education officials to identify Vermont schools with the highest needs for computers. They jointly identified five schools, including Bellows Falls Union High School, which have now received five...
Swirl, the clothing and antiques consignment store located at 52 Main St., will soon take its philosophy of reuse one step further. In the beginning of March, the store will move to 90 Main St., the mid-century-style building that formerly housed the Putney Public Library. Swirl owner Lisa Taylor told The Commons she's even keeping the old library shelves for displaying merchandise. “They've been growing on me,” Taylor said. Her boyfriend, Jim Roberto, who is doing renovation and construction to...
Planning has begun for this year's BrattRock - The Brattleboro Youth Rock Festival. Now in its third year, BrattRock's mission is to provide a venue for musical youth from Southern Vermont and the surrounding region to connect, learn, perform, inspire, and be inspired. Participation is free and open to youth under age 20 who are musicians or who have an interest in music or the music industry. BrattRock programs emphasize both educational and performance opportunities. The organization partners with local...
College news • Southern Vermont College Residence Life Advisor Morgan Kaeppel of Vernon returns to the Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Service Center (GBICS) for a community service project. She and other SVC students prepared charts for the different health care services, organized invoices and receipts for the business side of the operation, cleaned and organized the kitchen, helped prep for nutrition education programming, and updated resource lists for the Bennington community. • The following local students received degrees in December...
The Rock River Players present Love Me! a Valentine's Cabaret, Friday, Feb. 9, and Saturday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Newfane Schoolhouse, at the intersection of Dover and Auger Hole roads. Director Annie Landenberger notes that “the cabaret, with deep roots in France and Germany in the early 20th century, has historically been a trend-setting form of entertainment featuring a variety of performance styles for an audience that's typically enjoying from small café tables, which we'll have.”
The Board of Trustees of Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital recently appointed Douglas F. DiVello to the position of chief executive officer, effective Feb. 12. DiVello succeeds Roger Allbee, who announced his plans last July to retire from this position as soon as a successor was hired. DiVello was the CEO at Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, N.Y., from 2012 until May 2017, when the hospital became part of the University of Vermont Health Network. From 2002-2012, he...
I extend sincere thanks to everyone who attended and otherwise supported our holiday programs. Door donations at the 47th Community Messiah Sing on Dec. 2 and the 45th Christmas at Christ Church concerts on Dec. 15 and 16 allow us to contribute to the support of two other local nonprofit organizations. Set at Centre Congregational Church since 1980, the Messiah Sing was rededicated in 2007 as a benefit for the homeless at holiday time. This year's door donations of $2,310...
Sheriff's Office warns of jury duty scam NEWFANE - The Windham County Sheriff's Office says it has received numerous reports that an individual identifying himself as Sergeant John Scott of the Windham County Sheriff's Office is calling Windham County citizens. He tells them there is a warrant for their arrest for failing to show up for jury duty or other offenses. He then attempts to obtain money to pay the fines to clear the warrant. According to the Sheriff's Office,
We may think of Russia as the cold, frozen wasteland of Dr. Zhivago, but the Windham Orchestra's upcoming Russia is “exotic, warm, and fantastical,” according to a news release. The concert, which spotlights richly textured works of two renowned Russian composers, is set for Sunday, Feb. 11, at 3 p.m. at the Latchis Theatre on Main Street. Acknowledging that almost daily news headlines have focused our attention on Russia in recent months, Windham Orchestra Musical Director Hugh Keelan said in...
Many thanks to Adam Grinold and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) for their support of the NorthStar project to decommission Vermont Yankee. Grinold's op-ed raises some excellent points about the importance of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity regarding the redevelopment of the site within the next decade. The Vermont Yankee site has great potential to help rebuild Vernon's economic foundation. The site could house another energy provider, a data center or other job-creating businesses. But until VY is decommissioned, my town's...
As a community-supported agriculture farmer, I frequently find myself educating people about the importance of their decision to support local farms. Our food choices affect everything from the tiny processes that determine the health of our bodies to the health of our communities and the global environment. We vote every day with our food dollars for the kind of lives we want to live and the kind of world we want to live in. But on town meeting day, Dummerston...
After almost a year of researching whether to remain in the Windham Solid Waste Management District, the Selectboard unanimously voted at their Jan. 8 regular meeting to stay put, at least for now. The debate goes back further than last year, though. In November, 2016, some Selectboard members expressed confusion and frustration with the District's budget process and fees. Board Chair Sheila Morse said she didn't believe Guilford was getting enough services in exchange for what it pays the District.
Good day to you, folk of the southern Green Mountains! If you're picking up the paper on its publish date (Wednesday, Feb. 7), it is most assuredly snowing in your neck of the woods. We've got heavy snow on the way this day, with up to a foot or more in some locations in Windham County. In addition, we can expect more light snow on Friday as a Clipper system moves through, then a period of mixed snow and ice...
As the Jan. 29 deadline passed for candidates to declare their intention to run for public office, town clerks in southeast Windham County reported mostly uncontested races and empty spots on ballots. • In Dummerston, the only contested race on the ballot is for one school director position. Jody Normandeau and Bob Thibault are vying to serve the remaining year of a three-year term. The offices with no candidates are lister, auditor, town agent, town grand juror, and two library...
The metaphors that marry wine and love are as various as wine and love themselves: The effervescent giddiness of new love, the structure and power of mature love, the gentle familiarity and soul-friendship that can take root with enduring commitment - each has its analog in a bottle. And wine regions, like people, have personalities - Burgundy, with its delicate mystery; Bordeaux, haughty and aloof (but, finally, to the patient and discerning, warm-hearted); Barolo, its lean Italian cousin, redolent of...
Denise Germon, absentee town clerk and treasurer, has resigned. At the Jan. 31 regular Selectboard meeting, Germon's attorney, Fletcher Proctor, submitted her letter of resignation to Interim Town Manager Chip Stearns, Administrative Assistant Karen Astley, and the three Selectboard members, Steve Hed, Scott Henry, and Josh Laughlin. The Selectboard unanimously voted to accept her resignation. Laughlin thanked Germon for “her service to the town of many years,” and added, “we wish her all the best.” Laughlin read Germon's letter into...
Next Stage Arts Project is thrilled to bring Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez back to Putney by popular demand for an all-out rock 'n' soul concert/dance party on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m, at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill. This dance party will feature the expanded and improved Next Stage dance floor and lighting, part of major recent renovations. Known as “The Beehive Queen” for her outrageous, mile-high hairdo, Ohlman is the current and longtime vocalist with the Saturday...
During a brief special Selectboard meeting on Jan. 30, the Board achieved the final level of their part of the Fiscal Year 2019 planning process when they approved the General Fund budget. The proposed FY19 General Fund Budget includes total revenue and expenditures of $17,575,915. This is an increase of 0.5 percent compared with the FY18 budget. The budget proposal includes an increase of 2.5 percent in staffing and benefits. This includes 1.9 percent pay raises for current staff and...
Friends of Music at Guilford's annual Midwinter Musicale begins at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17, in the sanctuary of Guilford Community Church, 38 Church Dr. Appropriately for Valentine's week, the program is a multimedia consideration of love, as it is woven inevitably through the weft of life and loss, and it includes elements of music, movement, and the spoken word. Last summer, Jessica Gelter, a former trustee and occasional soloist for Friends of Music, proposed performing David Lang's Death...
• Buy good chocolate. Read the ingredients and look for the familiar: cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, organic cane sugar, etc. Remember, the higher percentage of cacao, the darker and less sweet the chocolate. • Keep water, liquids, and steam away from the process! It is always dangerous to melt chocolate in a double boiler because any little burst of steam or water droplet can cause the chocolate to seize. • Never melt chocolate over high heat to avoid graininess and...
On Feb. 1, I attended the raising of the Black Lives Matter flag at Montpelier High School. It seemed like it would be a historic moment, and I wanted to stand in solidarity with this amazing youth-led action. I arrived a bit early and had a chance to observe as others showed up: students from elementary to college age, legislators, school-board members, people from the community and from across the state. I began to feel the impact of the event...
On Saturday, Feb. 10, at 9 a.m., Brooks Memorial Library invites families with children age 2 to 7 to attend a special Valentine's Day event in honor of the life and legacy of local children's author/illustrator Anna Dewdney, creator of the memorable Llama Llama Red Pajama series as well as a number of other beloved children's books. The event, which features Valentine's Day crafts, a visit from Llama Llama, story time and breakfast snacks, takes place on the library's third...
Leo Foy and his wife, Kelly, from Berlin, Vermont, drove out to Missouri last July. “We took about a week, made a little trip out it,” said Foy. The impetus was to pick up four beer-serving tanks, haul them back to Vermont, and set them up in time for the Dec. 15 opening of the Dog River Brewery on Route 302 in Barre. That made Dog River Vermont's newest brewery, though it held the title for less than a month.
Things seem to be coming together for the Brattleboro Colonels girls' hockey team. A 6-6-1 record may not sound that remarkable but, at the end of last week, they ranked fifth in the Division II standings. They got back into the playoff mix and ended a three-game losing streak with a pair of wins last week. On Jan. 31 at Withington Rink, Olivia Romo, Olivia Stent, Axis Balsley-Petraska, Edie Cay, and Jamie Mahoney did all the scoring in a 5-3...
Trumpeter Marquis Hill will appear at the Vermont Jazz Center on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 8 p.m., with his group, the Blacktet, which also features Joel Ross on vibraphone, James Francies on piano, Harish Raghavan on acoustic bass, and Jonathan Pinson on the drums. Hill emerged into the jazz limelight in 2014 after earning the prestigious top prize at the International Thelonious Monk Competition. Leading up to this, his success was gradual and patiently earned - the result of a...
Sometimes I see Cuban history everywhere I look. Sometimes, lately, I just see Cuba. This wet-paper blur on the sidewalk, between a Starbucks and the post office, looks a lot like Cuba in more ways than one. It sits there, with concrete oceans for borders, withstanding assaults from the heavy shoes of predatory capitalists, yet it survives. I take a snapshot of wet-paper Cuba, and later, in a cab, I recall the picture and imagine that it could not have...
Want to leap the big height of Harris Hill, New England's only Olympic-size ski jump? You have to start small. That's why event organizers are joining with the Brattleboro Outing Club to launch a junior training program for boys and girls ages 8 to 13. Before the Interstate or internet, dozens of local students learned the sport on smaller nearby slopes before skyrocketing off the 90-meter hill that's one of just six of its size in the country. But hometown...
As Valentine's Day approaches, the shops are filled with a staggering variety of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and candies. Although the satin-and-ribbon trims offer a promise of deliciousness, too often we find treats that are just a little too sweet or way too light on actual chocolate flavor. In my book, chocolate on chocolate is what Cupid's arrow points toward - and the darker, the better. With a few rules in hand, making chocolate desserts and other delights at home...
Southern Vermont's favorite puppet theater event for young audiences returns for its 11th season of performances, workshops, and school engagements. Sandglass Theater's Winter Sunshine Series kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., with two public performances at Sandglass Theater on Kimball Hill. Punch and Judy On Ice celebrates the season with a story of the world's most well-preserved puppet character. In this ever-evolving saga by Modern Times Theater, Mr. Punch is trying to beat the...
The Brattleboro Union High School Music Department presents the musical, Man of La Mancha, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Feb. 15, 16, and 17, in the BUHS Auditorium. Man of La Mancha, written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, tells the tale of failed playwright, poet, and tax collector Miguel de Cervantes. While awaiting a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition, Cervantes presents a play as his defense in a mock trial for the...
One reason Paul Costello and I talked recently is that his nonprofit - the Vermont Council on Rural Development - is working with communities on a new economic-development initiative: climate change. For the past several years, VCRD's Climate Economy Initiative has proceeded, according to its website, “with the premise that confronting climate change through innovative economic development can be a competitive strategy, one that will build national reputation, create jobs, and attract youth and entrepreneurism.” Costello, who lives in Montpelier,