Issue #472
Full throated
The award-winning Alash Ensemble is bringing their remarkable musical traditional back to Brattleboro.
Alash is a throat singing band from Tuva that performs traditional Tuvan music (albeit with some nontraditional influences). The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center will present this captivating music on Friday, Aug. 17, at 8 p.m., when this trio will give a concert in the museum's Wolf Kahn & Emily Mason Gallery.
Make no mistake: This attack on our free press — your free press — is deliberate and calculated.
When our free press does its job, the president protects himself by blaming the messenger. That is not only wrong. It’s also un-American.
A conversation about the news media in our politics and our society - good, bad, and in between - should be a healthy exercise for those of us who care about the United States of America, where freedom of the press is enshrined as a core and precious pillar...
Pots and puzzles: Artists plan open-house sale, puzzle party
Fabric artist Carlene Raper and potter Teta Hilsdon team up for a fun open house and sale with Raper's puzzles, quilts, and pillows and Hilsdon's dinnerware. Raper's home becomes a special place to shop and play on Sunday, Aug. 19, from noon to 5 p.m., at 62 Spruce St.
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Newspaper killed Jerome candidacy
In your recent issue you have this front-page story, next to a photo of a roundtable of candidates at the library, without Cindy Jerome - and a long letter, “Candidate Jerome: Implications about Holton Home finances unfounded.” For all intents and purposes, you have killed Cindy Jerome's candidacy, not to mention smeared her reputation and integrity. I do not know Cindy Jerome. Never met her, don't know the first thing about her. All I know is this concentrated fire of...
Samirah Evans, Trailer Park hold ‘Leo Party’ at Stone Church
Samirah Evans invites all astrological signs to her traditional “Leo Party” celebration at the Stone Church in Brattleboro at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18. Evans and Trailer Park have been joining forces of late and finding it to be a winning combination of infectious dance music, including New Orleans R&B, rock, blues, and originals from their respective repertoires. Trailer Park first backed Samirah for a Mardi Gras celebration at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls, Mass., and the show's...
Main Street Arts to hold auditions for two musicals
Main Street Arts will hold combined open auditions for their next two musical theater productions - Chicago and Charles Henry's Final Curtain - on Thursday, Aug. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 35 Main St. in Saxtons River. Those interested in auditioning should bring something prepared to sing, along with the sheet music for the music director, who will accompany performers. Attendees may be asked to read from a...
Archeological study should document Native American past at paper mill site
It is undoubtedly sad to see the Robertson Paper Mill torn down for some future development, but all things must pass. I have a long tie to the building going back to the 1960s, when my father was vice president of the company. I spent many Saturdays running through the factory on steel walkways while ancient presses were running full speed, wax and ink were in the air, and Dickens lurked just behind the corner. It was a very busy...
WOOL Radio throws 13th annual block party
On Aug. 18, the all-volunteer community-owned radio station WOOL will host its 13th annual celebration at the Waypoint Interpretive Center in Bellows Falls with food, drinks, and live music from returning local heroes Ninja Monkey and up-and-comers Debbie and the Downers. Founded in 2004, Great Falls Community Broadcasting Company put radio station WOOL on the air and gave it a boost in power 10 years later to become one of the most powerful independent, community-owned radio stations in New England.
Around the Towns
Town seeks to fill vacancies on boards BRATTLEBORO - The Town of Brattleboro is looking for citizens to serve on the following committees and boards: Agricultural Advisory Board, Arts Committee, Citizen Police Communications Committee, Conservation Commission, Design Review Committee (Alternate), Development Review Board (Alternate), Energy Committee, Energy Coordinator, Inspector of Lumber, Shingles & Wood, Planning Commission, Senior Solutions Advisory Council, Traffic Safety Committee (Chamber of Commerce Representative), and Weigher of Coal. Applications and more information about various committees and boards...
Milestones
Obituaries • Donna Marie Burgoyne, 75, of Brattleboro. Died Aug. 8, 2018 at Pine Heights Nursing Home, following a brief illness. Born in Brattleboro on Oct. 12, 1942, the daughter of Faheem John and Blanche (Burgoyne) Ziter, she was raised and educated in Brattleboro and was a proud graduate of St. Michael's High School, Class of 1960. She had been employed as a switchboard operator at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital for 13 years, retiring in 1992. For a number of years,
ATP presents staged reading of ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’
Actors Theatre Playhouse will present a staged reading of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, the latest work by American playwright Christopher Durang, on two Saturdays: Aug. 18 and Aug. 25. Tickets are $8 and may be reserved at www.Atplayhouse.org or by calling 877-666-1855. Among other honors, the play won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award in 2013 for Best Play, and it is the most-produced play coast-to-coast for the past two years. In a news release,
At swimming holes, the human waste has to go somewhere
I need to speak up about the obvious negligence in regard to human waste on the part of the state or whatever towns are responsible for the hugely popular swimming holes on the Rock River and West River. We have wickedly hot days that drive people to use these natural assets, then voluminous rainstorms flush them out repeatedly. I have spoken with people who have gotten waste on their bodies while frequenting this riparian zone. Even if the tests that...
Women poised to surge to political power
A welcome phenomenon is sweeping the country: a long-oppressed group is coming to the fore and shaping more progressive contours in the political landscape. And I'm not talking about African-Americans, whose women in the deep-red state of Alabama unexpectedly elected a progressive senator over a traditional, morally tarnished right-winger. I'm talking about women of every color and age across America who are supporting their progressive sisters, putting many of them in office while running themselves, e.g., Cynthia Nixon, Zephyr Teachout,
BMH owes an apology
Tamara Stenn's story of what happened to her father-in-law at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital should leave every reader and resident of the greater Brattleboro area stunned, outraged, and deeply worried. It should also make every staff person responsible for the travesty that occurred, from the CEO down, deeply ashamed and fully committed to making sure this kind of thing never happens again. It is unbelievable and totally unacceptable that a 99-year-old emergency-room patient with two broken arms, on pain meds that...
VY completes another decommissioning milestone
As a former employee at Vermont Yankee, I take great interest in hearing the updates on the decommissioning status of the facility. Last week's news announcement that Vermont Yankee's spent fuel has been completely transferred from the spent-fuel pool into dry-cask storage is excellent news for the plant community and Vermont Yankee's future. Vermont Yankee has completed another key milestone toward decommissioning and has done so within budget and well ahead of schedule. I'm hopeful that the sale is approved...
Brattleboro plans more ways to pay more for parking
By the new year, you can expect more ways to pay for parking downtown. It will also cost you more. A complete overhaul of the town's parking system will involve replacing 196 parking meters and installing 15 new kiosks. A parking discussion at the Aug. 7 regular Selectboard meeting that lasted well over an hour resulted in four motions. All advanced the proposal to replace the town's meters and pay-and-display machines with “smart meters” and kiosks that will accept coins,
In-Sight Photography Project to get new home
In-Sight Photography Project capped its 25th anniversary year with the April 5 purchase of a new home and is well on the way to successfully executing a $500,000 capital campaign to complete the acquisition and renovation of its brand new arts and education facility at 183 Main St. Now, according to a news release, In-Sight says it is working to convert the former Mocha Joe's coffee roasting facility into a 3,300-square-foot arts education and gallery facility with more space to...
For people with disabilities, it’s not about free parking, it’s about parking
A community member recently presented concerns to the Selectboard over issues of making the downtown area more accessible to people with disabilities. Robin Scudder told board members that she was present to represent her concerns. Those concerns, she said, are echoed by the town's ADA Advisory Committee, which acts as a liaison among the business community, and residents with disabilities, and town government over compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. At the Selectboard's Aug. 7 meeting, Scudder talked...
Looking for networks
How's your internet connection? Slow? Spotty? If you answered, “What internet connection?” you're not alone. According to data provided by Broadband Now, a company that collects internet service provider and connectivity data nationwide and breaks it down by state and region, Windham County is underserved. Only 7.3 percent of homes here have access to broadband speeds of 1 gigabit of data per second, compared with just over 14 percent statewide. Broadband Now rates Vermont as the 31st most connected state,
Biss joins Uchida as co-artistic director of Marlboro Music
Christopher Serkin, chair and president of Marlboro Music, announced that the board of trustees has appointed pianist Jonathan Biss to join Mitsuko Uchida as co-artistic director of the revered retreat. Serkin, the grandson of Marlboro Music founder Rudolf Serkin, said in a news release that Biss's appointment as co-artistic director “marks the next important evolution at Marlboro. He has the musical integrity that is the hallmark of our community, a 20-year history of participation at Marlboro to maintain a sense...
More sun mixes in, but humidity, showery periods to persist
Good day to you, southeastern denizens of the Green Mountain State! We are certainly being forced to endure a persistent humid, showery and thundery pattern for this summer of 2018. What began earlier on in the season as a building drought situation has quickly swung to the other end of the spectrum with way more moisture than required, or wanted, in our neck of the woods. While I think we will see more in the way of sunshine over the...
For one political newcomer, a long wait on election night
As the tired revelers at the Putney Diner waited for the last of the Windham-4 House district results, a call came in to Laura Chapman's cell phone at 11:32 p.m. It was Rep. Mike Mrowicki, calling from the polls at the Putney Fire Station. He informed Chapman, Nader Hashim's campaign strategist, that all the votes were tallied. The Putney numbers brought the final totals of the two-seat district, which also includes Dummerston and Westminster, to 1,210 for Mrowicki, 1,076 for...
Hallquist faces Scott for governor in November
Vermont voters made history on Aug. 14, as Christine Hallquist of Hyde Park won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Hallquist, the former CEO of the Vermont Electric Co-op, became the nation's first openly transgender woman to win the gubernatorial nomination for a major political party. She will now face Republican incumbent Phil Scott in the general election on Nov. 6. “I am so proud to be the face of the Democratic Party tonight,” said Hallquist to a cheering crowd that jammed...
Printmakers are featured in new MGFA exhibit
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main St., presents Voices, a selection of Zea Mays printmakers. The exhibit will feature selected works by Judith Bowerman, Lyell Castonguay, Liz Chalfin, Sarah Creighton, Anita Hunt, Lynn Peterfreund, Erika Radich, and Joyce Silverstone. The artists employ various printmaking techniques, including monotype, collagraph, drypoint, etching, and woodcut. The exhibition opens Thursday, Aug. 16, at 5 p.m., with an Artist Reception on Saturday, Aug. 18, from 5 to 7 p.m. An Artist Talk will take place Saturday,
Kornheiser defeats Stuart, a four-term incumbent
Voters in Windham County had several contested primary races to vote in in the Aug. 14 Democratic primary. And the Windham 2-1 House district that encompasses West Brattleboro saw a big win for newcomer Emile Kornheiser, who defeated four-term incumbent Valerie Stuart, 589 to 227. Kornheiser will be running unopposed on the Nov. 6 ballot. Speaking at her victory party at American Legion Post 5, Kornheiser thanked her supporters. “We turned out more people for a primary than we have...
Tenney Field’s grandstand now a state historic landmark
We've just completed another high school, Babe Ruth, and American Legion season in Brattleboro with the grandstand at Tenney Field closed to spectators. This season when I've been at the field, I have heard many fans, both local and out-of-town, frequently asking why the grandstand is still closed. The answer is a long-running battle between Brattleboro Union High School District #6, the owners of the field, and a small group of local fans that want to see a piece of...
Electronic art center 2.0
As he relocates it to his home studio in West Brattleboro, Michael Moyse hopes to jump start the innovative art center he founded more than two decades ago with a free workshop. On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 18 and 19, The Center for Digital Art (with support from C.X. Silver Gallery) is hosting an intensive exploration of digital arts at 81 Pleasant Valley Rd. The event is a collaboration between Moyse and Chinese video artist Le Xi. The two-day program...