In the town's villages of Brookside, South Newfane, and Williamsville, “cars [are] speeding through without slowing down, and you have a recipe for a fatality.”
That's according to Annie Landenberger, a member of a group of residents in the three villages who are working with the Planning Commission as “traffic-calming liaisons” to the Selectboard.
At their Oct. 15 meeting, Selectboard members responded favorably, with the town agreeing to purchase a second mobile speed cart, a device that measures the speeds of oncoming cars and displays the information to drivers. The town has asked the Vermont State Police to increase patrols.
But the more complicated measures the group discussed to address the speeding will come more slowly.
Vermonters are capable of choice; they make excellent choices from many thousands of options daily, and they benefit from their ability to select one from multiple alternatives. VPR, Vermont PBS, WCAX, VtDigger.org, and all the rest of the debate hosts have no right to keep candidates from competing and...
The Neighborhood Schoolhouse invites families to celebrate the magical side of the Halloween season for the eighth year in a row. The school will host its annual Enchanted Halloween event from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28, on the school’s campus on Solar Hill at 231 Western...
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center invites kids of all ages to share their creative talents with the world by taking part in three programs offered by the Museum this fall: Glasstastic for imaginative artists in grades K-6, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for talented Vermonters in grades 7-12, and BMAC's 11th Annual Lego Contest & Exhibit for creative types of all ages. More information and guidelines for each program are available at www.brattleboromuseum.org. A celebration of imagination and...
On Sept. 17, the Strolling of the Heifers' Farm-To-Table Culinary Apprenticeship program graduated its latest class of students. According to a news release, this group of graduates have enjoyed their apprenticeship at such establishments as Against the Grain, True North Granola, Brattleboro Food Co-op, Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery, Turning Point, and Loaves and Fishes. Strolling of the Heifers' Farm-to-Table Culinary Apprenticeship program is free to participants who meet income and employment status qualifications, including veterans. It includes classroom time,
In an effort to recognize inspired, positive action happening every day in the community, Greater Falls Connections announced that both Bonnie Anderson and Hailee Galandak-Cochran have earned the 2018 Active Community Engagement Award. According to a news release, recipients of this award are the unsung heroes within our community who foster positive change and are dedicated to creating safe, healthy, and fun options for youth, families, and the community at large. The awards were presented by the staff members of...
Strolling of the Heifers' successful farm and food business accelerator, Windham Grows, is in full swing with its third cohort. The current group of entrepreneurs, who started the program in July, are from all over the Northeast. In its first 18 months, Windham Grows mentored 13 Windham County businesses. The combined scale of the program's first phase equates to the 13th largest employer in the county with 150 employees, over $500,000 in outside investments, and 30 new jobs to the...
Local residents wishing to rid their homes of old cleaners under the sink or automotive fluids in the garage can gather up their household hazardous wastes and bring them to Windham Solid Waste Management District's annual hazardous waste collection event. Collections will be held on Oct. 27, from 8 a.m. until noon, at the Readsboro Central School on Phelps Lane in Readsboro and at the WSWMD headquarters on Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro. The collection is open to residents, businesses,
The so-called president and his merry gang of thieves want us all to believe the economy is booming and that trickle-down economics is lifting all citizens. Some say that the drug crisis and the lack of affordable housing, as well as stagnating wages, will be improved by this great economic situation, but it only appears to be getting worse. All of these crises could be alleviated with a fraction of the money being showered on the wealthiest Americans through tax...
I am so excited that Sara Coffey made the decision to run and then threw all her considerable energy and talent into the race. I have known Sara since she first moved to Guilford in 2006, and I have been so impressed by the enthusiasm and hard work she has brought to all that she's done for our town. She not only brought the Vermont Performance Lab to town but also became a key volunteer for the Grange - putting...
The Brattleboro Winter Farmers' Market will open the 2018 season on Saturday, Nov. 3, in a new location. Having outgrown the old location, the Winter Farmers' Market is looking forward to welcoming market-goers to the C.F. Church Building at 80 Flat St. in downtown Brattleboro. In a news release, market organizers say this new location offers free, convenient parking, better accessibility, and a more spacious indoor space for a market that is easier to navigate for customers and vendors alike.
Addressing the old and new problems we face requires energy, creativity, intelligence, and a fresh perspective. We need new ideas; not business as usual. Younger people, women, people of color, and those with other diverse qualities have the best shot at bringing something new to the table. Kudos to Patrick Gilligan, the young man who is running for Vernon and Guilford's state representative. It's really nice to see a young voice speak out. Although I'm pleased to see Patrick getting...
Stone Church Center in Bellows Falls is expanding its music and retreat offerings to include a monthly film series. Stone Church Films, a program of Stone Church Arts, will present films in high definition on a broad range of subjects, including art, classics, dance, music, the planet, society, spirituality, and theater. Films will be screened in the Chapel at Immanuel Episcopal Church, the stone church on the hill, 20 Church St. Stone Church Film is also a film society with...
It was great and courageous of Deb Luskin to speak out. The more she tells her story, the fewer tears will roll out. I have already seen an uncomfortable change in VPR policy, but this is just terrible. There is no defensible reason why Luskin should not have done her story on the statewide station. Absolutely none. All thinking Vermont folks are proud of her and support her.
Let's be honest: the human touch corrupts all political systems to one degree or another. Take communism, defined as a communal form of governance and ownership, which results in a classless society of equals. Sounds great, in theory. Contrast that with the infamous reign of Stalin, whose form of communism resulted in the bloodbath executions, forced labor, and starvation of millions of Russians - quite a stark contrast to Marx's Communist Manifesto. Our form of government, a democratic republic (or,
Thank you, Sherri Keefe, for your efforts to protect others from predation and abuse. It takes such courage to stand alone in the face of all you're enduring when you tell your story. Much love and support to you.
Thank you, Deb Luskin. It took guts to write this. And thank you to The Commons for publishing. I am hopeful for change. I pray we can all be kinder to each other in the midst of these revelations.
The reason kids don't listen to adults is because they spout off statistics that are completely false, like this one: “Prior to the 1980s, the potency of THC in most marijuana hovered around 1.37 percent. Now, potency of THC is almost 30 percent,” a quote attributed to Hanako Jones. First off, yes, the quality and potency of pot has increased a lot, mainly due to the fact that it isn't being smuggled in from cartels in Colombia anymore; since the...
A gathering of current and past Putney Craft Tour members will celebrate the tour's 40th year on Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m., at the Putney Public Library. Along with friends and neighbors, stories and memorabilia from the fascinating early years of the tour to the present will be shared. More than 100 artisans and artists have been part of the tour and many will be at the library celebration reminiscing about the life of the tour and their own personal...
It's so important that survivors be able to share in as much specificity as they want to. Thanks to Deb Luskin for sharing your story and the story of your silencing. How awful and frustrating. In that spirit, I think it's important to know that the #MeToo movement did not start last year or focus on workplace harassment but was founded by African American activist Tarana Burke in 2006 to give voice to girls' and women's broad experiences of interpersonal...
Readers, imagine, as you read this letter, that you have been accused of doing something terrible 30 years ago, or longer. Imagine yourself and your family undergoing national scrutiny by people who do not even personally know you but are taking the accuser's side. Imagine your accuser insists repeatedly it was you who committed the crime. Imagine that the accusation will affect your entire life and maybe even cost you a job or career. This is a horror many of...
One of the great things about our U.S. political process is that it brings forth exceptional individuals willing to serve their communities. Such is the case with Sara Coffey, who has stepped forward to run as state representative for Windham-1, serving the residents of Vernon and Guilford. I first met Sara years ago when we were volunteering at the Broad Brook Grange's sugar-on-snow supper. Since then, I have observed her engagement in many community programs, including her leading role in...
Greater Falls Warming Shelter will begin its 10th season of operation Thursday, Nov. 15, when the 10-bed shelter opens again at 23 Church St. in North Walpole, N.H. “We are already aware of a number of people who will be looking to us for shelter as the days get colder,” GFWS chair Louise Luring said in a news release. “If weather predictions are correct, it will be a long, hard, snowy winter that will drive more people to our doors.”
The word “sordid” only begins to describe the reality show “the Donald” is directing. Should we choose to learn the lessons being held up for all of us, they start with the words of Lord Acton. “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Those who drafted our Constitution recognized this possibility and distributed power in a somewhat balanced way (which we must observe even as we recognize the obvious flaws in how the original articles didn't treat all humans...
Brattleboro moves polling site to Legion BRATTLEBORO - The polling place for the Nov. 6 general election for all three districts in Brattleboro will be American Legion Post 5, 32 Linden St., from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Voters may park for free in the entire Legion parking lot (with the exception of 10 marked spots for Legion patrons) and the entire parking lot at the Municipal Center, including the metered spots along the side of the building. Accessible parking...
With every hurricane, tropical storm, and superstorm, thousands of lives are disrupted, harmed, or ended. Property is destroyed. Roads and bridges wash away. Sometimes the most vulnerable people suffer the worst - and never bounce back. Might there be a better way to plan houses, communities, and entire cities to withstand climate-related devastation? Alex Wilson, founder of Resilient Design Institute (RDI), thinks there is. The non-profit's mission is to create “solutions that enable buildings and communities to survive and thrive...
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts will present an Artist Talk with Deidre Scherer on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m. Her current exhibit Human Textures will be up at MGFA through Nov. 18, showcasing the artist's paper and fabric weavings as well as collaborative vessels with artist Jackie Abrams. Pioneering in the medium of thread-on-layered-fabric, Scherer's collages, both in fabric and paper media, engage the viewer “with the tenderness of being human,” according to a news release. Scherer has exhibited in hundreds...
College news • Gabrielle Carpenter of Vernon has been named to the 2018 Castleton University volleyball roster. • Craig Worden, a hospitality, resort, and tourism management major from West Dummerston, was accepted into the HTC Honors College and Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. Obituaries • Nora Barton Bryant, 77, of Jaffrey, N.H., formerly of Brattleboro. Died Sept. 15, 2018, at the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Jaffrey, following a period of declining...
For the 2018 election, the Windham County Democratic Committee has replaced its traditional campaign office with a community social to engage with your local Democratic community working for change. The “Your Vote Is Your Voice” event is to be held at 118 Elliot Street in Brattleboro on Friday, Oct. 26, from 6 to 11 p.m. Local and state candidates along with Windham County residents will discuss the coming election on Nov. 6 - ways to prepare, actions to take, and...
The newly formed Marlboro Community Center and Library, part of the Marlboro Alliance, will open soon on the first floor of the Marlboro Meeting House. They're kicking things off with an Election Day Open House on Tuesday, Nov. 6, from 4 to 7 p.m. Residents are invited for post-voting cider, snacks, and social time to meet some of the many volunteers getting the center up and running. Gemma Ollis was recently hired as the center's new coordinator. Ollis lives in...
The Brattleboro Area Jewish Community will host nationally renowned recording artist, performer, teacher, composer, and cantor Linda Hirschhorn for a weeklong residence from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3. She will facilitate a program of three singing workshop/rehearsals open to people of all ages, faiths, musical backgrounds, and levels. These will be followed by a Friday night service and a Saturday evening concert open to the public, both with a choir composed of participants from the workshop. All workshops will take...
Next Stage Arts Project presents Heartstrings on Friday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. Commissioned by Cambodian Living Arts (www.cambodianlivingarts.org), Heartstrings explores the personal journeys of five musicians from Cambodia. Through a mix of storytelling and music, the artists share some intimate insights into their experiences over the past 20 years. What does it mean to conceal your passion and your livelihood, or to be forced to play propaganda music to survive? What does it mean to rewrite memories you thought...
Flynn Cohen (Low Lily) and Duncan Wickel (Rondo Rigs) are bringing what they call “The Neo-Trad Experience” to Stone Church Arts at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St., on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. They are taking a break from their respective touring bands for some duo performances showcasing their connections with many interconnected and disparate musical traditions. Their show consists of multi-instrumental interpretations of traditional fiddle music from Appalachian and Irish traditions, old love songs, baroque and contemporary...
The Brattleboro Women's Chorus presents Becky Graber in “Let's Fall In Love,” a benefit jazz cabaret at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill, on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. Co-created with Musical Director Alki Steriopoulos, “Let's Fall In Love,” weaves together jazz classics with snapshots of Graber's own personal journey in search of love. Tickets are $20 in advance, $22 at the door, or $35 for chorus supporters. Graber is the founder and director of the Brattleboro Women's Chorus...
Something different is planned this month at the All Souls Church film series - a live event on Sunday, Oct. 28, instead of a film. The church will host Mark Hughes, leader of “40 Days of Fire,” which he describes as “a statewide racial-justice, community-organizing campaign designed to educate and empower folks to participate in this important work in Vermont.” The event will be the October offering in the church's ongoing program “Looking Inward at White Power and Privilege.” A...
The New England Center for Circus Arts will host Acrobatic Conundrum for two shows, at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 and 27, as part of the school's annual Fall Circus Workshop Weekend. Founded in 2012 by Artistic Director Terry Crane, Acrobatic Conundrum is Seattle's premier contemporary circus arts company. According to a news release, they create “performances that amaze and inspire audiences” and blend “virtuosic circus skill, dance, and physical theater to create work that is poetic, a little absurd,
The Forest of Mystery is an annual fundraising event to benefit the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center. This year's production is The Everwood, written and directed by James and Jessica Gelter. It will be presented on Friday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Oct. 27, at BEEC (Rain Date: Sunday, Oct. 28). Hour-long journeys begin every 15 minutes between 6:15 and 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for children. For BEEC members, the cost is $12 for adults, $6 for children.
Let's do the Time Warp again! The Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St., presents its annual showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Friday, Oct. 26, at 10 p.m. Admission is $10. Released in 1975 and featuring a slew of catchy songs, including “Time Warp,” “Sweet Transvestite,” and “Damn It, Janet,” this musical/freak show/cult classic/cultural institution remains popular to this day. Starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is Rated R. Critics have called...
Cross-country • The state championship meets are this Saturday at Thetford Academy, and the runners to watch out for are the Bellows Falls' girls. On Oct. 12 in Langdon, N.H., the BF girls pulled off a feat that hadn't been done since the mid-1980s - they won the Connecticut Valley Conference title. Back in the 1980s, the Terrrier girls won the CVC title three years in a row between 1983 and 1985, and missed a fourth title in 1986 by...
Keith Murphy - Brattleboro resident, founder of the Northern Roots Festival and renowned multi-instrumentalist - is joining Childsplay on their final farewell tour, with several tour dates across the Pacific Northwest before concluding in Somerville, Mass., on the eve of the release of their seventh and final album, The Bloom of Youth. “Childsplay is a group of musicians who all play fiddles handmade by the violin maker, Robert Childs,” Murphy says. “The group consists of about a dozen such fiddlers,
Bellows Falls's culture mavens, Popolo, are bringing recording artists Arc Iris to The Stone Church in Brattleboro on Friday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. Opening are Aubrey Haddard and Ben Lazar Davis. According to a news release, “even casual listeners can tell that Arc Iris isn't like the other kids. They build sonic landscapes according to their own rules and broad musical vocabulary. Their lyrics open doors of the imagination and their vocals are simultaneously otherworldly and salt of the...
Diversity, equity, and inclusion in municipal governance and in the community garnered the most discussion as Town Manager Peter B. Elwell offered the Selectboard a quarterly update about his office's progress on the board's goals. Most of the items on the list have seen some movement, but there were no surprises or major announcements at the Oct. 16 regular meeting. The effort to diversify the municipal workforce “continues to be a significant focus of our work, both in its own...
After months of discussion and a required second reading of the proposed ordinance change, the Selectboard unanimously approved raising the town's public parking rates. The fees are scheduled to go up on Feb. 1, 2019. On-street and Harmony Lot parking will cost $1 per hour; rates at other lots will increase by 10 cents per hour; 30-minute meters will cost 5 cents more per hour. Town Manager Peter B. Elwell told The Commons that parking-permit rates will remain the same...
New England Youth Theatre, 100 Flat Street, presents Peter Pan and Wendy, adapted by Doug Rand and directed by Doran Hamm, to be performed at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26 and 27 and Nov. 2 and 3, and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3. NEYT's Junior Company invites audiences to suspend their beliefs about what is possible and fly out Wendy's window and into Peter Pan's world of pirates, fairies, mischievous children, and endless make-believe. According to...
As dusk fell on a recent sunny Friday, local skateboard enthusiast Scotty Dixon's front yard began filling up with cars - most from Vermont and New Hampshire, some from Massachusetts, and a few others from New York, Maine, and Florida. Following one's ears to the action led to the backyard, where the background sound was a mix of high-energy, guitar-grinding thrash metal, hardcore music, and punk rock, playing from speakers set under the eaves of an outbuilding. The music was...
Good day to you, hearty southern Vermonters! Our comparative cold snap continues through the end of the month. Fortunately, it looks like November will moderate in the Department of Reasonable November Temperatures, so we're not just being hurled from summer into winter! As for our sensible weather, we'll start this Wednesday morning with leftover rain or snow showers before clearing out for Wednesday afternoon through Friday evening. Expect cold temperatures during this period! Our coastal storm will be impacting us...
West Brattleboro Pizza is very much open for business. A quick read of one part of “A vacant space in the heart of West Brattleboro” [Dispatch, Oct. 17] clearly gave some readers the opposite impression, as evidenced by the conversations on Facebook comment threads after last week's paper went to press. Our intent in publishing Mac Gander's piece was to shine light on the business, economy, and community of West Brattleboro, not to spread untrue rumors of a business's demise.
For 10 years, I've known Sara Coffey as a visionary arts colleague, an experienced community organizer, and a dear friend who brings dedication, humor, curiosity, stamina, and humility to all she does. Her interest is authentic; she listens to everyone and respects differences. Sara is excited about serving both Guilford and Vernon, exploring and expanding our common interests. Sara is a flexible collaborator, working with a range of neighbors to transform the Broad Brook Grange into the durable Broad Brook...
I'm writing to thank you for publishing Deborah Lee Luskin's powerful piece. I was aghast to learn that Vermont Public Radio refused Luskin's commentary if it named her grandfather as her abuser, and I am glad that you published a longer version of her piece prominently on the front page of the Voices section. In a time in which abusers hold positions of power in many of our highest offices, including the presidency and the Supreme Court, it is of...
I believe people are good. I believe in helping one another, in peace, unity, inclusion, equality, and justice. This is not just blind faith in humanity - I know I am not alone. The majority of Americans want to take care of and educate our children, they want stricter gun laws, good health care, and to protect the environment. The majority of Americans believe immigrants are an important part of our country's identity. We are all doing our best to...
Recently, Sara Coffey stopped by to visit. We talked about my son, Ronnie Squires, who served in the state Legislature in the 1990s. Ronnie was for the little guys, for everyone he was serving. He wasn't pushy. He listened to everyone and hoped they'd see his side of things. He was loyal to the people he represented from Guilford and Vernon. He always said, “Be yourself.” These days, the world is a worrisome place, but we've got these wonderful towns.
I urge you to meet and learn about Sara Coffey, who represents a truly authentic leader. Sara's a down-to-earth, great listener who connects well with everyone. And she's a visionary and creative problem-solver who loves Vermont and will help maintain all that we value and hold dear about our state. Sara will work tirelessly to support healthy communities statewide, build bridges and affordability, and grow our economic engine to enable a more equitable, just and robust Vermont. Please support this...
In the upcoming general election on Nov. 6, voters in Brookline, Jamaica, Newfane, Townshend, and Windham will be handed an additional ballot. The purpose of this ballot is to change certain sections of the articles of agreement of the West River Modified Unified Education District. The ballot will be confusing, so I want to clarify things for general public a bit concerning what the articles will change if they pass. Article One deals with the method in which all representatives...
I want Vermont Republican politicians to know that I won't vote for them this November unless they draw a line in the sand that separates them from the current national Republican Party and President Trump. It is not enough to talk about seeking common ground when the extremist, national Republican Party is stripping our nation of the constitutional rights, liberties, and traditions that I believe in. Let's face reality. We now have a national Republican Party that: • Supports Russian...