Our sincere thanks to everyone who made Brattleboro's 46th annual free family Independence Day celebration a spirited success.
The all-volunteer “By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth” citizens committee and town Recreation & Parks Department were able to present the event only because of the generosity of countless individuals and organizations that donated their time, money and talent, including:
- Brattleboro's Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which not only led our parade with its giant U.S. flag but also covered all the costs of the march for a fifth year in a row.
- More than 30 parade entries, including the Brattleboro American Legion and Brattleboro Union High School bands, veterans, firefighters, community and youth groups and our finale favorite, local personality Alfred Hughes Jr.
Congratulations to the winners to this year's Guilford Historical Society Raffle - Lana Golden, Anne Montgomery and K. Orr! The raffle was a super success and raised money to support the maintenance and much-needed repairs for our town's important historic buildings (including the 1837 Guilford Center Meeting House and...
I am employed in the Brooks Memorial Library by the Town of Brattleboro. Although it is not required for my position, I do have a master's degree and 11 years of professional experience. I earn $13 an hour. It was both stinging and disheartening to read about the Work...
I read about the homeless “revolution” and protest proposed by one James Douglas. Douglas is upset that he was told to leave a park after hours. The same would be told to any citizen - homeless or not - who is in any public park or space after hours. Douglas states over and over he will not comply with any “orders” even if he does receive help. Yet he wishes to demand the non-homeless in Brattleboro treat him with “respect...
This year at Representative Annual Town Meeting, the Brattleboro representatives voted to fund a staff position to coordinate efforts to make our community more sustainable. Since then, a diverse group of citizens put together information on the scope of the position, and town staff developed a position summary. I was unable to attend the July meeting where this was discussed, so I want to share my view of the proposal here. A person in this position is necessary if we...
The Bondville Fair, set for Aug. 23-25, celebrates its 222nd year on the same fairgrounds as the first gathering of the Winhall Industrial Society in 1797. It is one of Vermont's oldest traditions and the oldest continuous agricultural fair in the U.S. For more than two centuries, the fair has become a favorite event for folks living in or visiting southern Vermont who enjoy the opportunity to see animal pulls, listen to local bands, pet happy goats, smell the incredible...
College news • Cadet 1st Class Jules Coltrane Schellenberg of Brattleboro graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy on June 22. • The following local students were honored for academic achievement at Northern Vermont University for the spring 2019 semester: Victoria Higley and Rachael Trill of Brattleboro were named to the President's List, and Dakotah Luebbert of Bellows Falls, Haley Frechette of Dummerston, and Michael Johnson of Stratton were named to the Dean's List. • Hannah Oxholm of Brattleboro was named...
Libraries in Rockingham and Westminster West were among 16 cultural institutions in Vermont communities that shared in $224,556 of funding for needed improvements through the Vermont Arts Council's Cultural Facilities Grant program. According to a news release, the Fiscal Year 2020 grants “will support Vermont nonprofit organizations and municipalities in facilitating better access, enhanced infrastructure, or increased capacity within existing structures.” The Rockingham Free Public Library in Bellows Falls is getting $2,753 to support the purchase and installation of a...
Sheriff's Dept. plans DUI checkpointNEWFANE - During the month of August, the Windham County Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies will conduct a sobriety checkpoint within Windham County. The Sheriff's Department says an aggressive effort will be made to identify impaired drivers on area highways as well as to enforce seat belt, child restraint, and other motor vehicle laws. Local author presents cartooning and illustration workshopNEWFANE - On Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 10:30 a.m., author and illustrator John Steven...
Vermont Theatre Company has announced auditions for Patrick Barlow's The 39 Steps. Performances will be Dec. 13-15 and 20-22 at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center. Auditions will be held at the Brattleboro Union High School auditorium on Friday, Aug. 30, at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 31, at 1 p.m. The 39 Steps is an adaption of Alfred Hitchcock's film and John Buchan's book. It is a thrilling chase up and down Britain as one man finds himself...
As we hear and react to the third mass shooting in a week, isn't it obvious that we desperately need gun-control laws? Absolutely no assault rifles. I do believe that countries that have adopted stringent gun-control laws have seen a big reduction in mass shootings. I read and listen to news all day long. I have yet to hear any of the people running for the Democratic nomination speak about gun control. Have I missed something?
Come to downtown Wilmington on Saturday, Aug. 17, from 5 to 7 p.m., for the second of this summer's Village Strolls. Consistent with the theme of “Up-cycling,” the stroll will feature many ways to creatively reuse and recycle common objects. 'Recycle bingo' cards will be available at the Wilmington Works booths (in Riverbank Park and next door to Bartleby's Books). Participants can visit 10 different shops while they stroll (clues and directions will be posted around town), find an up-cycled...
Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls is set to welcome a romance novelist and a maven of marijuana etiquette. Local novelist Eileen Charbonneau will share her knowledge of and love for romance novels on Aug. 17 - Bookstore Romance Day - at 11 a.m. This is a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate romance fiction - its books, readers, and writers - and to strengthen the relationships between bookstores and the romance community. Charbonneau's historical novels...
In July 1919, the family of Mortimer and Orilla Husk Brooks gathered together at the family farm on Wardsboro Road in Newfane to celebrate the safe return of World War I veterans, including one family member who had been a POW. A century later, the descendants of two of their five children gathered for the 76th time to celebrate their long history in the region and to reminisce and share photos and memories. On display was the Stradivarius fiddle in...
In the five years since former Gov. Peter Shumlin devoted his State of the State address to heroin, opioids, and addiction, the state has ramped up its efforts to increase access to treatment for those struggling with substance-use disorders. Community members have stood before the Selectboard on multiple occasions concerned about the ramifications of the opioid crisis which have become visible throughout downtown. Finding success stories in the middle of a crisis is difficult, noted Police Chief Michael Fitzgerald, who...
The Whitney Blake Company, a manufacturer of wire, cable, and cable assembly products, has been awarded $350,000 through the Windham County Economic Development Program. According to a news release, the proceeds of this loan will be used to restructure debt and increase operating capital as the company reorganizes and expands its Rockingham operations. In February 2018, the Whitney Blake Company acquired the former Vermed building in Rockingham. With this purchase, the manufacturing operations of its Springfield, Vermont, facility were moved...
The Brattleboro Selectboard is a group of five volunteers who are committed to a healthy and vibrant town. If you've ever attended our meetings or watched them on BCTV, you know that we go out of our way to hear and acknowledge the voices of anyone who brings concerns or criticisms. When our citizens come forward with reasonable initiatives, we are open to the ideas and we often act decisively in response. That's why we signed on to a compassionate...
The Brattleboro Retreat will host the 10th annual Ride for Heroes event on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 10 a.m., with registration beginning at 9 a.m. The motorcycle ride starts and ends on the Retreat campus with a post-ride barbeque lunch. This event supports the Retreat's Uniformed Service Program (USP), which offers specialized trauma and addiction treatment for people who are, or have been, active military, law enforcement, fire fighters, veterans, EMS, and corrections personnel. The event has raised $247,998 over...
Hello and good day to you, Windham County folks! I hope things are well with you. We've got a few meteorological changes underway over the next seven days, but they should be accompanied by any extremes in temperature or humidity. After a pleasant enough day on Wednesday, we'll see a disturbance move through on Thursday into Friday with some scattered showers and thunderstorms possible. The weekend looks fair, with increasing temperatures each day. Humidity builds in by Sunday, and by...
I was in Brattleboro Memorial Hospital for an extended stay last December. I had complications from the surgery, but I didn't care. I was in good company. Conversation was lively the whole time. The nurses took wonderful care of me. I had no obligations. I was hooked up with tubes: so, I didn't even have to get out of bed to go to the bathroom in the morning. It felt like a vacation, except that I didn't once even open...
While Brattleboro Post 5 had a earlier exit than it hoped for from the American Legion Baseball Northeast Regional Tournament in Worcester, Mass., last week, they did do something that hadn't been done since 1999 - win a game in this tournament. About half of the players currently in Major League Baseball played Legion baseball during their high school years. Legion baseball is still considered a major stepping stone for young baseball players who aspire to play after they graduate...
I have been thinking deeply about what is making so many millions of white men (and, even stranger, white women) support Donald Trump's anti-immigrant, racist agenda. Trump seems to push these violence-prone white men to act in a way that maybe they would have otherwise considered but not followed through. And of course, no surprise, the shooter who killed 22 people and injured 24 at a Walmart in El Paso on Aug. 3 is a build-the-wall Trump supporter, who likely...
The Rockingham Meeting House will present the next in its series of Third Sunday concerts for 2019 on Aug. 18, beginning at 3 p.m. at the meeting house. Music will be provided by the Comtu Trio, which has performed chamber music throughout southeastern Vermont for more than 30 years. The trio is composed of Kathi Byam, flute, Miranda Bohl, cello, and Karen Engdahl, violin and keyboard. The program will include arrangements of early American and other music from the heyday...
A federal agency voted on Aug. 1 in favor of allowing cable companies to include the value of services and equipment that they have previously provided at no cost to states and municipalities for use of public property. This vote changes a decades-old rule, permitting the telecommunications companies to deduct the value of that equipment and those services from the fees that have long gone in full to local-access public, educational, and government (PEG) cable stations like Brattleboro Community Television...
Many have spoken out in outrage over the conditions at detention centers at the Mexico/U.S. border, banding together on social media and in person to protest the Trump administration's policies, especially the inhumane treatment of children separated from their families. But for those without experience organizing, it can be difficult to understand how to take action in a meaningful and effective way. For Sonya Marx, a college student who grew up dancing and going to school in Brattleboro, leveraging the...
A collaboration between Epsilon Spires and Brown & Roberts Ace Hardware has transformed a metal storage shed in Brattleboro into a dynamic piece of public art. Celestial Charting of a Wandering Line is the latest art project by Northampton, Mass., muralist Kim Carlino. “The graffiti-covered metal storage shed in Brown & Roberts' parking lot looked like the perfect place for downtown beautification,” Epsilon Spires Creative Director Jamie Mohr said in a news release. “I am grateful that Brown & Roberts...
How little does it take to put on a Shakespeare play effectively? Actor and writer Alex Hacker of Analog Players thinks a stellar production can be done with the simplest of resources. On Thursday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, Aug. 23 and 24, at 8 p.m., Analog Players brings to the Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery a truly unique Shakespearean performance for two actors and two puppets, King Dick, a.k.a., Richard III. ”This will be a much...
It is important that the Selectboard has ensured that porta-potties be placed downtown. We have finally decided as a community that homeless people, too, have the right to go to the bathroom. It's an achievement that should be neither understated nor overstated. However, I cannot help but feel disappointed and angry with this community for its unwillingness to listen effectively - or sometimes at all - and respond compassionately to the people in this town who are suffering the very...
Do you know your watershed address? A watershed address is a way for people to locate themselves within the interconnecting waterways that ultimately connect us all. For example, someone who lives in Green River can say they have a watershed address is off the Roaring Brook watershed, within the Green River watershed, within the Deerfield River watershed, within the Connecticut River watershed, which drains into the Atlantic Ocean. Emily Davis, water quality planner with the Windham Regional Commission, likes to...
Latchis Arts' popular Exhibition on Screen series returns Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17 and 18, at 4 p.m., with Van Gogh & Japan at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St. A pioneering series of cinematic films about exhibitions, galleries, and artists, Exhibition on Screen sheds light on a surprising and little-known aspect of the work of Vincent van Gogh. Taking its inspiration from the critically acclaimed exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum, the film reveals the fascinating story of Van...