WOOL-FM, Black Sheep Radio, welcomes back guitar duo John Stowell and Draa Hobbs for a return engagement of world-class jazz at Stage 33 Live. A musician's master class on improvisation will precede the show.
John Stowell, based on the West Coast, is influenced as much by pianists and horn players as by guitar players, and his original take on harmony, chords, and improvisation sets him apart, according to a news release. He tours, records, and teaches internationally, and he has been a contributing columnist for Downbeat, Guitar Player, Soundcheck (Germany), Guitar Club (Italy), and other influential publications.
In 1983, along with David Friesen and Paul and Robin Horn, Stowell toured the Soviet Union in the first American jazz group invited to play public performances in Russia in 40 years.
Hobbs grew up in Chicago and has made his home in Southern Vermont. He studied with the legendary Jimmy Raney, Attila Zoller, Gene Bertoncini, and Peter Lietch, performing in New York City and around New England with notable musicians including Don Friedman, Ron McClure, Eliot Zigmund, and Vic Juris.
Main Street Arts is holding auditions for its winter production of the musical Cabaret, scheduled for performances in mid-March. Auditions are Thursday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 14, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m., including call backs. Those auditioning need to...
Mentor Vermont recently awarded 25 grants, totaling $348,735, to support youth mentoring programs throughout the state. The 2019-20 Vermont Mentoring Grants will support more than 100 new and existing program sites, and more than 1,800 adult-to-youth mentor pairs in communities across Vermont. Two grants were awarded to agencies that...
In December and January, the Wardsboro Public Library, 170 Main St., is exhibiting the pottery of Erin Stewart and Will Finkel. Finkel took his first pottery class when he was 5. He has spent the majority of his life working in, learning about, or teaching clay all over the country. His work has drawn acclaim for its style, lightness, and particularly the colors that he has achieved in his glazes over the years. Stewart has spent her life in one...
Characters from The Wizard of Oz will take the stage Sunday, Dec. 15, as Wardsboro Curtain Call presents their third annual holiday show, Christmas in the Land of Oz. Back in Kansas, with Christmas only a few days away, Dorothy sees her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry losing heart. However, Dorothy knows the place to replace a lost heart: the Land of Oz. But there's trouble in Oz as well. Can Dorothy and Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion deal...
Omega Optical, a southern Vermont-based manufacturer, has received a $9,000 Vermont Training Program grant from the Vermont Department of Economic Development. For decades, Omega Optical has made a variety of optical-filters products used by both government and private organizations. The company continues to create innovative products and serves as a key supplier to companies involved in aerospace, defense, and life-science operations. In a news release, Omega Optical said it will use the grant “to train employees a valuable curriculum of...
Sheriff's Department plans sobriety checkpoints this month NEWFANE - During the month of December, the Windham County Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies will conduct multiple sobriety checkpoints within Windham County. The Sheriff's Department says an aggressive effort will be made to identify impaired drivers. Police officers will also enforce seat belt and child-restraint violations, as well as other motor vehicle laws during the checks. Friends of Brooks Memorial Library presents annual holiday sale BRATTLEBORO - The Friends of...
The Ladies of the Rainbow will perform songs and stand-up comedy at a benefit holiday drag show on Saturday, Dec. 14. The event, set for 8 p.m. at VFW Post 1034 at 40 Black Mountain Rd., will feature adult entertainment, as well as a 50/50 raffle and cash bar, to raise funds for the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. The Ladies of the Rainbow have served up lip-syncing and laughter to area audiences since first performing at Dummerston's Rainbow Cattle...
Transitions • Vermont Gov. Phil Scott recently announced the appointment of two area residents to state boards and commissions. Bruce Whitman of Townshend was appointed to the Hearing Panel for Professional Educators, while Abby Jacobson of Putney was appointed as Justice of the Peace. Obituaries • Donald Arthur “Don” Ambler, 90, of Sebec, Maine. Died peacefully on Nov. 30, 2019 at Hibbard's Nursing Home in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, after a period of declining health. He was born March 2, 1929 in...
The 18th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day occurred on Oct. 26 and resulted in 882,919 pounds, or 441.5 tons, of unused medication collected nationally, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration website. Vermont took in 6,734 pounds of the overall total, which was the largest amount collected in the state since the campaign started. Windham County law enforcement participation included the Vermont State Police, Bellows Falls Police Department, Brattleboro Police Department, Dover Police Department, Wilmington Police Department, and the...
Five years after what many assumed to be the last performance of their 40-year touring career, Nowell Sing We Clear will take the Latchis Theatre stage again on Monday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m., to celebrate the publishing of their new book, Nowell Sing We Clear Songs & Carols for Midwinter & Christmastide. The four members of the band (Tony Barrand, Fred Breunig, Andy Davis, and John Roberts) will be joined by two bands from the next generation - Windborne...
For the 12th year, TubaChristmas will be celebrated in West Brattleboro. On Sunday, Dec. 15, players of the tuba, euphonium, and baritone horn will gather at First Congregational Church, 880 Western Avenue. Participating musicians will register at 1 p.m., and begin rehearsing at 1:15 p.m. They are asked to pay a $10 registration fee. The concert starts at 3 p.m., and is open to public. No audience admission fee will be charged. A good-will offering will be collected and donated...
Once again, St. Mary's in the Mountains invites one and all to its annual Red Door Community Carol Sing, Dec. 14, to sing traditional carols and seasonal favorites. The event will include musical performances by Deerfield Valley musicians, plus tasty treats and surprises. The Red Doors on East Main Street will open at 3:15 p.m., with hot cider and snacks available. Beginning at 3:30, guests will be entertained by singers and musical ensembles, offering seasonal classical, choral, and even more...
The Rockingham Meeting House Association has issued a challenge to area residents: Donate to the town's Meeting House Capital Reserve Fund in the coming months and the organization will match every dollar, up to $7,500. The association's board of directors voted to donate $7,500 from past fundraising efforts to help the town continue to preserve and restore the Rockingham Meeting House, a National Historic Landmark built between 1787 and 1801. However, the board would like to double the impact of...
The Latchis Theatre hosts the Bolshoi Ballet Only in Cinemas simulcast of The Nutcracker on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. In this timeless story, accompanied by Tchaikovsky's beloved score, Margarita Shrainer plays Marie, along with Semyon Chudin as The Nutcracker. As the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve, Marie's wooden nutcracker doll comes to life and transforms into a prince. Soon joined by other toys that have come to life, Marie and her prince embark on a dreamy, unforgettable...
Continuing a holiday tradition, Latchis Arts presents the 2003 comedy classic Elf with admission by donation on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 4:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 11:30 a.m., at the Latchis Theatre. Reminding us that the “the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear,” the film stars Will Ferrell as a man-sized elf who is forced to leave the North Pole after inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community because of ungainly...
On Dec. 3, the Brattleboro Fire Department and Rescue Inc. responded to a West Brattleboro address for a subject that was burned. Upon arrival, it was learned that the 55-year-old patient was burned while vaping while he was on home oxygen. According to a Fire Department news release, a flash fire occurred around the face of the subject and he received burns to his mouth and nose. He was transported to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital by Rescue Inc. for further evaluation...
Putney Foodshelf volunteers assembled and distributed 92 Harvest Bags and 68 turkeys for Thanksgiving. Twenty-five of those bags went home with Putney Central School families, and the rest were distributed through the Foodshelf's regular open hours. Students at The Grammar School in Putney created 11 of the bags, a donation they have made for many years. Five people from Greenwood School in Putney joined the five Foodshelf volunteers in assembling the bags at the Putney Community Center. Roots Property Management...
Transience in this town has been a source for news and debate for as long as I've lived in Brattleboro. My work among the transient artists in town who've mixed with young radicals began with organizing an artist's hostel out of the basement apartment of Ben Keating in a church on Elliot Street. This hostel became a hub for me to work as an art critic in town, for Phil Innes and Vermont Views, and to bring to light the...
The law firm formerly known as Corum Mabie Cook Prodan Angell Secrest & Darrow, PLC has become Windham Law, PLC. The name change, which took effect in October, coincides with the retirement of partner Joseph F. Cook. Windham Law was founded by Richard E. Gale in 1940 and has grown to be one of Windham County's leading firms. Current members include John C. Mabie, Samuel H. Angell, Jonathan D. Secrest, and Amelia W.L. Darrow. Attorney Aimee R. Goddard, who joined...
The Windham Central Supervisory Union has announced that Rene Bernard recently was chosen and honored as an Outstanding Educator at the University of Vermont. Every year, the College of Education and Social Services at UVM, along with the Vermont Agency of Education, the Vermont NEA, Vermont supervisory unions, and school districts gather to celebrate the accomplishments of Vermont's outstanding educators. In a news release, the WCSU says it “has been fortunate to have Bernard onboard as its high school band...
As much as possible, I shop locally - while I still can. But when the machine on which we rely for our daily bread recently came to the end of its life, I shopped online for a replacement. None were available from the manufacturers, and every big-box store was out of stock. Without much choice, I bought it at Amazon. And, while checking out, I was tricked into a 30-day free trial of Prime, the company's premium membership service. I...
I have written letters to the editor before, and they have usually been about school shootings, gun laws, or ageism. But today I want to write about a very uplifting and joyous topic. I am a member of the Brattleboro Women's Chorus, and we just performed our fall concert. This chorus consists of about 100 women from all parts of Windham County. To join the chorus, all you need is a love of singing and a commitment to show up...
With heartfelt thanks to the wonderful support of our community and the generosity of the management at Hannaford Supermarket, Guilford Cares was able to provide the makings for full Thanksgiving dinners for 103 individuals. The Guilford Cares Food Pantry offers supplemental food to those in need of assistance. It is open every Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Broad Brook Community Center (Grange) on Center Road in Guilford.
I saw on BCTV that the Selectboard and Downtown Brattleboro Alliance want to advertise for gay and lesbian people to come visit Brattleboro, and I'm all for that. I am an ally of gay and lesbian people. One of the problems with the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance is that they talk about local food and local business but then don't talk about inclusion in the workplace. What I'm talking about is that I see no disabled people who are working in...
The conversation at our Brattleboro Food Co-op's recent annual meeting relating to a racial incident, and the ensuing descriptions of what happened at that meeting, did not make my falsely-accused black friend feel better. In fact, it drove the hurt deeper. She did have the courage to speak up at the Annual Meeting, and attendees did have the decency to listen to her, but this was not an occasion to be “full of pride.” As a 20-year Co-op member, I...
On Wednesday, Dec. 18, the Town of Windham will hold a Special Town Meeting at 6 p.m. to decide whether to replace our traditional town meeting with the Australian ballot. This change would allow residents who cannot attend town meeting to vote on town officials, budgets, and other proposed matters. We believe, however, that the town's people would give up far more than they would gain from this change. With the Australian ballot, the Selectboard or other small groups would...
Marlboro Music's commitment to a 99-year lease and construction of two buildings for its two-month summer season prevents redevelopment of the soon-to-be-closed Marlboro College campus. Marlboro Music's financial interest there is likely to be bought out or compensated to move to an equivalent college campus. How about a retirement and assisted-living community for elder professional artists and performers? Attracted by the Rudolf and Irene Serkin Center for the Performing Arts, the new Snyder Center for the Visual Arts, Persons Auditorium,
The Williamsville Hall Committee members thanks everyone for a great year filled with exciting events. Our hall has come alive with activity and functions all year. It is now heated in winter and available to rent for your special occasions. We serve dinners, play music, and show movies, and we have even had a dog show. The Rock River Players have put us on the area theater map with productions throughout the year. Although we do not know who puts...
Abraham Lincoln and many others in his time were against slavery. Yet they opposed its abrupt end. To push for the abolition of an institution too entrenched to fail, they feared they would destroy the economy and cause civil conflict. Thus, permitting the existing evil was necessary to avoid what they considered a greater evil, the collapse of the Union. This claim betrayed millions of our fellow Americans, condemning them to shackles, suffering, and death. And it did not prevent...
If you run a business, you undoubtedly feel many pressures on your time and money. Why would you want to add giving to the community to your to-do list? Here are six reasons. 1. It feels good. Making contributions to the community is personally rewarding. Our values are important to us - from helping kids to supporting neighborhood cleanup efforts. Charitable contributions enable us to support these values. 2. It's a tradition. Local businesses traditionally have been principal supporters of...
The Windham County NAACP extends its sincere gratitude to our community, far and wide, who attended our first Freedom Fund Dinner. We were humbled by the fact that through such strong support in the county, we were able to fill Brattleboro's American Legion Post to maximum capacity! It was a night that brought us even closer together, a night that has further refined our vision for our future in this county. As Windham County is one of the counties in...
In response to the Viewpoint by the renowned professor of English and journalism, MacLean Gander, I ask, “Where's the breaking news?” This boring and overstated attack on the elected president of our democracy is nothing more than the same talking points spewed every day by the obviously left-leaning “mainstream media” sources, such as The New York Times, Politico, The Washington Post, MSNBC, and others. It's worth noting that it is not the job of the United States Congress to formulate...
From a labor point of view, we do not need to look at Trump's seedy and illegal dealings with the Ukraine or Russia to understand this New York City billionaire as unfit for office. No, union members need look no further than his right-wing, union-busting appointments to the Supreme Court, appointments that resulted in “fair share” union dues being outlawed. We need look no further than his own administration imposing a rule change whereby most unionized home-health-care workers in the...
Members of the Marlboro College community will gather in a “Vigil for the Silenced” during the college's board of trustees meeting on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 9:30 a.m. To accommodate larger crowds, the meeting has been moved to Ragle Hall in Serkin Center at 2528 South Rd. Pre-registration for the vigil is requested. “Marlboro College Board of Trustees has called a 'special,' or 'emergency' meeting,” Amy Domrad Tudor, organizer of the vigil and a Marlboro College alumna and longtime Marlboro...
Hello and good day to you, residents of the peaceful and picturesque windy hamlets of southeastern Vermont! We have an active pattern in place with about two to three storms per week moving through the region, so allow me to paint the broad weather strokes for you. Colder air will be working into the region Wednesday with some scattered snow showers possible by late afternoon and at night due to the lake effect. High pressure tracking east through southern Vermont...
The area is steeped in nonprofits and their boards. So the statement of Vickie Case, a longtime member of the Youth Services board of directors, that the organization trains people to operate successful boards seems worthy of attention. So how does Youth Services cultivate its board members? Rachel Selsky, the current president, said that in Youth Services' case, the board has an “onboarding process” that pairs new members with mentors. That mentor works with the newbie for a year. This...
I am deeply concerned about Brattleboro Museum and Art Center's recent proposal for construction of a $30 million building. Can we please pause for a minute and really evaluate whether the aim to build an empire to one's creative ego is equitable for the community in the long term? In a time when we claim to be looking for sustainable solutions that will allow our local producers and craftspeople to thrive, we can't seem to separate idealism and fantasy from...
If you are overwhelmed by the crass commercialism that has overtaken the holiday season, a trip to see Shirley Squires' 1,500 nativity sets in her home might be just what you need. She has been collecting nativity sets since 1993 and, as the collection grew, in 1997 she decided to share it with anyone with an interest in visiting. As the years have passed, Squires, 90, has given up most of her living spaces to the Christmas displays. The only...
On Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m., at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Brattleboro, Susan Dedell leads a group of 28 singers in The Great O Antiphons: An Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols. This much-anticipated yearly event includes choral music, readings, and group singing, and this year incorporates the seven Gregorian O Antiphons into the program. Music director Susan Dedell said in a news release that “these seven chants are some of the oldest known written music, dating from...
On Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m., at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Fafnir Adamites will give a talk about the artist's installation 'Interfere (with),' on view through March 7, and the ways in which the sculptures act as “monuments and reminders of trauma, intuition, and the legacy of emotional turmoil.” Curator Sarah Freeman said in a news release that “Adamites' installation of felted wool and burlap feels overwhelming and potentially suffocating. However, the use of highly tactile materials...
Brattleboro Clayworks, 532 Putney Rd., is a collectively-run studio and gallery, regularly exhibiting the work of seven clay artists: Annie Lauterbach, Alan Steinberg, Billie Stark, Gosia Mosiej, Jennifer Henske, Judith Thomas, and Andrea Matthews. For holiday shopping in December, Clayworks will additionally be showing the recent ceramic creations of four renters: Bill Copeland, Arlene Distler, Karen Horton, and Mucuy Bolles. Copeland, whose work is composed of non-functional sculptural forms, said in a news release that he is “interested in evolution,
Youth Services Board President Rachel Selsky smiled at the crowd gathered in front of the kitchen bar of Duo Restaurant. “It's a testament” to Vickie Case's work in Brattleboro, the number of people, from all aspects of the community who came here on a Wednesday night, she said. “Brattleboro is so lucky to have Vickie on our side,” Selsky said. Youth Services inducted former board member Vickie Case, into the organization's Hall of Fame in an intimate ceremony on Dec.
The 2020 campaign season in Vermont is about to begin heating up but, so far, only one major party candidate has expressed willingness to take on incumbent Republican Gov. Phil Scott. Rebecca Holcombe, 52, of Norwich, is running for the Democratic Party's gubernatorial nomination. A former schoolteacher and principal, she served four years as Vermont's secretary of education. This is the first run for public office for Holcombe, who launched her campaign in July. In 2014, Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin...
The Brattleboro Colonels boys' hockey team won its home opener, a wild 6-4 victory over the St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers at Withington Rink on Dec. 7. How wild? The Colonels had to overcome seven penalties, including a game misconduct. They had to weather a long 5-on-3 power play in the second period before scoring three shorthanded goals, including two in the final minute of play, to nail down the win. The Hilltoppers were not exactly choir boys in this game, as...
Friends of Music at Guilford presents “An Olde New England Christmas” on Friday, Dec. 13, at 7:30 p.m., and at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14. By tradition, this 47th annual Christmas at Christ Church event includes choral and instrumental music for the season, a dramatic reading, and a few carols for everyone. The a cappella vocal program was drawn from tune books by New England composers born in the middle of the 18th century: William Billings, Supply Belcher, Oliver...
Epsilon Spires will present a kid-friendly afternoon of performance and animation on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 2 to 4 p.m. “Weird Animation for Kids (Of All Ages)” is a 70-minute program of short films from around the world that embrace playfulness and creativity. The program will feature character animation made using the traditional hand-drawn method - like Ub Iwerks' classic Flip the Frog (1930) and Priit Parn's ...And Plays Tricks (1993). Other films embrace more experimental methods - like Al...
Echoes of solidarity and a desire for a unified long-term planning approach was on the minds of community members during a series of public forums led by Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) on Dec. 4, as part of its community visit to Rockingham and its villages. Townspeople met in three spots in Bellows Falls - American Legion Post 37, the Rockingham Free Public Library, and the Moose Family Center - to begin the three-month process of assessing the strengths...
Although there has been very little time to respond to the Emerson College–Marlboro College bombshell announcement, a small group of residents, alumni, and supporters with long and deep ties to the Marlboro College community has formed to work to create a viable and vibrant alternative to the current plan (the “Plan”) to close Marlboro College and transfer its endowment and campus to Emerson. What we know What we know of the detailed Plan and the process used to generate it...
An engaging confection of romance, danger, and paranoia, The 39 Steps, a play by Patrick Barlow now in production by the Vermont Theatre Company, is based on the 1935 film that catapulted Alfred Hitchcock to international fame - and which, in turn, was based on The Thirty-Nine Steps, a 1915 novel by Scottish author John Buchan. Though it flirts with parody, this hilarious play still manages to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. While visiting London, Canadian...