Lawrence “Chris” Campany created farmers' markets in Baton Rouge, served as a zoning enforcement officer in Maryland, and most recently taught landscape architecture.
With genial and low-key ease, Campany, 43, described his job experiences - widely varied, yet falling under a broad umbrella of land-use planning - as an “interesting path.”
Campany began his new role as executive director of the Windham Regional Commission on Aug. 9, succeeding retiring director James Matteau of Westminster.
Campany and his wife, Tracy, a theater professional, have a “temporary abode” in Brattleboro and have begun looking to buy a house for them and their dog Quinn and their cat Henry.
A group of artists and craftspeople from the West Brattleboro and Marlboro area will open their studios en masse this weekend. Douglas Cox of Sunset Lake Road, who makes violins, violas and cellos used worldwide by professional and traditional musicians of all genres, has coordinated a tour of 18...
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If your knowledge of puppetry goes as far as Kukla, Fran and Ollie, the Muppets and Lamb Chop, prepare to have your mind blown. Puppets in the Green Mountains, a biennial 11-day festival, continues through Sept. 26. Eric Bass, who founded Sandglass Theater with his wife Ines in 1982, promises plenty of interesting performances from a variety of puppeteers. “I am the artistic director of the festival,” Bass said. “It's my job to find the companies, to make the selection...
Bob Rusten will leave his post of 4½ years as town manager in five weeks to take up the mantle of assistant town manager for the city of South Burlington. Rusten and the Selectboard are in the early stages of determining which of his duties he will “close out” before leaving and which duties, like budgeting, will be delegated. Rusten said Tuesday he's prepared a “stream of consciousness list” of everything he is involved with for the Wilmington Selectboard. “Obviously,
I had it in mind that I would start this entry with a dreadfully funny witticism about feeling like a missionary because our entire group wore matching polo shirts today, which pretty much encompasses the totality of what I know about missionaries. And although I seem to have started with a reference to the witticism, I have not, and will not, give it its full due because to do so would make me a complete tool given the rest of...
I'm thinking of Erich Kruger today, as I often do when enjoying the various beautiful touches he built into my home: the simple patio he created behind my office that gives me so much pleasure as I sit there by the brook; the bathtub he installed in a remodeled bathroom; the stepladder to the loft with handles he added so that I, an older woman, could climb the ladder safely. As he worked on my house, Erich was in the...
The 40th annual Heritage Festival, sponsored by the Congregational Church in Newfane, will take place on the Newfane Common Saturday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, rain or shine. The 85 juried vendors sell their handcrafted items - quilts, ironwork, pottery, furniture, photography and art work, jewelry, clothing and much more. The aroma of fresh baked apple pies - sold by the slice or whole - draws visitors to the outdoor food...
Burglars broke into three Townshend businesses and a West Townshend Church in the early morning hours of Tuesday and Friday, Sept. 14 and 17. Vermont State Police say one business was hit twice on separate days. An unknown number of intruders, who state police say still remain at large, broke into Messenger Valley Pharmacy, 170 Grafton Rd.; Townshend Pizza, 2041 Route 30 and Mary Meyer's Big Black Bear Shop, Route 30, early Tuesday, Sept 14. State police say the intruders...
Obituaries Editor's note: The Commons will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham County and others, on request, as community news, free of charge. • Alberta H. Antaki, 84, of Brattleboro. Died Sept. 13 at Thompson House in Brattleboro. Wife of Addison Pond, Ralph Carey and John Antaki, all predeceased. Mother of Juanita Lane and husband, Kenneth of Brattleboro; Ida Welch and husband, Herman, of Virginia; Marlene Heinonen and husband, Robert, of Winchester, N.H.; George Pond and wife, Paula,
The Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition (BAPC) acknowledges the businesses that participated in the responsible-beverage-service trainings held in September, which are cosponsored by the Department of Liquor Control. Fifty-one employees of retailers and establishments that serve or sell alcohol and/or tobacco attended the trainings, required for liquor and tobacco licensees every two years. BAPC recognizes the important role that local retailers and restaurants play in preventing underage drinking. Thank you to the following businesses for participating in the training: Basketville, Bootsy's...
The Brattleboro Colonels boys soccer team won the John James Tournament in Bennington on Saturday night with a 3-0 win over Mount Anthony. Travis Elliot-Knaggs, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, scored a pair of breakaway goals in the first half to lead the Colonels. Greg Reuter then scored an insurance goal early in the second half as Brattleboro improved to 4-0 on the season. The Colonels advanced to the finals with a 4-1 win over the Burr...
There will soon be two new additions to the Windham County radio dial. Great Falls Community Broadcasting Company (GFCBC), the organization that operates community radio station WOOL-LP in Bellows Falls, last week was awarded a construction permit by the Federal Communications Commission for the 91.5 FM frequency, as part of WOOL's transition to a full-power non-commercial educational radio station. “This construction permit is a major hurdle in the very long process of building the future of our station,” GFCBC president...
Visual arts • Painting with water soluble oils: The Saxtons River Art Guild will host a workshop with Jay Doucette on painting with water soluble oils on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the United Church in Bellows Falls. Water soluble or water mixable oil paints have become an alternative to traditional oils for artists who are sensitive to the odor of turpentine. All experience levels are welcome. Paint and materials will be provided by the...
Brattleboro may have a vibrant downtown economy, but more can be done to help local businesses stay competitive with big box stores and online retailers. That was the message that U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., brought to town on Monday during a one-hour tour of several downtown merchants, accompanied by local government and business leaders. The goal of the tour, he said, is to promote ways to support Vermont businesses and create jobs. He did a similar walking tour of...
The West Brattleboro Association invites the community to once again have “Fun in the Field,” this time on Saturday, Sept. 25 (rain date, Sunday, Sept. 26) from noon to 6 p.m. in the field on Marlboro Road, next to the Chelsea Royal Diner. Like the first edition in the fall of 2009, this Fun in the Field will have a barbeque (from the Chelsea Royal), local musicians and other performers, a chowder contest, an apple pie contest, a raffle and...
Scene: Checkout line at Fresh Market, Pinehurst, N.C., 2004. Three shoppers in front of me, mountains of groceries in their carts. I'm silently reciting the mantra once bestowed upon me by a passionate chef. “Patience,” he said, “is the secret to a good clam dip.” It's the secret to good roux, good bread, and many things unrelated to culinary skills. When I finally plop my canvas bags and assorted fruits and vegetables on the conveyor belt, the man behind me...
The sassy, musical, political satire of the Capitol Steps will return to the Latchis Theatre in downtown Brattleboro at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16. Armed with new songs and numbers, the Capitol Steps performers will bring their timely and irreverent spoofs of the headlines to the stage, and promise to bring down the entire house - and Senate. A free pre-Capitol Steps event “Heart of the Home” at 6 p.m. will focus on the work of the Windham Housing...
As towns update their plans this year, some all-volunteer planning commissions have asked this question: “Will this stand up in court?” Town plans are intended to be visionary documents that contain a town's long-range goals and form a platform from which policies, such as zoning, spring. But ever since the Vermont Supreme Court overturned an Environmental Court ruling for South Burlington in 2008 because of the city's zoning policy, there is now pressure for these previously visionary documents to also...
The centerpiece of Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Dubie's economic plan is to cut income tax rates by about one third. Can state government survive the loss of about $200 million each year (according to an unofficial analysis by the Legislative Joint Fiscal Office) in lost revenue and still deliver essential services? Dubie won't say. What the lieutenant governor will say to anyone who will listen is that Vermont's income tax rate is higher than Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Is...
In a nationwide effort organized by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, residents of Windham County can safely and legally dispose of their prescription drugs on Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The National Take-Back Day provides an opportunity for people to dispose of “expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction,” according to a press release from the DEA's Office of Diversion Control. “These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use...
It's no secret that delivering broadband Internet service to every corner of Vermont has not been easy to accomplish. But what's been happening in the Londonderry area in recent weeks illustrated all the potential pitfalls to delivering this service - and what it will take to overcome them. The trouble started when Great Auk Wireless (GAW), which serves about 50 customers in Londonderry, Stratton and Winhall, learned a few months ago that Stratton Mountain Resort had increased the company's rent...
A media literacy nonprofit is teaming with a women's shelter to show a provocative film about women in advertising - and to get people talking about the issues the film raises. The Women's Crisis Center and Know Media will screen the fourth version of Jeanne Kilbourne's Killing Us Softly on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m., at Brooks Memorial Library. Since the 1960s, Kilbourne has worked to raise awareness of the objectification of women in advertising in general and the...
There's a move afoot to repeal Newfane's zoning bylaws. If the 87 legal voters - at least 5 percent of the town's population - who have signed a petition calling for that action can persuade the rest of the voters in this picturesque town of about 1,650 residents to abolish the zoning regulations that were first enacted in 1975, developers will have only the state's Act 250 regulations with which to comply. The pros and cons are predictable, although there...
Building a Better Brattleboro (BaBB) will hold its 11th annual meeting of its members and community stakeholders on Thursday, Sept. 30, at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden at 157 Main St., beginning at 8:30 a.m. The public is welcomed and encouraged to attend. Light refreshments will be provided beginning at 8 a.m., thanks to the Brattleboro Food Coop. Once again this year, the board will ask for public input into where downtown stakeholders would like to see us focus...