A new bill, H.191, gives Vermont legislators the opportunity to banish the cruel and widely despised practice of recreational trapping from our state.
Steel-jaw leghold traps cause gruesome injuries, prolonged agony, and death for an untold number of wild and domestic animals in Vermont.
Trapped animals may die of blood loss, dehydration, hypothermia, or predation, or may chew or twist off a limb, paw or digit to escape. Traps also drown animals, a particularly inhumane and horrifying death for river otters and beavers who can hold their breath for eight minutes or more.
Body-gripping traps are designed to kill quickly when two rotating jaws close on an animal's neck or chest but often just slam onto the animal's abdomen or other body part and cause unimaginable suffering.
The Brattleboro Rotary Club again will offer college scholarships to graduating students at Brattleboro Union, Leland & Gray, and Hinsdale High Schools. The amount of assistance will be $2,000 to $3,000 per student. A combination of financial need, academic achievement, and community service will be used as the criteria...
Afrofuturist, oro-shamanic, Black gay poet and jazz bass clarinetist Toussaint St. Negritude is coming to Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge Street, on Sunday, May 7, at 7 p.m. Toussaint St. Negritude presents what organizers are calling “a dynamic solo performance of liberational truth-telling, collaboratively pairing the call of his...
Celebrate Earth Day with a free energy savings kit WINOOSKI - Earth Day is a celebration, and also the perfect time to think about practical actions Vermonters can take to keep our planet healthy and habitable. Efficiency Vermont says that's why it is offering free Energy Savings Kits. The kits contain easy-to-install energy saving measures like LEDs and water saving devices, plus, they'll be shipped with a special Earth Day wildflower seed packet from American Meadows that supports Vermont's pollinator...
When Juno Orchestra performed “(3)Zenith!,” featuring Sibelius, Haydn, and Mozart” in June of 2022 at Persons Auditorium on the former Marlboro College campus to a standing ovation from a full house, it was presumed to be its final, farewell concert. So much can happen in a year. Juno was gone. However, by the grace of a major foundation's generosity, Juno is back. According to founder/director, cellist Zon Eastes, Juno was conceived and run as a five-year project starting in 2017...
It is spring, and the upriver migrations of shad, American eel, sea lamprey, and other minor players in the migration game are getting underway. Unfortunately, many people do not like sea lamprey - even if they have never seen one, they know they do not like it. Unfortunately, the misunderstood nature of sea lamprey in our watershed fuels the dislike. So right from the get-go, know that we should value the sea lamprey, for it is not a parasite to...
The Vermont House of Representatives has passed a shortsighted effort that will hurt children in the state under the guise of “supporting public education.” H.483, “An act relating to the accountability and oversight of approved independent schools that are eligible to receive public tuition,” is really about what benefits certain adults (and the public school sector) while completely disregarding children and what is best to assure success for every child. Support for this anti-independent-school bill is based on the misperception...
The Brattleboro softball team looks a lot different this year. They have a new coach in Erin Cooke, who was a pretty good pitcher for the Colonels in the mid-1990s and was the starting pitcher for the 1997 state champions. It is also a team with only two seniors, with a lot of ninth- and 10th-graders in starting roles. After getting mercy-ruled by Keene and Hoosac Valley in their first two games of the season last week, the Colonels needed...
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present singer-songwriters Carsie Blanton and her quartet, plus Brittany Ann Tranbaugh, at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill, on Sunday, April 30, at 7 p.m. Carsie Blanton “writes anthems for a world worth saving,” say organizers. “Inspired by artists including Nina Simone and Randy Newman, her songs encompass a range of genres, from sultry pop to punk-tinged Americana. “Whether alone with her electric guitar or fronting her 'handsome band,' Blanton delivers every song with...
Obituaries • Barbara L Bristol, 66, of Putney, formerly of Brookline, Died March 29, 2023. She was born in Townsend on Feb. 8, 1957, the daughter of the late A.S. and Betty Clark. She graduated from Leland & Gray Union High School and the Thompson School of Nursing. She worked for many years at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend. Later in life, she enjoyed working at the Brattleboro and Putney Food Co-ops. She is survived by her daughter, Emily Moore,
New York-based artist Juan Hinojosa, whose work is on view in the exhibition “Paradise City” at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), will lead a storytelling roundtable on the theme of newcomers and immigration at BMAC on Thursday, May 4, at 7 p.m. Presented in collaboration with Vermont Folklife, the event will begin with a short tour of the exhibition, which features Hinojosa's collaged figures symbolizing travelers from another world. Afterward, visitors will be invited to share their family...
In-Sight Photography Project invites LGBTQ+ identifying youth (ages 11 to 18) to submit images to a Youth Pride Photo Contest and Exhibition in partnership with Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), Vital Partnerships, and United Way of Windham County. For 30 years, In-Sight has empowered youth through the photographic arts to engage in community and culture. In a news release, organizers say it is thrilling to collaborate with these partners to celebrate the region's young LGBTQ+ photographers. LGBTQ+ youth living...
Susan Wilson's work is, according to artist and critic Deborah Barlow, all about “emotion and empathy.” “I work in quiet meditation,” says the figurative ceramic artist, whose art is on exhibit at the annual Solo Exhibition show at Southern Vermont Arts Center (SVAC) in Manchester. “I breathe life into spaces around and within my figures,” Wilson, based in Putney, explains. “I use slabs laid over molds, from broomsticks and dowels to balls and ceramic head molds that I have made.
Award-winning singer-songwriter Jason Anderson made his South Newfane debut to a packed room in 2018. Two years later, the stage was set for an encore performance when the world shut down. As COVID-19 ground life - and Anderson's touring plans - to a halt in 2020, he decamped to the internet, launching a series of online performances that allowed him to stay connected to family, friends, and fans around the world throughout the dark days of the pandemic. After more...
The Saxtons River Art Guild (SRAG) presents a one-day workshop given by Vermont watercolorist John Dimick on Saturday, May 6, at the United Church of Bellows Falls, 8 School Street, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Workshop fees are $70 for SRAG members and $90 for nonmembers. The theme of the workshop is “Painting Urban Landscapes.” This is open to all abilities; however, some watercolor experience is suggested. Artists interested in the urban landscape theme and working in other media...
Someone recently described Brattleboro as a paradox, and I think it's safe to say this is true for all of Vermont and, possibly, the entire planet. In these times of devastating loss and challenges, we all need to find those things that help keep us connected and grounded to hope. One way I do this is by coordinating and promoting Green Up Day locally. As many of you know, Green Up Day is a 53-year-old tradition that brings people together...
According to an April 14 story in VtDigger, 40 Readsboro residents signed a petition requesting that the town close its elementary school. The same thing is happening in Windham this year. Both petitions reflect a trend to undervalue small community schools and accept the opinion that closing a local school and sending children to a larger consolidated school would be better. No evidence supports this opinion, and the effect - and perhaps the purpose of these petitions - is to...
Every dime the health care industry spends on themselves and their interests comes from us. Health care costs all of us. As a recipient of the pharmaceutical companies and suffering from mental illness, I am outraged, as not only is the industry making money off of my illness but it also abuses my treatment. Let me explain. I am essentially an experiment that is not reimbursed monetarily - as if the side effects are not enough. Speaking for myself and...
On April 20, a 12-year-old girl was shot and killed in Hartford, Connecticut, while sitting in a parked car. “The same thing happened - also in Hartford - 29 years ago. That should have been a turning point. It wasn't. We need to just keep working at it with faith, prayer, and action and know we're not alone.” So said Right Rev. James Curry, retired Episcopal bishop suffragan of Connecticut, in a recent conversation about his upcoming visit to Brattleboro.
Art matters. And in Windham County, where many artists live and work, it is also a serious economic driver. Rep. Sara Coffey, D-Guilford, a former dancer and award-winning arts administrator, understands that. “One of the small things that I've been working on this session is a piece of legislation that that would impact artists but also the public and some of our state buildings,” Coffey said. While Coffey, as chair of the Transportation Committee, has had her hands full this...
On the morning of April 17, David Mitchell, a 46-year-old man from Rutland, complained to prison guards that he couldn't breathe and needed urgent medical treatment. According to multiple accounts from other people incarcerated in the same block at Southern State Correctional Facility, the guard told Mitchell to stop complaining and go back to his cell. When Mitchell kept begging to be taken to the hospital, he was threatened with being sent “to the hole” - solitary confinement - if...
Eight students from Leland & Gray Union Middle and High School are back after trips to New York City and New Orleans to collect oral histories from people affected by climate catastrophes. In late March, the students traveled to New York City, where they learned about United Nations' environmental policy and sustainability goals and sat in on a U.N. General Assembly session. They then traveled more than 30 hours by train to New Orleans to watch climate mitigation strategies in...
Despite damp, cold weather, a large crowd attended Monday's open house at the Bellows Falls Garage Housing Project, listening to speeches and getting the chance to tour the completed fourth floor of the building. Project organizers explained that there are still another six weeks of work until completion of the building, where wiring still hangs from fixtures and drywall mud spatters the floors on the other levels. Applications for the building's 27 apartments started coming in last week, and tenants...
One of the founders of the Tempestry Project at The Putney School is Asy Connelly. Her name appeared incorrectly in the April 19 issue.
When Liz Simmons gets into her car to drive to Springfield, Massachusetts, where she teaches voice at Community Music School of Springfield, she listens to music ranging from Dolly Parton to Emmylou Harris, from Patsy Cline to Beyoncé, from Alison Krauss and Union Station to Indigo Girls, from Shawn Colvin to Kate Bush. She admits her taste in music is diverse. When not teaching youngsters how to sing, Simmons fronts her Brattleboro-based band, Low Lily, whose members have toured all...
Almost every Spring for 19 years, Brattleboro Clayworks has invited the community to help make bowls to feed the hungry. This year's Bowlerama will be held on Saturday, May 13. Volunteers will make hand-built bowls to donate to the annual Brattleboro Empty Bowls dinner. There will be no throwing on the wheels at this event. Participants won't need any experience or special skills, since artist-teachers Judith Thomas, Andi Matthews, and Karen Horton will provide basic instruction and gentle support to...