Let me suggest that nothing be done about the dismantling of the dam at Sweet Pond other than to allow beavers to come in and build a new dam.
Beavers are very skillful engineers and have been known to construct very large, expert dams. They also maintain their work. This would cost the taxpayers nothing. A few lodges would go up in the prime real estate thus created.
The wildlife and fish could return!
What about road flooding? Beavers build a lake only to the depth necessary for them to survive over the winter and to maintain the safety of their lodges. Sweet Pond rests low in relation to the road, anyway.
While the rest of the nation seems as if it has become unhinged, Vermont has retained most of its sanity. We are usually ranked among the smartest, healthiest, and safest states in the union. Now, we are apparently one of the most peaceful. The Institute for Economics and Peace...
With a theme of “live as if our future matters,” Preserve Our Planet (POP) members from Brattleboro Union High School and representatives from Post Oil Solutions (www.postoilsolutions.org) are organizing what they call the “iMatter Mother's Day Climate Change March and Rally” on Sunday, May 8. The iMatterMarch (http://imattermarch.org) is...
Utilities Division crews will start the spring flushing of the town water mains on Thursday, May 5, at 10 p.m., and continue through Saturday, May 21. Water main flushing will occur both at night and during the day. Customers are asked to check the flushing schedule closely as flushing causes water discoloration, low water pressure, and in some areas, intervals of no water. Night flushing will occur from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Day flushing will occur from 9 a.m.
Brooks House was one of the largest hotels in New England, a popular summer resort, and a year-around meeting place for citizenry. Its verandah served as a viewing stand for majestic parades and afforded a view of activities along the entire length of Main Street. The hotel was famous in New York and Boston, and many elegant parties were held in the spacious ballroom. As a “stagecoach” and rail hostelry, it was a transportation center without equal for miles around.
Thanks to the inevitable, if perennially irksome, final roadblock known as Mud Season, which many of us must endure as a passage to springtime, I've skipped the shorter back route home these past weeks and driven the higher and drier blacktop alternative, taking me through the center of Putney. On the ragged heels of a winter's journey that even this longtime northern girl found grueling, what an unexpected and immensely welcome dose of hope and bloom the mud inadvertently bestowed...
Vermont has never seen a governor quite like Peter Shumlin. Verbally nimble, whip smart, self-assured, and possessing the timing of a stand-up comedian, he has the ability to walk into any room and own it in a matter of minutes. On a gray and drizzly April morning in Randolph, Shumlin was standing before about 60 members of the Randolph Area Chamber of Commerce. It was reasonably safe to assume that few of them had voted for Shumlin last November, and...
As I write this two days later, Brattleboro, Vermont is still in shock over the sudden and complete loss of one of its Main Street buildings, apparently because of an electrical fire. Brooks House, a former hotel with a distinctive mansard roof, was built in 1871 on the ashes of an even older building also destroyed by fire. It was listed on the National Historic Register, but its historic status means nothing compared with its significance to our town. This...
For the third straight year, Chroma Technology, a growing employee-owned company in Rockingham, has made WorldBlu's global “List of Most Democratic Workplaces." “We don't use organizational democracy as a tool,” said Chroma cofounder and president Paul Millman. “It is who we are.” Chroma was one of 52 international companies named to this prestigious list on April 12. Other well-known companies were Groupon, Zappos.com, HCL Technologies, and WD-40. Chroma manufactures optical microscope filters and coatings for laboratories all over the world.
On behalf of the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center staff, board, clients of the Overflow Shelter, and myself, I thank all the volunteers who staffed the shelter. I am beholden to all of you for answering my desperate calls and e-mails when I was looking for people who could cover shifts that had been left open because of weather or other circumstances. Without all of your support, the Overflow Shelter would not have survived the winter. The final numbers are...
With spring on its way, the staff at Our Place in Bellows Falls is looking back on a busy and productive winter. Though cold and snow meant an unusually high number of guests for meals served in the dining room, the employees met the challenges and are energized to head into summer. Located on Island Street in the heart of Bellows Falls, Our Place was founded by Donna Stevens and has been serving the area for over 20 years. As...
The Our Place Drop-in Center recently held two successful food drives that will help the agency deal with a 65 percent increase in the number of families coming in for groceries. “In March, we served 240 adults and 166 children,” said Our Place Director Lisa Pitcher, “which is up from 153 adults and 93 children this time last year.” Pitcher attributed the rise in need to people using up their financial reserves as their unsuccessful search for work drags on,
Obituaries • June (Hoffmann) Butler, 89, of Halifax. Died April 24 at her home. Wife of the late Rev. George Butler for 54 years. Sister of the late William “Bill” Hoffmann, Jr. Born in New Haven, Conn., the daughter of William Hoffmann and Katherine (Ziegler) Hoffmann and was born on June 29, 1921 in New Haven, Conn, she received an associate's degree from the University of Hartford's Hillyer College and worked as a social work volunteer. She also attended the...
A vote on a proposed $2.95 million bond to fund a restoration project on the Rockingham Free Public Library is scheduled at a special town meeting on May 17. An information session will be held on Monday, May 9, at 7 p.m., at the library to explain the need for the project. Library staff are also giving tours on Monday, May 9, at 6 p.m., and Wednesday, May 11, at 10 a.m., so voters can see the extent of the...
The Fenn Relays were held at the Freeman Track in Brattleboro Union High School on Friday, and both Colonel teams took third place in the nine-team meet. The 1600 boys' sprint medley team of Jacob Ellis, John Asigbeykye, Paxton Reed and Greg Reuter took first, while the 4 x 800 team of Ellis, Zeke Fitzgerald, Abadi Kerlin-Smith, Austin Lester came in second and the 4 x 400 team of Alex Silver, Kerlin-Smith, Reuter and Ellis finished third. Monadnock was the...
Music Brattleboro Women's Chorus concerts: World class pianist Alki Steriopoulos joins the Brattleboro Women's Chorus in its 15th annual spring concert on Saturday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday May 8, at 3 p.m. Director Becky Graber leads a chorus of local women in three- and four-part harmony, with songs ranging from Jean Ritchie's The Cool of the Day, to the jazz standard Comes Love, to Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Matthai's treeplanting song from Kenya. Tickets to the...
The Rockingham Free Public Library thanks everyone who helped make the 2011 annual book sale a success - and a special thank you goes to all who volunteered their time and muscle-power hauling, lifting, and organizing books. We are also grateful to everyone who donates books throughout the year. Your generosity and good will are the prime ingredients that make this sale so diverse, interesting, and profitable. For the past few years, we have extended the book sale from one...
Putney Friends Meeting wholeheartedly supports the swift passage of the Uniting American Families Act. As we support this legislation, we recognize that this act does not yet complete the struggle for full recognition of the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgendered individuals. We continue to support the full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. Putney Friends Meeting has held a longstanding objection to unjust laws, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, that violate our religious testimony on equality,
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a source of tension and frustration, not only in the Middle East and around the world, but here in Brattleboro. On Monday, May 9, from 7-9 p.m., at Centre Congregrational Church, 193 Main St., the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community (BAJC) presents a public forum on the Middle East entitled, “How Does the Media Shape Our Understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?” A $5 donation is suggested to cover program costs. This event, which is co-sponsored by...
As many of you know, the fire that destroyed the Brooks House in downtown Brattleboro on April 17 dealt a lamentable blow to the town and its surrounding areas. The Brooks House has been a vital part of Brattleboro's community life for 140 years. Additionally, The Book Cellar, a downtown Brattleboro fixture for 63 years (55 of them at its current Brooks House location) has always cherished its role in cultivating the town's vibrant spirit. Yes, the recent fire has...
If you are the proprietor of a recording studio, the one thing that you would likely insist upon is quiet. But the Cotton Mill complex is a busy place these days, and quiet is at a premium. So, after 10 years in the Cotton Mill, Michael Cerulli Billingsley is moving Straight Arrow Recordings, and temporarily relocating to his Canal Street home until he can find a new place to set up shop. “Our most recent space, although visually appealing, was...
On Sunday, May 8, the students at the School for International Training (SIT) will be presenting a day of lectures, music, and dance. This community event, TEDxSIT: From Ideas to Action, seeks to involve SIT and the people of Brattleboro in a thought-provoking experience about the magical, complex, and exhilarating process of bringing ideas to life. The impetus for the occasion was a group of local graduate students deciding they needed to connect with Brattleboro. Although only about three miles...
She came to us for a year and stayed for 20. Our lives were made comfortable and our lifestyles possible because of her. (My husband and I both had careers that involved travel.) She had a competent hand, a generous smile, and a gentle soul. She was never that overplayed cliché: “like family.” She was family. I remember the day she came to us, sight unseen, having been referred by a friend in the Dominican Republic. Our daughter was 4;
The scaffolding and dumpsters that ring the front of the Brooks House will be around for the next 6 to 8 weeks, and while the long-term future of the Main Street landmark is still in flux, it could have an unusual short-term future as the site of the town's biggest public arts installation. A dozen people showed up at a meeting of the Town Arts Committee at the River Garden on Thursday to discuss ways that the arts community could...
I am writing to express my concern about the plan to drain Sweet Pond in Guilford. I urge the state to reconsider this plan and reverse this decision. While I have formal ties to Guilford through my work, my interest in preserving the pond is mostly personal. My family and I, as well as many of my friends and their families, have spent many hours hiking and picnicking around this incredibly beautiful natural environment. The pond and its surrounding area...
I was disgusted by the decision to run a giant free press release for Entergy on the cover of the inside section of the April 27 issue of The Commons. Let Entergy buy an ad if it wants to. If this happens again, I will cancel my subscription.
This week, Bill Colvin, Dover and Wilmington's first Bi-Town Economic Development Planner, announced his resignation after seven months on the job. Dover and Wilmington hired Colvin as part of the towns' long-term economic development strategy designed to improve their economic stability and diversify their predominantly tourist economy. The towns charged Colvin with implementing nine shared development goals. Increasing cell phone and high speed Internet service in the connectivity-challenged Deerfield Valley topped Colvin's list. “I would really like to stay involved,”
During Gallery Walk, on May 6 at 8 p.m., visit the Hooker-Dunham Theater on Main Street to participate in an evening celebrating cycling culture. The Putney Bicycle Club will present the film Riding Bikes With The Dutch by Michael Wolfgang Bauch. The films tells the story of a family that travels to the Netherlands for a year and experiences a way of life quite different from their lives in the urban sprawl of freeway-laden Southern California. Find out how much...
With plans still uncertain about the future of the Brooks House, it will be a while before changes along the first-floor storefronts occur, says its owner, Jonathan Chase. As workers begin repairing the historic building, seriously damaged in a five-alarm fire on April 17, sounds of deconstruction can be heard behind the pumpkin-orange plastic barrier, and burnedout window frames and an absent roofline along the Harmony Parking lot frame the skyline. At the street level, foot traffic now passes underneath...
Why should Rockingham taxpayers approve the renovation bond vote for the Bellows Falls Middle School? Because our children deserve to learn in a modernized building with proper ventilation, heating, and natural light. Because the building is in the center of our community; it would be the death of Bellows Falls if it were abandoned and boarded up with pigeons flying through it. The old high school was built solid and built to last. It is the systems within it that...
A compromise was reached late Tuesday morning that avoided forming a conference committee to iron out differences on H.73, the public records bill, and ease final passage of the measure. According to Allen Gilbert, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Vermont chapter, the House agreed to concur with the version of the bill passed by the Senate Monday evening, if the Senate will agree to a set of five new amendments. Senate Government Operations Committee Chair Jeanette White,
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch At long last, the mastermind of the Sept. 11th attack on America has been brought to justice. Tonight's announcement by President Obama is welcome news to all Vermonters and all Americans, especially to the families and loved ones of those murdered by Osama bin Laden on Sept. 11, 2001. I know I join all Vermonters in the hope that this news will in some way ease the heavy burden still weighing on these families. And I...
The Shumlin administration wants Entergy Corp. to pay for any legal expenses the state may incur as it defends itself against a lawsuit Entergy initiated against the state in April. That counterintuitive payment approach is called a “billback,” according to a Department of Public Service official, who assured the Senate Finance Committee on Friday that such legal maneuvers are “an age-old tradition.” If the state, for example, were bringing a case in front of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), it...
Let me suggest that nothing be done about the dismantling of the dam at Sweet Pond other than to allow beavers to come in and build a new dam. Beavers are very skillful engineers and have been known to construct very large, expert dams. They also maintain their dams. This would cost the taxpayers nothing. A few lodges would go up in the prime real estate thus created. The wildlife and fish could return! What about road flooding? Beavers only...
Sovernet has extended the deadline to June 1 for schools to commit to its Vermont FiberConnect program. Gregg Noble, Sovernet business development manager, said that school supervisory unions needed more time to understand the program and its economic development repercussions for their communities. “[With this project], schools are the anchors, and they have an economic development impact on the town,” said Noble, adding that these roles are not traditional ones for the schools. The lack of high-speed Internet access in...
In the two weeks since the Brooks House fire, there has been a tremendous outpouring of community support for the residents and businesses displaced by the April 17 disaster. But Brattleboro is just getting warmed up. This Friday and Saturday, the “Unity for Community” event will give area residents a chance to venture downtown to shop, eat, and support their neighbors. The celebration will also raise money for the United Way of Windham County's Brooks House fund, which is designated...
Above Sweet Pond a great blue heron hovers over a brown trout: * * * In Sweet Pond frogs hide from a winged shadow. * * * Beside Sweet Pond mushrooms push from earth after rain. * * * On Sweet Pond dragonflies wheel through my daydreams. * * * Without Sweet Pond where will the sky see its face as water thins to a ribbon?
Health care activists won a victory on Tuesday when a House/Senate conference committee agreed to strip an amendment that would block undocumented residents from receiving coverage under the proposed Green Mountain Care health insurance program. The Senate had inserted the language into H.202, the universal health care reform bill, but House conferees resisted it. Late Monday night, the committee members decided to strike the amendment language and replace it with a study of coverage and services for undocumented residents. Eliminating...
Childhood memories of the cattle, the freak shows, and the girlie shows stayed with Charles Fish of Dummerston so much so that, in 1998, he published a book of photographs, with text, entitled Blue Ribbons and Burlesque: A Book of Country Fairs. An author and photographer, Fish will exhibit 72 of his photographs at the Crowell Gallery of the Moore Free Library in Newfane beginning Saturday, May 7. A reception with the photographer will be held that day from 2...