Stories by Randolph T. Holhut

Issue of Jan 22, 2020 (#545)


• Colonel boys start to roll at midpoint of hoops season
• A race against time: Climate activist Bill McKibben urges Hilltop Montessori students to keep up their urgent fight for a livable planet
• Dismantling the lie: At MLK Day service, town’s new diversity consultant talks about how the town must confront the structures that reinforce racism

Issue of Jan 15, 2020 (#544)


• BF girls get first win of season over Twin Valley
• Retreat, state step back from the brink: Downsizing is still on the table as governor calls psychiatric hospital ‘too critical for us to let fail’ and BMH president says services are essential

Issue of Jan 8, 2020 (#543)


• Colonel girls keep improving on the ice

Issue of Jan 1, 2020 (#542)


• Colonel boys stop Wolves in OT

Issue of Dec 18, 2019 (#541)


• Colonel girls beat Rebels to win Tip-Off Classic

Issue of Dec 11, 2019 (#540)


• Candidate runs on platform of health care, education, climate: Rebecca Holcombe, the former secretary of education under Shumlin and Scott, is a former schoolteacher and principal
• Colonel boys win a wild home hockey opener

Issue of Dec 4, 2019 (#539)


• Milsark, Richards are Turkey Trot winners
• An end, and a beginning: Community helps First Baptist Church say goodbye to its longtime home as it looks ahead to a new place of worship

Issue of Nov 27, 2019 (#538)


• Area players lead Vermont Academy to girls’ soccer title
• ‘Moving Wall’ will visit area in 2020: Veterans began fundraising and logistical work to bring replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial to Brattleboro
• Groundworks officially breaks ground on shelter: New building next door to the nonprofit will become the permanent home of its seasonal overflow shelter and offer new space for current services

Issue of Nov 20, 2019 (#537)


• On the run with the Red Clover Rovers

Issue of Nov 13, 2019 (#536)


• Local players named to All-State soccer teams
• Galbraith slams foreign-policy ‘betrayal’: Former ambassador discusses the short- and long-term consequences of a recent abrupt U.S. policy change in Syria
• BUHS wins first state football championship since 1973: Undefeated Colonels rip Bellows Falls to win Division II title

Issue of Nov 6, 2019 (#535)


• Twin Valley wins boys’ soccer title; Colonels to face BF for football crown

Issue of Oct 30, 2019 (#534)


• BF girls repeat as state cross-country champs
• Thanksgiving Dinner needs volunteers: Annual community feast starts at noon on Nov. 28
• Legion to honor the heroes of our longest war: Post 5 will present a day of events in remembrance of those who have served — and those who still serve — in the global war on terrorism

Issue of Oct 23, 2019 (#533)


• Colonels end regular season undefeated

Issue of Oct 16, 2019 (#532)


• Colonels close in on top seed in Division II football

Issue of Oct 9, 2019 (#531)


• Area cross-country teams tune up for state meet
• State funds will rehab two buildings in Brattleboro: A 120-year-old grocery warehouse and a church turned performing-arts space will get state tax credits as part of program to put downtown buildings to more productive use

Issue of Oct 2, 2019 (#530)


• Colonels stay undefeated with big win over Mt. Abe

Issue of Sep 25, 2019 (#529)


• Colonels, BF sit atop Division II football rankings
• Foodworks: a new lease on (shelf) life: With a bright, spacious, and welcoming space, Groundworks celebrates expansion, relocation of the region’s busiest food pantry

Issue of Sep 18, 2019 (#528)


• Terrier girls off to a fast start in cross-country
• Behind the music: A professional archivist lends a hand to organize a time capsule of records that document thousands of organs built at the Estey Organ Company

Issue of Sep 11, 2019 (#527)


• Rebel girls off to a fast start in soccer

Issue of Sep 4, 2019 (#526)


• Colonels rally to beat BF in football opener

Issue of Aug 28, 2019 (#525)


• Fall school sports season begins this week
• Coming soon: a new way to New York City: Valley Flyer marks the return of morning rail service for Brattleboro-area riders, but you'll have to drive to Greenfield to catch the train

Issue of Aug 21, 2019 (#524)


• BUHS graduate in forefront of research on sports concussions

Issue of Aug 14, 2019 (#523)


• Post 5 falls in Northeast Regional tourney

Issue of Aug 7, 2019 (#522)


• Post 5 wins its seventh state Legion title
• Hands-on training: Nine students in Farm-to-Table Apprenticeship program learn culinary arts the best way: by serving willing guests at a pop-up restaurant in Brattleboro
• Lack of housing comes between young workers and careers in Vt.: More housing options are needed to attract, retain workers in the state, young professionals tell Welch

Issue of Jul 31, 2019 (#521)


• Post 5 reaches finals of state Legion tourney

Issue of Jul 24, 2019 (#520)


• State champions: Brattleboro All-Stars win title for 9-11 Little League
• Brattleboro installs three portable toilets: For town officials, the move is a matter of public dignity and public health

Issue of Jul 17, 2019 (#519)


• Brattleboro All-Stars win state Babe Ruth title
• Could new municipal district be model for rural broadband?: With new broadband law in place, state legislators and Windham Regional Commission eye a potential Communication Union District for high-speed internet, but lawmakers say the community will drive the discussion

Issue of Jul 10, 2019 (#518)


• Nixon, Bullock win Firecracker 4-Miler race

Issue of Jul 3, 2019 (#517)


• Post 37 struggles as Post 5 chases Legion leaders
• Connectivity: How does it happen, and who pays?: Local officials meet with Welch to discuss ways that Feds can help deliver universal broadband to Vermont

Issue of Jun 26, 2019 (#516)


• Koch finishes fifth in state decathlon

Issue of Jun 19, 2019 (#515)


• Post 5 off to good start as Legion baseball season begins

Issue of Jun 12, 2019 (#514)


• Veteran: ‘truly blessed’ after 75 years: Richard Hamilton, a former prisoner of war, reflects on his World War II experiences
• Heydinger retires after 20 years at Girls on the Run
• Group seeks allies in fight against invasive plant: Brattleboro Conservation Commission tries to prevent Japanese knotweed from impeding access to the banks of the West River

Issue of Jun 5, 2019 (#513)


• BF sweeps Division II state track meets

Issue of May 29, 2019 (#512)


• Hearing the voices: Vermont’s newest adjutant general remembers his comrades during Memorial Day service in Brattleboro

Issue of May 22, 2019 (#511)


• With rainy spring, teams scramble to make up games

Issue of May 15, 2019 (#510)


• Pitching shortage bites softball teams
• For Brattleboro town schools, clock ticks on $700,000: Town School Board mulls how to deal with unspent reserve funds on eve of merger

Issue of May 8, 2019 (#509)


• Ultimate disc makes debut as varsity sport
• Towns, schools count down to merger: Early voting begins for new Windham Southeast School Board, set to replace current structure July 1

Issue of May 1, 2019 (#508)


• A new chapter for Shin La: Brothers buy Korean restaurant from longtime owners of longstanding Brattleboro eatery

Issue of Apr 24, 2019 (#507)


• Colonel softballers humbled by MAU

Issue of Apr 17, 2019 (#506)


• Colonels win a chilly baseball opener
• Veterans organizations seek embrace of a new generation: American Legion’s national commander comes to Brattleboro to boost support for veterans old and young

Issue of Apr 10, 2019 (#505)


• Rebels bring joy, fun to basketball court
• ‘The Beast’ brings rock back to Brattleboro’s airwaves: WTSA-AM drops sports talk for rock, adds FM translator frequency

Issue of Apr 3, 2019 (#504)


• BUHS Unified basketball wins home opener
• Windham County sheriff will retire June 30: Keith Clark leaves after 12 years on the job and a long career in regional law enforcement

Issue of Mar 27, 2019 (#503)


• Lawmakers from county offer progress report: At Chamber breakfast, state senators, representatives outline activity under the golden dome at the halfway point of the legislative session
• Local nordic skier brings home the gold at Masters World Cup

Issue of Mar 20, 2019 (#502)


• Wildcats fall in semifinals
• Worldwide climate protest hits home: Area students leave school and take to the streets on a 60-degree day in mid-March to press for urgent action on climate change

Issue of Mar 13, 2019 (#501)


• Girl Power in all its glory: Colonels go down fighting in epic hockey semifinal

Issue of Mar 6, 2019 (#500)


• Twin Valley boys open playoffs at home

Issue of Feb 27, 2019 (#499)


• Colonel boys win MVL nordic title
• Six candidates vie for three seats on Brattleboro Selectboard: Coplan and Wessel to compete for three-year position; Heller, McLoughlin, Quipp, and Reichsman will square off during annual elections on March 5 for two one-year seats

Issue of Feb 20, 2019 (#498)


• Terrier girls keep winning, but gain little ground in standings
• Slovenian skier wins Harris Hill tournament: Blaz Pavlic, 20, tops deep field of competitors for his second win in three years

Issue of Feb 13, 2019 (#497)


• International field competes at ski jump this weekend
• Brattleboro businesses praise rapid flood fix: Downtown stores, River Garden suffer water damage from broken sprinkler line valve

Issue of Feb 6, 2019 (#496)


• More options coming for local rail users: Shuttle trains will begin routes between Greenfield and Springfield, Mass. this summer
• Wildcats, Rebels struggle through down times

Issue of Jan 30, 2019 (#495)


• BF boys hold off Horde to snap losing streak
• Retired doctor honored for community service: At annual awards breakfast, Brattleboro Chamber also names Groundworks member of the year and honors Stromberg as entrepreneur
• Voters will see contested races in Brattleboro: O’Connor and Gander will not seek re-election to Selectboard, Wessel faces challenge for three-year term, and four will compete for two one-year seats

Issue of Jan 23, 2019 (#494)


• Rebels, Colonels hoopsters get back on track
• Trial and suffering, courage and resilience: Homelessness Awareness Day vigil shines light on those who struggle for food and shelter — a number that increased over the past year
• More than just one day a year: At a Martin Luther King Day event, former State Rep. Kiah Morris — who resigned from the Legislature over her family’s racial harassment — challenges Vermonters to stand up for social justice every day

Issue of Jan 16, 2019 (#493)


• Terriers off to 8-0 start in girls' hoops
• New legislative session begins in Montpelier: Members of county delegation serve on top House, Senate committees

Issue of Jan 9, 2019 (#492)


• Colonels finish homestand with a win
• Paper mill sold, saving 100 jobs in region: New firm buys Neenah plant; BDCC buys site and will address brownfields

Issue of Jan 2, 2019 (#491)


• Touched by war: A 94-year-old veteran is surprised with a Quilt of Valor for his service as a bombardier in World War II
• A farewell is in the cards: After nearly a century in Brattleboro, the end approaches for Baker’s Hallmark

Issue of Dec 19, 2018 (#490)


• BUHS hockey teams fall in opening-night doubleheader
• A view beyond the postcards: ‘We Are Vermont!’ calendar returns to celebrate ‘creativity, passion, diversity, and progressive activism’

Issue of Dec 12, 2018 (#489)


• Will the FCC pull the plug on public-access TV?: BCTV, FACT decry proposed rule changes that could reduce the funding that keeps the community television stations on the air
• Colonel girls win Leland & Gray Tip-Off Tourney

Issue of Dec 5, 2018 (#488)


• Winter high school sports season begins
• An insider’s view on a volatile region: Peter Galbraith, a former ambassador, believes that Iran is benefitting from Trump’s policies
• Leader of Vermont Chamber expects Scott, lawmakers to get along in 2019: Bishop addresses need for workforce development and predicts legislative action on AirBnB, tourism

Issue of Nov 28, 2018 (#487)


• North squad all-stars win football game, 57-35

Issue of Nov 21, 2018 (#486)


• Marble Valley League all-star teams announced

Issue of Nov 14, 2018 (#485)


• Twin Valley falls to Stowe in boys’ soccer final
• Carbon monoxide detector credited with saving lives: Six tenants in Brattleboro treated after firefighters evacuate apartment building

Issue of Nov 7, 2018 (#484)


• County shows support for Hallquist, but Scott soundly holds governor’s seat: Voters turn out heavily across the state on Election Day despite double the number of absentee and early ballots, compared to 2014 midterms
• Standing on the top: Terriers win fourth straight field hockey title
• Coffey defeats Gilligan, flipping longtime GOP House seat in Vernon and Guilford: County’s incumbents sweep to victory

Issue of Oct 31, 2018 (#483)


• Democracy in action: Candidates forum offers opportunity for hopefuls to 'share their hearts'
• Ground breaks for new housing: Housing Trust’s Snow Building will offer 23 apartments in downtown Brattleboro
• BF girls win Division III cross-country title

Issue of Oct 24, 2018 (#482)


• BF field hockey, girls’ X-C teams vie for titles

Issue of Oct 17, 2018 (#481)


• Slaters nip Terriers in hard-fought 17-16 win
• Solar array ushers in bright new era of energy: New project puts 16,000 solar panels on closed and capped regional landfill in Brattleboro

Issue of Oct 10, 2018 (#480)


• BF field hockey continues its winning ways

Issue of Oct 3, 2018 (#479)


• More than apple pies (but there will be 1,500 of those): Dummerston Apple Pie Fest also offers crafts, pancakes, and more
• Hilltoppers whallop Colonels, 61-20

Issue of Sep 26, 2018 (#478)


• Shorthanded Wildcats struggle against Rebels

Issue of Sep 19, 2018 (#477)


• BF girls, Colonel boys win Pickering Invitational

Issue of Sep 12, 2018 (#476)


• Colonels fall short against Lakers

Issue of Sep 5, 2018 (#475)


• Raiders spoil Colonels’ football opener, 35-0

Issue of Aug 29, 2018 (#474)


• Field hockey, football seasons start this weekend

Issue of Aug 22, 2018 (#473)


• Looking for heroes: Health care justice campaign visits Brattleboro to enlist support for ‘Medicare for All’
• After almost 30 years, a gym changes hands: Local firefighter hopes to carry on what Chip Hellus started
• Preschoolers learn about safety: Firefighters show kids what’s on the truck
• Marlboro College sells graduate center building to Renaud Brothers: Vernon construction company pays $3 million for downtown property

Issue of Aug 15, 2018 (#472)


• Tenney Field’s grandstand now a state historic landmark: New status may help save the structure from demolition by school district
• Kornheiser defeats Stuart, a four-term incumbent: In state representative race, a rare primary challenge ends in an upset
• Hallquist faces Scott for governor in November: Transgender Democrat makes political history in four-way race; Republican fends off primary challenge from fiscal right

Issue of Aug 8, 2018 (#471)


• Best seat in the house?: Språng Chair wins Brattleboro Road Pitch contest

Issue of Aug 1, 2018 (#470)


• Posts 5, 37 knocked out of state Legion tourney

Issue of Jul 25, 2018 (#469)


• Touched by tragedy, focused on results: In run to unseat Scott, Brenda Siegel promises new governing style
• Post 5 moves into first as Legion season winds down

Issue of Jul 18, 2018 (#468)


• Incumbent feels up for the challenge: Mike Mrowicki, a Windham-4 state representative since 2006, seeks re-election

Issue of Jul 11, 2018 (#467)


• Costa-Walsh, Horowitz win Firecracker 4-Miler
• Hopefuls for governor make their case: Democrats have brief, but spirited, exchange of ideas
• Welch describes bleak conditions for asylum seekers at border: Accuses president of using detained children as bargaining chips toward building Mexican wall

Issue of Jul 4, 2018 (#466)


• Little League playoffs begin for teams in Brattleboro

Issue of Jun 27, 2018 (#465)


• More options coming for area rail passengers: Trains running between Greenfield and Springfield, Mass., set to begin by June 2019
• Old motel offers new housing with hope: Great River Terrace transforms former Lamplighter Inn into housing and support to people who were homeless
• Post 5 off to fast start as Legion baseball season begins
• For daily newspaper, new staff and resources: Two years after purchase, owners of the Reformer begin to deliver on promises to improve it

Issue of Jun 20, 2018 (#464)


• ‘For the Love of the Game’: Young photographer captures essence of sport in exhibition at C.X. Silver Gallery

Issue of Jun 13, 2018 (#463)


• Colonels, Rebels fall in semifinals
• Compassion meets fiscal common sense: Cindy Jerome touts both qualities as candidate in Windham-4 for the Vermont House

Issue of Jun 6, 2018 (#462)


• For the win: Colonels reach baseball, girls’ lacrosse semis; BF sweeps state track meet

Issue of May 30, 2018 (#461)


• High school playoffs begin this week with high hopes for Colonels
• Connecticut firm buys ski area in Dummerston: Sugar Mountain Holdings pays $745,000 for long-closed Maple Valley
• Remembering the fallen, comforting the living: Memorial Day service in Brattleboro puts extra emphasis on helping those who have borne the battle

Issue of May 23, 2018 (#460)


• Colonel laxwomen close in on playoff spot
• First-time candidate accustomed to effecting change from within: Nader Hashim, son of two immigrants, would be first state trooper to serve in Vermont legislature

Issue of May 16, 2018 (#459)


• A weekend of book sales is planned in Putney
• Colonels off to 10-0 start on diamond
• Is peace possible?: After Trump scraps nuclear deal with Iran, former Iranian negotiator tells Windham World Affairs Council about what might happen next in Mideast

Issue of May 9, 2018 (#458)


• Colonels fall in Unified playoff thriller
• Siegel announces a run for governor: Dance festival director and activist seeks to broaden range of voices in politics
• Candidate focuses on economy, infrastructure: James Ehlers, one of four Democrats challenging Republican governor, hits the trail in Bellows Falls
• Texas man shot, captured by Brattleboro, state police: Suspect linked to multistate robbery spree

Issue of May 2, 2018 (#457)


• Colonels baseball, softball teams start a winning season

Issue of Apr 25, 2018 (#456)


• Local runners brave elements in Boston Marathon

Issue of Apr 18, 2018 (#455)


• Bigelow, Colonels shut out BF in opener

Issue of Apr 11, 2018 (#454)


• Colonels win Unified home opener

Issue of Apr 4, 2018 (#453)


• Spring sports season ready to begin in Vermont
• Hebert won’t seek fifth term in Statehouse: A family illness prompts the Vernon Republican state representative’s decision to retire

Issue of Mar 28, 2018 (#452)


• Too many deer? A local forester thinks so.

Issue of Mar 21, 2018 (#451)


• Local ski areas enjoy a snowy March
• ‘It’s time to start screaming’: For many local students, walkout over gun laws is only the first leg in a marathon

Issue of Mar 14, 2018 (#450)


• Local teams knocked out early in boys’ tournament
• ‘Empowerment through empathy’: #MeToo march draws more than 50 on International Women’s Day

Issue of Mar 7, 2018 (#449)


• Boys’ hoop teams begin playoff journey
• Starr, Gander, Wessel win Selectboard seats: Davidson, Everest hold on to BUHS Board seats

Issue of Feb 28, 2018 (#448)


• Playoffs begin for hockey, girls’ hoops
• A friendly gathering: Selectboard candidates share ideas at televised forum

Issue of Feb 21, 2018 (#447)


• Brattleboro skiers dominate at MVL meet

Issue of Feb 14, 2018 (#446)


• Wildcats run out of gas against Proctor

Issue of Feb 7, 2018 (#445)


• Colonel hockey teams poised for playoff run

Issue of Jan 31, 2018 (#444)


• BUHS bowling: The newest winter sport
• Heydinger, NECCA honored by Chamber: Awards recognize resilient, agile community leaders
• Brattleboro Selectboard race draws three candidates: Starr to run unopposed for three-year seat

Issue of Jan 24, 2018 (#443)


• ‘One game at a time’: Brattleboro Colonels boys’ basketball team struggles through a long season
• A good man, a good life: With laughter and song, friends and family bid farewell to former House Speaker, Town Moderator Tim O’Connor
• Songs, signs, and solidarity: More than 200 turn out to show support for women's marches

Issue of Mar 29, 2017 (#401)


• Five local players named to Shrine football team