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Brattleboro candidates’ responses to League of Women Voters survey questions

The League of Women Voters of Vermont invited all the candidates in the Brattleboro March 4, 2025 Election, to speak directly to voters through answering a set of questions. The questions were created with our media partners The Brattleboro Reformer and The Commons to create a fair, impartial, and locally relevant online forum. The League had final say on the questions asked. Here are the full unedited responses we received from the candidates, as published on https://www.vote411.org/.

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News

Pride versus precedent

ROCKINGHAM-Town and village officials have tabled a request to display a rainbow pride flag on town property near a site of deep significance to the local LGBTQ+ community. Rockingham Selectboard Clerk Elijah Zimmer's motion to the Jan. 28 tri-board meeting - which comprises the Rockingham Selectboard, and the Saxtons River and Bellows Falls Trustees - has stirred discussion, and some controversy, among residents and leaders. At the Feb. 4 Selectboard meeting, Zimmer's motions were discussed in detail then, but they...

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Community ‘prepares for takeoff’ at Harris Hill Ski Jump

BRATTLEBORO-On Feb. 15 and 16, the Harris Hill Ski Jump kicks off its 103rd year, with some 40 world-class athletes to compete in the U.S. Cup event and the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament. For one special weekend each year, a hayfield at the end of Cedar Street transforms into a pop-up Olympic-style village, with thousands of onlookers gathering to witness a remarkable display of courage. But the spectacle that awaits didn't just happen overnight. In fact, you could say it...

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What USAID funding freeze means for Vermont

The Trump administration's decision to freeze nearly all U.S. Agency for International Development programs could threaten Vermont nonprofits and businesses. The decision halts funding for global development efforts, affecting organizations that provide health care, disaster relief and economic support in more than 130 countries. Congress provided $66.1 billion in foreign assistance appropriations in fiscal year 2023. "The USAID provides lifesaving assistance, healthcare, disaster relief and prevents them from coming into conflict. It's both moral but it also serves our national...

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At Brattleboro Union High School, grandstand could see repairs

BRATTLEBORO-Before the Windham Southeast School District school board approved a $67.7 million budget for the next fiscal year to send to voters at the Tuesday, March 18 annual meeting, much of the discussion centered around the need for improvements to the Tenney Field grandstand at Brattleboro Union High School. With a commitment already for $12 million in capital projects over the next few years, said Business Manager Frank Rucker, Tenney Field improvements are budgeted for $150,000 annually for the next...

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WSESD board sets $6.7m budget for voter approval

BRATTLEBORO-Voters in the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) will consider a $67.7 million fiscal year 2026 budget with a $3.2 million capital expense to improve the Tenney Field grandstand [see sidebar] when they meet March 18. With 2,300 students in the district, that means a $15,851-per-pupil expense rate - a 6.7% per-pupil spending increase, said Finance Committee Chair Shaun Murphy. In the budget, approved unanimously by WSESD directors, average town homestead tax rates are expected to decline by 3%, Murphy...

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Strength in numbers

All along Route 30 - from Brattleboro through Newfane, Townshend, and Jamaica to Bondville, Rawsonville, and Winhall - one sees white banners imprinted in green with "Vermont 30 Collective" hanging in front of local businesses, restaurants, and galleries. Launched in 2023, the Vermont 30 Collective is the brainchild of Gibbs Rehlan, a multi-generational Vermonter, and Matthew Banks, who has spearheaded 24 different campaigns in his career. According to a description on vt30.org, the collective is a group of local merchants,

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Senni takes the helm at Green Mountain Camp for Girls

DUMMERSTON-When Green Mountain Camp for Girls opened its online registration for this summer's campers on Feb. 5, a new executive director was at the helm, excitedly anticipating the summer months and the new cohort of young campers who will be creating a fresh start. The camp immediately filled 324 spots out of 458 available for this summer, said an excited Vicky Senni. The new director has attended Green Mountain Camp Teachers Camp for many years. "I love this campus and...

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‘What a remarkable and brave group of young people’

BRATTLEBORO-More than 80 adults ages 19 to 26 have come to town from Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Iraq, and Ethiopia to engage in college prep. Through Welcome Corps on Campus, a U.S. Department of State program that empowers U.S. colleges and universities to enroll and support refugee students through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, the School for International Training (SIT) opened its classrooms and dorms to welcome these students chosen to participate from among several thousand WCC applicants. At SIT's...

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