Brattleboro Fire Department personnel respond to an apartment fire on Main Street on Sept. 23. The fire set off the building’s sprinkler system, which flooded Beadniks.
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After the flood

With help from a lot of friends, a Brattleboro business works to recover from soaking brought on by an apartment fire that set off the building’s sprinklers

BRATTLEBORO-Brian Robertshaw, owner of Beadniks at 117 Main St., had just gone downstairs - ironically, with a watering can, to get water to care for the plants inside his shop on the ground floor - when he heard an unfamiliar high-pitched hiss.

"At first, I thought it might have been a broken water pipe because it's an old building and pipes have burst before," said Robertshaw as he recounted the Sept. 23 fire that displaced tenants and turned his business upside down.

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News

Library to get $1.47 million update

BRATTLEBORO-Brooks Memorial Library has received a $1.47 million grant to increase accessibility, energy efficiency, and internet connectivity. "Expansion and enhancement of the exterior space around our building have been recommended in public forums and surveys for years," says Library Director Starr LaTronica. "These funds will allow us to improve accessibility to both entrances for those with mobility issues and offer seating and workspaces that include electrical outlets, along with strengthened WiFi connectivity," she said. The renovations will also make it...

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Builders look to share skills with a new generation

In an effort to promote ongoing technical education among Vermont's builders, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., the Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON) will host a roundtable discussion, "Passing the Torch: Vermont Builders Discuss Challenges Facing the Next Generation." It will be held in the conference room of WW Building Supply at 551 VT Route 30, Newfane, with organizers promising "an enlightening and impactful gathering for anyone invested in the future of our building industry." Several seasoned...

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Brattleboro makes slow, but steady, progress on housing

BRATTLEBORO-First, the good news: The Town Planning Office has issued at least 54 permits for new housing projects this year - the highest number in years, as town Planning Director Sue Fillion told the Selectboard on Oct. 1. "That's a conservative estimate of our permitting activity for 2024, actually," Fillion told The Commons later in the week. "We have approved 63 new units as of the end of September. And just so you know, that is the highest number of...

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Grace Cottage Hospital blasts report's 'Ill-conceived ideas'

TOWNSHEND-When the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) released a report on Sept. 18 that listed Grace Cottage Hospital (GCH) as one of four hospitals financially "at-risk" and in need of "major restructuring," it came as a surprise to Chief Executive Officer Olivia Sweetnam. Sweetnam, who took over the leadership of Grace Cottage on July 1, said she had spoken with Bruce Hamory, a physician and partner with consultancy Oliver Wyman, which prepared a report for the GMCB that included recommendations...

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Why can’t some people afford heating fuel?

-Twenty years ago, Daryl Pillsbury and I wanted to do something to help people struggling to pay home heating bills. The price of fuel was high and we figured that, in a short time, the situation would get better and we could suspend our operations. We had no idea what we were getting into when we started the Windham County Heat Fund. Over the years, we have learned that the price of heating fuel has only a little to do...

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Eclectic economy

BRATTLEBORO-As described by Adam Grinold, a decade ago, Windham County had the second-oldest population in the state, people were leaving the area in high numbers, and wages languished below those of our neighbors. The executive director of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation says that the county has turned a corner in the intervening time and has experienced an uptick in population and employee wages. The regional economy has also undergone more visible change over the past year, with some stark...

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WSESD board pauses after imbroglio over political banners

DUMMERSTON-The controversy over political banners hung inside library windows of the Dummerston School has prompted multi-meeting discussions by the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) Board, but any next step is currently on pause. Board member Eva Nolan said she noticed the banners, one each for presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, on Sept. 5 as she drove by the school. She then called WSESD Board Chair Deborah Stanford about her "concern for BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color]

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Four towns address the housing crisis — collaboratively

LONDONDERRY-Vermont has a housing crisis - the state needs up to 36,000 new homes by 2030 to meet demand - and the quintessential single-family house on a large lot on a country road will not be the solution. "It's certainly not the future that local Vermonters can afford," said Chris Campany, executive director of the Windham Regional Commission (WRC). Instead, multifamily housing will become the standard. "Without a collapse in land prices or building prices that creates a massive housing...

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