BRATTLEBORO-Under a slate gray sky with a cold wind sweeping across the Town Common, approximately 200 people gathered on Jan. 18 for a peaceful rally that, in the words of organizers, united people "in solidarity as humans, as immigrants, as LGBTQIA+ individuals, as BIPOC communities, as allies." They marched on the downtown sidewalks from Flat Street to the Common with a variety of signs, plenty of Palestinian Authority flags, and a desire to prevent the next four years of the...
JAMAICA-A 85–56 vote on Jan. 14 to keep Jamaica Village School open will affect the town's property tax rate, the Windham Central Supervisory Union (WCSU) budget for the 2025–26 school year, and the proposal to consolidate the education of Windham Central elementary school students in Newfane. While voters approved the purchase of the school building from the West River Modified Union Education District for $1, the article was nullified by the vote to keep the school open. Jamaica Village School...
DUMMERSTON-The future of children's offerings at Lydia Taft Pratt Library will be a whole lot brighter thanks to a $54,700 grant from the Vermont Early Childhood Fund (VECF) to build a new program for children's early literacy and library services. The amount of the VECF's Building Bright Futures Opportunity grant is the largest the library has seen in its 110-year history and will afford the library the chance to "significantly" expand services for young readers and use more space in...
BRATTLEBORO-Three candidates have expressed interest in being appointed to the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) School Board seat left vacant by former town representative Eva Nolan's recent resignation. All three met with board members after press time on Jan. 21, after which the board was expected to make a decision and appoint one of them to fulfill the seat until the March 4 annual election, when a one-year term will be available. • Gretchen Lanterman has already decided to seek...
BRATTLEBORO-When Vermont Democrats lacked a gubernatorial candidate the afternoon of the primary deadline in August 1972, Rockingham lawyer Tom Salmon, in the most last-minute of Hail Mary passes, threw his hat in the ring. "There could be a whale of a big surprise," Salmon was quoted as saying by skeptical reporters who knew the former local legislator had been soundly beached in his first try for state office two years earlier. Then a Moby Dick of a shock came on...
BRATTLEBORO-Standing on the sidewalk next to 9 Canal St., a multi-family apartment building above the Brattleboro Food Co-op, Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) Executive Director Elizabeth Bridgewater points to a wooden trellis running up the side of the building. "People are climbing up the trellis and entering the hall window that occupants unlock," she said. WWHT co-owns and manages the 9 Canal St. property, which includes 12 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The units are permanently affordable, with rents ranging...