Ellen Pratt
Flood plain will be restored by Whetstone River
It might seem crazy to buy land with the hope that it will flood, but that's exactly what the Vermont River Conservancy (VRC) has done through its purchase of 12 acres along the Whetstone Brook.
With permits in place, VRC and the town of Brattleboro are jointly cleaning up and restoring the land to its former flood plain status in an effort to reduce future flood damage downtown.
New housing in the works for an area starved for options
Hundreds of units ‘in the pipeline’ from local developers, but demand still outstrips supply
If plans come to fruition, more than 600 mixed-income units would be added to the area's housing stock, which comes as welcome news to those working to address the urgent need for more housing in Windham County and throughout the state. With the end of the state's pandemic-era temporary...
New food project goes the extra mile
Last Mile Food Project delivers meals — and hope — to elders with transportation barriers in the West River Valley
Thanks to a six-month, $5,000 grant from the United Way of Windham County, 25 people, mostly elders, have been receiving weekly deliveries of easy-to-prepare meals and groceries. These participants in the Last Mile Food Project also receive monthly deliveries of fresh vegetables from the Vermont Foodbank's VeggieVanGo program. Additionally,
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After the motel — one month later
With only three days remaining in their 21-day, maximum-allowed stay at Fort Dummer State Park's campground, Kayla and Travis Lavonte and their two cats are scrambling to find shelter - again. "We have to leave for seven nights but then we plan to come back," Kayla said. The couple has been camping since being evicted from the Quality Inn in mid-June. They are among the 70 households sheltered in six local motels who lost access to the pandemic-era emergency shelter...
‘You see the situation we’re in now’
After a summer afternoon's torrential downpour, Lisa Marie makes her way gingerly down a slick, muddy trail, through a forested area on the outskirts of town. The trail leads to a temporary shelter: a big blue tarp anchored to four trees and nailed into the ground. A folding camp chair, a bike, and a quilted cloth sleeping bag, laid out to dry on a log, are the only possessions in sight. Down the hill, three blue tents are pitched among...
Motel program residents return to homelessness
On a recent hot morning outside the Quality Inn on Putney Road, Kayla and Travis are loading bags of clothing and small pieces of furniture into the back of a pickup truck. They are part of the first wave of evictions from Vermont motels, after the end of the federally funded pandemic-era program that sheltered some 3,000 Vermonters (and around 270 people in Brattleboro) experiencing homelessness. In Brattleboro, an informal group of local service providers, town administrators, and leaders from...
Mrowicki: Integral to strength of Putney community
Mike Mrowicki, running for re-election to Vermont's General Assembly, representing Windham-4, is integral to the strength of the Putney community, where he lives. He shows up at community events to share stories, hear constituents' concerns, and to voice his opinions about the important issues of our time. He engages in discussions in a thoughtful, open-minded way and is always willing to hear all sides of an issue. He brings people together. He has worked tirelessly for his constituents and his...