Virginia Ray
WSESD board fills vacancy
Matthew Schibley has been appointed to the Windham Southeast School District School Board by unanimous vote to fill a vacant seat until the March election.
Schibley was one of seven candidates for the seat left open when former board member Lana Dever resigned in June, citing her need to focus on her family.
Can the show go on?
Dance school hopes to replace assets that disappeared from storage facility in time for annual performance
To anyone who knows The Nutcracker ballet, surely one of the most delightful scenes is when Mother Ginger arrives in all her larger-than-life glory and suddenly the stage is filled with wee Bon Bons, or Polichinelles, spilling out from under her colossal skirt to twirl and dance. The skirt...
In praise of pie … and everything apple
Dummerston bakers prepare to celebrate the 54th annual Pie Festival, while Newfane’s pie ladies get ready for the 52nd annual Heritage Festival
If baking hundreds of apple pies can make one as affable as the ladies of the Dummerston Congregational Church and the Newfane Congregational Church, we should all grab a bushel. Despite the devastating effects of the May frost on the apple crop statewide, in Dummerston, pie lady Sallie May...
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Brattleboro to run its own EMS
The Selectboard has voted unanimously to pursue a municipal-based model to provide the town's emergency medical services (EMS), choosing it over starting a new contract with Rescue Inc. Staff members recommended the town model, saying it outperforms any other model investigated, including Rescue, by nearly $1.2 million over five years. Town Manager John Potter said before the vote on Sept. 19 that staff members recommended the municipal model knowing that "for some in our community, this will be a deep...
Brattleboro employees support municipal fire-based EMS model
Out of the gate at the Sept. 12 public forum at Brooks Memorial Library, Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland surprised some by recommending the Selectboard choose a fire-based EMS service for the town - a move supported by the 10 other town staff members present, each speaking in favor of it. "I believe we have a fantastic opportunity in the municipal model," Moreland said. He continued to note that after reviewing the Request for Proposal (RFP) responses from American Medical...
Selectboard discusses EMS options in advance of impending major decision
It was almost 11 p.m., about 2{1/2} hours into a three-hour discussion on Sept. 7 about how the town will provide emergency medical services (EMS) in the future, when the conversation focused a beam directly on the town's partnership with previous provider, Rescue Inc. For a nanosecond, you could hear a pin drop after board member Elizabeth "Liz" McLoughlin, asked the board to direct town staff members to plan to outline a history of the Brattleboro Fire Department's previous relationship...
A Bear in the air
When the Brattleboro Union High School Bears football team took the field in the season opener against Middlebury on Sept. 1 at Natowich Field, and voices singing the national anthem rose to the line "and the rockets' red glare," in the sky appeared a small Cessna 182. Perfectly poised, the plane, piloted by 17-year-old BUHS senior Ben Berg, saluted the team and celebrated the first varsity sports event at the school with its new mascot, the Bears. "It was awesome,"
Brattleboro Food Co-op manager leaves after 15 months on the job
Brattleboro Food Co-op General Manager Lee Bradford is leaving after 15 months. Bradford came here to the job from Fresno, California with 26 years of business management expertise in a variety of industries. He previously served as general manager for FreshKO Produce Services, Inc., a $100 million produce sales and distribution company with more than 150 employees. Co-op Board President Jerlyn Wilson addressed Bradford’s leaving, which was not explained in any press release, other than his saying it was not...