Robert F. Smith
Compass School closes its doors after 25 years
WESTMINSTER-After completing its 25th school year of operation, The Compass School recently and abruptly announced that it will be permanently closing.
Though it had planned on operating for at least another year, financial difficulties the school had been facing for some time proved worse than expected.
In Bellows Falls, a quiet protest draws hundreds to the streets
BELLOWS FALLS-Another large, colorful, peaceful crowd lined the main street of Bellows Falls on June 14 for a couple of hours starting at noon, one of an estimated 2,000-plus anti-Trump No Kings rallies in the U.S. that day. The crowd was estimated to be similar in size to the...
Bellows Falls Historical Society makes a big move
New headquarters on Canal Street will let the organization evaluate, display, and digitize its local history holdings
BELLOWS FALLS-After using several temporary sites for its collection, the Bellows Falls Historical Society (BFHS) held a grand opening on June 14 at its new permanent location at 46 Canal St. Founded in 1965 by Bob Ashcroft, Bob Adams, and Alice Hawkins in order to save the historic Adams...
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Helping families in ‘a place that is like home’
BELLOWS FALLS-Founded in 1995, Parks Place Community Resource Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary still focused on its original mission - "to create opportunities by connecting people and resources in the Greater Falls area." The nonprofit is marking its 30th anniversary with a celebration at its 44 School St. location at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 7. The event will include pizza, birthday cake, games, and music, with special guests Troy Wunderle and Wade Garrett, a.k.a. DJ Wade the Great.
Obuchowski wins seat as new Bellows Falls village president
BELLOWS FALLS-In one of three contested races, Paul Obuchowski won his bid for Village Trustees president, defeating Deborah Wright 145–18. Both have served as president in past years. Incumbent trustee Susan MacNeil and newcomer Samantha Snow also won seats, with 131 and 135 votes, respectively, while former trustee Wright received 30 votes. In the race for village treasurer, Donna Harty beat challenger Pamela Willard, 108–47. Voters assembled downstairs in the Town Hall for the Annual Village Meeting on May 19,
At Rockingham Meeting House, workers dig up local history
ROCKINGHAM-A crew from Hartgen Archeological Associates spent a week at the Rockingham Meeting House earlier this month, completing a survey of the property using ground radar and digging test pits. The project takes place in anticipation of work to stabilize the building, which dates to 1787 and was named a National Historic Landmark in 2000. According to the town's website, the Meeting House is "the largest intact 18th [century] public building remaining in Vermont still in its original form and...
Riverfront Park expansion plans take shape in Bellows Falls
BELLOWS FALLS-For more than two decades, residents and community leaders have been working on a vision to transform an abandoned, polluted 8-acre former industrial site along the Connecticut River into a universally accessible community park. That vision has resulted in Riverfront Park, a beautiful green space in the center of the Village, on the west bank of the Connecticut River, with accessible hiking trails, meadows, benches, picnic tables, a pond, a labyrinth, and the only direct access to the river...
‘Two hundred and fifty years ago today, we said no to kings. And we’re still saying no to kings.’
BELLOWS FALLS-On this Saturday, the 250th anniversary of two early Massachusetts battles that irrevocably advanced the Revolutionary War, approximately 500 people gathered in downtown Bellows Falls, where for two hours they sang, chanted, and carried signs along both sides of Westminster Street from Henry Street down into the Square. "This is what democracy looks like," local poet Erica Bowman said when she spoke to the crowd on April 19. People came and went during the two-hour event, but an unofficial...