WEST BRATTLEBORO-Since October 2022, more than 600 refugees and asylum seekers have been resettled in Windham and Bennington counties. Then came Jan. 20 and, in the words of Joe Wiah of the Ethiopian Community Development Council (EDCD), "things have changed." With the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, ECDC and nine other refugee resettlement agencies around the U.S. saw much of their funding from the U.S. State Department disappear as resettlement programs were halted. In ECDC's case, Wiah said they...
BRATTLEBORO-On March 7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent notice terminating $660 million in funding for the national Local Foods for Schools and Child Care (LFSCC) program. According to a news release, this decision pulls $1.2 million in federal grant funding that was destined to purchase local foods for Vermont schools. Fourteen schools in Windham County used this grant in the 2023-24 school year to bolster school meal programs, support local farmers, and stimulate Vermont's rural economy. Food Connects, a...
ROCKINGHAM-The Vermont History Museum in Montpelier is hosting a special exhibit, "Rockingham's Acropolis: A Look at the Rockingham Meeting House in History." Started in 1787 and completed in 1801, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000. It is considered an exceptionally well-preserved example of Colonial architecture. Meetings began to be held there in 1792, years before the building was completed. "Today remaining largely unchanged from its completion in 1801, apart from a light-handed restoration in 1906," states...
BRATTLEBORO-Elected meeting members will convene Representative Town Meeting (RTM) on Saturday, March 22 at 8:30 a.m. in the Brattleboro Union High School gymnasium to consider a recommended $25,184,081 fiscal 2026 budget that could mean a 12.1% increase in property taxes. If the meeting is not completed by 5 p.m., the body assembled will decide whether to continue the meeting or to reconvene on Sunday, March 23. A full house of folks turned out at Academy School on March 12 for...
BRATTLEBORO-Back in 1960, when the town decided to manage capacity Town Meeting crowds by becoming the only community in the state to elect a set number of citizen participants, residents never imagined that subsequent decades would bring more open seats than candidates willing to fill them. Then social media sparked a recent firestorm of questions about policing and a proposed 12% municipal tax hike. Some 150 Town Meeting representatives, about half chosen earlier this month in races that drew twice...
BRATTLEBORO-Fear, worry, anger, and confusion over the recent actions by the federal government and the intentions of President Donald J. Trump were the emotions expressed in full force at a Town Hall meeting held by state Treasurer Michael Pieciak on March 15. Pieciak, a Brattleboro native who still has deep roots in the community, chose the town for his first Town Hall meeting on the topic of Trump's apparent attempt to destroy the federal government and what it might mean...
