When owner/chef Tristan Toleno's Riverview Cafe in Brattleboro closed at the end of last year, it was unclear what would become of the “Feast on the Farm” series.
Feast on the Farm originated five years ago to give the public an opportunity to dine on local food at its source - the farm where it was produced - and to raise money for the Vermont Fresh Network, a collaboration between farms, food producers and chefs to promote local food and agriculture.
Toleno has been a big part of Feast on the Farm, and had donated his services and cooked some memorable meals at farms around Windham County.
“We didn't know what Tristan was going to do,” said Deb Titus, owner of Sweet Tree Farm in Dummerston, which has hosted Feast on the Farm since its inception. “He's always been a strong supporter of local food and it wouldn't be the same without him.”...
Obituaries Editor's note: The Commons will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham County and others, on request, as community news, free of charge. • Richard “Dicky” Francis Barbarow, 71, of Wilder. Died July 9 at Brookside Nursing Home. Brother of William H. Barbarow, and his wife, Dorothea,
Attorney General William Sorrell spent $100,000 to determine that Entergy didn't do anything unlawful when it testified about underground pipes. According to the federal government, an “underground” pipe is a pipe that comes in direct contact with the soil. To make a long story short, when Vermont Yankee officials...
Former Twin Valley basketball standout Candon Rusin is coming back to Vermont. In a July 7 news release, University of Vermont coach John Becker announced that Rusin will be transferring from Marist College to UVM. Under NCAA rules, Rusin will have to sit out the 2011-12 season, but will have two years of eligibility left to play for the Catamounts. The 6-foot-4 Rusin scored 1,469 points in his three seasons at Twin Valley, and was a first-team selection as a...
I remember when gasoline was selling for 8 gallons for $1, and a gas station attendant would pump the gas into your car with a pump handle. He also would also wash your windshield and check the pressure in your tires. In those days, cars used high-air-pressure tires, which had removable tubes. If a tube developed a leak, there was a tedious routine of jacking the car and removing the wheel, then separating the tire from the rim and the...
Outgoing Finance Director John Leisenring is leaving the town in better shape than he found it. Leisenring, who retired Friday after five years of service to the town, leaves former colleagues at the Municipal Center quick to sing his praises as a person who took on a difficult job at a difficult time, and did it well. Town Manager Barbara Sondag describes Leisenring's work as “foundation building,” adding that he trained and educated everyone involved in making municipal financial decisions.
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has received a $20,400 grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NCBF). The grant will be used to support BMH's Comprehensive Breast Care Program, primarily in the areas of patient navigation, breast cancer screening, and coordination of post-diagnostic care. “This grant will benefit low income women through greater accessibility to the BMH Breast Care Program,” says Kelly McCue, RN, program administrator and nurse navigator, adding that a smaller portion of the grant will be used to produce...
Sometimes, lessons are not learned. Sometimes, it takes more than one warning to heed a lesson. Sometimes, we humans are slow and naive in our actions. The Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan continues to leak radionuclides into the air, water, and ground. Then, a flood breached the levees surrounding the Fort Calhoun nuclear reactor in Nebraska, and the country learned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) could not control Mother Nature or the mighty Missouri river. The largest wildfire in...
Marlboro Music, celebrating its 60th anniversary season, offers some of the world's most exceptional young professional instrumentalists and singers the special opportunity to explore music in-depth, playing alongside distinguished senior artists with the unheard of luxury of three to seven weeks of rehearsal time. Ten of the 23 musicians to be heard in the second weekend of concerts (on Saturday, July 23 at 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, July 24 at 2:30 p.m.) are participating at Marlboro for the first time,
I am an employee at Vermont Yankee and have been working there since 2005. Vermont Yankee has allowed me to provide for my wife and five children, and to contribute to my community as a soccer coach, school trip chaperone, Red Cross blood donor, church lector, and participant in many other activities. One of the attractions of this area, and part of the reason my family and I chose this place, is because of the low cost of power and...
Now is the time of year when area towns set their property tax rates and homeowners hold their collective breath, hoping that the hit on their wallets isn't too painful. Property tax rates didn't rise all that much in Brattleboro, but there was concern over the news that Brattleboro's Grand List - the total value of all property in town - has declined by $1.4 million over the past year. That number is significant because the more the Grand List...
The swimming holes along the 12.9-mile Rock River that slices down between Newfane and Dummerston toward the West River may be getting a little too popular. On some weekends, cars may be seen parked on both sides of Route 30, just below Depot Road, as many as 300 of them on any sunny summer weekend day. The south side of the river is generally swimmer-friendly with a variety of beaches. The north side, which is semi-residential, is lined with ledges...
Now that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has rejected the town's initial request for federal disaster aid for road repairs after a freak May 20 storm, town and state officials are trying to figure out what to do next. A localized thunderstorm dumped more than 4 inches of rain on Westminster West in less than a hour, resulting in flash flooding that destroyed one road and made two others unsafe but passable. Bemis Hill and Hartley Hill roads in...
John O'Connor took over the Municipal Finance Director position from John Leisenring this week. O'Connor comes to Brattleboro by way of Rockingham, where he served five years as Finance Director. “He did a remarkable job in Rockingham,” said Town Manager Barbara Sondag. O'Connor arrives equipped with a combination of municipal and private-sector financial experience. Sondag said that O'Connor will build on the now-retired Leisenring's financial foundation, but that he will also integrate his project management and project budgeting experience into...
On July 13, Brattleboro Food Co-op Shareholders, Windham & Windsor Housing Trust neighbor tenants, and friends celebrated the construction process of the new Cooperative Building on Main Street with a block party. While dancing to music by Fenibo, enjoying a full cookout menu, and Bart's Ice Cream, partygoers all had a great time, even through the interruption of a significant yet short downpour. As the storm cleared, party attendees were treated to a double rainbow over the new cooperative building.
A summer day at your favorite swimming hole is a Vermont tradition, but with the fun comes the worry that spending a day in the water is a swim-at-your-own-risk proposition. If you're among those who might be concerned about water quality at the swimming hole, you can take comfort in knowing there are people looking out for you. The Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance (SEVWA) is a volunteer, self-funded group that monitors 24 swimming sites on the West, Williams, and Saxtons...
Job-hunting is, even in the best of times, a lonely and frustrating process, and these are surely not the best of times. The single most important tool available to you as a job-seeker is a resume, a succinct and authoritative presentation of all that you have to offer a prospective employer or client. Join Write Action for a short, focused class where participants will have a chance to review the essentials of resume preparation - content, organization, formatting - and...
The Council on Aging for Southeastern Vermont is changing its name to Senior Solutions, and launching a new website on July 22. Executive Director Joyce Lemire emphasizes that, though it's a new name, the staff and services are the same. “For years,” she said, “we've wanted a name that gives a better sense of what we do, and is easy to find in the phone book. We're still in the same Springfield office, with the same phone number and the...
I sit in my Jeep Wrangler squinting in the rear-view mirror to watch the human resources director, “Margaret,” navigate melting snow banks at the entrance of the administrative building. I'm screwed. It's Friday, Jan. 28, 2010. Margaret never comes to this building on Fridays. She works in another location and comes to our administration building only for senior staff meetings on Tuesday mornings. No, she should not be here. Breathe! You're okay. I shouldn't be surprised, and I'm not, when...
Entergy Corp. lost its bid for a preliminary injunction to keep the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant open while its lawsuit winds through the federal court system. Did the state, however, really win round one? On Monday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha issued an 18-page decision denying Entergy's request. He also set Sept. 12 as the trial date for the Entergy v. Vermont lawsuit. “The motion is denied, because Entergy has failed to show that any irreparable...
Impatient Truck Driver Destroys Latchis Marquee reads the alarming headline from my hometown of Brattleboro. Both the town and the theater, the place I called “work” for three years before I moved to Seattle in 2001, hold very special places in my heart, so this crazy bit of news hits close to home - literally. It's been a rough few months for Brattleboro's historic and normally quite lovely and vibrant Main Street. Back in April, a fire nearly destroyed the...
Entergy Corp. has lost its bid for a preliminary injunction to keep the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant open while a lawsuit about its long-term future winds its way through the federal court system. On Monday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha issued an 18-page decision denying Entergy's request. He also set Sept. 12 as the trial date for the Entergy v. Vermont lawsuit. “The motion is denied, because Entergy has failed to show that any irreparable harm...