After 3½ years, two fires, and many challenges, the Putney Historical Society is celebrating the reopening of the Putney General Store on Saturday, Dec. 10.
Ming Chou, an experienced operator, has signed a 20-year lease to operate a full-service grocery store and butcher shop.
Chou also plans to offer a full range of prepared foods and a seating area with options for indoor or outdoor dining.
Events and activities are scheduled from 11 a.m. through the evening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the store at 2 p.m.
It's only been in recent years that I've come to realize I was pretty much raised as a localvore long before anyone had ever heard of the word. And it wasn't due to any sort of middle-class shift in culinary consciousness. This was the early 1960s, and we were...
It's been a little over three months since Tropical Storm Irene came through Vermont and dealt us our worst natural disaster in decades. While there is much work still to be done, we can look back and say that what has been accomplished since the storm has been amazing.
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. • Benjamin Isaac Birch, 39, of Readsboro. Died Nov. 26 in Readsboro. Partner of Brenda Handy of Readsboro. Father of Nicholas Birch of Readsboro. Brother of Abigail Birch of West Brookfield, Mass. Stepson of Jason Howes and Burdys Crawford. Born in Bennington, the son of William E. Birch and Jacqueline (Adams) Howes, he attended Readsboro...
The volunteer is present in every organization doing what needs doing - stuffing envelopes, cleaning up after events, building stages, offering in-kind services of every imaginable manner, greeting joyfully, serving on boards. Board participation is demanding, and I'd like to acknowledge right now the first-rate efforts I have witnessed on the several boards I've worked with. It's impressive, it's time consuming, and it asks every bit as much attention to detail as the “day job.” Since my family and I...
School boards across the state have had level-funded budgets over the last two years, and Gov. Peter Shumlin is asking them for a “zero percent” increase again. If budget writers across the state can keep spending in check as they prepare for fiscal year 2013, Shumlin says there would be no need to increase the statewide property tax. The governor also proposes to lift the freeze on the base formula for per pupil spending by 2.1 percent. The Legislature must...
Holly Jolly Gingerbread Craft Time offered at Brooks library BRATTLEBORO - Bring the whole family to the Holly Jolly Gingerbread Craft Time on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Meeting Room at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. Come make graham cracker gingerbread houses and paper gingerbread man ornaments. Registration for the free event is strongly recommended – contact the Children's Room at 802-254-5290, ext. 110. All materials will be provided. Children under 7 must...
The Gallery at Headroom Stages (upstairs at 17 Elliot St.), will present “7 Artists 3 Days,” a show that featuring a great variety of work from seven local artists. The exhibit opens Friday, Dec. 9, with an artists' reception from 5 to 8 p.m. The show continues on Saturday, from noon to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. The idea for this show began when painter Petria Mitchell, well known for her dramatic and expressively painted oil...
The winter season for Vermont high school sports begins this weekend, but the Brattleboro Union High School nordic skiers will have to wait a bit longer for their first meet. A freestyle event scheduled for Saturday morning at Grafton Ponds has already been cancelled. While Grafton Ponds has the ability to make snow, conditions have simply been too warm to do so. Another freestyle meet at Prospect Mountain in Woodford, scheduled for Dec. 17, looks iffy as well. And until...
The Sweetback Sisters Country Christmas Sing-Along will appear at Next Stage on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. Led by Zara Bode and Emily Miller, the New York alternative country swing band will perform a wide range of holiday music, from well-loved Christmas carols to classic winter-themed songs to lesser-known country Christmas gems. All the songs are presented with the Sweetback Sisters' signature mix of harmony singing, telecaster, and twin fiddling. Words are provided so that everyone can sing along...
The following was sent to the Brattleboro Town Manager, Police Chief and copied to all Selectboard members: I am writing to voice my concern with the recent rash of jaywalking tickets being handed out by area law enforcement. I understand the need for public safety, but I can certainly think of much better ways to utilize the scarce hours and personnel Brattleboro has at our disposal. My primary modes of transportation are foot and bike. Brattleboro needs to address the...
Five students from The Grammar School had their musical compositions chosen for the Vermont MIDI Project's Opus 23 concert. Pieces by Molly Durling (“Chasing Squirrels”), Tyler Silbey and Luke Cuerdon (“Fairy Tale”), and Ethan Foster and Robin McOwen (“Summer Fanfare”) were performed live on Dec. 5 at at the Elley-Long Music Center at St. Michael's College in Colchester. The 16 winning pieces were performed by professional musicians in brass, percussion, piano, and voice. Opus 23 is a production of the...
Although A Christmas Carol might seem an old chestnut roasting on an open fire, Charles Dickens' iconic holiday novel could hardly be more popular in 2011 - or, according to Peter Gould, more timely. Several new productions are opening this month in Windham County, including a traditional new production by Gould at New England Youth Theatre in Brattleboro, as well as the saucy sendup, Totally Scrooged!, by comic actor Pickles Reese at Town Hall Auditorium in Grafton. Gould notes that...
It began in 1969, when 12 women met during a women's liberation conference in the early days of the women's movement. A workshop called “Women and Their Bodies” provided an opportunity for women to talk about their bodies and their experiences with doctors. Sharing this information led them to form the Doctor's Group, forerunner to the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, to research and discuss what they were learning about themselves, their bodies, health, and women. The discussions and research...
Tropical Storm Irene knocked out electricity from Readsboro to Wardsboro in August, but this December will reveal that the storm couldn't dim the valley's power. Irene's rains overloaded area rivers on Aug. 28, flooding the towns in their paths. The waters carried away trees, propane tanks, cars, roads, businesses, and homes. Images of muddy, rushing water swamping Dot's Restaurant in Wilmington flashed across YouTube. The UK's Daily Mail included coverage of the washout of Route 100 in Wardsboro and flood...
I would like to thank all of our friends and patrons for the support of and interaction with my store, Save the Corporations from Themselves, and our wonderful staff over the past 14 years. Sadly, the doors will be closing at the end of January. The economic realities over the past three years have taken their toll, and I can no longer support the store I founded and love. We hope you will stop in, whether to buy or to...
Re: “Why too many households can't afford the housing that's available” [Voices, Nov. 30]: Yes, 30 percent of income as the maximum you can afford for housing costs is the long-established guideline. So, if you make $3,000 per month ($20 per hour), your monthly housing budget would be $900. Everyone knows how little house or apartment $900 will get you. “Affordable housing” does not exist for many people because their income is too small. I am renovating an attic. I...
Re: “Overflow Shelter piece: 'dehumanizing,' 'ugly' portrait,” [Voices, Nov. 23]: Thank you, Mel Motel, for taking the time to put language to this important issue. I want our community to continue to grapple with understanding the complexity of poverty and oppression. The place from which we offer support to one another matters so, so much, in my humble opinion. I would only ever want to be on the receiving end of support that was offered from a place of respect...
Main Street Arts will offer Songs for a Winter's Eve, its annual musical gift to the community, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17 at 7 p.m., and a 3 p.m. matinee Saturday. The 14-voice adult chorus will offer songs of the season, including “How Like a Winter,” “An Evening in December,” and Irving Berlin's “White Christmas.” The children's chorus will add its own magical touch to the program with seasonal songs from American, Sephardic, and Israeli traditions. The program...
My regards go out to the Kennery family in the loss of Gladys, who obviously suffered an extreme way of passing [“A case for negligence,” The Commons, Nov. 30]. At the same time, though, why would the state troopers involved or being blamed for this incident be held accountable for the accusations and be libelled throughout local newspapers? They protect and serve to the utmost standards of their ability. They act upon information that they receive. They made the effort...
Rockingham's homeless must seek shelter in surrounding communities or endure winter temperatures as best they can, following a tie vote by a deadlocked Zoning Board on Nov. 22. A majority was needed for approval of the permit for the Bellows Falls Overnight Warming Shelter. The 3-3 vote means the shelter, which was to have opened beneath Athens Pizza at 83 Westminster St. on Nov. 1, remains in limbo. The Overnight Warming Shelter board is scrambling to find suitable space for...
Despite all the medical advances of the past three decades,18,000 people die each year of AIDS in the United States, according to Marguerite Monet, senior case manager for the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. “Yes, we recognize that we've made progress, and things are getting better worldwide,” said Monet. “Prevention is working, but we continue to have new infections. We can't stop now.” That was the theme of this year's edition of World AIDS Day, which was observed in Brattleboro...
In the woods about a mile from the center of town, and at least 45 minutes of walking quickly, sans backpack, to The Square, a young man and woman courageously insist “we like it out here away from people.” But when faced with the growing reality of living in a tent in the woods this winter, Phae and Jared, a couple in their 30s, accept all offers of help and assistance. They ask for none. “I like to help myself,”
A homecoming is on the horizon for the remaining Melrose Terrace residents unhoused over three months ago by Tropical Storm Irene. The Development Review Board (DRB), a seven-member, independent, quasi-judicial board, upheld the Brattleboro Housing Authority's building permit appeal Dec. 5. The BHA had contested the town zoning administrator's determination that four of its Melrose Terrace buildings exceeded the 50-percent damage threshold allowed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The determination left 26 Melrose residents without housing. Melrose Terrace...
Owls are birds of the night. Their nocturnal vigilance, often associated with the studious scholar or the wise elder, made them symbols of wisdom and learning. The Greek goddess of wisdom and learning was Athena; one of her symbols was the owl. The ancient coins of Athens carried the image of an owl as a sign of the patron goddess who vigilantly watched over the city. The owl was the Little Owl; in an attempt to increase their wisdom, some...
How can you begin to fathom the loss for the family of Rita Corbin and Daniel Bliss? How do you even begin to honor, to acknowledge, to celebrate, to mourn two lives lost so suddenly? How do you move forward with your own lives in the aftermath? “Along the way, death and tragedy can bring you closer together,” says Maggie Corbin, Daniel's aunt and one of Rita Corbin's five children. “We're all close here, and that's because of our mom.”