Standing next to a patch of half-cleared forest, 63-year-old Dan MacArthur is hundreds of miles away from Wall Street, but he's well ahead of the game this summer when it comes to beating high gas prices.
He drives a diesel car that runs on waste vegetable oil – a “grease car.”
In fact, MacArthur uses eight different biodiesel vehicles for his farm and construction business, ranging from his Volkswagen New Beetle to an assortment of trucks to the wood-splitter for his sugarhouse. He also has a biodiesel John Deere tractor and a backhoe.
While the rest of America braces for more sticker shock at the pump - forecasters expect prices to surge toward $4 per gallon in August - MacArthur received 250 gallons of biodiesel this month that he expects will last him through autumn. The price? A cool $3.28 per gallon.
For adults struggling with chronic pain and the life challenges it can bring, the Brattleboro Retreat announces a new wellness program it says provides alternative approaches to traditional pain management techniques. Designed as a short-term outpatient treatment program (small group sessions that meet three hours a day, twice a...
Births • In Greenfield, Mass., (Franklin Medical Center), on July 7, 2013, a son, Branson William David Evans, to Julie Engstrom and Andrew Evans of Greenfield; grandson to Barbara Evans, and Barbara Engstrom. • In Keene, N.H., (Cheshire Medical Center), on June 11, 2013, a daughter, Aliyah Hope Johnson,
Moore Free Library is showing pastel paintings by six accomplished local artists for the month of August at the Crowell Gallery. The reception is Saturday, Aug. 3, from 1 to 3 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and all are invited. Artists are David H. Brown, DeeDee Jones, Pat McPike, Jean Pollock, Maggie Smith, and Carol Stephens. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., unless there is an opening...
Children jostle to share freshly picked blueberries, measure cups of flour, or investigate a written recipe. Two teachers are alongside to help. It may look like a simple cooking activity, but it's really teaching key math and reading skills. It's all part of “Food for Thought,” a week-long day camp funded by the Vermont Humanities Council's “Humanities Camp” program. It was held recently at Brattleboro Area Middle School. As implied by the camp's name, area youth, ages 11-14, went on...
Speaking to inform: Toastmasters meeting July 25 BRATTLEBORO - If fear and shyness around public speaking are holding you back, or are holding someone in your organization back, then Toastmasters is the answer. BrattleMasters, the Brattleboro-based chapter of Toastmasters International, meets Thursday, July 25, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Marlboro College Graduate Center, second floor, 28 Vernon St. The theme of this meeting is “Speaking to Inform,” focusing on what it takes to communicate your ideas in clear, nontechnical...
The Brattleboro branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) awarded five college scholarships for the 2013-2014 academic year. Three high school graduates received $1,000 each, and two mature women, already pursuing higher education, received $500 each. These scholarships are funded in part by the AAUW Annual Book Sale. Recipients from Brattleboro Union High School included: • Kellie Schiller, who will major in biology and pre-med at the University of Vermont. She was a National Honor Society member, served...
The time has come to give the main theater at the Latchis a big send-off before it closes for renovations, and Latchis Arts aims to do it up right with a showcase of local musical talent never before seen on one stage. Rock The Latchis! presents four of the area's top bands Wednesday, July 31, at 8 p.m., the day before the main theater closes for renovations. Hot music and dancing in the aisles comes courtesy of Alafia, Bella's Bartok,
Together with Chad Farnum of Farnum Insulators, the upper elementary students at Hilltop Montessori School built a “tiny house” as part of a unit examining the issues surrounding affordable housing and income security in Brattleboro and neighboring communities. The tiny house is an actual, energy-efficient house built on wheels. The layout is perfect for a studio, guest house, or get-away home. This design, by Tumbleweed Tiny House (www.tumbleweedhouses.com), was built on a trailer and comes complete with a kitchen, bathroom,
Not too long ago, I attended a group for adoptive parents. It seemed a strange thing for me to do. True, I had adopted my firstborn son. He was 6 months old. He is Filipino-American, dark-eyed, and gorgeous. True, eight months later, my second son arrived by birth. True, when the boys were 6 and 8 years old, I adopted my daughter. She was 6 months old and African-American. But they are now grown and flown. At the meeting, I...
Stone Church Arts presents the Festival of Mandolin Chamber Music (FMCM) in a concert at Immanuel Episcopal Church on Sunday, July 28, at 3 p.m. The performance caps the three-day weekend designed for the classical mandolin community and concertgoers interested in classical chamber music. Festival organizers said they wanted to create learning and performance opportunities for those interested in chamber music composed for mandolin and related instruments. Led by mandolinists August Watters, a Boston-area teacher and composer, and Emanuele Cappellotto,
Hogwarts Summer Session Day Camp, based on the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, is returning for its fourth season Aug. 12 to 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at All Souls Church in West Brattleboro. Each of the five days of camp, for kids aged 7-12, begins in the Great Hall with music, readings and reflection from the Harry Potter stories, and a preview of the day. Then the “houses,” arranged by age, will join the day's...
The Brattleboro 13-year-old Babe Ruth Baseball All-Stars rolled to a sweep of the state tournament over the weekend at Tenney Field. Brattleboro dominated every phase of the game. None of its pitchers allowed a run in the three tournament games that counted (they played an extra game that didn't count) and no fielder made an error in any of the four games they played. Brattleboro was patient at the plate and aggressive on the base paths. In all, it was...
Irish-American folk music duo Young Ireland presents a musical celebration of Irish history and tradition at Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery on Sunday, July 28, at 7 p.m. All ages are welcome to share this evening of inspirational, original songs and storytelling. Partial proceeds from the concert benefit Brattleboro Area Hospice. Young Ireland, based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., is new to the Irish music scene but not to its sound. First- and second-generation Irish-Americans with County Mayo, Ireland, roots, the...
Celebrate this summer's reading theme, “Dig Into Reading,” with a free play at the Grafton Public Library on Friday, July 26, at 6 p.m. The Summer Encore Theatre troupe brings pirates, treasure and mayhem to the library lawn in Grafton. Director Cathy Archer has led this Rutland-based theater group for 16 years. She and her students bring a level of energy, enthusiasm and improvisation sure to be enjoyed by all ages. All are welcome to bring a picnic and dine...
RE: “Visions, values, and tragedy” [Special Focus, July 17]: As a longstanding, enthusiastic fan of The Commons, I applaud the courage to “go there” with these articles. Joyce Marcel's writing is balanced and very personal, humanizing each and every subject. This is one example of many as to why The Commons is an invaluable source of information for our area.
One of the world's most distinguished composers, Poland's Krzysztof Penderecki, is resident composer at Marlboro Music this summer. He will have two of his chamber works performed on Saturday, July 27, at 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, July 28, at 2:30 p.m., at Persons Auditorium on the Marlboro College campus. Thirty-three of the 75 participating artists, who spend two months exploring works that they have suggested, with the rare opportunity of unlimited rehearsal time, will be heard on the third weekend...
Brattleboro native Nathaniel Cox and his early-music ensemble, In Stile Moderno, from Basel, Switzerland, will be performing in his hometown for the very first time. In a concert entitled “Un Concerto per Barberini,” In Stile Moderno will be playing works by Italian Baroque composers Girolamo Frescobaldi and Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger at the newly renovated sanctuary of St. Michael's Episcopal Church on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 4 p.m. Son of noted West Brattleboro violin maker Douglas Cox, Nathaniel came of age...
RE: “Something to bark about” [Viewpoint, July 17]: Kudos to Brattleboro and the state of Vermont for educating the public on the danger of leaving dogs in cars! Very few towns, states, or businesses display such lifesaving and life-affirming signs. Dogs locked in hot cars are also a huge problem in Massachusetts, where, as in most states, we advise the public to call 911 if they find a dog suffering in a hot car, but we do not give the...
RE: “Visions, values, and tragedy” [Special Focus, July 17]: Joyce Marcel has done a very good job fawning over a murderer. According to her hideously biased “reporting,” the Brattleboro Food Co-op literally forced Richard Gagnon to murder his evil boss, Michael Martin. We're clearly supposed to feel sorry, not for the dead victim and his family but for the killer: “It didn't matter that I was driven crazy and had no notion of right or wrong.” “The four years during...
The end of the long stretch of rainy weather and the return of more normal July temperatures has improved water quality at local swimming holes, according to the latest round of testing by the Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance's (SeVWA's) water quality monitoring program. Water samples taken on July 17 found every swimming hole they tested in the West River and Whetstone Brook watersheds had E. coli results below the Vermont and EPA standard for swimming suitability of 235 E. coli...
RE: “Something to bark about” [Viewpoint, July 17]: The problem of dogs tied to parking meters while owners shop or eat in restaurants, left without water or shade, needs to be addressed as well. I am seeing far too much of that since I moved here. Is this something we can call the animal control officer about, too? I hope so. People, dogs need shade and water. Leave your dog at home while you shop or have a meal in...
RE: “Visions, values, and tragedy” [Special Focus, July 17]: I came to the computer to thank The Commons and Joyce Marcel for this excellent, well-researched, rounded, honest look at the events at the Brattleboro Food Co-op of a couple years ago. Thanks, Joyce - yours is still the best stuff written in this area. And thanks, The Commons. This is stuff I've felt and heard, some of. Healing will, I suppose, be long and hard. I miss my arrogant friend,
RE: “Visions, values, and tragedy” [Special Focus, July 17]: Thank you, thank you for such a much-needed, well-researched article on the tragedy at the Brattleboro Food Co-op a few years ago. I cried when I read it! It was such a relief to read a deeply moving and humanizing account of the events leading up to the shooting. Courageously written, and I hope this will promote a much-needed healing within the community. As my wife, Jen, expressed after reading it,
RE: “A seat at the table: Are minority voices being heard in the SeVEDS process?” [News, July 10]: Under the Shumlin administration, the Vermont Department of Tourism has been working to make the Vermont brand an inclusive brand. The department understands that current projections show the United States becoming a “minority majority” nation by 2042; that last year marked the first time in our history that more children of color than white children were born in the United States; and...
RE: “Visions, values, and tragedy” [Special Focus, July 17]: Although seeking to understand rather than demonize criminals is one mark of a compassionate and thoughtful newspaper, your feature section about the murder of Michael Martin has done a grievous disservice to the Brattleboro Food Co-op, the people who lead it and, by extension, the community that owns this important institution. Given that Martin is not here to defend the manner in which he discharged his responsibilities as the co-op's store...
Excellent article. Murder is never an acceptable solution for workplace conflict. I get the sense that one interruption in the chain of events would have caused things to turn out differently.
How long has Satan been on hold, calling to get his weather back? For the past month, we were slowly turning into fungi, slipping pans under leaks, cultivating mosquito farms. And then things got bad. The vents to Hades stuck open and suddenly the eternity of last winter didn't seem so bad. It was an interesting time for Alex Feeman to start his quest to play 49 golf courses in 49 days in 48 states and Washington, D.C. The 27-year-old...
RE: “Visions, values, and tragedy” [Special Focus, July 17]: This is a very very impressive and brave piece of journalism. Thanks, Joyce Marcel! People involved speak for themselves, and this group of articles lets readers fill in the bigger complicated picture, and come to their own conclusion, or more likely their own set of further questions. Perhaps we learn something, which is what we want from journalism. I for one, would like to see further investigation into the labor/management relations...
Join County Forester Bill Guenther on a twilight walk on his property up on Bensch Mountain in Newfane and learn the As to Zs of firewood. On Thursday July 25, from 5:30 until about 7 p.m., Guenther will recap this past winter's logging activities, which focused on harvesting trees near his house. Discussion will touch on how homeowners might heat their homes directly from wood harvested on their own land. He'll also cover methods for processing firewood that were discussed...
Celebrations over two prominent Main Street buildings this past week marked changes for Brattleboro's downtown and spoke to hopes for increased vitality here. On July 17, the Mesabi Group, LLC, cut the ribbon on its multi-year rehabilitation of the Brooks House, which was heavily damaged by fire in 2011. When completed, the mixed-use building will host retail spaces, restaurants, a combined Community College of Vermont/Vermont Technical College campus, and apartments. On July 22, Building a Better Brattleboro named Strolling of...
Whatever critique or comment one might have about the special section on Richard Gagnon's killing of Michael Martin at the Brattleboro Co-op - and I can think of some and others have written many - one must start by thanking The Commons and especially reporter Joyce Marcel for the way she has leaned into the tragedy and tried to make sense of it. It is an exceptional work of journalism, and I hope that it will have the wide notice...
Reaction to Joyce Marcel's “Visions, values, and tragedy” last issue has been deep and strong and has engaged our readership at unprecedented levels. Whatever your take on this story and what we set out to do, we must again emphasize that The Commons does not condone Richard Gagnon's actions. Quite to the contrary, and despite some of the statements in the letters in this week's paper, it is out of a revulsion and rejection of Gagnon's extreme actions that The...
Residents of Strand Avenue, one of the narrowest and steepest streets in Brattleboro, pleaded with the Selectboard on July 16 to close its upper portion to all but foot and bicycle traffic. The residents said they expected road and retaining wall repairs would result in increased traffic through their beloved neighborhood. Also, in a July 12 letter to the board, they questioned the expense of $314,000 for repairs against closing the road, which they said would save the town maintenance...
Rockingham Free Public Library renovations are nearing completion, and the beleaguered project will likely come in under budget, trustees said at Monday night's meeting. That was the good news amid ongoing drama that included committee and renovation updates, a director's financial report, and moving expenses to the library's temporary digs in The Square - and a petition that called for two board members to resign. The board heard that library renovations are nearing completion and apparently will come in under...
Entergy Corp., which owns the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, is preparing to cut back its labor force in an effort to reorganize the company. “We do expect workforce reductions to be one result of this initiative,” national spokesman Chanel Lagarde said in a statement last week. “We don't have final specifics at this time regarding who or how many employees will be affected. We remain focused on all our key stakeholders throughout this process, and we will deal fairly and...