Issue #330
Bequest gives library patrons new space
Within the next couple of years, patrons of Brooks Memorial Library might have the option of sipping a coffee while reading their books.
A coffee bar along the front east glass wall of the main floor was one of many renovations revealed by retiring Library Director Jerry Carbone to a full house of patrons and trustees on Oct. 29.
Cuba comes to Brattleboro
Windham World Affairs Council, Brattleboro Film Festival team up for a weekend of cultural exchange
Although Havana is approximately 1,477 miles from Brattleboro, the organizers of the Brattleboro Film Festival and the Windham World Affairs Council aim to bring Cuba a lot closer during the weekend of Nov. 6. In a series of events that would have hardly been possible before 2014, when presidents...
Big savings seen for 5MW solar farm at WSWMD landfill
Projections show that participating towns may be able to cut their electric bills by more than half
A solar array proposed for Brattleboro's closed landfill - an installation that would be Vermont's largest by current standards - could lead to a big payoff for Windham County municipalities. Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD) officials have been working for years to develop an array at the Old...
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United Way grateful
On behalf of United Way of Windham County, I thank all the volunteers who participated in our annual Day of Caring on Sept. 12. This year's event also included four service projects on Sept. 11, mobilizing teams of more than 150 volunteers who helped area nonprofits throughout Windham County with projects: painting, sorting, gardening, organizing, and gleaning/processing of produce. The day could not have been successful without the engagement of our project site partners. Volunteer engagement is one of the...
Around the Towns
Newfane Garden Club to meet NEWFANE - The November meeting of the Newfane Garden Club will take place on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m., at the Newfane Congregational Church. Andrew Morrison will be presenting a program on invasive plants and the dangers they present. Morrison is working on his Ph.D. in this area at Antioch College. Members and guests are encouraged to bring any dried weeds from their garden for identification. Guests are welcome. Bereavement group offered at Grace...
VY receives high marks in NRC inspection
Less than seven months after Vermont Yankee ceased producing power, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's resident inspector office at the plant went dark. But even after pulling its inspectors from the Vernon facility, the NRC pledged that “periodic and targeted” monitoring would continue. Proof of that is in the NRC's newest inspection report, a product of visiting decommissioning specialists poring over details, including operations of Vermont Yankee's spent fuel pool, plans for a massive water-storage facility, and the proposed design of...
Wanted: a carbon pollution tax
Over two decades ago, international scientific consensus established that emission of greenhouse gases, due to human economic activities, had increased the average global temperature and that, without immediate action, that temperature would continue to rise. The consensus asserted that inaction would result in severe climate disruptions to which living systems would not be able to adapt. Since then, greenhouse-gas emissions have continually increased, exceeding the safe level of 350 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide and, this year, exceeding...
Thanks to Landmark College for the warm reception
More than 120 alumni of Windham College, which closed in 1978, attended the recent reunion held in conjunction with Landmark College's 30th anniversary celebration in Putney. Our alums were deeply impressed not only with the improvements and additions that Landmark has made to the former Windham College campus, but also with the way Landmark carries out its mission to “transform the way students learn, educators teach, and the public thinks about education,” to quote from the Landmark College website. Windham...
Write Action appreciates the support
The board of Write Action thanks the businesses and individuals that generously donated food to the Literary Festival Café, a fundraiser the non-profit organization holds each year in partnership with the Brattleboro Literary Festival. Write Action's board also thanks all our members and friends who helped at the table and café, those who participated in the showcase and open readings, and those of you who supported the organization with your presence and your purchases. All in all, it was a...
Disturbing trends, disrepair in Bellows Falls
There are some very disturbing trends happening within Bellows Falls and actions by the village's elected officials. • The lack of care in protecting any of the interests of the village while seemingly handing the keys over to the town. This is in reference to the merger committee and village trustees' participation in the meetings as five members of said committee. The request made by village resident Andrew Smith is a significant one, calling for a current assessment of all...
Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market begins its 10th season
The 10th season of the Brattleboro Winter Farmers' Market - one of the longest running diverse indoor farmers' markets in Vermont - kicks off on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the River Garden in downtown Brattleboro. Visitors will find more fresh local produce than ever before, with up to 30 vendors, including favorites from past seasons. Regular farm vendors returning this season are Amazing Planet Farm, Big Picture Farm, Circle Mountain Farm, Deep Meadows Farm, Deer Ridge Farm, Dwight Miller Orchards,
'Saxtons River Suite' makes its world premiere at Main Street Arts
On Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8, Main Street Arts (MSA) hosts the world premiere of the “Saxtons River Suite,” composed by Carol Wood and performed by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Ensemble and the Counterpoint Chorus. The suite and the art curtains it inspired will be the center of a musical and visual tribute celebrating this 500-person village, its seasons, and the beauty of the region throughout the year. The Nov. 7 premiere performance will be part of a...
Grafton sets Nov. 10 for Town Plan hearing
The Grafton Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Grafton Elementary School to discuss revisions to the Town Plan that now include a goal to enable a village center designation from the state. Specific changes include a village center designation that “will support the efforts to revitalize the existing historic village center of Grafton” and link with the statewide goals of planning development to “maintain the historic settlement pattern of compact village...
Woodworker featured at River Artisans Cooperative
The work of Don Smead and Smead Woodcraft will be featured for the month of November at the River Artisans Cooperative in Saxtons River. Founded by Hugh Smead in 1954, Smead Woodcraft is nationally known for its items made from Vermont hardwoods. Founder Hugh Smead, was stricken late in life with polio and became paralyzed from the waist down. He was unable to keep his job at Putney's Basketville, but he hadn't lost his talents at woodworking. A local church...
SEVCA seeks volunteer tax preparers
Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) will provide free tax preparation for lower income taxpayers in 2016 through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. SEVCA is now recruiting volunteers to help as many families as possible claim the tax credits available to them. A volunteer orientation meeting will be held Thursday, Nov. 12, at 4 p.m., at SEVCA's main office, 91 Buck Drive. VITA offers free tax help to people who earn $54,000 or less, persons with disabilities, and elderly...
Annual VY emergency siren test set for Nov. 7
On Saturday, Nov. 7, at noon, state and local public safety agencies will conduct an audible sounding of the 37 sirens within the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant's 10-mile emergency planning zone. The full three-minute siren testing is conducted by Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts state public safety agencies in compliance with the regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure the effectiveness of the public notification system. Vermont Yankee ceased operations on Dec. 29, 2014. The sirens are...
Entergy wants $1.2 million from trust fund for VY taxes
Entergy plans to dip into the Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust fund to pay a $1.2 million property tax bill, exacerbating tensions with Vermont officials who strongly oppose such a withdrawal. In complying with a new federal mandate to provide more detail in its trust-fund notices, Entergy announced on Oct. 27 that the company will take up to $6.6 million from the fund for expenses at the shuttered nuclear plant including emergency planning, insurance, and property taxes. Entergy Vermont Yankee spokesman...
Smith decries proposed VY trust-fund use
House Speaker Shap Smith is asking Vermont Yankee owner Entergy to reconsider its proposed use of the plant's trust fund for property tax payments. Entergy has notified the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it intends to withdraw up to $6.6 million from the trust fund; a company spokesman said $1.2 million of that total will be used to pay property taxes. Vermont officials have protested several of Entergy's planned trust-fund uses, worrying that too many withdrawals will hinder site cleanup...
NRC: No investigation needed for Entergy finances
Nine months ago, state officials demanded that the federal government “fully investigate” Vermont Yankee owner Entergy in order to determine whether the company “has sufficient financial capacity” to decommission the Vernon plant. On Oct. 27, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) delivered its response, which could be paraphrased this way: Thanks for the suggestion, but we've got this under control. In a letter to the state, an NRC official reiterated that the agency already has determined that Entergy will have...
ANR announces release of draft Tactical Basin Plan for area rivers
The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) has released a draft plan for an area around several local rivers, and is seeking comments from the public on the plan at three upcoming meetings. The ANR's draft Tactical Basin Plan addresses the West, Williams, and Saxtons rivers, and the Connecticut River and its adjacent tributaries. This area is known as Basin 11-13 and covers 29 towns in southeastern Vermont. The Tactical Basin Plan provides an overview of the health of the watersheds...
Thanks to police, and to all who helped look for Opal
So glad Opal Robinson is safe. For the record, she first contacted her grandmother Jeannie Ayer, who spent lots of sleepless nights and countless hours seeking out those who know her, following up on leads, and relentlessly trying to locate her. The people at the Brattleboro Police Department deserve a lot of thank yous for their efforts. Please be aware that there is a lot more going on that, of course, was not mentioned. There is a lot of false...
Comedy night to benefit Brattleboro School Endowment
On Friday, Nov. 6, at the VFW in Brattleboro the Brattleboro School Endowment brings “Wicked Funny” New Hampshire comedian Bucky Lewis and his one-man adult comedy act to the stage. “I have been working hard on my show to come up with great new material, and I look forward to coming back to Brattleboro,” says Lewis. “The last time I performed here, everything was fantastic – the people, the energy! I'm sure this will be a great night, and it's...
An unlikely face of homelessness
I just don't quite know where to begin with this interview. She doesn't, either. “Just start talking,” I say gently. “Just tell me your story. How did all this start? How did you get here?" She pauses and thinks, looking lost. The very first thing she thinks to say breaks my heart. “I used to be pretty,” she says ruefully, her voice trembling, her hands shaking. She takes a drag on her cigarette, tapping the ashes into a small tin...
Archer Mayor to read from his newest novel in BF
Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls welcomes Newfane author Archer Mayor on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. Mayor, the author of the New York Times bestselling, Vermont-based mystery series featuring detective Joe Gunther, will read from and discuss his 26th book, The Company She Kept. Archer's newest book deals with gay civil rights issues. Vermont was the first state to offer civil unions for lesbians and gays, but not all Vermonters were open-minded. During the height of a particularly...
New VSO executive director visits Brattleboro, wants to see more concerts in southern Vermont
Last month, the Southeast Friends of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO) had a reception at the Brooks House Atrium to announce a new initiative to bring more VSO events to Brattleboro. The organization's members also wanted to introduce to the community the new executive director of the VSO, Benjamin Cadwallader. “The VSO truly serves everyone in Vermont,” says Cadwallader. “It is the only state symphony orchestra in the country that performs throughout the state.” People in southern Vermont may be...
Glad for Opal’s return
I hope we can encourage Opal Robinson to get back into her writing or her art - it is therapeutic. My hope is that the bullying in the local schools will somehow be stopped. So glad she's home safe. Good luck to her and the family.
Transportation planning and energy costs
Perhaps the advent of self-driving cars could open up a new business model for rural communities. An autonomous taxi service offered or subsidized by the Agency of Transportation could provide a stopgap for elderly and isolated members of the rural community. The car itself could service multiple towns in a wide radius, and community ownership could roll the cost of ownership into the town or county budget - much like existing bus routes, but much more flexible, and on an...
Are we really looking to turn back 40 years or more in our energy emissions?
Thanks to Mike Faher of VtDigger and The Commons for his reporting. I live in southern New Hampshire and am a fan of clean energy, including nuclear power. I can't believe that we are considering replacing a nuclear power plant with a fossil-fuel plant. Are we really looking to turn back 40 years or more in our energy emissions? This idea that Kinder Morgan's Northeast Energy Direct pipeline will do more good than harm is really questionable. Our energy portfolio...
Greater Falls Warming Shelter seeks volunteers
The Greater Falls Warming Shelter is looking for volunteers as it plans to open its doors for the winter season in mid-November. A training for volunteer shelter staffing will be held Sunday, Nov. 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the shelter at 23 Church St., in North Walpole, N.H. The shelter is staffed by volunteers each night who serve in teams of two from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., or 1 to 7 a.m. The training will cover the...
If they bus it, will funds come?
Like rush-hour traffic in a congested downtown, the plans to implement public bus service along the West River are slowly inching forward. Planners have found the need is there, but the question is, will the funding follow? Earlier this year, planners from local, regional, and state organizations held a series of public meetings to help them gauge the level of need and interest among people living, studying, and working along Route 30. One of those organizations, the Windham Regional Commission...
It's not too late to plant
The question I am most frequently asked this time of year is, “Can I still plant trees, shrubs, and perennials in the fall?” The answer is a resounding “Yes!” While the air is becoming cooler, the ground is still retaining warmth from summer. We also typically experience abundant rainfall in fall. For these reasons, things we plant now make vigorous root growth and get established quickly. It is also a time of year that you can often find many nurseries...
Everyone’s Books celebrates new book by longtime climate activist Tim Stevenson
Everyone's Books on Elliot Street will sponsor a book publication party for Tim Stevenson's Resilience and Resistance: Building Sustainable Communities for a Post Oil Age on Friday, Nov. 6, from 4:30 t0 6 p.m. Published by Brattleboro-based Green Writers Press, the book is based on Stevenson's experiences with Post Oil Solutions, the 10-year-old nonprofit organization he helped found. It is a collection of original and previously-published essays that center around the author's perspective on what communities need to do to...
Henry Hook, 1955—2015
Henry Hook, 60, one of the team of crossword creators responsible for the weekly puzzle in these pages, died Oct. 27. An article in The Boston Globe, where these puzzles originally appear, quotes an email from Hook's colleagues, Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon: “He had been ill with diabetes, and underwent a surgery this summer from which he had a troubled recovery.'' For a number of years, the trio has also made the puzzle available electronically by subscription to readers...
Perc Coffee Liqueur takes gold medal
At the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, held in March, Brattleboro's Saxtons River Distillery won a gold medal for Perc Coffee Liqueur. Saxtons River Distillery released Perc about two years ago; this the first year it sent the product to the competition. “The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is considered to be the most recognized and legitimate spirits competition in the world, and a coffee liqueur hasn't been awarded a gold medal in almost 10 years,” Saxtons River Distillery...
Terriers are champions in Division III field hockey
It's been 24 years since a Bellows Falls field hockey team hoisted a championship trophy over their heads, but the Terriers broke the drought last Saturday with a 2-0 win over the Stowe Raiders in the Division III final at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Stowe, which beat Lyndon to advance to the final, has always been an obstacle to contenders in Division III. Between 2000 and 2014, Stowe was in the title game 11 times, including twice against...
'Funny works. If you can make people laugh, you’ll get them to listen'
Author, performer, teacher, and theater director Peter Gould dons purple spectacles and leafs through his newest book, Marly. More books - his and other authors' - sit in a stack on the table in front of him. He has more books in his rainbow striped satchel on the floor by his chair. He reads from Marly, a novella in one voice. An unnamed man narrates the story. He is having a too-early-for-the-mid-life crisis when he meets Marly, a deep-thinking, independent,
Milestones
Honors • Dr. Robert E. Simpson, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Brattleboro Retreat, was presented with the hospital's 2015 Anna Marsh Award before 200 guests who attended a gala event in Simpson's honor on Oct. 24 at the Hilltop Montessori School's Arts Barn in Brattleboro. Named for the woman who founded the Brattleboro Retreat, the Anna Marsh Award is an annual recognition established in 2009 to honor individuals for their advocacy on behalf of people with mental...
A once-in-a-lifetime process
The “class of 2018” does not refer to a graduation class from one of our area schools, but rather to licenses that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will issue to operate five Connecticut River hydroelectric facilities, all of which were set to expire in 2018. The real story about the class of 2018 is that each facility individually, and all five of them as a combined class, have an impact on the Connecticut River. The five facilities together affect...
Historic Scott Bridge set for a $2.2 million fix
Since early 2012, the historic Scott Covered Bridge has been considered so dangerous that even pedestrians have been barred from crossing. That's about to change. A contractor is starting a nearly $2.2 million, 14-month rehabilitation project designed to restore pedestrian access and ensure long-term preservation of the 145-year-old bridge, billed by some as Vermont's longest. “I think the historic part really weighed heavily in this,” said Matt Mann, a transportation planner with Windham Regional Commission. Scott Bridge dates to 1870...
Auction of historic BF industrial artifacts to benefit Our Place
Historical industrial artifacts or sculptural art? Both, apparently. Auction-goers will have an opportunity to decide for themselves when several dozen 100-year-old wooden foundry patterns are put up for sale by Sharon Boccelli & Company Auctioneers on Sunday, Nov. 15, at their auction house on Canal Street. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to Our Place Drop-In Center on Island Street. The patterns were used to create sand molds for a variety of objects made from...
Old songs for a new audience
Two eminent performers of traditional folk music will be joining forces to sing “Jubilee Jim Fisk,” a song about Brattleboro's own Jim Fisk, the notorious Robber Baron of the Gilded Age. It's one of the highlights of a very special concert that celebrates the folk music composed by a remarkable family in Southern Vermont. In a benefit for the Friends of the Library, Tony Barrand and Keith Murphy, on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Main Reading Room...
Friends, fellowship, and food
Outside, a cold autumn rain sneaks under coat collars and into shoes. It turns the downtown glossy and empties the streets as pedestrians seek warm shelter. It's warm inside the gathering hall of the First Baptist Church. The aroma of hot dogs and baked beans fills the kitchen. “The beans are really bubbling,” team leader Jeanne Deyo says, pointing to the stove. One of her four team members attends to a pot of baked beans so large it covers two...
Comforting foods
Jeanne Deyo says she always wanted to help in a soup kitchen. So the minute a former minister of the First Baptist Church suggested that the congregation host one, Deyo was committed. “We saw a need,” she says. The weekly meal was named in honor of Deyo's grandmother, Grace Thomas Deyo Wood, who died one month shy of her 100th birthday on May 21, 2006. “She would make something out of nothing,” Deyo remembers of her grandmother's cooking. In Deyo's...
His profession
The feature act at the Brattleboro Film Festival's “Night in Havana” fundraiser is a performance by the sextet De Lomas y Sones, led by Cuban percussionist William Armando Rodriguez. Rodriguez, who lives in Brattleboro, was born in Santiago de Cuba. Although he began studying at Escuela Vocacional de Arte José María Heredia, an elementary school focusing on music, when he was 9 years old, music was not his first choice. “I love sports,” Rodriguez said, noting his father is a...
Got chutzpah?
It's one of my favorite Yiddish words: Chutzpah. It means guts, balls, a touch of arrogance, courage. To be full of chutzpah is to be a risk taker, a speaker of truth to power, a pain in the butt, a winner, a cool dude, a person who gets things done. Even then, there are nuances to the word that are hard to convey whenever you try to translate Yiddish words into English, even when they're part of the general lexicon.
Guilford briefs
Selectboard clarifies Open Meeting Law GUILFORD - Selectboard member Sheila Morse recently attended a meeting hosted by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) and brought back some information on Vermont's Open Meeting Law. She shared her findings at the Oct. 13 Selectboard meeting. According to Vermont 1 V.S.A. & sect; 312: “Right to attend meetings of public agencies,” a.k.a., the Open Meeting Law, section (c)(2) states, “The time, place, and purpose of a special meeting...shall be publicly announced...
Man killed in Brattleboro railroad bridge accident
A 26-year-old local man was killed and a companion injured Sunday after they stepped onto a railroad bridge and found themselves in the path of Amtrak's daily Vermonter passenger train. According to a Brattleboro Police news release, the two men were walking across the iron span that stretches over the confluence of the Connecticut and West rivers near Route 5 when a southbound locomotive blew its whistle and tried to brake. Police said that “emergency stop procedures were initiated” and...
A cheesemonger’s anniversary
During the month of September I celebrated my 20th anniversary as a cheesemonger. By “celebrate,” I mean I ate some cheese, but I do that most months. I also sat and thought a bit about what it means, and how I got here, and what has happened in these 20 years. But, I do that most months, too. So, maybe writing this column is my celebration. Some people know from an early age what they want to be when they...
LaTronica named library director
Town Manager Peter Elwell announced at the Nov. 3 Selectboard meeting that Brooks Memorial Library will have a new director in the new year. Starr LaTronica was the unanimous choice of the screening committee and library trustees, said Elwell. According to her LinkedIn profile, LaTronica holds the position of youth services/outreach manager at the Four County Library System in Binghamton, N.Y., where she has worked for 20 years. For the 14 years prior to Binghamton, LaTronica served in the Berkeley,