Issue #331
Tattoos, steampunk, and the 1 percent
Don't underestimate Isabel Marie Vinson.
The tattoo-sporting mother-of-two model, laughs at modeling-agency types who tell her she's fat, gets angry at photographers who Photoshop out her pores, and counts steampunk couture amongst her favorite fashions.
Rabbi Bob Alper, Pope’s comedic advisor, to perform in Brattleboro
On Saturday, Nov. 14, Strolling of the Heifers presents “An Evening of Comedy With Rabbi Bob Alper: Honorary Comedic Advisor to Pope Francis.” The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden in downtown Brattleboro. Seating is limited to 200, and all seats are $20.
Legion post plans tribute for Vietnam War veterans
Event to honor memory of 11 area men killed in action in the military action that escalated 50 years ago
Fifty years ago, in 1965, the first sizable contingent of U.S. combat forces was deployed to Vietnam. That was “the year the Vietnam war really got going,” said Brattleboro attorney Tom Costello, a Marine officer from 1968 to 1971, with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart among his...
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‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ presented at GMUHS
The Green Mountain Union High School Drama Department presents “Peter Pan and Wendy” on Friday, Nov. 13, and Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m., in the GMUHS auditorium. Saturday offers a 1 p.m. matinee as well. This non-musical script is faithful to J.M. Barrie's novel, and yes: in this production Peter and the children will “fly.” When the carefree, careless Peter Pan flies into the nursery of the Darling home, Wendy follows her instincts for maternity and adventure, bringing her...
An important position for a great program
It is so very nice for Darah Kehnemuyi to come out of retirement to fill the important position of executive director of the Brattleboro Community Justice Center. The restorative board and its programs are a great idea, and I have seen them be very successful. Thanks!
Vermont Tech’s nursing program plans open house on Nov. 17
Vermont Technical College's Brattleboro nursing campus will hold an open house on Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. at its campus on the second floor of the Brooks House on Main Street. There will be blood pressure reading and hand-washing demonstrations. VTC admissions counselors, nursing instructors, nurses, and student nurses will be on hand to talk about nursing and the VTC program. Community College of Vermont academic advisors will also be available to talk about prerequisite nursing courses...
Putney Friends reaffirm stance for equality, peace, community
As Putney Friends Meeting gathered this month, we reconsidered our witness regarding racism. The Meeting reaffirmed the following Minute from New England Yearly Meeting of Friends from 2003 “to becoming an open, affirming, anti-racist Religious Society”: “Our understanding of racism is that it is a system that accords advantage or disadvantage based on racial identity. Racism is fundamentally inconsistent with the divine guidance that has led our Religious Society to testimonies such as Equality, Peace, and Community. “We seek divine...
Putney Family Services thanks Harvest Festival-goers
On Oct. 11, Putney Family Services participated in the annual Harvest Festival at the Putney School. Our food concession was very successful thanks to the many generous donations from the community. This year, all proceeds will benefit the Putney Community Fuel Fund for those of our neighbors who have need. The beautiful October morning began with volunteers setting up, doing general prep work, and firing up the grill to begin cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for the hungry festival-goers. The...
Milestones
Transitions • The Board of Directors of Kurn Hattin Homes for Children in Westminster has named veteran educational administrator and nonprofit leader Stephen Harrison as the organization's new Executive Director, following the retirement of Connie Sanderson. Harrison brings to the job a depth of expertise in fundraising, fiscal management, and long-range institutional planning, as well as three decades of leadership experience in residential and independent school environments around the country. He has served as Head of School of two independent...
Around the Towns
Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel meets Nov. 12 VERNON - The next meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel will be held on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the cafetorium at the Vernon Elementary School on Governor Hunt Road. At the meeting, the panel will receive decommissioning updates from the state of Vermont and Entergy, including a status report from Entergy on the Vernont Yankee Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Fund and the Spent Fuel Management Plan. The...
Spiritual scholar Ravi Ravindra to lecture on yoga at BMAC
Spiritual scholar and international speaker Ravi Ravindra, an authority on Jiddu Krishnamurti, George Gurdjieff, and the world's mystical traditions, is speaking on “The Heart and Purpose of Yoga: Toward a Deeper Practice” at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. Ravindra, an author and scholar, is sought internationally to share his views on religion, science, and spirituality. A native of India, he emigrated to Canada and is professor emeritus at Dalhousie University, in...
BFUHS Drama Club presents ‘An Evening of Austen’
For its fall 2015 production, the Bellows Falls Union High School Drama Club presents An Evening of Austen, featuring two one-act adaptations of beloved Jane Austen classics. The evening begins with Persuasion. In 1806, Anne Elliot, the daughter of a baronet, falls in love with Captain Wentworth, despite his lack of fortune and prospects. Against her heart, she is persuaded to break off her engagement by Lady Russell, a close family friend who has been like a mother to Anne.
In two elementary school rooms, a huge divide
On Oct. 28, I attended the pipeline showdown at the Northfield Elementary School with the contestants being Democracy vs. Corporatocracy, or the majority of the voting public versus Kinder Morgan. Democracy is a system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule directly, rule through freely elected representatives, or - simply stated - rule by the majority. “Corpratocracy,” on the other hand, is defined as an economic and political system controlled by corporations and corporate interests.
New bereavement group remembers children who died
Bereaved families that have experienced the death of a child now have an opportunity to meet with others who have endured similar tragedies. The Compassionate Friends (TCF) of Brattleboro, a national self-help organization for families that have had a child die, will hold its next monthly meeting Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. at 541 Black Mountain Rd. Meetings will be held the third Sunday of every month at the same time and location. “A bereavement organization like TCF where...
Writing and yoga workshop offered in Newfane
Writer Deborah Lee Luskin and yoga instructor Jenny Frey will team up to lead “Writing to the Light,” a workshop they say “is designed to nurture one's internal light” as the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the dark. Participants will use yoga and breath to ground themselves; writing will be used to illuminate a path through the coming dark. Gentle yoga will prepare particpants for timed writing to inspiring prompts. Using their deepest breath, participants will then make those words audible...
Healthcare center plans open house
Grace Cottage Family Health, a provider-based healthcare center in Townshend, has expanded its staff and extended its hours to accommodate a growing number of new patients. On Thursday, Nov. 12, from 4 to 6 p.m., Grace Cottage will host an open house where five new providers will be on hand to introduce themselves and their services. All are welcome and encouraged to attend the event. Refreshments will be provided. Literature will be available. The new providers are Dr. Jesper Brickley,
A look at three plants
A look at the three regional nuclear plants Entergy will be decommissioning: Vermont Yankee Location: Vernon Year opened: 1972 Entergy purchased: 2002 Shutdown: 2014 Power output: 605 megawatts Employment: About 300; about 550 prior to shutdown Decommissioning trust fund: $664.56 million Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Location: Plymouth, Mass. Year opened: 1972 Entergy purchased: 1999 Shutdown: No later than 2019 Power output: 688 megawatts Employment: 650 Decommissioning trust fund: $896.42 million James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant Location: Scriba, N.Y. Year...
Influenza is not a ‘benign illness’
I was disturbed by Jacqueline Brook's piece, which refers to influenza as a “benign illness” that should be looked at as “a guilt-free excuse to read a stack of good books.” It is clear Ms. Brook has never contracted a severe case of influenza. I have, and reading a stack of books was not an option as I staggered into my doctor's office, collapsed in his arms, and had to lie on a bed being fed fluids intravenously for the...
Warm Hands, Warm Hearts drive begins
Again, it's time to appeal to our community and ask for your help in this year's Warm Hands, Warm Heart, Inc. clothing drive. We have been experiencing some of Vermont's fabulous Fall weather - it's great for leaf-raking, fall motoring, and family visits. But we all know that colder weather - much colder weather - is coming and that many in our local community will have a hard time this winter. Our clothing box is located at the Brattleboro Masonic...
Newfane briefs
Last Irene-damaged property is demolished NEWFANE - More than four years after the event, Newfane is almost finished with its work on the home at 279 Dover Rd., damaged beyond habitability by Tropical Storm Irene. The town, and the building's owner, have been engaged in a long process with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to complete the buyback process, Administrative Assistant Shannon Meckle told The Commons earlier this year. At the Oct. 5 Selectboard meeting, Meckle told the board...
Town objects, but state OKs Brattleboro cell tower
Over the objections of town officials, the state has approved construction of a new AT&T cellular tower designed to improve service in the Interstate 91 corridor and other areas. The Vermont Public Service Board issued a certificate of public good to AT&T Mobility and Blue Sky Towers LLC to build a 120-foot monopole tower at 1227 Putney Road, just north of the roundabout at I-91 Exit 3. While Brattleboro officials had protested the project's aesthetic impacts, the board noted that...
VT asks NRC to probe Yankee trust fund use
Having already pursued regulatory appeals and court action, Vermont officials are trying another tactic to limit usage of the Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust fund. The state attorney general and Public Service Department on Nov. 6 announced a new petition asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to undertake a “robust, comprehensive and participatory review” of various trust-fund uses planned by Entergy, the Vernon nuclear plant's owner. “Considered together, Entergy's actions threaten to undermine the radiological decommissioning work that is the very purpose...
NEYT Theatre Adventure presents 'Putting On Our Finery'
New England Youth Theatre's Theatre Adventure presents “Putting On Our Finery” on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. in the Main Hall of the West Village Meeting House/All Souls Church, 29 South St., West Brattleboro. Theatre Adventure is NEYT's troupe of talented and amazing actors - with and without disabilities - who wow their audiences. The evening's festivities will feature fabulous fashions of the 1920s presented by the actors. The period outfits will be described by Stasia Savasuk, creator of...
Lawmaker: Enthusiasm growing for Act 46
After a somewhat rocky start, state Rep. Dave Sharpe believes he and his fellow lawmakers are finding a much more receptive audience for Vermont's new school-governance law. The House Education Committee chairman does have some lingering concerns about Act 46: One controversial element of the law - a variable budget-increase threshold - may soon be “tweaked,” Sharpe said. The Bristol Democrat also acknowledged that he's increasingly concerned about some smaller districts with unique education structures being left out of the...
Proposed municipal fiscal year 2017 budget posted
Town staff have completed the first draft of the fiscal year 2017 municipal budget. The Nov. 2 version of the proposed document includes numbers for the town's general fund, capital fund, and solid waste fund. Information on the town's two enterprise funds - parking and utilities - are due at later date, Town Manager Peter Elwell wrote in a memo. Elwell had some sobering, but perhaps not surprising, news for Selectboard members in his memo accompanying the proposed budget: Taxes...
BUHS fall concert offers selections of jazz, madrigals, chorus, band numbers
The Brattleboro Union High School Music Department presents a fall concert on Wednesday, Nov. 18 , at 7 p.m. in the BUHS auditorium. There is no admission charge and all are welcome. The jazz workshop opens the concert, directed by Eugene Uman and Robert Freeberg. They will perform three tunes, including Uman's Niko's Dream, Wes Montgomery's Road Song, and Horace Silver's Sister Sadie. Madrigals will take the stage second, beginning their set with Weep Oh Mine Eyes by John Bennett.
Brattleboro briefs
Public meetings confirmed for police-fire facility project discussions BRATTLEBORO - The Selectboard confirmed the times and locations for three public meetings on the Police-Fire Facilities Upgrade Project. The town hopes to move forward with making life safety improvements to its two fire stations and police station. The project, aimed at solving structural and health hazards in the three buildings, has repeatedly taken one step forward, three steps back since Representative Town Meeting approved $14.1 million for the project in 2012.
Winston Prouty Center submits bid for Austine School campus
The former Austine School for the Deaf could have a new life as a collective if a bankruptcy court approves a purchase and sale agreement from the Winston Prouty Center. The Winston Prouty Center submitted its purchase and sale agreement for the seven buildings and 200-acre campus last week. Prouty Executive Director Chloe Learey said the center's agreement is part of a bid process set up by the bankruptcy court. “It would be great to have space where we could...
Selectboard votes to join VT-Alert system
Glenn Herrin, of VT-Alert and the state's Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS), gave a presentation on the VT-Alert program at the Oct. 14 Dummerston Selectboard meeting. He was joined by Dawn Hubbard, the town's Emergency Management director. The VT-Alert program, Herrin explained to the board, is part of the national, Web-based alert system that provides public safety notifications via email, phone, fax, cellphone, and text. By signing on to the program, Herrin said, the board could designate...
Town offices: new building vs. renovation
“I know there's history here,” David Cotton told the Selectboard at its Oct. 19 meeting. Cotton was referring to the Town Offices building, a 75-year-old structure whose renovation needs are so great that town officials are considering selling it and constructing a new building in a nearby lot. For many years, town officials, including the former Building Committee, have addressed a number of deficiencies in the building, including heating, air quality, energy efficiency, ADA compliance, roofing problems, and a lack...
Town contends with trash dumped illegally
Town officials continue to address the issue of illegal dumping at the recycling roll-off bins in the Town Offices' parking lot. Administrative Assistant Shannon Meckle shared her newest research with the Selectboard at its Oct. 5 meeting. As Meckle had told the board in previous meetings, Brattleboro deters illegal dumping at its recycling bins by posting numerous, brightly colored warning signs and monitoring the area with security cameras. When refuse scofflaws are caught by the cameras, the Windham County Sheriff's...
Bridge project audit flags contractor oversight
The state has accepted a plan of action from the town after discovering that a local engineering vendor failed to properly vet subcontractors with the state debarment list. The board had hired SVE Associates to act as project manager to oversee the rebuilding of the Lynch and the Hunter Brook bridges. As part of its work, SVE was supposed to have checked with the state's debarment list to ensure any contractors it hired were not on that list. The state...
Police: ‘Untimely’ death on Old Ferry Road was a homicide
Brattleboro Police and Vermont State Police are investigating a homicide on Old Ferry Road. According to a Nov. 9 release from State Police Lt. Kraig LaPorte, Brattleboro Police were called to a location on Old Ferry Road for a medical emergency. Upon arrival, officers found a man dead in a vehicle. Rescue Inc. personnel also responded and confirmed his death. The man was later identified as Sultan Rashed, 35, of Brattleboro. An autopsy was performed Nov. 10 at the Chief...
Complementing health
Why wait until you're sick? Using complementary medicine - like massage - next to modern medicine - like cough syrup and doctors' visits - can proactively protect one's health. That's the message from 16 members of the holistic health community who practice therapies ranging from acupuncture to Reiki, a collective that will host Brattleboro's first Holistic Health Expo at the River Garden on Main Street Friday, Nov. 13 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. “It's a great opportunity for people...
Man with a plan
After nine months of overhauling a 24-page town charter, article by article, and having gotten to the section dealing with how safety services would be administered town-wide, a much shorter and simpler document was presented to the merger committee by Municipal Manager Willis D. Stearns II. Stearns presented a much simplified three-page plan. He said he adapted the text from three successful town merger documents and did so with the help of legal counsel. “The [consolidated] plan deals with everything,”
Next Stage presents Antje Duvekot, The Stockwell Brothers in Bellows Falls
Next Stage Arts Project, in collaboration with Twilight Music, Popolo, and WOOL-FM 91.5, presents contemporary folk singer/songwriter Antje Duvekot and newgrass trio The Stockwell Brothers at The Windham Ballroom on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. Antje Duvekot is a German-born, American-raised singer/songwriter. Her bicultural upbringing and relative newness to English have helped shape her unique way with a song, giving her a startlingly original poetic palette. She has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize...
Damaris to perform benefit show for Groundworks
Catch local singer-songwriter Damaris in concert later this week at the Hooker-Dunham Theater, 139 Main St., in a benefit for Groundworks and its seasonal overflow shelter. At the show, Friday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m., Damaris promises to round out crowd favorites with new, original music for voice and harmonium. She'll be joined on stage by fellow singer-songwriter Maggie Bernhard. Theere will also be a collection of donations of non-perishable food items and much-needed blankets, sleeping bags, coats, hats, and...
Terriers fall to Bulldogs in Division II football final
The undefeated Burr & Burton Bulldogs won their first-ever state football title with a 28-7 victory of the Bellows Falls Terriers in the Division II championship game last Saturday at Rutland High School. This game was billed as a match-up between the aerial attack of the 10-0 Bulldogs versus the ground-and-pound ball control offense of the 9-1 Terriers. When they met during the regular season on Oct. 17, the top-seeded Bulldogs eked out a 19-14 win. It was the only...
Eugene Friesen to give talk on the cello at MSA
Cellist and composer Eugene Friesen will lead a tour, Inside the Cello, at Main Street Arts on Friday, Nov. 13, as part of the Taste of the Arts, Tales from a Community series. A dinner at 6 p.m. precedes the award-winning musician's talk. Based in Vermont, Friesen is familiar to local audiences through his performances in the Stone Church Arts series in Bellows Falls. He has performed widely since 1978: as a member of the Paul Winter Consort, with Howard...
Evacuation plans for the whole family
“The key to having a public disaster team is: nobody ever has to decide whether to evacuate because they are worried about their animals,” said Carolyn Conrad, director of operations at the Windham County Humane Society (WCHS) and treasurer for the newly formed Windham Disaster Animal Response Team (WinDART). There has been no disaster animal response team in Windham County, she said. But that is about to change. WinDART has recent received its charter as a regional operating team of...
VSO musicians to perform at Putney, Wardsboro schools
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra's “DrumShtick” percussion trio will visit two Windham County schools on Nov. 16: Putney Central School 10 a.m. and Wardsboro Central School at 1 p.m. DrumShtick - Jane Boxall, Brian Johnson, and Robert Levis - are excellent performers with years of experience turning kids on to classical music. Their show, “Percussion Means the World to Us,” explores a culturally diverse repertoire and includes demonstrations of non-Western instruments. Through sometimes zany humor, they introduce children to general musical...
Successful Aging Awards presented
Five senior citizens from Windham County were honored with Successful Aging Awards at the annual meeting of Senior Solutions on Oct. 28 in Springfield. The awardees were Carleton Chaffee of Newfane, Janice Duke of West Dummerston, Judy Morton of Dummerston, Barbara Moseley of Vernon, and Cynthia Nau of Brookline. Successful Aging Awards are presented to seniors in southeastern Vermont based on their contributions to the community and their exemplary personal qualities. Four seniors from Windsor County were also honored. The...
Vermont Jazz Center presents samba-jazz in 'A Tribute to Jobim’
On Saturday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m., Vermont Jazz Center presents “A Tribute to Jobim,” a performance by three leading artists from Brazil who enjoyed direct connections with Antônio Carlos Jobim, widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most important songwriters. The VJC presents pianist/musical director and Grammy Award-winning Hélio Alves, Grammy Award-winning vocalist Maucha Adnet (who for 10 years sang with maestro Jobim), and Grammy Award-winning drummer Duduka da Fonseca. They are supported by first-call bassist David Finck...
Saxtons River Rec Chili Contest winners announced
The Saxtons River Rec recently announced the winners of its annual chili cook off, held Oct. 24 on the lawn at Main Street Arts. A record crowd of chili tasters voted young Austin Mallan their favorite individual winner, with second going to Dan Zimmer. Both are of Saxtons River. First in the commercial category was Jamaican Jewelz Catering, followed closely by Smokin' Bowls' signature Cheech and Chong chili. Also entering were the Bacon, Douglass, and Smith families; Justin Gallion and...
Entergy juggles nuke shutdowns
The Nov. 2 news of yet another pending nuclear plant closure means that, within the next several years, Entergy will be juggling three complicated, expensive decommissioning projects in New England and New York. Company administrators and federal officials say the coming shutdowns of FitzPatrick Nuclear in New York and Pilgrim Nuclear in Massachusetts won't delay or otherwise negatively affect decommissioning work at Vermont Yankee, as each plant has separate and substantial decommissioning trust funds. In fact, federal records show that...
Tax savings versus local control of education
Dummerston took its turn debating Act 46, the state's new school governance bill, at the Oct. 27 School Board meeting. If this first public discussion is any indication, the road may not be long - the first deadline schools have to make a decision is July 1, 2016 - but it will be bumpy. In addition to the five school board members - Christian Avard, Katey Everest, Richard Mills, Dan Normandeau, and Amy Wall - Dummerston School Principal Jo Carol...
Investigators seek cause of apartment building fire
Investigators from the state Division of Fire Safety and the Brattleboro Fire Department are still trying to find the cause of a a four-alarm fire that struck a 2{1/2}-story apartment building at 16-38 Valgar St. on Nov. 7. At least 11 families - 45 people in all - were driven from their homes by the fire. All the occupants of the 12-unit building got out safely and no injuries were reported, according to the Brattleboro Fire Department and the Red...
Three artists with three different styles host an interactive exhibit at Crowell Gallery
Matt Peake, Barbara Baker-Bury, and Scott Morgan will exhibit their works at Crowell Art Gallery throughout November. An opening reception is set for Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. Crowell Gallery is at Moore Free Library, 23 West St. Peake launched his professional career in 1982 as a family physician in rural Vermont. After nearly 25 years he left his practice to pursue a full-time career in art - in dance and the visual arts. Initially, he says, his paintings...
The power of the human voice
“I have been chanting every day for most of my life but I really don't fully understand it,” says Susan Dedell, who this weekend is bringing together a group of experts to explore what chant is all about. In essence, chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds that becomes a heightened and stylized form of speech. Sometimes chant is considered music. Chant may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly...
Union boards hedge on Act 46 mergers
Geographically speaking, the sprawling Windham Central Supervisory Union is one of Vermont's biggest, taking in both the West River Valley and mountain ski areas. Its organizational chart – consisting of 12 boards and eight schools linked by a tangle of lines – seems to barely fit on a single page. So, even as all Vermont school administrators struggle with how to comply with sweeping governance changes proposed in the state's newly approved Act 46, that struggle seems all the more...
Supermarket rescue call
It all started because Mao Zedong's arm wasn't waving. When I was in Hong Kong at the Jade Market, I had purchased two 70-year-old porcelain-and-silver teapots from a vendor. They are plentiful around here, and quite charming. This sort of item is the kind of thing used in Grandma's house in the 1940s and, because it is so common, not many Chinese people want to purchase them. My guess is that everyone has a few in their homes already. Just...
Williamsville Hall closed for the winter
With heating an issue as well as energy efficiency, the Selectboard has voted to close the Williamsville Hall for the winter season, from Nov. 1 to April 1. Myra Fassler and Steve Levine of the Williamsville Hall Committee visited the Oct. 19 regular Selectboard meeting to provide the board with an update on the hall. A ceiling insulation project is in the works, and Levine estimated it would be finished “within the next few weeks.” After the insulation project is...