Issue #368

Small town wins big tax case

Court sides with town in dispute between Brookline and log home builder

The house at 1062 Grassy Brook Road isn't visible to passersby.

But it is a big property in every sense of the word: 9,880 square feet of living space on a 292 acre spread that includes two covered bridges. A real estate listing trumpets the Montana log home as a “secret escape into the wild” with “million-dollar views.”

The property also has loomed large in town affairs, as Brookline officials and the home's builder engaged in a prolonged, expensive tax fight that went to the Vermont Supreme Court three times.

Now, the long-running dispute appears to have finally ended.

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Around the Towns

Ground-breaking for new West Brattleboro fire station is Aug. 4 WEST BRATTLEBORO - The town of Brattleboro invites citizens and interested persons to attend a ground-breaking ceremony celebrating the rebuilding of the West Brattleboro Fire Station on Thursday, Aug. 4, at 4 p.m., at the West Brattleboro Fire Station.

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Renewable-energy projects to get funding boost

State awards $400,000 to Windham Regional Commission to develop grant program

A new grant program fueled by Vermont Yankee money is expected to nurture renewable energy projects in Windham County. The Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund, drawing from cash paid to the state by Entergy, has given $400,000 to Brattleboro-based Windham Regional Commission to develop the program over the next...

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Little is known about Cutler and DePino

The citizens of Windham District 4 (Putney, Dummerston, and Westminster) have a very important choice to make in this November's election. Incumbents David Deen (D-Westminster) and Mike Mrowicki (D-Putney) are in contested races with newcomers Eddie Cutler and Bonnie DePino, Republicans from Westminster and Westminster West, respectively. David Deen and Mike Mrowicki have long and documented records of service in the Vermont House of Representatives. Little is known yet about where Eddie Cutler and Bonnie DePino stand on the wide...

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Ten Strings and a Goat Skin, Hayley Reardon to perform

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present Prince Edward Island-based, acoustic, folk/fusion trio Ten Strings and a Goat Skin, plus Boston-based singer/songwriter Hayley Reardon, at Next Stage on Friday, Aug. 5, at 7:30 p.m. According to a news release, “Ten Strings and a Goat Skin transform tradition with vigor, curiosity, and sparks of goofy humor, weaving old-school Franco-Canadian, Breton, Irish, and Scottish tunes with wickedly current grooves and clever quirks.” The young, bilingual trio expands on the Scottish and...

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Food shelves join forces for back-to-school drive

From Aug. 8-13, food shelves in Southeastern Vermont will collect healthy lunch and snack foods and school supplies for children and families, providing assistance at a time when budgets are stretched thin to buy clothing, shoes, backpacks, and school supplies. Food shelves participating in the Back to School Food and Supplies Drive are Our Place in Bellows Falls (802-463-2217), Chester-Andover Family Center (802-875-3236), Guilford Cares Food Pantry (802-257-0626), Groundworks Collaborative Food Shelf in Brattleboro (802-257-5415), Putney Foodshelf (802-387-8551), Springfield Family...

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Kesha Ram listens and learns

I am excited this year to vote for someone I truly believe is the best candidate for the job instead of closing my eyes and picking a candidate. I am voting for Kesha Ram as our next lieutenant governor, and I am urging everyone I know to vote for her as well. Kesha impressed me the first time I met her, and I have talked with her many times since. She even came to my house to meet with a...

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Prints of historical paintings, drawings from The Island now available

Looking out over the current post-industrial landscape of The Island, in Bellows Falls, it is difficult to imagine this 30-acre hillock, bordered by the Connecticut River on three sides, was once considered among the most beautiful places in all of Vermont. For millennia, according to a news release, The Island served as a sacred burial site and fishing ground to native peoples who left their carvings in its bedrock. When the Europeans arrived, The Island's virgin pines provided masts for...

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Balint: a voice of reason, a vote for conscience

A little over two years ago, I was attending my third Windham County Democratic Committee meeting on a hot summer night in the River Garden. Among a handful of local candidates, we heard from a tiny woman whom I had never met who spoke to us about why she was running for the State Senate. She spoke for about a minute when, through the open doors, the deafening noise of the bells and whistles of a passing train began to...

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Multiple legislators urge vote for Minter

As the primary approaches, and Vermonters evaluate who our next governor ought to be, Sue Minter has separated herself from the pack and proven herself to be the strongest choice for not just Windham County, but for all Vermonters on Election Day. We first witnessed Sue's leadership during her service in Vermont's House of Representatives. There, she fought to maintain essential services during the recession, making sure we didn't leave Vermonters behind. Her excellent work in the aftermath of Tropical...

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Dunne, Zuckerman fight for sustainable and just future

Just as Vermont is the state that launched Bernie Sanders onto a national stage, we also have an opportunity to nominate candidates for governor and lieutenant governor who have bold, progressive ideas. Matt Dunne and David Zuckerman are both fighters for a sustainable and just future. Some ideas they both share include: • an understanding of the existential peril posed by climate disruption. Vermonters tend to pay attention to weather. We know the extreme heat and drought of this summer...

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Shap Smith can bring his innovative thinking to the Senate

I support Shap Smith for lieutenant governor. I do so because of my respect for his leadership as speaker of the House of Representatives for eight of the 10 years that I served in the House. You might or might not agree with some of the legislative initiatives that emerged under Shap's tenure in that office, but the business of making laws was productive and was handled with grace and respect in very large part due to his guidance, even...

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So many good choices in this year’s primary election

When it rains it pours. Unlike the presidential election, where we have the usual suspects to vote for - better known as “the lesser of two evils” - here in Vermont we have a slate of candidates in the gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election where actual choices are necessary. That means we have to make up our minds by the Aug. 9 primary. It is a stimulating experience to see the political landscape populated with qualified candidates. So stimulating, in...

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High praise for Minter and Smith from legislative colleague

There is a clear choice in the upcoming Democratic Aug. 9 primary election. This is a pivotal time in Vermont's history when we need to take stock so we can address effectively the challenges we face as a state. This is why I support Sue Minter for our next governor. Sue has been working for Vermonters for the last 15 years, and she understands the challenges that we all face, including the challenges facing our environment. Eleven years ago, when...

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Galbraith: For what more can we ask?

Of the several fine candidates for governor, both Democratic and Republican, my vote will certainly be for Peter Galbraith, someone I have known, observed, and admired for many, many years now. Most important for the long-term future of the Vermont we love, Peter has the strongest environmental record and most intelligent environmental aspirations of the several contenders. And Peter's social record and positions - on health care, on education, on wages, and on fiscal policy - could not be better.

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DePino and Cutler stand strong for gun rights

I am glad Connie Baxter has taken the opportunity to introduce my wife, Bonnie, and my best friend, Eddie Cutler, to the residents and voters of the Windham-4 district. I have been very busy lately protecting the rights of Vermonters and the American public from the never-ending wave of anti-rights propaganda and legislation moving through Vermont and Washington, and I have not been able to sit down and write a little bit about my wife. Sorry, honey! My wife is...

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Ram promises to connect with citizens

Kesha Ram is a bright young woman who has served in the Legislature for eight years and is looking to become lieutenant governor. The position has few formal duties, so Kesha intends to use it to travel across the state listening to citizens and bringing their voices to Montpelier. The absence of our voices has lead to many laws, mandates, and regulations that often make little sense when they get to us. This promise tells me she has a clear...

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Mrowicki, Deen have legislative track record

Every two years we have the opportunity to choose between those who wish to represent us in the Vermont House of Representatives. Mike Mrowicki and David Deen have each been elected and served for several terms, representing the Windham-4 district. They will be opposed in November by two other candidates. Let us not be lulled into thinking Mrowicki and Deen don't need our support to be re-elected. Why is it important? Mrowicki has served on the House Committee on Human...

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Phil Scott would bring integrity to the governor’s office

The announcement by the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation that Wells Fargo and Raymond James have entered into settlements with the state stemming from fraud allegations is another wake-up call for Vermonters. They should be cautious about candidate Bruce Lisman, who honed his skills on Wall Street working at now-bankrupt Bear Stearns. Many employees were prosecuted by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fraudulent schemes, as was the corporation itself. Many lost money, but Mr. Lisman walked away with a...

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SEVCA launches special appeal for housing assistance donations

Southeastern Vermont Community Action announced a special appeal to the public for donations to its housing assistance fund, which is used to help homeless families and individuals obtain housing and to keep those at risk of homelessness in their homes. The anti-poverty agency provides assistance with back rent, first month's rent, security deposits, and utility payments to end or prevent homelessness for 350 to 450 local households per year, but existing funding falls far short of the need. “Homelessness prevention...

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Minter, Smith offer practical government experience

During any campaign, candidates can - and do - say about anything. A more polite way to phrase that would be with Mario Cuomo's words, “We campaign in poetry but govern in prose.” With that in mind, my vote goes to Sue Minter for governor, for her track record of accomplishment (as well as her ideas for the future). While other candidates can make it all sound so easy and overpromise, Sue has already helped make things work. And, she...

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Matt Dunne stands for good government and understanding of technology

I am writing in support of Matt Dunne for governor. Matt has the tech background we need to get our health-care system out of the dark ages. He promises to invest in health information technology to reduce paperwork, improve communication, and increase efficiency throughout our health-care system, and he will fix the flawed health-care exchange by introducing a new leadership team with backgrounds in health, human services, and information technology to correct the failings at Vermont Health Connect while providing...

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Lisman will wake Vermont from perpetual slumber

I'm voting for Bruce Lisman in the Aug. 9 Republican primary contest for governor and hope that other voters will do the same. I feel this is the year when an outsider and non-politician has the best chance of changing Vermont for the better. It would be exciting to have a governor who won't reward his political cronies but will seek the best-quality people to serve our state. Bruce's opponent, Phil Scott, seems like a good person, but he has...

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Civil War families of Grafton are topic of Historical Society meeting

A rare look at Civil War families in Grafton will be the focus of a special presentation by Thomas E. Fontaine on Thursday, Aug. 4, at 5 p.m., at the Brick Meeting House on Upper Main St. Speaking from the very location where meetings and discussions took place during the Civil War, Fontaine will discuss the history of the town and its residents at this Grafton Historical Society-sponsored meeting, according to a news release. In the course of his research...

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Milestones

College news • Kacie St. Onge of Brattleboro recently received a B.S. degree from Curry College in Milton, Mass. • Hollie Landfried of Brattleboro recently received a B.S. degree in information technology from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. • The following local students were named to the spring 2016 Dean's List at Champlain College in Burlington: Kevin Ameden of Jamaica, Cuyler Cunningham of Brattleboro, Aubrie Gillam of Putney, John Houk of Brattleboro, and Jeremy Root of Vernon. • Christiana...

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Meeting House pilgrimage to focus on gravestones

It promises to be a unique Rockingham Meeting House pilgrimage this year, turning an eye to the graveyard and the mysteries of the carvings of the stones. The 110th annual pilgrimage to the Rockingham Meeting House will be held Sunday, Aug. 7, beginning with welcoming bagpipe music and a picnic at 11 a.m. at the historic landmark structure. The program “Memento Mori: Early Gravestones in Rockingham” will be led by Jamie Franklin, the curator of the Bennington Museum. The presentation...

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Jamaica Historical Foundation presents exhibit of Milton Avery’s Vermont art

The Jamaica Historical Foundation will host an exhibit about renowned artist Milton Avery and his work inspired by summers spent in Jamaica between 1935 and 1943. The exhibit will be on view on Saturday, Aug. 6, from 4 to 7 p.m., at the Hefflon House, 3751 Route 30, next to the Jamaica Town Hall. At 5 p.m., there will be a special lecture by Jamie Franklin, curator of the Bennington Museum exhibit “Milton Avery's Vermont.” The Avery Exhibit at the...

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A new retelling of an old myth

Apron Theater Company is taking a new look at a very old myth. For the next two weekends in August, Next Stage Arts' resident theater company will present Sarah Ruhl's “Eurydice,” a fresh revision of the Orpheus legend that a Company news release says is “full of dark humor, lyrical beauty and wit” that transforms a traditional myth into “a visceral, contemporary meditation on love worth grieving for.” Directed by Karla Baldwin, the production stars Madeleine Sepe as Eurydice, Mason...

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Dummerston briefs

Speed-limit study required DUMMERSTON - If resident Steve Tavella and his neighbors get their way, drivers on Wickopee Hill Road may soon get counted. In response to Steve Tavella's request to the Selectboard last month to lower the speed limit on the road from 35 mph to 25 mph, Board member Hugh Worden researched if and how they can make the change. [See “Slow-down sought on Wickopee Hill,” The Commons #365, July 13, 2016]. At the July 20 regular Board...

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National Guard armory to harness solar power

The Vermont National Guard is going solar. The state Public Service Board has approved construction of a 1.8-megawatt solar array on land adjacent to the Guard's armory in Westminster, ruling that the nearly 17-acre project's benefits will outweigh its impacts. Via special state statutory language, the solar installation will qualify as net-metered. That means the Guard can take full and exclusive advantage of utility bill savings and renewable energy credits created by the array. “The electricity produced by the project...

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Two attacked, wounded in downtown Brattleboro

A woman who allegedly attacked two people on Elliot Street on July 31 appeared in Windham County Superior Court on Monday. Mariam J. Belarj, 20, of Medford, N.Y., was arraigned on two felonies - including assault - and two misdemeanors. Bail was set at $2,500 for Belarj, who has also been charged under the state statute for hate-motivated crimes in connection with her interaction with Shela Linton, a woman of color and prominent advocate for issues of social justice. The...

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Humorist to speak at library fundraiser

Humorist Megan Price, author of the “Vermont Wild: Adventures of Fish & Game Wardens” books, will share secrets behind her best-selling, true game-warden series at Dover Library's annual Dessert Social Fundraiser on Thursday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m., in the Dover Town Hall, according to a news release. The event marks the 25th anniversary of this popular event. Admission is by donation. Delicious desserts donated by local bakers, inns, and restaurants will be served following the author's presentation. According to...

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New pedestrian flags seek to make street crossing safer

In collaboration with the Holton Home and Brattleboro Department of Public Works, the Safe Streets Project recently launched a pilot program to improve pedestrian visibility. It is located at the crosswalk between Holton Home and Trinity Lutheran Church on Western Avenue. Two fluorescent orange and yellow flags sit on the yield signs on each side of the crosswalk, with instructions to “carry a flag when crossing the street and place it in the container on the other side,” according to...

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GMP to relocate utility poles on Weatherhead Hollow Rd.

By the end of the year, observant travelers along Weatherhead Hollow Road may notice something different: five new power poles. Betsy Bosiak, a right-of-way agent with Green Mountain Power visited the Selectboard at their July 25 regular meeting to seek an easement for the placement of five poles along a 1,400-foot stretch of the road. Some of the poles are new; the company will relocate others from out of the woods to make maintenance easier. “They're doing this all over...

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Drought dent realized, but fair weather returns

Hello, southern Vermonters! Well, we certainly got some much-needed rain in a number of locations over the past several days. And while some received more than others, we enjoyed 1 to 2 inches of rainfall on average, with some higher amounts in certain towns. Overall, it was a substantial improvement from prior weeks. While I wish the rain train would continue, it's time to disembark and experience plenty of fair weather during the week ahead. * * * For Wednesday,

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Something to crow about

Ralph the Rooster, the main character of Jaimie Scanlon and Ellen Tumavicus's new book, “Ralph Flies the Coop,” starts out as a somewhat lazy, bombastic, clueless character. But, after overhearing his barnyard pals, including a pair of disgruntled pigs, complain about him over their morning coffee and pastries, Ralph decides to hitch a ride on a goose and fly the coop. Although Ralph is nervous about leaving the familiarity of the farm, he soon finds himself enjoying his trip around...

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The myth of the meddlesome trust-fund babies

I've spent months trying to report about the intertwined policies, politics, and passions of the current land use debate in Halifax in advance of the Aug. 9 vote (by Australian ballot) of whether to repeal the town's zoning bylaw in its entirety. The vote is the result of a public petition that circulated in the wake of the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) decision denying a conditional-use permit necessary to allow Russell Denison to construct and operate a schist quarry...

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Simple foods, sophisticated flavors

On a recent afternoon behind the counter at Graffiti Sandwich, the new breakfast and lunch spot on Elliot Street, Travis Mason was simmering some pork shoulder for the next day's meals. While that isn't an unusual occurrence in a restaurant, the method was slightly atypical. Mason, Graffiti's co-owner and chef, was dunking the big chunks of pork, sealed in plastic bags, into an immersion cooker. Using the sous-vide method (“under-vacuum”) - which thoroughly and evenly cooks the meat at a...

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A mob reaction to ‘political correctness’

Shortly after the release of the new Ghostbusters movie, actress Leslie Jones was met with a tidal wave of hate speech on Twitter. The reboot, which features an all-female leading cast, has been criticized by anti-feminist groups for ruining the nostalgia of the 1984 original. Jones, a tall black woman, was targeted with racial slurs long thought eradicated - terms that shouldn't even be reprinted. The volume of tweets sent in her direction was attributed to Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos's...

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Vermont Jazz Center plans annual Summer Jazz Workshop

The Vermont Jazz Center is preparing for the 41st iteration of its summer jazz workshop. The weeklong program takes place on the beautiful campus of The Putney School. According to a news release, the workshop encourages intermediate- to professional-level students “from down the street and around the world.” While in Vermont, “they polish their improvisational and musicianship skills while enjoying a hiatus in the country.” The workshop began in 1974 when famed Hungarian guitarist Attila Zoller formed the Attila Zoller...

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Crowell Gallery to show works of Xi siblings

The Robert L. Crowell Art Gallery at Moore Free Library, 23 West St., is showing the works of Cai Xi and Le Xi during the month of August. Both artists share an abiding interest in light and shadow, time and space, according to a news release. Using brushwork and charcoal, line and color, as well as kinetic video art media, the brother/sister exhibit will entertain and enlighten. An artist reception is scheduled for Aug. 4, at 6 p.m., at the...

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Little League, Legion teams win state titles

A notice has been served to the rest of Baseball Vermont -- Brattleboro is back on top, and plans on staying there for a long time. There is so much talent at every level of youth baseball in this town that there will likely be more state championship banners in the coming years. Last week, Brattleboro Post 5 and the Brattleboro 11-12 Little League All-Stars joined the Brattleboro 13-15 Babe Ruth All-Stars as Vermont champions. That's an impressive trifecta for...

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Attack of the wild parsnip

If you have noticed plants by the roadside or on your favorite hiking trail that look like goldenrod or yellow Queen Anne's lace, they may be neither. There is a new invasive plant species for Vermonters to be concerned about: wild parsnip. Both the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and the Vermont Department of Health recently issued advisories on wild parsnip, also known as poison parsnip. That's because the plant contains sap that can cause painful rashes and raised blisters when...

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Leahy predicts party unity

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy took some heat this year for endorsing Hillary Clinton's presidential bid rather than the campaign of his Vermont colleague, Sen. Bernie Sanders. But as Leahy on Aug. 1 kicked off his campaign for an eighth term in the Senate, the Democrat and Middlesex resident didn't seem concerned that the presidential turmoil will have any effect on his own re-election effort. “I had a couple people come to me today who were Bernie supporters and say they...

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