Following are results of the contested seats in the state primary election. This data has been received by The Commons, based on information compiled from town clerks and headquarters of various campaigns.
Lieutenant Governor Athens Scott Snelling Brattleboro Brookline 100 146 Dover Dummerston Grafton Guilford Halifax Jacksonville 6 19 Jamaica Londonderry Marlboro Newfane Putney Rockingham 12 29 Somerset Stratton Townshend Vernon Wardsboro 96 66 Westminster 16 10 Whitingham Wilmington 16 20 Windham 27 33 273 323 ...As the Northeast regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), I am writing to address certain points made by Karl Meyer in his Viewpoint [“Failed salmon program doesn't deserve new life,” The Commons, Oct. 12]. While I respect Mr. Meyer's opinion about the FWS's involvement in...
I am not a native resident of Vermont, but I have made this my home. When I moved here, I really bought into the concept of “buy local.” I think it is an idea that truly works for the community in every way. I was amazed that buying local...
The West Brattleboro Association (WBA) announces the development of a web site to serve West Brattleboro at www.westbrattleboro.org. At this new website, a browser can see the activities the group itself is involved in and learn some of the plans for the future of the village. Included in those activities are the village master plan, a copy of which is posted on the new website, and proposals for a more extensive village green. In addition, the website shares some of...
RE: “Local schools heighten security” [Jan. 30]: I am a teacher in a middle school, and we are training everyone to respond immediately to a lockdown signal, which means all kids get pulled into a room, doors are locked, lights turned out, and everyone made to remain quietly on the floor. The local police and sheriff promise to be there within eight minutes to handle the intruder. It is the only responsible thing to do to keep our kids safe.
University of Vermont Extension is offering a statewide webinar series covering multiple facets of community emergency preparedness. The framework and planning processes to be shared through the webinars apply broadly to all hazard preparedness issues. Town emergency managers, selectboard members, other town officers, first responders, and interested community members are encouraged to participate in these free webinars, which will be offered mid-day on Tuesdays in June. Kicking off the series in June, which is National Dairy Month, the first four...
Good day to you, residents of the windy hamlet in southeastern Vermont! I hope we're all enjoying this healthy dose of rain, because we sure need it. Granted, the drought is worse where I reside down in western Massachusetts, but we're all hurting for more rain, so luckily we've got some to put a light dent in the drought. As far as our sensible weather is concerned for Wednesday, another low pressure system will push east-northeast into the Ohio Valley...
Like a lot of people in our community, I'm sure, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about life and love and grief and death recently, as we've all been rocked by the news of yet another tragic death by suicide. I know that for many young ones who were close to Colby Donovan, it was their very first experience of such loss, and I grieve for the bit of their innocence that they lost as they absorbed the...
The BUHS Players present “Web of Murder,” a gripping murder mystery by Jonathan Troy, on Friday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. in the Brattleboro Union High School Auditorium. Set in a brooding Victorian manse on a remote bluff above the Pacific, the play centers on the wealthy and eccentric Minerva Osterman (Kyra Johnston), who has convened her potential heirs for an advance reading of her will. Confined to a wheelchair for many years, the ailing and...
The town of Marlboro has launched its new municipal website, marlborovt.us. Officials say the site boasts intuitive navigation, a mobile-friendly design, and detailed government information. A calendar, municipal directory, archive of meeting minutes, regulations and other documents, and an area for the most requested items are included to make the site easy for visitors to find resources quickly. This is the second of two services that the town has received under a grant from the federally funded Vermont Digital Economy...
The Selectboard overreacted in shuttering the town's website and listserv July 7. That's according to an author of an overhaul to the state's open meetings law, who says those changes, which officials here object to on logistical grounds, are seen as generally positive in municipalities statewide. Days after a report of Townshend's action [“Townshend town website goes dark,” News, July 9], state Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee, called The Commons to say that concerns...
I am blessed to live in Vermont, where there is a deep tradition of state government playing a positive and practical role in dealing with societal problems. This is possible because public-spirited leaders are able to find common ground, regardless of partisan differences. You can find that spirit behind the creation of our most significant laws: tough debate, tough compromise. And Vermont is better for it. Today, Congress is light years away from this tradition. Ideology rules there. A desire...
I am as dismayed by the election results as Randolph T. Holhut, and sympathize with his feelings. However, I feel that his column was offensive and, I'm sorry to say, stupid. Things are a little more complex than the view you presented in your state of anger. I don't believe that all of the 59 million people who voted for Donald Trump were “motivated by hate, ignorance, and violence.” To categorize them that way is exactly the opposite of what...
Hillary Clinton believes in climate change and on her website has a plan similar to Bernie Sanders', which addresses one of the gravest dangers to our well-being as a species. Donald Trump does not believe in climate change and would roll back progress from the past eight years if he gets the chance. That is the reason I will vote for Clinton in November. If we want to ensure the best possible scenario for climate change, I believe we have...
WKVT hosts “A Call To Action” forum on internet safety BRATTLEBORO - WKVT Radio will present a live broadcast of a public forum on the topic of Internet Safety from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Thursday, Dec. 1, in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center. Panelists will include Karen Bates, Information Specialist for the Vermont Department of Public Safety, Detective Erik Johnson of the Brattleboro Police Department, and officials from area banks and schools. Members of...
Recently, the downtown shop where I am employed received an email from Main Street Alliance, Vermont, with links to posters saying “Hate Has No Business Here” for businesses to display in their windows. We already had them, as some thoughtful person had dropped some off at least a month before the current election made this message even more urgent. I spend most of my weekends in the downtown area, and it's pretty noticeable that we are one of the few...
The Actors Theatre Playhouse will hold open interviews and auditions for its 2017 Ten Minute Play Festival at the Brattleboro Savings & Loan community room, 221 Main St., on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 1 p.m., and Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 6:30 p.m. Copies of the scripts are available as PDF files by email from the producer, Jim Bombicino, at [email protected]. Those interested in auditioning should contact Bombicino with the date they will attend or to make other arrangements for auditioning...
Thank you, bicyclists, for your commitment to keeping your fossil-fuel intake to a minimum. I've enjoyed seeing more and more of my friends pedaling around town doing errands and commuting to work. This is a great example of people working together for our collective future. You are all awesome. We appreciate you, and many of us envy you! However, I'm a school bus driver in town, and I think that some of you need a refresher on rules of the...
Transitions • Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced that Stephen H. Fox, MD has joined the hospital's staff, practicing in the BMH Center for Wound Healing. Dr. Fox received his B.A from Cornell University and his M.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in General Surgery at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in Surgical Outcomes at Hartford Hospital. He comes to BMH from Baystate Franklin Medical Center in...
Your coverage of the Vermont Supreme Court case Kuligoski v. Brattleboro Retreat is lacking an important voice: that of psychiatric survivors/mental health consumers. In news articles where you've published about the court's decision and its influence, you've represented two sides: that of the family bringing the lawsuit and that of mental health providers. The only voices you included who spoke about the impact on survivors/consumers themselves were the dissenting justices. A court decision that effectively increases the supervision and monitoring...
The Ladies of the Rainbow will perform songs and stand-up comedy at a benefit drag show on Saturday, Dec. 10. The event, set for 8 p.m. at Brattleboro's VFW Carl M. Dessaint Post 1034 at 40 Black Mountain Rd., will feature adult entertainment, as well as a 50/50 raffle and cash bar, to raise funds for the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. The Ladies of the Rainbow have served up lip-synching and laughter to area audiences since first performing at...
John Gannon had no opponent in this year's campaign for the Windham 6 House District. Nevertheless, the Wilmington Democrat estimates that he knocked on more than 2,000 doors and talked to more than 700 people throughout the summer and fall. He says the issues he heard about repeatedly - including education and affordability - will be priorities when he starts work as a freshman legislator in January. In a year when national politics have dominated the headlines, Gannon is making...
In-Sight Photography Project has announced its selection of the yet-to-be-released “Neither Wolf Nor Dog,” as the second feature in its “Great Pictures” Film Series. The film will be shown at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 4 p.m. The film runs 110 minutes. In-Sight asks for a donation at the door of $10, with a suggested student donation of $5. All proceeds go to In-Sight Scholarship Fund. Adapted from Kent Nerburn's award-winning novel of the same...
The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont invites the public to a World AIDS Day observation on Thursday, Dec. 1, at noon at downtown Brattleboro's River Garden. The commemoration of those affected by the virus and those working to combat it will feature a sidewalk candlelight vigil followed by music, words from AIDS Project case manager Marguerite Monet, and a 15-minute film about living with HIV, “And Counting,” by New Hampshire director Michelle Wood, according to a news release. The Brattleboro-based...
Area legislators and local social service agencies recently shared their concerns about what new political leadership in both Montpelier and Washington might mean for continued funding of anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs. At the Nov. 17 meeting of the Hunger Council of the Windham Region at the Marlboro College Graduate Center, State Sen. Rebecca Balint, D-Windham, and state Reps. John Gannon, D-Wilmington; Emily Long, D-Newfane; Valerie Stuart, D-Brattleboro; and Molly Burke, P-Brattleboro talked about what can be done to keep the...
Health Care and Rehabilitation Services, Vermont's second largest community mental-health agency, is now offering peer support services as a way to enhance the recovery process for clients receiving services through its Adult Mental Health and Addiction Services program. The Peer Support team is made up of people who have life experiences that help them relate to feelings of oppression, marginalization, stigma, and hopelessness. According to a news release, these experiences help them connect with clients. The first and primary role...
The Agency of Transportation recently reduced the weight limit on the River Road bridge in response to an inspection that found damage to the structure. The new load limit is 16,000 pounds, effective immediately, on Bridge 38, located at the intersection of Brook Street on the south end of River Road. “No trucks should be going over that with any more [weight] than what it's posted at,” Road Foreman Todd Lawley told the Selectboard at their Nov. 21 regular meeting.
Editor's note: This infographic is one of the clearest and most meticulously sourced illustrations we've seen for explaining the current conflict over the Dakota Access Pipeline in the context of the our country's long and shameful treatment of Native Americans and outright theft of their property. Thanks to cartographer Molly Roy for releasing it under a Creative Commons license and for making available digital files suitable for reproduction, and thanks to Commons reader Shannon Herrick for sharing it on Facebook.
Town manager does double duty PUTNEY - As if making one municipal budget isn't enough work, this year Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard is creating two. “One where everything stays the same, and one with a reconstructed financial office and town clerk's office structure if Anita [Coomes] retires,” Stoddard told Selectboard members at their Nov. 9 regular Board meeting. Coomes, Putney's town clerk and treasurer, has been in some hot water the past few years for failing to deposit dog license...
As the town continues to adjust to the financial reality of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant's closing late last year, more department heads appeared before the Selectboard to present their Fiscal Year 2018 budgets at the Nov. 9 budget work session. Like others making budget presentations during the past few months, these department heads saw some painful cuts. In July, Treasurer Cindy Turnley announced the 2016-2017 property tax rates: $1.7537 for residents and $1.6935 for nonresidents per $100 of...
Circular firing squad, anyone? Personally, it's the FBI, the Russians, the white supremacists, and the self-righteous, self-indulgent folks who were just too good to vote for Hillary Clinton whom I'm most concerned about - pretty much in that order.
Louis Josephson, president and chief executive officer of the Brattleboro Retreat, has stated that “there is no mental health system” in Vermont. In his response, Frank Reed, the state's commissioner of mental health, claimed that there is. Of course, both are right. On paper, there is a system - hospital and residential care, community mental health, randomly scattered private practitioners and, of course, prison - but try in practice to consistently access this system. Examples of troubles include unreasonable waits...
I am surprised, and not pleasantly so, that the editors of this paper found Patience Merriman's comments regarding “disruptive protest” to be worthy of space in The Commons. She speaks of Donald Trump as a “narcissistic bully” and of “the hateful agenda of the extreme right.” Do I detect just a hint of those very qualities in her vicious call to revolt? True and effective reformers would be appalled at her lack of human decency.
Why the war on “Kumbaya”? In the last week I have read columnists in The Commons (Patience Merriman), the Reformer (Peter Funt), and The New York Times (Frank Bruni) using this song of the civil rights movement as a symbol for doing nothing - or responding weakly. I believe these writers betray a lack of knowledge this song and the role of music in social and political movements in general. I would hope the people of southern Vermont, with their...
Truly unhinged: In the name of “the idea of coming together,” Randolph T. Holhut doubles down on division. Everything despicable about the neoliberal “New Dems” emerges in this rant.
I, for one, am still royally pissed off at the Democratic National Committee for its disgraceful handling of Bernie Sanders' campaign. He was the person to back and support for the presidential nomination. Your assessment of the state of the Democratic Party is right on. I would not support either of the two major-party candidates, and am still amazed how anyone could vote for a person like Donald Trump. I understand why people voted for him, but the things he's...
Great article and analysis. The Democratic Party strategy? David Brock to hold a major donor network meeting in Florida in January to talk about the party's future. Once again, the Democrats have not gotten the message, and the wealthy elites will not listen to the 99 percent.
All the practicing paid off for the Green Street School spelling team. At the Vermont Principals' Association 5th/6th Grade State Spelling Bee on Nov. 19, Green Street tied for runner-up State Champions. Competing for the school were fifth-graders David Berkson-Harvey, Thomas Hyde, Sylvie Lann, and Eben Wagner, according to a news release. The team was supported by fellow teammate, Autumn Nuzman, and coached by Green Street School French teacher, Alice Charkes.
The Brattleboro Retreat's new CEO, Louis Josephson, paints a discouraging picture of Vermont's mental health system. I applaud his willingness to draw attention to the crisis and support those who work in this challenging field. Funding was predictably identified as one of the major obstacles. The article characterized his description of the state's mental health system as a “patchwork of underfunded services, chronic workforce, and bed shortages.” Given the substantial amount Vermont taxpayers and charitable donors already provide the Retreat,
No re-re-vote on Town Offices, for now NEWFANE - The Selectboard can't accept a petition calling for another re-vote on building a new town office building, Board Chair Todd Lawley announced at the Nov. 21 regular Board meeting. State statute prohibits a town from calling a vote on the same bond-related question more than twice in any 12-month period, according to information Lawley said he received from Bond Attorney Paul Giuliani. “If a petition is delivered to the Selectboard, it...
For the months of December and January, Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts presents Winter Group, a group exhibit featuring work by gallery owners Petria Mitchell and Jim Giddings, new work from their gallery artists, and introducing Eric Boyer, Anne Johnstone, Gene Parulis, and Torin Porter. The exhibit opens Thursday, Dec. 1, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. An artist forum with the exhibitors is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 7, at 5 p.m., according to a news release. Boyer is an...
I guess I understand that opposing the oil pipeline at Standing Rock is supposed to be the latest liberal cause, and I've tried to give a damn, but I just can't. Many of my fellow liberals are going to hate what I'm about to say, but here it goes. First, some facts. The pipeline in question is 1,172 miles long, traveling from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa before reaching its destination in Illinois. In the vicinity of the...
In Patience Merriman's piece, so rampant with hatred and anger, she calls for people protesting Trump's election to conduct “massive, disruptive demonstrations,” including acts such as setting off fireworks and throwing rotten eggs. Merriman goes on with this angry tangent and takes things a step further. She actually suggests that people “shoot out [Trump's] signs” and slash Ivanka Trump dresses with razors, all without regard for public safety. Merriman then suggests people deface Trump properties by doing the following: “Spread...
How did the Robb Family Farm's maple syrup end up on actress Brooke Shields' holiday gift list in People magazine? “Dumb luck, I guess,” says Helen Robb, who runs the farm with her husband, Charlie, and her son, Charlie Jr. In any event, having a celebrity plug their maple syrup in a national magazine with an estimated readership of 46 million people has meant the Robbs are selling a lot of syrup. Helen said Shields never set foot on her...
Of the 700 children from Windham County families who were eligible for warm winter clothing, 314 children received aid from the Kids in Coats Fund in its first season, according to Sue Graff, executive director of the United Way. This winter marks the first full year since the agency created the charitable effort to replace the Reformer Christmas Stocking, which has fully disbanded after more than 70 years of providing clothing to children in need. Coordinators of the Christmas Stocking,
The Christmas trees are here! On Saturday, Nov. 28, the 52nd annual Brattleboro Rotary Club Christmas Tree Fundraiser officially began. Since 1965, the Brattleboro Rotary Club has sold Christmas trees as a fundraiser for local student scholarships. Vermont-grown trees of all shapes and sizes will be sold daily in front of Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Brattleboro Rotary Club, founded in 1950, is an active community-service club of more than 75 members who...
Brattleboro-based youth rock band Nomad vs. Settler walked away with several top honors at the Youth Performers Club Showcase hosted by the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston on Nov. 13. Out of 15 competing acts from around the Northeast, Nomad vs. Settler won first place overall for Best Group/Band, as well as awards for Best Instrumental Performance (Archer Parks, lead guitarist), and Best Original Song (“Dust to Dust”), according to a news release. The competition featured a mix of solo...
The Selectboard on Monday voted unanimously to mothball the town website and stop sending out e-mails via its listserv, saying maintaining those resources is all but impossible given new state rules on open meetings, which went into effect July 1. The website, www.townshendvt.net, established in 2005, is a treasure trove of selectboard, planning commission, school board, and town meeting minutes; ordinances and policies; announcements; open bids; calendar items; policies; regional resources; and land use and other maps. The website draws...
It might well be that I spend too much energy and care on interactions with people - some actual friends, some who are nearly strangers to me - whom I encounter on social media (mostly Facebook). These online connections run the gamut politically and culturally, and in terms of their spiritual lives, too. Most of the time, I'm grateful for, or at least tolerant of, those differences. Diversity really is a source of richness, of course. But it's events like...
On Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Rockingham Free Public Library's top floor meeting room, Wolfgard Northeast will host a forum to discuss the organization's plan to open a captive wolf education center in southern Vermont. Adam Katrick, board president, and other board members will be on hand to offer information and a PowerPoint presentation and to answer questions about this planned project, according to a news release. Wolves were native to the Northeast and the...
Atamaniuk Funeral Home is sponsoring its 19th annual Holiday Support Program and A Service of Remembrance on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m., for bereaved families and friends. The event will be held at Carl M. Dessaint VFW Post 1034, 40 Black Mountain Rd. The public is invited, and the event is free. The holidays can be among the most difficult times for a grieving family. Celebrations and special family traditions are often painful for the bereaved. During the program,
Vermont Theatre Company will present its third annual production of “A Christmas Carol,” based on the novella by Charles Dickens and adapted and directed by James Gelter. For two years, local audiences have been thrilled by this production of the beloved story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a lonely miser whose life is forever changed when he is visited by spirits of Christmases past, present, and to come. This year's production is directed by James Gelter, with Jessica Gelter as Musical Director...
Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179 CE) was a German magistra or monastic leader, mystic, healer, artist, author, counselor, and composer of music. In a Dec. 9-11 weekend retreat/workshop at Immanuel Retreat Center, 12 and 14 Church St., participants will explore her prolific life. From the time she was very young, Hildegard claimed to have visions. She received a prophetic call from God five years after her election in 1411 as magistra, female leader of a monastic foundation or abbess, demanding...
On July 23, our United Church of Christ congregation in Westminster West received our “Black Lives Matter” lawn sign and placed it in a visible spot on our land. On July 26, I interrupted a man as he was taking it away. I had just participated in a memorial service for two of this man's relatives (whom I've since been assured would have been supportive of the sign and appalled at his behavior). I was shocked that he would do...
The Vermont Jazz Center will present its annual big band swing gala on Friday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m., paying tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, one of the greatest jazz singers in history. The performance will celebrate Fitzgerald's centennial birthday anniversary by featuring arrangements she performed with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and others. All proceeds will support the VJC's Scholarship Program. The VJC Big Band is composed of area professionals, is led by music director Rob Freeberg, and is run by...
Big changes may be coming for the 32 schools that play high school football in Vermont. The Vermont Interscholastic Football League (VIFL) held its annual postseason meeting on Nov. 22 in at Hartford High School and school representatives learned that the criteria for moving up or down in the three divisions are changing. Realignment, which now happens on a two-year cycle, will now be determined based on the total number of boys enrolled at a school, the total number of...
Nov. 22: I awoke today unsettled, two days after the bridge action in which more than 300 water protectors required medical attention due to clear police overreaction to prayerful demonstration. The evening conflict began when a small group from Oceti Sakowin Camp took it upon themselves to begin unblocking the Route 1806 bridge. The police-supported blockade of the highway has been in effect since Oct. 27. Over three weeks ago, the police said that they would clear and open the...