DUMMERSTON - At Roads Foreman Lee Chamberlin's suggestion, at the June 7 regular Selectboard meeting the Board awarded this summer's paving bid to Springfield Paving of Springfield, Vermont.
The company submitted the lowest bid - $59.85 per ton, in-place - and Chamberlin assured Board members Springfield Paving had done work for the town in the past, including last year, and he was happy with the outcome.
...Selectboard approves FY 2018 police contract PUTNEY - At the June 7 regular Selectboard meeting, the Board authorized Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard to sign the Fiscal Year 2018 contract with the Windham County Sheriff's Department for the town's law-enforcement. The new contract includes revisions, some of which were recommended...
Main Street Arts is planning a creative summer of dance, music, art, and crafts for area children. Dancer Ashley Hensel-Browning will lead two dance workshops Monday to Wednesday, July 17 to 19. A Creative Movement workshop for ages 3 to 5 will meet from 9:15 to 10 a.m. to...
Drums from Martinique and Cuba mingle with rhythms of Turkey and Bulgaria in the jazz world of percussionist/composer Julian Gerstin. Living in Martinique for two years, Gerstin studied the unusual tanbou drum, played with both hands and one foot. To bring this instrument home, he composed music for a jazz setting, where musicians can improvise and create on the basis of tradition. He draws also on his experiences traveling and working with musicians from Cuba, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa,
Partial road closure on Coolidge Highway GUILFORD - Drivers and bicyclists using the Coolidge Highway should plan extra travel time beginning this week. In preparation for the Broad Brook bridge replacement, Route 5 in Algiers will have one-way alternating traffic during daylight hours, said Agency of Transportation Public Information Officer Jill Barrett. This traffic pattern will last until the July 10 bridge closure. Work crews will install piles for the bridge abutment and perform miscellaneous roadway construction. Barrett cautioned motorists...
Scott Morgan is the featured artist in the show entitled “Water Music Art” that opened this week at Main Street Arts and runs through Aug. 11. A reception for the artist will be held Thursday, June 29, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Morgan's work showcases pieces that pays homage to the environments, influences, and instruments that have shaped his art and life, according to a news release. “Water, primarily in the form of the ocean, has been one of the...
Artistic Director Mitsuko Uchida was one of 80 international artists who arrived over the weekend at the hilltop campus of Marlboro College for the 67th season of Marlboro Music, the storied retreat where master artists and exceptional young professionals explore music together with the rare opportunity of unlimited rehearsal time. Uchida, who chooses to live on-campus in a dormitory apartment, was among the “senior” artists at the opening dinner on June 25, greeting young musicians returning for their second or...
College news • Anna Pettee of Guilford recently graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University. She has joined the Peace Corps and is now in China. • Wynona Meyer of Guilford and Keith Walsh of Marlboro both received A.A. degrees in liberal arts from Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Mass. Meyer was also named to the school's Dean's List for the spring 2017 semester. • The following local students were selected to the President's List for the...
The recent Southern Vermont Economic Development Summit gathered and showcased individual and collaborative economic and community development entities and efforts in Bennington and Windham counties. More than 130 attendees from the two counties, representatives of statewide programs and collaborators from out of state were addressed by Vermont governor Phil Scott and Secretary Michael Schirling of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, and received economic briefings from the Federal Bank of Boston and the Vermont Department of Labor. The...
RAMP to hold Artists' Town Meeting BELLOWS FALLS - The Rockingham Arts and Museum Project and artists Chris Sherwin, Jeanette Staley, and Clare Adams are hosting an Artists' Town Meeting at 33 Bridge St. in Bellows Falls at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 29. The meeting site is home to WOOL-FM and Sherwin's glass studio. The focus of these meetings is to bring together artists, artisans, and local growers to share ideas, challenges, and opportunities, and to strengthen the artist...
The New England Youth Theatre May Awards Committee recently announced that NEYT alumnus Ben Stockman is the recipient of the May Award for 2017. Stockman is currently studying for his MFA in directing at Ohio University, and this is the second time he has been awarded. He also is the first May Award applicant to specialize in directing. Stockman is a member of the founding class of NEYT in 2001, and he quickly established himself as an actor, a director,
Marlboro College will host a five-part series of talks, from July 5 to Aug, 2, providing facts and understanding on the current refugee situation in the U.S. The series, “Refugees in the USA Today: Gaining Some Perspective,” runs concurrently with Marlboro's MAT in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages summer residency, but is open to the public. “There are more than 65 million displaced people in the world today, yet only a small percentage of these are 'resettled,'” Beverley...
As town officials figure out how to honor the Town Meeting nonbinding referendum on eliminating single-use plastic bags in town, Selectboard Chair Kate O'Connor offered reassurance: Nobody going to the grocery store tomorrow will be denied a shopping bag. To enact any changes regarding which types of shopping bags stores can give to customers within city limits, the Selectboard has to pass an ordinance. And that takes time and a specific process, with many opportunities for public comment. At the...
In the debate over Vermont Yankee's possible sale, attention mostly has focused on proposed buyer NorthStar Group Services. But if the deal goes through, it will fall to a different company - AREVA Nuclear Materials - to perform the expensive, critical work of taking apart the idled plant's reactor and shipping it away. On June 22, an AREVA executive traveled to Vernon to tout his company's experience in safely dismantling reactors and transporting radioactive waste, both in the U.S. and...
The Rockingham Historical Commission is seeking nominations for the annual Rockingham Old House Awards. “This is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the property owners in our town who are restoring and renewing their historic homes and commercial buildings,” Christy Hotaling, Certified Local Government Coordinator for the town of Rockingham, said in a news release. There will be multiple award categories. In the past, categories have included awards for best commercial building, apartment building, private residence, long term maintenance, curb appeal,
Brattleboro and Rutland ended the high school baseball season at Tenney Field on May 27 with a come-from-behind win by Rutland and a benches-clearing brawl at home plate. Most of the players on both teams are playing American Legion baseball this summer, and when Rutland Post 31 came to Tenney Field on June 22 to face Brattleboro Post 5, no one knew what to expect. What happened was a great baseball game that was ultimately won by Rutland, 2-1, in...
Every graduate has the opportunity to speak at Compass School's graduation ceremonies. Senior Mariah Smith, who came to the school this year, described her experience: “Compass has been a huge help with pushing me to my limits and helping me find my voice. I have gained hope and I have never been happier. I enjoy coming to school because I know I have something to look forward to. I will be sad to leave, but I know when I go,
Moore Free Library, 23 West St., is offering an intensive improv comedy workshop on July 5, 6, and 7, from 1 to 3 p.m. The cost is $15 per day per student, with an additional $10 for the culminating performance. The workshop is open to all, age 8 and up. Students will be taught the foundations of improvisational comedy and will have the opportunity to deliver a fast-paced short form performance. Instructor Caitlin Baker grew up in Brattleboro and was...
Federal investigators say a Vermont Yankee staffer deliberately failed to check the functionality of employees' radiation-exposure monitors over the course of eight months in 2016. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials believe the monitors continued to operate properly due to backup software that would have detected any problems with the devices. They say the incident had “minor safety significance.” But the federal investigation nevertheless spurred a violation notice issued June 26 by the NRC. “Entergy must provide a written response detailing its...
Good day, denizens of southeastern Vermont! We have an unsettled period of weather upcoming, with a number of chances for showers, downpours, and thunderstorms. Some of these thunderstorms could be strong to severe with gusty winds, large hail, frequent lightning, and torrential rain. Given expected substantial wind shear values on Saturday as a potent storm passes to our north, a tornado cannot be ruled out, so please stay tuned to your preferred weather outlet this weekend for the latest forecasts.
Rep. Mike Hebert (R-Vernon) had a different experience of the legislative session from the one described by his Statehouse colleagues Becca Balint and Tristan Toleno. He chalks it up, first, to his membership in same Republican party as Governor Phil Scott and, second, that he does not serve in any leadership role. As a Republican, he admits he had easier access to the governor and his administrative staff. But, Hebert adds, when Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, was in office, Democrats...
Next Stage Arts Project was recently awarded a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant is part of the NEA's Our Town program, which, this year, will disburse $6.89 million to 89 projects - chosen from 274 eligible applications - nationwide. The NEA Our Town grant program “supports creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places - achieving these community goals through strategies that incorporate arts, culture, and/or design,” says...
Town Manager Peter B. Elwell said “work is progressing well” at the Central Fire Station on Elliot Street and at the new police station at 62 Black Mountain Rd. Both projects have been underway for months. “No surprises, [and] no issues have arisen,” Elwell told Selectboard members at the June 20 regular Board meeting, and noted both projects are still on schedule. In about a month, the Brattleboro Police Department should begin transitioning from their current station in the municipal...
I live in southern Vermont now. In late fall, as I took a walk in my neighborhood, I noticed something unusual which I had never seen before - our neighbors' beautiful stacks of wood. These wood piles were of varying sizes of width, perfectly even in length, exposing only the round face of the wood and its grain. I admired how beautiful the stacks were - perfectly formed ends with secure wooden rails. In wintertime, against snow, the piles reflected...
The Vermont Land Trust and Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association announced that 70 more acres in Athens, Westminster, and Rockingham were added to the Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve. The newly protected land was originally two parcels - the Association purchased the Bemis parcel in 2014 and the Brelsford parcel as part of this transaction. This land was an unconserved gap in the otherwise protected reserve. With the addition of the new parcels, the Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve now encompasses 1,934 acres...
This Fourth of July, the Saxtons River Community is coming together around the theme, “Let's Build a Fire Station,” to promote the creation of a new village fire station. The annual Fourth of July festivities start at 8:30 a.m. with the Firecracker 5K Road race, sponsored by the Walpole Savings Bank and Village Square Booksellers. Registration for the 5K begins at 7:30 a.m. at the bandstand on Main Street. After the race, entries for the annual pie contest are due...
Ryan Taggard Valedictorian, Brattleboro Union High School A little disclaimer: I'm dramatically under-qualified to give life advice to anyone. I'm not up here because I've got everything figured out or because I've got some vast reservoir of life experience. And to clarify, some people might think this is me being humble. They're wrong. So take everything you hear today with a grain of salt. There're a few things I've got down solid, though. We're going to focus on risk taking...
The 2017 legislative session started quietly in Montpelier. The level of alignment between the priorities of Democrat-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Phil Scott on issues like mental health, child care, the opioid crisis, and the budget made for a relatively tranquil session. That wasn't a surprise. As a senator and lieutenant governor, Scott held a reputation for sitting everyone down at the table and hashing out solutions to divisive problems. But then, mere weeks before the Legislature adjourned, the kumbaya...
The century-old charcoal drawing at the local home of Charles “Chuck” Cummings - a portrait of his grandfather, a onetime mayor of Fall River, Mass., sketched by the esteemed American artist John Singer Sargent - holds a family secret. It's not supposed to be there. When the longtime attorney graduated from Boston University's School of Law six decades ago, he was set to join a long and storied line of counsel in his family's Bay State practice. But the man...
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of contemporary bluegrass and folk music with The Lonely Heartstring Band and The Stockwell Brothers Band at Next Stage on Friday, June 30, at 7:30 pm. The Lonely Heartstring Band is Berklee College of Music graduates George Clements, Patrick M'Gonigle, Matt Witler, Gabe Hirshfeld, and Charles Clements. Their music is a combination of old and new styles, melding the sounds of traditional bluegrass with modern songwriting and arranging. Featuring soulful...
Founded in 2013, The Root Social Justice Center in Brattleboro has opened its doors to nearly two dozen community groups and nonprofits each year. Located on Williams Street, the organization hosts over 80 public events annually. This year, The Root Collective has shifted and narrowed its focus from a wide array of social justice issues toward racial justice organizing more specifically. Angela Berkfield, one of the co-founders of The Root Social Justice Center, explained how this transition occurred. “The community...
Violinist Michi Wiancko and composer Judd Greenstein are opening their farm to the public for a celebration of music. Antenna Cloud Farm is a 100-acre former dairy farm on a hilltop in Gill, Mass., just a few miles south of the Vermont border, where the married couple lives with their young daughter. That's where Wiancko and Greenstein will premiere a music festival and artists' retreat, beginning in July. Five internationally-acclaimed resident musicians and groups have been chosen for the initial...