New Hampshire-based cartoonist, musician, and educator Marek Bennett leads discovery-based Comics Workshops for all ages throughout New England.
This summer, Bennett will lead a one-day comics workshop for kids ages 7-11 as part of the summer reading program. Space is limited for this special program so register to join them on the afternoon of Friday, July 14. RSVP for exact time by calling 802-387-4407 or emailing [email protected].
Bennett's comics programs incorporate sequential narrative cartooning techniques and music into community-based projects that explore and develop participants' sense of history, culture, and individual and collective identities.
Artists of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities discover their own unique capacities for storytelling, performance, and communication as they contribute to projects and presentations in workshop- and discussion-based events.
Prep work on the new Algiers Bridge on Route 5 is almost finished, according to project information officer Jill Barrett. Barrett said in a news release that the contractor successfully placed concrete last week for the four prefabricated bridge units that will undergo a 10-day wet cure before they...
The town of Brattleboro reminds all property owners, residents, and business operators to keep sidewalks clear and free from any obstructions. This is necessary to maintain open and safe use of all sidewalks by all people, and it is especially important for people using wheelchairs, walkers, or strollers. Town...
Selectboard approves Town Office repairs NEWFANE - The Selectboard authorized the Town Office Building Committee's repair and maintenance requests at the June 19 regular Board meeting. According to the committee report, which Board member Marion Dowling read into the record, three window sills need replacement before the building's exterior gets painted. The estimated cost is $750. Janice Litchfield's Memorial Garden, located on the town office building's grounds, needs some cleaning, and the bench, picnic table, and wooden stockade fence in...
The Grafton Inn is whipping up a tasty itinerary for its fifth annual Grafton Food Festival. Set for Saturday, July 8, the rain-or-shine event pays homage to Vermont with food and spirit samplings from over 35 local vendors. Between tastings, the festival features a children's culinary competition, a new cooking class with celebrity chef Sara Moulton, and a new beer and cheese pairing hosted by 14th Star Brewing and Grafton Cheese. The flavorful festivities simmer into the evening with a...
I don't know how many lives will be saved by the official response to the opioid crisis. In the past, government reactions to illegal drugs have been expensive, heavy-handed, and ineffective. Vermont and the nation have never been able to reconcile themselves to the fact that it is normal for people to actually want to use drugs. In the case of opioids, the crackdown is already having collateral damage to patients legitimately in need of the relief these drugs provide...
On the heels of the July 4 holiday, when Americans remember their country's freedom, and every citizens' right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” two artists and Write Action ask everyone to remember that “we are all refugees” and that our nation was founded by those seeking relief from violence and oppression. The public is invited to participate in a themed open reading, titled “We Are All Refugees: Bearing Witness,” on Sunday, July 9, between 4:30 and 6:30...
Farmers urged to track crop losses MONTPELIER - The recent storms in Vermont were not kind to many of our farmers. The Agency of Agriculture is urging farmers to document any losses from the flash floods. It's helpful to take pictures and keep detailed records. This information could be valuable for farmers, as well as state and federal officials as they calculate the economic impact of the wet weather this spring and summer. “This has challenging start to the growing...
Twilight Music continues its 15th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn series of summer concerts on Sunday, July 9, with dream pop quintet Luminous Crush. Luminous Crush is a rock and pop band fronted by Laura Molinelli and Ben Campbell. Joined by Christian Heins (bass), Brad Waugaman (keyboard) and Paul Carroccio (drums), they form a quintet that focuses on original dreamlike pop and rock vignettes. Waugaman, an accomplished videographer, provides an accompanying light show as well as performing on keys...
College news • Hongfei Xie of Brattleboro graduated cum laude from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a B.A. in interactive media studies. • Katherine Nolan of Putney graduated from Western New England University in Springfield, Mass., with a M.S. in applied behavior analysis. • The following local students recently graduated with bachelor's degrees from Castleton University: Patrick Gilligan of Vernon, political science; Michael Labeau of Bellows Falls, criminal justice; Seth Marcil of Brattleboro, criminal justice; Kevin Paciulli of Brattleboro,
I am checking out of our small hotel 30 minutes outside Venice, Italy. My friend of 40 years left for the United States this morning, and I shall carry on adventuring for the two of us, as I wind my way around Italy for 16 days. She is tied to her retired life - husband, three houses, grown children - and she doesn't like to leave them for more than eight days at a time. My life is the inverse...
It's not fashionable to talk about class in the United States, but we've got it. It is based on money. Unless you are in the top one-tenth of 1 percent of Americans (165,000 households), you and your demographic peers have lost ground. In 2016, these top households had a net worth of at least $30 million (I wonder if the president qualifies) and income of over $1.1 million dollars (I suspect the President made it). The top 1 percent are...
After 19 months of complex, contentious school-merger talks in Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, two top state education officials visited Brattleboro on June 21 to help sort things out. Donna Russo-Savage, principal assistant to the state education secretary, and Brad James, Vermont's education finance manager, answered questions and walked local officials through the intricacies of Act 46 and its recent update, Act 49. But they wouldn't offer any guarantees or a clear direction for the supervisory union's educational future. “I'm not...
The recent failure of a bulkhead at the Vernon hydroelectric station spurred an incident report to federal regulators. The full report hasn't been released. But dam owner Great River Hydro and officials at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are classifying the problem as minor. “The incident involved a relatively small bulkhead, with the only impact a slight loss of water, and there was no danger to the public,” said Craig Cano, a commission spokesman. “A new bulkhead is being...
This summer's public parking paving plans include something extra for the Harmony Lot: pedestrian safety improvements. The municipal parking area, located on the block behind High, Main, and Elliot streets, will get “long overdue maintenance improvements,” Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland told The Commons. In addition to new asphalt resurfacing, sidewalks will be added and improved. The block at 15-25 Elliot Street will have improved sidewalks and curbing on the north, east, and west sides. Workers also will replace the...
Over the past eight years, hundreds of “households in crisis” have received free home repairs from Southeastern Vermont Community Action. But that program now is at a crossroads. With a major funding source running out, the Westminster-based nonprofit is seeking a significant increase in federal grant money in order to “extend and expand” its emergency home repair program in Windham and Windsor counties. The organization is seeing increased demand for such repairs even as funding sources have decreased, so Executive...
After a long deliberation, federal regulators have approved a proposal to ship 200,000 gallons of contaminated water from Vermont Yankee to a disposal site in Idaho. The water is from plant operations and contains “low concentrations” of radioactivity, officials said. But the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission had taken time to mull over several questions, including the extent to which truck drivers would be exposed to radioactivity as they hauled the water cross-country. “In the end, we were provided with satisfactory...
The 2017 Southern Vermont Idol event, a premier amateur singing competition in its 13th year, will be held on the main stage of the 550-seat Bellows Falls Opera House over five weeks - Thursday, July 6 and 13 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, July 23 and 30 at 2 p.m.; and Friday, Aug. 4, at 7 p.m. Contestants 13 and over will perform all five weeks, and be joined by youth contestants in weeks three, four, and five. Youth contestants ages...
Contemporary Playwright Will Eno's The Realistic Joneses, will be the first Saturday Staged Reading at the Actors Theatre Playhouse this season on Saturdays, July 8 and 15, at 7:30 p.m. The Realistic Joneses, subtitled “a Dramatic Comedy,” is a funny and moving story of neighbors who share their last name and a not entirely casual backyard conversation. According to The New York Times, “Plays as funny and moving, as wonderful and weird as The Realistic Joneses do not appear often...
Phil Scott wouldn't have been elected without the votes of many Independents and Democrats concerned about the out-of-control spending and unsustainable tax burdens that are making our wonderful little state unaffordable for young families and retirees and driving businesses across the Connecticut River. In vetoing the budget, he was fulfilling his pledge to the clear majority of Vermonters who elected him. If even a fraction of the proposed Republican cuts to Medicaid reimbursement, transportation, and environmental programs are enacted, Vermont's...
This month at the Crowell Art Gallery at Moore Free Library, two artists will share gallery space: Sharon Myers, a sculptor who also works in paper, and Karma Kitaj, exhibiting the ancient art of encaustic painting. The exhibit, Luminous Uncharted Spaces, will be on display through July 31 and is free and open to all. An artists' reception will be held Saturday, July 8, from 1 to 3 p.m. Kitaj was introduced to the medium of encaustic (meaning to “burn...
I just read a statement by the White House budget director that made my stomach turn. In a commentary written in May, Mick Mulvaney stated that the Trump administration is “putting taxpayers first.” He wrote that “[t]aking money from someone without an intention to pay it back is not debt, it is theft.” Think about this: if they cannot pay the expenses for their care with personal wealth, almost half the babies born in this country, the sick, the disabled,
On the evening of June 12, in a small meeting room in a tiny town office building in Guilford Center, five Selectboard members declared the town will uphold the Paris Climate Accord, the international agreement to reduce carbon emissions. Although Board Chair Sheila Morse said she “imagines it'll have zero-to-no impact,” she characterized Gabrielle Ciufredda's idea to sign the petition endorsing the agreement as “brilliant." Their colleagues unanimously agreed, and Guilford became the third Vermont municipality to officially sign the...
Where's Waldo? In Wilmington, of course! The iconic children's book character in the striped shirt and black-rimmed specs will visit 25 local businesses throughout the community in July. Find Waldo Local is both a great summer vacation activity and a way to support local businesses and the Shop Local movement in Wilmington. Pick up a “Find Waldo Local in Wilmington!” passport at Bartleby's Books. Passports contain the names of all sites where participants may get their passports stamped or signed...
To help Vermonters and visitors enjoy themselves at the beach and on the water this summer, health officials are encouraging people to learn how to watch for and avoid cyanobacteria - also known as blue-green algae. Warmer weather creates ideal conditions for cyanobacteria to grow in ponds and lakes. In large numbers, these tiny microorganisms can form blooms on the water's surface and wash up along shorelines. Blooms are usually green or blue-green, and can make the water look like...
Given the strong statewide push for school mergers, the town of Windham is an outlier in just about every way. The mountaintop community's elementary school has just 14 students from kindergarten through grade six, yet still maintains an independent board and budget for a two-classroom school house. The district even runs its own bus and hires its own driver. And school officials aren't about to change if they can help it. With the town having already rejected an Act 46...
Last week was a rough one for the Bellows Falls Post 37 American Legion baseball team. The week started out promising for Post 37 with a doubleheader split with Rutland Post 31 on June 25 at St. Peter's Field. Rutland had a 7-run inning on the way to a 10-2 win in the opener, but Bellows Falls had a 6-run inning in the second game and held on for a 7-5 win. With a win over Post 31 two days...
After months of deliberation, at the June 27 special Selectboard meeting, the Board decided to suspend municipal recycling. The roll-off recycling bins - until recently, located next to the fire station - were removed June 30 by workers with the Windham Solid Waste Management District. The bins may not return until late August, and they won't likely remain near the fire station. In December, the WSWMD Board of Supervisors, made up of a representative of each of the District's 20...
Town to vote again on district withdrawal VERNON - There will be another town election on Tuesday, July 18, with voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., on the question of whether to withdraw from BUHS District No. 6. There will also be informational meetings held on Monday, July 10, and Monday, July 17, at 6 p.m., in the Vernon Elementary School Cafetorium, where the issue will be explained and questions answered by the Vernon School Board. Early voting is...
With the retirement of Capt. Ron Hubbard after 37 years with the Brattleboro Fire Department, and the resignation of Firefighter Joe Amato, who has returned to his hometown, Fire Chief Michael Bucossi announced the promotions of two veteran firefighters and the hiring of two entry-level firefighters. Lt. Charles “Chuck” Keir III has been promoted to the rank of captain. Keir is a 16-year member, and has held the rank of lieutenant for the last 11 years. Keir is Fire Officer...
Good day to you! After several weeks of showery and thundery weather, we will have a bit of break from all that rainy action over the next seven days. We certainly won't be dry the whole time, but the chances for severe weather will be drastically reduced. In my mind, the only real chance that I can see for severe thunderstorms right now is on Friday, and I would say it's a low chance at that. Instead, we've got plenty...
“The job kept me here,” Capt. Ron Hubbard said. “I loved it. I loved every minute of working here. And the people ... and I couldn't imagine doing anything else all those years.” Hubbard joined the Brattleboro Fire Department as a call man in May 1979, and was hired full time in August 1980. He was promoted to lieutenant in January 1987 and captain in November 2000. He retired June 28, after 37 years. Hubbard was a student at Brattleboro...
South Wardsboro artist Jan Elliott is the Wardsboro Public Library's Artist of the Month for July. A display called “Small Works” will be exhibited during the month. Mostly self-taught, Elliott has been painting since age 10. Her art explores the play of light in different mediums and in a variety of subjects. These include the familiar figures in the landscape, farmers' markets, and items from everyday life that are raised from the commonplace by the emphasis on the patterns created...
A town plan is a vision for the town for the next five, 10, or 20 years. Once again, the people have spoken, and I really wonder if those 44 who just decided the town plan's fate have any idea what they really voted against. I would say most them did not even read the town plan, although it was readily available in hard copy and electronically. Seem most think “town plan” is equivalent to “zoning,” which it is not.
Catherine Stephan, executive director of Yellow Barn, is enthusiastic as the international center for chamber music begins its 48th season on Friday, July 7, and Saturday, July 8, with concerts in the Big Barn in Putney. “Each summer since 1969, musicians have gathered at Yellow Barn to celebrate the joys and endless questions of chamber music,” Stephan writes at Yellow Barn's website. “This year, an international roster of musicians arrive ready to explore and perform music that spans the 18th...
Federal statistics offer some positive news for hunger in Vermont: Over the past several years, the state's rate of “food insecurity” has been trending slowly but steadily downward. But those numbers don't mean much in the West River Valley, where community volunteers and school staffers are seeing a growing number of families who don't have enough to eat. Their responses are diverse. A nurse is starting an in-school food shelf. A community organization is hosting cooking classes and free soup...
Have you ever wondered, what exactly is a monotype? To help answer that question and others, River Gallery School will host a special printmaking event at its Main Street Studio at 36 Main Street. During July Gallery Walk, on Friday, July 7, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., RGS teachers Helen Schmidt and Leigh Niland will teach a printmaking class that the public is invited to observe. The students in the sample class will be five adults and two children, some...
An aspiring young writer from Brattleboro is having an extraordinary summer pursuing her dream. Olivia Howe, who will be a senior this fall at Brattleboro Union High School, was one of 51 high school student-journalists selected to attend the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference at the Newseum Institute in Washington, D.C. The conference, which took place from June 17 to 22, bills itself as “an annual academic and scholarship program designed to inspire some of the nation's best...