Property taxes are going up this year - some of the hike is to pay for the police and fire station projects - but the increase is less than half of what town officials originally anticipated.
“I'm happy to report the results of [the tax-setting] process this year have come in a little better” than town officials previously forecast, said Town Manager Peter B. Elwell.
Brattleboro municipal property taxes for Fiscal Year 2018 are $1.2214 per $100 of assessed valuation. This is an increase of 3.07 cents per $100 of value.
It could have been much worse.
To succeed outgoing Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard, whose last day is Aug. 4, the Selectboard has hired Willis D. “Chip” Stearns III as interim town manager. According to Stoddard, Stearns comes to the position via a short-term agreement the Board signed with the New England Municipal Resource Center, and...
Southeastern Vermont Community Action was just awarded funds to continue its successful Health Care Navigator program in the face of extremely limited public funding for this service, which currently helps more than 400 southeastern Vermont households per year to access coverage. It also includes expansion of services to elderly...
A policy advocacy course at SIT Graduate Institute will have an added focus this fall: the “political revolution” ignited by the 2016 presidential primary campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and the massive grassroots organizing that has erupted following the election of Donald Trump. “Many consider these developments to be the largest political mobilization in U.S. history since the anti-Vietnam war movement,” said SIT Sustainable Development Professor Emeritus Jeff Unsicker, who will teach the course. SIT already has one of...
A program that brings fresh, free produce to Vermont schools and hospitals each month has expanded with another stop in Windham County. Vermont Foodbank's “VeggieVanGo” initiative is coming to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, where a mobile food pantry will be set up from noon to 1 p.m. on the third Monday of every month. The first such visit happened July 17. The program is relatively new but already features 14 monthly stops. Vermont Foodbank spokeswoman Nicole Whalen said it's a way...
Town Manager Peter B. Elwell said the two remaining police and fire station projects are “still going smoothly.” At the July 11 regular Selectboard meeting, Elwell gave his regular update on the $12.8 million projects. He also asked the Board to approve $159,306.60 in extra expenditures to help move the work along. The Selectboard unanimously agreed - minus the absent David Schoales. One component of the extra funding the Board approved is to pay Project Manager Steve Horton more money.
The United Way of Windham County plans to invest $122,500 in high-impact human service programs in the areas of health, opportunity, prosperity, and education during fiscal year 2018, which began on July 1. Community impact grants were awarded to 14 programs at 10 organizations serving Windham County. A full list of supported programs can be seen at www.unitedwaywindham.org/funded-hope-programs. “We are proud to support organizations and programs that are addressing issues important to Windham County, such as providing nutritious food, creating...
AmeriCorps member Haythem Basson, from the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, spent several weeks this spring pondering how to best improve the weatherization of Southern Vermont's mobile homes. He knew that mobile home owners are often underserved by energy efficiency programs in Vermont and have higher energy consumption rates than traditional homeowners. Older mobile homes often lack basic insulation, double-paned windows, and insulated ductwork making them very leaky and expensive to heat in the winter and cool in the summer.
Confluence, a gallery in Readsboro, Vermont, opens its third show of the season with an invitational exhibit that will feature some of the finest studio glass artists in the region. It runs from Aug. 5 to Sept. 10. Beyond Readsboro - Contemporary Studio Glass is curated by Bill LeQuier and Mary Angus, a couple who are themselves glass artists: a sculptor and glass blower, respectively. Beyond Readsboro features nine glass artists from southeast Vermont and northwestern Massachusetts: Lucy Bergamini, Ed...
The 11th annual Gathering in Gratitude returns to Brattleboro for two theatrical happenings with live music, storytelling, dance, and a focus on audience participation on Saturday, Aug. 12, at 2 and 7 p.m., at 118 Elliot, 118 Elliot Street in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont. A suggested donation of $10, or as able, will benefit Groundworks Collaborative and the Mahalo Art Center. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. The happenings mark the culmination of a week-long intensive GIG...
Meditative vigil of 'lovingkindness' set for Aug. 4 BRATTLEBORO - Under a banner that reads “May All Beings Be Free Of Pain And Suffering, May All Beings Know Peace And Happiness,” Post Oil Solutions is organizing a series of silent vigils to encourage progress toward what it calls “the loving, compassionate society we are seeking.” It will be held on Friday, Aug. 4, from 6 to 7 p.m., at Pliny Park. Although silent, the Vigil of Lovingkindness is intended to...
A significant project to improve the Harmony Parking Lot is about to get underway. According to a news release from assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland, the scope of the project includes replacing all sidewalks and curbing adjacent to the buildings; new concrete walkways and tree grates in the islands; leveling to improve drainage; new pavement; and fresh paint. The work will be performed in phases so that either the east side or the west side of the Harmony Lot will...
College news • Olivia McNeely of Townshend and Sebastian Allen of Londonderry both graduated from Ithaca (N.Y.) College in May. McNeely was also named to the spring 2017 Dean's List, as were Averi Parece of Westminster West, Caitlin Galamaga of Townshend, and Elena Tansley of Westminster West. • Eli Serota of West Dover graduated cum laude from Ithaca College's School of Communications in May with a degree in integrated marketing communications. • Constantine Benson of West Townshend, a 2017 graduate...
On Thursday, Aug. 3, from 5 to 7 p.m., Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts invites the public to the opening reception for “Oils and Watercolors,” side-by-side solo exhibitions by the gallery's founding artists, Petria Mitchell and Jim Giddings. The exhibit will continue through Sept.17, with an Artist Talk on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 5 p.m. Mitchell will show a selection of new oil paintings that continue her investigations in color and atmosphere. Her exploration of the ethereal world of light and ambience...
In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, the Brattleboro community and local businesses will be celebrating breastfeeding during the first week of August. This year the theme is “Sustaining Breastfeeding Together.” The Vermont Department of Health encourages breastfeeding, and supports nursing mothers through educational programs and initiatives. The department's Local Health Office in Brattleboro works with new moms one-on-one in its WIC clinics and through breastfeeding classes, and helps local businesses become Breastfeeding Friendly Employers. Other community supports for breastfeeding include...
There aren't many people who can say they have lived in Guilford for 100 years. In fact, it is likely that Margery Evans is in a class all by herself. Anyone who knows her appreciates the genuine warmth and wisdom of a farm wife and mother who has lived her entire life on farms in Guilford. Margery Clark was born at the Springs Farm, site of the famed mineral springs, on July 20, 1917. Her parents Merton and Maude Clark...
I recently had a long discussion with a friend who left the United States in 1973 for the Netherlands and has never looked back. She was unable to understand the obsession so many of us progressives feel with the lies and amoral behavior of the Trump family and their surrogates. She felt that we were taking our eyes off the ball - off the terrible policy decisions that were being made every day by this bunch. The discussion made me...
Pedestrians have the right of way, right? Wrong! Pedestrians have the right of way when a car is stopped or has time and distance enough to stop before colliding with a pedestrian in its path. The laws of physics supersede the human made-up “laws” of the road. A car traveling at 30 mph (the speed limit on Western Avenue in West Brattleboro) needs 109 feet to stop (that is 36 yards for football fans). Friday afternoon traffic on Western Avenue...
The consequence of the proposed school-district merger for Brattleboro, Guilford, Dummerston, and Putney? All towns will lose their respective local elementary school boards, and all decisions on policy, curriculum, and finances for all children - from pre-kindergarten through the high school and the Windham Regional Career Center - will be made by a single board of nine individuals elected from the different towns. People supporting the merger say, “Well, the Brattleboro Union High School board functions well.” But the BUHS...
It is with immense gratitude that we write this letter. In the circus there is a motto: “The show must go on.” And NECCA is doing just that. The two of us have been overwhelmed by the support of the community during recent events. We are very happy to be back at work at the school we founded, doing the work we love, surrounded by the incredible staff who stood by the mission and vision of NECCA through everything. And...
Having absorbed heavy criticism in recent weeks, the current and potential owners of Vermont Yankee are defending their plans to decommission the Vernon nuclear plant. In more than 130 pages of documents filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, attorneys for Entergy and NorthStar Group Services use phrases like “bald assertions,” “unfounded claims” and “pure speculation” to describe concerns raised by Vermont officials and the New England Coalition. And they argue that NorthStar, which wants to buy the plant from Entergy...
Marlboro Music's fourth weekend of concerts at Marlboro College offers 21 resident artists in diverse programs that offer works by Debussy, Dvorak, Shostakovich, and Beethoven as well as Unkind Songs for alto and viola with Sara Couden and Kim Kashkashian by Petr Eben, who was a leading Czech composer, and Voices of Angels by 2017 Composer-in-Residence Brett Dean. It is one of five Dean works being explored this summer, according to a news release. The Saturday, Aug. 5, 8 p.m.
On July 22, 16 young people ranging in age from 15 to 21 traveled to South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation for a three-week adventure of a lifetime. Representing communities in eight states - Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and South Dakota, as well as communities in Mexico and Afghanistan, and the native-American Oglala Lakota, Dine, Yaqui, Azteca, and Mayan tribes - these neophyte photographers brought their individual, community, and cultural perspectives, and keen interest in understanding...
The company that wants to decommission Vermont Yankee has new ownership. J.F. Lehman & Co., a New York private equity firm, has acquired a majority interest in the parent company of NorthStar Group Services, which is seeking permission to buy and clean up the idled Vernon nuclear plant. The deal also is being classified as a “recapitalization” that reportedly pumped more resources into NorthStar as the company seeks to establish itself in the nuclear decommissioning business. NorthStar Chief Executive Officer...
Recent research is warning that the rapid loss of wildlife in recent decades shows the sixth mass extinction over the past 400 million years in Earth's history is underway. In the face of this warning, it is important to note that the Connecticut River watershed is the home range for five threatened or endangered species that rely on healthy clean water: the dwarf Wedgemussel, the puritan tiger beetle, the Northeastern bulrush, Jesup's milk-vetch, and the shortnose sturgeon. As of now,
The Route 5 bridge site in Algiers Village has been transformed during the past two weeks. On July 21, in 16 hours, four prefabricated bridge units weighing 700,000 pounds were set on top of new bridge abutments. According to Project Information Officer Jill Barrett, construction crews from Renaud Bros. of Vernon have, so far, placed concrete for sidewalk and bridge railings; set the approach slab for the north side of the bridge; placed stone and soil to shape the embankment...
It's been nearly six years since Tropical Storm Irene's floodwaters swept through Vermont. But Brattleboro housing officials are still recovering, with the latest evidence being a new apartment complex proposal at the former Austine School campus. The two-story, 20- to 25-unit building is considered “phase two” of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar effort to move residents out of a floodplain in West Brattleboro. And the building's proposed location will be a good fit for residents and for Brattleboro Housing Partnerships, according to...
Residents of Vermont, a place of rich tradition and deep-rooted culture, understand the importance of cherishing and preserving the relics of our history. On the north side of Meetinghouse Road lies one of the oldest of these treasures, the Rockingham Meeting House, which this year celebrates its 230th anniversary and will be recognized by several events around Rockingham's Aug. 5 Old Home Days celebration. Built in 1787 - and established as a National Landmark in 2000 - the landmark was...
Twilight Music continues its 15th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn series of folk-rock, world beat, rock, pop, Celtic, blues, and bluegrass summer concerts on Sunday, Aug. 6, with contemporary bluegrass and folk music quartet The Stockwell Brothers Band. Bruce, Barry, Alan, and Kelly Stockwell's music spans traditional and progressive styles, but their trademark acoustic sound features new singer/songwriter material recast with banjo, alternative rhythms, and three-part harmonies. They cover straight ahead bluegrass songs, finger picked acoustic guitar ballads, full...
The 64th annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl is set for Saturday, Aug. 4, at Castleton University's Spartan Stadium. The pre-game parade will take place at 3 p.m. The football game that pits the top graduated high school seniors from Vermont and New Hampshire follows at 5:30 p.m. The Shrine game seems to have found a home to its liking in Castleton, which became the game site in 2015 after many years at Dartmouth College. The Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Board...
“He was covered in ticks and, worse, he was just fur and bones,” said Cassandra Holloway. “I had no idea how long he had been there” On July 4, when Holloway found Farmer by the porch of her mother's house in West Townshend, it had been months since she had last seen the Border Collie/Bernese mix. Though he had wagged his tail and barked in happy recognition, Holloway remembers that for her, that Independence Day was filled with mixed emotions.
On Saturday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m., Sandglass Theater will present two original works by ensemble members Kalob Martinez and Jana Zeller. Puppet Crimes celebrates the grotesque tradition of hand puppetry in two styles, and assures a night of wicked enjoyment from comedy to tragedy. Kalob Martinez is an actor, voice artist, fight director, and puppeteer from Houston, Texas. He is a member of the company of Babylon, Sandglass's newest original work, which begins touring in the fall. He has...
Filmmaking appears to be alive and well in Vermont. Four shorts and one feature film, all made in Vermont, will be showcased this year at an indoor/outdoor mixer at the New England Youth Theatre in Brattleboro. On Aug. 5, from 5:15 to 10:30 p.m., The Northern Routes Film Collaborative and Brattleboro Film Festival are bringing back for its third year the Summer Cinema Slam, with a diverse lineup of Vermont-made films and filmmakers. Question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers will follow...
Compassion. I could fill a book: from the way drivers automatically take turns at the four-way stop signs in Brattleboro to the many organizations around the area that provide compassionate support. Last fall, a situation arose, like a Phoenix from smoke and ashes - a remarkable act of compassion. Jim Giddings' studio burned down, and 40 years of his artwork was destroyed. His loss called out to the hearts of many. We pride ourselves in this region for our firm...