Issue #459
So hard to say goodbye
Brattleboro Concert Choir music director Susan Dedell recently had a friendly argument with a colleague who disliked the word “entertainment” being used to characterize something as serious as the playing and listening of classical music.
Dedell disagreed.
Marlboro program moves completely online
Program trains teachers to integrate technology in the classroom
Marlboro College's popular Master of Arts in Teaching with Technology program will change from a low-residency format to a 100 percent online curriculum starting in fall 2018. After extensive market research and ongoing interest from all over the United States, this transition is intended to make the program more...
Contemporary modal musicians Daly and Thoma to perform
As part of their third annual New England tour, this one for their new double record Lunar, Ross Daly and Kelly Thoma will stop in Bellows Falls to perform a Stone Church Arts concert on Saturday, May 19, at 7:30 pm. Based on the island of Crete in Greece,
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Around the Towns
Water quality report is available BRATTLEBORO - The Town of Brattleboro Water Department's annual Consumer Confidence Report/Water Quality Report for 2017 is now available. This report can be viewed online at www.brattleboro.org, or written copies are available at the Brattleboro Municipal Center in the offices of the Town Manager and in the hallway near the Town Clerk's Office. The Water Quality Report can also be obtained at the Brooks Memorial Library, the Department of Public Works on Fairground Road, and...
Milestones
Obituaries • Elizabeth “Liz” Hirbour, 88, of Brattleboro. Died March 19, 2018 at The Bradley House in Brattleboro. The first 10 years of her life were spent in England and were filled with poverty, parental conflict, divorce, and the horrors of the bombing of London by the Germans during World War II. However, those many traumas did not stop her from having a richly successful life by almost any standard. Ultimately - like most immigrants to the United States -
Heifers' cake competition extends deadline
Strolling of the Heifers' annual culinary competition aims to find the tastiest and best-looking Bundt Cake in New England. The deadline for amateur and professional bakers to enter their best, most original Bundt Cake recipe in the Great New England Bundt Cake Baking Competition is now midnight on May 18. Finalists will be notified by May 23. Finalists will bring their cakes to the River Garden for Judging, and sampling by the public. Local celebrity “foodie” judges will announce the...
Rock River Players presents ''night Mother'
Rock River Players invites the community to experience 'night Mother by Marsha Norman on May 17-20 at the Williamsville Hall. The scene is the living room/kitchen of a small house on an isolated country road, which is shared by Jessie and her mother. Jessie's father is dead; she is epileptic and unemployable; her loveless marriage ended in divorce; her absent son is a petty thief and ne'er-do-well; her last two jobs failed and, in general, her life is stale and...
A weekend of book sales is planned in Putney
On May 18 through 20, there will be a large book sale at Antidote Books, 120 Main St., in Putney of the remaining inventory of Kate's Mystery Books, New England's first specialty bookstore dealing in the mystery genre. Hours are Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Sunday, books will be half-price. Kate Mattes opened Kate's Mystery Books, located on Massachusetts Avenue near Porter Square in Cambridge, Mass.,
Brattleboro Queer Dance Party teams up with SoBo Studio for ‘Pump-a-thon’
The Brattleboro Queer Dance Party transforms the Stone Church in Brattleboro into a vibrant, lively event that rivals the energy of Studio 54 circa 1977. This party has built a reputation that entices people from all over with its memorable shows, epic music, and inclusive vibe. The party honors the performers of our local community by hosting drag shows, dance shows, and performance art pieces. This unforgettable Friday night extravaganza is now partnering with local dance studio SoBo Studio for...
AIDS Project invites public to 31st Walk for Life on May 19
The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont invites the public to help raise money and awareness Saturday, May 19, at its 31st annual Walk for Life. The event, set for 10 a.m. to noon at the River Garden on Main Street, will spotlight community efforts not only to support local people living with HIV/AIDS but also to reduce the risk of transmission to others. The Walk for Life will feature speakers, music, a brief period of remembrance, a salute to longtime...
Guilford plans to renovate Town Office
The Selectboard approved preliminary plans for extensive Town Office renovations, including exterior site work, improved insulation, and adding an additional wing. The budget for the project is $228,000. At the April 23 regular Selectboard meeting, Board Chair Sheila Morse assured residents this project will require no debt or tax increase. The reserve fund can cover all costs. The town offices building dates from 1971, with an addition built in 1996. Since that time, Morse said, “as responsibilities increase, so does...
Legend in his spare time
By day, Steve West earns his living as a computer consultant, making house-calls to individuals and businesses with machines in need of maintenance and repair. When he's not doing that, West is a songwriter and musician. “If I had no concern for income, I'd spend 24 hours a day recording music,” he said. West recently emerged from the recording studio with a new album, Holding On, which he self-released on the CD Baby website. When West went into the studio,
Court requires Harmon, Fritz, et al, to pay $2,450,000 to Sonnax ESOP
After a U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration investigation, the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont has entered a consent judgment requiring the fiduciaries of the Sonnax Industries' employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to pay $2,225,000 to the plan. The judgment resolves violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act stemming from the ESOP's 2011 purchase of Sonnax Industries Inc., a Rockingham-based supplier of automotive drivetrain products. The settlement was announced on May 8. Principals Tommy...
NEYT’s Theatre Adventure presents ‘Questery’
New England Youth Theatre's Theatre Adventure will present Questery, an original play written by Theatre Adventure alumnus Joshua Blaushild, on May 16, 17, and 18 at the West Village Meeting House in West Brattleboro. Once upon a time, a young lad with autism dreamed of being an author, a playwright, and a director. He was encouraged by many to pursue his dreams and wrote an adventure tale told with an eclectic group of animal characters. The Theatre Adventure Wednesday Troupe...
Late-spring weather, with lots of showers, ahead for Southern Vermont
Good day to you, southern Vermonters! After yesterday's showers and thunderstorms, we should be out of the severe weather woods for the upcoming week. Be sure to enjoy the fair weather which will end the current week, as rainy conditions are expected between Friday night and Sunday night. While some lulls are possible during this rainy period, expect generally wet weather with unseasonably cool temperatures for Saturday, and seasonable, milder temperatures for Sunday. Early next week looks fair for now.
Second moms
When I was growing up, my mother was chronically ill and my father, a severe asthmatic with a heart condition, went bankrupt. It was a lonely and frightening time during which I was a loner at school and a caretaker at home. But I was blessed to have a teacher who understood, and a neighbor - a second mom, really - whose home became my refuge. I think it's fair to say they both saved my life. Mrs. Myers, my...
Democrat to seek seat Hebert is vacating
On May 9, Guilford resident Sara Coffey launched her campaign as a Democratic candidate for the Vermont House of Representatives. She's running for the open seat in the Windham-1 district, made up of Guilford and Vernon. The incumbent, Vernon Republican Mike Hebert, announced last month that he wouldn't seek re-election. Coffey officially announced her campaign at a party held at the home of Anne Rider and Rob Hinrichs. The event featured speeches by Rider, a former Guilford Selectboard chair; Vernon...
Colonels off to 10-0 start on diamond
Everything is coming up aces for the Brattleboro Colonels baseball team as they finished last week with three shutout victories and a 10-0 record. At Rutland on May 7, Leif Bigelow and Dan Petrie each hit a two-run homer in Brattleboro's 11-0 win over the Raiders in six innings at Tenney Field. Tyler Millerick had a team-high three hits for the Colonels, and Jeremy Rounds, Ben Betz, Bigelow, and Petrie all added two hits each. Bigelow and Petrie combined to...
Is peace possible?
With the May 8 announcement by President Donald J. Trump that the U.S. would withdraw its support for a 2015 nuclear nonproliferation agreement with Iran, the Middle East, and the world at large, are entering a dangerous new era. That was the assessment of Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former nuclear negotiator for Iran and current nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University, who spoke to the Windham World Affairs Council on May 11 at Centre Congregational Church. The deal that was...
We must invest in life — not in death and killing
Growing up, I didn't know much about my own history. My father arrived in the United States in an attempt to escape war; he did not recollect or share with us. Three years ago, I decided to return to Lebanon and to see for myself. I learned that when Israel invaded southern Lebanon in 1982, they assisted in forming a repressive South Lebanon Army - a reactionary force that was known for its collaboration with occupiers and its brutal torture...
Artist Gowri Savoor to give free talk at BMAC
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center will present a free artist talk by Gowri Savoor on Thursday, May 17, at 7 p.m. Savoor will discuss her installation, “We Walk in Their Shadows,” on view at BMAC through June 17. Gowri Savoor is an artist of British-Indian descent currently living and working in Vermont. Her work is wide-ranging and involves many different materials and processes, including sculpture, site-specific installation, 3D printing, drawing, and painting. Her sculptures frequently incorporate natural objects, such...
John Gorka celebrates release of new CD at Next Stage
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present contemporary folk singer/songwriter John Gorka at Next Stage on Sunday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. The concert celebrates the release of Gorka's new CD, True in Time. According to a news release, Gorka is “perhaps the quintessential iconic singer/songwriter of the 1980's folk scene. Hailing from New Jersey, he honed his craft and persona as a shy, wry and insightful singer/songwriter in the Greenwich Village 'Fast Folk' and Boston music scenes.” Gorka...
A bill that sounds nice — politically
When evaluating any legislative action, I always step back and ask, “What is the core purpose of this bill?” In examining the minimum wage increase bill, the purpose - from my perspective - is to ensure that Vermonters working a full-time job are not forced to toil in poverty but rather can experience the dignity of work that earns a livable wage. I have always had a commitment to helping my working neighbors move ahead, and I thought that this...