Twilight Music continues its 16th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn free concert series on Sunday, Aug. 12, with M.O.D., Molly Steinmark's funk, soul-jazz, hip-hop, and R&B band.
As a vocalist/drummer/percussionist/MC/beat boxer and songwriter, Steinmark blends the sounds of jazz, hip-hop, funk, and soul music, backed by a rotating cast of the area's finest musicians. The former singer and percussionist of the bands Groove Shoes, Mo Ambesa, and Dr. Reputation, she is now working as a freelance musician while putting together her debut solo album.
The seven-concert series continues every other Sunday through Aug. 26. All concerts begin at 6 p.m. in downtown Putney on the Putney Tavern lawn (bring a lawn chair or blanket) or at Next Stage at 15 Kimball Hill in case of rain. The concerts are free to the public (donations are accepted) and food will be available. For more information, call 802-387-5772 or visit www.twilightmusic.org.
...Please vote for Cindy Jerome in the Aug. 14 primary election as one of your two state representatives for District 4 (Dummerston, Putney, Westminster). I have known Cindy since our children were in kindergarten at the Dummerston School more than 20 years ago. She has my support because of...
Since my first meeting with Nader Hashim, I have been excited about his candidacy in the race to represent the district covering Dummerston, Putney, and Westminster. He brings an original voice to our community and a needed voice for the Legislature. Nader is a young officer with the Vermont...
Prior to the votes in Windham, Brookline, Newfane, Jamaica, and Townshend, our Act 46 Study Committee explained to us in writing what a “yes” vote for unification would mean: • “Day-to-day operation of our schools will not change. They will continue to provide a high-quality education for our students.” • “Students will continue going to their town's elementary school, and then to Leland & Gray.” • “All five schools will have a school-based advisory committee that will provide feedback to...
What would it feel like to put on an undershirt, layered with a bulletproof vest, uniform, boots, and heavy utility belt, and then holster a radio and gun - in all types of weather? Then go de-escalate volatile situations? Now imagine doing so for nine hours a day, sometimes longer if you're in the middle of an active situation at the end of your shift. Would you manage that with a cool head and compassionate heart? Vermont State Trooper Nader...
The Actors Theatre Playhouse of West Chesterfield, N.H., and Brattleboro, is accepting Ten Minute Play submissions for its Ten Minute Play Festival in June 2019. The Playhouse is seeking 10-minute plays from the New England region only. The goal of the festival is both to encourage the production of new works from regional writers while exposing ATP's actors and directors to the techniques and practices of working with and producing new plays. Writers are limited to two unpublished submissions. Ten-minute...
On Sunday, Aug. 12, at 2 p.m., award-winning environmentalist and master storyteller Michael Caduto is coming to the Westminster West Library. He will present a powerful, entertaining program about renewable energy explored through science and the arts. According to a news release, Caduto uses storytelling, music, and participatory experiences of today's energy technologies to engage audiences with the process of transforming the forces of nature into energy for everyday living. The program will feature kid-powered demonstrations of wind power, solar...
The rise of closed-mindedness in this country should be of grave concern to anyone who values democracy. From the breakdown in bipartisanship in Congress, to the segregation of our media into partisan camps, to the highly polarized public discourse on debates as diverse as immigration, gun control, and sexual harassment, distrust and hostility toward “the other” is at fever pitch. Democracy requires that citizens engage in a vigorous exchange of ideas, have access to a free and open debate over...
Voting info for Aug. 14 primaries BRATTLEBORO - The polling place for all three districts in Brattleboro in the Tuesday, Aug. 14, primaries is the Selectboard Meeting Room, second floor of the Municipal Center, 230 Main Street, Room 212, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The center rows of the parking lot at the Municipal Center will be reserved for voters on Election Day. There are handicapped parking spaces close to the back entrance. There is an elevator immediately inside...
Last year, the members of the South Newfane/Williamsville Fire Department announced their plans to dissolve the department and close the fire station. The reason, according to attorney Bob Fisher, who represents the department, is a lack of staffing. Other departments in the region report the same problem: Not enough suitable people want to volunteer their time to fight fires. At the July 16 regular Selectboard meeting, Fisher and a few members of the South Newfane/Williamsville Fire Department asked the Board...
As primary season comes to a close, I want to urge everyone to get out and vote for Jeanette White on or before Tuesday, Aug. 14. I have had the opportunity to watch her up close in her Senate work, as I have been in the House for her entire tenure as senator. She has served us well. She exercises leadership in the Senate through her role as chair of the Senate Committee on Government Operations - or, as she...
Cotton Mill Arts invites Windham County artists and artisans to apply for the Cotton Mill Open Studio & Holiday Sale, Dec. 7-9. Final registration for this year's event is Aug. 15. Photos and descriptions of products intended for sale at the event must be submitted along with an artist statement. Cotton Mill Open Studio & Holiday Sale is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year highlighting local artists, artisans, and entrepreneurs in the creative economy. At first, the event featured the...
One segment of our politically divided nation consists of what is generally referred to as “the religious right” - an ultra-conservative minority group that forms the core support for President Donald Trump. There seems to be a profound inconsistency in this support, since Trump's personal conduct - especially his sexual escapades - seems to violate everything that this religious contingent claims to stand for. What, then, is there in Trump that this religious group identifies with so strongly as to...
In the last month, Brattleboro has been subject to violent hate speech against Jews in a sidewalk chalking and recruitment posters for the white supremacist organization Atomwaffen. As we denounce these racist acts of violence, we remain committed to our vision for racial justice and to our vision of liberation. We remain committed to our programming at The Root that uplifts our families of color, that supports our youth and that celebrates the beauty, resiliency and joyful resistance of our...
Democratic candidate for state representative Cindy Jerome features her experience as former executive director of Holton Home (1999–2018) and Bradley House (2015–2018) residential-care homes “running a successful business while serving elders” (campaign flyer): a fiduciary responsibility. A Vermont Agency of Human Services, Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, Division of Licensing and Protection, Summary Statement of Deficiencies dated April 25, 2017, required Plan of Correction dated May 26, 2017, and official approval dated June 5, 2017, public records online,
I am submitting the following letter at the request of, and on behalf of, the family of the resident referenced in the front-page article on July 25 in the Brattleboro Reformer, “Residential facilities correct their wrongs.” The article begins with a detailed accounting of contributions to Holton Home over a five-year period by a resident there. The resident's family wishes to remain anonymous; their letter follows: “We wish to express our dismay and sense of violation when we read the...
After an intensive search, Jonathan Harvey has been named music director of the Brattleboro Concert Choir. Harvey succeeds Susan Dedell, who announced her retirement last year after three decades leading the longest-performing ensemble of Brattleboro Music Center. Created by Blanche Moyse even before she established BMC, the Brattleboro Concert Choir performs an exciting and challenging repertoire, ranging from classic choral masterpieces to rarely heard and newly commissioned works. “We are delighted to welcome Jonathan Harvey as the next music director...
At first glance, it looks like the love child of an exercise ball and an office chair. And then you sit on it, and your back and hips and buttocks tell you not to be so dismissive of this seemingly unorthodox piece of furniture. It's called the Språng Chair, and the funding pitch given by its inventor, Darren Mark, came away the winner at the fifth annual FreshTracks Road Pitch at the River Garden on Aug. 1. Mark came away...
Continuing a tradition started in 1957 by Rudolf Serkin - founding artistic director and guiding spirit of Vermont's Marlboro Music School and Festival for over 40 years - Mitsuko Uchida, artistic director since the mid-1990s, will be piano soloist in Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, Op. 80, with Leon Fleisher conducting the Marlboro Festival Orchestra and Chorus in the closing concert of the festival on Sunday, Aug. 12, at 2:30 p.m. With almost all of the noted retreat's 75 resident artists playing...
Vermont State Representative Valerie Stuart, who is up for election for a fifth term in the primary on Tuesday, Aug. 14, will start working for you from day one. She doesn't have to get up to speed. She knows the lay of the land, and she knows how to get things done. Valerie is seasoned, compassionate, and real. She cares about everyone in our community, especially her constituents. Val's own life experiences and challenges have contributed to her deep empathy...
The Vermont-NEA Fund for Children and Public Education supports the candidacy of Representative Valerie Stuart. She is the only candidate running in the Windham-2-1 primary to receive the recommendation of the Vermont-NEA Board of Directors. We have 79 members who live in Brattleboro's District 1. The 2018 election is very important to the future of public education in Vermont and to our members. As the president of the state's largest labor union, I can say we look forward to working...
The town of Brattleboro and the Vermont Department of Health are reporting that mosquitoes collected in Brattleboro have tested positive for West Nile Virus at the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory. When the virus is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, most people don't get sick, but some get symptoms like fever, joint pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The sickness can become quite serious in some people, and those age 50 or older are at the higher risk. According to the...
We have two Statehouse representatives in the Dummerston-Putney-Westminster district. My first vote goes to Cindy Jerome. I know Cindy from her years of work on the Dummerston Selectboard. Cindy was the first Selectboard member I knew to closely examine the evacuation plan for Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, to work with other towns' selectboards to change the plan so it had a better chance of being effective in an emergency, and to support the successful efforts of our state legislators to...
Brenda Siegel gets my vote for governor in the Aug. 14 Democratic primary. Her values of hard work and hope within challenging times and circumstances combine well with her studied understanding of Vermont's legislative process. Her frequent presence at the Statehouse over this last biennium speaks to learning from witnessing the process up close and firsthand, as well as advocating for the issues she is called to defend. From her detailed ideas to address the ongoing opioid epidemic to understanding...
I support the re-election of Valerie Stuart for state representative. Valerie has already served four terms very effectively, representing West Brattleboro in the state Legislature. Her priorities are focusing on the workforce and economic development, as well as job creation, revenue generation, and marketing Vermont small businesses and products, both internally and externally. She has sponsored 127 bills in the Legislature. The subjects of her bills represent the core values of West Brattleboro. The bills range from: • Providing young...
Good day to you, southeastern denizens of the Green Mountain State! After our recent heat increase, along with all the tropical and severe weather we endured for much of July into the first few days of August, we're settling into a more run-of-the-mill summer pattern. Humidity will continue, but won't be as extreme as it was in late July, and we'll get some drier, more comfortable periods mixed in as well. For the week ahead, we'll see periods of showers...
Valerie Stuart has been a colleague, fellow activist, and friend for over 40 years. She has dedicated her life to public service and to do right for her community, Vermont, and country at large. She has made a profound difference in the lives of others. From her earliest days of organizing nationwide community events to empower individuals as environmental stewards, to her last eight years as a representative in the Vermont State Legislature, Valerie has established herself as an astute...
The Vermont Jazz Center is in the midst of its 43rd annual Summer Jazz Workshop. This week-long program takes place on the beautiful campus of The Putney School. The workshop encourages intermediate to professional level students from down the street and around the world to develop their musical practice and exploration. While in Vermont, they polish their improvisational and musicianship skills while enjoying a week-long hiatus in a pastoral setting. The workshop began in 1974 when famed Hungarian guitarist Attila...
A community political activist was hanging posters for a legislative candidate forum a few weeks ago. As she headed to her car, a man came up to her. “Excuse me,” he said. “I just have to ask: how can you support a Muslim?” The man was talking about Nader Hashim, one of the three candidates for the two-seat Windham-4 district. Hashim is, in the words of the poster hanger, Laura Chapman, “the only one who seems to be garnering the...
Taking on two well-established senators in your first race for public office might seem daunting, but Wayne Vernon Estey doesn't seem overly concerned. Estey is running in the Aug. 14 Democratic Primary against Windham County incumbents Jeanette White of Putney and Becca Balint of Brattleboro. This is Estey's first run for public office. He is 64, and a native of East Hartford, Conn. He previously worked as a senior economist for the state of Connecticut, as the lead attorney for...
The Latchis Theatre has new equipment to help patrons with visual and auditory needs get the most out of their movie experience at the historic, downtown Brattleboro movie and arts venue. The new assistive devices include goggles and individual pop-up screens that allow patrons to view closed captions. Also included are headphones that amplify and clarify sound and provide the option for patrons with visual needs to hear descriptions of the action taking place on screen. The new equipment is...
Guilford's historic Christ Church, at the corner of Route 5 and Melendy Hill Rd., is celebrating its 200th birthday this year with a benefit concert and silent auction. Festivities begin on Sunday, Aug. 19, at 3 p.m. Proceeds will provide critical funding for the Christ Church Guilford Society to maintain and improve the building, which hasn't had a resident congregation since the 1890s. Internationally renowned instrumentalists Jaime Laredo and Lucy Chapman, violin; Kim Kashkashian, viola; Merry Peckham and Sharon Robinson,
College news • Mesa Kennedy of Brattleboro was one of more than 160 students who received degrees during commencement ceremonies on May 12 at Green Mountain College in Poultney. • Kristina Wittler of South Newfane, a physics major and a member of the Colgate University Class of 2019, has earned the Dean's Award with Distinction for the spring 2018 semester. Obituaries • Max Harold Allen, 93, of San Francisco, formerly of Wilmington. Died July 19, 2018 at San Francisco General...
For years, the Vermont squads at the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl have been the gridiron equivalent of the skinny boys on the beach getting sand kicked in their face by the muscle-bound he-men of New Hampshire. But in this annual clash of the top high school football stars from New Hampshire and Vermont, the Green Mountain Boys aren't 98-pound weaklings anymore. A hard-hitting defense combined with a clock-eating offense gave Vermont a 24-13 victory at the 65th edition of the...
Landmark Trust USA, the nonprofit organization that owns five restored, historic buildings available for short-term rental, is looking for a new executive director. The Trust also owns Scott Farm, a 571-acre for-profit farm and orchard on Kipling Road in Dummerston, and five long-term rentals on the property. “We're hoping to get a new executive director by the fall, or the end of the year,” said Alex Wilson, vice president of the Landmark Trust USA Board of Directors. “But, if the...
Do you have a farm in the area you'd like to sell? If so, Jonah Mossberg wants to talk to you. Mossberg, the proprietor of Milkweed Farm, has been growing vegetables and flowers on leased land at the Vermont Agricultural Business Education Center for the past three years. At the end of this season, Mossberg has to remove his stuff - three greenhouses, a few sheds, one walk-in cooler, all of his tools, machines, and irrigation equipment - and leave...
New England Youth Theatre presents William Shakespeare's Macbeth, directed by John Hadden, with Keely Eastley, to be performed at 7 p.m. on Aug. 10 and 11 and at 2 p.m. on Aug. 11 and 12 at NEYT, 100 Flat St. Directed by Hadden, founder of Shakespeare & Co., and Eastley, Linklater Designated teacher, Shakespeare's classic study of ambition and power will be performed by NEYT's Senior Company, composed of young actors ages 13-19. This culture-defining human tragedy is one of...