On behalf of the Vermont Theatre Company's board of trustees, we thank everyone who helped make VTC's recent production of The Tempest a wonderful success. It marked VTC's 29th Shakespeare in the Park and the end of our 34th Season.
We know that community theater is at its best when driven by community members with a strong desire to do the hard work it takes to create a show, bring it to life, and delight audiences. We were very fortunate to have had such a crew: a cast of 18 talented, hard-working actors, a 15-person production team, many volunteers, and more than 300 audience members who saw the play, cheered the cast on, laughed heartily and frequently, and applauded generously, making the five months of hard work worth the effort.
Thank you to the actors, the production crew (the people you don't usually see on the stage but without whom there would be no play), the many other members of our community who contributed time, materials, and funding to make the show possible, and our show sponsor.
So we thank one and all for contributing to the success of VTC's 2017-18 season, and we are looking forward to seeing you during our 2018-19 season, which begins this coming September with Art, by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by Bill Wieliczka.
After a brief hiatus, Played Out!, the monthly game night for the LGBT community and allies, returns to The Root Social Justice Center on Sept. 4. Played Out! organizers invite all interested parties to join them for a fun and friendly evening of board games, dice games, and card...
Three nonprofit organizations in Windham County received a total of $9,000 in Spark! Connecting Community grants from the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) for local projects this spring. One of the competitive grant programs at VCF, Spark! Connecting Community puts building and nurturing community front and center. VCF aims to...
Last month, Vermont Yankee completed the transfer of all spent fuel into dry-cask storage. It is noteworthy that Vermont Yankee accomplished this task without money from the Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Fund, which is well-positioned to support NorthStar's decommissioning project. Finishing the fuel transfer within budget and two years ahead of schedule invites the community's confidence in the overall decommissioning plan, and it lays a strong foundation for NorthStar's prompt, efficient decommissioning work. Site restoration should be completed in about 10...
Contemporary Playwright Richard Nelson's Women of a Certain Age is the next Saturday Staged Reading at the Actors Theatre Playhouse, presented on two Saturdays, Sept. 8 and 15, at 7:30 p.m. Women of a Certain Age is a contemporary family story that takes place around the kitchen table of the Gabriel family of Rhinebeck, N.Y., on Election Night 2016. Waiting for the national election returns to come in, the family gathers for a final meal at their soon-to-be-repossessed old homestead,
The Brattleboro Rotary Club recently awarded a total of $16,500 in scholarships to six local high school students who will attend college this fall. The Gateway Foundation, an affiliate of the Brattleboro Rotary Club, funds the scholarships. This year's recipients include Ryan B. Boggio of Hinsdale, N.H., who will attend Fairfield University; Carter M. Falk of Brattleboro, who will attend Norwich University; Rachael E. Girroir of Hinsdale, who will attend the University of New Hampshire; Alexander M. Province of Brattleboro,
The brutal Trump administration, which has absolutely no grasp of history and no compassion, need look no further than the sad and violent history of U.S. intervention in Central America to learn why so many people are fleeing El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Each of these countries, plus Nicaragua, has its own story to tell about the many and terrible military interventions made more violent and heavily weaponized in order to make Central America safe for United States corporate interests...
The Selectboard approved the 2019 municipal tax rate at the July 23 regular Board meeting, which happens “at the second Selectboard meeting of every July,” Town Administrator Peder Rude noted. The homestead rate for 2019 is $2.481 per $1,000 of assessed value. The non-residential rate is $2.3469 per $1,000 of assessed value. Taxes went up by a small amount for property owners who aren't full-time Guilford residents, and an even smaller amount for those who are. 2018 homestead taxes were...
We must stop this horrid trend of baby-goat yoga! Teaching cute little goats to pounce on your back or jump up on you is a real no-no - imagine our 210-pound Sammy doing that! Actually, there are stories of cute little llamas, alpacas, and goats who had to be euthanized because of similar behaviors taught by people who are not thinking ahead - people who should know better! Sorry to be a party pooper, but please tell your yoga community...
Thank you to our community for an amazing year here, at the New England Center for Circus Arts. One year ago, we were moving into our new building while experiencing some very public upheaval, during which we received an overwhelming amount of support from you. Shortly after, we buckled down to rebuild our organization and have spent the following year investing all of our time and energy in seeing this organization flourish. One year later, we are looking back on...
The article states that the only way to affordably buy a farm is through the federal Farm Service Agency. That is not true: at least one other organization aids young farmers to obtain land they can afford. That is the Vermont Land Trust, through its Farmland Access Program. This program works to find farmland at risk of development, which the trust buys and offers to young farmers, who have to provide a detailed business plan. The trust locates retiring farmers...
During the month of August, Brattleboro Food Co-op shoppers will be able to contribute to the Community Asylum Seekers Project through the “Bag a Bean” program. This program offers shoppers a method for saving the environment while simultaneously helping families who have fled violence or persecution in their home countries and begun a new life in the U.S. Shoppers who bring their own bags or containers for Co-op products receive a bean for each one. They have the option of...
I extend sincere gratitude to the seven-member crew from the Agency of Transportation (Brattleboro, Springfield, and Jamaica garages) who recently saved two young women in fast-moving water in Jamaica. This team - Shawn Westney, Andrew Fraser, John Bedard, Victoria Biller, Josh Donna, Kevin Munson, and Tim Bills - was fully prepared, took quick action, and utilized training skills and instinct to help the two women out of the West River safely. Thank you to these hard-working state employees for this...
This year, the Women's Community Club of Grafton celebrates 100 years of community, philanthropy, and higher education. In the process, the club uncovered some long-lost history about itself. Club historian Judy Rowley had been eager to present a little history about the Club for her remarks at the Aug. 18 Centennial Gala, but was puzzled that the Grafton Historical Society didn't have any records or old photos. After hours and days searching every inch of the Grafton Historical Museum and...
Sandglass Theater in Putney is the recipient of a $100,000 grant from New England Foundation for the Arts National Theater Project for its newest theater piece, Babylon: Journeys of Refugees. One of only eight productions from the entire country to be selected, Babylon is a powerful and evocative work that tells the story of today's refugees: their sense of home, their arduous journeys, and the challenges of resettlement. Performed by puppets and actors with moving panoramas known as crankies, Babylon...
At sundown on Sunday, Sept. 9, Jewish people all over the world will welcome Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish year 5779. Rosh Hashanah begins a sacred period known as the Days of Awe that culminates 10 days later on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, observed this year on Sept. 19. Laura Berkowitz and Stephan Brandstatter, co-presidents of Congregation Shir Heharim, announced in a news release that the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community will offer Rosh Hashanah services beginning at 7 p.m.
In 2017, the Putney Foodshelf gave 82,797 pounds of food to 3,327 households. Those numbers are up from the year before, when they served 57,829 pounds of food to 2,654 households. And it all happened - storage, sorting, and distribution - in 234 square feet of space in the Putney Community Center at 10 Christian Square. The need is growing and the facility must do the same. “It's been true for awhile,” said Nancy Olson, chair of the Putney Foodshelf...
The Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association invites the public to celebrate the recent gift of land to WHPA by the Radford family. A ribbon-cutting ceremony from 2 to 2:30 p.m., on Sunday, Sept. 9, will open the new Radford-Smith Trail that leads from WHPA's ridgeline Cascade Trail down the hill - with picturesque overlooks, switchbacks, and balconies - and across the stream to Grassy Brook Road in Brookline and parts west. According to a news release, Terry and Edna Radford of...
Summer sales in Grafton this weekend GRAFTON - Enjoy an authentic colonial setting, a festive village atmosphere, and the home-made goods of town residents at Grafton's Summer Street Sales Day on Sept. 1. The event is open to the public and takes place on the Main Street of Grafton in the morning and early afternoon. Two nonprofit organizations have combined their annual fund-raising efforts to create a festive outdoor event to raise money for each of their groups, The Grafton...
On Saturday, Sept. 8, the “Windham County Rise for Climate - Rally & Ride” joins a global day of action to demand local leaders commit to climate solutions. In a news release, organizers say the local event is timed to precede California Gov. Jerry Brown's Global Climate Action Summit, scheduled for Sept. 12-14, which will bring together political leaders and people from around the world to “take ambition to the next level” and “put the globe on track to prevent...
The Crowell Gallery at the Moore Free Library, 23 West St., invites visitors to take a virtual trip along the Carpathian mountains in the north of Romania and then southward to the great east-west wall of the Transylvanian Alps. Come travel with photographer Gene Parulis as he guides you through an inspiring odyssey of striking landscapes that bear the signs of a rebirth after a long period of turbulence. “I was happy to witness a Romania beginning to prosper,” Parulis...
The 2018 Labor Day Dawn Dance begins on Sunday, Sept. 2, at 8 p.m. at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St., and concludes on Monday, Sept. 3, at 7 a.m. Organizers say they'll have “three super exciting bands and callers” for this annual marathon contra dance that starts at sundown and lasts until the sun comes up the next morning and the lights go out. Tickets are $25-$30 for adults (sliding scale), $20-$30 for students and seniors. A limited number...
Transitions • Christopher Stoner, a certified financial planner, has joined the staff of Twombly Wealth Management Group LLC of Brattleboro as a wealth advisor. He has more than 13 years of financial services experience. He spent the first 10 years of his career in Boston working for Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Eaton Vance, and Fidelity Investments. He most recently worked for a private wealth management firm in Portsmouth, N.H. Obituaries • Kevin D. Clark, 48, of Nottingham, N.H. Died Sunday, Aug.
The Vermont Theatre Company will host auditions for their fifth annual production of A Christmas Carol on Sept. 5 and 6 at the Brattleboro Union High School auditorium. They are seeking actors, singers, and musicians. Children 13 and under will audition at 6 p.m., all others at 6:30 p.m. A Christmas Carol is the classic novella by Charles Dickens that tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser, who is visited by ghosts on Christmas eve. As the night...
Vermonter Ava Einig, age “just about 9,” is 4½ feet tall. The Olympic-caliber Harris Hill in her birthplace of Brattleboro is 65 times as high, unparalleled in New England and one of only six of its size in the nation. So how does someone of Einig's ground-level stature learn such a skyscraping sport? The fourth-grader suggests a leap of faith. “I practiced jumping off my mom's cedar chest onto a gymnastics mat,” she says. Then her father, former Junior Olympian...
MC Lily DeValley and DJ GlitterBear bring a night of music, dancing, and drag to 118 Elliot on Saturday, Sept. 1, from 9 p.m. to midnight. “It's time to celebrate the end of Summer VaGAYtion in style this Labor Day weekend! Special guests Anita Lay and Jasmine D'Lux will perform at 9:30 and 11 p.m. Come in style to celebrate, dance, and support your local queer community!” DeValley said in a news release. DeValley has emceed and produced a variety...
The preseason practices and scrimmages are wrapping up, and the fall high school sports season gets going this Friday, Aug. 31. • Field hockey opens with the Brattleboro Colonels on the road at Springfield for a 4 p.m. game on the 31st, while Bellows Falls begins its quest for a fourth straight state title when they open in Manchester against Burr & Burton on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Bellows Falls looks to extend its 40-game regular season win streak this season.
People who live in town and drive for ride-sharing services might soon have to register themselves and their cars if the Selectboard approves a new ordinance next month. During the last two Selectboard meetings, the Board has discussed changing the section of the town's ordinances that governs taxicabs, broadening its scope to all vehicles for hire, including app-based transportation services like Uber and Lyft. At the Sept. 4 meeting, the Board will hear public comment and vote on whether to...
After much confusion and conflicting information from town officials, organizers working for youth suffrage learned they must postpone their plans. Selectboard members and town officials have apologized to 16-year-old Rio Daims, the youth-vote coordinator for Brattleboro Common Sense, who is seeking to amend the town charter to allow 16- and 17-year-old residents to vote on local issues and serve on the High School and Town School boards and in Representative Town Meeting. Currently, only residents 18 and older can participate.
Thanks to all the folks in the Windham-4 district for my recent victory in the primary election. There were some who helped a little and some who helped a lot; regardless, all the support made a world of difference. This campaign was one of the most inspiring and challenging tasks I've undertaken in my life. It has been a significant pleasure to meet so many people and feel inspired about the future of Vermont. Particular thanks go to: • David...
Three musical duos, each composed of a married couple, from three parts of the globe, are coming together for “an international indie-pop-folk spectacular” in Wardsboro, according to a news release. Karla Kane and The Corner Laughers (California), Fun of the Pier (England), and Hungrytown (Vermont) will join forces to perform on Saturday, Sept. 8, at Wardsboro Town Hall, 71 Main St., starting at 7 p.m. Admission is $10. Kane and Khoi Huynh are best known as The Corner Laughers, which...
On April 15, seven inmates at the Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina were killed in what the prison termed “inmate on inmate gang violence.” The tragedy was the deadliest in a quarter of a century in the United States and shined a light on the inhumane conditions within prisons that breed such violence. In response to this incident, incarcerated organizers across the country declared a nationwide prison strike. Jailhouse Lawyers Speak - a group of incarcerated prison-rights advocates -
I have been told by people residing at the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust apartments over the Brattleboro Food Co-op that they feel victimized by the rampant drug dealing in the building. Some of the complaints include urination in the hallways, the smell of smoking, and a broken security system at the entrance, as well as loud shouting of profanities and banging on doors past 2 a.m. The traffic and behavior of drug seekers in the building makes the residents...
Congratulations to Democrats Mike Mrowicki and Nader Hashim on winning the Windham-4 Democratic primary for the House of Representatives. I thank them both for joining me in a positive and respectful campaign. To the many community members who volunteered their time, made donations, and supported my run, thank you for your belief in democracy and in me. Special thanks to Jesse Jerome-Wrenn and Ed Burke. There is much work to do. We need a Democratic governor and/or a veto-proof majority...
Many thanks to everyone who supported me and my campaign to build a brighter economic future for Vermont and Vermonters. I had so many memorable moments and conversations out there on the campaign trail. I am thankful for each interaction, kind word and gesture, and for the values that bind us as Vermonters. I got into politics eight years ago not because I wanted to be a politician, but because I wanted to help people. I am grateful for the...
The just-concluded primary campaign has created a long list of those deserving my thanks for participating in the exercise of our vibrant Vermont democracy: • My wife, Amelia Struthers, who married into this relationship of public service - service that asks both us and our family to make regular, and sometimes extraordinary, sacrifice in the service of our state. • Our cohort of campaign workers, who stepped up and offered helping hands for the myriad of tasks. They reminded voters...
The governor's victory in the recent Republican primary shows that the vast majority of Vermonters - including those in the Republican party - are supportive of his courageous actions to pass gun-safety measures. His win sends a clear message, and politicians and political pundits nationwide should pay attention: Republicans can stand for commonsense gun measures and be supported for their efforts at the ballot box. Gun violence prevention is a bipartisan issue with bipartisan support. It is no secret that...
The New England Center for Circus Arts is stepping into the forefront of contemporary circus in the U.S., according to a news release, in part by making moves to support up and coming American companies. According to the release, NECCA co-Artistic Director Elsie Smith worked to secure an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts through which NECCA can now offer a series of three-week residencies throughout the year to qualifying applicant companies. On Thursday, Aug. 30,
The Commons has released mapped bus routes for the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union schools for the upcoming academic year using sharable Google Maps. The data was provided by bus contractor F. M. Kuzmeskus Inc. Brattleboro routes • B-1 morning elementary • B-1 morning middle/high • B-1 afternoon elementary • B-1 afternoon middle/high • B-2 morning elementary • B-2 morning middle/high • B-2 afternoon elementary/middle/high • B-3 morning elementary • B-3 afternoon elementary • B-3 afternoon middle/high • B-4 morning elementary...
Good day to you, citizens of the verdant Green Mountains and valleys of southern Vermont! We've got one more unusually hot day for late August before we receive another blast of cooler, drier Canadian air into the first half of Labor Day weekend. However, it's still the Summer of 2018, and as such we will see bouts of warmer conditions into at least early September, if not deeper into the upcoming month. Hopefully, this latest heat blast will be the...
As it has done for more than a half-century, Friends of Music at Guilford opens its 53rd annual music season with a concert in a rural barn on Saturday night of Labor Day Weekend. The Organ Barn is in an idyllic setting near the state line where Guilford meets Leyden, Mass. The intimate Barn seats close to a hundred concertgoers, and on Sunday afternoon, 200 or more people flock to the lawn outside the Barn for picnicking and an orchestra...
If you could design a new village center from the ground up, what would you include? A farmers' market? Mixed-use buildings? Senior housing? A general store? These are some of the options Vernon residents are considering as they have the opportunity to create a new “downtown” on the triangular piece of land between Fort Bridgman Road, Governor Hunt Road, and the northern boundary of the elementary school. In 2017, the town received Village Center Designation from the state, even though...
The Brattleboro Music Center presents a double bill Saturday, Sept. 8. The 7 p.m. concert features the roots-based music group Night Tree and the contemporary acoustic ensemble Dunham Shoe Factory. Night Tree is made up of six musicians who encountered each other at Boston's New England Conservatory. The sextet attracts attention not only for its unusual instrumentation - two fiddles, cello, accordion, saxophone, percussion, voice, and the occasional viola and mandolin - but for its collective representation and incorporation of...
Two planters and space to park six bikes - all within the space of one Main Street parking space. Five groups unveiled a “parklet” in front of Vermont Artisan Designs on Aug. 23. The municipality, Brattleboro Coalition for Active Transportation, Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, Tiny House Fest, and VBike banded together to purchase and install the new bike area now stationed near the corner of Main and Elliot streets. Stephanie Bonin, executive director for the DBA, said the parklet's purchase price...