Issue #547
Drawing the curtain
President-elect Jimmy Carter was preparing for his 1977 inauguration when Brattleboro Union High School drama director Robert Kramsky stumbled into the opening challenge of his own debut: How to get the shortest boy in a gaggle of first-time actors to shed his glasses and blindly lead classmates to their Act 1 marks on stage.
The show was Oliver! ...
Order of the Eastern Star is looking for new members
The Bingham Chapter #30, Order of the Eastern Star, is a concordant body of Freemasonry. Unlike the Masonic lodge itself, whose membership is only for men, the membership of the star involves both women and men. However, it is the women members who have the greater say regarding the...
Next Stage to host weekend film festival
Next Stage Arts Project and the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival present a special, pop-up weekend festival featuring films from the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival Vermont Tour on Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m., at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill. The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival is...
More
Micro-grant dinner at BMAC will fund local arts initiatives
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center and The Porch Too are teaming up for arts philanthropy with an EAT! Micro-Grant Dinner at BMAC on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. For $12 ($6 for children 12 and under), up to 80 dinner guests will enjoy soup, salad, and dessert and help decide which local art projects will receive the proceeds from the dinner. Based on similar programs around the world, EAT! (Enhancing the Arts Together!) micro-grant dinners are designed “to...
Youth Services case manager honored for two decades of service
Patrick Fleming, a Court Diversion case manager for Youth Services since 1981, was recently honored by the organization for his nearly two decades of restorative justice work in Windham County. Youth Services' Court Diversion program involves victims, offenders, and community members in a constructive process that helps offenders repair the harm to victims and the community, according to Sally Struble, Youth Services' Director of Restorative Justice programs. Every year, this one program works with close to 300 referrals. “Patrick is...
‘Year of the Fiddler’ sets goal of a fiddler in every town
The Festival of Fiddlers on the Green 2020 is now underway. Sponsored by the Northeast Fiddlers Association, the Champlain Valley Fiddlers, and Young Traditions Vermont, it is an endeavor to photo-document a fiddler playing in every Vermont town in the year 2020. This was attempted in 2019, but ended up just 19 towns shy of meeting the goal. At dusk on Dec. 31, a young man named Caleb P was photographed playing “Goat on the Green” to make Roxbury the...
BUHS plans classes on dangers, effects of opioid use
A class for students about the dangers and effects of opioid use will be held at Brattleboro Union High School, beginning Feb. 6. This weekly class will run for six Thursdays in the months of February and March. Topics students will learn include preventative education, the effects on someone's health, what recovery looks like and the support needed to recover, the effects of opioids on the family and community, and what resources are available to someone who needs or wants...
Brattleboro police respond to surge in car break-ins
Police have confirmed what dozens of members of the Brattleboro, Vermont Facebook group have anecdotally asserted: that car break-ins are becoming more frequent and more brazen. On Jan. 22, resident Dan Braden posted a photograph of his car's smashed front passenger window. “[I] hope whoever did this enjoys the $40 that [was] in there,” Braden wrote. A 225-percent increase in larcenies from vehicles around town has residents concerned and has prompted town officials and police to convene a forum on...
Milestones
Obituaries • Carmelita “Cammie” Allen, 77, of Vernon. Died Jan. 23, 2020 at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass. Cammie was born in Wilmington on March 19, 1942, the daughter of the late Lyle and Bertha Davis Willett. She attended Wilmington schools, graduating from Wilmington High School in 1960, where she was a member of the National Honor Society. In 1962, she graduated from Northampton (Mass.) Commercial College. Cammie worked as an administrative assistant for Aetna Life Insurance Company in...
Epsilon Spires presents Valentine’s Day film and concert
On Friday, Feb. 14, Epsilon Spires will host a screening of Peter Weir's opulent 1975 cult classic Picnic at Hanging Rock along with a musical performance of vibraphone and electronics by the duo Anomali & Ophelia. Set at a girls' boarding school in Edwardian-era Australia, Picnic at Hanging Rock tells the story of a Valentine's Day outing gone awry when three students and their chaperone disappear while exploring an ancient rock formation. Although the film is initially captivating for its...
Sanders, though not a Democrat, would restore working-class roots
An often-repeated criticism of Bernie Sanders and his campaign is that he has been an independent all his political life and therefore is not a “real” Democrat. OK. Got it. But I'm not sure that would overall be a liability today for a candidate running with Democratic Party support in the general election. In fact, a Sanders candidacy would bring back parts of the so-called Obama coalition, along with a larger percentage of the white and Black working-class vote. Hillary...
Around the Towns
Marlboro College presents reading by Kate Colby MARLBORO - Marlboro College welcomes poet and essayist Kate Colby, who will present a reading and discussion of her work. Colby is the author of seven books of poetry, including I Mean and The Arrangements, and a new book of critical poem-essays, Dream of the Trenches. She has received awards and fellowships from the Poetry Society of America, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and Harvard University Library's Woodberry Poetry Room, where...
Stone Church Arts presents bluegrass band Mile Twelve
Mile Twelve, winners of the 2017 International Bluegrass Music Association's Momentum Award for Newcomer Band with Significant Contribution to Bluegrass Music, will perform in Bellows Falls on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m., at Immanuel Episcopal Church, the stone church on the hill, 20 Church St. In a news release, guitarist/vocalist Evan Murphy said of the five-piece band's newest album, City on a Hill, “original bluegrass music, written and played by young people, is very much alive.” “I hope people...
VHCB awards grant to fund new hiking trail in Dummerston
The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board awarded a $116,000 grant to the Putney Mountain Association to fund land conservation and a trail in Dummerston. The Missing Link Project will create six to eight miles of new trail from Prospect Hill in Dummerston to the Putney-Dummerston town line where it will connect to the trail network on Putney Mountain and north along the Windmill Ridgeline. The project, led by local volunteers in cooperation with six Dummerston families, will provide expanded recreational...
Blanche Moyse Chorale invites experienced singers to audition
The Blanche Moyse Chorale, a program of the Brattleboro Music Center, is looking for experienced choral singers in all vocal sections. The Chorale is preparing for its spring project: performances of Brahms's Requiem on April 3 and 5. Weekly rehearsals are held on Sunday evenings at the Brattleboro Music Center in West Brattleboro. The Chorale, founded in 1978, is a chamber chorus of about 30 voices. Based in the Brattleboro area, the Chorale includes singers from the wider tri-state region...
Art glass will be raffled to support asylum seekers
Three pieces of original art by glass artist Chris Sherwin are being raffled off to raise funds for the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP). Sherwin has donated a Chinese-style vase, a bird, and a paperweight with a four-leaf clover, all in brilliant deep blue and with a combined value of about $600, to benefit CASP, which works to provide a safe haven for those seeking to escape violence and persecution in their home countries. Currently, there are eight adults and...
Putney Foodshelf selected as beneficiary of Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag Program
Putney Foodshelf, Inc., has been selected as a beneficiary of the Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag Program for the month of February The Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag Program, which launched in April 2014, is a reusable bag program that facilitates community support with the goal of making a difference in the communities where shoppers live and work. Putney Foodshelf was selected as the February beneficiary of the program by store leadership at the Hannaford store located at 896 Putney Rd. in...
Yellow Barn residents offer free concert at Next Stage
Yellow Barn's 2019-20 season of artist-residency performances continues with The Music Alliance Project, led by pianist Chase Morrin and vocalist Cordelia Tapping. Together with two Yellow Barn musicians - flutist Rosie Gallagher and cellist John Myerscough - they will perform a free public concert on Thursday, Feb. 20, beginning at 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage. Audience members are invited to stay for a post-concert discussion with the artists. The Music Alliance Project aims to bring classical and jazz musicians together...
SEVCA offers free tax return preparation
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help for taxpayers who have household income up to $66,000. SEVCA has experienced, IRS-certified volunteers trained to prepare tax returns for taxpayers in Windham and Windsor counties, as well as neighboring New Hampshire. Free tax preparation is offered at locations in Westminster, White River Junction, and Windsor through the second week of April. SEVCA also will offer an additional benefit of an FSA site for those who may not...
BDCC, SeVEDS plan public forums around county
Local residents are invited to information sessions being held around the region in order to learn more about the work of Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) and Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS). BDCC & SeVEDS staff visit Selectboards at least once per year but, according to a news release, these events are being added to provide an additional forum in which members of the public have more opportunity to learn about BDCC & SeVEDS. Staff will provide a brief...
Melissa Rubin artwork on display at Main Street Arts
The artwork of Melissa Rubin is on display at Main Street Arts through March 20 in a show she has titled Transience. An artist reception will be held Thursday, Feb. 7, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Rubin is a New York City and Vermont-based artist who has exhibited her work in galleries in New York, California, and Vermont. Her work has been featured in ARTnews magazine, on CBS This Morning, and in performances and movie sets. She is the recipient...
60 signatures needed for WRED at-large board candidates
I, in working with Rick Hege to publicize the West River Education District voting for the “at-large” position, made a mistake that I would like to correct. I erroneously reported that 1 percent of registered voters would be needed on a petition to be put on the ballot. I was wrong. It takes 60 signatures. State law dictating the signature requirements for at-large seats on a union district board states that “in a union district that elects one or more...
Next Stage will host John Gorka Feb. 9
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present contemporary folk singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Gorka at Next Stage on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. Twisting, turning, and tying words and phrases, Gorka works every nuance of language to capture a wide array of topics and experiences woven into memorable melodies. Gorka is perhaps the quintessential iconic singer/songwriter of the 1980s folk scene. Hailing from New Jersey, he honed his craft and persona as a shy, wry, and insightful singer/songwriter...
By hiring canvasser, four people bought a place on the ballot
The fellow who collected hundreds of signatures to amend the Brattleboro Town Charter to replace the Selectboard form of governance with that of a mayoral form of governance, told me that four local businessmen paid him. When he had collected enough signatures and it was his last day tabling at the Co-op, he joked that now he would be out of work. To my knowledge, past initiatives have made it onto the ballot only by the dedication of unpaid volunteers.
Goodnow for Brattleboro Selectboard
Brattleboro residents have a chance to bring a fresh perspective to the Selectboard by electing Ian Goodnow, a young, committed, energetic, and thoughtful member of the community. Ian fell in love with Brattleboro before #lovebrattleboro was a hashtag, and he fell in love with my daughter Ruth 10 years before that, at the University of Vermont. He's currently in his second year of reading law at Costello, Valente & Gentry, a path he chose instead of law school, both to...
Weekly vigil highlights bank's role in climate crisis
What an inspiration climate activist and author Bill McKibben was, as he gave his talk at Centre Congregational Church on Jan 15. His main message was that, as important as it is for us as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible, it is extremely important - primarily because of the critical time factor - to confront the big banks in their role as primary lenders to corporations involved in extreme extraction and infrastructure of fossil fuels.
Selectboard member will vote 'no' on mayor question
The current system of an elected Selectboard comprised of five town residents, a professional town manager who runs daily municipal operations, and Representative Town Meeting provides for a great deal of public involvement and professionalism. Why change that? Our town manager is doing a wonderful job! What happens to him with a mayor? A mayoral system creates more executive power. Why would this be good for Brattleboro? A mayor who would also be expected to run the town would make...
Inclement and wintry pattern returns, followed by seasonably cold weekend
Hello and good day to you, fine citizens of southeastern Vermont! We've got an active pattern on the way, so let's sketch in the week for you. Our Wednesday will be generally fair, but clouds will increase Wednesday night and snow will be breaking out across Windham County after midnight. We could see 1 to 3 inches or so of accumulation before snow changes to sleet sometime early-to-mid Thursday morning, with sleet and freezing rain possible into the afternoon. Ice...
Voting 'no' on mayoral article
Like many others, I'm not sure just where the idea of adopting a mayoral system in Brattleboro came from. The only thing I've heard is that some people think it might permit more participation by more people in the affairs of the town. If that's the motivation for proposing this change, I think it's fundamentally misguided. It's difficult for me to imagine a more open and participatory form of government than we currently have in Brattleboro. Everyone from the department...
Can Retreat reap benefit from criminal settlement of Practice Fusion?
A Vermont company, Practice Fusion, was recently accused of giving kickbacks to doctors when they overprescribed opioid drugs. I would like to hear the details of this case, and, furthermore I want to see the $145 million in fines from this company go to save the Brattleboro Retreat, which is the state's main source of treatment programs for Vermonters who are suffering from addiction. People in Massachusetts also use this facility. Can money to this facility be expedited? The Brattleboro...
Next Stage plans culinary event
Next Stage Arts Project, 15 Kimball Hill, presents a special culinary event in collaboration with Tavernier Chocolate and the Putney Winery on Monday, Feb. 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. Part of the ongoing Next Stage Culinary Programs highlighting local chefs and specialty food curators, this event matches the artisanal chocolate of Brattleboro's Tavernier Chocolate with the locally produced boutique offerings from the Putney Winery. Attendees will be guided through the subtle flavor complexities of these pairings while sampling a...
Hashim files bill to address vehicle entry loophole
Under Vermont law, it is not explicitly illegal for someone to enter another person's vehicle, as long as nothing is disturbed or damaged. State Rep. Nader Hashim, D-Dummerston, is working on legislation to close that loophole. “I've introduced a bill related to making it unlawful for a person to enter another person's vehicle without their permission. It will come to my committee (judiciary), where there is generally support for it,” Hashim reported on the Brattleboro, Vermont Facebook group on Jan.
Fighting the ugly underbelly of racial hatred
College campuses with swastikas on the sidewalks and in bathroom stalls. A white woman verbally abusing two Latinx women for speaking Spanish in a public space. A group of white racists destroying a Black child's birthday party. A Black woman is shot and killed by a police officer while playing video games with her nephew in her own home. Former State Rep. Kiah Morris being harassed out of the Legislature in our very own state by a racist monster who...
Just say ‘no’ to a mayor in Brattleboro
On Election Day, March 3, voters will have the opportunity to tell the Selectboard to consider replacing the five-member board with one mayor. The complete wording of the article that will appear on the ballot: “Shall the voters of the Town of Brattleboro advise the Select Board to amend the Brattleboro Town Charter to replace the Select Board form of governance with that of a mayoral form of governance?” I encourage voters to reject this proposal for a number of...
First-time restaurateur looks to a fresh future
Keith Arnold, sitting at the metal-topped bar, orders a Barr Hill gin and tonic with two limes. He removes his debit card from his wallet and prepares to hand it to Jason Lively, the new owner and bar manager of Duo, a flagship restaurant in the Brooks House, and its companion tavern, The Lounge. “I want to be your first official paying customer,” said Arnold, who with his wife, Stephanie Bonin, has just sold the business to Lively. The former...
Sparrow earns Rotary’s Kuebler award
The Brattleboro Rotary Club bestowed the ninth annual “Norm Kuebler Four-Way Test Award” upon Dr. Lise Sparrow at the club's weekly meeting on Jan. 30 at the American Legion in Brattleboro. The award honors the late Norm Kuebler, who was a past president of the club, a local businessman and a longtime community volunteer. Kuebler, who died unexpectedly at the age of 63 in April 2010, was a strong proponent of Rotary International's code of ethics, called the “Four-Way Test,”
Annual Harris Hill Ski Jump set for Feb. 15, 16
Some of the best up-and-coming ski jumpers from North America and Europe are set to fly at New England's only Olympic-size venue Feb. 15-16 during the annual Harris Hill tournament in Brattleboro. Among this year's competitors is Blaz Pavlic of Slovenia, the 2017 and 2019 winner of the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament and the current record holder for the longest jump at Harris Hill - 341 feet (104 meters) in 2017. A win in this year's event will allow Pavlic...
Stroll founder retires — this time, for real
Many who received the Strolling of the Heifers' invitations to a Jan. 31 retirement party for founder and executive director Orly Munzing had the same initial reaction: Did she really mean it this time? Fresh off a month-long vacation in the Caribbean with her husband, Bob Dunbar, Munzing assures everyone that, yes, she really means it this time. The 66-year-old Dummerston resident had made a previous attempt at stepping away last spring but soon found herself resuming her work. But...
A retro meal gets a makeover
While the humble crêpe has fallen in and out of fashion through the decades, I have observed eyes lighting up whenever they are served, whether as part of a simple supper or an elaborate dessert. I have several recipes: my mother's, my mother-in-law's, and my own recipe, which I've fiddled with over the years to make them (I'm whispering now...) healthy. By swapping out the white flour with a white whole-wheat flour, substituting canola oil for the melted butter, and...
Not a word, but an action
As a town, Brattleboro has been engaging a range of voices and organizations around how to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion. The topic of race often surfaces in pockets, whether in a letter to the editor that appears in The Commons or a community meeting to discuss incidents like the “Black Lives Don't Matter” posters that appeared around town in 2018. In a May 2017 issue of The Commons, Curtiss Reed Jr. posed a question to Selectboard candidates: “To what...