Issue #549
Pavlic wins Harris Hill Ski Jump for third time
You're never too young to become a legend.
Blaz Pavlic, a 21-year-old Slovenian, bested 40 of the world's top up-and-coming athletes to win the Harris Hill Ski Jump's annual namesake Fred Harris Memorial Tournament on Feb. 16 in Brattleboro.
Sign-ups begin for 2020 GIV summer programs
Applications are being accepted for the Governor's Institutes of Vermont summer programs. Vermont teens passionate about learning are invited to apply for GIV's 10 fun, intensive, residential summer opportunities on college campuses statewide. At GIV, according to a news release, rising students in grades 10-12 spend one to two...
What do you do when a driver calls your wife a ‘dumb n—— b——’?
Racism is so deeply woven into our national culture that it shapes everything about us as a nation — even when, and especially when, you are a progressive White male who is married to a Black woman
There is so much to say about race in America. I have not newly come to the party, but, really, I don't know shit. I am going to start - and end - with a story. My wife and I were riding down from Putney after she picked me...
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Has Marlboro College board signed away its fiduciary responsibility?
The Marlboro College Board of Trustees has received dozens of letters and a petition with 900 signatories asking them to accept Will Wootton's offer (the “challenge”) to spend four days on campus working with senior staff and another seven days to process that work to see whether he could come up with a way forward that would not require closing the college and transferring the assets accumulated over more than 70 years to a very different sort of college in...
Editor's note: Black History Month series in Voices
This year, The Commons will mark Black History Month with a number of commentaries that we hope will offer a window to all our readers on the Black experience in Windham County. This series, which runs through February, was envisioned and assembled by Shanta Lee Gander and MacLean Gander.
Community efforts needed to tackle climate crisis
I attended Bill McKibben's talk at the Centre Congregational Church on Jan. 15. I think it was immensely inspiring, for youth and adults. I was one of the (few) young people there; most of the the attendees looked to be over 50. I think it's really important for everyone to participate in interactive, community events like this, because as Bill pointed out, right now we don't need individual acts, we need everyone to come together and act as a community.
WWAC to present debate on the future of democracy
On Friday, Feb. 21, at 118 Elliot in downtown Brattleboro, Windham World Affairs Council will present a debate titled “Can Democracy Be Saved? (and Why Bother?)” Two prominent residents of Walpole, N.H., Ambassador Adrian Basora and Dr. Andrew Wilking, will debate this question of urgent concern. After their debate, there will be ample time for questions and dialogue. Basora is a trustee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and co-chairs its Eurasia Program and its Project on Democratic Transitions. He...
Yellow Barn residents to perform works of Bach, Ravel
Violinist Ying Xue and pianist Qing Jiang return to Yellow Barn to complete the work that they began during an artist residency last season. Their program, titled “Refractions,” focuses on sonatas of J.S. Bach and Maurice Ravel, juxtaposed with works written over the past decade by Tonia Ko, Eric Nathan, Sean Shepherd, and Daniel Temkin. They will give the premiere performance of this new program in their free public concert on Sunday, Feb. 23. The performance will begin at 7:30...
Around the Towns
Forum to address vehicle break-insBRATTLEBORO - Local state representatives and Windham County's senators are planning a community forum to discuss the recent rash of thefts from vehicles in Brattleboro. The event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 10 a.m., at Brooks Memorial Library. Organizers say they hope to involve citizens, town officials, law enforcement, and other relevant persons. The discussion will include jurisdiction, root causes, local perspectives, and potential solutions. To learn more, contact State Reps. Mollie Burke...
Epsilon Spires celebrates Leap Year with electronic music concert
Saturday, Feb. 29, will mark the first time this millennium that February has contained five Saturdays. It will also be the night Epsilon Spires hosts a leap year celebration inspired by the syncing of the calendar year with the astronomical year. The event features three electronic music acts hailing from near and far - Starbirthed and Involution from New England, and La Création Mondiale from Le Havre, a city on the northern coast of France. Starbirthed is the project of...
DPW scrambles to keep up with pothole epidemic
The Department of Public Works is asking for patience from motorists as they deal with a rash of potholes this month on the town's roads. “This has been a very difficult winter for many roadways in Brattleboro,” the DPW wrote in a news release. “We have experienced multiple freeze/thaw cycles that have deteriorated the roadways and made maintenance a challenge.” Potholes are formed when the road surface fails, introducing water that weakens the soil beneath the pavement. Traffic applies loads...
Climate Café to screen, discuss ‘Rollbacks’
The February Climate Café will screen the video, Rollbacks: An Assault Against Life on Earth, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. As always, the Café is free, and light refreshments will be available. The impact of climate change is undeniable and catastrophic, as the ongoing fires in Australia have tragically demonstrated. However, the Trump administration has met this crisis by systematically and efficiently enacting numerous regulatory rollbacks, “reversing past policy...
Guilford Library begins ‘Send A Kid to Camp’ raffle
The Guilford Free Library's 10th anniversary “Send A Kid to Camp” raffle is underway. Community support of the library through the raffle over the past nine years has raised almost $17,000 and has helped to make summer camp a possibility for hundreds of local kids who might otherwise have missed out on the experience. Tickets are $10 each and the prize is a $200 gift certificate to T. J. Buckley's restaurant in Brattleboro. “Keeping our kids active and engaged in...
Echo hosts its annual Mardi Gras Party
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Echo Restaurant & Lounge, 69-73 Main St., will host its second annual Mardi Gras Party, featuring Celebration Brass Band, with special guests Galera Da Samba, form 7:30 to 10 p.m. There is no cover for this event. Dinner reservations are encouraged. The Celebration Brass Band has become familiar to Brattleboro-area audiences through performances at numerous Gallery Walks, the Strolling of the Heifers, Fourth of July parades, and a host of other local community events. With band...
Voters approve $5.6M budget for River Valleys Unified School District
By a 34-14 vote, Wardsboro and Dover voters approved a $5,680,223 budget for the River Valleys Unified School District (RVUSD) for the 2020-21 school year. The vote came at the annual RVUSD meeting held on Feb. 11 at Dover Town Hall, and came after about 20 minutes of discussion as voters asked for clarification on certain line items in the budget, for which the RVUSD Board provided detailed explanations. Approximately 60 people from both towns attended the meeting, which lasted...
Milestones
College news • Lisa Young of Vernon has earned a B.S. in Nursing from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City. • Anika R. Kapral of Dummerston was named to the fall 2019 Dean's List at St. Michael's College in Colchester. • Tuckerman Wunderle, a member of the Class of 2021 from Bellows Falls, and Maxwell Spicer, a member of the Class of 2022 from South Newfane, were both named to the fall 2019 Dean's List at Emerson College in...
BMC’s popular ‘Singing Strong’ program resumes Feb. 25
The Brattleboro Music Center's popular Singing Strong program resumes Feb. 25. Sessions are scheduled for Tuesdays, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., through April 14 at the BMC Recital Hall, 72 Blanche Moyse Way, Brattleboro (across from Memorial Park). The cost is $85 for eight weeks; call the BMC at 802-257-4523 to sign up, or register at the first session. No auditions or performances are required. Singing Strong is “for people who want to have fun and learn more about their voices...
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts debuts new group show
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts, 183 Main St., continues to celebrate the new year in its new gallery with a large group exhibit, MGFA 2020, which runs through April 12. An artists' reception is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22, at 5 p.m. Featured along with the work of gallery artists is a selection of collaborative prints by master printer Lisa Mackie, including collagraphs by Wolf Kahn and Mary Frank and lithographs by Bill Murphy. As well, the gallery is introducing three new...
MSA to hold auditions for Marvel Comics play
Main Street Arts is holding auditions for Hammered, a Thor and Loki play by Christian Borle based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. Auditions are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 22, from 3 to 5 p.m. Performances will take place in July as part of the Great River Theater Festival. Director Annesa Hartman is looking for superpower actors who want to dress up in fantasy costumes...
Daims: A good neighbor
I would like to let Brattleboro voters know what a good neighbor Kurt Daims is. He helps us neighbors fix our broken things. He also does this for other people. Signs near his home let people know where they can get things fixed for free on Saturday mornings. He also served as town rep many years, getting people to look at all sides of the issues. I am pleased that he is running for District 2 representative and also for...
McLoughlin: a voice of reason and a calming presence
Last year I wrote a letter in support of Elizabeth McLoughlin for a one-year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard. This year I am pleased to be writing a similar letter in support of her candidacy for a three-year seat on the board. During her first year on the Board, Liz voted for the 1-percent local-option sales tax at Representative Town Meeting, voted for the rental inspection program, and supported all four collective bargaining agreements with town employees (union and non-union),
Marlboro College presents poet Sophie Cabot Black
Marlboro College welcomes back alumna and celebrated poet Sophie Cabot Black '80 for a reading of her work. She will be presenting on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m., in Apple Tree, and the event is free and open to the public. Black's latest collection, The Exchange (2013), received critical acclaim, including a starred review in Publisher's Weekly, and on All Things Considered was reviewed as “the book for you.” She has two previous poetry collections, The Misunderstanding of Nature,
BMC offers annual March Musical Madness Salons
The Brattleboro Music Center once again offers its annual March Musical Madness Salons. Moby Pearson - violinist, ensemble coach, and orchestra conductor - invites music lovers into his home in Brattleboro to enjoy a vast array of musical treats with other music lovers. Be prepared to pick up new musical perspectives along the way. “The sessions give everyone a chance in a relaxed atmosphere to experience the wonders of music from different angles,” Pearson said in a news release. “It...
Early balloting begins in Brattleboro
Early/absentee ballots for the presidential primary and Brattleboro Annual Town Meeting on March 3 are available in the Brattleboro Municipal Center, first floor. Anyone wishing to vote prior to March 3 may apply for an early/absentee ballot until 5 p.m. on Monday, March 2. Early/absentee ballots may be voted in person at the Municipal Center, mailed to the voter by the Clerk's office, picked up by the voter, or, if a voter is in need, may be delivered to the...
‘Taking Root’ to be shown at Guilford Church
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day and what would have been Wangari Maathai's 80th birthday. Maathai was the founder of the Green Belt Movement, a reforestation program which planted millions of trees in Kenya. She was also a friend to Brattleboro, having planted trees at both Oak Grove School and Guilford Community Church. Her life was a series of firsts: the first woman to gain a Ph.D. in East and Central Africa; the first female...
Slambovian Circus of Dreams returns to Next Stage
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of acoustic/electric Americana music from Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., by The Slambovian Circus of Dreams (a.k.a., The Grand Slambovians) at Next Stage on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m. A rootsy psychedelica that Maverick Magazine calls “mightily impressive and hugely original rock from the cool end of Americana,” the quartet's melodic avant-folk conjures with an exotic instrumental arsenal (accordion, cello, mandolin, theremin) in addition to standard rock regalia, and a palette...
BDCC and SeVEDS make their case for town funding
A small group of community members gathered around a folding table in the Dummerston Community Center to hear staff members from Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) make their case for funding their economic development efforts. Staff are in the early days of hosting information sessions across Windham County. The Feb. 12 meeting was the third of an anticipated eight that the organization has planned. This is the first year the BDCC has held these pre-Town Meeting sessions. These sessions serve...
The best city government money can buy
At last! Finally, Brattleboro has a chance to clean up town government and install a mayor. What has taken so long? A mayor will be able to really lead this city. A strong executive works. Just look at all the good things that a strong leader has accomplished in Washington. Just as Trump can ignore the silly people in Congress, so a mayor can get rid of the Representative Town Meeting debating society that gets in the way of progress.
Shameful sham of American justice
The Senate votes against allowing witnesses or testimony. President Trump is charged with abuse of power and obstruction of justice. He refused to send subpoenaed information to the House, refused to let subpoenaed people testify to the House, and a small majority of Senators shamefully shammed justice as they stand as bystanders to the bully by refusing to allow any witnesses or testimony in the Senate. They were wrong. The American public has watched the impeachment process. We are all...
Remove the elements of the presidential election that make it a circus
I would like to start a wide-spread conversation about how we elect our president. I think our political system has become ludicrous. We elect a president for four years, but two years in, we start the whole campaign process all over, distracting ourselves from lots of other things going on on the planet for half of our time - if we happen to be paying attention. It's a huge circus, and unfortunately, I think we should all be asking whether...
Blustery Wednesday leads to late week cold, milder weekend
Hello and good day to you, fine citizens of southeastern Vermont! We've got a quiet weather week on the way in southeastern Vermont, that may end in some icing and rain by Tuesday into early Wednesday as we head toward the end of February. For Wednesday, we'll see a blustery day blow through the region under mostly sunny skies as we cool down. Thursday and Friday will feature the core of our current cold shot, with continued fair weather as...
Schoales: reason and compassion
The recent discussion of David Schoales' candidacy for re-election to the Brattleboro Selectboard strikes me as right on the mark. David's record on the ongoing issues facing the town has been impressive, and his new ideas valuable and timely. He also has served as an active member of Compassionate Brattleboro, another indication of the ways in which he is continually striving to make ours a healthier community. And, during the Selectboard discussions on Brattleboro workforce diversity, David offered what has...
Quipp: integrity, humility, collaboration, intelligence
Our town is lucky to have Daniel Quipp, who is running for a one-year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard. Daniel's work - both with SEVCA, helping local people make sure their homes stay warm, and as a community organizer with Vermont Interfaith Action - points to his dedication to making sure our neighbors' basic needs are being met. When someone works on behalf of people who are struggling and demonstrates a drive to be helpful to others, I take notice.
Daims: Break the inertia on local response to global climate change
The Brattleboro Selectboard needs new energy, like a shot of vitamin B12 or something. Kurt Daims offers just that shot of energy in his candidacy for a one-year position on the Selectboard. Kurt is passionately dedicated to improving Brattleboro's experience and expression of democratic governance, being particularly attentive to including individual voices and ideas that culminate in a collective voice of the town's conscience and innate sense of well-being. He wants to help Brattleboro grow healthfully and deliberately into a...
17-year-olds can vote in upcoming primary election
Many of you have marched in the streets; here is another way to change what matters to you. Have you ever been frustrated that your elders choose candidates? A barrier has been removed. Did you know that Vermont is one of 21 states that allow underage voting in presidential primaries and 16 states that allow it in congressional primary voting? Vermonters, if your 18th birthday occurs on or before Nov. 3, 2020, you may vote in both congressional and presidential...
Nuclear-safety concerns in letter were addressed decades ago
Safety of the public, environment, and workers was formally addressed in 1928, at the First International Conference on Radiation Safety. Research on the health and environmental effects of radiation has been continuous since then. The use of this powerful natural force has expanded into many areas of life: communications, health, and medicine; monitoring and measurement of all kinds; and energy, to name some. When the first controlled chain reaction for release of energy by “atom splitting” (fission) was being prepared...
In Stile Moderno, Seven Times Salt will join forces in Brattleboro
Two Boston-based ensembles for early music join forces next weekend in Brattleboro to present an exciting program of Renaissance music. “Sufficient Grounds: Wellsprings of the Renaissance” explores the many guises of the ground bass, or repeating harmonic pattern, in a musical journey leading from 16th-century Spain to 17th-century Italy and England, with a final stop in the present day. The concert will take place at the Brattleboro Music Center on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 5 p.m. Entry is by donation;
Rockingham state rep. chooses his students over his seat
Last week, Rep. Matt Trieber, D-Rockingham, announced his resignation from the Vermont House of Representatives after serving almost five terms. “It's a bit like attending your own funeral - in the most positive way,” Trieber said as he reflected on the many conversations he has had with lawmakers since his announcement. “You get to see the impact you've had,” he added. Trieber decided to step down after balancing the obligations of the Legislature with his work as a counselor with...
FOMAG to celebrate life of Carl Sandburg
Friends of Music at Guilford's “Midwinter Musicale” is on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 3 p.m. in the sanctuary of Guilford Community Church. This year's program is a multimedia presentation surveying the life, times, and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet and author Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), whose musical passion is generally less well known. Biographical information and selected poetry, prose, and a children's story will be offered by a diverse cast, including guest readers Tom Green and Charles Butterfield, among others.
BUHS names theater after retiring teacher
Robert Kramsky still remembers auditioning as a teenager for the lead in the musical, The King and I, only to search out the cast list and find himself missing. So imagine the Brattleboro Union High School theater teacher's surprise upon learning his name is about to appear on something bigger: The 550-seat auditorium where he has worked for nearly a half century. The school has a rule against recognizing staffers in such a way while they're still employed. But that...
‘We all have our parts to play’
What attracted you to this area? What keeps you here? First, education. For a lot of people of color, especially in my age range, economic opportunity or education usually brings them here. I also liked the beauty. I've found that living here I've become more transient - I think because Vermont is so homogenous, I've found myself enjoying my travel more. It's not because I don't want to be here, but in many other places, you can have the best...
A fresh look at a familiar environment
Mary White takes joy from walking the streets downtown, seeing familiar faces during her daily routine. She also takes an extra second to snap a photo of something that catches her eye. The retired librarian will present her photo series, “Downtown Reflections,” at the Brooks Memorial Library on Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Ever thought about seeing something without looking at the real thing? That's how White describes the final selection of approximately 100 images that...
A question of compensation
The Brattleboro Retreat is in a bad way. News articles about a possible closure and highly critical letters published by patients' relatives and employees depict a troubled organization. Threats to turn away patients or limit services, coupled with a demand for $2 million more from taxpayers to keep the doors open, reveal fundamental problems at an institution we entrust to care for some of Vermont's most vulnerable citizens. If an organization perennially outspends its budget, delivers subpar services, and alienates...
Brattleboro, with prudent planning, proposes 2.1% budget
The Selectboard will present a budget of $18.4 million, a 2.1-percent increase, to Town Meeting members at Annual Representative Town Meeting on Saturday, March 21. This budget, for fiscal year 2021, represents a property-tax increase of $37.70 for each $100,000 of assessed property value in property taxes. While the budget's line items are as meaty as ever, the multi-month process that went into creating the budget was lower in intensity than the process in previous years. According to Town Manager...