Issue #551
The other deadly flu
It was called the Spanish flu, but few realized that the strain didn't actualize in the country of its namesake.
Spain simply didn't use wartime censors in its newspapers as other countries did during The Great War (later known as World War I), making reports from Spain more reliable than other news sources, and by proxy suggesting to many that the disease originated there.
Milestones
College news • Chelsea D. Lee of Vernon has been named to the President's List for the fall 2019 semester at Husson University in Bangor, Maine. Transitions • Twombly Wealth Management Group, LLC of Brattleboro recently announced that Christopher Stoner has been named partner by David B. Twombly, wealth...
Red Cross schedules blood drives in county
The American Red Cross urges the public to join its lifesaving mission by giving blood or platelets this March in celebration of Red Cross Month. Donors of all blood types, especially type O, are urgently needed to help ensure blood is available for patients this spring. The following blood...
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Epsilon Spires to hold a studio open house during Gallery Walk
Beginning at 5:30 p.m. during the March 6 edition of Gallery Walk, events will take place inside and outside Epsilon Spires at 190 Main Street. Epsilon Spires will unveil new signage in front of the building in a gesture of change and revitalization at the former Baptist Church. “Epsilon Spires is a place that fosters social impact through art and science,” said Epsilon Spires board president David McManus. “We want to signal this new direction through innovative programming. Having our...
Around the Towns
Post–Super Tuesday Sale at Chester-Andover Family Center Thrift Shop CHESTER - The Chester-Andover Family Center Thrift Shop will hold a post–Super Tuesday sale as a last chance to stock up on winter clothing and accessories and help the nonprofit shop make room for spring merchandise. Proceeds support a food shelf and financial assistance programs. Visit the thrift shop at 908 VT Route 103S on March 5 and 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and March 7, 10 a.m. to 3...
Stage 33 hosts acoustic singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters Jenna Rice and Emily Lyons will co-headline a listening event on Sunday, March 8, at 7 p.m. at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge St. According to a news release, “The poetic and heartfelt songs of Jenna Rice celebrate the stories of ordinary people and the highs and the lows of being alive.” Rice grew up in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, and “her lyrics on life, love, and loss are carried by her honest, haunting vocals and down-to-earth...
Taking stock of the session
Town Meeting week is about the midpoint of Vermont's Legislative session, and a week away from what we call “crossover.” That's when bills from the House need to be voted out and readied to move over to the Senate - and vice versa - if they have any chance of passage into law. It's also a good midpoint from which to look back at what we've done and to look ahead toward what we hope for. And, personally, it's just...
Compass School head to retire
Compass School's Director and founding board member Rick Gordon has announced his retirement at the end of this school year. “Gordon will leave a legacy of giving students a fresh start and opportunity for success in his over 20-year career at the school,” the school said in a news release announcing his retirement. Gordon was instrumental in implementing many of the Compass School's signature programs including Global Connections, a travel program to provide every student, regardless of family income, the...
Screening of film about kayaking the Colorado will benefit visually impaired Vermonters
On Saturday, March 14, the award-winning movie The Weight of Water will be shown at the Latchis Theater in Brattleboro at 4 p.m. to benefit the work of the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The film will be shown with audio description so that audience members can learn how those who are blind and visually impaired can attend and appreciate movies. “There's nothing like seeing the Grand Canyon in person, but seeing it on the big screen...
VTC presents ‘Almost, Maine’
Vermont Theatre Company presents Almost, Maine, written by John Cariani and directed by Brenda L. Seitz, with performances at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center on March 6-8 and 13-15. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees begin at 3 p.m.; tickets are available at the door and are $15 general admission and $13 for seniors and students. Almost, Maine, is a small community, a loose gathering of neighbors where nearly everyone knows nearly everyone...
A disaster of this magnitude has left deep wounds in our communities. They need to be made whole.
Like everyone I know and work with at nine Vermont public schools and three town boards-of-authority, I am filled with sadness and shame and outrage! Public trust in our institutions of government is the foundation of democracy. Without it, we can only create scapegoats in the place of justice, and corruption in place of integrity. Restoring public trust requires us to address these egregious wrongs openly and authentically. Only when we can stand in the presence of the actual and...
Leland & Gray Players perform ‘15 Minute Hamlet’
The Leland & Gray Players Theatre Program will perform The 15 Minute Hamlet by Tom Stoppard at Leland & Gray Middle and High School, at the Dutton Gym on Route 30, on March 5 and 6, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $5. The play takes one of William Shakespeare's finest, most well-known, and longest tragedies and shrinks it down to 15 minutes - resulting, according to a news release, in “quite a bit of...
WSSD urges immediate action on weighting study
Vermont lawmakers commissioned a research study in 2018 to determine whether the state's formula for weighting students with different needs and challenges should be structured in order to determine how much aid a school district receives. The report, prepared by researchers at the University of Vermont, Rutgers University, and the American Institutes for Research, recommends that students from lower income families and who are English-language-learners be weighted substantially more heavily than they are now. The Legislature is considering what to...
Free workshops for readers and writers at Brooks Library
As March roars in, author and teacher Barbara Morrison is offering workshops to hone reading and creative-writing skills at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. The first workshop is for readers, though writers, too, might find it useful, according to a news release. The other three are primarily for writers. These stand-alone workshops are open to teens and adults. All take place over four Saturdays, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the library. Participants may attend one or all, and...
Erlewine and Sabine are coming to Next Stage March 7
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music will present contemporary folk singer/songwriters May Erlewine and Clayton Sabine at Next Stage on Saturday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. According to a news release, Erlewine, “one of the Midwest's most engaging and passionate songwriters, writes music of substance that feels both fresh and soulfully familiar, and with her trio connects listeners with a powerful, emotional experience.” Brattleboro-based singer/guitarist Clayton Sabine “makes up songs, too - sometimes they're funny, sometimes they're sad, sometimes...
WCSU urges support of legislation addressing weighting factors report
On Monday, Feb. 10, the Windham Central Super Board met to discuss the recent Pupil Weighting Factors Report released in December 2019. This is a subject which we have discussed in the past with great interest. At the meeting by an overwhelming vote of approval, the Board charged me to write to all legislative chairs of education committees, legislative leaders, and directors of Vermont's education professional organizations on behalf of Windham Central to convey that we urge them to review...
Friends of the Rockingham Library host annual meeting
The annual meeting of the Friends' of the Rockingham Library will review 2019's accomplishments and gear up to help fund another year of library programs and activities on Monday, March 9, at 5:30 p.m., at the Rockingham Free Public Library. The public is invited to attend. Last year, the organization raised over $7,000 while hosting events such as the May Plant Sale, Debbi Wetzel's Painting Class, an Across the Universe music concert, and their December Holiday Party and Fundraiser Funds...
Town takes precautionary actions in response to COVID-19 outbreak
Town officials are updating emergency plans and coordinating extensively with other first responders, health care providers, and community leaders in southeastern Vermont to be ready if the COVID-19 coronavirus becomes present here. As of March 2, cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, but no cases had yet been confirmed in Vermont. In a news release, Town Manager Peter Elwell told residents that state and federal agencies “are urging people in areas like ours where the...
Dummerston voters consider bats, mowers, and payloaders
One of the more interesting moments at Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday was learning that the town office has bats in its attic. Residents easily - and unanimously - voted $1,500 to mitigate the problem. Speaking of flying things, close to 150 Dummerston residents flipped the bird at the COVID-19 coronavirus and came out for Town Meeting at Dummerston School, almost the same number that came out last year when there was no worldwide pandemic panic or school board budget...
Vernon preserves pay-as-you-throw trash collection
Voters decided to continue the town's curbside trash collection program (pay-as-you-throw), approved a $1.9 million municipal budget with little discussion, and passed the majority of the items as presented at Annual Town Meeting. Town Clerk Tim Arsenault estimated 200 people attended the approximately three-hour meeting on March 2. Twenty-seven articles were decided by voice vote from the floor on Monday night. Ballot items - such as electing Selectboard and School Board members, as well as the school budget - came...
Brattleboro voters reject nonbinding mayoral question
The idea of having a mayor to take charge of town is dead for now. By a vote of 1,722 to 529, a non-binding ballot question, “Shall the voters of The Town of Brattleboro advise the Selectboard to amend the Brattleboro Town Charter to replace the Selectboard with that of a mayoral form of governance?,” was decisively rejected on March 3 in a busy day of voting at American Legion Post 5. Current board member Elizabeth McLoughlin won a three-year...
International stars to perform at Circus Spectacular
The New England Center for Circus Arts' annual Circus Spectacular fundraiser on March 7 and 8 will feature professional performers from around the world donating their talents to raise money for NECCA's scholarships and outreach programming. The 2020 celebrity host will be Stephanie Monseau, who recently toured as ringmaster with the Big Apple Circus. Monseau will be joined for mayhem and merriment by her Bindlestiff Family Cirkus co-founder, Keith Nelson. Performers include Molly Gawler, who was lead dancer with the...
National Geographic photographer Alison Wright to speak at Next Stage
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Next Stage Arts Project, and the Vermont Women's Fund present “Grit and Grace: The Empowerment of Women at Work in Global Communities,” a talk by National Geographic photographer Alison Wright, on Saturday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage in Putney. Tickets are $12 in advance ($15 at the door) and may be purchased at brattleboromuseum.org or nextstagearts.org. Wright's talk is presented in conjunction with “Grit and Grace: Women at Work,” an exhibit...
Sandglass Theater brings ‘The Fairy Circus’ to town
Sandglass Theater's Winter Sunshine Series continues its 13th season of puppet shows for young audiences with “The Fairy Circus” by Tanglewood Marionettes on Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Fairy Circus features more than 20 turn-of-the-last-century-style trick puppets. The puppets dance, play instruments, juggle, contort, transform, and fly through the air with the greatest of ease, all to the best-loved music of favorite composers. This show is designed to delight young children and family audiences alike.
Space for experimenting
Cory Bratton, co-owner of A Vermont Table, arranges chairs in the company's new, sunny, and freshly renovated restaurant. In the kitchen, staff prep 100 pounds of potatoes recently delivered from Dutton Farms. Bratton, looking out of the restaurant's tall windows, points toward Green Street Extension. “You can almost see my house from here,” said Bratton, who still lives in his childhood home. “I used to be the kid on the roof mucking around, and now I'm the guy yelling at...
Coronavirus: How much of a threat?
We are being bombarded with information, misinformation, warnings, and all kinds of reports about the spreading coronavirus. How do you know what information is factual, and how would you deal with an outbreak of the virus in your community or in your home? Should you be concerned, or is there just too much fearmongering and hype to take this new disease outbreak seriously? The only accurate, factual, and up-to-date information is being provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), the...
Colonels skate into hockey quarterfinals
Leap Year Day was Hockey Night in Brattleboro, and the fans of Colonels hockey jammed into Withington Rink on Feb. 29 to see two great Division II first-round playoff games that saw the Colonel boys and girls both victorious in their respective games. • In the girls' game, the eighth-seeded Colonels (7-13) beat No. 9 Burr & Burton (4-16) in a dramatic 1-0 overtime thriller. Brattleboro senior Eliya Petrie and Burr & Burton junior Lola Herzog both played flawlessly in...
Grace Cottage prepares for COVID-19
Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital has had plans in place since January to address the situation if the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 becomes widespread in this area. According to a news release, initial preparation began in late January with signage about this new coronavirus at all entrances on the hospital's campus. Using standards of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Grace Cottage also developed and implemented a protocol to screen patients based on their symptoms and travel...
Four Deerfield Valley towns form communications district
Marlboro, Halifax, Whitingham, and Wilmington all approved joining into a regional broadband initiative called a communications union district at their respective Annual Town Meetings on March 3. The new CUD will be called the Deerfield Valley Communications Union District. The Legislature created these districts several years ago. CUDs have the ability to borrow money and operate similar to other municipal districts such as water districts or waste management districts. If successful, the regional broadband project would bring fiber-optic broadband services...
A traditional — and versatile — Irish dish
St. Patrick's Day is almost here, and it is a time to visit some of the traditional dishes that traveled from Ireland to our New England communities. We're talking not about green bagels or green beer here, but about the home-cooked dishes that called the hungry to the table. Colcannon is peasant comfort food at its best. This combination of mashed potatoes and cabbage is tasty, satisfying, and filling, and it uses easily found, inexpensive ingredients. This humble bowl of...