Issue #649
Duvekot, Erelli return to Next Stage
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present a contemporary singer/songwriter twin bill with Antje Duvekot and Mark Erelli at Next Stage on Friday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 pm.
“Antje and Mark have been central figures in the New England contemporary folk music scene for the last 20 years,” Twilight Music's Barry Stockwell said in a news release. “They've headlined so many memorable Twilight Music shows in that time that I jumped at the chance to bring them together for a twin bill - two of the finest singers and songwriters that I know on our stage for one night only.”...
Putney Public Library hosts virtual writers salon
Putney Public Library hosts a Writers Salon via Zoom, 7–8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, November through March, and features writers of fiction and poetry from Vermont and other parts of the United States. Host Toni Ortner welcomes Diane Frank and Castle Freeman Jr. as February's...
Milestones
Obituaries • Russell Lawrence Allen, 90, of Westminster Station. Died peacefully on Jan. 22, 2022 at Thompson House in Brattleboro. He was born in Westminster, the son of Herbert and Louise Allen. Russell served as a medic in the Army during the Korean War. When he returned to Vermont,
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Vermont Jazz Center begins winter-spring semester
The Vermont Jazz Center (VJC) continues to offer both in-person and online classes. Beat the mid-winter blues by joining an invigorating musical experience. The Jazz Center has a wide selection of ensembles for all interested musicians. On Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, VJC will launch its winter-spring educational programs. This season's offerings make good use of the Jazz Center's remarkable summer faculty, who can Zoom in from afar, as well as local instructors. For those able to commute to Brattleboro, VJC...
VSAC scholarship application deadline is Friday, Feb. 11
The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) offers a wide range of online resources, counseling, step-by-step assistance, and plenty of encouragement to help you plan for college or training, whether you're a high school senior or an adult learner ready to update your skills for a new career. An important deadline is approaching on Friday, Feb. 11 - it's the last day to apply for VSAC-assisted scholarships. For students who are applying to college in 2022 or looking for financial help...
First Proof Press, BMAC present monotype workshop
Daniel Chiaccio demonstrates the basics of monotype printmaking at First Proof Press on Saturday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. This event is presented in partnership with the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC). Monotype printmaking is an ideal medium for those looking to create unique, colorful prints quickly. Students will be guided through the inking process, printing press operation, stencil creation, mark making, and more. All materials will be provided. The workshop will take place at First Proof Press, a...
Forums planned to discuss retail cannabis sales
The Town of Rockingham, Greater Falls Connections, and Falls Area Community Television (FACT-TV) are co-sponsoring two events to inform and engage community members on the retail sale of cannabis opt-in vote (Act 164), scheduled for Town Meeting Day. The first event, on Wednesday, Feb. 9, “Cannabis Conversations,” invites parents and other caring adults to have open, honest, and judgment-free conversations about youth and cannabis use. WNESU Student Assistance Professional Heather Waryas will present on the teen brain. Discussion topics will...
Scrap the labels, and stop the assumptions
Let's begin with Nicholas Boke's assertion that a “significant number” of Republicans and independents “assume” that physical violence can get us out of this mess. Trust me when I say that if this were true, it would have already happened. Contrary to the talking points of Democrats and the media, the vast majority of Republicans and independents are informed, thoughtful, restrained, and measured in their responses. Regarding the “attack” on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, it is a complex...
You give rights to a fetus, you take them away from the mother
Anyone who describes abortion as “killing unborn children” is not likely to be swayed by argument. Nevertheless, I must respond to Erica Walch. There is obviously no compelling state interest in killing unborn children, to answer the question posed in the headline. What there is a compelling state interest in is preserving and protecting the right of pregnant women to decide for themselves, without interference from the government or from any church, and without the imposition of any moral code...
Another year, another uncertain start
The second year of the biennium has started with a similar uncertainty as the first year. So, as omicron surges in Vermont, the first two weeks of the legislative session are remote. I was surprised to feel much more comfortable than last year sitting virtually in the Health Care Committee, which shows how far I have come in using this technology. The Legislature has sent our first bill to the governor which will give our local election officials the flexibility...
Retreat staffing shortage traps patients at the ER
A deepening staffing crisis at Vermont's largest psychiatric hospital is forcing children and adolescents in distress to wait for days, or even weeks, for inpatient mental health beds. The Brattleboro Retreat is the only psychiatric facility in Vermont that works with children and adolescents. Staffing there has been tight for years, but a recent Covid-19 outbreak sidelined 30 staff members at one time, causing a backlog in child and adolescent admissions. Since December, children and adolescents have spent more and...
Rarely screened silent film will come to Epsilon Spires
Kick off Oscar season at Epsilon Spires with a screening of The Last Command, a groundbreaking 1928 silent drama featuring Emil Jannings, winner of the first Best Actor Academy Award for his performance of a former Czarist general. The screening will take place on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m. New Hampshire-based organist Jeff Rapsis will create a live musical score for The Last Command as the movie is shown, improvising on the venue's original Estey pipe organ, built in...
For one couple and two kids, exploring, learning, and growing goes both ways
A few hours a month can change a life. And it could be yours. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vermont is looking for adult mentors (known as Bigs) to match one-on-one with youth ages six to 17 and older (known as Littles). Currently, more than 95 children in Vermont are waiting for a mentor. BBBSVT is dedicated to defending the potential of children and youth through one-on-one mentoring, an evidence-based method of prevention that keeps young people engaged, builds resilience,
Larger resolutions can offer us hope for the future
It is now more than a month into the new year, and it's likely that resolutions we made in earnest just a few weeks ago have already been ignored. That's OK. We can forgive ourselves for being overly resolute; these hard times ask much of us, and positive changes we seek in our personal lives are difficult to launch or sustain at the best of times. But there are larger resolutions I wish we could have made collectively that are...
Rebels play catch-up as pandemic wave scrambles the season
With the calendar now showing the month of February, we're into the final weeks of the winter high school sports season. For some schools, February is going to be a very busy month, thanks to the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leland & Gray's situation is a good example. Their basketball teams lost large swaths of January with games postponed because of players who tested positive for the virus, or because of a shortage of bus transportation due to drivers...
Putney house project wins architecture award
For architect Robert “Bob” Swinburne, the design process starts with collaboration from day one and carries throughout every project. So much so that he's named his practice Bluetime Collaborative to reflect his cooperative approach. “'Bluetime' is the winter twilight time when I am in my office working hard or going for a snowshoe and the world here turns a quiet and luminescent blue before it gets dark,” Swinburne says. “This is an especially focusing and productive time of day for...
WSESD launches investigation into a legacy of abuse
The Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) School Board has finalized hiring attorney Aimee Goddard of Buehler & Annis, PLC to investigate reports of sexual abuse and has determined a reporting process, setting up a website, phone line, and other resources. In announcing Goddard's “formal” hiring, a press release from the board issued Tuesday, Feb. 1 says Goddard will “investigate reports of sexual abuse, harassment and/or abuse of power by current or former faculty, staff, or administration.” “In addition, the investigation...
Why should anyone be punished for having the courage to call out racism?
Dear Mr. Lyman, I am writing in response to the courageous video of Zane Rizvi that has been circling and published in the Brattleboro Reformer. When I spoke to you and [Assistant Principal Tom] Daughton three years ago in the conference room about my complete frustration at the racism I suffered throughout my time at Brattleboro Area Middle School, your words to me were: “I have a lot to learn.” As I recall, you even had tears in your eyes...
Brattleboro Selectboard member jumps into Senate race
Selectboard member Tim Wessel has announced his candidacy to represent Windham County in the Vermont Senate. “In the coming weeks, I will be officially launching my campaign website and using other tools to get the word out to those who are not yet familiar with my work for Brattleboro,” said Wessel on Feb. 1. “While continuing for another year on the Selectboard, I'll be also making my case to voters as to why I will be a strong voice to...