The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $121 million in critical infrastructure to combat climate change across rural America. The funding will include grants for 15 energy-efficiency and renewable-energy projects throughout New Hampshire and Vermont.
Two of those projects are in Windham County.
In Townshend, Big Picture Farm will replace 98 percent of its energy consumption through a 32.7 kW roof-mounted solar array to save $7,000 per year, courtesy of an $18,039 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant, while producing its award-winning farmstead confections and cheeses.
Staff at the VT-NH Veterinary Clinic, a 70-year-old practice in East Dummerston, received a $16,378 REAP grant to install a 20.7 kW solar array, replacing 76 percent of the clinic's energy usage and saving $4,200 annually.
College news • The following local students were honored for academic achievement during the spring 2022 semester at Northern Vermont University: Tysea Kurjiaka and Eva Paré of Londonderry, and Laura Gypson of Williamsville were named to the President's List. Named to the Dean's List were Gregory Fitzgerald and Samantha...
The Vermont Department of Libraries released nearly $1 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to public libraries for equipment and supply purchases in the fall of 2021. Now, the Department of Libraries is following up with a second grant round of $320,000 to respond to local needs...
Windham County Humane Society (WCHS) will hold its 20th annual Walk for Animals at the Brattleboro Common on Saturday, Sept. 24. Registration begins at 9 a.m. At 10 a.m., participants and their canine companions will walk a 1.5-mile loop through downtown Brattleboro before returning to the Common for treats (human and pet), games, and prizes. (Social, well-behaved dogs who will enjoy the crowd are welcome to walk. All dogs must be on a leash, no flexi-leads please). The event raises...
“Art is for Everyone.” That's been the credo of the In-Sight Photography Project, which welcomes the public to participate in its annual Benefit Auction and to celebrate In-Sight's 30th anniversary. On Friday, Sept. 2, from 5 to 8 p.m., during Gallery Walk, the annual In-Sight Photography Exhibition and Benefit Auction will open with a reception and gallery viewing. In-Sight welcomes all to its home on 183 Main St. to see a curated selection of auction and student artwork. Founded in...
The Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) has launched the Justice Forward Fund (JFF), a new financing and business assistance resource for Black, Indigenous & Vermonters of Color (BIPOC Vermonters). A Special Purpose Credit Program, the JFF provides low- and no-cost loans of up to $40,000 and free-to-the-borrower business development services. The JFF serves Vermonters traditionally, systemically, and generationally excluded from financial markets and services, including BIPOC Vermonters and new Americans. “The Vermont Community Loan Fund's mission is to ensure that...
September is Hunger Action Month, and the Putney Foodshelf, which serves Putney and the surrounding communities, is running its annual Fill the Foodshelf food drive. With the pandemic still a concern and with inflation increasing food prices, taking action against hunger remains a priority. Throughout September, during the Fill the Foodshelf drive, shoppers at the Putney Food Co-op and the Putney General Store will have an opportunity to order cases of essential grocery items from a special Foodshelf order form.
The Colonial Performing Arts Center, self-described in a news release as one of the Northeast's premier nonprofit performing arts centers and a leader in both arts education and outreach, announced their 2022–2023 season on the organization's historic main stage. The Colonial Theatre is reopening after major renovations to its lobby, concessions area, stage, and backstage, which provide improved audience amenities and a greater variety of programming. Enhancements to the stage house structure and theatrical technologies at The Colonial allow the...
Authorities appear to be investigating whether a recent fatal shooting at Great River Terrace was made in self-defense, according to a complaint federal prosecutors filed in court late in the afternoon of Aug. 23. Nicolas Baker, 34, told police on Aug. 19 that he had just shot an attacker in his apartment with a pistol that had fallen out of the other man's pants pocket, according to the filing. During a subsequent search of Baker's apartment, though, police found a...
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) will celebrate its first half-century with a 50th Anniversary Gala and a free day-long BMAC Birthday Bash. The festivities are generously sponsored by Brattleboro Savings & Loan, The Richards Group, and Trust Company of Vermont. The Gala will be held at BMAC on Friday, Sept. 9, from 6 to 10 p.m. The evening will include cocktails, appetizers, dinner, dessert, and a champagne toast to the next 50 years. There will be live music...
Things are always changing at the West River Community Project (WRCP), located at 6753 VT Route 30 at the base of Windham Hill Road. At their thrift store and post office, necessity forced them to come up with a new way to distribute secondhand books. The thrift store, like every other retail establishment, was shuttered at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and, according to a WRCP news release, left many West River Valley book mavens in the...
During September, the Crowell Art Gallery, 23 West Street, will be exhibiting the work of two artists; oil painter Kris Stewart and potter Billie Stark. A reception with the artists will be held on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. Stewart will display with her representational paintings of the natural world she sees as filled with light, color, and texture. “My goal is to extend an invitation to experience our natural world emotionally as well as visually,” she...
Friends for Change, an after-school program in Bellows Falls operated by Youth Services, expanded its summer camp piloted last year, engaging on average 30 youth per week between the end of June and mid-August. It was seven weeks of play-based, restorative, trauma-informed, no-cost day camp for youth ages 11–20. Using Compass School campus as a base, the 30 young people were able to try new things, ranging from kayaking to community reciprocity and restorative practices. According to Friends for Change...
Canal Street Art Gallery (CSAG) presents Alissa Buffum, the first artist to participate in CSAG's new Working Artist Program. This program is an artist's studio and exhibition space within the gallery and is open during the gallery's regular hours. Beginning in September, the Gallery will be open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on 3rd Friday Gallery Nights, from 5 to 7 p.m. The Working Artist Program is located on the canal, behind the front gallery...
Chicken pie supper served DUMMERSTON - Evening Star Grange, 1008 East-West Road, will serve its second Chicken Pie Supper of the season on Saturday, Sept. 10, with pick-up of take-outs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. While the meals are put up as a take-out meal, inside seating is available, as well as limited outside seating if the weather permits. Reservations are requested, but not mandatory. Call the Grange at 802-254-1138 and leave your name, telephone number and the number of...
The Brattleboro Women's Chorus welcomes new members to join them as they kick off their 27th year on Thursday, Sept. 8. Come join in the singing either virtually on Friday mornings or in-person on Thursday mornings or evenings. Their first two rehearsals are open to new singers to come and check out the chorus to see if it is a good fit for them, provided they email organizers in advance. Advance registration is required for all singers. In-person rehearsals are...
We both thank you for your votes in the primary election. We heard your stories, your concerns, and your hopes for Windham County. We will be campaigning as a team in the general election. We have a substantial amount of common ground and shared priorities. Throughout our ongoing discussions, we have been forming ideas of how to address those priorities and the usefulness of our different backgrounds. In each of our campaigns, we heard from Windham County residents about the...
The information reported on a discussion by the Guilford Selectboard in a Brattleboro Reformer article [“'Threatening,' anonymous letter discussed by Guilford Select Board,” Aug. 10] is relatively one-sided with some context and details left out. Did the Reformer reporter read the “anonymous letter”? Here are a couple of important questions: If the State Police said the “anonymous letter” was not “threatening,” why is the Selectboard saying it is? Also, why is the Selectboard so focused on the letter's anonymity rather...
I have no accolades for U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, or any members of the Trump administration testifying before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol. It is the least they can do to atone for their roles in putting Trump in power and carrying out his bidding up to the point when even they couldn't stomach it anymore, or got called out. In its post about Cheney's primary defeat, “Liz Cheney Was...
On July 26, at our home in Putney, we lost one of our barns to a fast-moving fire. Thanks to the swift and professional response by the Putney Fire Department and the many other towns that responded, the other structures on our property and the nearby forest were not impacted. We are so grateful to the fire/rescue crews from Putney, Brattleboro, Dummerston, Westminster, Guilford, Spofford, Walpole, Westmoreland, Chesterfield, and Rockingham, as well as Rescue Inc. You all responded quickly and...
The Deerfield Valley New Neighbors Project is a group of more than 50 volunteers and supporters who have been preparing to help resettle refugee families in southern Vermont. We're excited to announce that the DVNNP is expecting the arrival of our first new neighbors, a family from central Africa, to the Deerfield Valley in just a few weeks. We're seeking donations to help fund our efforts to welcome our new neighbors. Donations are tax-deductible and will be used for approved...
Kudos, and thank you, to Grace Waryas for her fine writing about the struggles she has encountered in her efforts to do and say the right thing. Older people can learn from those younger than themselves, such as Grace, not only for the content of their messages, but also for how they deliver it. Also, thank you to those who spoke out in support of Grace, regardless of whether they agreed with everything she had to say.
The media demands that you hate Donald Trump and creates the “news” for you. If you don't buy it, you too are deplorable. The more the media instructs me to hate him, and the more vitriol I see from local Democrats and Progressives, the more I am certain he is to be loved because he is honorable where the deep state is not. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate...
The introduction to the excerpts of the transcript of Seth Andrew's sentencing hearing mentions: “[W]e hope the judge's words - and Andrew's words to the court - serve as some sense of closure.” But Seth Andrew and his actions had nothing to do with the closing of Marlboro College. That unnecessary and tragic event was brought about by the actions of a board of trustees led by Chair Richard Saudek, a college led by President Kevin Quigley, and the influence...
The way family and friends describe Emmy Bascom belies the narrative of her last hours of life described in court filings - a path of drugs and alcohol that came as a shock to many people in her orbit. “Drugs change you into somebody completely different,” says a Brattleboro resident, “Lynn.” (At the request of one of the family members involved in this story, The Commons is withholding all their names out of respect for their privacy.) “You do things...
DVFiber has hired Gabrielle (Gabby) Ciuffreda, of Guilford, as the communications union district's first executive director, effective Sept. 1. Ciuffreda comes to the organization - charged with “bringing reliable, affordable broadband to all areas of the service region,” she said in a news release - with deep experience in project management and community building, as well as nearly 20 years of legal, asset management, and real estate development experience. Recently, she helped to oversee the financing and redevelopment of a...
I hate the groundhog. I don't care what anyone says, and others do have some things to say. But I have a mind of my own when it comes to groundhogs. To be fair, I don't necessarily hate your groundhog, or groundhogs in general, or even groundhogs as a species - although I could be persuaded to. Nevertheless, I can't go along with those who claim they're so cute and fun. Cute in what way? The way they wobble and...
Samirah Evans recalls when she was 5 years old, her father would tuck her into bed after they'd sing jazz and folk songs together in harmony. In her early teens, she and her father would often sing on a street, around the corner from Fenway Park. “That's how music got ingrained in me,” says Evans, who didn't know at the time that singing, performing, recording, producing, and teaching would become her lifelong career. Evans was born in Cleveland into a...
Michelle Frehsee is missing Emmy Bascom. “There is a rawness within the Guilford community,” says Frehsee, one of many town residents who are reeling from the sudden and brutal loss of their friend and neighbor. The 42-year-old Bascom was killed violently in Wardsboro on Aug. 8. An acquaintance has been charged in her murder. The information released about Bascom's last hours in the company of her accused murderer, Cara Rodrigues, 31, makes it apparent that drugs were involved quite recently...
When local leaders first decided to rent portable restrooms in 2019 for a downtown with few public options, it seemed like a good idea. Until, they discovered, it wasn't. “These locations quickly became attractive nuisances where criminal and drug activity was undertaken,” interim Town Manager Patrick Moreland said of a plan that cost $1,000 a month in tax money. Local leaders, discontinuing the portable restrooms this year, now are seeking a less problematic and more permanent solution - one that...
A Brattleboro native has become the newest member of the Vermont Superior Court. Gov. Phil Scott announced on Aug. 30 his appointment of Jennifer Barrett of Newport to the state's second-highest court. “Jennifer has demonstrated her legal expertise, as well as her commitment to justice and public service, in her role as state's attorney and I'm confident she will continue to set a strong example on the bench,” Scott said in a news release. Barrett has served as the state's...
Writer Fred Taylor and clay artist Alan Steinberg will offer “Reawakening to Life: Art and Nature as Healing Tools,” on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Together they have led work-playshops for many years that they say “emphasize the role of the arts and nature in healing our inner and outer relations with nature, self, and community. With Covid and its long periods of debilitating isolation, the need for that healing has never been greater.” This workshop...
Join Newfane author Susan Mills for a reading of her new novel On the Wings of a Hummingbird on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m., at Putney Public Library, 55 Main Street. Masks will be required for this indoor, in-person event. As a Spanish-speaking immigration attorney for 20 years, Mills prepared asylum cases for thousands of immigrants from Central America with a focus on unaccompanied minors. Some of her family members journeyed from the war-torn countryside of El Salvador to...
When knocking on doors as a candidate for Vermont State Representative for Windham-6, the most common question I get is, “Why are you running?” I love to talk and listen on the issues, but that's only one part of the equation. “What is your moral compass?” is a question I've been mulling over even more. Here's an answer to that - a story about a national tragedy and a hero of mine who has taught me a lot about showing...
At last, alarm bells are ringing. Most sentient Americans are beginning to realize what is at stake in the November midterm elections and the 2024 election that will follow - unless by then they are cancelled. That's because unless you're a devotee of Donald Trump and his ilk, it is now clear that we are in the early stages of full-blown fascism and the death of democracy in the United States of America. It has become blatantly clear that what's...
The fall high school sports season starts off this week with a great football match-up and a full slate of soccer and field hockey action. • Hadley Field will be the venue when the Bellows Falls Terriers and the Brattleboro Colonels renew their football rivalry on Friday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m. The Terriers are the defending Division II champions, but they lost several key players from last year's undefeated title team, including quarterback Jon Terry, running backs Jed Lober...
Since 1987, Actors Theatre Playhouse (ATP) has offered a rich range of theatrical fare. Its offerings range from old chestnuts to new works. They're experimental and time-honed, often edgy, sometimes comic. They usually push an envelope or two. Its season nearing an end, ATP has already mounted its annual 10-minute-play festival, Morning's at Seven, and Stones in His Pockets. Next up at ATP, before the season closes with Shakespeare's Will, is Nick Payne's award-garnering play Constellations. Set in and around...
Puppetry lovers who lean toward R-rated entertainment can catch the Vermont debut of Creemee Dreemee Puppet Slam. “Puppet slam” may call to mind “poetry slam,” but it's different: having grown in popularity over the last few decades, it's an event that gives puppeteers a chance to stretch and experiment with form, content, materials, intent - and do so for mature audiences only. Described as pushing the boundaries of adult puppetry, Creemee Dreemee's 11 slam acts will range from shadow puppets...
Baltimore-based musician Liz Durette will be featured in two concerts at Epsilon Spires in early September. The first, which will begin at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 7, is another installment of the free Lunchtime Pipe Organ series. The following night, Durette will play her own improvised keyboard works after a performance of the audio-visual collaboration Elegy for Harold Budd by Dave Seidel and Greg Kowalski. For the Lunchtime Pipe Organ Series, Durette will play pieces by the 18th-century French composer...