Much has happened since the series of deadly events on Sept. 11, 2001 that terrified Americans and kept us all glued to our television sets for days on end when 2,977 people were killed and more than 6,000 others were injured.
But more terrifying for some Americans and millions of people across the globe have been the actions that our political leaders in Congress and four administrations have carried out in response to the carnage on that day in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
They have funded and orchestrated the Global War on Terror (GWOT) for the past 21 years to root out terrorism in the Middle East and beyond - across 85 countries, no less. This ongoing full-spectrum program ranges from the overt violence delivered by the U.S. military machine to the devastating effects of intimidation through political, media, economic, and financial manipulations.
At what cost?...
Music magic will be made at Manitou's forest theater on Sunday, Sept 18, with a 4 p.m. concert featuring local musicians, songwriters, and comrades Peter Siegel and Shawn Magee, with “solos, harmonic duos, and tasty backup from special friends bringing songs of love, hope, and cures for humanity,” according...
It is appalling to see Tristan Roberts blatantly trading on the death of someone, but even more heinously, on the death of George Floyd. This candidate's entire piece was ostensibly to illuminate for Windham County voters, his motivations for running for office. And yet he spent the majority of...
Caitlin Adair may be “wise in the arts of gardening, homemade food, and medicine,” as her bio states, but her version of the silvicultural history of the Vermont forest is absurd. Her statement that Vermont was ”clear cut” once, pursuant to the whim of King George III for ”ships, masts, and to create empire” bears less resemblance to the facts than a Superman comic. Anyone familiar with the saga of the King's Pines knows how very few of the scattered...
One of the most liberating moments of my young life took place in 1968, when, at age 14, the school dress code finally loosened to the point where it ceased to exist. I had always hated the compulsory skirts and knee socks that allowed the cold wind to freeze us girls as we walked to and from school. I definitely felt more comfortable in every way in my ratty, ripped jeans that I wore to school the minute I was...
Deer Run Nature Preserve trail and bridge celebrated with grand opening festivitiesDUMMERSTON - The Green Mountain Conservancy is inviting everyone to their bridge and trail opening celebration Saturday, Sept. 17, at 11 a.m. at the Deer Run Nature Preserve Trailhead, 940 Camp Arden Road in Dummerston. The rain date is Saturday, Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. The brief celebration will be followed by a guided hike on the new 2.5 mile Ravine Trail, led by Roger Haydock. There will also...
On Saturday, Sept. 17, the ambient musician William Basinski will play pieces from his 2019 album On Time Out of Time at the multimedia arts venue Epsilon Spires. Opening for Basinski will be minimalist composer, John Also Bennett, who will perform work from his forthcoming album Out There in the Middle of Nowhere. Bennett conceived of the music he will play at Epsilon Spires while he was camping at the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. “This album primarily uses...
Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill, and the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community present an evening of global Hebrew and Jewish music with Yamma Ensemble on Friday, Sept. 16, at 7:30 p.m. “Masters of their craft, Yamma Ensemble reflects the perfect balance between respect for tradition and making the music innovative,” Keith Marks, executive director of Next Stage Arts, said in a news release. “Israel is a melting pot of traditions from the Jewish diaspora living all over the world for...
The Brattleboro Music Center's Season Guest Concert Series welcomes the Sarasa Ensemble on Friday, Sept. 16. The Sarasa Ensemble begins its season with “Female Torchbearers of the Baroque.” They say this performance highlights fantastic, yet neglected, music by women who set the Baroque music world alight with their compositions and performances. The program features the works of Barbara Strozzi, Isabella Leonarda, Francesca Caccini, Antonia Bembo, and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, outstanding composers who deservedly achieved a popular following usually...
College news • Seamus Butcher of West Halifax recently received a B.A. in media arts production from Emerson College in Boston. • The following local full-time students were named to the Southern New Hampshire University President's List for the summer 2022 semester: Kobe Bazin of Westminster, Megan Shanks of Westminster, Samantha Mustain of Brattleboro, Melina Nelson of Brattleboro, and Miranda Blake of Vernon. • Samantha Mills of Marlboro was named to the spring 2022 semester Dean's List at Simmons University...
Stage 33 Live, 33 Canal Street, presents singer-songwriter Steve Hartmann on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m. Born in Dalat, Vietnam, near the end of the Vietnam War, Hartmann was adopted when he was five months old. Struggling to find a sense of belonging, he found music at the age of 12. His vocals and guitar playing have been described as “the gray” between an acoustic Dave Matthews and Damion Rice. Using effects, looper pedals, and his voice, Hartmann's sound...
September is here - which means it is time to sign up for the state's Seasonal Heating Fuel Assistance Program, which can offset winter heating costs by anywhere from a few hundred to even a few thousand dollars. Senior Solutions says it can help people age 60 and older, and those with disabilities, to apply for assistance through Vermont's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which could help lower bills for oil, kerosene, propane, electric, coal, wood pellets, or...
Canal Street Art Gallery, 23 Canal Street, presents “Interaction: Clare Adams, Charles Norris-Brown, Phyllis Rosser, Melissa Rubin,” a show of four local artists exploring how they each interact with their environment, themselves, and their media, to create their art. The show is now on view through Oct. 15. The public is invited on 3rd Friday Gallery Night in downtown Bellows Falls, from 5 to 7 p.m., on Sept. 16, to experience the show and meet the artists. All gallery events...
I am announcing my candidacy for Windham County assistant judge. I am running as an Independent candidate and ask for your support and vote in the general election Nov. 8. Assistant judges are tasked with a position unique to Vermont to make sure the voice of the people is represented in the courts. The function of the assistant judge is limited to sitting beside the presiding judge in many family, civil, and relief from abuse matters to listen to the...
“Forty-five” was and is a clear and present danger to our democracy. He lost the 2020 presidential race. He knows it, as does the whole GOP. He had a plan in place to overturn the election and silence the voices of Americans fed up with this egomaniacal, grifter-in-chief and his cronies. Months in advance, he started the election fraud talk. When he lost, he created the Big Lie, with plenty of help from Fox News, his crazy lawyers, and the...
I serve with Tristan Roberts on the Selectboard in Halifax. In a town of about 800 residents, participation is important. I see at every meeting how Tristan steps up to get things done and encourages others to get involved. To give just one example, several residents attended a Selectboard meeting this spring to raise concerns about deferred maintenance in our cemeteries. Tristan worked with the Cemetery Commission to schedule an informational tour of four key cemeteries so that Selectboard members...
Last season, the Leland & Gray Rebels girls' soccer team reached the Division III state finals for the first time in 30 years. The school has dropped down to Division IV for this season, but after winning their first four games, the Rebels look like they are capable of another title run. Only three players graduated from last year's 15-3 team. The offense is led by senior midfielder Abby Towle, who scored 30 goals and dished out 16 assists last...
The historic Latchis Theatre continues its mission of “promoting and hosting cultural activities for the benefit of our community” with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer, songwriter, and guitarist Roger McGuinn on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. As described on the theater's website, McGuinn combines folk and rock but is “best known as the front man and leader of The Byrds, a band he created in 1964 along with Gene Clark, David Crosby, Michael Clarke and Chris Hillman.”
While last week's rain offered a little bit of relief, Windham County is still dealing with drier-than-normal conditions. According to the Sept. 8 report by the U.S. Drought Monitor website (droughtmonitor.unl.edu), the northwest corner of Windham County is experiencing “abnormally dry” conditions. Most of the county is at the next level, “moderate drought,” and the southeast towns of Halifax, Guilford, and Vernon are experiencing “severe drought.” All of Vermont has experienced precipitation shortfalls since the spring, and drier-than-normal conditions are...
Our Place Drop-In Center is welcoming new leadership as David Billings takes the reins from retiring executive director Lisa Pitcher. Pitcher retired in August after leading the food pantry for 12 years. “We appreciate all that Lisa and her staff have done to address the needs of our food-insecure neighbors,” Our Place (OP) board president Sarah Campbell said in a news release. “Change is challenging, but we look forward to a new perspective on how we carry out our mission.”
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) will present a conversation with artist Frank Jackson on Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. Jackson will join BMAC Director of Exhibitions Sarah Freeman to talk about “There/There,” an exhibit of abstract landscape paintings made with fresco on burlap. Jackson and Freeman will discuss the artist's technical process and how it informs his work. The medium of fresco is a painting process in which hand-ground pigments are embedded in a thin, wet lime...
Main Street Arts presents the vocal group Windborne in concert on Sunday, Sept. 18. at 7 p.m. Internationally acclaimed, Windborne is known for the power and innovation of their arrangements, as well as their mastery of polyphonic music from a variety of cultures. Their musical knowledge spans many countries and styles, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk singing traditions. Cited by BBC Traveling Folk as,“the most exciting vocal group in a generation [...] subverting expectations and redefining the...
Leland & Gray Union Middle/High School students and parents are poised to begin a five-phase program that will not only underscore the benefits of intentional, substance-free living, but also earn each participating student a free, unrestricted pass to ski or snowboard at Stratton Mountain this winter. The event on Thursday, Sept. 15 features Boston-area speaker Joel Stanton, a former corporate consultant, who'll engage with the school community as a required first step toward the free pass. The core of his...
The Vermont Community Foundation and the organizing committee for the Con Hogan Award for Creative, Entrepreneurial, Community Leadership have announced that Joe Wiah will be honored with this year's award. Wiah is the director of the Ethiopian Community Development Council's (ECDC) Multicultural Community Center in Brattleboro. According to a news release, the annual award, established by a group of Con Hogan's colleagues in 2015, “celebrates his life's work by recognizing a community leader who shares his vision of a better...
Sofia Talvik, an Americana/Folk musician with Swedish roots, returns to Wardsboro's Town Hall stage on Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m., for her first performance here since April 2017. Talvik said in a news release she is eager to share new songs from her eighth studio album, Paws of a Bear, released in September 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic forced her to cancel two big release tours planned for 2020, and she is making up for lost time with a North...
Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA) has named Brattleboro resident Kate Trzaskos as its executive director, beginning this week. Trzaskos succeeds Stephanie Bonin, who stepped down from the post in July after serving as DBA's executive director since 2018. According to a news release, Trzaskos “has nearly 20 years of mission-driven programming expertise and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Downtown Brattleboro.” Most recently, Trzaskos was assistant director of employer relations at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., where she was...
In recent weeks, approximately 8,403 teachers In Vermont have resumed packing their lunches and organized their households, and many dropped off their own children. They're filling our schools with welcome, learning, and perhaps the most formative experiences of a lifetime. We know that this year schools are particularly strapped for licensed teachers, after the depletion of the ranks during the Covid pandemic - and yet, we can feel the pounding of dedicated hearts and minds as another year begins. One...
When Karen Peterson began work at the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont in 1993, the novice assistant toiled daily in the shadow of a disease that was a certain death sentence. Peterson would go on to witness lifesaving advances in testing and treatment as she climbed the career ladder to become the Brattleboro-based nonprofit's executive director in 2013. So why, as she prepares to step down after three decades of work, is her job harder than ever? “I get comments...
When the Selectboard voted with little public notice or debate last spring for the municipality to take over emergency medical services from Windham County's largest and longest-serving agency, Rescue Inc., officials claimed the private nonprofit wasn't sharing enough information. “The continued lack of transparency,” Selectboard Chair Ian Goodnow said April 19, “meant that I, as one board member, felt it was time to look for a different EMS provider.” Goodnow and his four colleagues have stressed their collective belief in...
Ambrose Akinmusire is a truth teller whose music is an expression of his personal journey as a Black man. Although he loves playing jazz standards, he has chosen to compose original music that draws attention to the realities of racism. The Vermont Jazz Center is pleased to present the Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet, featuring Akinmusire on trumpet, Sam Harris on piano, Linda May Han Oh on bass, and Tim Angulo on drums, on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. This will...
We, the voters of Vermont, have two proposed constitutional changes on the November ballot. One clarifies language already in the Constitution about slavery; the other obfuscates and adds new language that is reported to be about abortion but as it reads is more about the State determining individuals' life choices. The right to an abortion is already the law of Vermont. The language of the existing law reads, “The State of Vermont recognizes the fundamental right of every individual who...