Issue #683
‘I never regretted the abortion’
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, I took my rage and grief downtown, protesting on the street corner by the Co-op with 100 other supporters of reproductive freedom. We understood it was a symbolic action. Roe was gone and would not be coming back; Christian extremists had been working tirelessly for this day for 50 years.
But we knew it was essential to gather in solidarity and community, to show we would not go meekly into a post-Roe future. We would resist the decimation of our rights at the hands of six pro-religion justices.
VTC holds auditions for ‘It Runs in the Family’
The Vermont Theatre Company will hold auditions Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. and Monday, October 3, at 6 p.m. at the Hooker-Dunham Theater, 139 Main Street for its first production of the 2022–23 season, It Runs in the Family, written by Ray Cooney. The show will be performed...
Award-winning circus performer brings new production to NECCA
Myzrie House, a theatrical circus show, comes to Brattleboro on Saturday, Oct. 1, for one show only at the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA). “Part of our mission as the leading circus arts education organization in the United States is to bring innovative and outstanding circus shows...
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Atop Potash Hill, new prospects
Twenty-nine months after an organization known as the Democracy Builders Fund purchased the campus of Marlboro College and commenced an ill-fated educational project known as Degrees of Freedom on the property, stability has returned to the scenic campus under the aegis of a newly formed nonprofit called Potash Hill, Inc. Potash Hill, which acquired the real estate in September 2021 and takes its name from the hill that dominates the campus, is an offspring of Marlboro Music, the Philadelphia-based nonprofit...
‘Prouty Presents’ offers afternoon of music outdoors
The Winston Prouty Center will host a free outdoor concert on Saturday, Oct. 1. “Prouty Presents” will showcase a range of local musical talent with five groups beginning at the top of the hour starting at 1 p.m. Performers include (in this order): Vermont Jazz Center Sextet (community jazz ensemble sharing original and classic jazz tunes), Windham Philharmonic (playing Beethoven's Symphony No. 1), Galera de Samba (high-energy Brazilian Carnival music), Ukuele 128 (traditional folk music), and Stella Kola (Western Mass...
Milestones
Obituaries • Nathan B. “Nate” Darrow, 71, formerly of Putney. Died Sept. 20, 2022. An apple grower and owner-operator of Saratoga Apple orchard and farmstand in Schuylerville, N.Y., Nate was born in Brattleboro in 1951, the son of William H. Darrow Jr. and Idolene (Hegemann) Darrow. Nate grew up in Putney at Green Mountain Orchards, the apple orchard planted by his grandfather and operated by his parents. He attended Putney Central School, followed by the Putney School, graduating in 1968.
These are the days we are going back to?
The Supreme Court decision that struck down Roe v. Wade has rightfully been a call to arms for women. It is outrageous that five all-too-human beings should be able to decide for all women what they can or can't do with their womanhood. To have to decide to abort a pregnancy is one of the most difficult and painful decisions a woman could make. Society is right, as most have judged, to have compassion for those having to make such...
Dire predictions for Article 22
I figured that if somebody was handing out glossy anti-Article 22 fliers at the Chester Town Office on primary election day, there'd be lots of somebodies handing out glossy anti-Article 22 fliers at other voting stations. I was right. The overstated hypotheticals provided in that flier are just the tack that Vermont pro-lifers had told us a few months ago that they were going to use to oppose the reproductive rights amendment to the state constitution. The amendment (“Proposal 5”)
Spicing up the scripture
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” Hear this as the seminal line in Winged Productions' original contemporary mystery play, Michael, Sept. 30 though Oct. 2 at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Brattleboro. Winged Productions is the creation of Paul and Susan Dedell. The former has written several scores for Sandglass Theater works, including D-Generation and Conference of the Birds. In addition, he's composed several large choral works, Come Life, Shaker Life and Songs of...
Around the Towns
Meeting considers plans for property SAXTONS RIVER - The Saxtons River Village Trustees will hold a meeting to determine new uses for 37 Main Street, Saxtons River, once The Dish restaurant. Given the cost to rehabilitate the current structure, demolition seems inevitable. A consulting team from UMass will lead the first event Thursday, Sept. 29, at 6:30 p.m., at Main Street Arts in Saxtons River, with food and drink offered at 6 p.m. The team will also be on hand...
Don’t be fooled by opponents of Article 22
Beware of what you read. Voters in Vermont are being inundated by false information about Article 22. Here is what you need to know: • Article 22 has been in the works for four years now by Democrats in the Vermont House and Senate. • It was started by lawmakers who foresaw that Roe v. Wade might be overturned. • The language of this Article 22 was carefully crafted by a team of lawyers to make it extremely sturdy legislation.
Weston Theater Company presents ‘Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie’
Weston Theater Company takes audiences on a journey through our land and history with Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie, playing Sept. 28 through Oct. 23 at the Walker Farm theater at 705 Main St. Be transported by the joyous, inspirational, and sometimes heartbreaking story of Woody Guthrie, America's great troubadour. Four performers, playing more than 20 instruments, paint a portrait of a man whose songs brought inspiration and understanding to generations of Americans such as This...
Investigation must be thorough and right
Given the shameful history of sexual abuse, coverups and retaliation in our society, it is perhaps understandable that there was a certain amount of distrust in how the Windham Southeast School district board would handle the allegations revealed in Mindy Haskins Rogers' report of sexual abuse, including statutory rape, at Brattleboro Union High School [“No more secrecy,” Viewpoint, Aug. 11, 2021]. Ms. Haskins Rogers noted that “The evidence seems damning, yet [Robert “Zeke” Hecker] was protected by supervisors, colleagues, and...
We need balance in our Legislature
I am the kind of guy who washes the edge of a jelly jar and salad dressing bottle and rinses out the cap before putting them away. If there are crumbs in the microwave, I clean them out and then check if there are splatters on the roof. My car gets vacuumed out every Saturday morning and fluids get checked. The checkbook is balanced and stays that way. I am a detail kind of guy. With all due respect to...
Doublespeak masquerades as simple difference of opinion
I was perplexed to find in The Commons this article, accompanied by an image of a page from a 1931 eugenicist screed in order to support the article's point, such as it is. A quote by Ruth Bader Ginsburg sits below the article, stating “The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality.” I'm baffled by the series of editorial decisions that brought together this assemblage of the image, the article, and the end quote.
Yellow Barn artists present free concerts
Yellow Barn's Artist Residencies concert series continues on Sunday, Oct. 2, with a double-bill of free concerts at 3 and 7 p.m. in the Big Barn. “Over the course of two distinct concerts the performance of Schumann's three quartets, intertwined with wisps of Schumann's own sketches for these works and the music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven from which he took inspiration, sheds light on how we define what is 'new' in art, and why that is important,” artistic director...
Madden: ‘Anti-choice’ label ‘incredibly misleading’
Politicians often like to pretend that there is only good and evil. This helps them give false choices to the public. This is happening today in Vermont's Congressional election. Candidate Becca Balint wanted money recently, and she thought it a good fundraising tactic to ask for donations while claiming her opponent is “anti-choice.” I am the person she is trying to stick that label on. She is being incredibly misleading. Here's why: To be clear, I am for protecting more...
First Wednesdays lecture series opens with Reuben Jackson’s take on Miles Davis
The Vermont Humanities Council's season of lectures at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, begins Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., with Reuben Jackson presenting “The Electric Period of Miles Davis.” Davis once observed, “I have to change. It's like a curse.” The ever-changing music that he recorded from 1969 to 1975 angered and bewildered many critics and fans, who accused the trumpeter of “selling out.” Jazz archivist and poet Reuben Jackson shares how recordings from Davis' Electric Period -
Police cleared in deadly shooting
The Vermont Attorney General's Office has ruled that a local police officer and two state troopers were justified when they shot and killed a man on July 19 after he was suspected of murdering his ex-girlfriend. Brattleboro Officer Ryder Carbone and Vermont State Police detective sergeants Jesse Robson and Samuel Truex aimed their guns at Matthew Davis, 34, of Fitchburg, Mass., after he ran toward them with a knife, the Attorney General's Office said on Sept. 26. The sequence of...
WSESD notified of impending lawsuits over abuse claims
Survivors who have alleged sexual abuse in the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) have named at least three adults, two of them teachers, saying the adults molested them at their schools and off-campus. Kim Dougherty, co-founder and partner of the civil litigation firm Justice Law Collaborative in North Easton, Massachusetts, has sent two letters to the WSESD on behalf of two former students, one who was in high school at the time of the alleged abuse and one who was...
Bandwagon Series hosts New Orleans performer
The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents Glen David Andrews, “The Crown Prince of Tremé and New Orleans' most charismatic live performer,” on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 3 p.m., at The Putney Inn, 57 Putney Landing Road. “New Orleans music goes straight to the soul, and I can't think of a better artist than Glen David Andrews who exudes that energy and brings it onto the stage,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director at Next Stage Arts, said in a news...
Baker Street Readers return with ‘The Dying Detective’
It has been two and a half years since the Baker Street Readers have shared a SherlockHolmes story at the Hooker-Dunham Theater. But now they are back with a dramatic reading of The Adventure of the Dying Detective by Arthur Conan Doyle, to be performed on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. Before the pandemic, the Readers presented a Sherlock Holmes story every month, all featuring James Gelter as Holmes and Tony Grobe as Dr. Watson, with special guest stars.
Vermont Pastel Society juried show coming to Brattleboro in October
Every year the Vermont Pastel Society (VPS) hosts a juried member show somewhere in the state. For the first time, the show this year will be held in Brattleboro. Vermont Artisan Designs on Main Street will host the show that opens Friday, Oct. 7, during the monthly Gallery Walk festivities. The show will continue through Nov. 18. An awards reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4 at the gallery. The mission statement of the...
Scottish trio comes to Epsilon Spires
North Sea Gas is billed as one of Scotland's most popular folk bands with great vocals and tremendous three-part harmonies, say organizers, and the band is coming to Epsilon Spires, 190 Main Street, on Saturday, Oct. 1. North Sea Gas members are Dave Gilfillan, Grant Simpson, and Ronnie MacDonald. The trio have been together for more than 40 years and have received Gold and Silver Disc awards from the Scottish Music Industry Association. They have regularly performed to sold out...
Keep the home fires burning? Get out your wallet, and dig deep.
As the mercury starts dropping with the shift from summer to fall, the heating season is bringing stress to a number of people this year, including one single mother in Brattleboro. “It has been almost unbearable not to be able to heat my home. It's actually terrifying,” says Candy Anne, who requested that her last name be withheld because of the sensitivity of her situation. Candy Anne heats her home primarily with wood, though she does have an oil backup.
Colonels use defense, running game to beat Fair Haven, 10-6
Keeping things simple turned out to be a good strategy for the Brattleboro Colonels football team. With a better mix of running and passing plays on offense and their best defensive effort of the season, the Colonels put it all together for a 10-6 win over the Fair Haven Slaters before a big homecoming weekend crowd at Natowich Field on Sept. 23. Colonels head coach Chad Pacheco said he simplified the offense and went back to the playbooks of his...
A daughter of acclaimed Vermont artists finds her own creativity mushrooming
Melany Kahn knows many people recognize her father, the late acclaimed artist Wolf Kahn, for his blurred, bucolic paintings. But she remembers his delight in searching for the details he left out of his landscapes. “My dad loved to forage for anything you could pluck off a tree or bush or pick off the ground,” Kahn recalled recently at the family's Vermont homestead. Her mother, fellow abstract expressionist Emily Mason, had a special affinity for mushrooms. “If you took a...