Issue #706
Multimedia art exhibit about social justice on display at Landmark College
A new exhibit in The Fine Arts Gallery at Landmark College explores issues of social justice and injustice through the multimedia works of Lani Asunción, Nima Nikakhlagh, Vick Quezada, and William Ransom.
Curated by Landmark College Associate Professor of Arts Samuel Rowlett, “In the Course of Human Events” will be on display through Friday, April 21, in the Fine Arts Gallery, which is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Vermonters turn fight to the financiers of climate change
A nationwide protest, including an action in Burlington, will call on major U.S. banks to end investments in fossil fuels
The transportation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gasses in Vermont, producing approximately 40 percent of our carbon emissions. That's why Rep. Mollie S. Burke, D-Brattleboro, has spent her 15 years in the Legislature on the Transportation Committee, working to fight climate change by lowering dependency on fossil...
Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market seeks new vendors
The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market (BAFM), which operates on Western Avenue each Saturday from May through October, is seeking applications from new vendors. Farmers, crafters, chefs, bodyworkers, and others who live in Southern Vermont or Cheshire County, New Hampshire, are welcome to apply. Applications are due Saturday, March 18,
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Early silent films to screen in Brattleboro
Two examples of early cinema will be shown at Epsilon Spires on Saturday, March 18, starting at 8 P.M.: Alfred Hitchcock's last silent film, Blackmail! (1929, 76 minutes), and Lois Weber's Suspense! (1913, 10 minutes). This event kicks off the spring 2023 series of silent films screened with live musical accompaniment in Epsilon Spires' converted historic chapel. Blackmail! follows the travails of a young woman who kills a man while defending herself from assault and is then blackmailed by an...
Milestones
College news • Rio Coursen of Putney was named to the President's List for the fall 2022 semester at Vermont Technical College. • Lia Clark of Saxtons River, Kathleen Dole of Bellows Falls, and Alex Shriver and Will Taggard of Brattleboro were all named to the Dean's List for the fall 2022 semester at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. • Kiera Noble of Guilford was named to the fall 2022 semester Dean's List at Adelphi University in Garden City, New...
Next Stage hosts The Foreign Landers on March 16
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of bluegrass and folk music by The Foreign Landers on Thursday, March 16, at 7 p.m. In a news release, Next Stage Production Director Barry Stockwell notes that The Foreign Landers' first concert at Next Stage “will be a highlight of our winter lineup of Twilight Music shows that feature young, up-and-coming, acoustic music artists from around the world.” Drawing from the musical styles of their homelands, transatlantic, multi-instrumentalist duo...
Around the Towns
Representative Town Meeting info sessions, district caucuses scheduled BRATTLEBORO - The Selectboard is expected to combine what has traditionally been two pre-Representative Town Meeting (RTM) informational meetings, in light of the cancellation of the first meeting because of the nor'easter. According to an announcement from Town Clerk Hilary Francis, the new, single meeting will likely take place Wednesday, March 22, at Academy School, beginning at 7 p.m. with district caucuses. An expanded information session to cover both the FY24 budget...
It is important to celebrate the mothers here at home
After reflecting on Elayne Clift's recent column celebrating women, I would like to emphasize the nurturing role of mothers. Growing up in what was considered a “nuclear family,” we kids generally had many reasons to love, and eventually respect, our mother daily. She'd greet us when we'd come home from school and listen to our triumphs and setbacks without too much prying. She'd gave us the autonomy to walk over to a friend's house or ride our bikes crosstown to...
Curriculum-building workshop 'Teaching Reconstruction' explores Black history
Amidst growing attacks on teaching Black history in American schools, Epsilon Spires will host a day-long workshop exploring the period after the Civil War known as Reconstruction, when slavery was abolished and formerly enslaved people were legally integrated into the United States. The workshop will be held Saturday, March 25, and will be led by facilitators from the Zinn Education Project, who have previously presented a sold-out workshop at Epsilon Spires on teaching climate justice in 2019. “One reads the...
Putney Library hosts talk on 'The Most Costly Journey'
Putney Public Library, at 55 Main Street, hosts “The Most Costly Journey: Migrant Farm Laborers, Asylum Seekers, and Immigration to Vermont,” on Tuesday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. This event is free and open to all. Who are the immigrants in Vermont? How did they get here, and what do they do? What specific hardships do they face in Vermont? Former immigration attorney, Susan Mills, and Kate Paarlberg-Kvam, executive director of the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) will discuss the...
Podcast explores creative minds in the region
Creativity, connections, and curiosity are the hallmarks of a weekly video podcast called “Eager To Know.” Saxtons River artist Ricky McEachern will debut the program on public access television in Bellows Falls and Keene, N.H., Wednesday, March 15, at 9 p.m. and Thursday, March 16, at 4 p.m., as well as through podcasting platforms. “I'm an extremely curious person and I love to connect with creative people,” said McEachern, who has produced 104 podcast episodes featuring interviews with creative people...
Elwell joins Groundworks staff as interim deputy executive director
Executive Director Josh Davis and the Groundworks Collaborative board of directors recently announced that former Brattleboro Town Manager Peter Elwell has joined the Groundworks staff as interim deputy executive director. According to a news release, the organization said that Elwell's appointment “is timely, as he will assist Davis and the Groundworks team as they continue to navigate a period of significant transition coming out of the pandemic. Additionally, Davis will be taking intermittent leave over the next few months to...
Annual Town Meeting roundup, round two
Here are some other results that did not make it into our Town Meeting Roundup in the March 8 edition: • After a lengthy debate, Rockingham voters approved spending $6,000 for a part-time contract with the Windham County Sheriff's Department to patrol Bartonsville and other rural sections of the town. • Voters in Jamaica and Londonderry both approved 1% local option taxes, while Halifax opted to pass on making a decision. According to the Department of Taxes, 49 Vermont municipalities...
BMH Board of Directors adopts resolutions on climate change, social justice
Members of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital's (BMH) board of directors unanimously voted to support efforts to fight climate change and strengthen hospital initiatives that promote the values of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. According to a news release, BMH recently signed on to the Health Care Climate Action Pledge - a leadership pledge being made by hospitals; health centers; health, professional, and academic organizations; and health systems from around the globe. By signing the pledge, BMH agrees to take part in...
Annie Patterson and Peter Blood perform in benefit for CASP
Songs of joy, resilience, and justice will be the focus on St. Patrick's Day, Friday, March 17, at All Souls Church in a benefit concert with Annie Patterson and Peter Blood. The concert is a benefit for CASP, the Community Asylum Seekers Project, to support people fleeing violence and repression to find a new life in southeastern Vermont. CASP offers those seeking asylum resources for basic needs and accompanies them on their journey toward building a new life in the...
Wendy's Soiree Series returns with concert by Su Terry
Su Terry brings her one-woman show, Samurai: Their Secret Life, to Vermont on Saturday, March 25, at 7 p.m., as part of Wendy's Soiree Series, co-presented with Temple of Artists. The show is a unique presentation of projected images with live narration and shakuhachi (Japanese flute) music. Known as a woodwind virtuoso, as well as a nine-time USKSF gold medalist in taijiquan, Su Terry has combined her passions for both music and martial arts in this first U.S. performance for...
WSESD chair foreshadows an update on abuse probe
As has been the case for about a year, the Tuesday, Feb. 28 Windham Southeast School District school board agenda included “sexual abuse investigation update” under the heading of “unfinished business.” Until that meeting, there has been virtually no update as board members say they are taking their cues from legal counsel. Several people, including Brattleboro Union High School alum Mindy Haskins Rogers, who broke the story of a history and culture of sexual abuse in the district in her...
Arts, humanities curators speak at Next Stage Arts
Next Stage Arts announces the NXT Curators series, supported in part by Vermont Humanities, offering an opportunity for audiences to hear from curators in various arts/humanities fields. The intent is to shine a light on lesser-known styles and genres, providing a behind-the-scenes look at what curators need to consider when working with their medium. “For most, the arts are something we interact with as a finished product. We love the musicians we love, but we don't understand the inner workings,”
Event celebrates Women’s History Month, women-owned businesses
The inaugural edition of She Means Business will take place on Thursday, March 23, at The Stone Church, 210 Main Street. The event will provide opportunities to learn, connect, and celebrate Vermont's women-owned businesses as part of Women's History Month. According to organizers, attendees will have the option to plan their day, selecting from two workshops, a QuickConnect networking session with lenders and resource providers, a business hop to select downtown businesses, and an evening reception. The event is open...
Five local players selected for Shrine team
Rosters were announced last week for the Vermont squad that will play in the 70th annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl on Aug. 5 at Castleton University's Dave Wolk Stadium, with four Bellows Falls players and one Brattleboro player making the team. Bellows Falls is sending running back Caden Haskell, center Jake Moore, quarterback Jamison Nystrom, and guard Dillon Perry, while Brattleboro is sending wide receiver Tristan Evans. In all, seniors from 31 high schools will be part of the Vermont...
Three years later, moving forward gently
Three years ago - March 10, 2020 - I sent my girls off to their dad's, knowing it would likely be the last easygoing, normal visit they would have with him for a while. I was right. The next day, I made the rounds: co-op, grocery stores, other errands. The town was out doing the same, almost as if we were expecting a major blizzard. Stock up on the basics. Toilet paper, bleach, hand sanitizer. Rice, beans, eggs. Cocoa, baking...
Safe, stable housing is a critical part of child development
Since 1968, the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development has provided inclusive education and family support to promote the success of children and families. For the past two years, we have been talking about developing housing. One of the questions we keep being asked is: Why? The first response is because we can. We own a property that has been a residential site, that is connected to town water and sewer infrastructure, and that is less than a...
Winooski’s second-half surge ends BF boys’ title run
The fifth-seeded Bellows Falls Terriers smelled an upset against the top-seeded and undefeated Winooski Spartans in the Division III boys' basketball semifinal on March 9 at the Barre Auditorium. The Terriers had them. They really did. But an injury to one of Bellows Falls' key players along with a spectacular second half by the Spartans resulted in 20-point defeat to Winooski, 71-51. The Spartans looked vulnerable in the early going. They coughed up four turnovers while Bellows Falls dominated the...
Putney group wants residents to add housing in their own backyard - literally
I find Mike Mrowicki's piece quite clever and disingenuous. The Friends of Putney group he tries hard to smear by accusing them of supporting Republicans who in turn support the Right to Life movement is a gross distortion, because Friends of Putney include Democrats, Republicans, Independents, women of all ages, people of color, poor folks and not-so-poor folks, radicals, hippies, and even Jane Fonda's daughter - whose mom, as Mr. Mrowicki well knows, is America's foremost radical - light years...
WSESD to take up $62,704,054 proposed operating budget March 21
The Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) will hold a public hearing about the proposed fiscal year 2024 school operating/capital budgets on Tuesday, March 21 in the Brattleboro Union High School gymnasium. Business Manager Frank Rucker says he believes the board “supports this budget as a fiscally responsible plan to respond to our school's student and community needs.” The proposed $62,704,054 general operating budget for FY 2024 represents a $1,620,583 or 2.7 percent increase to this year's operating budget. However, the...
Mid-session update: justice, education, and more
Although I had prepared speeches and paper handouts for folks around our county on Town Meeting Day, I unfortunately tested positive for Covid the day before and had to cancel my plans to visit different towns. It is especially disappointing because I was excited about the prospect of revisiting our old Town Meeting traditions and talking with folks to present my updates, hear their various issues, and listen in on the hearty town debates about different articles. But there's always...
‘Wild and inaccurate accusations’ against Peter Case
When I saw this piece written about Peter Case, I was appalled. Could GennaRose Nethercott be referring to the same Peter Case who has volunteered robust amounts of time and energy for Groundworks? Or perhaps she's addressing the fact that he spearheaded “Load the Latchis” for so many years? Is she really talking about the same guy, who serves as president of Black Mountain Assisted Family Living, once again dedicating his time and energy in service to our most vulnerable...
We need affordable units, but there must be a better site
This is kind of a response to a response, but I just wanted to say that I am not pleased at the location of the new Windham & Windsor Housing Trust project. I do, however, support the goals and think that most of their projects are well done. I moved up to Putney in 1976 and for many years often lived in substandard housing, because as a low-wage worker that was all I could afford. When my son was born...
WSESD to propose $62.7 million for next school year budget
The Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) will hold a public hearing about the proposed fiscal year 2024 school operating/capital budgets on Tuesday, March 21 in the Brattleboro Union High School gymnasium. A public informational hearing was to have taken place on March 14 but was cancelled due to the nor'easter. Meetings are rescheduled to Monday, March 20 at 6 p.m. Business Manager Frank Rucker says he believes the board “supports this budget as a fiscally responsible plan to respond to...
Digging out
Hours after the snow stopped falling, Windham County continued to dig out from a late-winter nor'easter that dumped 3 feet of snow - or more - in many spots in higher elevations. The storm knocked out power, telephone, cable, and internet for thousands. In the process, residents found themselves stranded in cold, dark homes as their roads were rendered impassible by downed trees, live wires, disabled vehicles, accidents, and - everywhere - thick, heavy snow. With his southern Vermont readers...
‘The Children’ explores generational responsibility
Over the last two weekends in March, the Apron Theater Company will present The Children, a play by Lucy Kirkwood, at the Hooker-Dunham Theater, 139 Main Street. The Apron Theater Company has produced important plays, modern and classic, including Top Girls, Other Desert Cities, and Mother Courage for more than a decade. Directed by Karla Baldwin, The Children brings actors Christopher Coutant, Gay Maxwell, and Jim Maxwell back on stage for the first time since Apron's 2019 production of Tartuffe.