In the months leading up to last Tuesday's election, hundreds of Windham County residents participated in my campaign for the Vermont Senate.
I am grateful to those who hosted and attended “meet and greet” parties, to those who displayed my signs on their lawns, to those who contributed money, to those who endorsed me publicly, to those who made calls on my behalf, and to those who stood at the polls with my signs and literature on a pleasant primary day in August and the decidedly chilly Tuesday of the general election.
Jill Spiro, my campaign manager, is the most organized person I know, and she did a brilliant job of coordinating this effort.
I am delighted that I will be joined in Montpelier by Sen. Jeanette White, who has represented our county well for the last eight years.
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A letter to the editor from out-of-town visitor, Dr. Darryl Fischer of Silver City, N.M., that was published in the Brattleboro Reformer has garnered a lot of attention last week. In a letter published in the Reformer's Nov. 3 Letter Box, Dr. Fischer wrote that he was refused service...
Life just got a little more complicated with a new ordinance regarding yard sales. Selectboard member Ann DiBernardo had raised concerns that remaining unsold items in yard sales were left at the edge of sidewalks “interminably, forever.” Now, after Jan. 4, unsold items from yard sales, tag sales, garage sales, barn sales and porch sales must be removed from the property within three days, with nothing left in the public right of way. Owners will be billed at the highway...
Home At Last, Inc., a nonprofit volunteer group working to provide permanent housing and support services to homeless veterans, buys inexpensive mobile homes in established area parks, then renovates and furnishes them for veterans, who put up 30 percent of their income toward rent and utility costs. Robert Miller of West Brattleboro, an 86-year-old disabled World War II combat veteran, helped found Home at Last nearly three years ago. So far, he said the all-volunteer organization has placed four people...
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When I teach writing to inmates, I don't know what my students are in jail for; it's better that way. I see them only as men with poems to sing. But last year, I had a student who didn't want to sit in a room with sex offenders. When I told a co-worker, she said, “That's interesting. You know what he's in for, don't you?” “No, and I'm not sure I want to,” I said. “It was a very big...
The ninth annual Art Raffle hosted by the Rockingham Arts and Museum Project (RAMP) will be held on Saturday, Nov. 13, starting at 3 p.m. at Boccelli's, 46 Canal Street, across from the train station in downtown Bellows Falls. The raffle offers an opportunity to win original artwork, meet artists, fellow art lovers, have some great food and support RAMP. More than 50 regional artists have donated works. Images of the donated works are posted on the RAMP website at...
A few weeks back, the disagreement between Gov. Jim Douglas and the Vermont Department of Education about the allocation of $19 million of federal stimulus money for public education received some publicity. This money came to Vermont as a result of the leadership of U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders in Washington. In order to assess the wisdom of sending federal stimulus monies to the state for public education, we need some context: • Vermont is in a fiscal...
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the voters in Windham County for participating in the election process. It was an exciting season and I, as a candidate, was honored to take part. I thank many of you whom I met for sharing your concerns for our community and state and allowing me to hear your ideas regarding the challenges we face.
Dance • Bollywood comes to Main Street Arts: East meets West when the dance techniques featured in India's Bollywood films come to Main Street Arts in a workshop Friday, Nov. 12. Gretchen Abendschein will teach the basic steps of this stylistic fusion of westernized contemporary funk with semi-classical folk dances of India that are key elements in many of the films produced in Mumbai, home to Bollywood and one of the largest centers of film production in the world. No...
The first Westminster West Festival of Squashes, a fundraiser for the Westminster West Public Library, held Oct 16 in Westminster West village, was a great success. Festival-goers enjoyed a wide range of dishes at the squash café. The squash identification treasure hunt introduced children and adults to the diversity of squash that can be grown in our region, and children also got to exercise their creativity in designing intriguing squash sculptures. Neil Taylor provided festival-goers and organizers with much needed...
Are you looking to support community radio and drive away with an ornate 1891 black walnut Estey organ in the process? Or maybe protect your treasured electric guitar with a travel case approved for U.S. airlines? How about an original piece of artwork, a relaxing massage, some new designer clothes (in your size), a rare signed snowboard or a loaded hot dog? Top these treasures off with a sack of organic potatoes? Anything is possible when WOOL-FM, an FCC-licensed community...
Watch for this headline: “Nuclear Free Vermont Pickets Supermarket; Radioactive Food Discovered In Produce Section.” And it wouldn't be a joke. Food contains radioactivity. One ordinary banana contains radioactivity equivalent to 40 liters of water with the EPA's maximum allowable concentration of tritium: 0.00000002 curies of tritium per liter. That number appears tiny when written in terms of the basic radiation unit, curies. However, science and the media report tritium concentrations in picocuries. A picocurie is a trillionth of a...
Obituaries Editor's note: The Commons will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham County and others, on request, as community news, free of charge. • Kimerlee R. “Kim” Carleton, 58, of Brattleboro. Died Nov. 5 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Husband of Colleen Johnson for 34 years. Brother of Barbara LaFarr of Brattleboro and Terry Carleton of Somers, Conn. Graduate of Brattleboro Union High School, Class of 1972. Had been employed for 20 years at G.S. Precision, where he retired...
The Historical Society of Windham County received an Award of Merit from the League of Local Historical Societies at its annual meeting and conference held on Oct. 29 in Bennington. The Historical Society of Windham County was recognized for its second annual history fair, which took place on Aug. 14 on the historic Common in Newfane, Vermont. Mark Hudson, Vermont Historical Society executive director, presented the award in the category of educational outreach. The event featured exhibits by the Vermont...
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Entergy Corp, the Louisiana-based owner of Vermont Yankee, confirmed months-long rumors regarding its intention to sell the 38-year-old nuclear plant but remains tight-lipped regarding details. Entergy issued a press release Thursday saying a process is under way to explore the potential sale of its 605-megawatt nuclear plant. While no decision has been made to sell the plant, the company expects interest from multiple parties. The sale process is being conducted confidentially, and no additional details will be released at this...
Thanks to the voters of Putney, Dummerston and Westminster for presenting me with the opportunity - and the honor - to serve you again in the Vermont House of Representatives for the Windham-5 district. It feels more daunting than ever, given the tough times we are facing. I am not daunted by the hard work ahead, but by the challenge of helping bring together the polarities in the state electorate. My promise is to work hard to represent you well...
Thank you very much to the voters of the Windham-4 towns of Athens, Brookline, Grafton, Rockingham, part of North Westminster, and Windham for your support for re-election as your state representative in the Nov. 2 general election. Thank you also to those who donated their time, talents, and energy to the effort. Many thanks to my family, friends, and employer, without whose help and understanding it would be difficult to experience success. I truly appreciate the confidence and trust you...
I want to thank the voters in Athens, Brookline, Grafton, a portion of North Westminster, Rockingham, and Windham for re-electing me state representative. I am truly honored by the trust you continue to place in me, and I promise to work hard for you. I encourage you to contact me with any questions, ideas, or concerns. I can be reached at 1612 Old Cheney Rd., Windham, VT 05359, (802) 874-4182. My e-mail address is [email protected]. During the legislative session, which...
My campaign to represent Windham County in the Vermont State Senate is over. The two seats were won by Peter Galbraith and the incumbent, Jeanette White. I ran as who I am - a moderate Republican, with a mixture of what I think were good ideas from an assortment of places. To a large extent, my campaign and this vote was a referendum regarding Vermont Yankee. With the prospect of Vermont Yankee's closing considered an urgent reality, I thought voters...
Forty years ago, a Brattleboro landmark was threatened with extinction. The five-story Brooks House, built in 1871, was one of the largest hotels in New England and a landmark destination for travelers and local residents alike. It remains the largest commercial structure in Brattleboro, with 175 feet of frontage on Main Street and another 120 feet on High Street. By the late 1960s, the Brooks House had fallen on hard times, and the building was threatened with demolition. Norman B.
Brattleboro has defied the recession in one respect - it has had a much lower rate of commercial vacancies than other towns in New England. But many of the commercial spaces available in the downtown are in the Brooks House, owned by Jonathan Chase, whom Andrea Livermore, executive director of Building a Better Brattleboro, described as “really, really choosy about who he brings in.” Chase “wants a good business plan and an assurance that they will be viable,” she said.
Why, in an age of cultural homogenization, has New England managed to retain a distinct regional identity? Judson D. Hale Sr., 77, the longtime editor-in-chief of Yankee magazine and the Old Farmer's Almanac, offers this observation from David M. Shribman, former political writer for The Boston Globe. “The United States is increasingly a nation of ambiguities painted in a dull wash,” Shribman wrote in 1999. “New England, in contrast, is vivid and distinct, a region of sharp lines.” He added,
“I felt they had an earnest need for music, a way to have their spirits lifted.” That's what musician, farm manager, butcher, husband and father Brian Bousquet said is the inspiration behind his newly formed charity “Music For Our Vets.” The group will hold a fundraising concert - “Free Music for Veterans!” - with the help of Wardsboro Congregational Yoked Parish, its pastor, Peter Carlson, and parishioners at Wardsboro Town Hall on Sunday, Nov. 14, from 7 p.m. to 9...
Hey look,” said one parent to another while waiting to pick up their children at the end of the school day at Academy School, in West Brattleboro. “The kids did a newspaper.” I knew I was in the right place. I was at the school to volunteer to both interview the kids, and to teach a writing lesson. Hot off the presses was this school year's first edition of The Red Clover Times. As I made my way through the...
The foothills of southeastern Vermont were once dairy country, although by the time I arrived, 20 years ago, dairying was mostly finished. One farm in the neighborhood still kept a few milkers, though, and it was there that I became acquainted with a particular local custom that is, I find, rarely celebrated in articles on endearing rural ways through the seasons. Their authors will tell you how to tap a maple in March, mow hay in June, and make cider...
The Division III football championship game to be played this Saturday morning at Castleton State College will definitely have a Connecticut Valley flavor to it. The Bellows Falls Terriers and the Windsor Yellowjackets, two rivals with a long history between them, will face off in the title game at 11 a.m. Top-seeded Bellows Falls punched its ticket to the championship with a dominating 33-8 win over the Oxbow Olympians at Hadley Field on Saturday, while No. 2 Windsor advanced with...
Days after Entergy announced it placed Vermont Yankee up for sale, boasting a record of reliable operation, on-site officials shut the 605-megawatt nuclear plant Sunday night to investigate a leak in the feedwater system piping. “The decision to shut the plant down was conservative and based on industry experience with feed water systems as well as worker safety,” said Entergy spokesman Larry Smith, who asserted that the leak “poses no threat whatsoever.” The leaking water, containing multiple radioactive isotopes, including...
Thanks to Windham County for having faith in me - sending me back to Montpelier for my fifth term as your Senator. Thanks to the candidates - Peter Galbraith, Hilary Cooke, Lynn Corum, Aaron Diamonstone, and Toby Young. Democracy requires participation, and I applaud you for becoming involved. Thanks to those citizens and groups who sponsored and turned out for forums in order to become better informed voters, to the media that did a great job of getting information out,