Issue #798
Dummerston rep. resigns from WSESD board
BRATTLEBORO-After serving two years of her three-year term on the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) school board, Dummerston representative Eva Nolan has resigned.
"I have made the difficult decision to resign from WSESD so that voters can have ample time to choose their representative for the rest of the year," Nolan wrote in her resignation letter, effective Jan. 1. "I genuinely feel that under the current board structure there isn't a clear path toward meaningful progress."...
C&S Wholesale Grocers to lay off workers in Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Department of Labor has received notice that C&S Wholesale Grocers is planning layoffs at its Old Ferry Road warehouse and distribution center starting in March. Labor Commissioner Mike Harrington said on Jan. 10 that the planned layoffs will involve fewer than 50 employees and will not take...
Rock Voices presents its winter concert
BRATTLEBORO-Join director Bob Thies and Rock Voices for an evening of choral music. Rock Voices is backed up by a full, professional rock band. Add to that the harmonies of Tony Lechner's arrangements, sung by a 50-voice choir. The concert will be held at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main...
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RFPL, Main Street Arts present ‘Murder By the Book’ on Jan. 17, 18
SAXTONS RIVER-The Rockingham Free Public Library, in collaboration with Main Street Arts, invites the community to an evening of mystery and murder with a production of Murder by the Book, a play written by Louise Teasdale and sponsored by mystery author Louise Penny. Performances will be Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17 and 18, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 19, at 2 p.m. at Main Street Arts in Saxtons River. The town of Two Spruce is about to lose their...
Around the Towns
Kindergarten sign-ups begin in Windham Southeast BRATTLEBORO - If you live in Brattleboro, it's time to register your child for kindergarten. The three elementary schools in Brattleboro have begun kindergarten registration for children who turn five on or before Sept. 1, 2025. You can find information and links to all forms at wsesu.org (click on the enrollment tab). Families who would like to request paper copies can contact Kerri Beebe at 802-579-1013 or [email protected]. If your child attends a private...
Cellist Mike Block, kora player Yacouba Sissoko visit Next Stage
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts presents a special duo collaboration between cellist Mike Block and master kora player Yacouba Sissoko on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 pm at Next Stage. Block is a multi-style cello player, composer, singer, and educator, who says he has a passion for cross-cultural collaborations. In addition to his solo performances and touring bands, since 2005 Block has been a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, founded by Yo-Yo Ma, with which he has been featured as a...
Governor’s Institutes of Vermont accepting applications for summer 2025 programs
The Governor's Institutes of Vermont (GIV) has just opened applications for the 2025 offerings of their residential summer programs. Vermont ninth, 10th, and 11th grade students are invited to apply. GIV Institutes take place on Vermont college campuses and give their attendees the opportunity to dive deep into a topic of interest for an intensive 1–2 weeks. Each Institute is focused around a career-oriented topic. Courses on offer this year are Arts, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Global Issues & Youth Action, Health...
Milestones
College news • Hunter Smith, a criminal justice major from Westminster, was named to the President's List for the fall 2024 semester at Husson University in Bangor, Maine. • Jesse Peter Dykes of West Wardsboro, a junior majoring in data science, was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2024 semester at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. • Andrew J. Peloso of Townshend was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2024 semester at St. Michael's College...
Northern Roots Festival returns
BRATTLEBORO-The 18th annual Northern Roots Traditional Music Festival, directed by Keith Murphy, returns the weekend of Jan. 24–26 to the Brattleboro Music Center. The Festival opens Friday, Jan. 24, with a special French Canadian Soirée, sponsored in part by Délégation du Québec à Boston. This concert, set for 7:30 p.m., will feature some of the best-known names in the French-Canadian music world, including accordionist Sabin Jacques, pianist Rachel Aucoin, fiddler Pascal Gemme, guitarist and singer Yann Falquet, in addition to...
Girl Scouts resume selling namesake cookies
Girl Scouts in Vermont and New Hampshire have already kicked off the 2025 cookie season, a time when scouts "hone their entrepreneurial skills as they find new and inventive ways to sell cookies, unboxing brighter futures for themselves," according to a news release from Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains. Scouts who sell cookies acquire "a host of invaluable entrepreneurial skills, including goal setting, money management, decision-making, people skills, and business ethics," and "obtain transferable life skills as...
A night of up-and-coming rock, alternative music at Heart Rose Club
BRATTLEBORO-A night of rock and alternative music from local and regional up-and-coming artists will hit the stage at Heart Rose Club, 11 Green St., on Friday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. Technicolour LTD hails from Brattleboro and Keene. Combining the artistic passions of Miles Ackerman-Hovis, Keaton Walsh, and Lucas Majer, their sound circles the genres of rock, post-punk and grunge. Evelynroze is an award-winning singer-songwriter, actress, and advocate. Based in Massachusetts, write organizers in a news release, Evelynroze "embraces vulnerability...
Brattleboro Concert Choir presents 'An Hour to Dance'
BRATTLEBORO-"An Hour to Dance" is the Brattleboro Concert Choir's invitation to be moved by music made for dance. Directed by Jonathan Harvey, the choir's performances will feature dance-focused choral works by Gwyneth Walker, Johannes Brahms, Sydney Guillaume, and Charles Stanford. Two concerts are scheduled, the first on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Latchis Theatre; the second is Sunday, Jan. 19, at 4 p.m., also at the Latchis. The program "is an exploration and celebration of the relationship...
New exhibit by Melissa Rubin goes on display at CX Silver Gallery
BRATTLEBORO-"Field Notes: Recent Work by Melissa Rubin" will be on exhibit from Friday, Jan. 17 through May 25 at CX Silver Gallery, 814 Western Ave. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, Jan. 18, from 1 to 4 p.m. The exhibit is described as comprising "visual notations referencing the understory, the world below the canopy of the trees, which is teeming with life, decay, the delicate balance in play, and the fragility of the natural environment. Described as a...
Photographer Adeline Praud will speak at VCP
BRATTLEBORO-Vermont Center for Photography (VCP) will host an artist talk featuring Adeline Praud, a talented and innovative photographer based in Nantes, France, known for her thought-provoking work that often tackles challenging subject matter, on Sunday, Jan. 19, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. This event offers an intimate opportunity to explore the artist's creative process, discuss her work, and engage in a Q&A session. It is being held in conjunction with Praud's current solo exhibition "A War On Us," which opened...
Latchis screens series of Mike Leigh films
BRATTLEBORO-Latchis Arts and Ian Moran are partnering to present Devised & Directed: The Films of Mike Leigh, a film and discussion series on four consecutive Saturdays this winter starting on Jan. 25. The series highlights the work of British writer-director Mike Leigh and is curated by Ian Moran, a Brattleboro resident and host of the forthcoming (Spring 2025) podcast Devised & Directed: The Films of Mike Leigh, the first to cover the entirety of Leigh's filmography, and featuring in-depth conversations...
Three new shows open at Canal Street Art Gallery
BELLOWS FALLS-Canal Street Art Gallery, 23 Canal St., presents solo shows by Basha Freudenburg, Dorian Sanders, and Sandy Sherman, all opening Friday, Jan. 17, and on display through March 16. As part of Bellows Falls 3rd Fridays, from 5 to 7 p.m. there will be an opening reception for the artists, and the public is invited to join a Free Self Expression session. The MC Noyes "Vermont Trees" solo show and the Kathleeen Govotski solo show are both open through...
Evans-Frantz: a lifetime commitment to betterment of community
BRATTLEBORO-I am personally asking every Brattleboro voter I know to step forward and support Isaac Evans-Frantz for a one-year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard. Isaac is a wonderfully committed individual who thinks globally and acts locally. As director of Action Corps, a nonpartisan advocacy organization that grew out of his work with Oxfam America, he had been a campaigner to protect democracy in the U.S. and save lives around the world. Born and raised in Brattleboro, Isaac has a lifetime...
Echoes
15 years ago January 2010 issue If you think you're cold, consider the frigid conditions on a 121.9-mile walk from Brattleboro to Montpelier with daily distances between 6.2 miles and 15 miles. From Jan. 2 to 13, participants in the "Step It Up to Shut It Down: A Winter's Walk" will do just that on a pilgrimage to persuade the state Legislature not to renew the license of the Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon, set to expire in...
Local lawmakers get committee assignments
-With the start of the 2025-26 legislative biennium at the State House in Montpelier came the reshuffling of committee assignments in the House and Senate. Windham County's two incumbent Democratic senators, Wendy Harrison of Brattleboro and Nader Hashim of Dummerston, will be in charge of committees in that chamber this biennium. Harrison will lead the Institutions Committee, replacing Russ Ingalls, R-Essex, who led the committee in the last biennium. Ingalls will now lead the Agriculture Committee. Hashim will chair the...
‘Real Solutions’ forum draws crowd upset about Brattleboro crime
BRATTLEBORO-Residents are angry about what is going on in their town, with drugs and crime heading the list. And Hank Poitras, 42, otherwise known as Planet Hank, knows how to rev them up. On Friday night, he filled American Legion Post 5 to overflowing with people who wanted to express their outrage at open drug dealing, needles on the ground, people defecating and urinating on Flat Street, and their extremely high taxes. At least 200 residents, including police in uniform,
‘Basketball with Bernie’ draws a crowd in BF
-There was a big crowd in Bellows Falls Union High School's Holland Gymnasium on Jan. 11, but they weren't there to see the Terriers play basketball. About 200 people showed up for an informal free throw shooting contest for local elementary, middle school, and high school students that was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. There were 120 participants, each of whom got a free basketball and a certificate of recognition from Sanders. It was the third such "Basketball with...
Vermont’s arts sector braces for political impact
-Susan McClure, executive director of the Vermont Arts Council (VAC), is solid in her reassurances for those working in arts and culture in the state. Joining her at a Dec. 5 webinar, Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup, executive director of the Vermont Humanities Council (VHC) also made clear that what's known for sure is the unknown, given changes on the horizon at the federal level and the priorities of the incoming Trump administration. "Our biggest message to you is keep at it,
VY advisory panel fails to fulfill its potential
The writer is a member of the board of directors of Citizens Awareness Network. EASTHAMPTON, MASS.-Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS, or VY) is coming down as you read this. It may surprise you to hear from this long-time antinuclear activist that there is much to be grateful for with VY's decommissioning. With the participation of local activists, the state worked out a fairly robust agreement with the owner of VY, NorthStar, to monitor all cleanup and financial activities and...
Pushing the harp beyond ‘naked baby angels’
BRATTLEBORO-Initially, listeners might not associate the harp with jazz music, which is one of the reasons this concert is so significant. Brandee Younger is passionate about the harp's role in the jazz tradition, and one of her goals is to correct our misconceptions. Younger will be performing on Saturday, Jan. 18, with her working trio, which includes Rashaan Carter on electric and acoustic basses and Allan Mednard on drums. Many VJC aficionados were moved by Younger's appearance with Makaya McCraven's...
Eva Nolan served WSESD so well
The writer notes: "Although I am a member of the WSESD and WSESU school boards, the opinions in this letter are entirely my own." BRATTLEBORO-The departure of Eva Nolan is a profound loss for the Windham Southeast School District board. While we trust the voters will fill her seat with someone committed to serving all the children in our district, it's impossible to replicate the unique perspectives and significant contributions Eva brought to the table. Eva's voice was shaped by...
Brattleboro residents call for municipal staff cuts
BRATTLEBORO-Facing a 22% municipal property tax hike this coming fiscal year, town leaders have suggested lowering expenses through everything from curbing office-supply purchases to closing the public pool. But the eight-resident Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee is questioning why officials aren't slicing into the biggest percentage of the budget pie: personnel. Municipal leaders in Vermont's 247 cities and towns, now drafting 2025-26 budget proposals for March Town Meeting consideration, are reporting challenges with costlier health insurance, continuing 2023 and 2024...
WSESU will manage food service for schools in three towns,
BRATTLEBORO-In the hope that students will eat more nutritionally and feel more healthy, the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) board voted unanimously last month to transition to a self-operated food service program. The program will be fully in place by June for the Summer Food Service Program prior to the start of the 2025–26 school year this fall. Food Program Coordinator Susan Grabowski called the move "groundbreaking" in her announcement. "This decision marks a pivotal step toward aligning our meal...
Evans-Frantz: a leader who will value everyone in the community and listen equitably
BENNINGTON-The convention hall loomed around me. I was terrified of the fancy suits, the professional small talk, the daunting speeches. Why was I here - at 19 years old - and what did my voice matter? Then I saw a face in the crowd that brightened my mood: It was my longtime friend, colleague, and mentor Isaac Evans-Frantz. You know that feeling when you're alone and then someone you admire and trust comes up to you to save the day?
Thank you for a sweet afternoon
BRATTLEBORO-Saturday afternoon, December 7th brought a production of nearly 40 new homes to Windham County - in Gingerbread form - as Windham & Windsor Housing Trust hosted our first-ever Home Sweet Home event. Despite December being an incredibly busy month chock-full of wonderful activities to participate in, we had a good crowd helping us build homes. Our workshop was set up with free home-building kits and candy to decorate, and finished homes and structures were sited on our "designated village...
Now is our invitation to do better
Hannah Sorila is a writer and community organizer who aims to align intention and impact in community safety and public policy. She is a Representative Town Meeting member from District 8. BRATTLEBORO-When I was a first-year college student, I read a speech by Ivan Illich called "To Hell with Good Intentions." It fundamentally changed my life. In it, Illich critiques the hypocrisy (likely unconscious in many of the students being addressed) of engaging in critical analysis of the power dynamics...
County’s sole medical cannabis dispensary closes
BRATTLEBORO-The only medical cannabis dispensary in the region, CeresMed South on Putney Road, closed its doors on Dec. 12, significantly disrupting access for Windham County's 235 residents with active state-issued medical cannabis cards. For customers who relied on the firm to access medical cannabis products, the closure created a gap in access to relief for qualifying medical conditions. "There are certain products and services that just aren't available in adult-use dispensaries," said James Pepper, chair of the state's Cannabis Control...
'Woeful ignorance or deliberate malice'
MIDDLEBURY-CCM Holland Mills' letter itself is filled with untrue statements and harmful rhetoric, which I, as a member of the Jewish community, cannot let pass without comment. Mr. Mills claims that the recent military action in Lebanon wasn't for defense. That assertion shows either woeful ignorance or deliberate malice. Since Oct. 8, 2023, Hezbollah has launched almost 9,000 rockets at Israel, resulting in the deaths of 46 Israelis and forcing 70,000 Israeli citizens to leave their homes. Israel tried to...
Republicans wary of Trump have the 'Jim Jeffords solution'
PUTNEY-The Jim Jeffords ("I didn't leave the party, the party left me") solution: The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate both have narrow majorities, and in two years 100 % of House members and one third of the Senate will be contested. Donald Trump got the "anger vote" - it was not a mandate. It was aimed at the incumbents and will soon be directed at the Trump administration. Both the House and Senate were elected to represent their constituents,
Free the drugs - one idea to address our collective trauma
WEST BRATTLEBORO-Free the drugs. I suggest the state of Vermont offers free drugs administered by trained medics from mobile vans. People with addictions can be invited, educated, and administered free drugs. If these patients show interest, then alternative medications and other modalities to control and end addiction can be offered. Extreme? What is extreme is abandoning people with addictions to be preyed upon by drug dealers and gangs. Falling into the trap of buying illegal drugs leads to home invasions,
Please slow down
Emily Hallock is a patient care technician at Brattleboro Retreat. She originally posted this piece in the Eastern VT Route 9 Road Conditions group on Facebook after a two-car crash in Marlboro claimed one life on Jan. 13. WILMINGTON-I don't know exactly what caused the fatal accident earlier this morning on Route 9, but I really want to say ... please slow down. Please be considerate. Please be careful and alert. Please think about others while you're driving. I commute...
Mr. Rumrill’s opus
ROCKINGHAM-Longtime Bellows Falls Middle School (BFMS) music teacher Stanley Rumrill Jr. has been named the Vermont Music Educator of the Year by the Vermont Music Educators Association (VMEA). Last spring, Rumrill was named the Vermont District 6 Music Educator of the Year and, this fall, he was chosen from that group of district awardees for the statewide recognition. All music educators in grades K–12 qualify to be nominated. "I'm humbled by this," Rumrill said. "It's great, and I really appreciate...