BRATTLEBORO-After days of uncertainty and mixed messages from federal agencies implementing the orders of President Donald J. Trump, area nonprofits want to assure the community that all services will continue as usual and not add to any anxiety.
But organizations that provide critical services in Windham County faced grim uncertainty for hours last week, as an ambiguous federal funding freeze threatened to take effect and the nonprofits found themselves with no notice cut off from access to federal funding that they had been awarded.
News of an executive memorandum, released the evening of Jan. 27 by Matthew Vaeth, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, quickly spread through media outlets.
As the country grappled to interpret the subject line of the memo - "Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs" - many nonprofits in Windham County receiving federal funding knew all too well the gravity of the situation.
WESTMINSTER-I never imagined I would have to defend my Jewish identity in my own neighborhood, but the upcoming March 4 Annual Town Meeting Australian ballot in Brattleboro is forcing me to speak up. The proposed pledge of Article II, which takes a one-sided stance on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, makes...
Sarah R. Ellis is a writer, disability advocate, and former teen librarian who grew up in Brattleboro and now calls Burlington home. To learn more about bipolar disorder, visit the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance or the International Bipolar Foundation. BURLINGTON-I just went to a thoughtful, progressive show that...
PUTNEY-My name is Bex Slattery, and I am running for Selectboard in Putney. I am originally from Westport, Massachusetts. My appreciation for civic engagement came from growing up in a small town where my grandparents were deeply involved. My grandfather served on the School Committee, and I held signs for local candidates. They taught me that being engaged in the community is both a responsibility and a privilege. In my 20s, I started working on Tall Ships, where I met...
BRATTLEBORO-For the Brattleboro voters, the March 4 ballot is about more than just a symbolic pledge, it's about whether Brattleboro will support a divisive and misleading political statement. Article II asks voters to approve a pledge declaring the town an "apartheid-free community." It specifically targets Israel, accusing it of apartheid, settler colonialism, and military occupation. As a Jewish resident, I am alarmed by the rise in anti-Israel sentiment disguised as human rights activism. A pledge like this does not help...
NEWFANE-Crowell Art Gallery at Moore Free Library, 23 West St., is now featuring artwork by Saxtons River artist Ricky McEachern from Feb. 4 to March 28. The show, "Everything Is Now," is an exhibit of McEachern's representational oil paintings. "The title of the show - I think that just sort of represents a personal journey or awareness that I have become about life, but I feel like most of my paintings always have a sense of the moment in them,"
The writer is a member of the Rockingham Selectboard but submits this letter as a citizen. SAXTONS RIVER-Voters attending Rockingham's 2025 Annual Town Meeting at the Bellows Falls Middle School on Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m. will decide the future of our fire and rescue services. Article 9 will ask the voters to approve the creation of a single municipal Fire and Rescue Department managed by the town. The plan includes three stations in Rockingham, Saxtons River, and Bellows...
Nicholas Boke is a freelance writer and international educational consultant. CHESTER-It took less than a week to do so much damage. Less than a week for me to receive André's email with the subject line "Le pire est arrivé" - the worst has arrived. Less than a week to, among other things, shut down America's longstanding commitment to help impoverished people around the world try to improve their lives thanks to people like André and Belai and George Ali who...
NORTHFIELD, MASS.-So the libs who gathered in Brattleboro for the People's March are terrified that Trump has returned to the White House. Waaaaa. This bunch loved Joe and Kamala, but that woke era is over. But the Trump haters will continue to resist because they hate this country and this president who has been very busy restoring law and order. The Donald is keeping his promises. Joe promised to unite us, and he failed miserably. So bundle up, libs, and...
VERNON-I enthusiastically endorse Ian Hefele for Vernon town clerk because he has the qualifications, experience, and skills needed to do the job. First and foremost, a town clerk should be client-oriented and resourceful as well as a problem solver and able to patiently guide people through challenging situations. During the past 15 years, Ian has honed these skills in his work at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, at Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Greenfield, and at the ECDC Multicultural Community...
VERNON-I support Ian Hefele for Vernon town clerk in this year's election. I've known Ian for 15 years, and I can still be moved by the depths of his patience, understanding, compassion, and devotion to helping those around him. He is kind, intelligent, well-informed, hardworking, and generous with his time and his efforts. He is also my brother-in-law. But, even if I had just met him, as a stranger, at, say, a Vernon Elementary School function, Uncle Jesse's Café (one...
BRATTLEBORO-The Serious Illness Program (SIP) was created by Brattleboro Area Hospice to offer support, solace, and assistance to people going through a life-altering serious illness that may or may not carry a terminal prognosis. Becoming an SIP volunteer offers an opportunity to work with clients who are learning to live and thrive while they adjust to the changes that a serious illness brings. SIP volunteers can help in a variety of ways, for instance, by spending time one-on-one with SIP...
WATERBURY-VT Helplink, Vermont's statewide resource for alcohol and drug use support services, connects with people in Vermont 24/7. For nearly five years, VT Helplink resource specialists have been available by phone and through chat at VTHelplink.org to provide information and referrals to people seeking substance use information and support services. New this year, VT Helplink supports the option to text "LINK" to 802-565-LINK (5465) - the same number as the live call service - to connect with a resource specialist.
College news • Emily Maturo of Wardsboro was a member of Vermont State University's December 2024 graduating class. • The following local students were recognized for academic achievement in the fall 2024 semester at Vermont State University. Named to the President's List were Thad Engstrom Keep of Guilford, Jason Guerino of Vernon, Claire Holmes of Wardsboro, Trevor Kipp of Brattleboro, Nadine Kissell of Vernon, John Noe of Brookline, Maggie Parker of Grafton, and Kes Voulgarakis of Wilmington. Named to the...
Charter Revision Commission meets Feb. 6 BRATTLEBORO - Join Brattleboro's Charter Revision Commission for a discussion on the form of Brattleboro's annual town meeting. This public meeting is scheduled to take place in the Main Reading Room of Brooks Memorial Library on Thursday, Feb. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. For information, contact the Charter Revision Commission at [email protected]. Town Kindergarten Information Night is Feb. 6 BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro town Kindergarten Information Night will be held on Thursday, Feb.
BRATTLEBORO-Clowntown, the New England Youth Theatre's premier clown troupe, presents its newest show, "Clowns in a Clown Castle." "This one-of-a-kind performance is set in the grand (and utterly ridiculous) Castle Wiffenpoof, where social status means nothing and mischief reigns supreme," organizers said in a news release. "Whether you're royalty or peasantry, you're in for a night of side-splitting laughter and outlandish antics!" The servants of the Royal House of Wiffenpoof have recently discovered the concept of getting paid - and...
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) is pleased to announce 157 young artists and writers from across Vermont have been recognized by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for their exceptional artistic and literary talent. The students' award-winning artwork and writing will be exhibited at BMAC from Friday, Feb. 14, through Saturday, March 8, when the exhibit culminates in an awards ceremony at the museum at noon. The ceremony is free. Doors open at 10 a.m. Visual artist, graffiti...
BRATTLEBORO-Artist Adrienne Elise Tarver and curator Daricia Mia DeMarr discuss Tarver's site-specific, immersive multimedia exhibition, "Roots, Water, Air," in an online conversation presented by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. Tarver is an interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York, who works in painting, sculpture, installation, photography, textiles, and video. Invited by BMAC and DeMarr to create an installation for the museum's Mary Sommer Room, Tarver drew upon video footage she recorded...
GUILFORD-On Valentine's Weekend, Guilford Center Stage will present three performances of the 1988 play, Love Letters, by A.R. Gurney, at Broad Brook Community Center. The two-character show will be performed Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14 and 15, at 7:30 p.m; and Sunday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. Love Letters was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. The play unfolds as the two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, each read the notes and letters they wrote...
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present an evening of Québécois music from Canada and the U.S. by two trios - É.T.É and Yann Falquet with Emily Troll and Eric Boodman - on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Next Stage. É.T.É. concert experiences celebrate the joie de vivre of Québécois culture. With vocal harmonies, step-dancing, and instrumentation, the trio creates original compositions and unique arrangements of Québécois and Acadian repertoire. Since winning the OPUS prize for "Discovery of...
BELLOWS FALLS-The Rockingham Free Public Library announces a special community reading event featuring the book Gather by Vermont author Kenneth Cadow. Gather is this year's Vermont Reads book, a statewide, one-book community reading program sponsored by Vermont Humanities. Free copies of the book are available while supplies last at the library, Village Square Booksellers, Flat Iron Café, and Parks Place Community Center. In addition, a book discussion facilitated by Eric Bye from Vermont Humanities will be held on Wednesday, Feb.
BRATTLEBORO-Boston-based Juventas New Music Ensemble presents "Sounds of New England: Music Inspired by Places We Call Home." This program features compositions inspired by natural places in each of the five New England States, from the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the lighthouses of Rhode Island. The concert is set for Saturday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. at the Brattleboro Music Center. The program includes Stacy Garrop's "Beacon of the Bay," Oliver Caplan's "In the Direction of Dreams," Rachel Panitch's...
Richard Davis, a retired registered nurse, serves on the Brattleboro Selectboard as clerk. "These comments do not represent the Brattleboro Selectboard," he writes. "They are my personal thoughts." BRATTLEBORO-Many years ago, there were poor farms run by local towns where the needy people in a community would find help and shelter. I have also heard stories from older Vermonters that when the Legislature was comprised of House members elected from every town, some towns would elect the most indigent among...
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues for almost 20 years. BRATTLEBORO-It's déjà vu all over again. The robber barons are back. The wealthy have their cottages by the sea in the Hamptons, in international mansions, and at Mar-a-Lago instead of Newport. Their yachts are shining and staffed while rivers of money flow from the coffers of billionaires who escape paying taxes and offer their obscene wealth in exchange for political favor and power.
GREENFIELD, MASS.-Dear Mr. President, With all due respect, it's the "Gulf of Mexico." As the saying goes: you're entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Recalling President Clinton's one-time campaign mantra "It's the economy, stupid!" and recognizing you as our once-again single-term president, "It's the 'Gulf of Mexico,' silly!" That's ground truth, derived from the endemic language of the place. The lingua franca, the language of the people, knows no borders, sir. I live in the Connecticut...
-The Bellows Falls Terriers' girls' basketball team has had a great season so far, but they got tested on Jan. 30 when the Brattleboro Bears visited Holland Gymnasium. The Bears' dynamic backcourt of juniors Reese Croutworst and Abigail Henry finished with 26 and 16 points, respectively, as the Bears rolled to a 57-18 victory over the Terriers. In the first quarter, Croutworst (16 points) and Henry (eight points) were particularly effective during a 26-0 run that gave Brattleboro a 26-4...
SAXTONS RIVER-Decades ago, I took on a months-long job as a full-time babysitter for a wealthy family with two jobs and two kids. A 2½-year-old boy would be my main charge, and his month-old brother would also pass on to me when his mother returned to her employment after a maternity leave. That mild-mannered, contented infant seemed unlikely to require more than routine feedings, comfort, and stimulation, but his brother was in another class. Inquisitive, physically robust, and outgoing, Russell...
BRATTLEBORO-Michaella, 22, is from Burundi; Sidra, 20, is from Syria, but both have been far from home for some time now. Michaella was a refugee at Kakuma, a United Nations Refugee Agency camp in Kenya. Sidra was a transplant in Jordan. Before arriving in mid-January, each went through a rigorous application process to be accepted as one of 85 from among several thousand applicants into the Welcome Corps Campus (WCC) program currently underway at School for International Training (SIT) in...
BRATTLEBORO-She was in the room where it happened. She was in the room where, on Jan. 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump was once again inaugurated as president of the United States. In the room where, four years ago, the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection happened. When rioters spread feces on the walls and where one man gouged out the eye of a police officer. And she was there not because she had to be, but because she wanted to be. Hometown...
BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Jazz Center will present Billy Childs, one of the leading pianists, composers, and arrangers of our time, on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 4 p.m. Childs will perform with trumpeter Jason Palmer, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Ari Hoenig. They will be featuring material from the album The Winds of Change, which won a Grammy Award in 2023 for Best Instrumental Jazz Album of the Year. Billy Childs has earned 17 Grammy nominations and six Grammy awards. He is...
Dan DeWalt, a frequent contributor to these pages and one of the founders of this newspaper, writes that if he didn't love his country, he "wouldn't spend so much time trying to get it to live up to its purported principles." WILLIAMSVILLE-The IOB (insecure orange bully) has roared out of the gate as promised. He is co-opting the Justice (ha!) Department as he seeks his revenge and retribution for perceived slights and for those who had the audacity to stand...
Russell Bradbury-Carlin has served as executive director of Interaction: Youth Services and Restorative Justice (formerly Youth Services) for 10 years. This commentary comes to us via VTDigger.org. BRATTLEBORO-Brattleboro has been going through many of the same problems that other communities in the state and the country are experiencing: a significant increase in homelessness, addiction, and crime. And, while many of us in the human service community have seen these issues increase for a number of years, the pandemic and the...
DUMMERSTON-In Brattleboro, we are fortunate to have the Ethiopian Community Development Center (ECDC), which supports refugee resettlement. Our community has been enhanced by the contributions of many refugees, including those from Afghanistan and several countries in Africa. Refugees have benefited from language classes and caseworkers who assist with housing, medical resources, and education/training opportunities. Volunteers provide tutoring and transportation for medical appointments. I have had the privilege of getting to know several families through volunteering as a conversation partner. ECDC...
PUTNEY-The articles and commentary of the last several months regarding the problems that the town of Brattleboro is facing have been, in my opinion, very informative and balanced. I appreciate this because, though I don't live in Brattleboro anymore, I did live there for over 30 years and still have reasons to go there. Having said that, I have taken steps to minimize those visits in the past months due to experiences that echo many of the issues raised in...
BRATTLEBORO-Property taxes are expected to increase by 12.1% over this year if voters approve the Selectboard's recommended $25,184,081 million fiscal 2026 town budget at the Saturday, March 22 Annual Representative Town Meeting (ARTM). Total expenses are actually up 9.2%. "This budget is not about process," Town Manager John Potter told the Selectboard Jan. 21. "It's about policies and priorities that the Selectboard has chosen this year." He said the budget's objective is "maintaining quality of life in the face of...
GUILFORD-I met Isaac Evans-Frantz last summer while working at the Governor's Institutes of Vermont in Montpelier. Isaac was on the faculty of the Global Issues and Youth Action Institute, and we were paired up as teaching partners. Spending time planning and discussing issues with Isaac became a nightly routine, and a friendship blossomed. I watched him approach a classroom of high school students from all over Vermont with respect, curiosity, and great passion for the subject matter. Isaac brought his...
BRATTLEBORO-More than 80 adults ages 19 to 26 have come to town from Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Iraq, and Ethiopia to engage in college prep. Through Welcome Corps on Campus, a U.S. Department of State program that empowers U.S. colleges and universities to enroll and support refugee students through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, the School for International Training (SIT) opened its classrooms and dorms to welcome these students chosen to participate from among several thousand WCC applicants. At SIT's...