Town plans repairs to Palmer property culvert

The town bears responsibility for repairing the Palmer property dam culvert, work on which can begin when Selectboard Vice-Chair Todd Lawley becomes available. He reportedly is traveling.

The culvert repair was the final piece of new business discussed at Selectmen's Aug. 1 meeting. Board Chair Jon Mack announced that this repair is the town's responsibility, and that officials had gotten advice from the Vermont Agency of Transportation on how best to handle it.

In contrast, post-Irene federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds were made available for a size upgrade to the Wiswall Hill Road culvert, though that project is on hold.

“We want to get it [the Palmer property culvert] taken care of,” Mack said. He explained that the next step is to continue to work with Lawley.

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Milestones

Births • In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), Aug. 3, 2013, a daughter, Hanna Jane Petty, to Amy B. Wood and Daemon Petty of Guilford; granddaughter to John Petty and Ellen Proshansky, Andrea Matthews and Thomas Toleno, Douglas Wood, and Bart Bevis and the late Nancy Bevis. College news • Eric...

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Marlboro College offers classes for area high school students

Once again this fall semester, Marlboro College is welcoming high school students who are looking for a unique opportunity for academic challenge and enrichment. As part of Marlboro's effort to reach out to the local community, motivated high school juniors and seniors (or home-school equivalent) are eligible to take...

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Abene African Dance & Drum Festival returns to Brattleboro

African Dance Vermont and the Arts Council of Windham County present the ninth annual Abene African Dance and Drum Festival, Aug. 23-25, at the (air-conditioned) Stone Church, 210 Main St. Caro Diallo, Senegalese choreographer and lead dancer of the dance troupe Black Soofa, is returning to town for the festival. Advance materials for the event note he has been the primary teacher and inspiration for Abene, which was named for his village in southern Senegal, West Africa and means “place...

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Do turbines need fuel oil?

RE: “What has changed in a year?” [Viewpoint, July 31]: I almost never see the issue that concerns me mentioned in any articles about wind power. I did read once that it takes fuel oil to power up a wind turbine. Now maybe that is not correct, but if it is, it seems to me it should be at the forefront with the other important concerns.

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Further wind power discussion

RE: “What has changed in a year?” [Viewpoint, July 31]: Leading Vermont scientists, educators, and journalists disagree strongly with Governor Peter Shumlin's claim that birds, bats, and bears are expendable in the effort to keep the planet safe. Peak Keepers recorded a roundtable discussion in December, moderated by Tom Slayton, and a second roundtable discussion was recorded recently.

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Roots musician Little Toby Walker to play, teach at Hooker-Dunham Theater

On Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m., internationally acclaimed blues musician Little Toby Walker will perform a benefit concert for Twilight Music at the Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery at 139 Main St. in downtown Brattleboro. Special guests Steve Chipman on acoustic guitar and Thom Huntington on upright bass are taking time out of their world tour to open the show with a 45-minute set. Walker will lead a blues workshop from 1 to 2:30 p.m. that day. Only 12 seats...

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Around the Towns

Old Ferry Road repairs delayed BRATTLEBORO - Pavement reclamation on a section of Old Ferry Road is now rescheduled for Thursday, Aug. 22. On Friday, Aug. 23, work moves to Marlboro Avenue between Fairground Road and the ending location, just north of Home Street. There have been a couple of delays due to equipment failure, but the equipment should be here this week. Lane Construction is contracted for this work. On Old Ferry Road, reclaiming begins at Glen Orne Drive...

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A place for people with disabilities, and their buddies

Residents may have a new place to gather, thanks to the work of several committed community members. Julie Tamler, founder of Brattleboro Center for People with Disabilities, a recently established nonprofit, hopes to create what she's calling “an inclusion center,” a safe and accessible environment for all members of the community. Tamler says she sees the space as a drop-in center for those with and without disabilities to gather, take classes, and host community events. In the next few months,

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Sheriff’s Department says seasonal homes are vulnerable to break-ins

The Windham County Sheriff's Department put in 27¼ hours of service on 24 calls here in July, according to sheriff's office representative Cpl. Mark Anderson, delivering the department's monthly report to the Selectboard on Aug. 1. Anderson also provided a sneak peek at next month's report. Earlier that day, he said, two homes apparently were broken into. “A couple of alarms went off today, and it sounded like there was entry made into houses, so they weren't false alarms, Anderson...

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Will new coach, offense bring football success for Colonels?

The Brattleboro Union High School football team started practicing last week as they prepare for their opening game of the 2013 season against Bellows Falls at Natowich Field on Aug. 30. The Colonels have a new head coach, John Callahan, who replaces Mike Hatt, who coached the previous three seasons. Callahan, 61, has plenty of experience, as well as a reputation as a fix-it man with a long track record of rebuilding ailing football programs. He played high school football...

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Federal appeals court: State does not have authority to shut down Vermont Yankee

Three justices from the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City have decided that the Vermont Legislature is federally preempted from shutting down the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. After U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha made the same preemption ruling in January 2012, Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell appealed to the higher court. In a 56-page decision, the appellate judges upheld the crux of Murtha's ruling in favor of Entergy Corp., Vermont Yankee's parent company. On Aug. 14,

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BAJC prepares for High Holy Days

At sundown on Wednesday, Sept. 4, Jewish people all over the world will welcome Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year 5774, beginning a sacred period known as the Days of Awe that culminates 10 days later on Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - observed this year on Sept. 14. Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. Because of differences between the secular solar calendar and the Hebrew lunar calendar, the first...

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Jay Craven’s ‘Northern Borders’ to play two dates at NEYT

Award-winning Vermont director Jay Craven will present his new film, “Northern Borders,” at a pair of special screenings at the New England Youth Theatre, 100 Flat St., on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 24 and 25, at 7:30 p.m. The picture was filmed in West Brattleboro, Guilford, Marlboro, Chester, and Chesterfield, N.H. A number of NEYT actors performed as extras. Irene Shamas nabbed a supporting player role. The Brattleboro screenings are part of the film's summer hundred-town tour. Craven will introduce...

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No coincidences

Independent artist Meg Donahue wondered what would happen if a whole town started watching for angels. She asked herself how her community might react if, for one month, angels started appearing in Brattleboro in the most unexpected places: on the parking meter, behind the co-op, inside a shopping cart, in a coffee shop, on the steeple of the old church that is now a dance studio. “You are driving into town to run errands,” she says. “It's hot, you can't...

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Guilford Fair presents three days of live music

The Guilford Fair presents a three-day showcase of live music starting on Saturday, Aug. 31, with local blues legend “Sunny Lowdown” and his band playing from 1 to 3 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 1, at 10 a.m. the New Hampshire-based bluegrass fusion group Rise starts out the day, followed by local rockers The Brattlyn Brothers at 12:30 p.m. Guilford resident Patty Carpenter and the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band take the stage from 3 to 5 p.m. On Monday, Sept. 2,

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Healing and homage

Dover Road residents still drive by flood-damaged homes each day from Tropical Storm Irene, structures that serve as reminders of that August day two years ago when residents were evacuated by South Newfane and NewBrook volunteer firefighters as the Rock River rose over its banks. Two residents who say that day forever changed their lives wanted to express their gratitude and celebrate the fact that, in spite of flood damage to their property and home, they survived. “We were a...

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NewBrook School plans benefit

NewBrook Elementary School will hold its 5K Race on Saturday, Sept. 28, starting at 10 a.m. This event benefits the school. A stretch of River Road will be closed for approximately an hour to accommodate the race, according to Selectboard Chair Jon Mack, speaking at the Selectboard meeting Aug. 1.

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State retains jurisdiction over dry-cask storage, right?

As I read the Second Circuit Court decision in the Entergy v. Vermont case, the court finds Act 74 preempted, but not Section 6501 (storage of radioactive material), which it mentions specifically. The court then goes on to make a big deal of the notion that, in its words: “The post–March 21, 2012, shift of responsibility for approving the storage of spent nuclear fuel generated by Vermont Yankee from the [Public Service] Board to the Vermont Legislature had important ramifications.

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ASPIRE program prepares for 16th year of after-school learning and fun

Thanks to Meeting Waters YMCA, hundreds of kids in southeastern Vermont can continue to learn, grow, and thrive even after the bell rings at the end of the school day. At least as importantly, says, Steve Fortier, the organization's executive director, that also means that several hundred parents can work with the peace of mind that their child is in a safe and nurturing environment. “When [Y Program Director] Sue [Fortier] and I created Y-ASPIRE in 1998, we made sure...

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‘Beyond the call of duty’

With three members of the Selectboard voting aye and one abstaining, the Board authorized Chairman Jon Mack to nominate member Chris Druke for a service award through the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. “There is a municipal award for service beyond the call of duty, and it was recommended to me that Chris Druke be presented with this award, which I think she richly deserves,” Mack said at the Board's Aug. 1 meeting. “I have to bring it up...

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Fire from unattended cooking appliance displaces three people

Firefighters carried Brutus, an unconscious 14-year-old dog, from the smoke-filled second floor apartment at 6 Baker St. on the evening of Aug. 15. Firefighters and medical personnel of Rescue, Inc. revived Brutus - Janice LaMarche and Donald Carleton's family pet - with oxygen. There were no human injuries, said Brattleboro Fire Capt. Ron Hubbard. LaMarche and Carleton, owners of the building, and residents of its second floor, were not at home when the fire started. The fire also displaced first-floor...

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NAMI-VT to offer Family-to-Family Class in Londonderry

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-Vermont Family-to-Family Education Program will offer a free class for family members and friends of individuals living with mental illness. The 12-week class will be held in Londonderry on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 9 p.m. starting on Sept. 24. The course is designed specifically for parents, siblings, spouses, teenage and adult children, and significant others of persons with severe mental illness. It is designed to help families and friends of individuals with mental illness...

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Retreat completes major pharmacy upgrade

A major upgrade of the Brattleboro Retreat pharmacy has been completed following eight months of work by GPI Construction. The $690,000, 1,700-square-foot project provides greatly expanded space for ease of workflow, increased storage/receiving, and added room for unit-dose repackaging. Technical upgrades include a new telephone system and computer workstations for individual pharmacy workers. In coming months, a new automated dispensing system will link the pharmacy directly to computers used by clinical staff on the hospital's various units. “Our new space...

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Tenuous position

After two weeks living under the threat by parent company Entergy Corporation of a full 10 percent in staffing cuts, workers at Vermont Yankee must be breathing a little easier now that they have learned that number to be just under 5 percent, or 30 positions. Could it have been worse? As reported by the Rutland Herald on July 31, Entergy Vice President Terry Young explained shuttering Vermont Yankee or any of its nuclear power plants was never considered a...

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Appeals court ruling: A chilling effect on legislative deliberation

Good for you, Vermont. Good fight. Good expression of your love for Vermont and New England. Better to have loved and lost rather than to have never loved at all. It would take a chief executive or attorney general brave beyond the standard definition of political courage to attempt an appeal to the Supreme Court - but please consider what has been said, and why. Vermont legislators' real concerns and the reasons they passed legislation directed at Vermont Yankee are...

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Comedy for a cause

On Friday, Aug. 23, at 6:30 p.m., there will be a family event at New England Youth Theatre on Flat Street in Brattleboro. Two performing artists, Chris “Hoopoe” Yerlig and Henry the Juggler, will juggle, mime, clown around, and even perform magic, to help support the Foyer Evangelique Orphanage, a small orphanage near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The duo last performed together in 2009 on a tour of the Dominican Republic as part of a campaign to build a school for deaf...

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The sky is falling

RE: “BF gets raw deal in letting police chief serve Rockingham” [Letters, Aug. 14]: Note the slippery logic here, going from “What benefit?” to “zero actual dollars.” Does everything of human worth have a dollar value? Should government operate by the same principle as prostitutes? Still, Deb Wright concedes there is possible revenue from this. And there's nothing to indicate this will take much of the chief's time. The sky, clearly, is falling!

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Unacceptable tyranny

The public chooses to be ruled by fear. And the Rutland police are willing to encourage that behavior. On Aug. 2, the Times Argus informed us of the police detention and harassment of one Joshua Severance, whose only “crime” was openly displaying his willingness to defend himself. Rutland police responded to a complaint that Mr. Severance was openly carrying a firearm, as permitted under Vermont law, an act that made the caller “uncomfortable.” The exercise of rights of any nature...

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A semi-rural economy has unique needs

In thinking about business in southeastern Vermont, we have to take into account the simple fact that most small towns, like mine, are semi-rural. We do not have, nor can we have, anything that resembles significant industry. Farms make sense here. So it's pointless to think of economic “solutions” that might work in an urban or even semi-urban setting. Of course, there's Internet-based business. There is an obvious need to have broadband fully extended to our communities. No one denies...

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Brown spaces for green power

RE: “Brattleboro Energy Committee proposes solar array at former WSWMD landfill” [News, Aug. 14]: This kind of project siting makes sense for Vermont! Utilizing brown spaces instead of green ones for industrial solar projects is a better choice for our environment.

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Jelly Bean Tree Artisans move into new building

The Jelly Bean Tree Artisans, Vermont's oldest crafts cooperative, is moving to new digs a block away from its current location, to 26B Main St., opening Wednesday, Aug. 28. The shop's new home is in the building that used to house the Quality Impressions Print Shop, directly across from the Saxtons River Inn. According to JBTA President Joanne Lester, the move will be seamless as far as opening hours are concerned. The shop is open Wednesday through Friday from noon...

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Baker Brook Bridge needs repairs, too

Add Baker Brook Bridge to the list of bridge projects needing attention. According to Selectboard Vice Chair Todd Lawley, speaking at the Aug. 15 Selectboard meeting, this “little, tiny bridge way at the end of Baker Brook” in the vicinity of Parish Hill Road needs tens of thousands of dollars in deck repairs. Board Chairman Jon Mack said quotes ranged from $21,500 to $72,000. Lawley has agreed to get advice from Vermont Department of Transportation district administrator John Alexander in...

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Irene book author to speak at Bartleby's

Bartleby's Books hosts Peggy Shinn, author of “Deluge,” on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 4 p.m. “Deluge: Tropical Storm Irene, Vermont's Flash Floods and How One Small State Saved Itself” is the complete story of the floods, the rescue, and the recovery, as seen through the eyes of the people who lived through them. Accounts are told by Wilmington's Lisa Sullivan, whose bookstore was flooded, and town clerk Susie Haughwout, who saved the town records; Tracy Payne, who lost her home...

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Personal, practical, productive

Transition Dummerston hosts “How Do Our Gardens Grow?,” an educational tour of five Dummerston vegetable gardens and fruit orchards on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The tour winds up with a Garden Tea in Dummerston Center featuring herb teas, scones, potluck desserts, and plenty of garden conversation from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Admission to the tour and tea is by donation. A self-guiding brochure and map will be available at the “Share Our Surplus” (SOS) produce...

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Lynch Bridge reconstruction, now in limbo, awaits federal funds

Designs are in place, workers are standing by, and state and federal approval is essentially given to start the major Lynch Bridge reconstruction. But because the federal government has not pointed to a pot of money to cover costs, it's not yet clear work will begin this building season. Selectboard member Christine Druke said she is still waiting to sign the contract with Vernon-based Renaud Bros., the town's preferred contractor, because FEMA has not confirmed the existence of a construction...

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E.Coli levels jump sharply higher in latest SeVWA test

The mostly fair and tranquil weather that we've seen this month has kept water quality at a high level at local swimming holes in Windham County. However, the latest round of testing by the Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance's (SeVWA's) water quality monitoring program showed E. coli results well above the Vermont and EPA standard for swimming suitability: 235 E. coli per 100 milliliters of water. The SeVWA said Aug. 14 test results likely were skewed by heavy rain in the...

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What’s new around the county’s schools

Here's to a new school term, and here's your look at what's coming up in school districts around Windham County: Windham Southeast • Brattleboro Union High School principal Steve Perrin said the school will focus mostly on fine-tuning the ACE block, a twice-weekly, 40-minute block for students who need time to catch up in classes. This was implemented during the second semester of the 2012-2013 school year. “I'm looking forward to continuing the changes we've started in the past couple...

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Sharing art with the neighborhood

Eight brightly colored mural panels hang across the back fence of the Ledgewood Heights basketball court, depicting flowers, blue skies, people, and, in big letters, “Ledgewood.” At the murals' Aug. 14 unveiling, parents came and took pictures, and a real sense of pride surrounded the kids who'd created and otherwise enjoyed them, said Art in the Neighborhood founder and Executive Director Mollie Burke. “The kids were like, 'This is my place,'” said Burke. “The murals became a way of celebrating...

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Railroad makes plans for propane terminal

A mile or so north of the village, at the end of Bezanson Road, Green Mountain Railroad (GMRR) has been working on plans to locate a facility that would serve as a terminal for wholesale distribution of propane and fill a gap for wholesalers in the region, who now to go to New York or Massachusetts to load up on the fuel. Acting Municipal Manager Chip Stearns said that, at first, all he heard were rumors, and from the start...

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To protect and serve...warrants

A constable agreement signed last week by officials from Rockingham and Bellows Falls assigns Bellows Falls Police Chief Ron Lake authority to perform four specific duties in that role. The intermunicipal agreement will allow Lake to serve papers for either a civil or criminal process at the behest of town lawyers, Acting Municipal Manager Chip Stearns said. Lake will also perform emergency duties for killing rabid animals in Rockingham, which has not had an animal control officer in recent years.

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Board contemplates bids for town office improvements

Two bids for town office improvements have come in, both above the approximately $40,000 the town had hoped to spend, but not overly much. “Perhaps there's wiggle room,” Board Chair Jon Mack said at the Aug. 15 Selectboard meeting. He added that the capital fund for the work was not firmly established. The bids are from Townshend-based Wright Construction Co. ($48,737) and Integral Construction ($46,934). Wright Construction's bid includes allowances of $16,450 for beam and floor joist replacement and floor...

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Too much of a good thing?

Windham Solid Waste Management has agreed to double its collection of trash and recycling from outside the Town Offices, responding to a request from Patricia Grace, administrative assistant. The move comes at no additional cost to the town, Grace said. It had been requested at a previous Selectboard meeting that Grace contact the Sheriff's Department on a report of trash being dumped outside the building where the trash and recycling containers sit. The waste had overflowed every week by Monday...

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Five properties in process of federal buyout

Five properties Tropical Storm Irene trashed on her way through town nearly two years ago are in various stages of buyout under government auspices, though one is trailing behind the others. According to Selectboard member Christine Druke, delivering an update Aug. 15 on grant assistance via the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), a federal initiative targeted for properties that were partially or completely destroyed by natural disasters, the buyout work is proceeding apace. These five properties are in flux, she...

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WSESU to participate in University of Kansas educational initiative

The Windham Southeast Supervisory Union is one of four Vermont school districts selected to participate in a five-year, five-state $24.5 million K-8 national education initiative at the University of Kansas called SWIFT (School-wide Integrated Framework for Transformation). The SWIFT Center is led by a team of researchers at the University of Kansas (KU), and is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. The five states are Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont. New Hampshire...

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Celebrating our past

On Saturday afternoon, for a few hours, hundreds of people stopped focusing on the here and now. Instead, as they milled around the Newfane common at the Windham County History Fair, they were in the here and then. The Historical Society of Windham County, which organized the every-other-year event, joined representatives from local historical societies - including Putney, Jamaica, East Dover, Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, and Townshend - and the Vermont Historical Society in greeting visitors. Interleaved through the day's schedule...

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Brattleboro Police report a phone scam

Area police report a new phone scam is circulating through the area. The scammers, said Brattleboro Police in an Aug. 19 press release, claim to represent Green Mountain Power. The caller claims that unless they receive an in-person money transfer, the GMP customer's electricity will be turned off. Police advise anyone receiving such a call not meet with the caller or give the caller money. Instead, call Green Mountain Power directly to confirm account status, and then report the scam...

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Grandparent figures

I'm touring throughout Vermont this summer with my new film, Northern Borders, based on the award-winning novel by Vermont writer Howard Frank Mosher. Northern Borders focuses on 10-year-old Austen Kittredge, who is sent to live with a pair of Vermont grandparents whose thorny marriage is called “the forty years war.” Mosher's novel was recently named by The Guardian as one of the 10 best books that address relationships with grandparents. Northern Borders joins other titles on the list, including Little...

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