The risk of living

When looking at cancer risk, can one's exercise regimen make the cut?

Honestly, some discoveries are not worth the trouble of a press release. Our community hospital's newsletter reported last fall that “women who exercised strenuously for more than six hours a week and had no family history of the disease were 23 percent less likely to develop breast cancer."

Apparently, the National Cancer Institute gathered this conclusion after studying 32,000 women for over 11 years. And big surprise: the six-plus hours of exercise per week only seemed to improve a woman's chances of avoiding breast cancer if she wasn't already overweight.

“Strenuous” exercise translated to running, fast jogging, competitive tennis, aerobics, bicycling on hills, and fast dancing. It did not include walking, strength training, hiking, tennis “for fun,” swimming, gardening, Pilates, or yoga.

My first response upon reading such information is to grumble, “Who are these women and when can I pull out all their hair?”...

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Got commitment?

The release of the recent report, “Racial Profiling in Vermont: Briefings Before the Vermont Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights,” gives Windham County residents an opportunity to create new behavioral norms for community members and local law enforcement. In June and July 2008, the Vermont...

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End-of-life conundrums

Making difficult decisions about the inevitable

In response to “Health care savings at what ethical cost” [The Commons, August]: Here's the larger context: all people die. By the year 2129 (120 years from now), every billionaire, mass-murderer, genius, beauty queen, Hell's Angel, dictator, marathoner, madman, wino, saint, nun, bigot, husband, wife, toddler, or fetus now...

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Historical vignettes focus on Brattleboro

Although businesses and people have come and gone, streets have changed, and buildings have been erected and torn down, Fran Lynggaard-Hansen's new book, Brattleboro: Historically Speaking gives plentiful evidence that the town has always attracted unusual characters and has never been a dull place to live or visit. The book, published by History Press as part of its American Chronicles series, features a short selection of true stories and reports of goings-on and editorial pieces about Brattleboro from 1805 to...

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Youth, police wrestle on the sidewalk

The streets of Brattleboro are never vacant at any point in the day; in this small town, they serve as a second home and hangout for many local teens and young adults. “When we throw a net, you will catch some innocent ones. The problem is, we're getting the complaints at the police department. We're looking for a courteous interaction,” says police chief Eugene Wrinn. Responding to complaints from downtown merchants, the police department began a high-profile crackdown on loitering...

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Teacher, farmer, librarian, lifelong learner

“I'm just drawn to kids, I guess,” says Cynthia Nau, who serves as librarian in the Brookline, Townshend, and Windham Elementary Schools in the West River Valley. “It all started when I was 13,” Nau, 76, recalls, chuckling. “I went to help out a new mom in the neighborhood. She handed me the baby and took off with her older children for the day.” Undaunted, Nau rose to the challenge and has been caring for and educating young children ever...

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Marlboro Fair to highlight|Hogback conservation efforts

Hogback Mountain will be in the celebration spotlight as residents of Marlboro celebrate their Inner Wild Hog at the 27th annual Marlboro Fair on Saturday, Sept. 12. The fair will take place in Muster Field, Ames Hill from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Events include a scavenger hunt, pig piñata, and “Iron [man] Pig” for adults, an “Iron Piglet” for kids, live music and dancing, and tea with scones. At the Hogback Mountain Conservation Association's tent, multiple exhibits will highlight...

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In memory of Claire Oglesby

I had my own experience and impression of Claire Oglesby, who taught my son, Gaetano, for first and second grade in 1976 and 1977 in the Westminster West two-room schoolhouse. When she passed away on Aug. 5 from cancer at age 77, I knew I'd be attending the memorial services to honor her. I knew they'd be crowded, too. And at her recent memorial service, I found out why others felt she was so special. Claire Oglesby made a deep...

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Wild kids, frozen hearts

The feral children regard me with dull, vacuous eyes as I drive by them on the road. They do not move from their spot near the river, which is littered with a jagged line of broken-down toys and rusted bicycles. The eldest is a boy with clear blue eyes the color of periwinkles and long, dirty hair that hangs listlessly down his back. His sibling is a girl with a thick shock of hair and arms and a torso burnished...

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Distorted circus of fear, ignorance, and sound bites

It could have been the beginning of the national health-care debate that this country has needed for decades. Instead, the great health-care reform debate of 2009 has turned into the usual political circus of fear, ignorance, and distorted sound bites. The anti-government reactionaries are showing up in large numbers to yell down any attempt by members of Congress to explain what is being proposed in Washington health-care reform legislation. Defense of what is really in proposals has been difficult because...

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The trauma of tragedy

A one-man play by Pulitzer Prize–nominated playwright Adam Rapp centers on the manslaughter of a young child by her brother. The brother, a child-prodigy pianist and writer, is tormented by the resultant grief, despair and confusion over the course of the next 15 years; the act has come to define his life. An 80-page script of pure text spoken like a novel to the audience by a single actor onstage - minimal blocking, sparse set - relays this complex tragedy.

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A voice that calls out to be remembered

The universe is rich with people who pass through it, if not in total or undeserved anonymity then with less attention than should have been theirs. Some of these people grace our lives like a spring breeze in the aftermath of a winter day and make us glad. One of those people, a poet called Marguerite Striar, wafted into my life a long time ago and made me grateful. She, and her art, should have received far more attention than...

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Guilford Fair on Labor Day weekend

The two-day Labor Day weekend Guilford Fair opens Sunday, Sept. 6, and runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Guilford Fairgrounds, off Weatherhead Hollow Road. Festivities continue on Monday during the same hours. “It's a small country fair,” said David Franklin, president of the fair board, who listed enough country fair events, competitions, demonstrations, performances, eating opportunities, livestock in attendance, horse show judging, dog agility demonstrations, craft and handiwork exhibits and vegetable displays to entertain even the most...

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Why go to college?

As I prepare to head back to school this fall, there is only one thing that I am dreading. I am not worried about the oncoming load of homework, or the notorious red pen that deals students their assessment number. In fact, these things will feel calming in comparison to the process of figuring out what to do after high school. Heading into senior year brings a lot of questions for everyone. Parents want their children to succeed and be...

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Little League losing its grip on kids

A summer ritual unfolded this August in Williamsport, Penn., when the 58th Little League World Series got under way. Sixteen teams from nine countries competed for the most-sought-after championship in youth sports. But in the United States, where the game was born, fewer young people will notice. Coaches and youth sports organizations say a lot of American kids are losing interest in baseball. Some youngsters are lured by the speed and individual glory of such extreme sports as skateboarding, in-line...

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Responsive Classroom at Guilford Central

There's a new program growing at the Guilford School, and it's called the Responsive Classroom. Okay, the idea behind it isn't new and it has been incorporated into the way the school functions for years, but this is the first time the program has been implemented directly into the way teachers run their classrooms. The Responsive Classroom was first put into action at the Greenfield Center School in Greenfield, Mass., before it came to Guilford. The GCS school board, along...

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