Town Election Roundup

Of 1,778 people on the voter checklist, 280 cast their ballots on March 6, according to Town Clerk Tim Arsenault.

All Selectboard and School Board candidates ran unopposed. On the Selectboard slate, Josh Unruh won the three-year seat with 191 votes and Chris Parker, running for a two-year term, received 210 votes.

School Board incumbents Michael Hebert won the three-year position with 223 votes and Sandy Morrison received 256 votes for the two-year seat.

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Around the Towns

Sheriff''s Office to conduct training in Townshend TOWNSHEND - On Monday, March 19, from 6 to 9 p.m., the Windham County Sheriff's Office will conduct training at Leland & Gray High School in Townshend. According to a news release from Sheriff Keith Clark, the training will require deputies to...

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Milestones

College news • Vanessa Brown of Brattleboro was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2017 semester at the University of Maine at Farmington. • Charlotte Elwell of Brattleboro, a physics major in the Dreyfoos School Of The Arts, was named to the fall 2017 Dean's List at...

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WSWMD begins bottle, can redemption for charity program

Windham Solid Waste Management District and Putney Road Redemption Center have launched a charity project at the Transfer Station on Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro encouraging visitors to redeem cans and bottles in dedicated bins next to the recycling dumpsters to provide funding for local charities. Since a pilot project was launched at the Transfer Station last October, more than 25,000 redeemable bottles and cans weighing over 5,000 pounds have been diverted away from the general recycling stream. Proceeds from...

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BMC concert features pianist Chonghyo Shin

The Brattleboro Music Center presents a Faculty Recital featuring Chonghyo Shin on the piano on Sunday, March 25. The concert, scheduled for 3 p.m. at the BMC, is a fundraiser for the Center's Capital Campaign, which continues to attract support to fully equip and furnish the BMC Education Center and the Auditorium, refurbish the BMC's many pianos and instruments, and fund two special endowments to ensure future maintenance of the BMC's new home. The afternoon program will include works by...

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District caucuses, pre-Town Meeting forum set for March 14

The Selectboard will hold a pre-town meeting information forum on Wednesday, March 14, at Academy School, beginning at 7 p.m. Representative Town Meeting articles will be discussed, including the town school and municipal budgets and the fire department's ladder-truck bond issue. At 6:30 p.m., town meeting members of each district will be available to meet with constituents to offer residents an opportunity to share their views and discuss articles to be voted on at the annual meeting. Also at that...

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Business growth program open to 20 Vermont entrepreneurs

The Small Business Administration is seeking 20 entrepreneurs throughout Vermont to participate in a free business course starting in April. Emerging Leaders is a free executive-level training program for established business owners poised for growth. Over the course of seven months at Vermont Technical College's Williston campus, each participating entrepreneur will learn immediate ways to improve their business and will create a three-year strategic growth plan to build a sustainable business of size and scale. Emerging Leaders is for established...

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Vernon enters into agreement with NorthStar

The Vernon Selectboard has entered into an agreement with Northstar Group Services, Inc. that will protect the town's interest during the process of decommissioning at the Vermont Yankee site. “This is an important step in securing a positive future for our residents,” Selectboard Chair Joshua Unruh said in a news release. “We have built a new relationship with Northstar and we look forward to a mutually beneficial working relationship as the potential sale of the Vermont Yankee site moves into...

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Chester-Andover Family Center hosts prom shopping event

The Chester-Andover Family Center will host a community service event for area teens to find their perfect prom outfit. On Wednesday, April 4, the Center will open its doors from 3 to 7 p.m. for prom shopping. According to a news release, the Center has a large selection of prom wear for girls and guys, including over 100 dresses, suits, and tuxedos. All are either new or in “like new” condition. You can also shop for accessories such as shoes,

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SEVCA offers free ‘Financial Fitness’ classes in Brattleboro

Southeastern Vermont Community Action is inviting local residents to register for its upcoming workshop series, “Your Money, Your Goals,” to be held in Brattleboro starting March 20. This seven-part workshop series will help families and individuals improve their relationships with money, develop strong financial habits, and take steps toward economic security. According to a news release, topics include: saving, spending, credit, home buying, insurance, purchasing a car, and saving for college. The instructor will review participants' credit reports and offer...

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Difference, not disability

I live in fear. I'm terrified each time I face the scrutiny of power-possessing individuals from the majority population. I have learned over 50 years as a neurological minority that my best hope of survival depends on my ability to pretend to be something I am not, to hide my nature, to pass as “normal.” In first grade I was formally diagnosed with dyslexia and hyperactivity, and I have lived most of my life in the shadow of that diagnosis...

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Extending compassion across the globe

Brattleboro being a compassionate town means acting on behalf of those in need locally. But it also means extending this compassion to others in need, wherever they might be. At present, those in the world most in need of assistance are likely to be refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, and many now find themselves in European refugee camps. Most of us are familiar with the huge challenges involved in bringing such persons to Vermont. But creative groups and...

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What’s the deal with the marijuana plant limits?

I started writing a letter to add a horticultural voice of reason to the discussion about amending marijuana plant number limits. But when I looked up the issue on the Legislature's website, I found that S.216 is an Act Related to Prescription Drugs, which was signed into law some time ago. I would like to understand what's really going on. Is there anything happening that might affect medical marijuana plant limits? Will you help clarify this issue, so readers can...

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Music series continues at MSA

Main Street Arts concludes this year's “Hands On!” music series with a concert Sunday, March 18, at 3 p.m. “Three Quirky Composers: Beethoven, Hayden and Dvorak” features Zon Eastes on cello, Peggy Spencer on violin, and Hugh Keelan at the piano. Keelan has conducted orchestras throughout the world and is currently the conductor of the Windham Orchestra. He has collaborated with the great artists of our times, including Solti, Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, Shura Cherkassky, Maurice Sendak, and Tom Stoppard.

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Editing error implied ignorance of original biblical text

My letter included a reference to the Old Testament figures Abram and Sarai, who were the perpetrators of the famous blackmail scheme involving the Pharaoh of Egypt. At the time they pulled off their grift, they were, in fact, named Abram and Sarai. Yaweh later changed their names to Abraham and Sarah, apparently as a reward for their complicity. Your editor, however, changed their names himself, which had the effect of making my comments appear ignorant of the original Genesis...

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Thanks for support from Carry Me Home

All of us at Carry Me Home deeply thank everyone who made our Greek supper fundraiser a huge success this past November. We served 169 people, and we collected over $1,800 to help us continue our work. That would have not been possible without the generosity of Rev. Bert Marshall and the parishioners of the Centre Congregational Church, who let us use the space for the dinner and have been allowing us to use their stage as our sorting and...

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This is madness. And we must work together to stop it.

A Florida high-school student poignantly asked “What about our right to live?” several days after the recent high-school shooting, when 17 of our nation's best and brightest senselessly lost their lives. This beautiful young woman and three of her peers appeared on “CBS This Morning.” They were responding to the most recent slaughter of innocents at the hands of a deranged individual wielding a military-grade assault weapon that belongs solely on the battlefield. “What about our right to live?” was...

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Speaking freely

The truck driver person with the “angry stickers” is just exercising his, or her, First Amendment rights on their own truck! God bless America (my First Amendment right to say, so exercised).

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NorthStar negotiations a beacon of hope for the country

The state of Vermont's agreement to NorthStar's proposed plan to decommission Vermont Yankee decades ahead of schedule is a green light for Vernon and Windham County's financial future. The fact that almost all intervenors and involved parties were able to make an agreement after lengthy, inclusive negotiations is a beacon of hope for the rest of our country. Thank you to all the principled, hard-working people involved. I implore the Vermont Public Utility Commission to recognize the once-in-a-lifetime benefits to...

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New Town Meeting rep pledges to voice opinions, reflect district

First, I thank the Brattleboro voters who gave me their support and will allow me to serve our town as one of the District 3 annual town meeting representatives. I promise to keep informed and do my best. Second, even though I am a confirmed extrovert, approaching strangers and saying “Hi, my name is Wayne Estey” is a lot harder than I thought. Third, voicing my opinion on any issue means that as many people will disagree with me as...

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Set aside prior antagonism and clean VY promptly for reuse

As a retired Vermont Yankee engineer, I have continued to follow the activities related to the decommissioning of the plant. I read with great interest the recent announcement that state officials, Entergy, and NorthStar have finally arrived at an agreement that has the potential to allow for a prompt and safe decommissioning of the plant. I found it particularly interesting that most of the intervenors believe that an amicable solution has been achieved. I think it is very important for...

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Red Fox Session Band presents a St. Patrick’s fiddle frenzy in BF

On Friday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m., the Stone Church on the Hill in Bellows Falls presents its annual St. Patrick's Fiddle Frenzy by welcoming the Red Fox Session Band for an evening of traditional and modern Irish songs and fiddle tunes. The Frenzy takes place this year, as it has for the past 12 years, at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St. “In true Vermont fashion,” according to a news release, “the band of four includes an innkeeper/golfer (bones...

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Community website continues to evolve at age 15

Before there was Facebook, before The Commons, there was iBrattleboro, the online community-news website that went live on Feb. 20, 2003. And, unlike most sites launched 15 years ago, ibrattleboro.com still exists and continues to draw contributors and readers. By the end of March, the site will receive a major upgrade. “We have over 4,000 registered user accounts,” said Lise LePage, who owns and moderates iBrattleboro with her partner, Christopher Grotke. When the couple moved to Brattleboro in 2001, “there...

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A rough winter pummels local roads

Why are there so many potholes on Western Avenue? Why doesn't the town do something about them? Didn't that road just get repaved? Department of Public Works Director Steve Barrett appeared at the March 6 regular Selectboard meeting to answer these questions and to explain the basics of pothole creation - and maintenance. He also told the Selectboard it's time to budget more money for road improvements. Barrett, who became director in 1996, worked with the Board in 1997 on...

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A journey of respect and forgiveness

Ian Hefele has finally realized his long-held dream of staging in America a work by South African writer Athol Fugard. For the next two weekends, March 16-18 and 23-25, Vermont Theater Company presents Fugard's The Road to Mecca at the Hooker-Dunham Theater, 139 Main St., in downtown Brattleboro. The play concerns a senior South African widow, Miss Helen, who has been working on an overgrown sculpture garden. Although a neighbor, pastor Marius, urges Helen to move to a senior home,

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Brattleboro funds should go to organizations more deserving than BDCC, SeVEDS

I plea to Brattleboro Town Meeting representatives not to fund the $98,030 to the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation and Southeast Vermont Economic Development Strategies. As a Brattleboro resident, homeowner, business owner, taxpayer, and young entrepreneur, I am deeply concerned about this money making its way to the BDCC and SeVEDS. I strongly believe Brattleboro has a ton of potential and the BDCC has a great opportunity to meet the current needs of this community. Sadly, due to the current leadership,

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Held hostage by the rights of a bullying minority

Bob DePino writes with great certainty, cloudy judgment, and misguided arrogance about what won't stop the next school shooting. He tells us that background checks, safe locking, raising the legal age, getting restraining orders, and everything else we might do in the future will be ineffective. Instead, he offers to arm teachers in Vermont - like me. Only someone whose views on gun reform are perverted would suggest that more guns in schools will keep our children safe. I'm sick...

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Wilmington residents are asked for ideas for proposed community center

As townspeople filed into Wilmington's Town Meeting on March 6, they were asked to give a penny for their thoughts about the Old School Enrichment Community Center. According to a news release, OSEC asked adults and children what they would like to see at the Community Center at the former Wilmington High School. They were asked to place up to five pennies in jars labeled with different offerings. More than 85 people participated. Adult education and a fitness center were...

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Police chief gets high praise for drug-crisis approach

Police Chief Michael Fitzgerald was recently lauded at the Statehouse for his drug and alcohol prevention work with youth and adults. At Prevention Day at the Statehouse on Feb. 22, Prevention Works! VT presented awards to six “Prevention Champions” from throughout the state, including Fitzgerald. He was nominated by Cassandra Holloway, director of the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition. This is the first time Holloway nominated someone for the award. Holloway noted Fitzgerald and his staff “are trying to address the...

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‘Empowerment through empathy’

In the gray, snowy twilight of an early March afternoon in Pliny Park, the words on signs held up by Diana Whitney stated clearly why more than 50 people were gathered for the #MeToo Solidarity March - “Speak Your Truth” and “We Believe You.” Those principles are at the heart of the movement signified by #MeToo, a Twitter hashtag created in 2006 by Tarana Burke to help victims of sexual assault to tell their stories. It took more than a...

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Women’s liberation is human liberation

When I was a child, I was taught about women's suffrage and women working for the ability to do the same things as men. I was told that things (by themselves, it seemed) were gradually getting better. But here we are today, and patriarchy is as strong as ever. The feminist movement has some serious reflecting to do. We need to stop putting our energy into small victories that benefit only a privileged few and that can be rolled back...

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Vernon dairy farm receives state grant

Vern-Mont Farm in South Vernon, owned by Jeff Dunklee, was one of 12 dairy farms around the state that shared in more than $360,000 in Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program awards for infrastructure and water quality improvements. Dunklee is a fifth-generation dairy farmer who manages a herd of about 500 cows at Vern-Mont Farm, an 850-acre operation located on Fort Bridgman Road. According to the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, which runs the program, Dunklee will receive $33,844 to...

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Panel examines redefining capitalism for sustainability, social justice

A panel of speakers featuring Brattleboro-based leaders in global innovation for social justice and sustainability in business will explore strategies to shift traditional and commercial markets to sustainability and to create scalable social sector initiatives, as well as benchmarks and metrics to hold businesses accountable. Amit Sharma, founder of Finclusive Capital; Janice Warren, president of OneReport; and Michael Knapp, founder and CEO of Green River will present some emerging sustainable business models, as well as how to mold and measure...

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Church to present Irish music of resistance

A St. Patrick's Day Irish music concert to celebrate Irish political resistance and emigration at All Souls Church UU on Saturday, March 17, will add support for current asylum seekers who face many of the same issues as their Irish counterparts in years past. Musical storyteller and political satirist Charlie King will join Peter Blood and Annie Patterson of Rise Up Singing fame for a special benefit concert at 7 p.m. at the church at 29 South St. Proceeds from...

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Snow showers bring more accumulations

Good day to you, southern Vermonters! After another substantial (and in some cases, major) snowfall for Windham County on Tuesday, we've got even more light to perhaps moderate accumulations planned for Wednesday - the fun never stops! There is no question that winter continues to roll on this March in Windham County, with cooler temperatures along with a pattern favorable for winter storms remaining on the table for the region through the end of the month. With that tremendously amazing...

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Local teams knocked out early in boys’ tournament

It was one-and-done for three local high school boys' basketball teams as the state tournament began last week. • In the only one of three first-round games played in Windham County, No. 9 Oxbow needed overtime to beat No. 8 Twin Valley, 57-46, in a Division III contest in Whitingham on March 6. After seeing a big second-half lead vanish, Twin Valley had a chance to win it in regulation time. With 44 seconds left, freshman Izaak Park sank a...

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Digging deeper

“We want people who will come and demystify the idea that art and creativity are things that are done by the chosen few... [Instead], it's something that's endowed to us by the act of being human,” said Shanta Lee Gander, former president of the Arts Council of Windham County. Gander and Sarah Bowen, current Arts Council board trustee, co-created a series of forums that will kick off on March 22, followed by two others on April 26 and Oct. 18.

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We need more public access to our government — not less

Forty-two years ago, Vermont adopted the Public Records Act, a groundbreaking law that ensured the public got to see most records of state, municipal, and school governments. It was pretty tight, with fewer than 30 exemptions allowing information to be kept secret. No more. In the years since 1976, the law has been twisted and abused to the point where “public” is a misnomer. There are now 260 or 280 exemptions in the law - no one's really sure, because...

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The kids are leading us. Let’s push the government to follow.

It was incredibly inspiring to hear that the young people who survived the latest mass shooting have called for and organized March for Our Lives, a national march on Washington, on Saturday, March 24. It is the essence of America that these young people who are closest to the tragedy have the courage and presence of mind to lead our nation toward necessary change. The rally's organizers estimate that up to 500,000 will attend. These young people, most not even...

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