Project Feed the Thousands needs more help to reach its goal

According to Project Feed the Thousands co-chair Kelli Corbeil, the annual campaign that raises nonperishable food items and cash to assist the region's less fortunate “is struggling to meet this year's goals and needs your help.”

In a news release, Corbeil said Project Feed “is at risk of falling short of its goals this year.”

As of early this week, the campaign has raised about $40,000 toward its goal of $80,000 and food to serve 200,000 meaks.

“This is less than we had raised at this same time last year,” Corbeil said. “Meals total about 110,000. Both of these statistics are troubling with less than two weeks left in our campaign.”...

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$5 Christmas trees now available at Green Mountain National Forest

U.S. Forest Service officials in Vermont are encouraging the public to purchase Christmas tree removal permits should they be interested in a $5 tree for the holidays. This year, all fourth graders can take advantage of the Every Kid in a Park Initiative and get a free Christmas tree...

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Vermont Tech’s nursing program continues its expansion

People walking on Main Street in Brattleboro are often unaware of the instructors and student nurses at work just above them in the Brooks House, who represent only a part of the over 400 faculty, staff, and students who make up the Vermont Technical College's Nursing Program. Brattleboro, along...

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Local winners honored in VFW writing contests

Seventy-five students, parents, teachers, judges, and friends gathered at Carl M. Dessaint Post 1034 on Nov. 17 for a dinner to honor the local VFW Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen essay winners. Since 1947, the Veterans of Foreign Wars have sponsored the Voice of Democracy. Each year, nearly 40,000 high school-age students from across the U.S. compete for $2.1 million in college scholarships and incentives by writing and recording a five-minute audio essay on an annual patriotic theme. The...

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Unlocking the secrets of our storied past

Abenaki petroglyphs of the Retreat Meadow are hidden under the flooded waters of the West River. Rudyard Kipling lived in Dummerston, where he wrote The Jungle Book. And the first edition of Harry Potter released in the U.S. - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - was printed in Brattleboro. These are just a few of the literary distinctions embedded in this locale, and The Words Project is on a quest to illuminate Brattleboro's longstanding history and reputation as a...

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Milestones

College news • Marie S. Dennis of Marlboro, made the Dean's List for the fall 2018 trimester at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, R.I. She is currently in her final term as an undergraduate, and will complete her degree in liberal studies with a minor in business in February. She will attend graduation for her B.A. degree next May, and has applied for the MBA program at Johnson and Wales to begin in the spring 2019 semester. •Zoe E.

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Sweetback Sisters bring their Christmas Spectacular to the Stone Church

Christmastime is here again and the Sweetback Sisters are returning to The Stone Church on Main St. with their 10th annual Country Christmas Singalong Spectacular on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. With vaudevillian theatrics reminiscent of TV variety shows of the 1950s and '60s, the popular show includes trivia, prizes, and, of course, many beloved holiday tunes. Songbooks will be provided. The Sweetback Sisters band will include their original guitarist Ross Bellenoit, Rob Hecht on fiddle and saxophone, and Charlie...

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Brattleboro hits snag with bulky-item pickup

If the town manager staff's projections are correct, the fiscal year 2020 budget for trash, compost, and recycling removal should see higher income and nearly level-funded expenses. What FY20 won't see is a program for curbside pickup of bulky items like unwanted furniture and appliances. The Selectboard has concluded that bulky trash pick-up is not an issue the town can solve, at least for now, as the current vendor has balked at providing the service. Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland...

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Around the Towns

State Police plan sobriety checkpoint WESTMINSTER - During the next two weeks, Vermont State Police from the Westminster barracks, along with local law enforcement officers, will conduct a sobriety checkpoint within Windham County. State police say that “an aggressive effort will be made to identify impaired drivers on our highways. Troopers will also be enforcing seat belt use, child restraint, and other motor vehicle law violations during this checkpoint.” Free produce distribution in Putney PUTNEY - All are welcome to...

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Be Beethoven!

A Windham Orchestra fundraiser is offering would-be maestros two chances to “Be Beethoven” and conduct a musical work of their choice at a special rehearsal Saturday, Jan. 19. Individuals making a $500 tax-deductible donation will earn a place on the podium, and another guest conductor will be chosen Jan. 7 as the winner of a ticket raffle. The cost is $10 per ticket, or three tickets for $25 and six tickets for $50. Raffle tickets and further information are available...

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NECCA wins outreach grant from Cirque du Soleil

The New England Center for Circus Arts recently was one of a handful of international organizations awarded a Cirque du Monde grant from the prestigious, Montreal-based entertainment company Cirque du Soleil. The goal of the Cirque du Monde grants is “to positively impact people, communities and the planet with what we know best: creativity and art.” The program supports social circus outreach projects around the globe. According to a news release, NECCA was chosen to receive support to develop a...

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Brattleboro eyes new rules for rental properties

To better meet the demands of inspecting the 3,000 rental housing units in town, Assistant Fire Chief Leonard Howard III has proposed a rental housing registration and inspection program. Howard projects that the program, which will add $50,000 to the fiscal year 2020 budget, will also bring in $56,250 annually. “This is a recognized need,” said Town Manager Peter B. Elwell at the Dec. 11 special meeting of the Selectboard, which heard the proposal but took no action. During conversations...

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Library: Budget down, but services up

Library Director Starr LaTronica brought good news to the Dec. 11 special Selectboard meeting. Her proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget is down, and the services the Brooks Memorial Library brings to the public are up. The library's expenses, at $613,608, are down by $4,437 to just under 1 percent lower than the FY19 budget. Revenue is also down, however, by $3,000 because earlier this year the library did away with overdue fines. “We're partnering more and more with agencies to...

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BUHS hockey teams fall in opening-night doubleheader

Both of Brattleboro's ice hockey teams opened the season on Dec. 12 at Withington Rink, and both teams were undone by making ill-timed defensive mistakes that their opponents pounced upon. • For the Colonel girls, they were overwhelmed by the Middlebury Tigers, 9-1, in a game that first-year coach Eugene Frost said should have been closer. “They outhustled us,” said Frost. “We worked hard, but we gave up a couple of soft goals. It should've been a 5-2 game.” Brattleboro...

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Making ‘Haste’ in Putney

This week, percussionist Jason Treuting has returned to Putney to create a new work, Go Placidly with Haste. Yellow Barn welcomed its alumnus and So Percussion founder Treuting and his wife Beth Meyers (viola and voice) for a second residency to develop this original composition. Together with a mixed ensemble of New York-based musicians, Treuting and Meyers will bring Go Placidly with Haste to Next Stage on Dec. 20, ahead of its New York City premiere. “Last January, Beth Meyers...

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A multigenerational tradition

Hungry for a holiday from cooking breakfast this Christmas? Jadi Flynn and Megan Walker would be happy to serve you. Flynn and Walker are the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Charlie Slate, who started Brattleboro's free annual Christmas Breakfast, an event that his family and friends are set to continue for hundreds of diners. Slate, who died in 2008, began the tradition in 1982 upon noticing most restaurants closed for the holiday. This year, volunteers will arrive before dawn at American...

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Putney braces for rise in police costs

For the last few years, Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark has sounded the alarm with the towns his deputies patrol. His costs are going up, he tells them, and so will theirs. Take Putney. If the town receives the same number of patrol hours as in fiscal year 2019 from the Windham County Sheriff's Office, the proposed contract for the next year will rise by just over $11,000. But in a recent discussion, town officials explored another option that could...

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Last Night Brattleboro offers banquet of traditional music

Last Night Brattleboro has announced the 16th annual concert of New England, Appalachian, Irish, and French-Canadian dance music, fiddling from around the world, a feast of singing including singing for all, and a smattering of poems, featuring Brattleboro's Murphy/Tracy family (Keith, Becky, Aidan), and Amidon family: Peter and Mary Alice, Sam, Stefan and Zara Bode. The concert is Monday, Dec. 31, at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St., starting at 7 p.m. Keith Murphy (guitar, mandolin, piano, foot percussion) and...

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Rain, wind and flooding later this week, possible light snow for Christmas Eve

Good day to you, sweet southern Vermonters! We've got dynamic changes on the way in the Weather Department, some of which may result in strong impacts to be sure. We've got a couple of days of increasingly mild and fair weather to enjoy through Thursday. Clouds then increase Thursday night, with an initial period of mixed snow, sleet, and freezing rain that arrives around or after midnight. Any icing will quickly turn to heavy rain by Friday morning and it...

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Ring in 2019 with Brattleboro Last Night festivities

Brattleboro's Last Night Committee is pleased to present a fun-filled and substance-free day of celebration for all ages on New Year's Eve, Monday, Dec. 31. The day kicks off with activities for both seniors and toddlers. There will be a senior potluck luncheon at the Brattleboro Senior Center on Main Street from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year's featured guests are the Rob Fletcher Trio. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., KidsPLAYce on Elliot Street is holding a toddler...

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No paper Dec. 26

As in past years, The Commons will not publish next Wednesday. The next issue will go to press early on Dec. 31 but will be published and distributed as usual on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Deadline for news and advertising is Friday, Dec. 28. Your friends at The Commons and Vermont Independent Media wish readers, members, volunteers, contributing writers, and advertisers a safe and happy holiday season, and we look forward to serving you in 2019.

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George H.W. Bush leaves a dark legacy

For the people whose countries or lives were destroyed by George H. W. Bush's violent actions, he'll always be a monster. Here are a few of the many reasons why, beneath the civility, Bush was a detestable president. Bush was a Texas congressman, CIA director under President Gerald Ford, vice president for President Ronald Reagan, and served one term as 41st president of the United States. During his 30 years of service, he faced criticism for coming out against the...

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A view beyond the postcards

When Nancy Braus, co-owner of Everyone's Books on Elliot Street, decided last year to create a new kind of Vermont calendar, she had no idea what kind of reception she would get. Instead of pretty pictures of pastures, covered bridges, and church steeples, she published “We Are Vermont,” a full-color calendar that featured donated photography of activists, agriculture, and people enjoying the outdoors. And more than a few people agreed with Braus that it was time for a calendar that...

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Nineteen miles from Brattleboro

I was full of Christmas cheer as I took a trolley from Cambridge to Boston to wait for the train to Brattleboro. It was snowing heavily. I was excited about spending a Vermont Christmas with my brother Paddy, his wife Betty, and their little daughter Leish, but I was also excited at the thought of meeting my girlfriend Tina in New York after Christmas. To my surprise, I began to realize how very close we'd become in a short time.

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