Sherlock Holmes returns to Brattleboro in ‘The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet’

Sherlock Holmes returns to the Hooker-Dunham Theater as the Baker Street Readers present The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet.

Mr. Alexander Holder, a banker, is distressed. An illustrious client has given him one of the realm's most valued treasures for safekeeping. But within a day, the cherished item has been defaced and broken, and three of its valuable gems are missing. Worst of all, there is only one suspect: Holder's own son.

But all is not as simple as it seems, and Sherlock Holmes believes a more villainous force may be at work, one that will bring heartache to the Holder family before the case is complete.

The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet was first published in The Strand magazine in 1892 and subsequently as part of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes the same year.

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Around the Towns

Town Meeting informational forum, district caucuses planned BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Town School Board will hold a pre-representative town meeting information forum on Wednesday, March 20, at Green Street School, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the gym. At 6 p.m., town meeting members of each district will be available...

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Documentary looks at the transition from prison to community

Greater Falls Community Justice Center and Greater Falls Connections have teamed up to put on a showing of the latest Bess O'Brien documentary, Coming Home. The event will take place on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m., at the Rockingham Free Public Library. The showing is free and open...

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Milestones

Transitions • Oona Madden recently joined Berkley & Veller Greenwood Country Realtors in Brattleboro. Madden, a restaurant industry veteran, has lived in Vermont since 1989, and became a licensed Realtor in 2006. Obituaries • Reginald F. “Reggie” Amidon, Sr., 79, of Brattleboro. Died March 12 at his home, following a brief illness. Born in Brattleboro on Feb. 4, 1940, the son of Edwin and Myrtle (Akley) Amidon, he was a lifelong resident of town and attended public schools. In 1958,

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BAJC hosts ‘Purim Palooza’ party with Wanda Jackson, Eugene Uman

If you didn't get to New Orleans, or missed a local Mardi Gras opportunity to get into costume or masquerade, now you have another chance. On Saturday, March 23, at the Vermont Jazz Center at Cotton Mill Hill, the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community will host a Purim Palooza party from 7 to 10 p.m. featuring vocalist Wanda Houston accompanied by VJC music director Eugene Uman. Houston has performed on Broadway stages and in films, recordings, and television, but living on...

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Concert will benefit asylum seekers

“Walkin' The Talk” is a concert to benefit efforts to bring asylum seekers to Vermont from border detention centers. The event will be held on Saturday, March 30, at 7 p.m., at the The Putney Quaker Meeting House, 17 Bellows Falls Rd. According to a news release, Putney Quaker Meeting is working together with the Community Asylum Seekers Project to bring an individual or family seeking asylum, but currently being held for lack of a sponsor in a Texas detention...

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Songwriters Carolann Solebello and Joe Iadanza to perform at Stage 33

Kindred spirits and longtime friends Carolann Solebello and Joe Iadanza will continue their ongoing double-bill concert tour at Stage 33 Live on Saturday, March 23, at 8 p.m., (doors open at 7 p.m). Solebello is best known to folk audiences as a founding member of Americana trio Red Molly. Solo since 2010, her “smooth, compelling voice and warm acoustic guitar style nod to rural folk traditions but bend those sounds into more contemporary shapes with a decidedly urban sense of...

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118 Elliot celebrates Holi, the Festival of Colors, with an evening of Indian classical dance and music

As a benefit for Brattleboro Planned Parenthood, Kathak dancer Veronica Simas de Souza and cellist Jake Charkey will present an evening of Indian classical dance and music entitled Holi: The Festival of Colors on Thursday, March 21, at 7 p.m., at 118 Elliot in downtown Brattleboro. Doors open at 6 p.m. The suggested donation is $10. Holi is the Indian festival of colors celebrated on March 21 this year. It is a celebration of the arrival of spring, fertility, color,

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Turning away revenue fails property owners

I was fairly surprised to read the formal statement issued by Bob Stevens and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation board in response to the proposed 1-percent local-option sales tax. This statement comes at a time when so much of our infrastructure needs to be updated, repaired, or replaced. At a time when the needs of our community are both significant and glaring. At a time when Brattleboro seeks to stretch its reach to find both visitors for leisure, as well...

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Wildcats fall in semifinals

Twin Valley got to the Barre Auditorium for the Division IV boys' basketball semifinals, but the No. 3 Wildcats fell just short in a 46-42 loss to the No. 2 Poultney Blue Devils on March 13. This was a game that seemed slow to develop a rhythm. The Wildcats opened with an 11-5 burst in the first quarter, but the Devils managed to slog their way to cutting the lead to 16-9 at the half. The Devils then got off...

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Counterbalancing the patriarchy

Now that Harvey Weinstein is in court, now that Woody Allen is being dropped from Amazon (and is suing it for $68 million), now that the music business is awash with sexual harassment suits, and now that organizations such as the MeToo Movement and Time's Up have exposed the ugly underside of Hollywood, have things really changed for women? Have they? If you answered “Yes” to that question, you're demented. While more women are getting the funding to make films...

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Latchis screens garden film as a thank you to Gordon Hayward

In an evening devoted to gardens and gratitude, Latchis Arts presents a special screening of the film Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf on Saturday, March 23, at 4 p.m., at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St. The March 23 screening has special meaning as an opportunity to express thanks to Gordon Hayward, the noted garden designer and author, who served for eight years on the board of Latchis Arts, including four as its president. Hayward selected Five Seasons...

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Dominican dance ensemble to appear at Marlboro College

Marlboro College presents Folklore Dominicano Ensemble in a free performance and workshop March 25. The New York-based dance company is dedicated to preserving, creating, and presenting dance and music traditions that reflect and celebrate Dominican culture. Following a Dominican dinner prepared by dining hall staff, FDE will offer a 20-minute performance of merengue, machaca, mangulina, and several other Dominican dances. Community members are then invited to join FDE and Marlboro's Dance in World Cultures class for a workshop in Dominican...

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Joey Morgan to give artist talk at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center

On Thursday, March 21, at 7 p.m., artist Joey Morgan will discuss “Catch Release (2) Précis,” her multimedia art installation at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center. Morgan will give a presentation about her work, then engage in a conversation with BMAC Chief Curator Mara Williams and take questions from the audience. The exhibit is on view in the museum's Mary Sommer Room through June 16. The talk is free and open to the public. Morgan's “Catch Release (2) Précis”

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Local-option sales tax: a discussion we need to have

As a Town Meeting Representative, I would value a discussion here about the local-option sales tax on the warning for Brattleboro Town Meeting on March 23. Economics 101 says that sales taxes are regressive because they tax necessities that make up most of the spending of those on the lower economic rungs. But Vermont's tax exempts basics like food, clothing, drugs, etc. Recently, I spent over $100 at the grocery store and paid only 22 cents in sales tax on...

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2019 Women’s Film Festival

3 Days 2018 • Julie Sharbutt • 11 min • US • Drama When three women friends sense danger on a camping trip, they keep each other laughing until a horrible twist makes them feel more alone than ever. 7 Planets 2018 • Milda Baginskaite • 7 min • US • Short A tale of one girl's dream to escape Planet Earth. A Great Ride 2018 • Deborah Craig & Veronica Deliz • 28 min • US • Short A...

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We must reclaim space from the perpetrators of sexual violence

What are the rights of survivors who choose to speak publicly about their experiences of sexual misconduct within the context of civil law? With the #metoo movement she founded, Tarana Burke intends that survivors feel empowered simply by discovering they are not alone. We celebrate the success of Ms. Burke's work, even while the effect of people feeling encouraged to speak publicly regarding this incredibly common thread of sexualized violence continues to unfold in our communities. What, overall, will the...

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Worldwide climate protest hits home

The March 15 School Strike for Climate, an international walkout to demand immediate action to deal with climate change, saw area students joining with more than 1.5 million youths in more than 100 countries in one of the largest-ever global climate demonstrations. The youth-led strike was inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who last August helped start a movement that evolved from her solitary vigil outside the Swedish Parliament every Friday into the recent massive global walkout. Students participated...

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Brattleboro to consider $18M in spending

On March 23, Representative Town Meeting members will consider almost $18 million of expenses for the town's next financial year, as well as take key votes on a 1-percent local-option sales tax, funding a request for a marketing effort, and instituting a new program for inspecting rental properties. In the 25 articles that will face the body on Saturday, members will also weigh in on a nonbinding article on energy efficiency in town buildings, and they will decide whether to...

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Spring arrives, but winter lingers

Good day to you, fine folks of southeastern Vermont! While spring arrives at 5:58 p.m. on Wednesday, just prior to sunset, we have one more shot at winter weather by Thursday morning. In fact, light snow accumulations are possible in western Windham County on Thursday morning before changing to rain showers during the day. In addition, rain showers may turn back to snow late Thursday night. More snow showers are possible Friday before we calm down by Saturday. Sunday is...

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Embracing the complications

I have more to say about my grandfather since last fall, when I wrote both about him sexually abusing me and about Vermont Public Radio not allowing me to say so in a radio commentary. First of all, admitting this abuse took place has helped me see the long half-life of childhood, familial, sexual abuse on my personality and the damaging effects of my subsequent half-century of silence. Secondly, I learned how that abuse groomed me to be taken advantage...

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We all want the same thing: a vibrant, thriving community

I found BDCCs recent commentary, written in opposition to the town's consideration of a 1-percent local-option tax for property-tax relief, to be quite scattered and confusing. In it, we are told that “another local tax is a short-term and shortsighted fix to a decades-long problem.” But no one imagines this revenue to “fix” anything - it's meant to shift a small amount of burden away from property taxpayers, who now pay 85 percent of the entire operating needs of our...

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We are having the wrong conversation

Town Meeting representatives will consider a new 1-percent local-option sales tax, one of the few rapid-acting tools that towns have to grow revenue as expenses increase. But another local tax is a short-term and shortsighted fix to a decades-long problem. No proposals to improve the long-term productivity of our tax base are on the table, and all available bandwidth is focused on a yes-no vote. A major concern is whether this tax would harm the retail base it seeks to...

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Returning for a mission

Fresh from a three-year hiatus, Hatch Vermont presents its seventh Storytellers on a Mission, promising “an evening of humorous storytelling from some of the hottest entertainers in the business” to help raise much-needed cash for a great cause. Hatch cofounder Tom Bodett, no stranger to a microphone, good deeds, and a fun time, told The Commons last week he's solidly behind co-host and nonprofit beneficiary Groundworks Collaborative, which provides ongoing support and services to families and individuals facing housing and...

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‘It’s not just a story. It happens to people every day. And it’s real. The violence and the pain and the drugs.’

As the town copes with the consequences of opioids, one segment of the population finds itself especially affected: youth. A recent series of interviews with younger people who have managed to climb out of hardships suggest an undercurrent of street violence and the consequences of addiction within their community. Sources, many of whom spoke on background for reasons of privacy and concern for their safety, say that this activity is rarely reported to the police and only occasionally reaches public...

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