LONDONDERRY-Thom Simmons of Chester has stepped into the role of executive director of Neighborhood Connections.
Simmons has a wealth of experience in the nonprofit sector, most recently serving as nutrition and wellness director of Senior Solutions, the area Agency on Aging for Southeastern Vermont.
GUILFORD-The love of music, friends, and tradition will come together when the Guilford Free Library presents a cello concert on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. at the historic Guilford Center Meeting House, 4042 Guilford Center Rd., say organizers in a news release. The performance will be followed by...
College news • Liliana Buettner of Dummerston was named to the spring 2024 Dean's List at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. Obituaries • Beatrice Green Dunn, 95, of Brattleboro. Died Aug. 18, 2024, at Thompson House Nursing Home in Brattleboro. Beatrice was born in Whitingham on May 28,
BRATTLEBORO-Brattleboro Savings & Loan recently hired Anne Reynolds as their new vice president of culture officer. This role has been expertly filled by Michele Hackett who retires at the end of August. According to a news release, Reynolds comes "with a long resume of helping organizations build and maintain a positive and engaging workplace culture." "Since I started here at BS&L, I've been striving to foster the wonderful culture at the bank that so reflects the values of our communities,"
BRATTLEBORO-Vermont Theatre Company will present Cyrano at Retreat Farm on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 3 and 4, as part of their Children's Classics at the Farm series. Additional performances will be held at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6 and 7. All performances will begin at 6 p.m. This is rescheduled from the original August performance dates at Retreat Farm. Cyrano tells the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, France's greatest poet and swordsman.
BELLOWS FALLS-Taylor Abrahamse and Sage Christie will lead a casual, limited-space, LGBTQ-friendly workshop-performance-Q&A for young songwriters (and the songwriter-curious) on Sunday, Sept. 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. before their concert at Stage 33 Live. Based in Ontario, Canada, Taylor Abrahamse "defies the borders of song, gender, and genre," write organizers in a news release. Abrahamse is a Kerrville New Folk Winner, FAI & NERFA official performer, finalist on Canadian Idol and the Mariposa Emerging Artist Showcase, co-founder of Toronto...
PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of traditional and contemporary Celtic and fiddle music by the band Kalos and duo O'Brien & Flick on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m. Three innovative interpreters and composers of Celtic roots music - Eric McDonald (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Ryan McKasson (fiddle, viola, vocals), and Jeremiah McLane (accordion, piano, vocals) - draw on years of experience performing with the likes of Cantrip, Nightingale, The Clayfoot Strutters, and Alasdair Fraser &
BELLOWS FALLS-On Thursday, Sept. 5, at 6:30 p.m. at the Rockingham Free Public Library, acclaimed authors Eileen Charbonneau and Eileen O'Finlan will take a dark look at what happened when two European folk beliefs arrived in what would become the United States in their new novels Spectral Evidence and The Folklorist, respectively. O'Finlan's The Folklorist is a dual-timeline story set in 1970s and 1830s Vermont. It explores the New England Vampire Panic of the 19th century and its family echoes.
BRATTLEBORO-SEON is dedicated to promoting green building practices in our community - especially those that address the affordable housing crisis that holds back so many parts of our economy. Our Windham County delegation has contributed meaningfully to our recent efforts. This spring, SEON advanced a federal earmark request for $9.9 million to expand our programs to help four local nonprofit builders build housing in our area. Working with SEON board member (and local entrepreneur), Jason Van Nest, we sketched a...
BRATTLEBORO-Artist Saks Afridi, whose multimedia exhibition "SpaceMosque," currently on view at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), has been recognized by such disparate entities as the United Nations, the art publication Artforum, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On Thursday, Aug. 29, at 7:30 p.m., Afridi and the curator of "SpaceMosque," Sadaf Padder, will discuss the exhibition in an online talk presented by BMAC. Afridi began working on "SpaceMosque" in 2017. The exhibition contains elements of Islamic mysticism,
WESTMINSTER WEST-The Westminster West Community Fair will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7, and includes an adults 5K road race, grilled lunch, an online silent auction, and a Golden Elephant sale. Race registration starts at 8:30 a.m., with the race starting at 9 a.m. The Golden Elephant sale also opens at 9 a.m. A parade with the theme "Our Community's Children" will start at 10:30 a.m. Children will be the grand marshals for the parade, with special hats being made...
Windham County Prevention Partnerships (WCPP) is encouraging the community to go Substance Free in September. "Substances can be anything we use out of habit to comfort ourselves in times of stress, uncertainty, loneliness, or boredom," organizers say in a news release. "Examples include alcohol, cannabis, sugar, technology, nicotine, or caffeine. We urge you to join us on a powerful and transforming journey this fall, prioritizing substance over substances for the full month of September in order to reap great health...
BRATTLEBORO-I must be one of scores, if not hundreds, of readers who were truly shocked to read Linda Hecker's essay about her ordeal of harassment, threats, and the downright cruelty she's endured, particularly since, as she notes, the publication of an accusatory essay in The Commons three years ago. And I sincerely commend The Commons for publishing her tragic account and letting her tell her side of things. While admittedly I know nothing about her husband, past abuses, and any...
SHELBURNE FALLS, MASS.-Zeke and Linda Hecker are two of my best friends. I have read and heard about their situation for more than a decade. I know what Zeke allegedly did and what he acknowledges. I don't condone his behavior. I have kept silent as articles have been published by The Commons, but when innuendo and unfounded allegations are presented as fact, I want to speak out. I was glad to see Linda Hecker's Viewpoint in The Commons. I hope...
BRATTLEBORO-I thank all the voters in District 7 who voted in the state primary election, with a special thank you to all who supported my campaign. So many of you trusted me with your concerns about affordability, drugs in our communities, housing, and property taxes. I urge you to continue to speak up and share your viewpoints. I wish Emilie Kornheiser well as she goes forward to the general election in November. Thank you again to all. Amanda Ellis-Thurber Brattleboro...
JAMAICA-My name is Lilian Newton, and I'm 13 years old, and I'm writing this letter in response to Vermont Forest Parks and Recreation's proposed development plans for Hamilton Falls Natural Area in Jamaica. For my entire life, I've lived a very short walk from Hamilton Falls, in the same house my great-grandparents lived in when they sold the falls property in 1972. As I've grown up, I've gone to the falls on most any hot day I can. Despite having...
WILMINGTON-As someone who worked in the high-tech industry for more than 40 years, I was intrigued by Elayne Clift's article. It was very well written and clearly articulated the frustration we've all experienced with our interactions with technology, support, help desks, customer service, etc. I think we'd all agree that technology is great when it works, but not so much otherwise! After digesting the paragraphs on the front page, I eagerly turned the page to see what else the columnist...
BRATTLEBORO-The final weekend of Nu Mu 3, The Land of Mu Music and Art Festival at 118 Elliot combines great performances by visiting artists with opportunities for local musicians to showcase their music. All events are free, but a $20 donation is suggested at the door. According to a news release, "The Land of Mu is a mythological continent much like Atlantis. The concept was best put forth by Augustus Le Plongeon, who promulgated the idea of an ideal society...
BRATTLEBORO-Naturalist Patti Smith will lead a workshop on creating and maintaining a nature journal from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, in the Community Meeting Room of Brooks Memorial Library. A nature journal that captures observations and experiences can bring enhanced, intensive attention to one's surroundings, Smith says. Keeping a nature journal can be a potent tool for learning or for finding peace and beauty. In this workshop, Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC)'s Smith will share some...
DUMMERSTON-Eleanor Emery will turn 97 years old in October - a fact that she conveys with some pride. "Who knew?" Emery asks, throwing her head back and laughing. Born at the family home in West Guilford in 1927, Emery remains as sharp as a tack. This time of year often stirs two memories. The first is of the one-room District No. 1 schoolhouse, where Emery was a student from 1933 to 1941. "My school years were during the Great Depression.
-The Brattleboro Boys & Girls Club (BBGC) will host its 15th annual Going the Distance-Bike Ride Fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 21, to support free after-school programming for all local youth. Organizers says Going the Distance is a ride-at-your-own-pace event, not a race. Riders have multiple routes to choose from including two new gravel rides and three road options. Registration fees are waived for riders who receive donations of support. Each cyclist sets their own fundraising goal. "It's such a fun...
NORTHAMPTON, MASS.-The Iron Horse in Northampton has reopened, but for me it is full of ghosts. In 1994, I got a job as the third-string music reporter for the Springfield Union-News (now The Republican) in Springfield, Massachusetts. At the time - when newspapers walked the earth like gods - it had a circulation of over 100,000 and covered the small city like a glove. It was the biggest job I'd ever had as a reporter up to then, and no...
Jerry Carbone started Whetstone Brook Genealogy to help individuals understand their family history "by uncovering generations of family stories, artifacts, and documents, while using professional and trusted genealogical research standards, as described on his website. He is retired from a 22-year career as the director of Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro. For the version of this story that puts an accent on the genealogy, including full citations, visit bit.ly/MR-Citations. BRATTLEBORO-More than 100 years have passed since women received the right...
Michelle Bos-Lun, a Democrat, is serving her second term in the Vermont House of Representatives and is running for a third term. She and Rep. Leslie Goldman (D-Rockingham) jointly represent Westminster, Rockingham, and Brookline. A high school teacher and youth program leader who moved to Vermont in 2003 for graduate school at SIT Graduate Institute, Bos-Lun holds a master's degree is in international education. In 2023 she completed a certificate from Vermont Law School in restorative justice practices. WESTMINSTER-I spent...
ROCKINGHAM-The Planning Commission has released a draft of the latest Town Plan, an update that has been in the works since 2016, and the public will weigh in on the document at a public hearing on Thursday, Sept. 3. The Selectboard will hold the public hearing at the Town Hall at 6 p.m. as well as via Zoom. "This event is a key opportunity for community members to share their input and perspectives on the future development of our town,"
BRATTLEBORO-Amid a crescendo of complaints about drug dealing and related illegal acts, local leaders are seeking to add more police staff and space to fight a community-wide rise in crime. The Brattleboro Selectboard, facing a standing-room-only crowd, voted unanimously on Aug. 20 to explore cost estimates for boosting its budgeted count of police officers from 27 to 30 and open a satellite station at downtown's problem-plagued Transportation Center parking garage. "We want to be empathetic," Police Chief Norma Hardy said...
Rick Holmes is retired and living in Marlboro after a long career in journalism and opinion-writing, mostly at the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Massachusetts, where he served as opinion editor. MARLBORO-Donald Trump caught some deserved criticism from veterans recently for saying the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor. "It's actually much better," Trump said, "because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they're soldiers. They're either in very bad shape because they've...
EAST DUMMERSTON-Has the town considered the Guardian Angels organization as part of a possible solution? Tenley Berta East Dummerston This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons. This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability,
WESTMINSTER-Harley Sterling, director of the Windham Northeast food program, which runs during the school year from the end of August to the beginning of June and provides breakfast and lunch to students, always aims to "push the limits of what's possible." Sterling, with his team of 12 cooks, do the best from-scratch cooking they can with local ingredients at a time for the six schools in WNESU - elementary schools in Westminster, Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, and Athens; Bellows Falls...