The Commons/issue of Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010

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Brattleboro, Vermont Wednesday, December 15, 2010 • Vol. V, No. 33 • Issue #80

W ind h am C ounty ’ s A W A R D - W I N N I N G , I ndependent S ource for N ews and V iews

News Bellows Falls

Burst pipe damages historic books at RFPL page 3 BRATTLEBORO

BMH hires new president page 4

Voices Civil rights

Your letters, our thoughts on Reed’s dismissal page 6 ELAYNE CLIFT

Studying ‘the girl effect’ page 7

The Arts Oy! what a show

Jewmongous! uses humor to deflate stereotypes page 9

Sports Hockey

Colonel boys lose home opener to Rutland page 11

Setting the agenda Broadband, taxes, health care top legislative concerns in western part of county

By Olga Peters The Commons

DOVER—Taxes, health care, and the cost of doing business were on the menu at the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce’s legislators breakfast last week.

State Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, and state Reps.

Ann Manwaring, D-Wilmington and John Moran, D-Wardsboro, discussed their goals for the 2011 legislative session with chamber members at a breakfast hosted by the Matterhorn Inn. Newly elected state Sen. Peter Galbraith, D-Windham, couldn’t

attend due to illness, said White.

Patricia Moulton Powden, vice president of public affairs for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, also attended the breakfast. Last month, Democratic Governor-elect Peter Shumlin appointed Powden deputy secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.

Manwaring opened the discussion by saying that she wanted to “raise the conversation” on property taxes.

She said when Montpelier decides not to raise taxes, it never means the property tax. n see LEGISLATORS, page 8

BRATTLEBORO—Walking the dog, preparing a casserole, or mowing the lawn have redefined the concept of “pay it forward” for members of Brattleboro Time Trade, a two-year-old organization based on swapping time for services.

Time banks operate on a simple system of members helping members. One member might spend an hour editing, then use his or her time bank to pick up desserts prepared by another member, who then uses his or her time credit to have some automotive work done by a third member.

“And it goes around in a big circle like that,” said coordinator Laura Brooks. “It’s a wonderful way to meet economic challenges right now.”

The concept behind time banks runs deeper into the roots of community. Supporters hope the banks will fertilize connections among neighbors,

worst-case Local first responders credit constant training in successfully dealing with recent I-91 crash

Grassroots group organizes swapping time for services The Commons

The

scenario

Time Trade banks on members

By Olga Peters

David Shaw/Commons file photo

Heidi Fischer, a Rescue Inc. EMT, assists a “victim” during a joint training drill last year at St. Michael’s School with the Brattleboro Fire Department and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.

sprouting a network of likeminded traders where no skill outshines another and everyone’s time is valued equally.

From its Grove Street office space, donated by Bob Johnson through a time trade, Brooks manages the 100-plus-memberand-growing Brattleboro Time Trade.

Everything in the office has been donated.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital donated two computers for members without Internet access at home. Mountain Computers provided an upgrade for a computer donated by another member. Sovernet provides phone and Internet service.

A model of reciprocity

Brooks said time banks operate on a model of reciprocity — a model that’s different from volunteering because people also expect to receive in return.

Brooks, a VISTA volunteer, moved from Alaska at the end

By Fran Lynggaard Hansen The Commons

B

RATTLEBORO— It’s the scenario that every emergency responder trains for, and hopes never happens — an accident scene with dozens of people in need of immediate help.

“I can barely imagine what it’s like to be a patient on a scene. Must be pretty unnerving,” said Brian Richardson, assistant chief of operations at Rescue Inc. in Brattleboro.

“People are moving quickly sorting it all out, triaging those hurt [using] colored tags to let other responders know the level of their patients’ injuries quickly and easily.”

Those tags, Richardson said, “are based on how fast we need to get you to the hospital. It’s always the balance of injuries versus the resources we have on hand. We do this because we want to make the best possible use of our resources. It’s

Jason Henske/Courtesy of Brattleboro Fire Department

Brattleboro firefighter Greg Seymour aids a “victim” (played by a volunteer from the New England Youth Theatre) in a Nov. 8 drill that simulated a nightmare emergency: a shooter in Brattleboro Union High School. The drill let local, state, and federal agencies practice working together to avoid blunders during real emergencies like the recent bus crash on Interstate 91 in Putney. not like visiting your doctor’s office, where there is all the time in the world. We have to evaluate, in about 30 seconds per person, the most critically injured patients.”

“It might appear as organized

chaos,” said Brattleboro Fire Chief Michael Bucossi. “But it isn’t.”

The secret, said State Police Lt. Kraig LaPorte, commander of the Brattleboro barracks, is n see training, page 2

n see TIME TRADE, page 4

On thin ice

By Randolph T. Holhut The Commons

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As weather turns cold, ice rescuers urge caution on ponds and lakes BRATTLEBORO—“There are so many different variables when it comes to ice,” said Brattleboro Assistant Fire Chief Peter Lynch.

That is a bit of an understatement, considering that last week’s below-freezing weather Randolph T. Holhut/The Commons was followed by torrential rains Ice begins to form on the Retreat Meadows in Brattleboro last Friday. By Sunday, and 50 degree temperatures on warm temperatures and heavy rain made it all disappear.

Sunday and Monday.

The up-and-down roller coaster of weather that is a Vermont winter means that skaters and ice fishermen need to be wary on local ponds and lakes.

“There’s no good way to tell how thick the ice is,” said Brattleboro Fire Lt. Chuck Keir, the commander of the Brattleboro Dive Rescue Team, which performs ice rescues around Windham County.

Many factors affect the safety n see ICE, page 5

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NEWS

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n Training 139 Main St. #604, P.O. Box 1212 Brattleboro, VT 05302 (802) 246-6397 fax (802) 246-1319 www.commonsnews.org Office hours by appointment 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday Jeff Potter, Editor

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• Randolph T. Holhut, News Editor Olga Peters, Staff Reporter • Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg, Copy Editor • David Shaw, Photographer • Nancy Gauthier, Advertising • Cal Glover-Wessel, Distribution Bill Proctor, Distribution • Richard Henke and Mia Gannon Vermont Associates Trainees www.vermontassociates.org

Deadline for the Dec. 22 issue Friday, Dec. 17 About The newspaper

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by Vermont Independent Media, Inc., a nonprofit corporation under section 501(c)3 of the federal tax code. We now publish weekly.

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VOICES

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something called the Incident Command System, or ICS. ICS, a hierarchy of procedures, instructs emergency personnel from law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency medicine so that when agencies need to respond together at the scene of an emergency of any kind, they can adhere to a pre-established hierarchy and authority.

“In training, all our local emergency agencies work together using ICS,” LaPorte said.

“Once trained in this system, any of us could go anywhere in the United States, and participate in an emergency, and know what to do.”

LaPorte, Richardson, and Putney Fire Chief Tom Goddard had this training put to the test on Dec. 3 during a bus accident on Interstate 91 in Putney. They worked together at the command post and coordinated the other agencies that were called to assist, including road crews from the Vermont Agency of Transportation and other ambulance services from New Hampshire and Vermont.

More than 100 people were involved at one point or another during the accident. From the doctors, nurses, and technicians at several hospitals waiting for the patients to arrive, to the helicopter that took patients with the most injuries to DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center, to those covering fire, rescue, and police operations while the emergency played out, the bus accident gave these workers an opportunity to use the training they had practiced for years beforehand.

ICS in practice

“The [response to] the bus accident went like clockwork,” said Bucossi.

“The accident was in Putney, so Chief Goddard was in command of the scene,” he said.

“Our department had less time on the scene itself and more time providing support. I had four people who set up the landing zone for the helicopter. I went up to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital with a liaison from Rescue Inc., and we worked with the emergency department staff at BMH.” Bucossi said he thought there would be an onslaught of patients.

“Chief [Eugene] Wrinn of the Brattleboro Police Department came in with extra officers.

I brought in all of my career staff. BMH had the Emergency Department set for all the

T h e C ommons

• Wednesday, December 15, 2010

from page 1

critical patients, the lobby set up for [those with] intermediate wounds that are not as serious but needing a higher level of care than the walking wounded, who were sent to the new Richards building.”

As it turned out, Bucossi said, “we didn’t need all of this, but we were ready if the need was there.”

The speed and depth of the response, Bucossi said, was all due to the preparation for such an event.

“It’s all about the training,” he said. “That’s exactly why we train. We all worked together, and the department heads supported each other. Everybody had a job to do.”

Part of the training, said Richardson, is learning to recognize things that his department does well.

“We can each handle the everyday calls, but through training, all of us also know what our agency’s limits are,” he said.

“A mass casualty incident is defined as anything above the ability of the agency to handle it alone,” he added. “For Rescue Inc., that means if the scene has six or seven patients that have serious or life-threatening injuries, we call in for more help right away.”

The scale of an event totally dictates the response, he said.

“It’s a totally different circumstance if the scene was an accident that had seven patients who had minor injuries and one with a critical injury. That kind of scene we can handle ourselves,” Richardson said.

“As I approach a scene, one of the first things I will do is call out to everyone to walk towards me if they are injured,” he added.

“That helps me see where we are right away. If a patient can stand, think, and understand a direction like that, I know that they are my least anxious category of patients. We can give them shelter and warmth until we can get them off scene.”

Running the show

All agencies train and practice ICS on their own almost every single day.

“Let’s say there is a bank robbery,” said LaPorte. “Law enforcement units will train together on that scenario, and maybe that’s the Vermont State Police alone, or with another law enforcement agency, like the Brattleboro Police Department.

On the other hand, law enforcement would not train the same way as the Fire Department

Jason Henske/Courtesy Brattleboro Fire Department

Emergency workers from multiple fire departments and ambulance services participate in a training drill at Brattleboro Union High School Nov. 8. for a house fire. Likely, we wouldn’t be involved during that emergency. The fire department would train alone on that scenario.”

It would be the same way with emergency medicine, said LaPorte. “If there was a person rock climbing and that person fell off a cliff, Rescue Inc. might train for that eventuality.”

But when an event involves all the needs of multiple agencies, LaPorte said everyone comes together, “bringing with us our expertise in our individual area.

Then each commander works with the agencies involved to make decisions for the group.We also organize this way throughout New England.”

For example, LaPorte said, the Vermont State Police were called in to assist the Massachusetts State Police with security at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004.

A long history

ICS was developed more than 30 years ago after a series of massive wildfires in California.

As fire began to spread from the wilderness to urban areas, more agencies became involved.

A committee studying those fires determined that because agencies had been training in isolation, a lack of systematic planning hampered efforts when working together on a large multi-agency scale. Because a system had not yet been developed, efforts during multi-agency emergencies were sometimes at cross purposes. Consequently, property damage ran into the

millions, and many people died or were injured.

Eventually, the ICS system was designed, and national laws required each individual agency to learn, train, and teach the same information to every emergency responder.

As ICS evolved, it incorporated town, state, and national government, and then moved to include the private sector. By 2003, a new version of the law became national, mandating all federal, state, and local agencies to learn the National Incident Management System and to have a plan in place unique to each agency, town, or business.

How are the scenarios of training decided?

LaPorte suggests it can be specific to an area of the country.

“We look at what the possibilities are for our area, or we emulate a disaster from another area of the U.S.,” he said. “We could look at a tornado scenario, but that’s unlikely in Vermont, so we consider what real life is for us.”

Last spring, State Police did an emergency training in Windsor County with a much broader scope, he said. “We pretended that Moore’s Dam in St. Johnsbury had failed and flooded the Connecticut River.”

LaPorte said that the exercise included TransCanada, since that firm manages the dam.

“There is a lot to consider during that type of disaster, as it would affect all the towns along the river, south of the dam,” he said. “How much water would it take to down power lines? What types of businesses might flood?

Do those businesses use chemicals that would turn the situation into one that included hazardous materials?”

Over on Elliot Street, the Brattleboro Fire Department trains as an agency and in consultation with other agencies, just as the State Police do.

“Like all the other agencies in town which work together during emergencies, the Brattleboro Fire Department takes pride in all that we do. We know there are many times when you only get one shot to do it the right way and that lives can be on the line when we get called out,” said Bucossi. “Even though the guys are a playful bunch, and we’re in Small Town USA, that one shot — we take that very seriously.”

Bucossi explained that all three shifts of the career firefighters are required to train at least one hour of every day. The topic could be fire-related, or they could train for a technical rescue, a medical emergency, or anything else they choose.

A training committee meets monthly to identify topics, set up a series of trainings, or bring in outside instructors. “One of the things that is common is to do a once a month get-together with Rescue Inc.” he said. “On that day, all three shifts will meet with whoever is on duty with Rescue over the 24-hour period.”

The Brattleboro Fire Department has 15 volunteer fire fighters on their roster as well.

“It is mandatory that all career firefighters be certified to Level 1, which is an entry-level type of training — how to run pumps,

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T h e C ommons

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stretch hose, wear an air pack, that sort of thing. But all our staff is trained to at least Level 2, which gets into more extrication, ropes, knots, etc.,� said Bucossi.

There is another level of training that teaches and prepares a firefighter for administration, “and our captains and lieutenants are also trained to that level,� Bucossi said. “That’s a lot of personnel training, and we don’t stop there,� he added. “Brattleboro has always had the identity of being a very efficient and welltrained fire department. We have a long tradition of training and leadership in which we take pride. All the agencies in Brattleboro — from the Department of Public Works, led by Steve Barrett, to the Police Department, Rescue, and BMH — work hard to support one another. We have each other’s backs.�

Practice makes perfect

This week kicks off a threemonth series of trainings on water awareness. A state instructor will meet once a month for three months with several emergency agencies in this area.

The first meeting is a fourhour classroom session where many parts of water rescue will be discussed and various methods of rescue will be identified, with a special focus, as always, on safety, command, and control.

In session two, personnel from all the agencies will meet at the pool at the Colonial Motel on Putney Road, where they will talk about and work on selfrescue, along with other rescue techniques.

In the spring, when the water levels rise, the same participants will return for a swift-water rescue. High lines will be installed from shore to shore, and as they enter the cold, fast spring waters, they will design a scenario. “You see a lot on television what happens during a severe flooding circumstance. We’ll act out a scenario that is realistic for our area based on that idea,� said Bucossi. “The inter-agency workings in our area are stellar,� he said. “There is a sense of wanting to do the very best work we can to serve the public under any circumstances. In this case, we are acting out a scene, as we did last month with a drill surrounding a shooter at the high school.�

At other times, agencies meet together for “table talk training.� At these events, responders from each agency are seated at a table. Everybody huddles up and decides how they each want to handle the circumstances. A question will be posed to the assembled groups. “We might ask each agency to get together and decide what they need to do in the first five minutes of the emergency,� said Bucossi. “No matter what scene we come up with, it bleeds over to another agency, so we make the invitation for all departments to come and interact with one another,� he said. “We all come back and read what we decided we would do.�

The drills — which Bucossi said are designed to be as realistic as possible — make those associated with the various agencies “work together to solve certain problems that might be issues to us all, and to anticipate circumstances that might come up during that particular emergency,� he said.

During these exercises, “the chiefs step out and let the captains practice their skills,� he added.

A lot of training available to the town of Brattleboro’s emergency services comes from the National Fire Academy in Maryland or the Vermont Fire Academy in Pittsford. “At least twice a year, we’ll have an instructor in here from the National Academy,� Bucossi said, describing the free- or lowcost programs as “excellent quality training.�

Rescue Inc. takes a nod from the National Incident Command Training Group. “We do all the training that is required by federal mandate, and often times, much more,�

Richardson said. “ We use ICS every single day, practicing things on the small scenes so that when we have a bigger scene, we just expand it as needed.

We do a lot of classroom time, we do seminars, and we work

with Brattleboro Memorial on communications, often with Brattleboro Fire joining in.�

Richardson said that this training “helps with emergency preparedness, to be sure, but these exercises also build and raise community among the agencies.

The emphasis on the relationship is tremendously important. It’s always a group effort. We all support each other; our staffs work really well together. We strive to work even better together every single day. It’s about how we can better serve the folks in our community.�

All three agency heads agree that volunteers, funding, and town support are also crucial. “’None of what we do would happen without the support of the town administration, the Selectboard, and the town,� said Bucossi. “My budget is $1.4 million. It takes a lot of money to maintain any municipal departments, and it’s gratifying to get the support,� he said.

At Rescue, the number of career staff is about equal to the number of volunteer staff. “I started out as a volunteer at Rescue, before I went on to college,� said Richardson. “I know how much time and training it takes to keep your license, how much time away from the family our men and women give to us. We also rely on the public for donations for a lot of our budget, and it always gives me a big smile to think of the numbers of people who help us at Rescue, both volunteers and donors.�

LaPorte, Bucossi, and Richardson have a combined total of over 70 years of experience in their areas of expertise. “I can’t imagine doing anything else,� said Bucossi.

Richardson agrees. “The relationships that we’ve built are strong, and I know how well we all work together,� he said. “I know what to expect from them. They know what to expect from me. We just go to work and get the job done. It’s a beautiful thing.�

NEWS

3

BELLOWS FALLS Burst water pipe floods Rockingham Free Public Library Local history collection bears brunt of damage

By Randolph T. Holhut The Commons

BELLOWS FALLS—The Rockingham Free Public Library on Westminster Street suffered a flood on Sunday night that caused major damage to several sections of the building.

Although a final report is pending, Public Services Librarian Wendy O’Connell said Tuesday that the flood was likely caused by a ruptured internal water pipe in the original section of the library building.

The library is insured under the town of Rockingham’s policy, she said, but a complete estimate of the damage is still being compiled.

The RFPL, built in 1909, is one of four library buildings in Vermont built with funds from the philanthropist and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. The library had additions built on in 1929 and 1968. Library officials have long sought renovations to the 1909 section of the building, but there hasn’t been enough money to do the work. “It’s an old building, with old pipes and old electrical wires and fixtures,� O’Connell said. “With pipes and wires that are 100 years old, things like this are going to happen sooner or later. It really highlights how much work needs to happen to upgrade our library.�

The flood was discovered when staff arrived at the library Monday morning, she said.

According to O’Connell, the worst damage was to the Local History Room, a sequestered area in the middle of the building housing the historical collection — including local Rockingham and Vermont historical books, genealogy books and research material, framed prints, and historic photographs. “The entire collection was damaged,� O’Connell said. “Pretty much everything got soaked.�

Water damage extended to the adjacent reading room, as well as downstairs to the youth department and the adjacent basement area.

The library was closed

Monday while clean-up crews sopped up water and a preservation team arrived to rescue the waterlogged historical collection.

According to O’Connell, Munters Corp., a dehumidifying company from the Boston area, was called and arrived in less than three hours. They boxed up the materials and freeze-dried them prior to beginning the restoration process.

O’Connell said that the process is expected to take many weeks to complete. A local restoration company, Works on Paper in Bellows Falls, is also assisting with the effort.

The Local History Room itself — the ceiling, walls, floor, and

bookcases — were also damaged and will require complete restoration, O’Connell said.

The library reopened on Tuesday and will remain open while repairs are made. “It’s been a total zoo here,�

O’Connell said. “Half the library is off limits for now, and the dehumidfiers are going full blast.�

The damage to the RFPL’s history collection “has been a real heartbreak,� said O’Connell.

Genealogists, historians, and authors from around New England have used the collection for research. “It is the heart of our library,� she added. “I hope we can save it.�

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BFUHS to install new security system WESTMINSTER—Bellows Falls Union High School is in the process of installing a new security system.

It is one of the last schools in the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union to install such a system, but school officials say the delay allowed them to take advantage of the latest technology.

Soon, when students, parents, or community members step up to the doors of the high school, they will have to use an intercom to announce themselves, and will have to be buzzed in by the attendance officer, or another staff member.

In addition, a video camera will allow the BFUHS staff to do a visual check before buzzing anyone in.

Staff and administrators will be issued a small hardware device with built-in authentication mechanisms. “It’s a proximity reader, similar to an EZ Pass we use in our

Homeless vigil to take place on Dec. 21 BRATTLEBORO — The annual vigil in recognition of Homeless Memorial Day will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 4 p.m., in Pliny Park in downtown Brattleboro.

The vigil is held on the shortest and coldest day of the year in recognition of the challenges our homeless neighbors face in the winter on the streets of our nation. This is a time when homelessness is recognized as a community challenge and our homeless neighbors are reached out to by the community.

The vigil will include a brief presentation, lighting of candles, singing of songs, and a walk to the Brattleboro Winter Overflow Shelter at First Baptist Church where a blessing will be said and more music provided.

All are welcome and urged to attend. Questions may be addressed to Melinda Bussino at the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center at 802-257-2005, ext.

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vehicles,� said Jim DeBell, director of maintenance at the high school. “Each member of the faculty and staff will have specific levels of access to the building. We will also be able to keep track of all entries into the building during non-school hours.�

Installation of the new security system was prompted by the decision to discontinue the Student Resource Officer position. Previously, a deputy from the Windham County Sheriff’s Department was assigned to the school. “We had budgeted for an SRO officer at the high school, but did not bring that position back,� said BFUHS Principal Chris Hodsden. “We have wanted to install a system like this for several years, and now we have a budget to do so.�

First Choice Communications of Brattleboro will install and maintain the system. “We needed to find a local company who would be available after the initial installation,� said DeBell. The plan is to phase in additional access points throughout the building over the next couple of years.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is pleased to welcome

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NEWS

4

T h e C ommons

• Wednesday, December 15, 2010

BR AT TLEBORO n Time trade of July to manage the time bank.

In Alaska, she also helped coordinate a seafood business based on cooperation.

She said time banks bring communities back to the “old days when neighbors helped each other.”

But don’t confuse time banks with a barter system, said Brooks.

Members avoid placing a monetary value on their skills and instead talk in terms of time — a perspective that requires a shift in thinking.

Often, people have what they consider “small skills,” but the skills are still valuable, said Brooks. Members also share resources like rototillers, kayaks, and hot tubs.

Understanding time banks is like learning a new language, said Brooks.

“We all think it’s a great idea, but it takes a while to really do it because we’re so used to being independent,” she said.

Brooks said that members offer more services than make requests at first because “we’re independent Americans who don’t ask for help.” Often, the concept of being in another’s debt holds new members back.

For example, Brooks said two new members fell over themselves thanking her after she helped them weed their garden.

“They shouldn’t thank me,” she said. “Thanks to them, I got to meet new people. I love to weed, and I built up enough time credits to borrow another member’s kayak for an afternoon.”

So she reminds members that really, they’re giving one another

from page 1

the opportunity to build their own respective time banks.

Time can be exchanged in units as small as 15 minutes, but people usually work in terms of hours.

The time bank also partners with local agencies like the Brattleboro Senior Center, where members earn time credits driving. Brattleboro Time Trade hopes to partner with more social service agencies.

delete the files off her traded laptop and transport it to the Grove Street office.

“As long as the two people involved feel it’s fair, then it’s OK,” Mnookin said.

Mnookin doesn’t imagine time trades replacing commerce, but she does think that they could influence how and on what people spend money.

Mnookin thinks the organization will become more interesting as membership increases. Brooks One member’s has told her she hopes the time story trade will take a bigger role in the Member Abby Mnookin and community as people with speTheresa Maggio/Special to The Commons partner Laura Stamas use the cialized skills, like physicians or Emma Hallowell, co-founder of Brattleboro Time Trade. time bank to earn credits toward plumbers, sign up. dog walking for their toddleraged puppy, Scarlet.

A start-up Hallowell felt Brattleboro was face-to-face time or substitute welfare.”

Mnookin and Stamas, both Brattleboro Time Trade’s co- ripe for a time bank because it’s for developing trust, said Brooks.

“If there was not going to be teachers, joined the organization founders Emma Hallowell and “open-minded about thinking She encourages members to get enough of the old money to fix in August after their two favor- Becca Schaefer spearheaded the outside the box.” to know one another, as they all the problems facing our counite dog walkers left town. They pilot version of the project durAfter a few small grants, and would with any neighbor. try and society,” Cahn said, “why regularly earn enough credits for ing graduate school at Antioch with Post Oil Solutions as its fis“We all talk about how we not make a new kind of money two hours of dog walking a week. University. cal sponsor, Brattleboro Time want community, and this is how to pay people for what needs to “We’ve definitely felt it’s A class called “Corporate Trade was functioning as a to make it happen,” Brooks said. be done?” worked out [for us and Scarlet],” Power, Globalization, and nonprofit.

Time banks have cropped up said Mnookin.

Democracy” — which Hallowell Hallowell said that fundrais- all over the country, with more Joining the fray Mnookin said she and Stamas described as “depressing” — in- ing remains a challenge for the than 80 time banks across 29 People join Brattleboro Time have a distinct motivation to earn spired them to start the local group. Donations that go toward states in the U.S., as well as in Trade through its website, www. brattleborotimetrade.org. credits, but wonders how easily time bank. paying Brooks as a coordinator 22 countries. members without a motivation Hallowell had been a mem- are accepted at the website via Brattleboro joins Middlebury, Prospective members are vetcould let their earning lapse. ber of Hour Exchange Portland PayPal. The organization has Montpelier, St. Johnsbury, ted before gaining full memShe said that for trades like and saw time trades as a “spark realized that, regardless of its Waitsfield, and Winooski as bership and must provide two weeding or running errands, the of positive change” in a corpo- aspirations, it needs a second Vermont communities with references with their application. calculation was easy — one hour rate world. full-time paid coordinator for time banks.

Also, the Time Trade charges equals one hour. But translating In the middle of a class presen- the project to run at full speed.

Brooks participates in bi- a one-time $25 fee to offset adthe value of objects like the lap- tation, Hallowell said, “I’m go“Ironically, we still need weekly phone conferences with ministrative costs and to help entop she traded to the Time Trade ing to start one in Brattleboro.” money to function,” said an organization called Time sure the prospective member’s office into an appropriate dura“It allows people to work out- Hallowell.

Banks USA, which also pro- commitment. tion of time was harder. side the cash economy,” she said. vides the database software Every new member also comMnookin feels it’s fairer when Schaefer joined Hallowell in Face time Brattleboro Time Trade uses. mits two hours of service to the trading resources to think in the endeavor and used the proj Although it doesn’t happen She received training from Hour time bank, like helping around terms of time invested, such as ect as a practicum for her gradu- often, the time trade system can Exchange Portland. the office. how many hours it took her to ate degree. break down when a member tries Dr. Edgar S. Cahn devel“We always, always try to to take more in services than he oped the time trade concept make everyone’s contribution or she has earned. But more of- in 1980 while hospitalized fol- valued,” said Brooks, who recten, members cache more time lowing a near-fatal heart at- ognizes that the time bank will credits than they can use. tack. According to the Time perform better once it reaches a Establishing trust is key to Banks USA website (www.time- critical mass of members. a successful time trade, said banks.org), Cahn, an author, co“The more we get, the more Brooks. Brattleboro Time Trade founder of the National Legal we can offer,” said Brooks. checks potential members’ ref- Services Program, and founder “Sometimes, it’s just about haverences and hosts monthly pot- of the Antioch School of Law, ing a heart. And what matters lucks so that members can meet envisioned a system to “provide most in life is heart.” and “develop new relationships.” a solution to massive cuts in Technology can’t replace government spending on social

Hospital names president/CEO BRATTLEBORO—The Board of Directors of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital have appointed Steven R. Gordon of Newton, Mass., as its new president and chief executive officer.

The appointment will be effective in early March of next Theresa Maggio/Special to The Commons year, according to Kirsten Beske, Lena Crane, a member of Brattleboro Time Trade, give a massage to Megan Chair of the BMH Board of Stafford.

Directors.

Gordon will replace Barry Beeman, who announced his intentions to retire from the position at Brattleboro Memorial

How can we live with ourselves if our neighbors are living with hunger?

You can make a difference and alleviate hunger in our communities. The problem is growing so fast that local food shelves can’t keep up without your support. Here’s how you can help the area’s biggest food drive help your neighbors.

Hospital earlier this year. He brings more than 25 years of experience in health care and hospital management to BMH. He most recently served as president of Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Mass., where he was responsible for the overall management of the hospital. Before arriving at Good Samaritan, Gordon was the Chief Administrative Officer for Children’s Hospital Boston, running their Waltham campus.

He also served previously as the

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A lifelong Rotarian, Gordon has always been actively involved in the local community, serving on such boards as the YMCA, the Chamber of Commerce, Partnership for Youth, and the local school. In addition, he was active with the local Boys and Girls Club in his past community.

Gordon is a Massachusetts native, and he and his wife Sharon, who is a nurse, have family in Keene, N.H.

• Donate non-perishable food and personal care items at drop-off locations in stores and businesses near you.

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T h e C ommons

NEWS

• Wednesday, December 15, 2010

n Ice

from page 1

of ice, including temperature, water currents, and snow cover, Keir said. Generally, new ice is safer than old ice, but ice thickness is rarely consistent over a single body of water.

In other words, while the thought of venturing out the first, or skim, ice on a pond is tempting, it’s much safer to wait.

So how thick does the ice need to be for safety?

According to Keir, 4 to 6 inches of clear, blue ice — the kind that forms during several days and nights of low temperatures — is generally considered safe enough for ice fishing and small group activities. Slushy ice has only half the strength of blue ice.

If you are one of the brave souls who drive their pickups on the ice of the Retreat Meadows, consider this: According to the American Pulpwood Society, it takes 8 inches of ice to support a car or light truck (2½-ton gross weight) and 12 inches for a heavy truck (7-to-8-ton gross weight).

The Pulpwood Society advises to reduce the minimum safe ice thicknesses by 15 percent for clear, blue river ice.

But when it comes to driving out onto the ice, Lynch and Keir are not big fans.

“The ice can seem strong in one spot and be unsafe just a few feet away,” Keir said. “It’s something we don’t recommend.”

Rescue awareness

Keir said well-meaning Good Samaritans often end up in trouble themselves when they try to help someone who has fallen through thin ice.

“The main thing is to keep calm and call 911 first,” Keir advised would-be rescuers. “If the person in the water can work their way to the edge of the ice, guide them to the edge.”

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, rescuers should remember this sequence — preach, reach, throw, row, go.

• Preach: Shout to the victim to encourage fighting to survive

and to reassure that help is on the way.

• Reach: If you can safely reach the victim from shore, extend an object such as a rope, ladder, or jumper cable. If the person starts to pull you in, release your grip on the object and start over.

• Throw: Toss the victim one end of a rope or something that will float. Have the victim affix the rope before becoming too weak to grasp it.

• Row: Find a light boat to push across the ice ahead of you to the edge of the hole. Get into the boat and pull the victim in over the bow. It’s not a bad idea to attach some rope to the boat so others can help pull you and the victim to safety.

• Go: A non‑professional shouldn’t go out on the ice to perform a rescue unless all other basic rescue techniques have been ruled out — a point that Keir stressed.

Keir added that once someone is pulled out of the water, medical attention is in order.

“Hypothermia is always the biggest danger,” he said. “You don’t have to be in the water for a long time before you’re in trouble.”

For people who spend a lot of time on the ice, ice claws are a good idea, Lynch and Keir said.

Ice claws are usually nails driven into wooden dowels. If you fall through the ice, they allow you to get a firm grip and pull yourself out. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has instructions on how to make and use them at www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ ice/claws.html.

Keir also said that people should resist the urge to rescue animals that might be stranded on the ice, particularly river ice, lest would-be rescuers end up needing to be rescued themselves.

In general, people shouldn’t go out onto the ice alone and should avoid going out at night, he said.

“And have a plan,” Keir advised.

What if you fall in?

BRATTLEBORO—What should you do if the ice breaks out from under your feet and you end up in icy cold water?

Here’s some advice from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: • First, try not to panic. This may be easier said than done, unless you have worked out a survival plan in advance. Read through these steps so that you can be prepared.

• Don’t remove your winter clothing. Heavy clothes won’t drag you down, but instead can trap air to provide warmth and flotation. This is especially true with a snowmobile suit.

• Turn toward the direction you came. That’s probably the strongest ice.

• Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface. This is where a pair of nails, sharpened screwdrivers, or icepicks come in handy, in providing the extra traction you need to pull yourself up onto the ice.

• Kick your feet and dig in

your ice picks to work your way back onto the solid ice.

If your clothes have trapped a lot of water, you may have to lift yourself partially out of the water on your elbows to let the water drain before starting forward.

• Lie flat on the ice once you are out and roll away from the hole to keep your weight spread out. This may help prevent you from breaking through again.

• Get to a warm, dry, sheltered area and re-warm yourself immediately. In moderate to severe cases of cold-water hypothermia, you must seek medical attention. Cold blood trapped in your extremities can come rushing back to your heart after you begin to re-warm. The shock of chilled blood may cause ventricular fibrillation, leading to a heart attack and possible death.

More information on ice safety is available at www.dnr. state.mn.us/safety/ice/.

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6

VOICES

T h e C ommons

• Wednesday, December 15, 2010

OPINION • COMMENTARY • LETTERS Join the discussion: voices@commonsnews.org

On civil rights and self-expression LETTERS FROM READERS

Every word in original commentary was true

M

y eyes burned with shame as I read of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission’s firing and excoriation of Curtiss Reed Jr. as a member of its Vermont State Advisory Commission.

I read carefully his commentary in the Oct. 18 Reformer and thought it was absolutely brilliant. Every word in it is true. As he always has, Curtiss was merely taking the care to present logically and accurately the case for anti-racism in our state, portraying it as the issue of life-and-death importance that it is.

I have known and worked with Curtiss Reed off and on for nearly two decades. He has the highest personal integrity.

He is in every way qualified to represent our state in the crucial federally focused work of civil rights and anti-racism.

He brings to the job the very highest standards and sensibilities for professionalism and knowledge of the subject. He has been carrying high the banner of civil and human rights against racism for as long as I have known him.

Curtiss was accurate when he impugned the Republican slogan “Pure Vermont” as racist. Moreover, as a member of a persecuted minority in our state, he has the perfect right to relate his own nterpretation of current events to the public.

“Pure Vermont” might be an appropriate slogan for a state economic development office — referring to the purity of Vermont agricultural

products, for instance — but as a campaign slogan for a gubernatorial candidate, it is most inappropriate. It is a tacit and hidden appeal to racism, even if it is not consciously meant as such.

Curtiss was also right to refer to the state’s early-20thcentury “eugenics” campaigns, codified under law as “voluntary sterilization,” to wipe out Abenaki bloodlines.

Because of the gravity of the systematic and structural crimes committed in our state against people of color and other religious and ethnic backgrounds, Curtiss was entirely morally correct to make the references he did, which did not compare the scope of these crimes against humanity to the Nazi holocaust against the Jews and other minorities, or to the Khmer Rouge “killing fields” genocide, but rather merely averred that the notion of “purity” raises the specter — the spirit — behind such occurrences.

For rarely is it indeed that you will find out-and-out racists spouting their blasphemous, bigoted drivel in today’s world. Instead, you find them speaking with a forked tongue, as it were, telling people what they want to hear, and especially telling those in power how they can stay in power by oppressing minorities and, in effect, creating “gated communities” that exclude the objectionable “other.”

You find them speaking

through such seemingly innocent things as campaign slogans, which, though they don’t openly appeal to racism, in fact tacitly do so in a “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” manner.

“Pure Vermont” is every bit what Curtiss called it — an inter-cultural blunder of monumental proportions.

There are reasons why Vermont remains one of the two whitest states in the union demographically, and Curtiss is painfully aware of these reasons. He sees and experiences every day the pain and anguish of minorities who cannot get anywhere in this state because of its tacit and explicit forms of racism.

In my work with Vermont corrections, I became painfully aware of the kinds of policies and institutional racism that cause this state, like most, to have a disproportionately-high minority prison population.

Locally I bore witness to actions — including misuse of the criminal justice system — that were very much intended to repel, and to expel, minority people from our state and community.

I appeal to my fellow white people in Vermont to raise high the anti-racist banner, to testify openly and publicly if you really know and thoroughly understand what white privilege and Euro-white supremacy in the world really mean, and to stand vigilant in the public sphere against racism and bigotry in all its forms.

I appeal to them to open Vermont up as a racially, culturally, and religiously diverse state, and to oppose forever the tacit and explicit policies and good-ol’-boy agreements that have in the past made Vermont an ethnically-cleansed white colony, and that have sought to keep it a white gated community, as it were, by blocking access by minorities and forcing them out of the state.

John Wilmerding Brattleboro

Curtiss Reed Jr.

Contact Washington about new USCCR appointments

B

elow is an e-mail I just sent to President Obama about the recent vote by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to remove Curtiss Reed Jr. as head of the commission’s Vermont State Advisory Committee [The Commons, Dec. 9]. I encourage you to use this message, modify it, or write your own to the president, urging him to fill two vacancies on the commission so that the panel may revisit the ill-advised and misguided decision to remove Curtiss.

Here’s the link to the White House comments form: www. whitehouse.gov/contact. I encourage you to forward this

EDITORIAL

Expressing uncomfortable truths

T

he irony of the head of a civil rights subcommittee being ousted for speaking out about a civil rights issue is stunning to behold.

But that’s exactly what happened to Curtiss Reed Jr. after the conservative majority sitting on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) objected to a commentary about the racial undertones of a political slogan used by Republican candidate Brian Dubie in the recent Vermont gubernatorial election.

The commission recently voted to renew the charter of Vermont State Advisory Committee (SAC), but without Reed as its chairman.

The commentary that got Reed in hot water, “‘Pure Vermont’ is pure invalidation,” appeared in the Brattleboro Reformer and on VTDigger.org prior to the election. These were the words Reed wrote that apparently led to his ouster: “Brian Dubie’s ‘Pure Vermont’ brand is another example of cross-cultural blundering. Presumably, the slogan refers to Vermont’s agricultural products and environmental legacy. But for many Vermonters, these words denote racial, religious, and cultural oppression.

“Dubie’s brand resurrects the horror of the Eugenics Survey and the 1931 passage of An Act for Human Betterment by Voluntary Sterilization. This measure codified the practice of racism, harassment, and the sterilization of the Abenaki people. ‘Pure Vermont’ raises the specter of Hitler’s Aryan Nation and the Khmer Rouge where the purifying agent was genocide.”

The central thesis — that Dubie’s campaign slogan amounted to what Reed called “pure invalidation” of the

treated with parity, there would be no need for the USCCR or its state subcommittees to exist. If the majority of us in this society perceived “Pure Vermont” as an inflammatory and hurtful phrase to potential constituents, politicians with common courtesy wouldn’t touch it.

Organizations like the The 17 members of the Vermont Partnership exVermont State Advisory ist to engage the community Committee — whom Reed in frustrating, difficult, awkdescribed as “a motley crew, ward conversations — effectif you look at us on paper” — ing positive change by arguing represented a broad range of from the very edge of popular races, ethnicities, and political views. To the credit of the Brian Dubie, a decent pub- public sentiment.

And, at its best, organizaVermont panel, all its memlic servant and a good man, tions like Reed’s can turn difbers stood behind Reed. ran a campaign that emphaficult, traumatic events — like In a letter to Gerald sized his family’s long famthe unrest surrounding the Reynolds, then-chair of the ily lineage in Vermont. Over students calling themselves USCCR, the members wrote and over, in his interviews, that “it is our view that to debates, and stump speeches, the Nigger Hanging Redneck Association in 2008 — into a deny an individual the right Dubie positioned himself as community-wide conversation to speak out, without retria more authentic choice beand an opportunity for forbution, as a private citizen cause of that lineage. giveness and redemption for regarding a matter that he Whether that tactic was the perpetrators. perceived to be harmful to a naked strategy to get votes You can’t have those concivil rights, seems not only or simply political tone-deafversations by mincing words ‘wrong’ but antithetical to the ness, Reed was not off the or avoiding an uncomfortable mission of the Commission.” mark in his comments about truth. The truth sometimes Unfortunately, the invalidation. hurts, and truth tellers are When a significant numUSCCR didn’t want to hear ber of newcomers are not cau- rarely treated well. that argument.

And even by that standard, casian, this type of political By all accounts, most of what happened to Reed is the commissioners focused on marketing veers — we hope outrageous and wrong. inadvertently — into an usone passage of Reed’s comversus-them realm. As Reed mentary, out of context, and Editor’s note: Curtiss Reed Jr. not the bigger issue of cultural wrote, the campaign cersensitivity and a perception tainly did not promise to unite serves on the board of directors that a candidate for governor Vermont at a challenging time of Vermont Independent Media, the nonprofit organization that would choose a slogan that in the state’s history. It went publishes The Commons. One might be profoundly hurtout of its way to highlight reader, noting the disclosure at ful to some of his would-be differences. the end of last week’s news story constituents.

On any number of rightabout the controversy, presumed That is a far cry from wing blogs, commentators Reed’s service on our board was calling Brian Dubie a Nazi ridiculed Reed’s interpredirectly related to the length and sympathizer. tation of Dubie’s “Pure detail of the story. Not true.

Even more unbelievable Vermont.” To them, to take It was detailed and long bethan the commission sacking the logical leap from camcause it was a complex and nuReed for speaking out about a paign slogan to oppression anced story and, well, we like civil rights issue was USCCR was beyond the pale and becomplexity and nuance. By decommissioner Gail Heriot yond any realm of reason. saying that Reed lacked the But that’s what civil rights sign, the board does not influence the specific editorial content “temperament” to deal with and diversity advocates like of the newspaper, a relation“complex and difficult isReed do. ship that creates a newspaper sues,” and that she was lookIf civil rights were unithat can function with editorial ing for “someone who actually versally acknowledged and independence. afforded to all citizens, if has some expertise on civil minority populations were rights.” growing non-white population in Vermont — was shared by other political observers around Vermont. Some also felt the slogan brought up echoes of the “Take Back Vermont” campaign during the bitter civil union debate in 2000.

As head of the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity, formerly the ALANA Community Organization, Reed has dealt with many difficult issues with tact and precision — no small task, since much of his job has been to engage the community in uncomfortable conversations.

Even those who do not always see eye-to-eye with Reed have to be dumbfounded at the layers of ignorance in Heriot’s comment.

message to your e-mail address book, post it on your Facebook page, and otherwise spread it far and wide.

Mr. President: Curtiss Reed Jr. has been a strong, diplomatic, and highly ethical chairman of the Vermont State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights since 2008. Under his leadership, and despite budget cuts that have crippled and silenced committees in many other states, the Vermont SAC has continued to meet and address issues of critical importance to the state’s strength and

diversity. Vermont is stronger because of it.

As such, I strongly protest the recent move by the USCCR to remove Mr. Reed from his position as chairman of the Commission’s Vermont SAC. Mr. Reed was acting fully within his constitutional right to free speech — a right which, ironically, the commission exists to protect — when he wrote publicly, and as a private citizen, of his concerns about the racial undertones of a political campaign slogan and, earlier, spoke about attempts by the Bush administration to politicize and mute the state advisory committees.

I believe the commission’s vote to remove Mr. Reed is indicative of serious political fault lines that threaten to undermine the important work of the USCCR. The vote was taken hank you for the vitally im- just hours before the expiration portant piece that outlines of the terms of two members, the attack on Curtiss Reed’s both Republican appointees, dismissal [The Commons, Dec. and is a thinly veiled effort to 9]. It seems clear to me that compromise the important beyond everything else, his ac- work of this panel. tions consisted of a good-faith Mr. President, I urge you effort to uphold his post and to act immediately to fill the carry out its responsibilities. two vacant positions on the Politics all too often is a USCCR and to appoint a new matter of mouthing meaningstaff administrator. I believe less platitudes meant to offend both these moves would go far the least and placate the most. in supporting and perpetuating That’s what’s wrong with our the important work of this hissystem. toric body and would galvanize Conversely, Curtiss Reed all of its state advisory commitcares deeply about the istees against the further erosion sues his post required him to of their important roles as the confront. eyes and ears of the USCCR. Agree or disagree with him, Furthermore, I would urge he certainly was fully engaged the commission to revisit its dein his duties when he was cision to remove Mr. Reed as dismissed. chairman of the Vermont SAC. David Heide Kathryn Casa Essex Junction Brattleboro

Engaging in his duties

T

French still worth teaching at Leland & Gray A

s a 2006 graduate of Leland & Gray, I feel the proposed cuts in French will threaten the uniqueness of this school.

Faith in this academic department, as well as in the school’s enormously talented faculty, is second nature to me, as I have benefitted from them considerably. I was privileged enough to take upper level French (through French IV) at Leland & Gray. Always exciting, comprehensive, and challenging, Annie Suquet’s classes made an indelible impression on me as a student — not only of a language, but of another culture entirely.

Downsizing Ms. Suquet’s French curriculum poses a real risk for students, especially when considering the possibility of extending the study of French for junior high school students. High school students must have the option to immerse themselves in at least one foreign language for as long as possible. Many colleges require that applicants study a foreign language for three years.

Without a diverse pool of options, future students at Leland & Gray will be hindered in their knowledge and appreciation of a pertinent and beautiful form of communication. With Ms. Suquet’s teaching time reduced by nearly a third, students would suffer the loss of an outstanding teacher, someone who truly offers her knowledge to her students.

Leland & Gray has always rightly prided itself on its travel and horizon-broadening curriculum. Language and cultural studies, and, in particular, a full range of French courses, form a significant portion of that academic offering. To cut French now, with the promise of restoring it later, will undermine the education of current Leland & Gray students.

It causes me great sorrow that they could graduate with a lesser education than those who preceded them.

Isaac Brooks New York, N.Y. The writer used to live in West Dover.

T h e C ommons

VOICES

• Wednesday, December 15, 2010

7

MORE LETTERS

With new lanes, a reminder of new bicycle safety rules

T

he new bike lanes on Putney Road have caused some concern among motorists. I am passing along some information on them, current safe traffic practices of Sharing the Road, and the new Vulnerable Users Law passed in July 2010.

• The use of bike lanes on Putney Road is intended to dedicate certain space on the road for bicyclists so that car drivers know where to expect them. The goal of both the Vermont Agency of Transportation and the Windham Regional Commission is to increase the number of bicyclists using roadways throughout the state and in the county.

Most of the concerns expressed recently by motorists centered on the sections where the bike lane is located to the left of right-turn-only lanes. The rationale for placing the bike lanes there is so bicyclists continuing straight are not trapped at the edge of

the road in direct conflict with right-turning vehicles. The lanes were designed in accordance with national standards and with the goal of increasing safety between motorists and bicyclists.

• The Vermont Driver’s Manual calls for a minimum of 4 feet of clearance when a motorist passes a bicyclist.

More important than the actual amount of clearance, however, is the need for the motorist to pass all vulnerable roadway users with due care.

• Vermont statute requires bicyclists riding at night to have a white light on the front of their bicycles, and a red rear light or 20 square inches of rear-facing reflective material.

• Bicyclists have the right to ride two abreast, but only when they are not impeding the normal and reasonable flow of traffic. The numberone motorist complaint about bicyclists is the failure to ride single file. Bicyclists can do a great deal to improve public

perception by observing the law and riding single file when in traffic.

• Prior to the new law, if a driver or passenger in a vehicle threw an object at a vulnerable roadway user, the only legal recourse was to charge the offender with littering. The penalty for such an act now comes with a fine and a loss of four points on the motorist’s driver’s license.

The Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition is happy to respond to questions and comments about the new legislation. Feedback may be directed to Executive Director Nancy Schulz at 802-225-8904 or Nancy@vtbikeped.org.

As we say in the bicycling community, may the road always be smooth and may the wind always be at your back!

Alice Charkes Brattleboro The author serves as chairwoman of the Brattleboro Area Bike/Ped Coalition.

Global warming exchange: final thoughts

T

he June 9 issue of The Commons included a commentary by Les Kozaczek expressing doubts about human-induced (anthropogenic) global warming (AGW). As a climate scientist, I took issue with his statements and tone in a commentary published on Sept. 15; Mr. Kozaczek responded in a letter published Oct. 6.

The Commons has offered me the last word. I thank The Commons for this chance to end the discussion on some level of accuracy and decorum. I agree with the paper’s statement that prolonging these exchanges would not be useful. I have no further appetite for seeing my colleagues unfairly maligned and my statements distorted almost beyond recognition, and I will not dignify Mr. Kozaczek’s invective with further notice.

Let me first address two points Mr. Kozaczek made on Oct. 6.

1. I take him at his word that he is not an anti-intellectual.

Still, anyone so inclined can read my commentary, brand me an “intellectual,” and regard that as a pejorative. I wasn’t singling out any individual and still consider my general concern to be valid.

Aside from that, the first six sentences of my commentary were self-effacing irony that I’d thought would be obvious. Mr. Kozaczek either missed this, or he declined to acknowledge it.

2. I did not insinuate that he “presumably” gets his information from right-wing sources.

He can presume whatever he jolly well pleases, but my words were, “talk-show hosts and advocacy groups, on whichever end of whichever political or environmental spectrum” (italics added). To restate the obvious, I assiduously refrained from speculating on the political bent of his sources.

More importantly, he then presumes – and I use the word advisedly – to inflate those points into “foundational

claims” for my entire piece.

That’s ludicrous. My primary thrust, clearly stated, was to defend the scientific basis for the consensus view that AGW is real.

He further states that my piece “unambiguously affirms every one of” the claims in his original piece. Again, not true.

In fact, unambiguously false.

By “affirms,” he left unclear whether he was claiming that I agreed with him on the substance, that he felt supported in his low opinion of “warmists,” or both. He did say, however, that he was open to being corrected. Allow me to do so, at the risk of restating even more of the obvious: • I contested his assertion that the Earth’s climate “is not warming, and it hasn’t been for a while.” Further, I supported my position from both a scientific and a statistical perspective.

• I pointed out that, contrary to his statements, the change in scientific consensus (not, I repeat not, “assumption”) from global cooling to global warming showed that we climate scientists do, in fact, change our minds when given sufficient evidence. Also, I summarized why carbon dioxide is widely regarded as the primary driver of this warming.

• I also pointed out that the science on AGW comes from oceans of data from thousands of independent researchers going back over a century. No individual or organization has anything like a “monopoly” on the evidence or the theoretical basis for AGW. Climate scientists spend years training to understand the intricacies of the Earth’s climate. They also learn the rules by which scientific and statistical studies must be carried out. Why wouldn’t I think they have the best perspective?

• Did I “arbitrarily decontextualize,” as he claimed? Judge for yourself. My original submission included five links and

two terms for the reader to Google. The Commons posted most of these separately, as clearly mentioned in the sidebar to my piece. I invite the reader to decide how much context or attribution Mr. Kozaczek provided.

If by “affirms” he means that my piece makes him feel supported in his negative views of “warmists,” he will, of course, go on believing what he chooses. I did and do flatly disagree, however, that scientists who accept the consensus on AGW are closed-minded or that AGW is anything but solid science.

And just to be clear, I said absolutely nothing about the “dangers of alleged AGW,” or what, if anything, should be done about them. Anyone who feels able to divine my thoughts on those issues might be in for a surprise.

Lastly, I’d like to mention that I have a colleague at Keene State who holds doubts about AGW. We’ve discussed the science involved several times, perfectly pleasantly and with mutual respect.

I’m pretty sure we each came away with new information, and I think we both enjoyed the exchanges. I sincerely regret that such a measured discourse wasn’t possible in The Commons. As one last exercise for the reader, I ask: Why wasn’t it?

Ned Pokras Brattleboro

Our gain

I

t was great to read Joyce Marcel’s new column in The Commons. She is a world-class writer who consistently presents her thoughts like a fine piece of music, and this town is very lucky to have her. The Reformer’s loss is The Commons’ gain. Thank you.

Louis Erlanger Brattleboro

Corrections on CLEA story

I

n the recent article “Bringing it all home” [The Commons, Dec. 1], there were some issues that must be clarified — primarily regarding participation in CLEA. I am the Student Council president and we, the student council, are in charge of running Project Feed the Thousands at the High School (collecting food and money).

I am not a member of CLEA, nor am I the student liaison to CLEA. The article correctly stated

Got an opinion?

We welcome your letters.

Got something on your mind? Send contributions (500 words or fewer strongly recommended) to editor@ commonsnews.org; the deadline is Friday to be considered for next week’s paper.

When space is an issue, we give priority to words that have not yet appeared elsewhere.

• Letters also appear this week on the facing page.

in the beginning that Sam Stevens, Ari Wolfe, and Nicole Momaney share co-leadership of CLEA this year. However, at the end of the article it stated that I was a co-leader with Sam Stevens. That is not true and slightly confusing. It should be Ari Wolfe’s name there in place of mine.

I understand that the reporter was under a tight deadline and thus may have gotten some things confused, but I feel that these corrections should be noted and credit

given where credit is due.

I would like to thank you, though, for running the article.

Project Feed the Thousands is an extremely important part of our community, and we at BUHS are very dedicated to trying to give as much as we can.

Kai-Ming Pu Brattleboro Editor’s note: The Commons regrets the errors.

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WORLD BANK/Creative Commons license (BY-NC-ND)

Actor Anne Hathaway discusses the “girl effect” at the World Bank in October.

Studying the ‘girl effect’

W

Saxtons River

serve as role models for boy cricket players ages 10 to 16 is born in in more than 100 schools. [my village in The program helps both Bangladesh],” mentors and kids to adopt Sanchita says, “families desdifferent values about what it E L AY N E C L I F T perately hope it will be a boy. means to be men.

It is believed that boys will “Entre Madres y Amigas,” a contribute to the family in‘girl effect’ may fall short.

Nicaraguan program, focuses come in a place where people Furthermore, boys are also on the critical role of mothers are very poor.” ‘gendered’ — affected and in a culture where girls have Sanchita’s words were shaped by gender norms — limited mobility. It fosters spoken recently by actress and have an interest in chang- intergenerational dialogue Anne Hathaway at a meeting rigid, inequitable, and around issues of sexuality and ing hosted by the World harmful gender norms.” reproductive health.

Bank to draw attention to There are varying schools In South Africa, “Stepping “the girl effect” — “the pow- of thought on how to engage Stones” provides a training erful social and economic boys and men in the empow- package on gender communichange brought about when erment of girls and women. cation and HIV. It consists of girls have the opportunity to ICRW advocates for a “genboth sex-specific and mixedparticipate.” der and developmental persex programming in safe Part of the Adolescent spective” that underscores spaces where participants can Girls Initiative undertaken by what boys have to do with the explore the issues related to the World Bank and the Nike “girl effect.” the virus and its effect on genFoundation, the two-year old Key to this approach is un- der and relationship issues. initiative is designed to emderstanding the physical and At the 2009 Global power girls in poor countries emotional development of ad- Symposium on Engaging through education geared to olescent boys and girls as well Boys and Men in Gender help them transition into the as the socialization they expe- Equality, held in Rio de workforce. rience as males and females.

Janeiro, participants reached A dozen young women For example, adolescent consensus on a set of expectafrom developing Asian, boys often gain increased tions for boys from a gender Middle Eastern and African freedom and peer support, equality perspective. Among countries participated in the whereas girls are likely to them were respect and supmeeting. They are just a few spend more time isolated at port for girls and women as of the females benefiting from home with other female fam- equal members of society in training and education proily members. Male networks all walks of life; mutual decigrams that will help them par- become an important social- sion-making around sexual ticipate in the labor market. izing force that emphasizes and reproductive health isSanchita, for example, bor- competition and aggression. sues as well as other intimate rowed $60 after getting her Girls, on the other hand, are domains; and accepting and primary education. With it, expected to be passive, refeeling comfortable with the she bought a cow and started maining naïve and virginal. “feminine” aspects of their a vegetable garden. Her prof- This situation can lead to in- personalities and with those its enabled her to pay her equitable decision-making of other men. own school fees as well as her in relationships as well as to The Adolescent Girls brother’s, and to contribute partner violence.

Initiative, a public-private to her family. Now her parSeveral programs now op- partnership with $20 million ents hope she won’t marry erate from this perspective to in funds, is at work in seven too soon. address inequities that curtail countries and will soon exthe “girl effect.” pand to Haiti and Yemen.

In preparation for the One is Program H (for It is also in Liberia, where meeting, the International hombres), used by more than Kebbeh Kamara benefited Center for Research on 20 Spanish-speaking counfrom training.

Women (ICRW) prepared tries. Using a video, Once “I learned how to start a a report, “The Girl Effect: upon a Boy, the program business, how to earn money What Do Boys Have to Do helps young men question on your own, how to be selfwith It?,” underscoring the traditional norms related to sustainable,” she told the need to focus on “the brothmanhood. The video enables World Bank audience. ers, fathers, friends, and part- young men in various settings “I learned about how to ners” of young women to to create dialogue and share express myself. Eye conaddress the consequences of personal stories about social tact, speak loud,” Sarah gender-based discrimination. pressure, sexual experiences, Saturnino of Southern Sudan “Without the involvement and violence. added. “This way can give and commitment of men and In Mumbai, India, a me a voice…. I’m somebody boys to girls’ empowerment school-based program, now.” n and gender equity,” the re“Parivartan,” enlists coaches port says, “the impact of the and community members to hen a baby

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8

T h e C ommons

DOVER

• Wednesday, December 15, 2010

THE BEST OF WRITE ACTION NO. 2 THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY ANTHOLOGY the collected poetry and prose of 70 local authors

n Legislators

Broadband concerns

Manwaring, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, also raised concerns about the telecommunications companies involved in the rollout of fiber-optic cables to schools and libraries as part of linking the final underserved rural miles to fast Internet service.

The companies have asked schools and libraries to pay a long-term leasing fee to help pay for the new fiber-optic cables.

She said that this fee could have an impact on property taxes and would like to see municipalities take on the cost responsibility instead.

Manwaring’s final goal is to work with the Vermont Agency of Transportation to loosen its right-of-way rules that adversely affect older towns like Wilmington, where buildings sit right up against roads.

Moran, a member of the General Housing and Military Affairs Committee, said the state has seen a number of “painful” budget years. Another tight budget year is ahead, with the state facing a $112 million budget gap.

But Moran said he’s also excited for the new people entering the legislature and the ideas they’ll bring with them.

Moran said he looks forward to hearing the Blue Ribbon Tax Commission’s findings in January.

He closed with mentioning the members of the Vermont Army National Guard, who are returning from a one-year tour of duty in Afghanistan this month.

According to Moran, who has experience working with veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, the state will welcome home the biggest deployment of its soldiers since World War II. “I’m looking forward to our response [to their return and support] as a state,” he said.

Tax worries

Chamber members are worried that lawmakers hope to skim so much tourist spending in the form of taxes that spenders will vacation in Massachusetts or New Hampshire instead.

Mount Snow planning director Laurie Newton requested the Legislature resist raising the rooms and meals tax.

Ken Spicer, executive director of the Chimney Hill Owners Association, a resort community in Wilmington, said he didn’t want to see the property transfer tax raised.

Chamber members also expressed concern over Montpelier sticking their small businesses with any health care reform tariffs.

Soup workshop benefits Our Place ROCKINGHAM — Thyme to Cook will hold an in-store “Soup for Shelters” event on Saturday, Dec. 18, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Chef John Marston, from Leslie’s Tavern, will be demonstrating how to make soup in a Vitamix blender and Harlow Farms in Westminster, has graciously donated some wonderful organic vegetables for the event.

Soup will be sold and all proceeds (and extra soup) will benefit Our Place, a daytime shelter and food shelf serving the community around Bellows Falls.

For more information, contact Lisa or Leslie at Thyme to Cook, 802-428-4077. The store is located on Route 103 near Exit 6 of Interstate 91. Visit www.thymetocookvt.com for more information.

White said she had monitoring health care reform and redesigning how the state delivers services on her radar.

She said that a study will result in three possible health-care options for the state in January, as mandated by Act 128. As White understands the situation, residents shouldn’t end up paying more for health care, but pay a coverage premium.

“We don’t deliver health care in a rational manner,” said White of Vermont’s current health care situation.

She said people already pay for health care in some form and often pay for people who are uninsured.

Moran agreed, citing people accepted into emergency rooms despite their inability to pay as an example of the general agreement to provide everyone with health care.

But now the system is inefficient, he said.

“We need a system that is fair, affordable, and not a burden to small businesses,” Moran said.

Dover Selectboard member Randall Terk brought up the longstanding issue of employers avoiding payroll taxes, like workers’ compensation, by listing employees as subcontractors.

White and Moran said that the state has a bill on the books and funds to investigate this type of fraud. Powden said employers “misclassifying” their employees face a $20,000 fine per incident and are barred from bidding on state contracts for three years.

White also spoke about redesigning how the state delivers its services. She cautioned that a

Anne Galloway/VtDigger.org

Patricia Moulton Powden, vice president of public affairs for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, with Governor-Elect Peter Shumlin. Powden, who will serve as deputy secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, spoke at the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce’s recent legislative breakfast. Powden and Shumlin flank Lawrence Miller, who will serve as ACD secretary.

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“Businesses do it all the time, and we need to do it,” she said.

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Consequently, any shortfall created by not raising the other taxes to cover budgets gets shifted to the property tax.

Vermonters shelled out $1.4 billion in property taxes last year, she said — more than any other tax. The bulk of the property tax money, $1 billion, went into the education fund.

To change this system, Manwaring has co-drafted a bill with Moran. If passed, the legislation would increase the transparency of the process of setting the statewide property tax. The goal, she said, is keep the tax down in the long run.

The bill would require legislators to vote on the statewide property tax rate as a standalone bill. Currently, the tax rate is buried in a 300-page appropriations document.

Manwaring and Moran’s bill would also change the mechanism of how Vermont sets the statewide education property tax rate by basing it on the previous year’s rate “so people at least know what their money is being spent on,” said Manwaring.

“An astonishing collection of remarkable range” S. Kingsbury

from page 1

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 • Page 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

jewmongous!

Benefit musical comedy show deflates stereotypes with humor

By Stacey Kors

which offers free photography classes to teens in an encouraging, supportive environment.

Since its premiere in 2006, Jewmongous! has played in dozens of cities both in America and Europe, garnering positive press from newspaper heavyweights such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Along with the aforementioned Christian Baby Blood, the show, which Altman recently turned into an album titled Taller Than Jesus (a tribute to John Lennon’s misunderstood declaration that The Beatles were “bigger than Jesus”), features over a dozen original tunes, including the fractured Passover story song They Tried to Kill Us (We Survived, Let’s Eat); the venomous, anti-Jews-For-Jesus punk anthem Jews For Jesus; the raunchy cowboy romp Long-Tongue Shloime; and the dysfunctional Bar Mitzvah anthem Today, I Am a Man.

The Commons

B

RATTLEBORO— Sean Altman may be best known for writing the theme song to PBS’ hugely popular children’s show, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, but he’s hoping to go down in history for something a little different — penning the first great Irish-style, Jewish drinking song.

“I wanted to show how preposterous the Blood Libel is,” says Altman about his song Christian Baby Blood, a satirical take on the ancient myth that Jews murder Christian babies and use their blood in the baking of Passover matzoh.

“That’s one of the songs I’m most proud of, because it tackles a sensitive subject — antiSemitism — and an accusation as egregious as the Blood Libel, and deflates them with humor.

The way to ultimately dispel such myths is to poke fun at them.”

Christian Baby Blood is one of many humorous songs featured in Jewmongous!, Altman’s critically acclaimed, Jewish-themed musical comedy show, which comes to the Hooker-Dunham Theater on Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Recommended for audiences over the age of 16 due to adult content, the performance is a Courtesy photo Sean Altman brings his irreverent musical show, Jewmongous!, to the Hooker-Dunham Theater for a benefit for the Brattleboro-based In-Sight Photography Project, benefit show for the In-Sight Photography Project on Dec. 23.

The road to raunch

Altman, who likes to say that he’s younger than Madonna but older than the eldest of the Jonas Brothers, was a high schooler when he was first bitten by the showbiz bug at, as fate would have it, a Jewish resort in the Catskills, where he spent the summer working as a bus boy.

Ironically, it wasn’t the Jewish n see jewmongous, page 10

ARTS CALENDAR Music • Open Mic at Mocha Joe’s: Brattleboro Community Radio, WVEW 107.7 FM, will kick off its annual two-week fundraising campaign with an open mic at Mocha Joe’s on Main Street in Brattleboro on Friday, Dec. 17, at 6 p.m.

All musicians, writers, poets and other performers are invited to participate. The featured performer will be Vermont poet Verandah Porche.

The open mic will be broadcast live on Brattleboro Community Radio and streamed at http:// www.wvew.org. Performers can sign up at the door, or ahead of time by writing to bluemonday@ wvew.org. The event is free, but WVEW will accept donations and memberships.

• Music of Sonny Rollins, jazz trio pieces featured at OMC: On Sunday, Dec. 19 at 2

p.m., and Dec. 20, at 7 p.m., the Open Music Collective will host its final two concerts of the year, featuring the music of Sonny Rollins and a special night of jazz trio music.

John Clark (guitar), Scott Sizer (trumpet), Judith Williams (piano), Holly Havis (bass), and Jake Bursky (drums), will be performing the music of Sonny Rollins on the 19th, including Airigin , Alfie’s Theme , 52nd St. Theme, Dig, and Weaver of Dreams.

Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians and has performed and recorded with

many greats including Monk, Miles, Bird, Dizzy, Trane and other “one word” Jazz greats in a career that has spanned his life of 80 years.

The OMC trio that will be performing Dec. 20 at 7 p.m., is a special group of local favorites including Molly Steinmark (drums), Mike Harrist (bass) and Kate Parsons (piano). They have put together an eclectic set of music that they were all interested in studying for the semester that covers many different styles and genres from jazz trios through the years.

Chick Corea’s What Was , Herbie Hancock’s Tell Me a Bedtime Story, Thelonious Monk’s Reflections , Wayne Shorter’s Masquelero, and other choice standards round out the set. From bebop to freebop, this group will really inspire and entertain.

Both groups were coached by The Open Music Collective’s Jamie MacDonald. Tickets are a suggested $5, and available at the door. For more information, visit www.openmusiccollective. org or call 802-275-5054. The Open Music Collective is located in the Cotton Mill in Brattleboro.

Visual arts • BMAC bookmaking workshop for adults and educators: On Saturday, Jan. 29, from

9 a.m.-4 p.m., a bookmaking workshop called “Tessellations: Art and Math,” will be presented at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center.

The workshop is tied to the illustrations in D.B. Johnson’s picture book Palazzo Inverso, on exhibit at BMAC through Feb. 6.

The illustrations are inspired by the work of artist M.C. Escher.

They build on Escher’s fascination with puzzles and optical illusions and include references to tessellations that Escher studied and created throughout his life.

Guided by Linda Lembke of Green River Bindery, workshop participants will use Escher’s drawings and mathematical notes as the inspiration for their own original tessellations, including one inspired by a potato stamp game Escher used to help his children understand and create beautiful tiled patterns on a two-dimensional surface.

Participants will also make a simple softcover book to contain their work, which will serve as an especially useful reference tool for teachers creating lessons based on the art and mathematics of tessellations and patterns.

Admission is $85; limited enrollment filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign up by Jan. 14 by contacting BMAC at 802247-0124, or visit www.brattleboromuseum.org.

Performing arts • Circus Nutcracker returns : The Flying Nut: A Starry Night is not your usual Nutcracker!

Join the New England Center for Circus Arts for the second annual holiday show with a night of trapezists, tumblers,

jugglers, stilt walkers, and more!

Performers include professional level adults, advanced youth students and guest artists in this fun for the whole family extravaganza inspired by the traditional Nutcracker.

Performances will take place at the New England Center for Circus Arts space at the Cotton Mill in Brattleboro. Show times are Saturday, Dec. 18, at 3 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 19, 1 and 5 p.m.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for kids under 12, and free for kids under 2. They are available online at www.necenterforcircusarts.org or by calling 802- 2549780. Advance reservations are recommended.

Simba welcomes the winter solstice DUMMERSTON—On Tuesday, Dec. 21, Simba will celebrate the Winter Solstice at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center.

This annual party will offer a night of drumming, dancing, music, and fun for all ages from 7- 11 p.m. Admission is $10, with a family maximum of $25.

Simba has been together 21 years, playing weddings, parties, summer concerts, and special events. In the annual Solstice Dance Party is a highlight for the band and for the dancers who attend. The band will play music to make you move: funk, reggae, latin, world beat, soca-calypso, ska, jazz, and blues; and features blazing horns and scorching percussion.

Special guests and friends will also sit in with the band, including soul and gospel vocalist Moonlight Davis and super-diva Molly Melloan.

The members of Simba are Bob Stabach, sax and flute; Dan DeWalt, keyboard, steel drum and trombone; Wim Auer, bass; Charlie

Courtesy photo

Simba holds its annual Solstice Dance Party on Dec. 21 in Dummerston Schneeweis, trumpet and vocals; Steve Sonntag, trumpet and percussion; Derrik Jordan, guitar, keyboard, percussion, violin and vocals; Steve Leicach, percussion and talking drum; and Johnny Yuma, drums and vocals.

Rupa Cousins will lead a

movement meditation dedicated to peace, love, and unity for our community here and throughout the world.

The Evening Star Grange is located at the intersection of East–West, Bunker, and Middle roads in Dummerston Center.

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THE ARTS

10

n Jewmongous comedians on the Borscht Belt circuit who inspired him, but a waiter who invited him to hear his barbershop quartet.

“I’d never heard that style of singing before, and I just fell in love with it. It was a seminal moment for me.”

Altman sang in a capella groups through college and, after graduating from Brown, founded Rockapella, which, in addition to performing Carmen Sandiego’s theme song, was featured as the show’s house band for five years.

With the fanatical success of Carmen Sandiego — the show claimed 20 million viewers worldwide — Rockapella continued to gain popularity as well; Altman soon became known as “the father of modern a capella.”

After performing with Rockapella for 11 years, however, Altman felt ready for a change.

“I was just hitting my stride as a songwriter, and the stuff I was writing was quirkier and darker than Rockapella’s clean image, so I headed out on my own. All these years later,” he adds, with a laugh, “I’m still trying to figure out why I gave up the wealth and riches of a capella to become a mid- to low-level Jewish novelty singer.”

Altman enjoyed a successful solo career as a singer-songwriter, with a small handful of

from page 1

solo albums that generated good reviews and a devoted regional following. Then, for fun, he began throwing a couple of novelty songs into his set.

“They started to get a much better reaction than my heartfelt love ballads,” Altman remembers, “so I started to write other comedy songs.”

The comedic crooner took the matzo ball and ran with it: 15 Jewish-themed novelty songs later, Jewmongous! was born.

While thrilled with the attention he’s received with this repertoire, Altman admits that success as a novelty song stylist is for him, bittersweet. “I like to think of myself as a talented, sensitive singer-songwriter who happens to be good at writing comedy songs, too.

“Maybe,” he adds resolutely, “there are just too many heartfelt songs in the world, and people need more songs about the blood libel and anti-Semitism.”

Not only can non-Jews appreciate the quirky humor of Jewmongous!, Altman insists, but also having audience members of other faiths is a critical component to the show’s success.

“Early in the show, I ask who’s not Jewish,” he explains, “and then I poke some lighthearted fun at the fact that they’re outnumbered, when normally it’s the other way around. But part of the show is me attempting to

Can you help us produce this newspaper in a more civilized work environment?

Vermont Independent Media, publisher of The Commons, is seeking donations of some office desks and chairs in decent condition.

explain some of these bizarre rituals, even something as simple as the bar mitzvah ritual, or blowing the shofar on the High Holy Days — explaining these things to the goyim in the audience.”

The biggest test of his comedic chops came when he performed in Dublin, Ireland,for an audience comprised entirely of non-Jews.

“I mean, who comes to see a show called Jewmongous? I was shocked. I asked my normal ‘Who here is Jewish?’ question, and not a single hand was raised.

So I said, ‘Why are you people here?’ I mean, I don’t go to see a show called Islamongous. But actually, it went over really well.

I was surprised.”

“Although,” he adds, for the sake of full disclosure, “there were certain songs I didn’t do.”

Despite the irreverence of some of his shtick, Altman is quick to assert that it’s not his intention to offend. ”Fortunately, the name Jewmongous! tends to weed out audience members who are not predisposed to enjoy some of the comedy,” assures Altman, who also registered the domain names Jewnormous.com and Jewronimo.com before settling on his current title. “No one’s going to come see an act called Jewmongous! and think that they’re seeing Israeli folk dancing.”

“I just want to make people laugh,” he continues, more sincerely. “But I don’t want to be ‘cute,’ either. I’d rather be Lenny Bruce than Alan Sherman. Sure, I do take advantage of some of the stereotypes. But I hope that when I use some of the stereotypes in my lyrics, it’s more to deflate them than to imply that they’re true. My act is very affectionate and full of pride.”

Altman is part of a growing movement of young, hip Jewish comedians — including Sasha Baron Cohen, Jon Stewart, and Sarah Silverman — who simultaneously mock and celebrate their Jewish heritage. In fact, a recent TimeOut New York cover story hailed this burgeoning breed of

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T h e C ommons

AROUND THE TOWNS POS Winter Farmers’ Market holds food drive

Holiday Farmers’ Market in BF on Dec. 17

BRATTLEBORO — At this Saturday’s Post Oil Solutions Winter Farmers’ Market, vendors and participants ask that shoppers make a donation of local produce for people who are hungry at this time of year.

This is another opportunity to keep resources in the community. Buy at the Farmers’ Market to donate to Project Feed the Thousands, while also supporting small farms. Any fresh or canned items can be donated.

Look for the “drop-off here” signs at the front and back of the market.

The market, located at the River Garden, is operating under its special holiday hours, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will offer a wide selection of locally produced items to meet the needs of all the people on your gift list.

Some ideas include boxed goat’s milk caramels, ceramic bowls, pesto mustard, a bag of garlic, dilly beans, maple apple wine from Putney Winery, rare houseplants, Oat & Almond Soap, wool hats, evergreen wreaths, maple syrup, and beeswax candles. Gift certificates are also available.

The market will be closed on Christmas Day, but will be open for a special Christmas Eve edition on Friday, Dec. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market will also be open on Saturday, Jan. 1.

For more information, contact

BELLOWS FALLS — The holiday edition of the Bellows Falls Farmers’ Market is Friday, Dec. 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Boccelli’s on the Canal.

Come get your beets, potatoes, onions, carrots, apples, chard, kale, chicken, pork, beef, sauerkraut, or maple syrup to make a meal or to keep for the winter. Pick out a holiday gift of soap or jewelry. Order pies for your special occasion, snack on a sweet treat, or stay for dinner and listen to some music.

Free harvest pizza and equal exchange coffee will be offered to the first 100 shoppers. For more information, visit bffarmersmarket.com.

farmersmarket@postoilsolutions.org

or call 802-869-2141.

comics, including Altman himself, as the “new Super Jews.”

“I like the sort of self-aggrandizing Jew, flexing his or her muscles, image of comedy,” says Altman, “a lot more than the poor me, Woody Allen stereotype, trying unsuccessfully to assimilate. Part of that is about being comfortable with your Jewishness and feeling protected — not just as a New York Jew, but as an American Jew — by the fact that Jews have achieved so much in this country. Not only is there no shame, but the pride is overflowing. I’d like to think that I’m a part of that movement and am proud to be associated with them.”

Tickets for Jewmongous! are $18 in advance, $20 the day of the show, and are available at www. brattleborotix.com, as well as The Book Cellar and In The Moment in Brattleboro. For more information about Altman and Jewmongous!, visit www.jewmongous.com.

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HALIFAX — The monthly Halifax Senior Meal will be served at noon on Friday, Dec. 17, at the West Halifax Community Hall.

The menu this month includes baked ham, macaroni and cheese, veggies, rolls, and dessert. All seniors are welcome, and reservations are greatly appreciated. Call Joan at 802-368-7733.

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BRATTLEBORO — There’s still time before the holidays to sign up for spring classes at the Community College of Vermont (CCV) and to apply for financial aid. CCV is offering a wide range of courses, from computers and math to humanities and sciences, that start the week of Jan. 24.

New and returning students wishing to register may do so at CCV’s Brattleboro location at 70 Landmark Hill, off Putney Road, now through Dec. 22. CCV has an open admissions policy and a free and simple admissions process with no essay or SAT scores required. Academic advisors work with each student in course selection and degree planning.

To increase scheduling flexibility for students and save on commuting costs, CCV’s spring course schedule includes over 200 online courses. CCV’s complete schedule of course offerings is available at www.ccv. edu. Financial aid is available to qualified students. Those interested should call 802-254-6370 to schedule financial aid counseling. At $205 per credit, CCV’s tuition is the lowest of any college in Vermont. Vermont residents over 65 are eligible for a tuition waiver.

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BRATTLEBORO —The Friends of the Brooks Memorial Library’s fifth annual Holiday Book Sale continues through Friday, Dec. 17.

A good selection of books in like-new condition remains for sale, and you can also still enter the silent auction for an 11-volume set of Will Durant’s The Story of Civilization, which has been called, “the 20th century’s Friends of the classic masterwork of history for Wardsboro Library’s the general reader.”

Also up for auction: a soups Holiday Bazaar and dessert meal for 6 to 8 with continues homemade bread, offered by a local area caterer; a basket of books for toddlers; a basket of WA R D S B O R O — T h e picture books; and a gift bas- Friends of the Wardsboro ket from the Vermont Country Library, the library’s nonprofit, Store. all-volunteer support group, continues its annual Holiday Bazaar Free tobacco cessation in the library at 171 Main St. through December. class at Grace The “mini-bazaar” features Cottage Hospital dozens of handmade ornaments, some priced as low as $1. Other TOWNSHEND – “Your decorations, such as the handQuit. Your Way,” a free six-week hooked woolen ornaments made tobacco cessation class on six by a local “hooker,” sell for $5 Mondays, Jan. 3-Feb. 7, from and up. There is also a tiny bou5-6:30 p.m., in the hospital’s tique of inexpensive gifts, cards, Community Wellness Center, photo-card sleeves, gift wine bottle “sweaters,” handmade 133 Grafton Rd. (Route 35).

Those who have tried to quit hats, mittens, and toddler-sized but are still smoking are particu- aprons, as well as items for holilarly encouraged to attend. Free day decor, such as tabletop evernicotine replacement products green trees and wooden reindeer are available for any Vermont centerpieces. resident enrolled in this program.

The Friends boutique is open Sindy Hassig, Grace Cottage during the library’s regular Physical Therapist and Tobacco hours: Monday and Thursday, Treatment Specialist, will con- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and duct the classes. Call 802-365- Wednesday, 2 to 7 p.m.; and 3649 to register.

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T h e C ommons

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11

SPORTS & RECREATION Booth’s hat trick spoils Colonels’ home opener

T

he Brattleboro Colonels’ boys hockey team opened its season at Nelson Withington Rink on Saturday with a 5-1 loss to the Rutland Raiders.

Rutland forward Taylor Booth scored three goals as the Raiders dominated on offense.

Rutland outshot Brattleboro, 34-14, while the Colonels struggled with their offensive attack.

Defensively, Brattleboro looked solid in the first period.

Freshman goalie Greg DiSilva made nine saves, but Rutland’s Nico Roy deflected a slap shot from the left side by Cameron Kennedy with just 19 seconds left to spoil a great effort by the Colonels.

“That first goal absolutely killed us,” said Colonels coach Eric Libardoni.

Booth put the game away in the second period with a pair of goals. With 7:43 left, he buried a crossing pass from Stephen Hamilton. With 5:16 remaining, he scored on a 3-on-1 breakaway. Roy and Dan Eugair got the assists.

The second period could’ve been even worse, as Rutland outshot the Colonels, 15-4 and had a two-man power play advantage to end the period.

However, the Colonels successfully killed off the penalties and kept a glimmer of hope going into the final period.

The final 15 minutes were marked by 12 penalties and lots of hard hits by both teams.

Backup goalie Hunter Nielson took over for the Colonels and gave up a goal to Hamilton just 51 seconds into the period.

Brattleboro broke up the shutout with 6:51 left on a power play goal from Adam Griffin, with Andy Harris and Nik Rancourt assisting.

Booth then completed his hat trick with a goal with 1:56 remaining from Matt Mazzariello and Sam Major.

“This was one of the top three teams we’ll see all season,” said Libardoni. “We faced a very physical team, and made three defensive mistakes and all three ended up as goals.”

The Colonels are a young team, with only one senior and not much experience. ” said Libardoni. “Scoring is definitely going to be hard to come by. We’ll have to create our opportunities this season. It won’t be pretty hockey.”

The 0-1 Colonels host Burr

Collegiate ski jumping makes a comeback

Ski jumping in the United States recently got a major boost when the United States RANDOLPH T. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard HOLHUT Association unanimously voted Sports Roundup to reintroduce ski jumping and Nordic combined events for & Burton on Saturday. the 2010-11 winter season.

College ski jumping hasn’t Deer harvest been sanctioned since 1980, is down when the ski rules committee of According to preliminary the NCAA voted to eliminate figures from the Vermont ski jumping, citing expenses, liDepartment of Fish & Wildlife, ability, and a lack of qualified the buck harvest is down for athletes as the reasons why. the second straight year.

That decision wiped out a genAs of the end of the eration of U.S. jumpers, and November rifle season, 3,290 put a serious crimp in the sport bucks had been brought to in New England. checking stations around the The Boston Globe reported state. That’s a 23 percent delast week that the USCSSA cline compared to the average isn’t as strict as the NCAA kill during the same period over when it comes insisting that the last three years. sports teams be funded through The muzzleloader season, athletic departments, so cluband the second bow & arrow level teams and non-varsity season, ended on Dec. 12, so teams from smaller schools, as we should know by the end of well as non-NCAA-affiliated this month what the final tally schools can participate. This is. Vermont is one of the few opens the door for 4,500 colstates in the country that gathlege athletes from 180 instiers detailed statistics on the antutions to compete in ski and nual deer harvest. snowboard events nationwide.

Hunters who want to weigh Right now, New Hampshire in on planned changes in the is the only state with high management of the deer herd school ski jumping. Perhaps in 2011 will get their chance at the USCSSA’s decision might a series of hearings in January. mean a return of high school Visit www.vtfishandwildlife. ski jumping teams in Vermont. com for details.

And, with one of the finest ski Randolph T. Holhut/The Commons Brattleboro forward Adam Griffin muscles past a couple of Rutland defenders jumping hills in the Northeast, Shine coaches during the second period of their game Saturday night at the Nelson Withington Harris Hill, right here in selected Brattleboro, we may be about Rink. Griffin scored the only goal in a 5-1 loss. to see a renaissance in the sport Chris Childs from Lebanon BF footballers offensive team, since he was defensive lineman Randy in the United States. Even betHigh School and Jim Provost a monster as the Terriers’ Rutkowski received honorable ter, maybe we’ll see a national from Champlain Valley Union make AllState team primary running back with mention on defense. collegiate jumping championwill be the respective New The Burlington Free Press 1,460 rushing yards and 18 ship held on Harris Hill.

Hampshire and Vermont selected its All-State Football touchdowns. coaches for the 2011 Shrine teams on Sunday, and three Hayward, a senior, ended Maple Sugar Bowl. his high school football career Childs coached the Lebanon Bellows Falls players got a shout out. as the second-leading rusher Raiders to an undefeated seaRyan Hayward made the in BF history. It’s a safe bet he son and a state championship first-team defense as& a kick will be playing in the Shrine in New Hampshire’s Division Union on Institute University returner, with 1,136 yards this game in August.

IV this year. He played in the BR AT TLEBOR O CENTER season for the Division III state BF offensive lineman Jake 1995 Shrine game. champs. He definitely merited Stratton was selected to the This is the second time Sale Ends January 15th consideration for the All-State second team on offense, while Provost is coaching the Vermont team; his first time Limited Availability! Perfect Gift for the Holidays! was 1990. The CVU Redhawks Tickets available at Burrows Specialized Sports, were runners-up for the The Boys & Girls Club on Flat Street, Brattleboro Bowl in Brattleboro, Division II state title in 2009 (Psy.D.) and Ted’s Shoe and Sport in Keene New Hampshire.

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Reservations appreciated.

802-257-9411 • www.MyUnion.edu Randolph T. Holhut/The Commons

Brattleboro forward Joey Maillet, right, tries to get a shot past Rutland goalie Casey Greene during the third period of their game on Saturday night at the Nelson Withington Rink.

HYPNOSIS

BrattleboroCenter@myunion.edu B.A. & M.A.: 3 University Way, Brattleboro Psy.D. : 28 Vernon Street, Brattleboro

441 West River Rd., Brattleboro, Vt.

802-254-1122

“We’ve Done it Right for Decades!”

-Voted Brattleboro’s best flooring store in 2008 & 2009.

Candlelight Hayrides to Celebrate the Winter Solstice Tuesday, December 21, 4:30 – 7:30pm, first come-first served - no reservations accepted.

Ride through the dark woods and fields past a candlelit fir tree, lamp-lit stream, torches and homemade lanterns. Snuggle down in the hay to hear voices ringing out from the darkness in celebration of light, peace and the change of seasons. ( rides will be moved to Wed, Dec. 22 if there is inclement weather.

Call or check website if weather is questionable) 511 Upper Dummerston Road Brattleboro, VT 05301 802 254 9067 For details visit our new website: www.fairwindsfarm.org

Ceramic Tile and Commercial Cork ~ Residential ~ Hardwood Rugs Our Own In-house Installation Team

Carpet Marmoleum BEST 972 Putney KEPT Road Unit 3,SECRET Brattleboro, VT “We’ve Done it Right for www.lawtonfl oordesign.com / Decades!”

802-254-9303 IN THE AREA -Voted Brattleboro’s best flooring store in 2008 & 2009.

Ceramic Tile Cork Hardwood Rugs Carpet Marmoleum 972 Putney Road Unit 3, Brattleboro, VT www.lawtonfloordesign.com / 802-254-9303

NEWS

12

T h e C ommons

• Wednesday, December 15, 2010

MILESTONES

Births, deaths, and news of people from Windham County

• Robert Joseph Crawford Jr., 68, of Stratton. Died Dec.

5 at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend. Husband of Elaine Marie Sullivan for 46 years.

Father of Mary and Todd Hain, Geraldine and Donald Barrett, Robert and Melanie Crawford, Christopher Crawford, and daughter Elaine Crawford. Brother of Kay Kippenhan, Marilyn Pendelton, Terry Palardy, Elizabeth Crawford, Rosemary Crawford, Patricia Wentworth, and John Crawford. Predeceased by his parents, Robert and Katherine, and brother Richard.

Born in Boston, the oldest son of their nine children and grew up in South Boston. Attended Boston Latin High School and graduated Boston College, Class of 1964. Worked for American Airlines, Dunkin’ Donuts, Howard Johnson, Stratton Mountain Ski Resort, and Bank of New England.

For the last 16 years, he was owner and operator of Hospitality Resolutions Inc. Memorial infor m at ion : A funeral Mass was held Dec. 10 at St. Thecla’s Church in North Pembroke, Mass., with burial in Northville Cemetery in East Bridgewater, Mass. Donations be made to the Grace Cottage Hospice, 185 Grafton Road, Townshend VT 05353-0216. Condolences may • Nancy Jean Peters, 55, be sent to the family at www. of Marlboro. Died Dec. 5 at SullivanFuneralHomes.com.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.

• Martin Wife of Dennis H. “Marty” P et ers fo r 1 5 Duke, 49, of years. Mother of Ami Lepisto, and Dummerston. husband, Tim, Died Dec. 7 of Brattleboro; in Brattleboro and Jason and Memorial Hospital. Son of Matthew Peters, Janice (Clark) and the late George both of Brattleboro. Graduate of Duke, Jr. Husband of Chris Brattleboro Union High School, (MacLeod) Smith. Former hus- Class of 1973. Worked as a waitband of Christine Parker. Father ress at the former Jad’s Restaurant

SNOW TIRES ARE IN! Cheever Tire

NE NLY B R AT T L E B R

• Te r r y E .

Tyler, 78, of

Dummerston.

Died Dec. 3 at DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. Husband of Mary Canny for 57 years. Father of Terrence and his wife, Lois, of Hubbardston, Mass.; Brian and his wife Joann of Dummerston; Jude, also of Dummerston; and Kathleen Evans and her husband, James, of Dummerston. Brother of Wayne and his wife, Rhonda, of Houston, Texas; Paul Lincoln and his wife, Dawn, of Ballston Spa, N.Y.; and Nancy Scranton and her husband, Duane, of Colrain, Mass.

Predeceased by a son, Kevin. Born in White River Junction and raised and educated in Dummerston and attended Brattleboro High School.

Served in the Army during the Korean Conflict. His love of ski jumping and skiing were a major force when he and North Haven Construction teamed up to design and build Maple Valley Ski Area in West Dummerston. He went on to build another ski area in Bennington, N.H., and over the years installed close to 25 ski lifts, miles of snowmaking pipe, and hundreds of acres of ski trails at many ski areas in and around New England. One of his proudest Serving Windsor & Windham Counties

Operated by Connecticut River Transit

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CHEEVER TIRE SERVICE Your Basic Full Service Locally Owned Tire Store

Hours: Mon.- Fri. 8:00 - 5:00 • Sat. 8:00 - 12:00

Rt. 5 North, Bellows Falls, Vt. 802-463-3320

For Bus Schedules and Information Visit our Website at

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the public as a chiropractic physician from 1952 until 2010, first in Newtown, Pa. where he practiced for 13 years, and later in Guilford. In 1965, he opened the Woodcock Chiropractic Clinic with his brother, Dr. Donald Woodcock. Soon after establishing his practice, he served as the president of the Vermont Chiropractic Association. In 1968, he studied with Dr. Tao of China and then opened the first acupuncture clinic in Vermont, located in Wilmington. He was the first of several family members who joined his profession, including sister Dr. Dorothy Woodcock, brother Dr. Donald Woodcock, daughter Dr. Elizabeth (Woodcock) Gillespie, who continues to practice at the Woodcock Clinic, and nephew

Spring session starts Feb. 7 Landscape, Adult Studio, Children + Teen Studio, Life Drawing, Printmaking, Sculpture, and many Weekend Workshops 802-257-1577 32 Main St. Brattleboro,VT 05301 rivergalleryschool.org

MEMBERS 1ST CREDIT UNION “The SMALL Credit Union with a BIG HEART” www.members1cu.com 10 Browne CT PO Box 8245 N. Brattleboro, VT 05304

NCUA

Tel. (802) 257-5131 Fax (802) 257-5837

Insured to 250,000

This space for rent

FOR LEASE 3980 square feet of commercial/office space in our newly renovated Ann Wilder Richards Building at 1063 Western Avenue one mile from exit two off I-91 or Route 9 in the village of West Brattleboro. ADA handicapped access, heat and central air conditioning included, free abundant parking, separate entrance to leased space, private bathroom, reception area, available immediately.

You are looking at Windham County’s best advertising value. To promote your business in the next issue of The Commons, call Nancy 99 at (802)SALE 246-6397 or Kick Multitool e-mail ads@ Pliers, wire cutter, knife, container commonsnews.org. opener, screwdrivers. Leather sheath

Your One Stop Shopping For The Holid

19

Your One Stop Shop Please contact Sandy Clark, Asset Manager, Brattleboro Housing Authority 802-254-6071 or slclark@sover.net for more information and showings.

included.

R 531 766 B12

1999

Kick Multitool reg. 24.99

5-Pc. GTearWrench Ratcheting Wrench Set Tighten & loosen

8

Saw Bl 97 Circular Shop Clock wit

Pliers, wire cutter, knife, container 18-Pc.screwdrivers.

Screwdriver Setsheath Slotted, opener, Leather Phillips and torx. With steel shaft, acetate included. handles.

R 531 766 B12

faster with ratcheted box ends. Metric or SAE.

Multitool

An ideal gift for your favorite han handywoman. R 130 107 B4

While supplies last.

AA battery included. While supplie

12-Volt Cordle Drill/Driver

Malcolm Wright

the Turnpike

reg. 12.99 road poTTery 70-Ct. M5 Pinecone

cord. Assorted color lights.

LED Light Set Green th

39 Annual

T749 236, 216, 244, 257, 126 081 B12

5-Pc. GTearWrench 99Ratcheting Wrench Set Tighten & loosen SALE

9

With keyles Includes scr bits,18-P battery charger.

Phillips

handles

112-336

ratcheted 70-Ct. faster C6 LEDwith Light Set box

While sS $

ends.T126 Metric or SAE. Assorted colors.

076, 079, 077, 075, 080 B12

Holiday Sale Give The Gift Of Lower Heating Costs

TORO SNOW THRO IN STOCK!

Saturday, MAGNOLIA December WOOD STOVE18 WINDOW INSTALLED PELLET HEATER

Save $

1 - 4 PM

Heats up to 600 - 2,400 sq. ft. with a heating capacity of up to 65,000 BTU’s. off MacArthur Road, Stainless Steel Heat Exchanger and Marlboro, VT Automatic Circulation Blower to spread heat evenly. EPA Certified. Dimensions: x 25.25"W x 33"H Door 802.254.2168 28.25"D Opening: 15.1"W x 12.25"H. Takes 20" Please call for Directions log. Mobile Home Approved!

Retail… $1,399

www.theturnpikeroad.com

Sale $999

on all tw snowthr

MODEL 2400 • easiest pellet heater ever to install!

• no extra venting needed • no fresh air kit needed

GASSED, O READY TO

Supplies Limited!

Heats…750 sq. ft.

Hopper capacity… 40 lbs

1099 reg. 12.99 Tax Credit… $330 769 Your Cost70-Ct. After Tax M5 CreditPinecone LED Light Set Green cord. Assorted color lights. $

$

FIRESIDE

99

999 99

Power M

MSRP SALE $

70-Ct. C6 LED

Assorted colors. T1 075, 080 B12

Putney R We love cheese!

The Ho B12 T749 236, 216, 244, 257, For126 081 li

ht

y da

Give The Gift OfBrattleboro Lower H s Sale

Staff Tip!

Don’t miss our feature cheeses for December— (802) 254-4 St. Andre, creamy and rich, this triple cream cheese MAGNOLIA WOOD WINDOW IN is pure indulgence.

Christmas week,STOVE we’ll feature O PEN 7600DAYS FREE PAR Heats up to - 2,400New sq. ft. • with a Dauphinois—a perennial favorite.

For Years, heating capacity of up to 65,000 BTU’s. we’ll have plenty of gruyere for classic MODEL 2400 Stainlessand Steel Swiss Heat Exchanger and Automatic Circulation Blower to spread • easiest pellet heater ev fondue. In the deli, we haveheat platters and appetizers to install! evenly. EPA Certified. Dimensions: 28.25"D x 25.25"W x 33"H Door • no extra venting need to make your holiday entertaining simple—every• no fresh air kit needed Opening: 15.1"W x 12.25"H. Takes 20" thing from garden vegetable log. trays with dip to Italian Mobile Home Approved!

Heats…750 sq. ft.

Hopper capacity… 40 lb Retail… $1,399 antipasti platters and Mediterranean samplers.

1099 We have dips and spreads, variety Tax Credit… $3 Tax Credit… $300 Your Cost After Yourpâtés Cost After Tax Credit … $699 olives, and so much more.

Sale $999

Sweater Sale is here along with the Holiday Dress Up Sale

This year, give yourself or someone you love the gift of style!

Open until 8pm on Fridays

SPEC PUR

SALE

Tax Credit… $300 Your Cost After Tax Credit … $699

OPEN DAILY

Dr. Dan Woodcock of Barre. He participated in many activities and especially liked to teach skills to others, including riding a unicycle, lariat spinning, skiing, skating, sailing, tennis, golf, bowling, archery, horseshoes, and bocce.

He was a lover of music and enjoyed singing as a member of the Keene Barber Shoppers and the Dummerston Congregational Church choir. He played the harmonica and accordion, and was a clever composer of poetry.

Memor ia l infor m ation : A memorial service was held Dec. 11 at Dummerston Congregational Church. Donations can be made to the Dummerston Congregational Church. Condolence messages may be sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www.atamaniuk.com.

Start Rig

Dec. 9 at McGirr Nursing Home in Bellows Falls. Wife of the late Howard K. Bissell for 40 years.

Mother of Douglas Bissell and his wife, Bette, of Bennington; Sylvia Liset and her husband, George, of Dover, N.H.; and Dean Bissell of Bellows Falls. Graduate of Springfield High School, Class of 1939, and active thereafter organizing reunions as class chairwoman for a number of years.

Graduated from Concord Business College in 1941, and thereafter went to work for the Engineering Department of Fellows Gear Shaper. Was a member of Christ Church in Saxtons River and was active in Mother’s Club and Women’s Fellowship and sang in the choir. In later years, she enjoyed Nature Club and Friendship Bible coffees. Was a Cub Scout den mother, and enjoyed painting. Memorial information: A funeral service was held Dec. 14 at Christ Church, with burial in the Saxtons River Cemetery.

Donations to McGirr Nursing Home Resident Activity Fund, Attn: Margaret Perry or Verna, 33 Atkinson St., Bellows Falls, VT 05101.

accomplishments was the building and completion of the access road to Stratton, a project completed in less than four months.

He was instrumental with the upgraded designs and construction of Harris Hill Ski Jump, overseeing the most recent renovation and upgrade completed two years ago. Was a member of the B.P.O. Elks, Brattleboro Lodge #1499, American Legion Brattleboro Post 5, and West Dummerston Grange.

Memor ia l infor m ation : A funeral Mass was held Dec. 9 at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Brattleboro, with burial in Dummerston Center Cemetery in the springtime. Donations to Our Lady of Mercy Church, P.O. Box 246, Putney, VT 05346 or Grace Cottage Hospital, Route 35, Townshend, VT 05353.

• John Br yson Smyth III, Condolence messages may be 83, of Brattleboro. Died Dec. sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home 1. Husband of Margit Smyth. at www.atamaniuk.com.

Father of Alice and Patricia Smyth.

• Dr. Robert Born in Melbourne, Australia, Woodcock, 82, and moved back to his family’s of Putney. Died homeland in Belfast, Northern Dec. 3. Husband Ireland, in 1932. Joined the British of Suzanne Merchant Navy at age 14 and went Lukens for 58 around the dangerous coastal years. Born in waters of the North Sea during Haverhill, Mass., World War II. He later worked and graduated from Haverhill on the Cunard Line’s “Queen of High School in 1946. Served Bermuda” and, during that time, in the Navy for two years, then met and married his wife. Moved attended National College of to the United States and settled Chiropractic in Chicago. Served in Brooklyn, N.Y. Was employed

by Marriott Corp. as general manager of flight kitchens at Kennedy International Airport in New York and Logan International Airport in Boston. Retired after 24 years and moved to Florida, Mass.

In 2008, the Smyths moved to Brattleboro so they could be near their daughter, Patti. Memorial information : A small memorial gathering was held Dec. 12 at Westgate Community Center in West Brattleboro. Mr. Smyth has made an anatomical gift to the University of Vermont School of www.BrattleboroChamber.org Medicine.

Spring Art Classes

• Winifred “Winnie” Gardner Bissell, 89, of Saxtons River. Died

and previously had been employed in the Housekeeping Department at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and owned and operated her own day care center in Hinsdale, N.H. With her husband, she was a member of West Brattleboro Baptist Church. Enjoyed camping, playing pitch, and time shared with her family. Memorial inform at ion : A memorial service will be conducted at the West Brattleboro Baptist Church on Dec. 18. Interment will be in Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery.

Donations to Rescue Inc., P.O. Box 593, Brattleboro, VT 05302, or the American Diabetes Association of Vermont, 77 Hegeman Ave., Colchester, VT 05446. Condolence messages may be sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www.atamaniuk.com.

and

Editor’s note: The Commons will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham County and others, on request, as community news, free of charge.

of Charles Duke of Newfane and Joshua Duke and his son Lucas of Spartanburg, S.C. Brother of Valerie Hart and husband Richard of Stafford, Va. Predeceased by an infant son, Jared. Raised and educated in Dummerston and attended Brattleboro Union High School. Served in the Coast Guard from 1979 to 1983. Worked as a sales associate at Perkins Home Center in West Chesterfield, N.H., and previously was employed at Brown & Roberts Hardware in Brattleboro for 13 years. He enjoyed woodworking and furniture making, and was an ardent outdoorsman. M emor i a l i nfor mation : A funeral service was held Dec. 11 at the West Dummerston Baptist Church, with burial with full military honors in the Duke family lot in Taft Cemetery in Dummerston.

Donations to West Dummerston Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 40, West Dummerston, VT 05357; the Oncology Department at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, 17 Belmont Ave., Brattleboro, VT 05301; or Grace Cottage Hospital, Route 35, Townshend, VT 05353.

Condolence messages may be sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www.atamaniuk.com.

• Joseph G. Gavin Jr., 90, of Amherst, Mass. Died Oct. 30 at home. Husband of Dorothy Grace Dunklee of Brattleboro for 67 years, whom he met at 4-H summer camp. Father of Joseph G. Gavin III of Arlington, Va., Donald L. Gavin of Kings Park, N.Y., and the late Tay Anne Gavin Erickson. Was an aeronautical engineer with a lifelong interest in aircraft and space travel. Graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Class of 1941. Served in the Navy during World War II and was involved in early research on aircraft jet propulsion. Worked for Grumman from 1946 to 1985, starting as flight engineer and ending his career as Grumman’s president and CEO. Was project manager for the Lunar Landing Module project, which Grumman built for the Apollo moon missions. NASA awarded Mr. Gavin its Distinguished Public Service Medal in 1971 for his work in helping to coordinate the urgent assessment of the lunar module’s capabilities when it was pressed into service as a lifeboat during the aborted Apollo 13 mission.

Through Grumman’s involvement in the Princeton Tokomak fusion energy project, he became interested in energy policy issues. His interest in energy policy, including solar and wind sources, continued in retirement; he spoke to many groups about it. Was a downhill skier until 86, a tennis player, and a history buff. M emor i a l information : Burial will be held at later date at the Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery in West Brattleboro.

The

Obituaries

Stop by the cheese and deli counters— we have everything you need for Holiday entertaining!

—Sheila Sackett, Culinary Manager

$

FIRESIDE

BRATTLEBOROFOODCO-OP 2 Main Street, Brattleboro M–S 8–9, Sun 9–9 www.brattleborofoodcoop.coop ■