The Commons/issue of Jan. 19, 2011

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News BRATTLEBORO

Charter vote is Saturday page 3

Principles of nonviolence to honor King legacy page 3

Voices VIEWPOINT

Why patients, doctors don’t hear each other page 6

Life & Work FOOD

Kale is cure for winter’s gluttony page 9

Sports SKIING

Putney still is the heart of nordic page 11

Arts MUSIC

Concert to benefit BF shelter

Dover named e-Vermont community

SNOW JOB

When broadband comes to entire town, residents and businesses will be ready

By Olga Peters The Commons

DOVER—Dover continues its propulsion into the digital age with its participation in the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project.

According to VCRD e-Vermont Community Director Philip Petty, e-Vermont is a twoyear federally funded initiative to help residents of particular communities use broadband “in new, different, and exciting ways.� “Geographically, roughly half of Dover has access to some degree of HSIS [high-speed Internet service], and this is

concentrated in the area of West Dover,� Economic Development Specialist Patrick Moreland said. “A majority of dwelling units are located in this area, but a great many year-round Dover residents live in East Dover, where no HSIS currently exists.�

The program won’t lay cable or string wires, but it will increase people’s skills so they can use the Internet to improve their communities through better education, civic engagement, and businesses. “And a variety of other ways of using the Internet‌to do good things in your community,â€? said ! SEE E-VERMONT, PAGE 4

State hears case for revoking VY permit vtdigger.org

MONTPELIER—The Vermont Public Service Board held four days of technical hearings last week on petitions from environmental groups seeking to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and revoke its state operating permit in the wake of revelations that the facility was leaking radioactive water into the environment.

A year ago, Entergy Corp., the owner of Vermont Yankee, announced that tritium from the plant had been released into soils on the compound.

In the hearings, lawyers for the New England Coalition, the Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources, and Vermont’s

RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/ THE COMMONS

John Leary, equipment operator/laborer with the Brattleboro Department of Public Works, clears a wider path on a sidewalk on South Main Street.

By Randolph T. Holhut The Commons

B

Lawyers, consultants wrangle over ‘root cause’ of VY tritium leaks

By Carl Etnier

Barrett: Planning, experience are keys to a quick response to major storms

Department of Public Service cross-examined Entergy experts about written testimony they had submitted regarding the leaks, their causes, what was released, and what is being done to prevent future leaks.

The “root cause� of the leaks was the most contentious issue.

Timothy Trask, an Entergy engineer, opened the hearings by answering questions from Jared Margolis, representing the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, about Entergy’s root cause analysis report.

Margolis referred to Entergy guidance for root cause analysis, which says that when Entergy has identified a condition as “consequential,� they investigate whether it occurs elsewhere in the plant. Margolis wanted to ! SEE ENTERGY, PAGE 4

RATTLEBORO— By the afternoon of Monday, Jan. 10, weather forecasters were predicting that a major snowstorm would hit New England on Wednesday, Jan. 12.

Snow predictions varied widely, but it was clear that the Brattleboro area would get at least a foot of snow on Wednesday morning.

The Brattleboro Public Works Department, fresh off of dealing with a dusting of 4 inches of snow on Saturday, +BO LOFX XIBU XBT BIFBE of it.

Highway General Supervisor Al Franklin and the road crew’s 12 equipment operators/laborers and three mechanics are used to dealing with the worst of winter weather. And the Jan. 12 storm was every bit as bad as advertised, leaving 19 inches of snowing Brattleboro, according to the National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y. Yet, by the following morning, most of the main streets in Brattleboro were cleared of snow.

How did it happen?

Public Works Director Steve Barrett agreed to walk The Commons through the process of how his staff prepares for a big snowstorm and what it takes to remove tons of snow from the town’s roads.

The Commons

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With today’s weather technology, Barrett said, crews rarely get surprised by a storm. “We live, eat, and sleep weather,� he said. “We really pay attention to it, and with the radar and the satellites and the storm tracking computer programs, we usually have a good idea what is going to happen.�

That’s a marked contrast from the days of the telephone tree, when “we used to call over to the Bennington town garage, and they used to call Albany and that’s how we found out about the storms that were coming,� Barrett said.

Armed with the knowledge that a nor’easter was coming,

of Tuesday, Jan. 11, the department’s vehicles were all filled with fuel, and the sand and salt trucks were loaded and ready to go.

Normally, one driver works on standby duty overnight.

Barrett said that the police are the first line of communication to the town garage.

If the officers on patrol start to notice that road conditions are deteriorating, they tell the police dispatcher, who in turn will call the standby driver at home. The driver will, in turn, report for duty and call the other drivers. “But with this storm, it ! SEE SNOW, 1"(&

Windham Child Care Association takes the reins of a program for parents working the second shift

By Olga Peters

P.O. Box 1212, Brattleboro, VT 05302 www.commonsnews.org

Weather watching Barrett said by the afternoon

Day care — at night

page 12

Vermont Independent Media

RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS

Steve Ferris, equipment operator/laborer, lubricates the hydraulic system of one of the town’s plow trucks.

RATTLEBORO—A group that for 30 years has helped parents find the child care they need now is now itself running a program that addresses the needs of those working late afternoons into the night hours.

On New Year’s Day, the CABA (Community Action Brattleboro Area) Evening Care program become the first direct administered care program of the Windham Child Care Association (WCCA).

Now known as the Windham Evening Child Care Program, it RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS provides “a great opportunity for Isadora Homberg, 8 months old, plays in the Infant those parents who work the second shift, and [for whom] child and Toddler room.

care is a real issue,� said WCCA Board Chair Jim Maland.

Maland said the board and staff unanimously support the Evening Care program joining WCCA, with a 30-year history as a child care resource and referral agency for parents and providers. “I’m excited,� he said.

A niche program

“Early childhood education is so vitally important. Give these kids a good start, and chances are there will be fewer problems down the line,� said Evening Care Director Carol Ames.

The Evening Care program provides child care for parents working second shift. Traditional care programs operate 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., leaving secondshift workers scrambling.

A single mother who quit a

good second-shift job because she couldn’t find adequate child care inspired former CABA Executive Director Patrick Moreland to develop the Evening Care program, said Ames.

The program, housed in the Canal Street School, opened in 2005.

In the basement play area called the Big Room, as six boisterous children burn off afternoon steam, Ames talks about the transition from CABA to WCCA. “Playing in the big room helps children practice their gross motor skills,� explains Ames, over the children’s laughter.

Keeping the program financially sustainable was the big impetus behind CABA approaching WCCA last year to join forces. ! SEE EVENING CARE, PAGE 2

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January 19, 2011

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Windham Child Care Association Evening Care program director Carol Ames plays with Casandra Earp, 4, in the “Big Room.�

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Deadline for the Jan. 26 issue Friday, Jan. 21 ABOUT THE NEWSPAPER

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! Evening care Last March, the two agencies agreed to start with a pilot to see if the relationship was sustainable. The partnership became official on Jan. 1. “This way, both organizations could support each other and become greater than the sum of their parts,� Ames said.

The Evening Care program receives the bulk of its funding through the state child care subsidy system, said Ames — a volatile source of income. At one time, the state compensated providers based on how many children the program could have rather than how many were actually enrolled.

Child care has a lot of turnover as children attend programs, transition out, or parents’ schedules change. Second-shift workers’ schedules change often, said Ames. The state’s funding method stabilized finances for QSPWJEFST CVU UIF DSFEJU crunch did away with the state’s compensation method.

According to WCCA Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Raposa, child care can cost a family between $225 and $250 a week. Through its subsidy program, the state pays a percentage of costs, between 10 and 100 percent.

The evening program takes children from 6 weeks old up UP BHF In a small dining room across from the Big Room, the kids eat together, family style. The program provides two snacks and a full supper and participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), the same program that provides school lunches, said Ames.

Cook Derek Lafayette does double duty, loading the dishwasher with toys to sanitize them.

Lafayette said introducing new foods to the kids can “be a little risky,� but he tries.

Salads are never a big hit, he said. Sometimes, however, the kids surprise him, as they did when they liked a spicy chicken dish he makes.

Ames points out the designated sleeping areas in the Infant and Toddler Room, for children 6 weeks to 3 years old, and the Multi-Age Room, for those beUXFFO BOE ZFBST PME Maintaining routines like mealtime, socialization, story time, bedtime hygiene, and sleep schedule are important for children’s well-being and development, she said.

The Windham Evening Child

FROM PAGE 1

Care Program staff also help the children in their charge learn prereading and math skills. Ames said they also assist with developmental screenings. “Each child is so unique and different. It’s important to honor each child’s path,� said Ames. “We have a really nice group of kids here,� said Joslyn Homberg, assistant director and head teacher for the Infant and Toddler Room.

Homberg enjoys working with families and helping them to support their children at home. She said the program serves as a resource for families, whether or not they have a support network.

A sigh of relief

“I’m so happy with the care.

It’s just so great they have that [program] for second-shift parents,� said Melody Mason, whose son Maddox started at Evening Care last October.

Mason, a single mother, works three nights as a second-shift admissions coordinator at the Brattleboro Retreat. She said thanks to the Evening Care program, this is the first fulltime position she’s been able to take since Maddox’s birth three years ago.

The program has maintained Maddox’s evening routine so that he sleeps fine at the program or at home. “That has really saved me,� she said.

She said they both made adjustments when Maddox began the program. She had to eliminate his 2 p.m. nap and learn how to bring him home without waking him up.

But those adjustments were minor inconveniences in contrast to the huge weight the program takes off her back. Mason said knowing her son is in a safe place with licensed staff focused on his well-being and learning type makes bringing home a second shift paycheck possible.

Maland said managing the Windham Evening Child Care program will mean more responsibility for WCCA, but the two programs are a good fit. He also said WCCA might be open to managing other programs, but only time will tell.

WCCA — which offers specialists to help parents find financial assistance, fill out paperwork, and find providers — could potentially lose out if that strategy continues.

According to Raposa, in February, the Child Care Financial Assistance Program, a federal program administered through the state Department for Children and Families in the Agency of Human Services, will move to Waterbury.

The Shumlin administration is investigating whether to centralize the referral process next year, a proposal that Maland characterized as “unconscionable.�

Raposa said WCCA specialists build personal connections with parents and walk them “step-bystep� through finding and paying for child care. “When you centralize, that [connection] is no longer available to families,� she said.

WCCA will continue to have a specialist to help families through the financial assistance program, said Raposa.

According to Maland, Gov. Peter Shumlin has been supportive and understanding about the importance of keeping support for families at a local level. But only time will tell how the system shakes out, she said. “I’m hoping centralization does not got to the extreme,� said Ames.

Ames would like to see support remain local because the child-care system “is a maze� for

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There is always a waiting list for the Infants and Toddlers program, so parents should contact the program as soon as they think they will want to enroll their infant or toddler, advises Raposa.

Parents with questions may DPOUBDU "NFT BU

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Derek Lafayette runs the kitchen at the Evening Care program.

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parents, she said, adding that the CABA organization will continue to operate on its own.

Raposa said the Windham Evening Child Care program is open to applications from all families, regardless of whether they qualify for the state subsidy.

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NEWS

January 19, 2011

Nonviolence from within

Participants consider how to apply King’s work to their lives

By Olga Peters The Commons

BRATTLEBORO—Local AmeriCorps Volunteers hosted the Martin Luther King Day of Service, a community event to commemorate the slain civil rights leader, at the River Garden Monday.

Volunteers from Brattleboro Community Justice Center, In-Sight Photography Project, UVM Extension’s 4-H Youth Agricultural Project, Youth Services, and about 20 members of the public watched and discussed the 2007 documentary, Greensboro: Closer to the Truth.

Organizers hoped the film would help illustrate King’s principles of nonviolence, which were behind civil rights actions such as the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Greensboro, by Adam Zucker, follows the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission ever convened in the United States.

The commission focused on the Nov. 3, 1979 “Greensboro Massacre,� where Ku Klux Klan members in the North Carolina city shot and killed five nonviolent protestors — including four members of the Communist Workers’ Party — and wounded 11 others at an anti-Klan protest.

Most of the confrontation was captured on video by TV news crews, yet 25 years after the incident, no one had ever been convicted for the murders.

The Greensboro commission, modeled on the South African panel that was formed after the end of apartheid in the early 1990s, met from 2004 until 2006 and represented the first real attempt to examine the causes and consequences of what happened that day.

On Monday, “We had good discussion and insight of what it means to live nonviolently,� said Julie Etter, Americorps VISTA volunteer with the Brattleboro Community Justice Center.

Participants discussed if nonviolence is practical today, concluding that change through nonviolence takes time and commitment and today’s immediate-gratification society often perceives nonviolent as ineffective.

In his 1957 essay, The Power of Nonviolence, King wrote, “There was always the problem of getting this method over because it didn’t make sense to most of the people in the beginning. We had to make it clear that nonviolent resistance is not a method of cowardice. It does resist. It is not a method of stagnant passivity and deadening complacency.

The nonviolent resister is just as opposed to the evil that he is standing against as the violent resister but he resists without violence. This method is nonaggressive physically but strongly aggressive spiritually.�

Joshua Cunningham, AmeriCorps volunteer with Youth Services, brought some of the young people he works with. He said the event pulled in a good mix of young and older and that the film made the youth think.

With nonviolent resistance, he

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At Youth Services’ Tuesday Drop-In night this week, Cunningham said he planned show the recent film V for Vendetta, in which the main character uses violent resistance.

He wants to contrast the approach to social change with the Greensboro Massacre.

Drop-In night is held every Tuesday, from 6 to 9 p.m., for 15- to 21-year-olds at the Boys & Girls Club on Flat Street.

The group also discussed how nonviolence has a spiritual aspect and comes from within a person.

One participant said that she felt disgust toward the Klansmen in the film and realized she

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wasn’t living nonviolently in her daily life.

King’s six principles of nonviolence — which, in turn, was inspired by Mohandas Gandhi’s nonviolent civil disobedience movement to achieve independence for India in the first half of the 20th century — “are one of the greatest gifts this country has from civil rights,� said Etter.

Town Meeting reps to vote Saturday on proposed charter changes BRATTLEBORO— Representative Town Meeting members will vote on proposed changes to the Town Charter at a Special Town Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 22, at Academy School on Western Avenue, TUBSUJOH BU B N The meeting is the culmination of three years of study and meetings by the town Charter Review Commission.

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Although voting is limited to Town Meeting members, all residents are welcome and encouraged to attend in person and may be recognized to speak. The meeting will be taped by BCTV and aired the following week.

All meeting documents are posted on the town website: www.brattleboro.org.

Stratton to host ‘Run For Rick’ LONDONDERRY—A scholarship fund that was started to honor the memory of Londonderry lawmaker Rick Hube is closing in on its fundraising goal of $100,000.

Friends of Hube, who died suddenly on Dec. 21, 2009, started the Rick Hube UVM Scholarship Fund last year.

Scholarships will be awarded a student who lives in Londonderry, Jamaica, Stratton, Weston and Winhall — the towns that Hube represented for nearly 10 years in the Vermont House — who wishes to attend the University of Vermont.

Hube was a former trustee of the University of Vermont, and a strong supporter of the school. With the encouragement of UVM President Dan Fogel and the UVM Trustees, Hube’s friends, relatives and colleagues set $100,000 as the goal so that the fund would be endowed to fund an annual scholarship in perpetuity. As of late last month, the fund had received nearly

A fundraising event, “Take A Run For Rick,� will be held at Stratton Mountain Resort on Sunday, Jan. 30.

Skiers and snowboarders should meet at the base of Stratton’s gondola at 7:45 a.m.

Stratton president Sky Foulkes will lead skiers and snowboarders to the summit for a tribute to Hube, followed by an informal gathering at mid-station for coffee and hot chocolate. There will be a specially priced lift ticket for UIJT FWFOU $BMM GPS more information.

Donations are also welcome at the Rick Hube UVM Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 977, Manchester, VT 05254, or visit www.rickhube.com for more information.

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All proposals shall include the broker’s commission, brief history of the firm including staff experience and references.

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20 percent down to 10 percent; expanding the Selectboard to seven members with four, twoyear terms and three, threeyear terms; and expanding the school board from five to seven members.

Once the representatives vote on the articles, the revised charter will be sent to Montpelier for approval by the Vermont Legislature.

State statute requires that all charters in Vermont be reviewed at least once every 15 years, though they may be amended at any time. The last

LONDONDERRY

(802) 246-6397 or e-mail ads@commonsnews.org.

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356 S. Main • Brattleboro, VT

The Dutton family are strong believers in buying locally.

ALL of their produce are grown by them in Vermont soil.

They advocate for supporting and giving back to the community by selling only local made products and hosting annual events which allow local businesses to promote these great items. Vermont is full of wonderful and unique products that the Duttons feel should not go unnoticed!

Stop in today, help support our locals and see what great things they have to offer! You won’t be sorry. www.duttonberryfarm.com O PEN DAI LY 9 A M –7 PM Route 30, Newfane 802-365-4168

Route 9, West Brattleboro 802-254-0254

Routes 11/30, Manchester 802-362-3083

NEWS

4

T H E C O M M O N S Û Wednesday,

January 19, 2011

DOVER ! e-Vermont “Hey! Where can I pick up The Commons?”

BRATTLEBORO

American Legion Amy’s Bakery Arts Café Avenue Grocery Backside Café Bagelworks Baker Office Supplies Baskets Bookstore Blue Moose Book Cellar Boy’s and Girl’s Club Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce Brattleboro Food Co-op Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Front Lobby Brattleboro Pharmacy Brattleboro Post Office Brattleboro Savings and Loan Brattleboro Subaru Brattleboro Sunoco Brattleboro Tire Brattleboro Union High School Brattleboro Village Pizza Brooks Library Chelsea Royal Diner Chittenden Bank Coffee Country Colonial Pool Community College of Vermont Curves Dutton Farm Stand Elliot Street Café First Run Video Brattleboro Fleming Oil Forty Putney Rd. Bed and Breakfast Gibson-Aiken Senior Center Glen Mobile Park Hooker Dunham Bldg.

Hotel Pharmacy House of Pizza Latchis Theatre Marlboro College Tech Center Melrose Terrace Members First Credit Union Mocha Joe’s Morningside House North End Butcher One Stop Outlet Center Pine Heights Price Chopper River Garden Thompson House VABEC VT Liquor Store Walgreens West Brattleboro Pizza Westgate Housing World Learning BELLOWS FALLS

Athens Pizza Lisai Market On the Square, Bellows Falls Opera House/Town Offices Railroad Station Rite Aid Plaza Rockingham Free Public Library The Final Cut CAMBRIDGEPORT

D&R General Store DOVER

Snow Mountain Market DUMMERSTON

Hidden Acres Irving Gas KOA Learning Collaborative GRAFTON

Grafton General Store HALIFAX

Town Office/School JACKSONVILLE

Jacksonville General Store JAMAICA

Petty.

The first Windham County town selected to participate in e-Vermont, Dover joins Bridgewater, Calais, Castleton, Fairfield, Hardwick, Jay/ Westfield, Middletown Springs, Moretown, Morristown, Richford, and Vergennes in the project managed by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD).

“Rural regions can’t be left behind in digital skills — we may be receiving high-speed Internet later than more urban areas, but we’re going to make up for lost time through programs like e-Vermont,” said eVermont Project Director Helen Labun Jordan. e-Vermont does not provide infrastructure, such as fiber optic cables or wireless transmitters.

Infrastructure is definitely lacking in Dover, and improving high-speed Internet and cell phone service has been top of Dover’s economic development to-do list.

Portions of the town’s residential and business population are either underserved, or lack Internet and cell access altogether. Currently West Dover, where Mount Snow is located, has better Internet and cell coverage than East Dover.

Local business owner Tom Powell, who serves on Dover’s economic development advisory committee, said this lack has left many in town feeling frustrated.

He said a digital divide exists between East and West Dover.

According to Laura Sibilia, executive director of the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce, one-quarter of Dover residents are year-round, while three-quarters of the population are second homeowners.

But, she said, the community-oriented programs offered through e-Vermont may help bridge the two communities.

“When it comes [high-speed Internet], we’ll be ready,” Sibilia said.

The town’s e-Vermont application, submitted by Moreland, stated, “We know now is the time to begin building new skills and establishing new pathways for communication to enrich our

FROM PAGE 1

The Vermont Department of Libraries with work with the Dover Free Library to assess digital needs. The library will have access to $2,000 to $4,000 minigrants to help meet such needs as equipment or staff training.

Petty said Dover will be able to develop its own programs, and that VCRD might suggest additional projects. Dover will need to have finalized digital projects list to VCRD by June

1, he noted.

“Your projects will develop due to the work you do in the next several months,” Petty told members of the economic development committee at a meeting last week.

A public forum about the eVermont projects will most likely take place in April. More information will be forthcoming.

Petty said broadband may still not come quickly to all parts of

Dover, but through the efforts of the incoming Shumlin administration, and other projects in the state, the town will benefit.

He said southern Vermont has had its share of disappointment in receiving high-speed Internet access.

But “I personally think this time is different,” he noted.

To learn more about e-Vermont, visit e4vt.org.

REGION DOVERVERMONT.COM

Patrick Moreland, Dover’s economic development specialist. community and our economy in the years to come.”

The town is working separately with Internet providers like FairPoint Communications and Sovernet to bring broadband to underserved areas homes and businesses. The existing service in West Dover is provided by FairPoint or by Duncan Cable of Wilmington.

A variety of services

VCRD is partnering with six organizations to provide training and assist Dover as it develops new projects.

Digital Wish, a nonprofit with headquarters in Manchester Center, puts technology into the hands of K-12 students. It will provide training to teachers at Dover Elementary School, along with 50 Dell notebook computers and copier/scanner/printer machines f0r use by Dover students in grades 4-6.

Front Porch Forum is a townwide Internet-based forum geared to connecting neighbors.

A Burlington couple designed the site so community members could discuss and share events specific to their town.

Vermont Small Business Development Center and Vermont State Colleges will offer workshops for community members. VtSBDC will also offer oneone-one business advising.

The Snelling Center for Government is on board to help towns improve their municipal websites.

! Entergy know how plant officials had investigated whether similar pipes had holes, or were in danger of developing holes.

After some back and forth, in which Margolis grew visibly frustrated and repeatedly said Trask wasn’t answering the question, Trask said the holes in the pipes were not the “root cause” of the leaks into the environment, but a “contributing cause.” The root cause, he said, was the pipe tunnel. Until the tunnel was breached, there was no leak outside the plant, according to Trask.

Margolis asked Trask if identifying holes in the pipes as a “contributing cause” meant that Entergy’s root cause analysis did not need to evaluate whether similar plant pipes were developing holes. Trask replied that Entergy is “already constantly looking for where that is occurring in the plant.”

Margolis occasionally consulted with Ray Shadis, a consultant to the New England Coalition, who sat by his side during the questioning.

Shadis commented during a break in the testimony, “Entergy is straining the definition of ‘root cause.’ If you accept the definition that the leaks in the pipe were only a contributing factor, that means that they need not look at the remainder of the pipes to see if any of them are corroding, being eroded, or about to fail.

That’s ideal for them, because it’s a big, expensive operation.”

Trask said the holes in the pipes were not the “root cause” of the leaks into the environment, but a “contributing cause.” The root cause, he said, was the pipe tunnel. Until the tunnel was breached, there was no leak outside the plant, according to Trask.

Larry Smith, communications manager for Vermont Yankee, insists the plant has “defense in depth” against future leaks, including moving inaccessible pipes above ground, to where they can be inspected, and 20 monitoring wells that can indicate a leak

FROM PAGE 1

VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Vermont Yankee workers remove soils from the excavation near the Advance Off Gas building. has occurred.

Smith accepted that this analogy explains Yankee’s concept of “root cause” — in a car crash where the brakes fail and then the airbag fails and the driver is injured, the root cause of the driver’s injury is the airbag failure, and the brake failure is a contributing cause.

Two informed Yankee observers, neither of whom attended the hearings, had differing views on the root cause analysis.

Neil Sheehan of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said there was no one root cause, but a combination of problems — the holes in the pipes and the flaws in the pipe tunnel. He expressed confidence in Entergy’s root cause analysis.

Arnie Gundersen, a member of the Vermont legislature’s Public Oversight Panel, said the panel had concluded that Entergy’s analysis was “flat-out inadequate,” and that the root cause of the leaks was the lack of a questioning attitude by Entergy’s management.

He cited five sink holes that appeared in the soil around the nuclear power plant in BOE XIJDI JOEJcated there was water in the soil. Yet Entergy officials, he said, never asked why they were there. Entergy “never points

the finger at management,” Gundersen said, “It’s always some component.”

Later in his testimony, Trask would not commit to inspecting all the buried and difficultto-access pipes at Yankee, but he said their program would use the nuclear industry’s best practices to sample them.

He did not know how extensive the samples would be or when the inspections will be completed.

“Inspections” may not be visual at all; Trask described monitoring wells — which indicate a leak has occurred when it is detected outside the plant — as a type of inspection.

In response to a Public Service Board member’s question, however, Trask agreed that finding radionuclides — atomic matter with unstable nuclei, like tritium — in a monitoring well means “the horse has left the barn by the time you realize you’ve got a problem,” and that there can be a “substantial release into the environment” before they figure out there’s a problem.

Other witnesses at the hearings discussed sampling procedures and results for heavier radionuclides like zinc and cesium and indicated that no soil had been tested for other, nonradioactive substances.

D+K’s Country Market Jamaica Coffee Shop LONDONDERRY

Clarks IGA Mike and Tammy’s Food Market MARLBORO

Marlboro Town Office Marlboro College Sweeties Deli & Market NEWFANE

Newfane Country Store Rick’s Tavern PUTNEY

Basketville Front Porch Café Landmark College Mountain Paul’s Peekaboutique Putney Diner Putney Food Coop West Hill Bike Shop TOWNSHEND

Grace Cottage Hospital Harmonyville Store Riverbend Market Valley Care WARDSBORO

Wardsboro General Store WEST DOVER

Chadwick’s Grand Summit Hotel Mount Snow - Main Ski Lodge WEST TOWNSHEND

Mo’s Market Townshend Dam Diner WILLIAMSVILLE

Williamsville General Store WILMINGTON

First Run Video Wilmington General Store River Valley Market Shaws Mt. Snow Chamber of Commerce McBriety’s Liquor Outlet Beanheads SAXTONS RIVER

Saxtons River Market WESTMINSTER

Allen Brothers Cafe Loco VERNON

Schoolhouse Grocery Town Office/library Vernon Green WEST CHESTERFIELD, N.H.

Grocery Store

HINSDALE, N.H.

T-Bird Tasteful Affairs

WALPOLE, N.H.

Discount Center

Abenaki tribes recommended for state recognition status MONTPELIER—The Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs (VCNAA) has recommended giving state recognition to the Nulhegan Abenaki of the Northeast Kingdom and the Elnu Abenaki in southeast Vermont.

The recommendation is now being passed along to Vermont’s General Assembly for final review. Members of the Commission and Sen.Vince Illuzzi,R-Essex-Orleans, along with legislative sponsors, supporters, and leaders of the two tribes, will gather in Montpelier in the Cedar Creek Room at the Statehouse on Wednesday, Jan. 19, to hold a press conference to discuss the results of the Commission’s decisions.

According to the commission, tribes are required to meet a series of criteria outlined in Act 107, which was signed into law in May 2010. The new law created a process by which tribes may present applications to the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs for review.

The current assessments incorporated the findings of expert review panelists and public testimony at hearings last month. Based upon this assessment, the Commission found that the Nulhegan and Elnu tribes successfully met the nine criteria contained in Act 107.

The commission has one application that is still pending further review and they expect to receive an application from the St. Francis/Sokoki Band at their Jan. 19 meeting.

Sen. Hinda Miller, D-Chittenden, was one of the co-sponsors of Act 107, and supported efforts to make Vermont’s tribal designation process conform to the requirements of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“We are very pleased with the work of the Commission and look forward to their recommendations,” Miller said last week. “We appreciate their careful deliberations according to the legislation passed last year outlining a process for tribal recognition.”

Besides giving Abenaki the right to market their arts and crafts as “Native American made,” state recognition would also give tribes access to federal funding for education and other benefits.

“We’re very happy to see this new process working,” said VCNAA Chairman Luke Willard. “The questions and concerns that stalled state recognition for Vermont’s tribes in the past are now being addressed.”

Those questions mainly concerned the fear of land grabs or casinos on tribal land. Those concerns were addressed in Act 107.

According to Act 107: “State-recognized Native American Indian tribes and their members will continue to be subject to all laws of the state, and recognition shall not be construed to create any basis or authority for tribes to establish or promote any form of prohibited gambling activity or to claim any interest in land or real estate in Vermont.”

As for the question of genealogical documentation, Willard said that “it’s one of the criteria, and two tribes have complied to date. I have no doubt there will be more.”

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 2,400 Native Americans who live in Vermont, and around half of that number are Vermonters who can claim to be direct descendants of the Western Abenaki tribes that once inhabited all of Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as parts of western Maine, southern Quebec, and upstate New York.

The Elnu is a band of about 50 largely family members dedicated to the teaching and study of Abenaki culture. In recent year, they have held encampments to both learn about and to demonstrate how their ancestors lived at the time that Europeans arrived in North America. Elnu members were part of the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial celebration in 2009 and held an encampment at Jamaica State Park in 2o10.

“Helping all the Abenaki is helping us all in making Vermont a better state. I am glad that I had the privilege to be part of this process” said state Rep. Michel Consejo, D-Sheldon Springs.

“We hope that the fairness and promptness of the process will encourage other Native communities to step forward,” Willard said. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, ‘No Abenaki left behind.’”

T H E C O M M O N S Ă› Wednesday,

NEWS

January 19, 2011

5

Nomination papers due Jan. 24 BRATTLEBORO — If you wish to run for local elective office this year, time is running out to get on the ballot.

Nominating petitions for town and school offices are now available at your local town clerk’s office. The deadline to turn them in is Monday, Jan. 24, at 5 p.m.

According to the Vermont Secretary of State’s office, nominating petitions must be signed by at least 30 persons, or 1 percent of the town’s legal voters, whichever is less.

Feb. 23 is the last day to register to vote for Town Meeting Day, which is March 1 this year.

The absentee ballot deadline in .POEBZ 'FC GPS UPXOT UIBU will hold Australian Ballot voting on March 1.

FREE Your membership in Vermont Independent Media can make this the best free newspaper you’ve ever paid for.

See page 5.

www.commonsnews.org

Gatherings to discuss middle school renovation

Brattleboro, Vermont 8FEOFTEBZ +BOVBSZ Ă› 7PM 7* /P Ă› *TTVF

WINDHAM COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING, INDEPENDENT SOURCE FOR NEWS AND VIEWS

News

Rockingham library seeks more funds

BRATTLEBORO

New energy efficient lights for parking garage

Director cites need to repair, maintain historic building

page 3 BELLOWS FALLS

Senior meal Friday in Halifax HALIFAX — The monthly Halifax senior meal will be served Friday, Jan. 21, at noon, at the West Halifax Community Hall.

On the menu is tossed salad, corn chowder with ham, johnny cake, rolls, and dessert. All are welcome, with a suggested donation of $3 for those over 60 and $4 for those under 60.

Reservations are appreciated, DBMM +PBO BU

Transfer station permits, dog licenses now available WILMINGTON — The 2011 Transfer Station permits are now for sale in the Town Administration offices on the second floor, or at the Transfer Station.

Also. 2011 Dog Licenses and renewals are now available at the Town Clerk’s office. A dog must have had a rabies inoculation not more than 36 months prior to the date of licensing for older dogs, and not more than 12 months for puppies.

For more information, contact Town Clerk Susie Haughwout at

Supper benefits emergency heat fund DUMMERSTON — Dummerston Cares is a nonprofit town organization serving seniors and others in need with emergency fuel assistance as donated money allows.

A baked ham and bean dinner to benefit Dummerston Cares will be held on Saturday, Jan. 22, from 5-7 p.m., at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center. Tickets are $10 for adults or $5 for children 5-12 years old.

To donate or volunteer, contact the Rev. Susanna Griefen, %POBUJPOT NBZ also be sent to Dummerston Cares, 1324 Rice Farm Rd. Dummerston, VT 05301.

For fuel aid for Dummerston residents in need, call the )FMQMJOF QIPOF BU

Snowshoe tracking for families offered WILMINGTON — On Saturday, Jan. 22, at 10 a.m. naturalist Michael Clough will be at Boyd Family Farm, 125 East Dover Rd., to lead a group in some of the techniques and skills of tracking and searching out signs of local wildlife.

Pre-registration is recommended. The cost is $5 for adults, $3 for kids 3-13. Call Rockhopper Outdoor Education for more information at

page 3

Voices EDITORIAL

Are we getting the town government we deserve? page 6

By Allison Teague

Vermont pols react to shooting in Arizona page 7

Life & Work MUSH!

Wardsboro couple runs dog sledding business page 9

Sports BASKETBALL

The Commons

A new

BELLOWS FALLS— Rockingham Free Public Library director Celina Houlne recently asked the Rockingham Selectboard for an increase of $30,925 over the level-funded budget that the library has been operating under for the past two years.

Houlne said that while the funding has remained the same, costs have increased. If the RFPL is not granted their request, Houlne said that “we’re going to have to cut back on our services.�

She added that she has been assured by interim Town Manager Francis “Dutch� Walsh that the cost of repairs and renovations from a burst water pipe on Dec. 12 that devastated the library’s local history collection will be covered by insurance, and have no effect on the library’s need for a budgetary increase. “Property and liability insurance, health insurance, utilities and heating, as well as technology costs have all risen dramatically in the past two years,�

Houlne said. “We’ve been cutting and cutting as much as we could, but the costs keep going up and up. I know it’s a tough economy. I understand that. But what are we supposed to do?�

Houlne said the plan for renovations continues to move forward. “We’ve been meeting with architects looking at the systems we use throughout the building, and how best to design them so we don’t have to re-do them again 10 or 20 years down the road.� “SMP Architects came highly recommended. They know about preservation of old buildings,�

Houlne said of the Philadelphia architectural firm. Indeed, their client list includes the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Oxford (Pa.) Public Library, among many others.

Houlne said SMP has been very helpful in “making this a green building. We are looking at putting solar panels on the flat roof [at the back of the library], and making the building

DIRECTION Optimism, tough decisions mark the start of Shumlin era as county politicians look ahead at the agenda

RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS

Gov. Peter Shumlin is greeted by House Speaker Shap Smith as he takes the podium at Thursday’s inauguration ceremony at the Statehouse in Montpelier.

By Olga Peters The Commons

VIEWPOINT

M

ONTPELIER—A sense of excitement, mixed with the sobering reality of a hefty budget crunch, pervaded the Statehouse last Thursday.

Elected officials, dignitaries, campaign volunteers, administration officials past and present, and press crammed onto the floor of the House, on the balcony, and spilled into the lobby.

And then cameras flashed as Gov. Peter Shumlin took the oath of office.

In his inauguration speech, Shumlin, the TU HPWFSOPS BOE UIF GJSTU UP IBJM GSPN 1VUOFZ since George D. Aiken in the 1930s, spoke optimistically about Vermont’s bright future without flinching from a challenging $150 million budget deficit. “Vermonters are a rugged people with an abundance of spirit and toughness. Each day is another day in which we can excel,� Shumlin said.

Earlier in the day, the Legislature bid a bittersweet adieu to Rep. Michael “Obie�

Obuchowski, D-Rockingham.

Obuchowski banged the House gavel to close out the day’s abbreviated session, symbolically FOEJOH IJT ZFBST PG TFSWJDF UP UIF QFPQMF PG Vermont. “May the Vermont style of government, based on mutual respect and trust, and an unrelenting interest in the public good, never perish. The

outcome is in our hands and those who follow,�

Obuchowski wrote in his resignation letter to House Clerk Don Milne.

Obuchowski moved into his new appointment as the commissioner of Buildings and General Services, effective that afternoon.

Rep. Dick Marek, D-Newfane, said colleagues would miss Obuchowski, describing his delegation-mate as a “state treasure.�

Goals for the biennum

In general, the Windham County delegation expressed hope for the next two years.

One observer described the delegation members as “bouncing off the walls with excitement� at the prospect of seeing many of their initiatives, which had withered under the former Douglas administration, flourish with support from the incoming Shumlin administration.

Marek, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said the upcoming legislative session should prove “interesting.� Vermont Yankee had been, and probably will be, one of the topics on the committee’s slate this session, he said.

Rep. Carolyn Partridge, D-Windham, chair of the Agricultural Committee, said the committee hopes to design an alternative system to the potentially punitive fee structure proposed in the latest federal food safety bill that passed the Senate in late 2010.

The federal bill requires farmers to pay operating fees. Opponents to the bill say these fees favor mega-farms and penalize small operations. ! SEE PRIORITIES, PAGE 2

By Thelma O’Brien

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The Commons

WORD CLOUD

! SEE LIBRARY, PAGE 4

Police chief pleased with BF results Lake lists achievements in past 3 years

By Allison Teague The Commons

BELLOWS FALLS— Entering his third year leading the Bellows Falls police, Chief Ron Lake was enthusiastic in his assessment of how the department is doing.

He listed animal control, increased speed enforcement on Route 103, past and upcoming “blue light� contracts for road construction projects along Interstate 91, continued drug sweeps, and being appointed Truant Officer by the WNESU board (with Officer Scott Symonds assisting), as accomplishments for 2010.

Lake said the Village has also added three speed warning signs funded by a donation from a community member which are located at Rockingham and Westminster streets, as well ! SEE POLICE, PAGE 4

Treasure Hunters Roadshow leaves disappointed patrons in its wake

page 11

[

as energy efficient as possible.�

She also described using a “heat pump� for heating and cooling the building, “similar to how refrigerators function,� as one idea she is discussing as part of the systems of the building. “We can heat each floor, even rooms, separately,� Houlne said. “Or cool them.�

Kohler and Lewis Engineers

Let the seller beware?

Rough weekend for Colonel girls in Essex

Vermont Independent Media

BELLOWS FALLS — On Friday, Jan. 21, from 5:30-7 p.m., the Rockingham Arts and Museum Project (RAMP), 9 Canal St., will host the Bellows Falls Middle School Renovation Committee in the first of a series of informational gatherings to be hosted in a variety of locations around the town.

The group will give a brief history of the middle school, the work of the committee, the proposed renovations, and the financial implications.

The public is encouraged to share comments, questions and suggestions. The Rockingham School Board will be asking voters to approve the $10.5 million bond project at this year’s town meeting. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact Cheryl McDaniel5IPNBT BU PS Robert McBride at RAMP

Three picked as possible successors for Obuchowski

B

RATTLEBORO— The over-the-top media package that preceded the Treasure Hunters Roadshow’s (THR) five-day blitz at the Quality Inn was designed to get attention.

A slim black box sent to The Commons, with embossed images of golden coins on the front, included a Confederate bank THELMA O’BRIEN/THE COMMONS An unidentified employee for the Treasure Hunters Roadshow examines some note and a buffalo-head nickel.

Opening the lid of the media kit coins brought in by a patron on Jan. 4. exposed a DVD of a “syndicated

television show� and pages of information for the press and triggered a recording of a man with a British accent inviting one and all to an event much like the setting of the long-running PBS series Antiques Roadshow.

But at almost every turn, the pages of information contained in the portfolio — and documents filed in a federal lawsuit by the public television station that holds the U.S. rights for the British Antiques Roadshow franchise — contradicted the actual events on the THR’s first day in town Jan. 4. ! SEE ROADSHOW, 1"(&

PA I D A D V E R T I S I N G • T O P L A C E YO U R A D , C A L L ( 8 0 2 ) 2 4 6 - 6 3 9 7 O R V I S I T W W W . C O M M O N S N E W S . O R G

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Quilt in a Day Workshop

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Sunday, February 6 East Dummerston School Info: Teacher, Faith Evans

Starting Week of Jan 22 Jazz Ensembles, Vocal Classes, Chamber Music

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And that’s where you come in.

Advertising has covered three-quarters of our operation, and readers like you have chipped in the other 25 percent and kept the presses rolling with your memberships. If you value the context and clarity you get in this paper, we hope you’ll join Vermont Independent Media.

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T H E C O M M O N S Û Wednesday,

VOICES

01*/*0/ t $0..&/5"3: t -&55&34 Join the discussion: voices@commonsnews.org

VIEWPOINT

One conversation, two narratives Why patients and doctors don’t hear each other

I

Wilmington DAVID W. PAGE, M.D., M.F.A., a surgeon, professor of encounter, the patient’s surgery, and writer, devotes himfrightened, intimate first- self to writing, teaching, and experson voice becomes ploring new ideas about patients transmuted through jargon and and their care. For more inforevidence into the doctor’s om- mation, visit www.davidpagebooks. niscient third-person point of com. view as she gives her medical history.

The physician’s “authored” At least, not right now. interpretation of the history Your doctor is on a quest, an she’s hearing is subject to flaws important journey of discovery. in mishearing, misinterpretaShe’s slogging through a launtion, and misunderstanding. dry list of diagnoses in an effort These snafus may be amplified to single out the significance of by either party. your symptoms. She’s searchThat’s a lot of near misses ing through her mental files to for the least complicated asidentify your disease. pect of what doctors refer to as After all, that’s why you “working up the patient.” came to her.

As a patient, your unfettered Yet, as you toss out your narrative is often cluttered by deepest fears about what might your doctor’s experience, exbe causing your pelvic pain or pectations, and prejudices. the blood from your nipple, Doctors assume they are alyou become aware that much ways right. of what you’re saying is havA majority of the time your ing little or no effect on your physician will be accurate when doctor. she assigns diagnostic meaning Why the confusion about to your tale. Multiple readings something as elementary as you of your story are not permitted. telling your story about how N A TRADITIONAL clinic

you feel? Doesn’t diagnosis depend on what you say?

The easy answer is yes. And no.

AS A PATIENT, you must keep what I’m about to tell you clearly in your sights as you interact with your doctor.

This advice reduces the possibility that you will misinterpret your doctor’s intentions.

It also opens the door to improved communication and caring. A lot of patient-physician interactions fail because neither the doctor nor the patient is sensitive to the nature of the other’s focus.

Here’s your pearl: your doctor is creating an objective medical history; you are relating your subjective illness story.

Could doctors learn a lesson from literary deconstruction theory? We might well accept as progress that a medical history in the service of making a diagnosis differs from the patient’s illness narrative.

Doctors should know what they’re after. Excessive

JEFF CARTER/WWW.CARTERCOMICS.COM/CREATIVE COMMONS (BY) LICENSE

exposure to the emotional underbelly of the patient’s story might well hamper the physician’s understanding of the disease. The threat of misdiagnosis and of offering the wrong treatment hangs in the balance between information gathering and interpretation.

Empathy may be the last thing on your doctor’s mind.

Multiple readings of the medical history are not permitted for practical reasons.

Diagnostic clues from the patient may become submerged beneath the raw surface of a fear of dying or mutilation.

Often while the doctor is seeking key clues to diagnosis, the patient is serving up a lumpy gruel of symptomatology, of what’s really bothering her, and her admission of her dread of

EDITORIAL

Struggling to comprehend

A

s we went to press Tuesday, we learned that a student at Brattleboro Union High School died Monday morning by her own hand.

We struggle to comprehend the pain of Leah Short, a sophomore from Dummerston.

We struggle to grasp the shock and the sorrow that her family and friends are enduring.

In a small community, when someone dies so tragically, the loss touches us all. In an area like Brattleboro and Windham County, nobody is a total stranger. It is impossible for something like this to happen and not affect any of us at least by association.

In a photo of Leah taken during a soccer game this fall, she has assumed control of the the ball and, as she dribbles it gracefully, looks straight into the camera lens.

It is haunting, after the fact, to look at this image and see nothing other than a beautiful, seemingly confident young woman who should have been looking forward to a full and limitless life.

The camera just can’t fully capture the pain

of adolescence.

Sometimes with such tragedies, we struggle for logic and for clues. We struggle to comprehend, yet we find only more questions for which there simply aren’t any answers.

But whatever the reason or reasons Leah left this universe, no explanation will lessen the pain for those whose hearts are broken by this sudden loss of a young life, the loss of one of our own in this community.

In 2009, Leah, then an eighth grader in the Dummerston Elementary School, submitted a poem, “Through the Window,” to the Young Writers Project, a Burlington-based nonprofit that encourages student writing.

“Through the window/My mind can wander/I want to just go/Not sit here and ponder,” she wrote. “But where would I go?/My bare feet would lead me/I would just know/ That I will be free.”

May Leah Short’s family and friends, and the entire BUHS school community, find comfort and solace in their grief during the difficult weeks and months ahead.

E S S AY

Learning to fall Westminster JULIE WATERS, a musician, photographer, blogger, and web developer, teaches psycholplay with balance. ogy at the Community College of I started with rail- Vermont. road tracks, and moved on to fences and other objects: anything I could do to stabilize myself on a thin, small surface ropes. Some people have ladwas fun to me. I even would ders which are weaker. Rungs walk on top of guardrail fences may snap off if grabbed too on cliff edges. I was that conquickly. fident about it — not that I Some people have a solid, would never fall, but that if I level surface on top. Others did fall, I could control the di- have slants and crags, ready to rection of the fall. trip them up in emergencies. A And I was really good at lot of times, those cracks grow falling. deeper when things go badly.

There’s a metaphor I like to Different events and ciruse when I discuss mental illcumstances in our lives make ness with my students to try things better or worse. Strong to get them a better sense of personal ties? Friendships? what mental illness is and how Those can be part of the ladit works. der or make it more resilient.

Imagine that everyone’s rel- Being bullied or emotionally ative state of mind exists on dismantled? Those do harm, a plateau: the stronger, more make the mountaintop harder solid the plateau, the more ro- to navigate. bust our mental state and the For some of us, it’s all about more able we are to cope with order: if you can plan your change. moves, think about them, and The plateau has ladders and work them through, you can ropes hanging from it. Even get through anything, but inwhen we’re buffeted and actroduce noise, distraction, fruscosted enough to get thrown, tration? That makes everything we have ways of climbing back more complicated. up and maintaining stability For most of us, this isn’t again. about illness as much as it is But not everyone has the about stress and responding same quality of ladders and to it. But for the ones that fall,

W

COMMONS FILE PHOTO

lethal illness.

MEANWHILE, the doctor searches her mind for links, for connections between shortness of breath and bloody sputum, layering in the importance of the smoking history, often unconsciously labeling the patient irresponsible.

Physicians’ unspoken periodic annoyance with the unwashed masses remains embedded and unacknowledged in medical care today; numerous reports have documented the inadequacy of care received by African Americans and other minority groups. The bright illumination of cultural sensitivity medical schools defend often experiences an ethical “brown out” in the clinic and emergency room.

The logical way to resolve the various demands on the medical history and the patient’s illness narrative is to cultivate the notion of individual history and thus the patient’s own truth: a story that only emerges over time.

In this way, whether or not a patient’s record is assembled in the outpatient setting or as a complex hospital chart, the entire medical record could be viewed as the history of that patient’s illness.

Not only would the chief complaint, the history of the present illness, and other aspects of the history and physical examination be cordoned off in separate tabbed compartments, but the disease would also be intermingled with the story of the patient’s illness as various caretakers write in their observations.

or doctor like “Sarah is afraid of smothering in the MRI machine” would humanize the diagnostic interventions and medications listed with scientific authority in separate sections of the medical record.

This tight focalization requires a hand-held lens and high magnification obtained by sitting close to the patient. It requires one to listen.

And it takes time. It cannot and should not be attempted all at once. Patients must be, well, patient.

Hospital care is constructed around waiting. Waiting for your doctor to make rounds, waiting for breakfast, waiting to have a test, waiting for the results of that test, waiting for your doctor’s interpretation of the results of the test and the decision: what to do next?

And through it all, the best doctors return to the bedside, if only for a quick word of encouragement. Eventually, descending from the Mount Olympus of detachment and sitting on the bed, sharing the story as it gets retold, the doctor joins the patient to seek patterns and possibilities.

In this fashion, a clinical truth emerges over time, one that rises from the backside of terror as much as it does from the facts of the case.

YOU HAVE TO be listening to get it. You have to believe there is something valuable beyond data points and the word scramble of med-speak. It is where meaning lives, an exhalation of pent-up breath often missed by physicians.

Were I to select potential medical students, I’d take the ones who wanted it most, who craved the caring life. If only medical school deans believed what they say about caring versus a 4.0 GPA. If only we could measure the capacity to hurt, to experience pain in others.

Is there some bipolar magnetic opposition between intelligence and empathy? Can you buy both in the doctor marketplace?

And when it all fails and death strolls the hospital’s corridors, doctors frequently scatter like pigeons.

So how do we shrink this distance between physician and patient? Can empathy be taught? Do we each need to suffer before we can sense another’s pain?

To reach a patient’s pain, EMPATHY REQUIRES a close we must be willing to comreading of the patient. The in- press the emotional distance troduction of such things as between our words and the pathe patient’s greatest fears — of tient’s heart. We must listen to course, somebody would have the rhythm of the patient’s fear, to actually talk to patients and the flow of adjectives, the hesiask them what was bothering tation, the silences. We must them — into the progress notes learn to wade through them in would dilute the technological order to hear the panic. burden of the chart.

We have no scanner to deAn annotation by a nurse tect a patient’s horror. !

auditory hallucinations can’t tell the difference between the voices in their own heads and the voices in the media. But it sure as hell doesn’t help matters when that’s the case.

Right now, as a country, we’re on the balance. We’ve just seen into that abyss and where it can lead — we’ve got people trying to find someone and fall hard, some of them to blame for it all, and we’ve don’t know how to find their got people lashing out because way back up. They don’t even they feel partially responsible. know which direction “up” is.

And right here, right now, Some of them get help, and we have a choice: do we step learn how to find it. Some figback from that cliff side? Do we ure it out on their own, evenchoose to continue in the directually. Others just fall from tion we’ve been going? the gentle graces of sanity and Do we embrace more rhetonever find their way back. ric, more talk of violence, more Different factors affect how talk of the “bullseye” painted this works. For some of us, fallon politicians? Or do we say ing and climbing make us bet- rails. people who would deny it do so “enough” and give ourselves a ter climbers and make us better The frequency of public primarily out of fear. For some little room to recover from this at finding our way back to our- commentary which is tainted people it changed in much tragedy, to use it as an opporselves. For others, it gets more with violence imagery or sugmore direct, drastic ways. tunity to change our world for difficult with every fall. gestions of harm? That’s a There’s a young man in jail the better?

Some of us have platforms problem. It may or may not right now who, for whatever I count myself among the that seem as solid as a rock but trigger people who are mentally reason, doesn’t know what up lucky ones that I can think one major stress factor takes ill to do horrendous acts. But it is, does not know how to fall, clearly about this sort of thing them off, and the platforms adds stress. It buffets us. and has managed to swan dive without losing my anger over shatter and burst.

I mentioned before that I off that platform and leave a what happened, without feeling Others seem completely un- was good at falling. In the met- body count behind. bitter. I can feel sad about it stable their whole lives, but aphorical sense, I’ve fallen a lot I will not recount the facwithout falling into depression, manage to live comfortably of times in my life, and I’ve al- tors that led to this. I’m talked and I can be enraged over it throughout it all, never really ways climbed out again. I think to death about all of it. I will, without considering violence as falling or even being in danger it’s made me stronger, and I however, just note in passa serious option. I know others of it, as though their proximity think it’s made me saner to be ing that without such easy acwho do not do so so easily. to the fall is what keeps them so close to the edges from time cess to automatic weapons, I don’t have a clear lesson from falling. to time that I can see the abyss that body count might not have to take from all of what’s hapThis metaphor only goes so and know what it is and choose been so bad. pened except to say that there far — there are so many kinds not to dwell on it. I still know are a series of stories that came of mental illness out there. how to walk with balance, and AS A CULTURE and as a soci- out of this event — some tragic Some fit this framing better I still know how to fall with ety, our language matters, not and heartbreaking and others than others and some don’t fall grace. in the sense that anyone using inspiring and wonderful. into it at all, but it’s a start.

With the shootings in eliminationism (the tactic of I’m making a choice to learn Tucson, my world changed outright silencing political opfrom all of it, and to take the I MENTION ALL THIS because ever so much. I think for anyposition) is necessarily directly best I can from it and to try sometimes it feels as though, one who’s paying any sort of responsible when the mento find a better world tomoras a culture, we’ve gone off the attention, it had to have. Even tally unstable who experience row. !

The mind and the Tucson tragedy HEN I WAS YOUNG, I used to

January 19, 2011

T H E C O M M O N S Û Wednesday,

VOICES

January 19, 2011

7

E S S AY

The gift of choice Have you ever considered what a difference choices have made in your life?

O

Townshend

UR MOST valuable

gift, other than the gift of life itself, is the ability to make

choices.

Why are you reading this? It is because you choose to. Have you ever considered what a difference choices have made in your life? Have you ever realized that the choices you make every day determine your every action? Do you realize that everything you do is the result of making a choice?

From your birth until you reach the age when you are allowed to make your own choices, your parents make the choices for you. After that, every choice you make is your choice, limited only by the rules and laws of the place where you live.

Even then, you have the choice of obeying the rules and laws, or choosing not to. You have the choice of believing in a higher power or trusting to your luck.

From the moment you awake in the morning, you must choose what to do first: shower, brush your teeth, shave, put on makeup. Then, you choose what side to start shaving or applying your

WARREN S. PATRICK, now 98 years old, worked as Jamaica town clerk and treasurer.

makeup.

Then, you must choose what to wear for the day. You must choose to have a breakfast or to skip it. If you have breakfast, you must choose what to have and how much to have.

If you choose to have coffee, you must choose whether to have cream and sugar, and how much of each.

Then, you must choose what time to leave for work or, if you are not working, what you will do that day.

Suppose you choose to buy a car. You must choose the make of the car and the dealer that sells it. You must choose the model and the color, and how you will pay for it. You must choose what company will insure it.

By now, perhaps, you have begun to realize the importance of your every choice. Your entire life is an exact mirror of the choices you have made. !

LETTERS FROM READERS

Texas reporter responds to Roadshow publicist’s quote

I

read your story on Treasure Hunters Roadshow [The Commons, Jan. 13] and wanted to tell you that I think you did an excellent job. As you are aware, I have been investigating THR and its affiliated companies for more than a year.

I would like to point out one thing regarding Matthew Enright’s comments.

Regardless what he says about me, you will find other media outlets that have come to the same conclusions regarding pricing , advertising, etc.

Additionally, our investigations were not limited to THR.

I have already sent reporters to determine how a hotel gold buyer in our town operates. We have done the same with nearly a dozen itinerant gold buyers and published articles on each one. All of the encounters that our newspaper has had with these types of companies are recorded with both audio and video.

Jerry Jordan #FBVNPOU 5FYBT The writer works as managing editor of The Examiner.

4UBUF QPMJDZ DIBOHFT UP IFMQ BMUFSOBUJWF USBOTQPSBUJPO

G

ood news has come from the Statehouse for advocates of alternative transportation. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Sue Minter addressed the Senate and House Transportation Committees on Jan. 11, and in her remarks she listed four areas that the new administration will be emphasizing: bridges, bike/ped, rail, and public transit.

She specifically mentioned that the Vermont Agency of Transportation will be reopening the state’s bike/ped program to new applications. This in itself marks a change from the Douglas administration which had closed that program to new project applications since 2004.

The Vermont Bike/Ped Coalition has been lobbying for years to have the bike/ped program reopened, so it is especially great to hear that the new

administration understands the value that these kinds of projects bring to communities across Vermont.

In addition, Minter announced that the Agency of Transportation intends to re-establish rail service to Montreal and to devote resources to the western rail corridor. Rail is a particular area of interest for Transportation Secretary Brian Searles.

It is wonderful to hear of changes being put forth in Montpelier which will positively benefit those who want to see better infrastructure for bicyclists, pedestrians, train, and transit users. Kudos to Governor Shumlin!

"MJDF $IBSLFT Brattleboro The writer serves on the board of directors of the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition.

VIEWPOINT

Why fathers should show more affection toward their kids

O

Brattleboro

VER 40 YEARS AGO, 42,000

pregnant women enrolled in a prospective study of neurologic disorders in children. The women gave birth to 55,000 babies who were continually assessed for the presence of birth defects and other conditions.

When the infants were eight months old, psychologists put them through a series of cognitive and developmental tests while quietly assessing the affection the mother showed for her child. Testers ranked the mother according to five visible levels of affection: “negative,” “occasionally negative,” “warm,” “caressing,” and “extravagant."

When I read about this study in a research report published this summer in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, I had to wonder: If the fathers had brought the infants to the eight-month assessment, would the psychologists have needed a different affection checklist?

Instead of “caressing,” testers might have needed categories like “stoic” or “completely neutral” or maybe even “kept interrupting the baby’s tests to talk about himself and/or sports.”

WHEN MY FIRST child was born, I secretly worried that I would become just another father who couldn’t tell his child, “I love you.”

American fathers have a bad reputation when it comes to telling their children how much they care. Every selfhelp book and how-to website about fatherhood seems to include a section on “showing affection.”

I don’t want to disparage the advice — a lot of it is good, and apparently, it’s needed.

To reach askmen.com’s fatherhood guide on affection, I needed to click past an advertisement for Heineken. It was like the site was telling me I should pour myself a cold one before continuing on.

Let’s face facts — many men do become more affectionate under the influence of alcohol. But this just makes the dad guilty of PWI (Parenting While Intoxicated). Please don’t try this at home.

DAVID PETRIE’s dispatches on family life and parenting appear at huffingtonpost. com/david-petrie/.

The article recommends that fathers set an “affection quota.” It gives an example of how a father might want to show affection three times a week.

The anonymous expert who wrote the article warns fathers to be careful in the beginning: three times a week might be too much. The article then takes helpfulness to a new level by suggesting that fathers can keep track of their success on a computer.

Personally, I can’t think of a colder, more methodical way to manage something that is supposed to be spontaneous and warm.

Here’s an even bigger potential problem: When the father’s wife or partner finds him sitting at the computer instead of doing something with his child, how many will believe him when he says, “I’m just entering today’s hugs onto a spreadsheet”?

infant daughter all to myself.

While my daughter happily gurgled in her swing, I’d do things like vacuum, put away the breakfast dishes, and collect mice from the traps in the basement. Then, when the time came to give my daughter her morning bottle, I’d pick her up, I’d look out the window to make sure that no one was driving through the corn fields to surprise me at my door, and then I’d quickly say, “I-love-you-I-love-you-Ilove-you” before cradling her in my arms and plopping the bottle into her mouth.

Floors clean? Check.

Sink emptied? Check.

Tell my daughter “I love you” three times today?

Check-check-check.

Yes, I treated affection like it was a chore. Luckily, my stupid little training camp worked. Today, I can comfortably tell any one of my children, “I love you” — in public, even, to my oldest’s dismay.

AND IT’S A good thing I trained myself so well, because parental affection is now scientifically tied to good AS MUCH AS I’d like to laugh mental health in adults. at this advice, when my oldDuke University’s Dr. est was born I tried to avoid Joanna Maselko — the lead becoming a stoic father by author of that research resetting an affection quota: I port published this summer made myself tell my daugh— used the data collected 40 ter “I love you” at least three years ago to see if there were times each day. any associations between the While the quota I set level of a mother’s affection sounds reasonable, the way I and an adult’s mental health. filled it was stupid.

Longstanding theory sugHere are the details: When gested that the quality of a my first child was born, I caregiver’s interaction with worked a second-shift job. My a child had an impact lastwife would leave for work in ing into adulthood, but there the morning, and for the next wasn’t any longitudinal data several hours I had my ramto support it. shackle farmhouse and my Dr. Maselko proved the

theory. She tracked down several hundred of the children from the study and measured their emotional functioning as adults.

Once she grouped these adults by the level of affection shown by the mother at that eight-month assessment, she found that the children whose mothers were ranked as “caressing” and “extravagant” had significantly lower levels of distress as adults.

What do those rankings mean today?

Dr. Maselko is optimistic. “I think it’s important to remember the timing of the study,” she says. “I imagine that parents in general are a lot more affectionate now to their kids than they were back then. So, what might have been considered over the top then is probably what we consider almost normal now.”

This means if parents are just warmly affectionate to their kids, the kids are likely to develop into healthy adults.

I can only tell you what is normal in my house. When I drop off my oldest in front of her high school every morning, I always quietly tell her, “I love you.”

If I don’t give my son a hug and a kiss when he goes to bed he asks, “Uh, Dad? Forgetting something?”

And I can often trick my youngest into talking in her sleep. When I ask, “I love you more than ... ?” she won’t even open her eyes as she answers, “Mashed potatoes and steak."

Now the question is: How can we make more fathers comfortable enough to say “I love you” in their sleep? !

Select board members urge citizens to run for office

M

arlboro has an opening on the select board for a three-year term. This elected town position offers an opportunity for someone to step forward and share the responsibilities of overseeing the running of many aspects of the town.

The main qualifications are an open mind, the ability to listen to your neighbors, and to do your best to make reasonable decisions. It is interesting, varied, and rewarding. With the support of an able and hard-working assistant, it is not even all that time consuming.

The Marlboro board meets twice a month with occasional

additional commitments depending on the issues before it.

We urge Marlboro voters to consider running for a position on the select board, and also encourage voters in other towns to run for positions that may be open in their towns.

It is essential service if we are to keep our small towns viable.

See the Town Clerk for candidate packets. The deadline to submit candidate nomination papers is Monday, Jan. 24 at 5 p.m. The election will take place by Australian Ballot on

Town Meeting day, March 1. .BSMCPSP 4FMFDU #PBSE .BSMCPSP This letter was signed by Gail MacArthur (chair), Lucy Gratwick, and Craig Hammond.

Available Pets for Adoption WINDHAM COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY Make a friend for life

916 West River Road, Brattleboro, VT View all at: wchs4pets.or g 802-254-2232

My name is FRANKIE and I am a super adorable Black and Tan Coonhound puppy! I do great with other dogs and dog savvy cats as well.

I enjoy all people and kids but I would do best with mature kids 8 and up as I am still learning about proper and polite manners with little ones.

I am fun loving and inquisitive and I love, love my food! That makes it a piece of cake to train a swell dog like me- I’ll happily train and work for any food you give me! I have been doing great with learning how to sit for polite greeting and my next lesson will be on lying down and staying- can’t wait! Do I sound like the type of dog you have been looking for? No more looking- you found me!

Hi everybody, my name is KITTY and I was brought to the shelter as a stray. I’m good with other cats but I’m not sure about dogs. I can be a bit shy at first and loud noises will startle me but I sure do warm up quick. I’d prefer a home with kids 8+ and a home that is relatively relaxed. Won’t you come stop by sometime for a visit?

Hi My Name is LOLA and I am a sweet Beagle girl who likes people but is also a dog who likes some alone time as well. I came to the shelter with Toby and he is my best friend. I’d prefer be the only dog in the home unless the other dog is Toby, I’d love to go to a home with him! I don’t mind cats, so long as they’re dog savvy. I am learning to sit, wait and walk nicely on leash- won’t you come in for a visit?

My name is MOXIE and I’m a 4 month old, neutered male. I was born into the feral cat colony up in Putney so I can be a little bit shy at first but once I’ve warmed up, I won’t stop purring. I’m just an adventurous little guy and would love to have another cat or two around. I’m not sure about dogs so I might need an introduction first. Don’t I sound like the perfect guy for you?

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NEWS

T H E C O M M O N S Ă&#x203A; Wednesday,

January 19, 2011

AROUND THE TOWNS

RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS

Bob Murray of the Brattleboro Department of Public Works gets one of the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plow trucks ready for another winter storm.

! Snow

FROM PAGE 1

started so early that the standby driver was in at 2 a.m. and everyone else was in early, too,â&#x20AC;? said Barrett.

Post Oil Solutions hosts cold frame workshop

not so much snow to keep people from going into town, and you have work around the cars and people.â&#x20AC;?

Barrett said his crews had things under control by mid afternoon last Wednesday, but the plow drivers still needed to do a little more work before they were sent home for the night at 9 p.m.

Clearing the parking lots

Once the roads are clear, Barrett and his crew turn to the town parking lots.

The strobe lights in the downtown area that alert motorists to a snow emergency were flashing.

The orange light means snow removal will take place in the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s uncovered lots between 1 and 7 a.m. The purple light means that no parking on any street in the downtown business district between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Former Police Chief Richard Guthrie came up with this system years ago, which he reportedly modeled on something similar he saw in Bennington.

Barrett said the entire Public Works staff is trained to operate the snowplows and the snowblower, which can fill a dump truck full of snow in about 10 seconds. That speed is useful for tackling the big piles of snow that accumulate in the town parking lots.

In the days and nights after a storm, Barrett said additional trucks are hired to act as a

â&#x20AC;&#x153;bucket brigadeâ&#x20AC;? to haul snow to one of two dump sites â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an old parking area off Route 30 and another site near Exit 1 of Interstate 91. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usually the only time we need to get outside help,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Sidewalks are always last to get cleared, particularly Western Avenue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It can take days sometimes for us to catch up,â&#x20AC;? said Barrett.

The final tally

Barrett figures the cost of snow removal for the Jan. 12 storm was about $20,000. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With level-funded budgets, we try to do the best job we can and save money where we can,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve cut our salt usage by almost half, from 5,000 to 3,000 tons, but it still costs BCPVU B ZFBS GPS TBMU and $27,000 for sand. Labor JT BCPVU B ZFBS BOE the cost of renting equipment varies.â&#x20AC;?

But the number that give Barrett the most comfort is 344. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the number of years of experience he says his department has. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And if you throw in the water department guys, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about 600 years,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our guys have been through a lot of snowstorms over the years, and they do an excellent job,â&#x20AC;? Barrett said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When it comes to snow removal, if you do a good job, you never hear about it. But if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, the phone rings off the hook.â&#x20AC;?

Meeting on Deerfield Wind project Jan. 25 READSBOROâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;The Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) recently released for public comment its Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the proposed Deerfield Wind Project in Searsburg and Readsboro.

The Deerfield Wind Project is a proposal to construct and operate a wind energy facility on public lands, adjacent to the existing Searsburg facility currently operated by Green Mountain Power on private land.

The U.S. Forest Service is evaluating several alternatives in detail, including the original proposal for a 17 turbine project. Two other action alternatives

are also being considered. They include development of a seven turbine project on the ridge east PG 3PVUF BOE EFWFMPQNFOU PG a 15 turbine project that matches the Vermont Public Service Board-approved configuration.

The Forest Service can also take â&#x20AC;&#x153;no actionâ&#x20AC;? should it decide not to approve the project. The Forest Service must now conclude its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review and decide whether or not to allow the project to be built on the Green Mountain National Forest.

Colleen Madrid, Forest Supervisor for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes

National Forests, is expected to issue her decision on the project this summer.

The Green Mountain National Forest has scheduled an â&#x20AC;&#x153;open houseâ&#x20AC;? meeting on 5VFTEBZ +BO GSPN Q N at Readsboro Central School, 301 Phelps Lane, to gather additional comments from the public. At the meeting, the public will have an opportunity to view project maps, visual simulations and pick up copies of the SDEIS. To view the SDEIS, visit bit. ly/ficn96.

The U.S. Forest Service will receive public comment on this QSPKFDU UISPVHI 'FC

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BRATTLEBORO â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Group will host a baked beans and baked ham supper on Sunday, Jan. 30, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the First United .FUIPEJTU $IVSDI 5PXO Crier Drive, off Putney Road.

The menu will consist of baked beans, baked ham, homemade cole slaw, rolls, chocolate cake and assorted beverages.

The cost will be $9 adults, and free for children 12 and under if accompanied by an adult. Takeouts will be available.

Proceeds benefit Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Group projects. Contact the church at PS GVND!TPWFS net for more information.

Estey Organ Museum to present Victorian Ladies Tea BRATTLEBORO â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Join interesting and elegant women of all ages for an afternoon of warmth, friendship, and music at the first annual Victorian Ladies Tea to be held at the

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Ham and bean supper at First United Methodist

and

RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS

The salt shed at the Brattleboro Department of Public Works got emptied out from last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s snowstorm.

BRATTLEBORO â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Post Oil Solutions will host its very popular cold frame workshop, led by master gardener Robert King, on Sunday, Jan. 23, from 1-3 p.m., at the Rotch Building, School for International Learning on Kipling Road.

The fee is a sliding scale $10/$70, with no one refused for lack of funds. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required, however: the workshop will be cancelled if there are insufficient SFHJTUSBOUT $BMM UP register. Payment at the door is $20, if there is room.

The simple glass covered wooden frame was a state of the art growing device 100 years ago. It can be used throughout the four seasons and provides a simple alternative to a freestanding greenhouse. Through slides and discussion, the basics of cold frame operation will be presented as a way to extend the season both in spring and fall. A modern evolution of the old frame made from aluminum hoops and greenhouse grade plastic will be shown.

For further information about Post Oilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;(Re)learning to Feed Ourselvesâ&#x20AC;? workshop series, visit www.postoilsolutions.org.

The

Riders on the storm

Depending on what type of precipitation is expected from a storm, a decision is made on whether the trucks will cover the road with salt, sand, or a mixture of the two. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The first driver always starts salting the main roads to clear them up, than we start plowing,â&#x20AC;? Barrett said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use sand on the main roads if we can help it, because we have to sweep it up in the spring.â&#x20AC;?

During the last snowfall, temperatures remained in the low 20s and the snow was light and fluffy, so plowing wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as hard as it could have been.

Barrett said that Brattleboroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 12 snow removal SPVUFT DPWFS NJMFT PG UPXO roads. The heavily traveled roads and school bus routes get priority, followed by other roads. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone get assigned a route,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some are harder than others with different challenges. Union Hill is always tough. Upper Dummerston Road is flat, but you get drifting. But the routes even themselves out, so everyone has about the same amount of work.â&#x20AC;?

The departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 12-15 pieces of snow removal equipment include the plows and sanders mounted on the dump trucks, graders and bucket loaders with plows, and the pickup trucks with plows used on narrower streets. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We switch up the equipment as we need to,â&#x20AC;? Barrett said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We also have the guys from the water department to pitch in if we need them.â&#x20AC;?

The maintenance staff was also on duty to deal with equipment breakdowns and other problems. Barrett said that there were no equipment failures during this storm.

Many people stayed off the roads last Wednesday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That always makes easier for us,â&#x20AC;? said Barrett. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The toughest storms for us are the 4-to-6-inch storms, where itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

WARDSBORO â&#x20AC;&#x201D; On Saturday, Jan. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Wardsboro Town Hall on Main Street, there will be a fiber event to benefit the Wardsboro Library.

Watch demonstrations of weaving, spinning, felting, braiding, and rug hooking, and take advantage of the opportunity to purchase beautiful hand-made items.

The funds raised from donations at this event will benefit the Red Barn Renovation Project, allowing for the winterization of the community space at Wardsboro Public Library.

The Vermont Arts Council has awarded the Friends of the Wardsboro Library a 50/50 matching grant, and funds are needed to be raised to meet the requirement of the grant. $BMM GPS NPSF information.

Masonic Center on Main Street on Jan. 30.

The event begins at 2 p.m. with festive hat decorating. Bring along a favorite hat to adorn, or take advantage of the hats available at the event. While there is no formal contest, everyone will be looking to see who has the fanciest hat of all. There is a $30 donation to make hats, and then participants may stay for the tea and entertainment.

At 3 p.m., seating will begin for the Victorian Ladies Tea. Assorted teas from around the world will be available, as will coffee. Finger sandwiches and delicious deserts will provide nourishment while socializing.

There is a $20 donation for the tea to support the museum. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These have been very popular and successful gatherings in other towns,â&#x20AC;? says organizing volunteer Susan Rosano. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It seems natural to bring this event to Brattleboro as a fun way to raise funds for the Estey Organ Museum."

In addition to pleasant conversation, the Masonic Hall will be filled with the happy sounds of Esteyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Muse, featuring local musicans Ned Phoenix, Dennis Waring, Marvin Bentley, and Marvin Bentley II playing a variety of instruments including the Estey reed organ and piano on the stage.

A demonstration of the 2nd floor Estey Pipe Organ is also planned. (Note: the Masonic Center does not have an elevator.)

Fancy hats and dress are encouraged. You can attend the hat-making, the tea, or both events. For more information, PS UP SFTFSWF ZPVS UBCMF DBMM PS WJTJU www.esteyorganmuseum.org.

mutual understanding, self-responsibility and effective action.

This introductory presentation offers an experiential educational forum for the fundamentals of Restorative Circles. Space is limited. RSVP to Cara Benedetto BU PS childrenotf@ comcast.net.

Tai Chi Chuan class offered in Putney PUTNEY â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Tai Chi Chuan (Taiji Quan, otherwise known as Supreme Ultimate Boxing), is an ancient form of martial art that has been practiced for recreation and to increase strength, flexibility, and vitality well into old age.

Tai Chi Chuan is not performed in the same manner as most Western calisthenics or sports. It requires a tremendous amount of mental and physical concentration and control. It is often described as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;moving meditation,â&#x20AC;? where one feels invigorated, clear-minded, and peaceful afterwards.

Medicine for the People will be offering an on-going Tai Chi Chuan class meeting twice a week. The class is designed so every participant will receive personal instruction as well as group form practice. Each participant will learn the Yang family 22 movement â&#x20AC;&#x153;medium frameâ&#x20AC;? form and Yang family Qigong exercises (center harmony qigong and three circle exercises).

The class will be held at 133 Main St., and will meet every Tuesday and Thursday from 5-6:30 p.m. The cost is $65 per month or $15 per class.

Classes will be taught by Thomas Garbarino, licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, and practitioner of Tai Chi Chuan and NFEJDBM RJHPOH $BMM FYU GPS SFHJTUSBUJPO directions, or further questions or visit www.medicineforthepeople.org.

Restorative Circles presentation at the Brattleboro Community Justice Center

Autistic Self Advocacy Network to meet

BRATTLEBORO â&#x20AC;&#x201D; On Thursday, Jan. 27, from 6 UP Q N BU UIF #SBUUMFCPSP Community Justice Center (located in the Municipal Building at 230 Main St., in Suite 302), trained facilitators Cara Benedetto and Wendy Webber will give a free presentation entitled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Introduction to Restorative Circles within Restorative Systems.â&#x20AC;?

Restorative Circles (RC) is a process for individuals and communities to address conflict in ways that restore connections on profound levels. It is a community process for supporting those in conflict that brings together the three parties to a conflict â&#x20AC;&#x201C; those who have acted, those directly impacted and the wider community â&#x20AC;&#x201C; within an intentional context, to dialogue as equals.

Participants invite each other and attend voluntarily. The dialogue process used is shared openly with all participants, and is guided by a community member. As a circle form, Restorative Circles invite shared power,

BRATTLEBOROâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; The Vermont chapter of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) meets on the first Monday of each month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Marlboro College (SBEVBUF $FOUFS 7FSOPO St., in Conference Room 3C, located in the suite across from the elevator on the third floor. The next meeting is Monday, Feb. 7.

ASAN-Vermont is an organization of individuals on the autism spectrum. Meetings include the discussion of chapter activities, brainstorming for future social events, and discussions of various issues relevant to autistic individuals. General discussion is welcome. The meetings are open to all autistic adults, ZFBST PS PMEFS XIFUIFS ZPV self-identify as autistic or are officially diagnosed.

ASAN-Vermont is working to promote civil rights, support, education, public understanding, and acceptance of neurodiversity. For more information, contact Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg at rachel@ journeyswithautism.com.

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LIFE & WORK

nd clean A plate of kale provides good health in the winter months.

J.K. WERNER/CREATIVE COMMONS (BY) LICENSE

Kale provides culinary respite for rich holiday fare

I

Brattleboro

KEEP FINDING little piles

of fir needles mixed in with the dust balls around the floors of my house.

I wake up in the middle of the night and fixate on how this year I will lose those ten extra pounds. I am filled with hope and grand expectations for humankind.

It must be January.

Each year this happens.

I was quite controlled and Spartan over Thanksgiving.

Those who read my Commons columns will recall my relatively fat-free menu for that occasion. I did, in fact, cook it for the six who joined me around the table. All exclaimed it was wonderful. I felt virtuous.

Then Thanksgiving passed, and that amorphous period between Nov. 27 and Dec. 30 fell upon me like a dark layer of the gravy I so abhor. Soâ&#x20AC;Ś muchâ&#x20AC;Ś food!

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk for a minute about pigs in a blanket. They have to contain more salt than I normally consume in half a year.

Yet, there I am at a party, a platter of them is presented, and I eat them. Four or five of

CHRISTOPHER E M I LY C O U T A N T The World on My Plate

them. With some kind of weird sauce that must contain all kinds of trans fats and heaven knows what else.

Crab dip. What is in crab dip? Nothing I want to know about.

And what about all those cookies I made? I tell myself I am going to give them away. Yet they sit in their little Christmas tins, calling out to me late at night.

People visit. I feed them baba au rhum, for goodness sake! And tiny ĂŠclairs. I purchased a beautiful Vacherin cheese made in Switzerland, a tablespoon of which must contain more fat than a creamfilled at Dunkin Donuts, yet I put it right there in the middle

of the table with two spoons to dig out its divine center. I could go on.

So we find ourselves in January. We want to repent.

Self denial is an ancient practice, beloved by generations.

I myself yearn for abstinence, but the flesh is weak. I am still driven by my appetite.

How to simultaneously satisfy each of these desires is the task I address.

I AM OLD ENOUGH to understand that New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resolutions rarely work, so I try to keep them generic: be more compassionate, generous and kind hearted. I also am well aware that as much as I may long to lose those ten pounds, I can only do what I can do.

I exercise as much as I can with the limited time available.

I eat as well as I can most of the year. More important however, I try to be realistic about being a 60-year-old woman in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world.

I enjoy the holidays, and I have to confess that I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to give up those pigs in a blanket that are served at my dear friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Christmas Eve

party. But I do want to regain my attachment to health and well-being in this month of such welcome optimism.

All that December eating tends to exhaust my palate. My mouth wants bright and clean foods that will wake me out of my culinary stupor. No more butter. No more cream. No more cheese.

How about raw kale? An audacious notion which, at first glance, might sound like the culinary equivalent of drawing oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fingernail across a chalkboard. But once you try it, I promise you will see it as an oasis in an otherwise dull winter pantry.

available varieties of kale which you can find at any local coop or grocery store. Curly kale is blue-green and has frilly, stiff leaves. Russian kale has flat leaves with rosy stems and lovely scalloped edges. My favorite is Lacinato or Tuscan kale (sometimes called â&#x20AC;&#x153;dinosaur kaleâ&#x20AC;?), which has wrinkled, pebbly, and very dark green that which I think have a sweeter flavor than other varieties.

If you are still leery, I recommend you use Russian or Tuscan kale for this recipe, because they are both more tender than the curly variety.

Take a bunch of kale, strip it from the stems, and cut it into KALE IS A tremendously the thinnest ribbons you can healthy green vegetable of the manage, given your degree of cabbage family. Unlike cabpatience. Put these ribbons in a bage, kale does not form a head large bowl and set it aside. but instead has stiff and crisp Then make a simple vinaileaves. It provides more nutri- grette with olive oil and lemon. tional value for fewer calories Take a small shallot, mince it, than almost any other food. and put it into a small bowl.

Kale is filled with antioxiWhisk in ½ cup of high-quality dant and anti-inflammatory olive oil, 3 tablespoons of fresh properties, is high in beta-carlemon juice and 1 teaspoon of otene, vitamins C, A, and K, Dijon mustard, then salt and and calcium. pepper to taste.

There are three readily Toss the kale with this

dressing and let it sit for 15 minutes. Take a taste. The acid in the lemon juice breaks down the structure of the kale leaves and makes them more tender, even though they retain a bit of crispness. The salad has a rich, bold flavor that is both earthy and clean.

Some cooks recommend giving the kale a good â&#x20AC;&#x153;massageâ&#x20AC;? before adding the vinaigrette.

To do this, just sprinkle salt on the stemmed leaves and, yes, massage them with your hands for a few minutes. This breaks down the cell structure of the leaves and lets some of the water out of them, much as sautĂŠing would.

I have thought that the process really does not make the kale more tender, but it is an amusing practice. After this relaxing procedure, at least for the kale, continue as above.

With this basic model, you can build a pretty imaginative and delicious salad. I usually dig around the refrigerator and see what needs to be used up. Rough chunks of old, toasted bread is great in this, as is cheese: feta, ricotta salata ! SEE KALE, PAGE 10

ARTS CALENDAR Music

s "UCKWHEAT :YDECO COMING TO "& WOOL Radio presents

MYSPACE.COM/BUCKWHEATZYDECO

Buckwheat Zydeco will headline a benefit concert for WOOL radio in February.

a Mardi Gras benefit concert for the nonprofit community station with music legend and 2010 Grammy Award winner Buckwheat Zydeco on Feb. 1o at the Bellows Falls Opera House.

The son of a Louisiana farmer, Stanley â&#x20AC;&#x153;Buckwheatâ&#x20AC;? Dural was born in 1947 and, while still a boy, began performing as an organist with American originals like Joe Tex and Clarence â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gatemouthâ&#x20AC;? Brown.

In 1976, he joined Clifton Chenierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s band, found his love for zydeco and took up the accordion, eventually forming his own zydeco band in 1979.

In the past three decades, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shared stages with U2, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, The Boston Pops, Ry Cooder, and a Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Who list of luminaries.

The Lilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Orphans Cajun Express

will open the show. Based in Alstead, N.H., and a full eight-piece band, they add a dimension to the show in the age-old pull and tug between cajun music â&#x20AC;&#x201D; historically from New Orleans â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and zydeco music, based hours to the west of the big easy near Lafayette, Mr. Duralâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home town.

The stylistic differences are as culturally dissimilar as bluegrass and rock, but all of it feeds into whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s become known as Creole music.

Doors open at 7 p.m., and there will be a full Mardi Gras cash bar downstairs at the Opera House, featuring Louisiana-inspired drinks.

Tickets and information are available at www.wool.fm and Village Square Books in Bellows Falls, Brattleboro Books in Brattleboro, Turn It Up! in Keene N.H.,and Brattleboro, The Vault in Springfield, Misty Valley Books in Chester and online at www. bfoperahouse.com. s ,ARKIN 3MITHER COMING TO ,ATCHIS Annapurna

Concerts presents Patty Larkin and Chris Smither at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro. The event is co-sponsored by WRSI. Larkin and Smither are two of the most talented and creative guitarists and singer/songwriters in the American folk music scene today.

Larkin has been described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;rivetingâ&#x20AC;? by the Chicago Tribune, â&#x20AC;&#x153;hypnoticâ&#x20AC;? by Entertainment Weekly and a â&#x20AC;&#x153;drop dead brilliant performerâ&#x20AC;? by Performing Songwriter. Smither, according to The Associated Press is â&#x20AC;&#x153;an American original, a product of the musical melting pot, and one of the absolute best singer-songwriters in the world.â&#x20AC;?

Tickets are $20 in advance, or $22 at the door, general admission.

They are available at Brattleboro Tix at 802-246-6000 or brattleborotix. com, at the Latchis Theatre Hotel, Turn it Up Music in Brattleboro, and Turn it Up in Northampton,

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s /PEN -USIC #OLLECTIVE CLASSES Beginning on Jan. 22 at

9 a.m., the Open Music Collective will begin a non-traditional chamber ensemble. In this ensemble, classic works like Bachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art of the Fugue will be played, in addition to a piece

by John Cage and one by Haydn.

The focus will be on rhythm and musicality and to see a new assortment of instruments in a classical context. As a result, all instruments â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including electric guitar, electric bass, mandolins, ukelele, all strings, saxophones, clarinets, all woodwinds (very savvy chromatic harmonica players will be considered) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are welcome.

A basic ability to read music (or desire to improve) is the only prerequisite.

Also, on Jan. 24, the collective will offer new courses focused on the voice. Finding Your Voice is a course ! SEE ARTS CALENDAR, PAGE 12

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NEWS

10 MILESTONES

! Kale

Births, deaths, and news of people from Windham County /BITUARIES Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s note: The Commons will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham County and others, on request, as community news, free of charge. s % L E A N O R , ! B E L

of Brattleboro. Died Dec. 25 at Holton Home in Brattleboro. Wife of the late John H. Abel for 62 years. Mother of John Jr., and his wife, Karen, of Dummerston; and Richard Abel and his wife, Robin, of Westminster. Born in New York City and grew up in Rockville Center, N.Y. Lived in Oceanside, N.Y., with her husband until 1988, when they moved to Brattleboro to be closer to their growing extended family. One of her great loves was bowling in the Senior League at Brattleboro Bowl. Her team members were always thrilled when she threw the ball down the lane and â&#x20AC;&#x153;encouragedâ&#x20AC;? the ball to go in the right direction by doing â&#x20AC;&#x153;a little dance and gesture.â&#x20AC;?

Another passion was ballroom dancing. She was totally devoted to her husband and was a loving, compassionate Mom, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nana,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grand Nana.â&#x20AC;? MEMORIAL INFORMATION : A funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Mercy in Putney at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5. Burial will be in the spring at Dummerston Center Cemetery.

Donations to Holton Home, 158 Western Ave, Brattleboro, VT 05301; or Our Lady of Mercy, Putney, VT 05346. s 4 -INOLA "IRD h.ONIEv ! L L E N , of Wilmington.

4-H leadership, and especially with all her own grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was also a member of the Ladies Aid Society, Church Women United, Hill and Valley Council.

M E M O R I A L I N F O R M AT I O N : Funeral services will be held in the spring at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brattleboro at a date to be announced. Donations to Brattleboro Area Hospice, Windham County Humane Society or the Activities Dept. at Pine Heights, in care of Covey & Allen Funeral Home, P.O. Box 215, Wilmington, VT 05363. s $AVID 2ALPH "ARROWS

of Brunswick, Maine, formerly of Brattleboro. Died Jan. 15 at MidCoast Hospital in Brunswick following a brief illness. Husband of Bonnie J. Francis for 41 years.

Father of Joella Barrows of Saxtons River and Jason Barrows of Brattleboro. Brother of Terri Barrows of Brattleboro; Joan Lake of White River Junction and West Palm Beach, Fla.; Thomas Barrows of Vernon; and Roland Barrows of Swanzey, N.H. Born in Brattleboro, son of the late Ralph and Elizabeth Cobb Barrows.

Was a graduate of Brattleboro Union High School, Class of 1966. Served in the Army from 1966 to 1968 and was stationed in Germany for most of his service time. A resident of Brunswick for the past three years, he had been employed by the Town of Topsham as custodian at the town library. While a resident of Brattleboro, he had been employed as custodian at St. Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School and previously, for 19 years worked at Georgia Pacific, formerly Erving Paper. With his wife, he had attended the Grace Evangelical Free Church in Spofford, N.H., and had been a fireman for the East Dummerston Volunteer Fire Department. Of his leisure time activities, David enjoyed metal detecting and trips to the beaches of Maine. MEMORIAL INFORMATION : Graveside committal services will be conducted in the springtime in Dummerston Center Cemetery at a date to be announced by the funeral home. Donations to the Windham County Humane Society, P.O. Box 397, Brattleboro, VT. 05302.

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

Died Jan. 8 at Pine Heights in Brattleboro. Wife of the late Robert Noel Allen for 63 years.

Mother of Iris and Hugh Bronson and Nancy and Donald Long, all of Brattleboro. Predeceased by brothers Francis, Carroll, Darrell, and William Bird, Jr., and Wilma Wheeler. Born in Readsboro and grew up in Jacksonville and Wilmington. An ardent lover of Mother Nature, she was a friend and defender of all creatures of the wild, vigilant observer of the night sky, devout protector of all children, and a holder of infinite compassion and bestower of unbridled kindness in word and deed, She was a longtime member of Jacksonville Community Church, where she served as superintendent and teacher of Sunday School. Throughout her s 2OGER $ARTT

formerly of life she related closely to children of all ages, in church activities, Brattleboro. Died Jan. 9 at Ohio

Hospice in Dayton, Ohio. Son of the late Donald and Doralys Dartt.

Husband of Monika Horndasch Dartt in Dayton, Ohio. Stepfather of Darlene and Forrest Ewing.

Brother of Donna Cole and husband, C.J., of Hinsdale, N.H., Ruth Blunt and her husband, Al, of Austin, Texas, Kathleen Macie and her husband, Ron, of Vernon, and Janet Curran and her fiance, Joseph Guliuzza, of Milford, Conn. Predeceased by a brother, Paul, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968. Spent seven years in the Navy and 14 years in the Army, which included a tour of duty in Vietnam. While in Germany for six years, he met and married his wife, Monika.

Worked in and enjoyed various building and carpentry positions, and attended machinist school in Dayton, Ohio. He loved traveling, especially to his favorite spot on Mt. Pilatus in Lucerne, Switzerland, and felt it was the most peaceful spot in the world.

It is here where he requested his ashes be spread. He was an avid reader and tremendously enjoyed photography, gardening, fishing and tapestry work. His tapestry and needlepoint were proudly showcased at his home.

M E M O R I A L I N F O R M AT I O N : Private services will be held in Dayton, Ohio, for his immediate family. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at St. Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church in Brattleboro at a future date for family and friends.

s %LEANOR ! -ARYNUK .OGA

of Erving, Mass. Died Jan. 13

at the Buckley Healthcare Center in Greenfield, Mass. at the age of 96. Wife of the late Edward S. Noga for 49 years. Born in New York City, she moved to Guilford as a young child, and was known to her childhood friends as Nellie.

Retired from the Millers Falls Tool Co., after many years of dedicated service. After retirement, she enjoyed traveling with her dear friend and cousin-by-marriage, Helen Marynuk of Guilford. She was an accomplished seamstress, enjoyed handiwork, and in later years, took up painting with fervor and success. The Nogas were also well known in the area for their impressive vegetable and flower gardens. MEMORIAL INFOR M AT ION : A funeral Mass was held on Jan. 15 at Blessed Sacrament Church in Greenfield, burial will follow in Our Lady of Czestochowa Cemetery in Turners Falls. Donations to Hospice of

water, or whatever I have around, although water is my cooking liquid of choice. I cook the garlic in this liquid at a very low heat for about 15 minutes.

I want the bitterness to cook out of the garlic and be replaced by its hidden sweetness.

Then I add the kale, cover the pot, and stir occasionally until it is silky and soft.

I either add this to some faro or whole-wheat pasta, which can really stand up to the strong flavors of the kale, or I make some little indentations I WANT TO SHARE two other in the kale, break in an egg or classic recipes that I think use two, cover the pan, and let it this vegetable at its best. cook over very low heat until The first is my default meal, the yolks are barely set. when I come home after too Cheese eaters would be wise long a day tired and defeated. to add a handful of their favorI take a bunch of kale, strip ite to either dish. it from the stems, wash it, and And thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it, with a glass dry it briefly in some paper or two of red wine and a small towels. I then cut it into uneven piece of dark chocolate for desstrips. I mince three cloves of sert. The perfect winter meal garlic and sautĂŠ them gently in for a gloomy Tuesday night. a few tablespoons of olive oil, until they just begin to color.

AND I JUST canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave you I then add half a cup of liqwithout sharing what is the uid; white wine, chicken broth, most miraculous thing you can

BRATTLEBOROâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announces its annual Giving from the Heart Gala will take place on Saturday, Feb. 12, starting at 6:30 p.m., with proceeds from the event going to support the hospitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oncology services.

The festive affair will take place at the West Village Meetinghouse (All Souls Church) on 29 South St. in West Brattleboro. It will be catered by North End Butchers, while Johnny & the Triumphs will perform music for dancing.

A cash bar will also be available.

Tickets are $75 per person ($43 is tax deductible) and can be purchased by calling the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Development Office at 802-257-8314, or online at www.bmhvt.org.

A â&#x20AC;&#x153;CinderFellaâ&#x20AC;? auction will also take place during the gala, where participants will bid

on services offered by men in the area, including dinner prepared by personal chef Andrzej Mikijaniec, a complete makeover package by Larry Enright, a window washing package

by Ryan Golding of Mastaler Cleaning, and a golf lesson with Rob Pattison that includes a range membership at Brattleboro Country Club. The auction is sponsored by Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee.

During the evening, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will also honor Stephen and Jane Baker for their dedication and service to the hospital over the years. Among other activities, Stephen has served on the board of directors and was a hospital corporator, while Jane was part of the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s auxiliary for over 50 years and co-founded the breast cancer support group.

Proceeds from the gala will

Franklin County, 329 Conway St., Suite 2, Greenfield, MA 01301. s 3TANLEY * 2OBARE

of Hinsdale, N.H. Died Dec. 16 in Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.

Husband of the late Mattie E.

McDonald Robare. Father of Stanley A. Robare of Brentwood, N.H.; Emily Betit and her husband, Joseph, of Bennington; Rita Willette and her husband, Randy, of Sullivan, N.H.; and Anita Willette and her husband, Russell, of Hinsdale. Also survived by 16 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren. Born in Plattsburgh, N.Y., the son of Arthur and Alma Barcomb Robare, he was employed as a custodian at Hinsdale High School for several years.

He was a former member of the Knights of Columbus in Hinsdale.

He enjoyed watching old comedy shows on television, doing jigsaw puzzles, fishing, and spending time with his grandchildren and friends.

MEMOR IA L INFOR M ATION : A funeral Mass was held Jan. 14 at St. Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church in Hinsdale.

Burial will be at a later date.

Location Morningside Shelter, Brattleboro

Phone 802-257-0066 (24 hours)

Day & Time 8 a.m.â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11 p.m.

First Baptist Church Overflow Shelter, Brattleboro

802-257-5415

5:30 p.m.â&#x20AC;&#x201C;7 a.m., when Morningside is full (until the end of March, depending on weather)

Greater Falls Warming Shelter, Bellows Falls

802-376-4193

7 p.m. - 7 a.m., November through April.

COMMUNITY MEALS/FOOD SHELVES

Brattleboro Senior Meals

Phone 802-257-5415 Food emergency: ext. 225 802-257-1236

Meals on Wheels

802-257-1236

Our Place Drop-In Center, Bellows Falls

802-463-2217

Agape Christian Fellowship, Brattleboro

802-257-4069

Centre Congregational â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Loaves and Fishes, Brattleboro

802-254-4730

First Baptist Church â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Graceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kitchen, Brattleboro Brigidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kitchen, Brattleboro

802-254-9566

Second Congregational Church UCC, Londonderry Jamaica/Wardsboro Community Food Pantry Deerfield Valley Food Pantry

802-824-6453

Wednesday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Community breakfast, Sundays, 8:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9:30 a.m.

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, 11:30 a.m.â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12:30 p.m.

Third Friday, 1â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4 p.m.

802-874-7234 802-464-9675 802-368-2942 802-463-3100

Last Wednesday of the month, 6-8 p.m.

Third Saturday, 9â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11 a.m.; Thursday before the third Saturday, 1â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3 p.m.

Monday 5 p.m., dinner.

Immanuel Episcopal Church, Bellows Falls

Publication of this listing underwritten by Elizabeth Catlin

do with kale: turn it into chips that are more addictive and delicious than their potato cousins and certainly better for you.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take a bunch of kale, strip it from the stems, and either leave it be or cut it into big pieces.

Toss it with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Lay it out in a single layer and bake it for 20 to 30 minutes until the leaves are crisp.

Remove from the oven, and sprinkle with sea salt and maybe a pinch or two of smoked paprika or grated parmesan cheese.

You will not believe how fantastic they are. You will want to know where this food has been all your life. You will eat it all and wish you had made more.

As for bravely looking out on yet another new year, I really am going to try to walk more.

But on those days when I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, maybe Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll massage some kale. !

Giving from the Heart Gala supports BMH Oncology Services

SHELTERS

802-254-6800

January 19, 2011 FROM PAGE 1

(pressed, salted, and dried ricotta), or pecorino. I have added avocado or any combination of vegetables I happen to have on hand.

Chili flakes perk it up. Seeds from a pomegranate left over from a holiday fruit bowl add their liquid red color and acidic bite. Toasted nuts and dried fruit are a great match as well.

Pieces of crispy bacon or pancetta raise oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culinary interest, but then Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m trying to avoid the meat for a while.

If you need food or shelter...

Location Brattleboro Drop-In Center

T H E C O M M O N S Ă&#x203A; Wednesday,

Day & Time Mondayâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Friday, 7a.m.â&#x20AC;&#x201C;5 p.m.

Mondayâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Friday, noonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;12:30 p.m.

Breakfast on Tuesdays, 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. (Suggested donation $5; $3 for people over age 60.)

Deliveries to those 60 and older who are â&#x20AC;&#x153;food insecureâ&#x20AC;? and unable to attend community meals.

Weekdays: 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Breakfast and lunch.

Food shelf.

Soup kitchen: Sunday, 1:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3 p.m. Food pantry: Thursday, 6:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8 p.m.

Tuesday and Friday, 11:30 a.m.

benefit the BMH Oncology Department, an outpatient clinic serving patients and their families who are experiencing cancer.

The staff consists of board-certified medical oncologist/hematologists and certified oncology nurses, including a nurse practitioner/clinical nurse specialist. Cancer patients are offered pain and symptom management expertise, in addition to the administration of chemotherapy and other methods of treatment.

The oncology team also provides ongoing education and emotional support for both patients and their families. Other services include administration of blood products and medications which help increase blood counts. Clinical trials are also available and cancer support groups meet at the hospital monthly.

Brattleboro; granddaughter to Richard and Susan Stromberg of Chester and Roy and Brenda Vandusen of Bellows Falls. Ă&#x203A; *O #SBUUMFCPSP .FNPSJBM Hospital), Jan. 6, 2011, a son, -AXX *OSEPH 'REGORY "UTTS , to Katie and Matt Butts of Brattleboro; grandson to Jane and Greg Smith, and Christine Gero and Dale Butts. Ă&#x203A; *O #VSMJOHUPO 'MFUDIFS "MMFO Hospital), Jan. 5, 2011, a son, 3AMUEL (OWARD 2OBINSON , to Susan (Abel) and Drew Robinson of South Burlington; grandson to John and Karen Abel of Dummerston, Francis W. and Judy Robinson of South Burlington; great-grandson to Shirley Robinson of Bryn Mawr, Pa. Ă&#x203A; *O #SBUUMFCPSP .FNPSJBM Hospital), Aug. 17, 2010, a daughter, -ADISON !NN 2EBAUDO , to Arla (Bowen) and Matthew Rebaudo of Newfane; grand"IRTHS daughter to Richard and Karen Bowen of Putney, Anthony Ă&#x203A; *O #SBUUMFCPSP .FNPSJBM Rebaudo of Granby, Mass., and Hospital), Jan. 7, 2011, a daugh- Cynthia Rebaudo of Hinsdale, ter, #HELSEY ,YNN -ERRILL , to N.H. Glen and LeeAnn Merrill of

Child Care Transportation Program rolls on BRATTLEBOROâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Meeting Waters YMCA is accepting applications for its Child Care Transportation Program in Brattleboro.

Its morning run picks children up from their home and delivers them to any state-licensed child care program located in Brattleboro. In the afternoon, it brings children back to their homes. A staff of two assures childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safety during transitions and transportation.

The program is available at no cost to Brattleboro children and families. Eligibility is limited to children who are in state Protective Service Care, whose families are receiving Family Support Services, or whose parents receive Child Care Subsidy

eat. sleep. records. (not necessarily in that order)

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and have a demonstrated transportation need.

This is the eighth year Meeting Waters YMCA has provided this service. Prior to that, Brattleboro Child Development (BCD) had run the program for more than a decade. BCD went defunct in 2003. BCDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Board of Directors donated their 15-passenger van to Meeting Waters YMCA who was then awarded the state contract for the Child Care Transportation Program.

In 2008, with new federal safety guidelines regulating the use of 15-passenger vans, Meeting Waters YMCA purchased a 15-passenger mini-bus.

More information about the regional Yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Child Care Transportation Program is available at www.meetingwatersymca. org or by calling their Brattleboro office at 802-246-1036.

T H E C O M M O N S Û Wednesday,

11

January 19, 2011

SPORTS & RECREATION Putney remains the heart of nordic skiing in Vermont

F

OR YEARS, Putney

has been the epicenter of nordic ski racing in Vermont. Until the recent successes of the U.S. program at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the ski program in Putney produced the greatest group of crosscountry skiers ever to represent this nation.

John Caldwell was an Olympian as a competitor (1952) and coach (1968, 1972, 1980, and 1984). As coach at The Putney School from the mid-1950s until his retirement in 1989, he trained some the greatest nordic skiers in U.S. history and literally wrote the book — The Cross-Country Ski Book, to be precise — on the sport.

His son, Tim Caldwell, competed in four Olympics and three World Cups in the 197os and 1980s, while Bill Koch won a silver medal in the 1976 Olympics, helped found the Bill Koch Ski League for 5-13 year olds, and revolutionized ski racing by introducing the skating technique. Koch and Caldwell, both Putney School alumni, were joined by Jim Galanes and Stan Dunklee of Brattleboro and the four trained and skied together for the Putney Ski Club. The four made up the U.S. relay team in the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Dan Simoneau of Maine replaced Dunklee, and joined Caldwell, Koch, and Galanes on a record-setting relay team in the 1982 World Cup. This foursome was the best in the world that year and Koch became the first American to win an individual World Cup title.

Other nordic skiing Olympians from The Putney School include Bob Gray (1968 and 1972) and Martha Rockwell (1972 and 1976).

That’s a lot tradition to live up to, but the current crop of nordic skiers with Putney ties acquitted themselves well at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Nationals earlier this month in Rumsford, Maine.

Ten former students of The Grammar School in Putney were in the event.

Racers Bridger Tyler, Cam McDermott, Heather Mooney (all TGS ’07), and Issy Pelletier (TGS ’08), currently students at Stratton Mountain School, were coached by Sverre Caldwell (TGS ’69). Megan Killigrew (TGS ’05), a member of the Dartmouth ski team, was joined by fellow Dartmouth skiers and TGS alumni Patrick O’Brien (TGS’02) and Brayton Osgood (TGS ’95). Also competing were Gage Fichter (TGS ’06), who skis for UVM, Alicia Brelsford Dana (TGS ’82), who competed in the U.S. adaptive XC races, and Kevin Cutts (TGS ’02), a member of the Northern Michigan University team.

McDermott and Mooney had exceptional results that earned them places on U.S. Junior teams that will race in Europe this winter. Money was one of 12 U.S. girls and boys chosen compete in the World Junior Championships in Otepaa, Estonia, and McDermott was named to a team of 12 juniors who will travel to Ostersund, Sweden.

But for all the kudos for the Putney skiers, it was a 24-yearold woman from Vernon who stole the show. Morgan Smyth, a graduate of Stratton Mountain School, placed third out of 138 racers in the 1-kilometer sprint, and second out of 157 in the 10-kilometer classic.

Smyth had a shot of competing in the Vancouver games last year, but a bout of mononucleosis sidelined her. She’s fully recovered now, and working on an MBA degree at Alaska Pacific University, which also has a top-ranked ski team that she is racing for.

'IRLS BASKETBALL

Û 4J[F BOE SFCPVOEJOH VTVally is the key to winning basketball games. The Leland & Gray Rebels had it, and the Bellows Falls Terriers did not.

The result was a 51-29 victory for the Rebels at Holland Gymnasium on Jan. 10.

The Rebels started slow, but turned it up in the second quarter to pull away for good.

Seven different team members scored in the win, led by Bethany Robinson’s 15 points and 9 rebounds.

RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT Sports Roundup Alex Morrow had 9 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Ashley Goddard added 9 points and 9 rebounds, while Callie Ginter had 6 points and 5 steals. Sarah Dumont led the Terriers with 8 points, while Enny Mustapha and Emily Dufault each scored 6 points. Û 5IJOHT EJEOÔU HP NVDI CFUter for BF last Saturday, as Windsor forced 11 turnovers and took a 20-point lead in the opening period on the way to a 53-25 romp over the 0-8 Terriers. Û 5XJO 7BMMFZ XBT IFME UP B single point in the final quarter in a 39-26 loss at Windsor on Jan. 10. Sam Bernard has 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Wildcats.

On Jan. 13 against Rivendell, the Wildcats came up short, 35-29. Bernard got into foul early in that game, so Savannah Nesbitt carried the scoring load with 16 points and 7 rebounds.

Twin Valley had a 36-16 edge in rebounding, but had no answer for stopping Rivendell’s Lacey Sawyer, who led all scorers with 22 points. Û *O B HBNF UIBU XBT EFcided at the free throw line, the Rutland Raiders beat the Brattleboro Colonels, 44-27, last Friday. The Raiders went 19-for-33 from the line, while the Colonels were only 4-for7. The Colonels trailed 1312 at the half, and played a solid defensive game, but it came at the cost of lots of free throws for Rutland. Kelsey Patterson scored 9 points to lead Brattleboro, all coming off three-point shots.

"OYS BASKETBALL

made its competitive debut last Thursday in a tournament at Springfield Bowl against the Springfield Cosmos and Hartford Hurricanes.

Audrey and Burl Penton, owners of Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road, helped get the bowling club started about five years ago. Approximately 14 BUHS students participate.

The hope is that the Vermont Principals’ Association will ultimately sanction bowling as a varsity sport, as it is in New Hampshire and 18 other states.

Another 28 states offer bowling at the non-varsity club level.

Vermont, along with North Dakota and Colorado, are the only three states that do not have any formal high school bowling programs.

"/# 3KI (UT OPENS

Û 5IBOLT UP MBTU Wednesday’s huge snowstorm, which left 19 inches of snow in Brattleboro, conditions are now good enough for the Brattleboro Outing Club to open its trails for the season.

The BOC operates 25 kilometers of groomed trails in and around the Brattleboro Country Club on Upper Dummerston Road. The Ski Hut is open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekends. The honor system applies the rest of the week. If you are not a BOC member, trail fees are $15 on weekends, and $10 on weekdays for adults. Juniors (under 21) pay $10 every day.

A winter BOC membership is $125 for adults, $90 for juniors, and $250 for families up to five members, and provides unlimited trail time. Also, your BOC pass gives you a complementary single-day pass at each of Vermont’s 27 other nordic ski resorts. Visit www.brattleborooutingclub.com for more details.

3KIING AT ,IVING -EMORIAL 0ARK

Wednesday’s storm also made conditions on the downhill skiing and snowboarding slope at Living Memorial Park the best they’ve been in years.

The rope tow at the park is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Lift tickets are just $5, and children 5 and under ski free.

The hill, which opened for the season on Jan. 9, is run by the nonprofit, all-volunteer Living Memorial Park Snow Sports. They are looking for more volunteers. Call 802-2574074 if you can help in any way.

Association will host the sec Û-FMBOE (SBZ TFFNT UP ond Annual Whitingham be in a bit of a slump, with two Fireman’s Fishing Derby on home losses last week.

Sadawaga Lake. Tickets are On Jan. 10, the Rebels lost a on sale at the Whitingham heartbreaker to the undefeared Country Store and the Proctor Phantoms, 49-48. In Whitingham Town Clerk’s ofa truly back-and-forth game fice. Tickets are $10 per perwhere neither team could stake son. Children under 5 are free, themselves to a comfortable but will need to fill out a ticket. lead, it came down to a pair of Prizes are for heaviest fish in free throws by Proctor’s Ryan two categories — yellow perch Petrini with 7 seconds left for and chain pickerel. Fish must the win. Matt Bizon led the be a minimum of 8 inches for Rebels with 17 points, while perch and 16 inches for pickteammates Noah Chapin and erel to be weighed. Prizes in Drew Barnum each added 9. each category are $400 for first Once Salago led the Phantoms place, $200 for second, and with 18. $100 for third in each category.

The Springfield Cosmos 7HITINGHAM In case of tie, the money will be used a strong second half effort &IREMAN S split among the contestants. &ISHING $ERBY to beat the Rebels, 60-53, on For more information, THIS WEEKEND Jan. 13. The Rebels led 28-23 contact Fire Chief Stanley at the half, but couldn’t sustain On Saturday, Jan. 22, Janovsky Jr. at 802-368-2446 the momentum. Chapin scored from 12:01 a.m. until 4 p.m., or whitinghampublicworks@yahoo.com.

12 to lead Leland & Gray, the Whitingham Fireman’s while Josh Fontaine had 11 and Barnum chipped in 10. Û 5IF #SBUUMFCPSP $PMPOFMT Support BBBS...learn more at rivercu.com improved to 7-1 with a 41-38 win at St. Johnsbury on Jan. 11. The Colonels led by 11 goLook into ing into the fourth quarter, and held on in the face of a very Big Brothers/Big Sisters tough defensive effort by the of Windham County Hilltoppers. Nate Forrett was the top scorer with 12 points. Û 5XJO 7BMMFZ ESPQQFE B QBJS of games last week. On Jan. 11, they lost to Burr & Burton, 48-31, despite 14 points and 12 rebounds from Troy Birch. !"#$"%&'()*&+&,-./.01/1,--&+&2%3445"$6%6&+&7689:;"9<&+&=>49"?&+&2%3445"$6%6&@66<&(66A On Jan. 13, the Wildcats were beaten by Rivendell, 6746. Birch had another monster game with 18 points and 20 rebounds, but Rivendell’s Kyle Huntington and Dillon Pelletier scored 21 and 10 points, respectively.

BE A BIG

"OWLING

The Brattleboro Union High School bowling club

SCRAP METAL R.G. Winchester Auto 30 Years Licensed J UNK Y ARD is paying $150-$300 for Junk Cars & Trucks Also buying batteries

Prompt, courteous service

802.254.4322 802.258.0478

Accepting calls 24/7 Pickup & Delivery prices vary

RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS

Leland & Gray guard Alyson Marcucci (12) tries to muscle past Bellows Falls defender Kammie Crawford during their game on Jan. 10 at Holland Gymnasium.

RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS

Leland & Gray center Ashley Goddard pulls down a rebound in front of Bellows Falls defenders, from left, Kammie Crawford, Enny Mustapha and Courtney Perry during their game on Jan. 10 at Holland Gymnasium.

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12

T H E C O M M O N S Û Wednesday,

January 19, 2011

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 6ISUAL ARTS

s "RATTLEBORO 3KETCHCRAWL 7INTER %DITION On Saturday, Jan.,

VERMONTTV.NET

The films of Vermonttv.net, including The Guilford Fair, will be shown at Guilford Movie Night, a benefit for the town’s semiquincentennial celebration.

22, from noon-3 p.m., the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, River Gallery School and Post Oil Solutions will present another edition of Sketchcrawl, a community-oriented drawing event for artists of all ages and abilities.

Between noon and 1 p.m., drop by the Winter Farmers’ Market at Brattleboro’s River Garden to pick up simple sketching supplies and find out where the artists showcased in Paper Trails are located. Then take an hour or two to crawl about town, perhaps join the Paper Trails artists, and sketch an impression or two.

At about 2:30 or 3, gather at BMAC with your fellow sketchers for appreciation and refreshments. s 'UILFORD -OVIE .IGHT SERIES DEBUTS The first of three

Guilford Movie Nights will take place on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 pm, at the Guilford Central School cafeteria.

FROM PAGE 1 These events are part of the yearlong celebration of the town’s 250th anniEveryone is welcome, with a $5 sug- versary, and each movie night will feagested donation at the door. ture Guilford filmmakers and subjects. s " R A Z I L I A N M U S I C I N All these events are admission'UILFORD %njoy the warmth of good free, with donations to the 250th fund friends, good food, a toasty fireplace, welcome. and great local jazz featuring the music This first movie night will be deof Brazil as Wendy Redlinger’s Soiree voted to the work of VermontTv.net, Musicals hosts the Bob Stabach 4tet an on-demand video website. Videos with special guest Derrik Jordan on shot by Kris Cain, including Sugar on violin and conga on Sunday, Jan. 23 at Snow, The Guilford Fair, John Wolcott 4:30 p.m., with a potluck intermission. Phelps, and The Boys and Girls Club The 4tet includes Eugene Uman, pi- of Brattleboro will be screened. These ano; George Kaye, bass; Tim Gilmore, feature videos are professionally prodrums; and Bob Stabach on sax. The duced, fun and informative. Come join program will include Brasillian com- the fun and chat with the producers, posers Jobim, Dalto and a song from Bill Heyman and Rick Garren, who Jordan’s album Brazilliance, as well as reside in Guilford. originals and standards.

VermontTv.net creates, produces Admission is $10 by donation, and hosts informational and enterRedlinger’s home is on 2596 Tater taining HD documentaries focused on Lane in Guilford, off Guilford Center Vermont’s people, places and events.

Road. Call 802-254-6189 for direc- VermontTv.net supplies complete tions and more information. video production, on-demand video s #HORALE SEEKS SINGERS hosting and advertising production.

The Blanche Moyse Chorale, a proIn keeping with the medium, popgram of the Brattleboro Music Center, corn and drinks will be on sale, furis now holding auditions for experi- ther benefitting the Guilford 250th enced choral singers in all vocal sec- fund. Further events in the series will tions, especially altos and tenors. be home movies from the early 1970s, The Chorale, founded in 1978, is shown in February, and a screening of a chamber chorus of about 30 voices, The Stuff of Dreams: The Making of who strive to attain the high level of the Tempest, in March. At all three evemusical artistry exemplified by its nings, the filmmakers will be on hand original director, Blanche Moyse. to introduce the movies and meet the Although based in the Brattleboro audience. area, the Chorale includes singers from the wider tri-state region and beyond.

Weekly rehearsals are held on Sunday "OOKS evenings at The Putney School. s 7RITE !CTION READING AT In recent years, the Chorale has performed Handel’s Messiah 0UTNEY 0UBLIC ,IBRARY There (complete), Copeland’s In the will be short readings by a group of Beginning, Mendelssohn’s Die Erste contributors to the Write Action Tenth Walpurgisnacht, Britten’s Ceremony Anniversary Anthology at the Putney of Carols, Palestrina’s Missa: Hodie Library on Friday, January 21st at Christus Natus Est, as well as numer- 7:00. The anthology, a collection of ous shorter works. The Chorale is cur- poetry and prose by Write Action rently preparing a program of works members includes some of the finest

by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) for writers in the region.

Readers at the Putney Library event May performances in Bellows Falls will be: Jan Frazier, Fred Lawrence, and Brattleboro.

Interested singers should call ei- Paul Kaufman, Dave Ritchie, Vidda ther Chorale representative Calvin Crochetta, Bill Pearson, and Arlene Farwell (802-257-0496) for further Distler reading the anthologized poinformation, or Chorale director Mary ems of Laura Sperazi, who died this Westbrook-Geha (617-216-2818) to past year.

Ritchie, relatively new to the art schedule an audition. and craft of poetry is quoted in this review of the anthology from noted poet Chard DiNiord, author of Night 0OETRY Mowing: “Dave Ritchie in his poem s T h e P u z z l e M a s t e r A T ‘Why Locovore Writers?’ conjures an -ARLBORO #OLLEGE Marlboro apt metaphor for the local appetite for College will host a staged reading of verbal sustenance: What about ‘fresh’?/ F.D. Reeve’s epic poem, The Puzzle That’s how we want our vegetables./ Master, on Friday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in As recently harvested as possible./ I the Whittemore Theater. would like that with my neighboring The Puzzle Master is a dramatic author./Let her revelations start with verse retelling of the Daedalus-Icarus us! And so they do.” story. Mark Genzsler and Lucas Many authors in the collection have Rosenthal will voice the father-son pair published books of their own. The anof Delling and Ingram, adapted from thology is a great way to discover the the title characters of the Greek myth. work of the writers in the area whose Other roles include Emily Cox as prose or poetry you may want to read Arabella (Ariadne), Laura Stevenson more of. Since contributors’ prose as Queen Prue (Pasiphae), Edmund pieces are all under 1,500 words, the Brelsford as the leader of the Caribe stories, memoirs, and essays are perchorus and Reeve himself as a chorus fect reading for a single sitting. The member. Visual images used in the book includes the work of seventy-one performance were created by Stuart writers living in the Brattleboro area, Nudelman, director of the Ogunquit including the tri-state region of Keene Art Gallery. and northwestern Massachusetts.

Reeve published the poem as part of The Best of Write Action No. 2: The the 2010 collection, The Puzzle Master Tenth Anniversary Anthology will be and other Poems (NYQ Books). Reeve for sale at the reading. It is also availhas published three dozen books of po- able at local bookstores and online at etry, fiction, criticism and translation, www.writeaction.org and is a recipient of the New England Poetry Club’s ’’Golden Rose’’ award and an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2002, he retired from teaching English and Russian literature, having held posts at Columbia, Wesleyan, Yale, and Oxford University during his 40 year career.

The performance is free and open to the public. In the event of inclement weather, call 802-451-7151 for cancellation information.

! Arts calendar designed for adults who love to sing but maybe never have. This class will focus on basic vocal mechanics, basic music fundamentals, and will offer the opportunity to sing a whole lot in a fun and relaxed environment. Jenna Rae, a graduate of Northwestern who studied at NEC and Longy, will teach the course. Classes will be held on Tuesday nights at 5:30.

And, on the week of Jan. 22, OMC is offering a course geared towards adults who are new to jazz. The class will focus on jam session tunes in a very relaxed and fun atmosphere Tuesday nights at 7 p.m.

OMC’s growing jazz ensemble program will continue with a Joe Henderson Ensemble on Wednesdays and a group devoted to the Music of Bobby Bradford and Ornette Coleman on Thursdays. By listening to specific pieces, sharing historical information, and playing classic arrangements and compositions, these courses are in depth studies of jazz masters. Basic musicianship and jazz knowledge are suggested; course times are flexible.

On Saturdays, the Youth Ensemble will study classics with a focus on high energy music and the ins and outs of working in an ensemble. All levels and ages under 18 are welcome. All classes will be coached by Jamie MacDonald, an upright and electric bassist who is currently performing as part of the Jazz Demolition Project with David Goodrich on guitar and Doug Raneri on drums.

Limited scholarships are available for both classes. Open Music Collective is located in the Cotton Mill in Brattleboro. Contact them at 802-275-5054 or info@openmusiccollective.org. s #HILDREN S CHORUS CONCERT AND #ELTIC FAMILY DANCE

On Saturday, Jan. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the Stone Church in Brattleboro, two exciting Brattleboro Music Center programs combine for an evening of music and dance for the whole family.

The Brattleboro Children’s Chorus, directed by Susan Dedell, gets the evening off to a lively start with songs from the folk tradition of Africa, story songs from the British Isles and Israel, and songs from the film classics Peter Pan and The Jungle Book. The children will be joined by the students from the traditional music program for some of the program, and will also lead the audience in singing a couple of rounds.

The dance program will feature the playing of students from the Traditional Music Program on fiddles, flutes, mandolins, guitars and more, led by Keith Murphy and Becky Tracy.

Traditional jigs, reels and waltzes will be the music for a fun family dance program led by dancing master Peter Amidon. While the music will make for delightful listening, everyone will be invited to participate in the dancing. All dances will be taught and no experience is necessary.

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Local musician Derrik Jordan will join Eugene Uman, piano; George Kaye, bass; Tim Gilmore, drums; and Bob Stabach on sax in a program of Brazilian music in Guilford Sunday.

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The Far East Just Got a Little Closer!

7 High Street Brattleboro, VT (802) 251-1010 ThaiBambooVT.com

Ali Chambliss

Warming Shelter benefit concert set for Feb. 5

B

ELLOWS FALLS—A group of local musicians will be blending their harmonies to benefit the new Greater Falls Warming Shelter in a concert on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the Immanuel Episcopal Church (the Stone Church) in Bellows Falls.

The suggested donation is $10.

The Greater Falls Warming Shelter is a valuable resource in Bellows Falls. In its first year, the shelter served 44 individuals for 371 bed nights during the 93 nights it was open. More than 75 volunteers stayed overnight at the shelter, or provided some kind of support such as laundering, cleaning, donating furniture, or providing supplies.

The benefit concert is the brainchild of Julie Waters, a local artist and musician who believes that part of the mission of arts is to support and give back to the community that allows it to thrive.

“So many artists deal with trying times and fall from the common graces of society at various points on their paths,” she said. “For some of us, the craft or artistry is what separates us from going off the edge. To me, it’s the other side of the coin. We can’t live as artists without having a respect for those whose lives do not easily fall into the box of a comfortable home and a warm place to live.”

She said the response from the other musicians was practically instantaneous when she asked them to participate. In addition to Waters, Jesse Peters and Ali Chambliss will be headlining the show.

Waters (www.juliewaters.com) describes herself as a folk artist in the truest tradition, weaving stories, motion and rhythm, creating lyrical poetry through the strings of her guitar. With more than simply a creative approach to music, she says,

Jesse Peters

Julie Waters her performances turn on a dime, first evoking ancient modal melodies, and then suddenly sliding into a rock and roll beat that morphs straight into the 21st century.

Peters (www.jessepeters.com) says he blends all his formative experiences into a musical approach that includes many different styles. He describes himself as flexible enough to play instrumental dinner music one day and jazz-rock with his trio the next. He says his writing style is similarly broad, with modern groove numbers interspersed with more traditional fingerpicked tunes and a few rockers thrown in for good measure. “Mixing it up like that keeps it interesting for both him and his audience,” he says in his biography.

Chambliss is one woman, with a guitar, an array of songs and a tremendous voice. Her original songs are crafted from a well of emotion deep and challenging as it is beautiful and poignant, Waters says.

In November, the Greater Falls Warming Shelter opened at 83 Westminster St. (behind Athens Pizza) in Bellows Falls, to provide a temporary spot for an overnight stay. It will remain open until April and is staffed seven nights a week by volunteers who serve in two shifts from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., and 1 to 7 a.m.

New volunteers are urged to contact the shelter at bfwarmingshelter@yahoo.com, or leave a message at 802-463-2567, to learn about the shelter and the on-going training provided. Members of the shelter steering committee will also be at the concert to provide information.

If you can’t make it to the show, monetary contributions to the shelter may be sent to the shelter’s fiscal agent, Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA), at 91 Buck Dr., Westminster, VT 05158.