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Brattleboro, Vermont Wednesday, September 22, 2010 • Vol. V, No. 21 • Issue #68
W ind h am C ounty ’ s A W A R D - W I N N I N G , I ndependent S ource for N ews and V iews
PLANS
bRATTLEbORO
Welch offers economic help for local merchants
Fast Internet gets setback in put to Londonderry the test
TOWN
News
Great Auk CEO: State program fails to address up-front money
page 4
VPr, WOOL radio get FCC approval for frequencies
By Randolph T. Holhut The Commons
It’s no secret that delivering broadband Internet service to every corner of Vermont has not been easy to accomplish. But what’s been happening in the Londonderry area in recent weeks illustrated all the potential pitfalls to delivering this service — and what it will take to overcome them. The trouble started when Great Auk Wireless (GAW),
page 3
Film calls attention to stereotypes in media page 4 TOWNShEND
Burglary spree hits businesses, church
Background image: A map
Planning commissions weigh vision-style language choices against Voices potential court dates page 5
By Olga Peters
VIEWPOINT
The Commons
Plastic is not her bag page 6
Among schoolchildren page 7
The Arts GO WEST !
West B artists host open studio weekend Page 9
A
s towns update their plans this year, some all-volunteer planning commissions have asked this question: “Will this stand up in court?” Town plans are intended to be visionary documents that contain a town’s long-range goals and form a platform from which policies, such as zoning, spring. But ever since the Vermont Supreme Court overturned an Environmental Court ruling for South Burlington in 2008 because of the city’s zoning policy, there is
now pressure for these previously visionary documents to also pass legal muster. “I think a lot of towns are in the same boat,” said Wilmington Zoning Administrator Alice Herrick about towns that have a lot of generalized language in their zoning and plans. In 2008, JAM Golf, LLC, appealed an environmental court’s decision to deny the developer a permit for a planned residential development. The environmental court ruled that the project did not meet the South Burlington Zoning Ordinance requirements of
from the Putney Road Master Plan, incor porated into the Brattleboro Town Plan. Inset: Susan McMahon, associate director of the Windham Re gional Com mission, says a town plan acts as a guide for what the municipality wants to look like and how its citizens want to use its land.
n see town plans, page 2
What are we looking for? How do we get there? New director of Windham Regional Commission helps towns ask tough questions during the planning process By Jeff Potter The Commons
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Colonels win John James Tourney
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BRATTLEBORO— Lawrence “Chris” Campany created farmers’ markets in Baton Rouge, served as a zoning enforcement officer in Maryland, and most recently taught landscape architecture. With genial and low-key ease, Campany, 43, described his job experiences — widely varied, yet falling under a broad umbrella of land-use planning — as an “interesting path.” Campany began his new role as executive director of the Windham Regional Commission on Aug. 9, succeeding retiring director James Matteau of Westminster. Campany and his wife, Tracy, a theater professional, have a “temporary abode” in Brattleboro and have begun looking to buy a house for them and their dog Quinn and their cat Henry. The couple both grew up in Floyd, Va., a town of fewer than 500, which he describes as a “very artistic community.” “Growing up there, one of
which serves about 50 customers in Londonderry, Stratton and Winhall, learned a few months ago that Stratton Mountain Resort had increased the company’s rent for a cell phone tower on the mountain from $300 to $2,300 a month. Great Auk CEO Josh Garza said that with the rent increase, it no longer made economic sense to continue using the Stratton site for 50 wireless Internet customers. n see GREAT AUK, page 3
Zoning foes file petition in Newfane No activity from town on move to abolish bylaw By Thelma O’Brien The Commons
NEWFANE—There’s a move afoot to repeal Newfane’s zoning bylaws. If the 87 legal voters — at least 5 percent of the town’s population — who have signed a petition calling for that action can persuade the rest of the voters in this picturesque town of about 1,650 residents to abolish the zoning regulations that were first enacted in 1975, developers will have only the state’s Act 250 regulations with which to comply. The pros and cons are predictable, although there are degrees of passion. Realtor David Berrie, a prime
mover of the petition, said straight out, “I’m not a fan of zoning.” He’s also irritated because the petition is dated June 28 and there’s been no action since. Such a petition must first be considered by the Planning Commission, which meets monthly on the second and fourth Tuesday, and then by the Selectboard, which also meets monthly, on the first and third Thursday, before a special election can be called for and warned. Even if the planners were to meet next week, the process would take at least until the middle of November. Both meetings n see ZONING, page 5
Wilmington town manager to leave post By Olga Peters The Commons
David Shaw/The Commons
Lawrence “Chris” Campany has joined the Windham Regional Commission as its executive director. the reasons I loved the area is the landscape,” Campany said. “The landscape looked more like Vermont than Virginia.” Now, Campany finds himself in an another area he describes as “a beautiful and culturally rich part of the world,” in a job that lets towns and their citizens look at their past, understand their present and plan for the future. Campany holds a bachelor degree in political science and a master of public
policy and administration from Mississippi State University. In 2003, he earned a master landscape architecture degree from Louisiana State University. He worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a program analyst, an experience that left him “somewhat disillusioned” because working at the federal level was “too far away from where the impacts took place.” In 1996, Campany began n see CAMPANY, page 2
WILMINGTON—Bob Rusten will leave his post of 4½ years as town manager in five weeks to take up the mantle of assistant town manager for the city of South Burlington. Rusten and the Selectboard are in the early stages of determining which of his duties he will “close out” before leaving and which duties, like budgeting, will be delegated. Rusten said Tuesday he’s prepared a “stream of consciousness list” of everything he is involved with for the Wilmington Selectboard. “Obviously, it’s very busy,” he said. The conversation about the next town manager he’s leaving up to the Selectboard. In his new position, Rusten will be responsible for the finance
www.wilmingtonvermont.us
Wilmington Town Manager Bob Rusten has resigned to take a similar post in South Burlington. department and the city has some “big projects” like a proposed downtown community center on the horizon. “Sounds exciting. It’s an opportunity to work in a larger environment and implement some n see manager resigns, page 8
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 Brattleboro-West Arts Open Studio Tour September 25-26 10am-5pm Tour headquarters at the
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Sat.s & Sun.s thru Columbus Day 1000 of items!
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Latchis Theatre, Brattleboro, VT A sassy, musical political satire to benefit programs of Windham Housing Trust.
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2 139 Main St. #604, P.O. Box 1212 Brattleboro, VT 05302 (802) 246-6397 fax (802) 246-1319 www.commonsnews.org Office hours by appointment 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday Jeff Potter, Editor
T h e C ommons
COUNT Y & REGION
important to them, they must be specific. “They want to be visionary. They don’t want to be telling. They’re scared of ‘shalls,’” said McMahon. She said if townspeople can’t get behind a goal, they shouldn’t write it down. “Towns need to be mindful of their definitions,” Campany said. Definitions in town plans are important, he said, and advised planning commission members to double-check for clarity. It’s OK to refer to something like a state document for the definition
Betsy Jaffe, Manager
• Randolph T. Holhut, News Editor Olga Peters, Staff Reporter • David Shaw, Photographer • Nancy Gauthier, Advertising Manager Nancy Roberts, Advertising Sales Adrian Newkirk, Ad Composition • Cal Glover-Wessel, Distribution
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Town plans from all over the county fill the shelves of the Windham Regional Commission office in Brattleboro.
n Town plans protecting wildlife and scenic views and did not agree with the city plan. Upon appeal, the state Supreme Court ruled the project couldn’t be denied a permit when the zoning ordinance lacked directive language so that it violated the developer’s due process rights. According to Windham Regional Commission Senior Planner John Bennett, the VSC ruled in JAM Golf’s favor because it had an issue with South Burlington’s zoning ordinance, not the town plan. But because a town’s legal zoning bylaws flow from a town plan, he said, the ruling on the ordinance has had a domino effect, requiring vague language to be replaced with specificity.
What’s in a plan?
“Every town is different. It’s not a right or a wrong thing,” said WRC Executive Director Chris Campany about writing a town plan. At its core, a town plan answers two questions for a community: “Who do we want to be?” and “How are we going to get there?” A plan answers the first question through goals. The second question is answered through policies and recommendations in the plan. Traditionally, the language of plans used words like “encourage,” “promote” or “may.” The JAM decision set in motion a revision towards the words “shall,” “will” and “must.” According to the Vermont Municipal and Regional Planning and Development Act, Vermont does not require municipalities to have town plans. Having a plan in place, however, opens doors to state and federal funding, downtown designations and community development block grants. Windham Regional Commission Associate Director Susan McMahon said towns couldn’t develop zoning without a town plan because the plan acts as the guide for what the municipality wants to look like and how its citizens want to use its land. Environmental courts also look to plans to guide Act 250 decisions. “Without restrictions, it’s assumed all things are allowed,” said Campany. Campany added that town plans have the potential to effectively guide capital budgets but rarely get tied into that part
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of the financial process. “[A town plan is] not just about the politics of control,” said Campany. “It’s about visioning for the future,” added McMahon. The state requires town plans receive an update every five years if a municipality has chosen to have one. McMahon said the strengthening of language puts volunteers in the uncomfortable position of trying to think like lawyers. Campany said just because someone is on board with the process doesn’t mean he or she understands the intricacies of the process. “It’s not necessarily intuitive stuff,” he said.
‘Wake-up call’
At the town level, the JAM decision has been a blessing and a challenge. “[JAM was] a wake-up call to all of us to be more specific, rather than [write] generalized feel-good statements,” Wilmington Zoning Administrator Alice Herrick said. She feels the directive to be more specific has made Wilmington’s plan a better product, but has also created more work. According to Herrick, Wilmington’s town plan and zoning are both in the middle of rewrites. The town knew the zoning needed work before the town plan revisions began, needs that made the process two-pronged. She said she admires the planning commission volunteers who have put in more hours than expected updating the town plan and a “huge rewrite” on zoning. The JAM Golf ruling can help provide guidance for Wilmington, whose Selectboard ran updates past the WRC Town Attorney Robert Fisher of Fisher & Fisher said Herrick. But, she adds, “it’s only one court case” and future cases will refine what the court is saying with JAM Golf. Elizabeth Catlin, head Dummerston’s planning commission and a lawyer, attended a panel two years ago in Putney where attorneys involved in the original JAM Golf decision discussed the case. “The landscape remains unsettled after JAM Golf,” she said. A decision like JAM Golf means inserting directive language into a plan that’s meant to be a vision for the future. Ordinances like zoning that come out of the plan “are meant to be
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of a wetland or wildlife corridor rather than reinventing the wheel, he noted. “Over time, case law tends towards greater specificity as courts narrow their own rulings,” Bennett said. “Don’t be afraid of the ‘big C.’ [Courts] are there to vet. You’ve done all you can do. Don’t worry about being challenged. Be paralyzed by the fear of being sued, and you won’t be able to do anything,” said Campany. “The lesson here is planning is a continuous process,” said van Loon.
n Campany
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• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
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certain,” she said. Catlin feels writing a town plan is easier when the language is not very specific but that JAM Golf encouraged towns to be specific and detailed so courts don’t need to read into the meaning of “encourage” or “promote.” In light of the JAM Golf decision, the Dummerston Planning Commission attempted to bring more specificity into the town’s plan, especially in the landuse chapter, because Vermont Superior Court’s Environmental Division uses the plan to determine Act 250 permits. Catlin said the Selectboard responded with “less than enthusiasm” to the JAM Golf–inspired language, preferring softer language when it read a draft of the plan last summer. “I understand the thinking behind JAM Golf but wonder how politically it can be implemented in a town plan? Especially in a town like Dummerston, where we try to get consensus that is at least OK to most,” said Caitlin.
Getting involved
The WRC planners say public involvement at every stage is crucial, even past final approval. Piet van Loon, Windham Regional Commissioner representing Newfane for the WRC, said there should be public involvement at every meeting. An open, inclusive process needs public involvement even if public input doesn’t make the process streamlined, said Bennett. In Wilmington, for example, in addition to the public meetings, Selectboard members took different chapters of the town plan and solicited input from people in the community they felt had expertise or stakes in specific areas. Catlin hopes community involvement remains high even after Dummerston’s plan is adopted. Dummerston experienced a few heated discussions at its town plan hearings. But Caitlin feels the process of hashing the plan out within a community and building consensus makes for a better plan. “At the base, everyone wanted what was best for Dummerston,” she said.
Looking into the future?
McMahon tells each town she works with that if those writing the plan include something
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The commission
The Windham Regional Commission, one of 11 regional planning commissions (RPCs) in the state, serves 27 towns, including all of Windham County. Established in 1965, the WRC operates under the auspices of the 1967 Vermont Planning and Development Act, which created planning districts as political subdivisions, similar to counties. The commission operates under the leadership of its commissioners — two appointed by each member town, plus a number of at-large “citizen interest commissioners” with particular regional interests, including Brattleboro Development Credit Corp. (BDCC) Executive Director Jeffrey Lewis and Windham Solid Waste Management District Program Coordinator Cindy Sterling. Campany said the WRC is working with the BDCC to “collaborate more strongly” on developing an overall economic strategy for the region and to improve the ways that business can work with the public and nonprofit sectors to “make things happen.” According to Campany, the central role of regional planning is to help member towns ask, and answer, the questions, “What are we looking for?” and “How do we prepare for the future?” Likening the process to a trip, Campany also said regional planning helps an area understand how the past informs the present, and how economy, geography and natural resources influence major events in an area’s history. For Campany, who has ties in Louisiana, Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill provide graphic illustrations of how planning is essential for an area “to be resilient in the face of change, all kinds of change.” “We’re not able to avoid impacts,” he said. “But we need to be aware of what these things are and how to mitigate them.”
Common good
The planning process, he said, involves working with various interests in a community to find “common interests” and determine “a
common good.” “We help convene the parties,” Campany said. “We give them opportunities to collaborate, to learn what resources are available, and to help them in a visioning process: What would this look like? What’s it going to take to get there?” To that end, the WRC staff of 10 works with towns on a variety of issues, ranging from emergency plans, mapping, zoning, transportation, housing, telecommunications and cleanup of industrial property (“brownfields”). Regional planning commissions also have a stake in land use and development (Act 250) and Public Service Board applications, and can participate in the regulatory process for applications that fall under these state laws. In that role, the WRC held hearings in 2008 to solicit community opinion about Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee’s application for a certificate of public good for the power plant’s relicensing. In these roles, the WRC looks at applications “in the context of the regional plan,” Campany said. The commission also provides technical assistance to communities creating town plans (see story this issue). What kind of help the WRC provides “depends on what [the towns] need,” Campany said. “Some have a stronger planning tradition than others. There’s not necessarily a blanket approach.” “A lot of time there’s serious antipathy toward it,” he said, adding that the WRC tries to encourage and cultivate “an incredibly inclusive process” to help citizens find common ground.
A challenge for change
One issue Campany faces: the role of planning commissions as a result of the state’s budget crisis, which prompted the Challenges for Change reforms that Governor Jim Douglas signed into law this May. The new law substantially changes the mechanism by which the WRC and the other state regional planning commissions receive funding. Regional planning commissions will sustain a 5-percent cut for the 2011 fiscal year, on top of the 13-percent cut the previous year. In a provision of the new law that goes into effect in February, the commission will receive performance-based planning grant contracts from the state, instead of a cut of the property transfer tax. “[Regional planning commissions] are a creation of the state, created by law to perform,” Campany said. “We shouldn’t be treated by the state as actual contractors.” The WRC provides “an economy of scale and expertise that towns otherwise would not have,” Campany noted. “If we didn’t exist, you’d have to re-create us.”
NEWS
• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
n Great Auk “We’re not in the business of turning customers off,” said Garza, “but we really need more customers to be profitable.” State Rep. Oliver Olsen, R-Jamaica, then stepped in and arranged a meeting last week between GAW and residents to work out a compromise to keep the Stratton transmitter operating until an alternative can be found. “It was a good meeting,” said Olsen. “There were a few gripes about the existing service, but overall, it was a very positive meeting. The next steps are that I will be heading up an effort to organize folks in the local area to identify unserved households that are looking for broadband and to help identify potential transmission sites.” Recently, more than $150 million in federal economic stimulus grants and loans were awarded to several Vermont companies, including Sovernet Communications in Bellows Falls and VTel in Springfield, to improve and expand high-speed Internet access. Great Auk Wireless did not receive funding. Also, the Vermont Telecomunications Authority recently announced that six companies — North Country Communications, Cloud Alliance, EC Fiber, FairPoint, Sovernet and VTel — submitted proposals for its Backroads Broadband program, which is designed to bring service to 10,000 households and businesses in 99 communities where broadband is lacking and offers money to service providers to connect these towns. According to VTA Chairman Chris Campbell, VTel was asked to provide a list of communities that would be covered by the company’s proposed wireless Internet service. Campbell said towns that will be getting broadband coverage through programs funded with federal stimulus money will not be eligible to participate in the VTA’s Backroads Broadband. Garza said GAW did not submit a proposal. “There are a lot of strings attached to programs [like Backroads Broadband] and the VTA’s proposal did not meet our
from page 1
needs,” he said.
Growing pains
Great Auk Wireless, which was formed in Brattleboro in 2005 by Garza and some other partners, has been on a growth spurt over the last year or so. Last year, the company bought Power Shift in Stowe, APC Services in Rutland and Southern New England Wireless Internet Service Provider Inc. in Springfield, Mass. Earlier this year, it bought FINOWEN in West Lebanon, N.H. With the acquisitions, GAW now serves more than 1,600 customers in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. “It gives us an opportunity to merge our resources with other companies [that were doing] similar things as we are,” Garza said. Now a privately held company with 20 employees, GAW is based in Agawam, Mass. Garza said it is trying to balance servicing the rural customers that gave the company its start with competing in urban areas in Massachusetts and Connecticut. “If you’re in business because you’re the only guy there, you don’t deserve to be in business,” said Garza. “We love servicing rural customers and love seeing the faces of people who haven’t had broadband light up when we tell them we can bring itto them. But for us to grow as a company, we have to be competitive in urban as well as rural markets.” Garza admitted that merging other operations into GAW — such as LastMileNet, the wireless Internet service provider that had serviced the Londonderry area before its sale to GAW — has meant some difficulties. “We ended up dealing with the legacies of the companies we bought; not just the networks, but the expectations,” said Garza. “It hasn’t been easy.”
Hopes and realities
It might sound like sour grapes coming from the mouth of a CEO whose company got shut out of the federal stimulus bonanza, but Garza said that Vermonters who are expecting universal broadband service in the next couple of years will be
bitterly disappointed. “Ninety percent of the federal money is being spent on what’s called ‘middle mile’ service. That’s the wireless towers and the fiber network, and it is totally different from what we do as a ‘last mile’ provider,” said Garza. “There’s no requirement for any of the recipients of the federal money to deliver last-mile service. That’s why it’s going to take longer to bring broadband to Vermont than people think.” Garza is more hopeful about the VTA’s Backroads Broadband project, “since that actually deals with last-mile service.” The state program will subsidize the service to customers of companies that make broadband available to 100 percent of an area unserved by high-speed Internet. But one of the reasons why GAW declined to be part of it is that the project “doesn’t fully deal with the capital part of the equation,” Garza said. “Having money makes broadband expansion possible, especially in those last mile towns, and it’s tough for a small company like ours to compete against the big companies.” He added that “the numbers matter, but our expansion isn’t just based on numbers. We also make decisions based on who needs the service more, because we still think it’s an important part of our business to bring service to people who can’t get it any other way. Not many people want to do the hard work of the last mile. It’s easier to put up towers and string wire than to go house-to-house.” Garza also said Vermonters shouldn’t give up hope on getting broadband soon. “The most important thing you can do is stay after your government officials,” he said. “The more they are challenged, the more accountability there will be and the better the money will be spent. It would be great if Great Auk was the company that provides the last mile, but it’s more important that the companies that did get the money spend it properly.”
Area law enforcement to collect prescription drugs, other medication In a nationwide effort organized by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, residents of Windham County can safely and legally dispose of their prescription drugs on Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The National Take-Back Day provides an opportunity for people to dispose of “expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction,” according to a press release from the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control. “These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use and an unacceptable risk to public health and safety,” the DEA writes. People can anonymously dispose of prescription and overthe-counter tablets and capsules at no cost. Also, “illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine
DOWNTOWN SELF STORAGE
3
are not a part of this initiative,” the DEA notes. The program does not accept intravenous solutions, injectables and needles. The Brattleboro Police Department will accept the drugs at its headquarters in the Municipal Building at 230 Main St. The Windham County Sheriff’s Department will participate at its office (11 Jail St., Newfane) and in other locations throughout the county: Hotel Pharmacy, 20 Elliot St., Brattleboro; West Dover Fire Department, 253 Route 100, West Dover; and the Bellows Falls Police Department, 170 Rockingham St., Bellows Falls. According to Robin Rieske, certified prevention consultant for the state Department of Public Health, unused drugs pose a risk of given illegally to others without a doctor’s supervision, putting their health at risk, or otherwise being abused. Abuse of such pharmaceuticals
is on the rise both in Vermont and nationally, she added. People should never flush prescription drugs down a toilet, as that can contaminate water supplies, she said. “You can also safely mix old prescription drugs with kitty litter,” Rieske said, “but not everyone has a cat.”
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Allison Teague/Commons file photo
Host Jimmie Jazz records his show of what he calls “dance music and jazz from 1920-1945 with excursions into nostalgia, comedy and oddities” at the WOOL-FM studios in Bellows Falls.
Stronger signals on the radio horizon WOOL, VPR get federal approval for new frequencies in county By Randolph T. Holhut The Commons
There will soon be two new additions to the Windham County radio dial. Great Falls Community Broadcasting Company (GFCBC), the organization that operates community radio station WOOL-LP in Bellows Falls, last week was awarded a construction permit by the Federal Communications Commission for the 91.5 FM frequency, as part of WOOL’s transition to a full-power non-commercial educational radio station. “This construction permit is a major hurdle in the very long process of building the future of our station,” GFCBC president Gary Smith said. “It’s a moment to celebrate, to breathe a long sigh of relief, and to gather energy for the next phase in the process: more hard work.” And Vermont Public Radio late last week was also awarded a construction permit from the FCC for an 88.9 FM frequency in Brattleboro. “This is wonderful news, and will fulfill a long-time goal of serving the Brattleboro area with a much stronger broadcast service,” said VPR President and CEO Robin Turnau. Smith said this is the first time in more than 15 years that the FCC has made new licenses available for non-commercial
educational stations, and it is likely that this is the last time they’ll be made available for at least a generation. VPR has long sought a morepowerful signal in Windham County. Its main 89.5 FM frequency from Mount Ascutney in Windsor covers most of the county, but there are many areas — particularly around Brattleboro and in the West River Valley — where the reception is spotty to nonexistent. VPR does currently use 94.5 FM as a 10-watt low-power translator station in Brattleboro, but its signal does not travel much beyond Brattleboro itself. According to Turnau, VPR applied for the 88.9 frequency in the fall of 2007. WOOL, which signed on as a low-power FM station in 2005, also put in its application at the same time. Thousands of applications flooded into the FCC during a brief window of time where community, religious and public broadcasters were offered the opportunity to apply for new channel allocations in the 88-92 section of the FM band designated for non-commercial broadcasting. Smith said a collaboration with the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project, along with the work of Washington, D.C., attorney Gloria Tristani of the regulatory specialist firm Spiegel and McDiarmid,
greatly helped the station navigate through the FCC’s process. Also, Smith said, GFCBC relied on Florida-based radio engineer Rob Robbins, of the firm Radio Data Services, to do the calculations to determine exactly what frequency, at what strength and in what direction WOOL’s new signal would best avoid interference with existing stations. GFCBC will now begin the next phase of moving to a fullpower license, which includes raising the funds for new equipment, planning for increased operating costs and securing permissions from the tower owner for adjustments to WOOL’s signal. The radio station, which has operated almost entirely by volunteers, is gearing up for a flurry of fundraising activities this fall, including a live on-air karaoke competition, a silent auction and a magic show at the Bellows Falls Opera House featuring illusionist Jason Purdy. Turnau said VPR is also preparing for “the challenge of securing the financial resources needed to purchase the equipment and begin broadcasting.” Both Smith and Turnau were unable to offer firm sign-on dates for their respective new frequencies. Under FCC rules, once a construction permit is issued, a station has 18 months to get on the air.
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NEWS
4
BR AT TLEBORO
Welch touts remedies for local businesses during downtown tour By Randolph T. Holhut The Commons
BRATTLEBORO— Brattleboro may have a vibrant downtown economy, but more can be done to help local businesses stay competitive with big box stores and online retailers. That was the message that U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., brought to town on Monday during a one-hour tour of several downtown merchants, accompanied by local government and business leaders. The goal of the tour, he said, is to promote ways to support Vermont businesses and create jobs. He did a similar walking tour of St. Albans last Friday. “Downtowns are critical to our sense of community,” said Welch. “They are critical to our capacity to create jobs, and not just jobs on Main Street.” He stressed that when businesses seek to locate a business in a particular region, the health of a downtown and the sense of energy and activity found there are important factors they consider. Welch said he recognizes that it is harder and harder for local, downtown businesses to compete, which is why he has pushed for three pieces of legislation to benefit such businesses. One is the Credit Card Interchange Fee Act, which was included in the recently passed Wall Street reform legislation and cracks down on debit and credit card “swipe fees” charged by banks. “Retail merchants are paying 2, 3 or 4 percent surcharges on every transaction,” Welch said. “That’s money that comes right out of merchants’ pockets. It’s
Randolph T. Holhut/The Commons
Congressman Peter Welch orders some coffee from Chris Pyatak at Mocha Joe’s in Brattleboro on Monday. a rip off.” According to Congressional data, debit card fees represent a $20 billion a year business, with Visa and MasterCard controlling 80 percent of the market. The new rule, co-authored with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., now gives merchants the option to offer discounts to customers who pay with cash or check. It also allows retailers to set a $10 minimum on credit card purchases and gives the Federal Reserve authority to limit swipe fees to what is “reasonable and proportional” to the cost of the transaction. One merchant who will see a benefit from the new rule is Mocha Joe’s. Pierre Capy, owner of the downtown coffeehouse and coffee roasters, said he reluctantly began accepting credit
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and debit cards a few years ago and estimates nearly half of the purchases are paid for that way. “The swipe rate for us is 23 cents for every transaction,” said Capy. When Mocha Joe’s tried to set a $6 minimum purchase for credit and debit cards, Capy said they were told by the credit companies that “if we charged a minimum, we’d lose the right to use credit cards and they’d pull our equipment.” Another piece of legislation that Welch advocates would subject online purchases to Vermont’s 6 percent sales tax. Under current law, online purchases are subject to sales tax only if the retailer has a retail presence in the state. Most online retailers, such as Amazon. com, do not have local outlets. “That puts our local retailers at a real disavantage,” said Welch. “I’ve talked to a lot of retailers who tell me that folks come in and browse, then go home and go online to buy the same product. So we have our local retailers basically being window shopping for the big retailers.” Such a law could generate more than $40 million a year for Vermont. Technically, Vermont residents who buy a product out of state or online are supposed to pay the sales tax when they file their annual income tax returns. In reality, almost no one follows
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T h e C ommons
• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Women’s issues and the media: connecting the dots Organizers hope film will raise larger discussion By Jeff Potter The Commons
BRATTLEBORO—A media literacy nonprofit is teaming with a women’s shelter to show a provocative film about women in advertising — and to get people talking about the issues the film raises. The Women’s Crisis Center and Know Media will screen the fourth version of Jeanne Kilbourne’s Killing Us Softly on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m., at Brooks Memorial Library. Since the 1960s, Kilbourne has worked to raise awareness of the objectification of women in advertising in general and the consequences of that advertising on alcohol and drug abuse, eating disorders, gender violence and other public health issues in particular. Robin Rieske, coordinator of Know Media, a local media education nonprofit, has organized the screening with Shari, one of the women’s advocates at the Women’s Crisis Center, who does not release her last name for issues of security and confidentiality at the shelter. In 1979, Kilbourne released the first version of Killing Us Softly, a film that made a huge impression on Rieske. “I watched the first half hour and said, ‘Oh, my God, this woman puts it so well!” she said. “In our time, women are still portrayed in a disturbing
or destructive way.” “It’s all connected at some level,” Shari said, pointing out that the film describes the media “objectifying and dehumanizing women.” Shari describes the media’s “polarizing effect” between genders, encouraging violent behavior in males and low selfesteem in females, effects that can have catastrophic consequences in setting up a cycle of violence against women. “If that’s the tone of popular culture, violence against women becomes very real. It becomes OK and acceptable,” she said. Rieske, who works as a certified prevention consultant with the state Department of Health, said she has worked in various capacities with the Women’s Crisis Center over the 18 years she has lived in the area. The role of media and selfesteem issues in women connects to substance abuse and overall health in a way that links Rieske’s vocation, substance-abuse treatment and prevention, with her labor of love, media literacy. Rieske, describing the film as “very provocative, with a lot of opportunity for discussion afterward,” hopes Killing Us Softly will stimulate a community awareness of women’s violence issues. “Twenty years ago, there
Randolph T. Holhut/The Commons
Congressman Peter Welch offers praise for the work of Brattleboro Selectboard Chairman Dick DeGray during a tour of downtown businesses on Monday. the law. For Lisa McCormack, owner of The Book Cellar on Main Street, Welch’s proposal would level the playing field between independent bookstores and the big online retailers. “We’d certainly support it,” she said. “We know that many of our customers shop on Amazon, sometimes because they tell us. When you’re looking at a 1520 percent margin for book sales, 6 percent more makes a difference.” The final element of what Welch calls his “Jobs for Main Street” agenda is what’s called the “Building Star” program. Similar to the “Home Star” program co-sponsored by Welch to provide funds for homeowners
to make energy-efficiency improvements, Building Star would offer low-cost loans and grants for energy-efficiency improvements to commercial and apartment buildings. “Most of the buildings in our downtowns were built before energy-efficiency measures could be incorporated into their construction,” Welch said. “We’ve got to help our downtown building owners retrofit and renovate these historic buildings.” Welch said if enacted, this program could create as many as 150,000 jobs in manufacturing and construction and reduce energy usage by the equivalent of 33 300-megawatt power plants. Hugh Barber is owner of the Manley Apartments on High
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seemed to be a little bit more awareness,” she said. “We used to have Take Back the Night rallies and other events that had the community coming out to support women.” Rieske surmised that the loss of funding for such events over the years has taken its toll on community outreach, though she pointed out that schools have introduced more efforts to help students look at advertising with a more critical, skeptical eye. Shari pointed out that sexual violence against girls and women is on the rise nationally. In its last fiscal year, from July 2009 to this past June, the Women’s Crisis Center responded to 1,147 phone calls to its hotline, offered counseling and other services to 356 women and their 311 children, and sheltered 47 women and their 51 children. The 45-minute film, produced by the Media Education Foundation in Northampton, Mass., will be followed by a question-and-answer and discussion session with members of Know Media and the Women’s Crisis Center. The film is free, but donations will be accepted to cover costs. It is not recommended for children. For more information, contact Rieske at 802-257-2885 or Shari at 802-257-7364.
Street, a block that contains 25 apartments and three businesses. Barber said he did some retrofits on the building, including double-pane windows, improved insulation, a new roof, energyefficient lighting and appliances, and a new oil-fired water heating system. “The comfort level of everyone in the facility has improved,” said Barber. “We’ve saved about 10 to 15 percent on our electric bills. It’s a common-sense idea that’s worked.” Barber said the programs of Efficiency Vermont have helped, but more federal money could help with more improvements to his and other buildings in Brattleboro. Welch also walked the talk about supporting downtown business. He bought Sebastian Junger’s new book, War, about the 14 months the author spent with U.S. combat troops of the 173th Airborne Brigade in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. The list price of the book is $26.99. It is selling for $14.99 with free shipping on Amazon. com. Welch paid $24.32, which includes the Book Cellar’s 15 percent discount for new hardcover books, plus tax.
Fall Jumble Sale to be held BRATTLEBORO — Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St., holds its annual Fall Jumble Sale on Friday, Sept. 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 25, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Clothing and accessories, toys, books, household items and games will be offered. Proceeds benefit the church’s Department of Mission and Service.
Bingo benefits BUHS girls ice hockey BRATTLEBORO — There will be a Bingo game with a $1,000 jackpot at American Legion Post 5 on Linden Street to benefit the Brattleboro Union High School girls varsity ice hockey program on Sunday, Sept. 26. Tickets may be bought in advance for $25; at the door, the cost is $30. Raffle tickets are also being sold. For tickets or more information, contact Nancy Roberts at 802-376-4699.
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T h e C ommons
NEWS
• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
newfane n Zoning require warning periods. The Selectboard does not have to meet first unless it plans to call for a special election by Australian ballot. That also must be warned. None of these actions have been taken.
Petition signers speak
Berrie declined to name specific projects that he believes have been thwarted by the zoning laws. He instead spoke generally about unequal treatment under the bylaws, and about “so many rules, for what reason, so much control,” between Act 250 and the Newfane restrictions. Act 250 is the state land use and development law passed in 1970, which lists 10 specific criteria that new development must conform to before it is built. Berrie feels the two-acre and five-acre lot restrictions now in use in Newfane need more flexibility and should include the addition of one-acre lots in the village. He also takes exception to the town usurping land off of county roads and town trails. “That’s just taking away property rights,” he said. Ted Schreyer, another signer, is of two minds. He’s down on self-interest and favors common sense. A surveyor, Schreyer remembers “a long time ago when there was no zoning and then we were invaded by all these people with money,” some of whom wanted one-acre lots. He says the town had to do something and eventually created the two-acre minimum “which we had to do to keep the land from being all divided up.” Schreyer’s not too keen on the history of the zoning board. “Members were too self-interested. I remember one person wanted a 15-acre minimum.” He says when someone on the board is too enthusiastic about anything, it’s a bad sign. Vikki Butynski said she signed the petition to support her neighbor Joe Wright, who was denied a permit to build a garage for his big equipment. “I’ve lived at Wildwood Acres for three years, and the town was really helpful to me when I moved in, explaining what I needed and who to contact. I really signed for Joe.” Wright, who runs an excavating, logging and maintenance business on Route 30 near Grimes Hill Road, said that several years ago, he went to court
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three times and spent $8,000 trying to get a permit to build the garage. “They spent taxpayer money to deny me a permit for a building I would pay taxes on,” Wright said. He was denied, he explained, because the town said the garage was a commercial building, based on the tri-axle machines he would store, and he needed four acres instead of the 3.85 acres he’s got. Further, a portion of his property had been taken when the road was repaired. Acting Zoning Administrator Ed Feifel, who was part of the process to deny Wright’s permit, said his story was substantially correct. “I think they need some zoning rules for setbacks and so forth,” Wright said, “but I think in this town they abuse them. I was never into politics, but my feeling is that you need to get on these boards. People get on the boards for two reasons: for things you want and for things you don’t want.” E. W. Morse, who signed the petition, is especially aggravated by “the present administration” in Newfane. “I think they’re vindictive,” Morse said, noting the recent change in zoning administrators and relating a story about asking Feifel, who had come to his door to report a possible violation, to get off his property, which was clearly marked with no-trespassing signs. “We need some control,” Morse allowed. “Most legal issues relate to zoning. Maybe this might inspire some modifications.”
Community dialogue?
That sentiment is echoed by Selectman Frank Saponski, who says, “I’m not sure we need to get rid of zoning but I might be in favor of some modifications.” Selectboard Chairman Gary Katz is particularly interested in publicizing the petition and the subsequent hearings. “The Selectboard was told at our last meeting that the Planning Commission will hold their meeting Oct. 19 or 27,” he said. “They will then send the board their recommendations, and we will meet and set a date for the special election. Because this petition calls for the complete repeal of the zoning laws, it requires an up or down vote." Katz said he hoped the meetings would draw a lot of interest
TOWNSHEND Burglars break in, rob 3 businesses, church By Thelma O’Brien The Commons
TOWNSHEND—Burglars broke into three Townshend businesses and a West Townshend Church in the early morning hours of Tuesday and Friday, Sept. 14 and 17. Vermont State Police say one business was hit twice on separate days. An unknown number of intruders, who state police say still remain at large, broke into Messenger Valley Pharmacy, 170 Grafton Rd.; Townshend Pizza, 2041 Route 30 and Mary Meyer’s Big Black Bear Shop, Route 30, early Tuesday, Sept 14. State police say the intruders entered the pharmacy through a window they pried open, while the pizza parlor entry was through a window they broke in the back of the shop. They pushed out an air-conditioning unit from a window to enter the Big Black Bear Shop, state police said. Nothing of substantial value was taken, the owners say. Michael Meyer, owner of the Big Black Bear Shop, said the thieves took away an empty safe. John Papadopoulus, who owns Townshend Pizza with his wife, Mary, said the intruders took a safe that held petty cash. Andrea Seaton, executive director of the Grace Cottage Foundation, which runs the pharmacy, said nothing was taken on the morning of Sept. 14. However, Seaton said thieves using power tools broke into the pharmacy again early Friday morning, stealing some prescription medicines. Thieves also forced their way into Calvary Chapel on Route 30 in West Townshend, stealing two chain saws and two air rifles, as well as breaking into a file cabinet and
scattering papers. At least four state troopers from the Brattleboro barracks responded to the separate crime scenes Friday morning. Trooper Eric Howley, who responded to the church break-in, said he observed a young man near the chapel who was carrying an air rifle and preparing to shoot at an unknown target. The 16-year-old was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property. State police declined to say if the young man was a suspect in any of the burglaries. Troopers said they have increased patrols in the Townshend area and they are continuing their investigations. Seaton said security at the pharmacy has been tightened since the break-ins. “We have added a security camera and lighting and installed loud sirens,” she said. Papadopoulos, who said he’s been selling pizza in one way or another in the region for 24 years, took a call early at his Brattleboro home on the morning of Sept. 14 from building owner Spiro Liristis, who lives in Spofford, N.H. “The owner calls me and he says the tenants who live upstairs say there’s no water,” Papadopoulus said. “Then he calls and tells me the back window is broken in.” When Papadopoulos got to Townshend a little while later, he found that intruders had shut off all the breakers, which was why there was no water, and they had taken the safe. He then called police. Meyer said he arrived at work about 7 a.m., saw that the air conditioner had been pushed in and figured out what was going on. He lives behind the shop and intends to keep a careful eye on things.
and would serve as information sessions. Gregory Record, who was elected to the Selectboard in 1989 and served for seven years, signed the petition mainly because he senses apathy among residents. “My real concern is how uninterested people are,” Record said. “I can’t remember when we had a full [zoning] board or when many people showed up for meetings. If zoning is that important, why don’t people come to the meetings? We don’t even have an actual zoning administrator, just an acting one.” Record, who has a lawn-mowing business after 26 years working at WW Building Supply, says, “I’m not anti-zoning, but I’m
[
against Newfane’s zoning and the way the laws were written. We need to simplify.” He said the Joe Wright case was a good example of someone for some reason sticking to the letter of the law “because one person had an issue.” Another example, Record says, was his own. “I live on a private road behind the Newfane Elementary School. You can’t see my house from [Route 30]. The bylaws say that setbacks have to be 65 feet from the center of the road. I have a two-acre lot and I wanted to build some sheds for my lawn mowing equipment. I’ve dealt with all my neighbors, the school. Nobody had any issues. And I’m on a private road.” The Development Review Board (one step above the zoning board) denied the permit because of a space deficit. “Everything was so cut and dry,” Record said.
5 Why zoning happened
Former Town Clerk Sandra Dowley, who held that job from 1988 to 1999, is in good humor about almost everything. She is married to Richard Dowley, whose family owned a lot of land off River Road. They sold 300 acres of their dairy farm (“200 milkers, 200 young stock”), between River Road and the West River, to Nicholas Mercede, who lives on River Road. Much of that land is now Winchester Stables, owned by Mercede. He owns considerable acreage in the vicinity, including the Maple Valley ski area in Dummerston, the River Bend Motel in Newfane and a large house next door that is now the home of Bootsy’s Restaurant on Route 30. The stables, crosshatched by serene white fencing and luxurious barns, back up to Mercede’s rambling house and tended gardens. The prevailing story told by
several residents who wished not to be named is that the zoning enacted in 1975 by Newfane was, in part, a reaction to Mercede’s plan to subdivide the Dowley farm. The Dowley family maintains a River Road presence. Richard and Sandra Dowley live there, and another part of the family owns and runs Kenolie Village Campground. (“Do you know where that names comes from?” asked Sandra Dowley. “Well, he was named Ken and she was named Olive and everyone called her Olie and that’s how the campground got its name.”) The family is well-known in the community. “Dick mowed the grass on the town green for so many years they finally put up his picture in the court house,” Sandra Dowley reported. She is clear about zoning. “I wouldn’t sign that petition,” she said. “I can’t imagine not having zoning. It’s been there so long. Without it, you could build anything.”
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T h e C ommons
• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
T h e C ommons
• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
VOICES
7
D I S PAT C H
VOICES
OPINION • COMMENTARY • LETTERS Join the discussion: voices@commonsnews.org
A snarky, gay Jew confronts some culture shock while volunteering at a school in rural Uganda
E S S AY
More than we need
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Annie Hawkins, a writer and storyteller, performs at universities, theaters, museums, nature centers and other venues all over the country. She wrote a prizewinning newspaper column in Pennsylvania and has also published short stories, poems, and essays.
“Me, too, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn anything from other countries.” “Huh!” he grunts. A cheery young woman appears at the counter and takes over the bagging. “Thanks for bringing your own bags,” she says. “I wish more customers did.” Another grunt from The Patriot. Amazing that a simple act of conservation has triggered such hostility. I turn my head and smile at my co-conspirator in un-American activity. He shrugs and smiles back.
Jeff Potter/Commons file photo
Marchers from the Brattleboro Food Co-op bring up the plastic-bag debate during this past year’s Strolling of the Heifers parade.
hemorrhaging from a BP well. In a way, the bags are prayer flags. My prayer is “Please wake up.” I try to avoid declaring what other people need because I often have enough trouble figuring out what I need. But one thing I’m sure of: we don’t need plastic shopping bags. I’ve traveled all over this country to tell stories: Omaha, Little Rock, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Denver, Atlanta. In spite of different topography and climate there’s an eerie Segue to Grafton, Vt., sameness about these places. Memorial Day weekend, 2010. It’s not only the box stores, The Nature Museum at Grafton fast-food joints, and “execuhosts The Pale Blue Dot: Voices tive estates” strangling the for a Small Planet. Plastic shop- landscape — it’s the bags. I’ve ping bags collected by the fifth seen them skittering along graders at the elementary school city streets and country roads, — 2,663 bags in all —are hung floating in streams, flapping on a line around the perimeter of in trees, and tumbling across the 10-acre meadow behind the vast acres of agri-biz fields of museum. corn and soybeans in Lancaster From a distance, they might County, Pa. be mistaken for prayer flags. They’re floating in the It’s a graphic visual illustrating Pacific, too, part of the conthe number of bags Americans tinent-sized jumble of plastic consume in one second: 2,663 that is killing marine life and bags = 60 gallons of oil. has caused a change in shipIn the Gulf of Mexico, oil is ping routes. It’s a long way
around the new continent. The extra mileage burns still more oil. I look at the prayer flags and feel overwhelmed by grief.
romantic notion of Vermont. I thought Vermonters must be sensible, practical people. I made my first pilgrimage to the Green Mountains and dreamed that someday I’d live Cut to Grafton Grocery, June here amongst neighbors who 2010. I wait at the counter as a had reverence for the beauty of box of crackers and a bottle of as- unsullied vistas and the bounty pirin are packed in a plastic bag of a clean earth. for the customer in front of me. Now, when I talk with small Grief induces other emotions retailers about curbing the use — anger, despair, impatience, of plastic bags, they mumble and general peevishness. about “convenience” and the I come untethered from my “bottom line” and keeping cusmantra. I shape-shift into a tomers happy. snarling eagle. Talons unfurl If we persist in trashing our from my fingertips. My mind small planet, happiness and the spins with words that will — bottom line will be moot. for the sake of harmony — remain unspoken. Camera pans to my kitchen, “Do you like America? September 2010. Then don’t make a mess. I’m on the phone with Conservation – it’s the new my friend Donald, talking patriotism!” about the exhibit at The Pale I lived in Boston when Blue Dot. Donald lives in Vermont banned billboards Pennsylvania on the 30-acre in 1968. Although there was farm where he grew up. significant opposition from Twenty miles to the west, business owners and strugthe big tractors roll in those gling farmers who leased their Lancaster County fields. The land to billboard companies, air smells of diesel, fertilizers, Republican Ted Riehle’s bill and the stench of thousands passed and was signed into law. of chickens, turkeys, and pigs This news aroused in me a crammed face to face in long,
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neighbors in Maine and Massachusetts. That’s due to the progressive nature of Vermont tax brackets. Dubie is also saying that Vermonters have the highest property taxes in the country. Once again, he is stretching the truth. Hoffer stated that Dubie “has misused Census data on state level property tax and conveniently ignored the fact that Vermont is the only state where education costs have been shifted to a statewide property tax, making the comparison Mr. Dubie is drawing completely without validity.” Also, Hoffer stated Dubie’s figures “do not account for the amount of property taxes paid by nonresidents, which is an important consideration in a state ranked number two in the percentage of vacation homes.” “In 2007,” he continued, “the Joint Fiscal Office estimated that Vermont exported approximately $244 million in property taxes paid for second homes and commercial properties by non-residents. If this is subtracted from the Census figure, Vermont drops down to 16th — quite a different story than ‘the highest in the country.’” Dubie argues that cutting the taxes of the wealthiest Vermonters would stimulate economic growth, for they are the business owners and investors. But as we’ve seen on the national level over the past three decades,
low barns. Birds without beaks. Pigs without tails. The amputations prevent the distressed birds from pecking each other, the depressed pigs from gnawing on the tails of their barn mates. I tell Donald that the schoolchildren collected the 2,663 bags. “How long did that take them? About two days?” he replies, his quiet voice carrying his customary trace of cynicism. “I don’t know. I’d like to believe Vermonters use fewer plastic bags per capita than the rest of the country, but I haven’t seen much evidence.” When Donald and I were young and prone to heated discussions about almost everything, I once stamped my foot and snapped, “Why must you be such a chronic cynic?” “A cynic is just a brokenhearted romantic,” he replied. I stopped arguing and pondered his words. It took a while to grasp his concept. Many moons later, I understand exactly what he meant. n
LETTERS FROM READERS
Taxation in Vermont: The numbers don’t lie
he centerpiece of Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Dubie’s economic plan is to cut income tax rates by about one third. Can state government survive the loss of about $200 billion each year (according to an unofficial analysis by the Legislative Joint Fiscal Office) in lost revenue and still deliver essential services? Dubie won’t say. What the lieutenant governor will say to anyone who will listen is that Vermont’s income tax rate is higher than Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Is that statement true? Doug Hoffer, the Democratic candidate for auditor and one of the leading public-policy analysts in the state, says it is not. “It is disingenuous to talk about Vermont’s ‘income tax’ for the simple reason that Vermont does not have one income tax,” Hoffer wrote in an e-mail to the Vermont media. “It has a progressive tax system so residents pay at very different rates depending on their income. I am certain Mr. Dubie knows this, so it makes me wonder why he would use such language.” Hoffer will concede that Dubie is talking about the top 1 percent of tax filers in Vermont. But the other 99 percent of Vermonters, those who earn less than $373,000 a year, pay significantly lower taxes than their
Brattleboro Ken Schneck, dean of students at Marlboro would start this entry with College, is also producer and a dreadfully funny withost of “This Show is So Gay” ticism about feeling like (www.ThisShowIsSoGay.com), a naa missionary because our entionally syndicated radio show tire group wore matching polo originating each week with a shirts today, which pretty much live broadcast on Brattleboro encompasses the totality of Community Radio. This piece what I know about missionderives from the author’s memaries. And although I seem to oir, “Tulibaluganda: Words have started with a reference to and images from a snarky, the witticism, I have not, and gay Jew’s 12 days in rural will not, give it its full due beUganda;” it represents day 3 cause to do so would make me of his 12-day trip to Uganda a complete tool given the rest in June with Sylvia’s Children of the day. (www.sylviaschildren.org), a nonThis was our first full day at profit organization that supports Mbiriizi Primary School, and it the Mbiriizi Primary School in was an out-and-out doozy. Our Masaka, Uganda, Africa. Of the bus pulled up to the school 1,002 children in the school — paths lined with more than a ages 3 to 14 — 236 are orphans. thousand children, singing, clapping, dancing, and generally looking beatific. We were then ushered to the The reception was for us, front of the auditorium, which and there was no pretending in America would be classiotherwise. There was no room fied as a hollowed-out shell of a for false modesty (gamely look- large, ballroom-size hovel, and ing behind you to see if there were seated in what I have now was someone more important come to understand as seats there), no room for embarrass- of honor in this village: white ment (“No, really, it’s all too plastic lawn furniture. much!”), no room for anything other than to propel yourself An hour of singing and forward through the throngs, dancing followed, punctuated reaching out to touch the outtoward the start with our group stretched hands, and smiling. singing the national anthem I was, of course, the only idiot in some Roseanne-Barr-esque who found some solemnity in homage. the revelry. Every time I looked away
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Plastic bags litter the country and take oil to manufacture Grafton cene: Checkout line at Fresh Market, Pinehurst, N.C., 2004. Three shoppers in front of me, mountains of groceries in their carts. I’m silently reciting the mantra once bestowed upon me by a passionate chef. “Patience,” he said, “is the secret to a good clam dip.” It’s the secret to good roux, good bread, and many things unrelated to culinary skills. When I finally plop my canvas bags and assorted fruits and vegetables on the conveyor belt, the man behind me says, “I see you brought your own bags. I left mine in the car again.” “It takes a while to change a habit, doesn’t it?” “I’ll say. I’m going to run out and get mine. Will you save my place?” “Sure.” When he returns, he asks, “Did you know Ireland now taxes plastic shopping bags? In six months, they dropped their consumption by 90 percent.” “I read that. Good on the Irish, eh?” “We could learn a lot from Europeans.” “If we were paying attention, yes.” The kid at the counter picks up my bags with a look of disgust, as if he’s being forced to swallow fresh dog poop. He’s wearing a stars-and-stripes tshirt. A snarling bald eagle is tattooed on his left forearm. “Well, I like America!” he barks. Taken aback by the this goofy nonsequitur, I stammer,
Among schoolchildren
cutting taxes on the wealthy merely makes the wealthy more so. There are only around 1,400 Vermonters in Vermont who earn more than $500,000 each year. So how many of these 1,400 people are legitimate job creators? Data from the Public Policy Institute, a Montpelier think tank, shows that federal income tax cuts enacted by the Bush administration between 2003 and 2007 saved about $550 million for Vermonters earning more than $200,000. Did this create jobs? Between 2001 and 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the private-sector job growth in Vermont was 1 percent. By comparison, between 1991 and 2000, the rate of private-sector job growth for that period was about 22 percent. While you can’t totally link the Bush tax cuts to the 1-percent job growth rate, these figures do not support Dubie’s belief that tax cuts create jobs. We’re going to hear a lot more about taxes in the coming weeks. We hope that Lt. Gov. Dubie — and his Democratic opponent, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, who we think has taken a bit too much credit for state tax policies in the 1990s — stick to the facts when talking about the subject.
Kruger not given appropriate respect
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’m thinking of Erich Kruger today, as I often do when enjoying the various beautiful touches he built into my home: the simple patio he created behind my office that gives me so much pleasure as I sit there by the brook; the bathtub he installed in a remodeled bathroom; the stepladder to the loft with handles he added so that I, an older woman, could climb the ladder safely. As he worked on my house, Erich was in the midst of planning what would become ReNew. I admired the new logo he showed me, and listened with rapt attention to his ideas for ReNew. I marveled even more as I witnessed his ideas actually flow from the invisible realm of his spirit to manifest concretely in the world. Suddenly, I saw a sign with the logo he had shown me months earlier, on a building
stocked with actual doors, knobs, windows, cabinets, and other useful items that would have gone into a landfill but now sit poised for a second life in other homes. When I read that ReNew’s board of directors had dismissed Erich without warning, I was, like so many who know the huge effort and passion he poured into ReNew, shocked. The board of directors’ press release acknowledged his great contribution. But there was a disconnect between the board’s words and actions. This sudden action, without previous discussion with Erich, did not grow out of the respect that is his due. The words from the board were without life, like plants cut from their living roots. If members of the ReNew board had found a way to demonstrate, through their actions, the respect they professed to
have for Erich, their words would have been filled with life, rooted in truth. They wrote of financial constraints that, they explained, made it essential to dismiss him. But even with such constraints, it must have been possible to take action by discussing the problems with him beforehand and together brainstorming a solution. Perhaps they would together have arrived at the same solution, but in a way that would have truly acknowledged Erich’s visionary contribution. I am saddened by the way ReNew treated Erich. I am also moved by the bigness of heart and character with which he responded, keeping his eyes on the larger prize: the flourishing of the organization in a community that greatly needs it. Gena Corea Brattleboro
Businesses learn about alcohol, tobacco sales
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he Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition (BAPC) acknowledges the businesses that participated in the responsible-beverage-service trainings held in September, which are cosponsored by the Department of Liquor Control. Fifty-one employees of retailers and establishments that serve or sell alcohol and/or tobacco attended the trainings, required for liquor and tobacco licensees every two years. BAPC recognizes the important role that local retailers and restaurants play in preventing underage drinking. Thank you to the following businesses for participating in the training: Basketville, Bootsy’s Grille, Brattleboro Food Co-op, Colonel’s Cabin, Fleming Shell, Four Columns Inn, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Green Mountain Railroad,
Jilly’s Sports Bar, McBreairty’s Liquor Store, Mole’s Eye Café, Panarello’s Italian Dining, Pizza Hut, Putney Inn, Rite Aid, Rocky Top Tavern, Sam’s Steakhouse, Shaw’s Supermarket, Snow Mountain Market, Steak Out, The Tavern, Wasteland, West Wardsboro Market, Whitingham Country Store, and the Windham Hill Inn. Congratulations to Sharron Laurie and Sharry Manning, who each won a gift basket donated by Grafton Village Cheese in the trainings’ raffles! The next training for retailers is Dec. 8 from 3 to 6 p.m. and for establishments on Dec. 9 from 1 to 4 p.m. Both trainings will be held at the Marlboro College Graduate Center. The mission of BAPC is to develop, implement, and support a comprehensive
community effort resulting in the prevention and reduction of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse in the Windham Southeast area. The coalition meets in Brattleboro on the second Friday of each month at noon, from September through June, at the Marlboro College Graduate Center. More information concerning prevention and our ongoing efforts may be found at brattleboroareaprevention coalition.org; contact us at bapcwork@sover.net or 257-2175. Please be part of the solution by joining us in preventing substance abuse in our community. Terri Daniels Brattleboro The writer works as workplace and policy coordinator for the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition.
had it in mind that I
Ken Schneck
“Our bus pulled up to the school paths lined with more than a thousand children, singing, clapping, dancing, and generally looking beatific.” from the stage to one of my trip-mates, they seemed to have a small child in their lap. I, at no point, saw how these interactions went down. I do not know if my colleagues beckoned to the children. I do not know if there was a youth-wrestling match in which the children on the laps emerged victorious. I do not know if incantations were uttered. I do know that I was the only one without a child in my lap, and although I feigned jealousy, I really wasn’t there yet. The rest of the day was significant, if a tad blurry. I remember being really anxious to start my task for the day, which involved visiting every class at the school and handing each individual student a tube of toothpaste. So many levels of experience on this task alone! First, the appreciation. When the assistant principal introduced us to every class and explained to them that they
would be receiving a cheap plastic toothbrush, a travel-size tube of toothpaste, and a small plastic cup in which they could store their new treasures, they applauded. For dental hygiene! Oh, and how about the part where each student curtsied, some with knees to the floor, while whispering a barely audible “thank you”? My responding “kale” — “you’re welcome” in Luganda — didn’t belong in that same exchange.
tactile position. I didn’t walk across campus today without at least two (and usually far more) children holding my hands. If there was some room for pause about holding hundreds of different hands of children with whom I had no relationship, it is not a space I can recall. On the verbal side of communication was an incredible summit I had with six 12-yearolds toward the end of the day as I had a 6-year-old on my lap I can’t remember a part of and another 6-year-old on my my day that didn’t have me im- arm. mersed in children. But even They started by asking me this interaction was extraordiif I knew Obama. After I afnarily layered. firmed that he was indeed my On one side was the nonpresident, I launched into this verbal communication: sitting whole biography of Michelle with children on a wall near the Obama and her passion for playground as they sat in my children and the food they inlap, felt my arms, looked at my gest. I thought it was so imporpalms, touched my earrings. tant to highlight her, though These were always with the I’m now not sure why, and younger children, who pushed their lack of interest validated others out of the way, ever so this uncertainty. gently, to jockey for a better They then told me that the Ugandan president is a bad man who steals land and that PRIMARY SOURCE it is important that people vote against him next year. I made them promise me they would vote when they were 18, not even knowing if that was the voting age, so it’s possible I may have contributed to voter Judge rules that Brattleboro Selectboard erred in keeping fraud. Apologies.
‘Simply no uncertain language’ citizen referendum question from town ballot Editor’s note: Following is the text — lightly copy edited for readability — with the judgment in the case of Kurt Daims v. Town of Brattleboro. Daims sued the town in light of the Selectboard’s rejecting his nonbinding referendum question seeking voter opinion on whether “to urge the state legislature to initiate a feasibility study on taking [the Vermont Yankee] plant by eminent domain” — on the Australian ballot at Annual Town Meeting earlier this year.
John P. Wesley serves
as presiding judge in Vermont Superior Court, Windham Unit.
Meeting a nonbinding resolution “to urge the state legislature to initiate a feasibility study on taking [the Vermont Yankee] plant by eminent domain.” Despite undisputed compliance with the provisions of the charter, the Selectboard did not include this item on Newfane the warning for the town meethis case turns on ing, taking the position that it a purely legal queshad discretion to determine tion: When 5 perwhether an advisory article cent of the voters should be included even if a of Brattleboro sign a petition petition of the voters was propto include in the town meeterly submitted. ing warning an article to reflect In support of its position, public sentiment and be advithe town relies on a line of sory only, does the Selectboard cases dating back to the late have discretion to refuse 1960s holding that under the to include the article in the pertinent state statute govwarning? erning initiatives, municipal The plaintiff argues that Selectboards, or councils have the Selectboard does not have discretion in deciding whether such discretion and moves to include advisory articles — for a judgment ordering the rather than articles on which town to include his properly the town has authority to take petitioned advisory article in binding action — even if the the town meeting warning, advisory articles are properly while the town argues that the petitioned. Selectboard does have such In Clift v. City of South discretion and moves for a Burlington, the 2007 ruling judgment dismissing the plain- holds that, despite compliance tiff’s complaint. with petition requirements, the The court concludes that city council was not required to the plain language of the include an advisory ballot item Brattleboro Town Charter designed to influence legislative mandates inclusion of an advi- action on parental notification sory article that is the subject of minors seeking an abortion. of a petition signed by at least 5 percent of the voters. Those seeking to enforce Thus, the Court grants plain- the statutes and charter sectiff’s motion for judgment on tions being applied in these the pleadings and denies the cases argued that the statutown’s motion for dismissal or tory language left no choice but summary judgment. to include properly petitioned articles. The Brattleboro Town Nonetheless, seizing on a Charter explicitly addresses distinction between “business petitions for advisory articles: properly to be transacted” by “The voters of the town shall councils or Selectboards and have the power to petition for matters that were “merely adviinclusion in the warning of sory,” the Supreme Court rean article to reflect public sentifused to interpret the statutes ment and to be advisory only.” as mandating ballot measures (Emphasis added.) addressing the latter. If the petition is signed by at In the Clift decision, the least five percent of town votcourt wrote: “While the City ers and is otherwise proper, the could have warned the adviSelectboard “shall place the ar- sory article and presented it to ticle on the warning.” voters, it was under no obligaOther subsections address tion to do so. To decide othpetitions seeking other types of erwise would be to subject the action at a town meeting. town meeting — a forum for Last winter, 5 percent of the conducting municipal business voters of Brattleboro, includ— to a debate on every social ing the plaintiff, signed a petiissue of interest to voters.” tion to include on the warning A close reading of the cases for the March 2010 Town on which the town relies,
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however, and the statutory and charter provisions which they construe, reveals a significant difference in comparison with the Brattleboro Charter. Neither Vermont statutes nor the charter provisions previously construed by the Supreme Court deal directly with the procedural posture of advisory articles. Given the ambiguity arising from silence, the court in those cases construed the provisions to only require inclusion of articles addressing matters on which the town meeting had authority to act, reasoning that municipal Selectboards and councils should have discretion to balance the efficient transaction of city business with the provision of a local forum for discussion of social issues. The town charter, on the other hand, specifically addresses advisory articles and includes them in the power to initiate action by petition granted to town voters. (Indeed, one might reasonably infer that the drafters of this provision had this line of cases in mind, and chose to override it by specifically addressing advisory articles.) Because the plain language of the charter expressly mandates inclusion of a properly petitioned “article to reflect public sentiment and to be advisory only,” there is simply no uncertain language susceptible of further construction. The “ambiguity” underlying the holdings in earlier cases, which arose from the absence in the statute or other municipal charters of any mention of petition measures seeking “nonbinding” or “advisory” actions, has been explicitly eliminated in Brattleboro’s charter. The intent of its framers is plain in the text. In this respect, as the petitioners insist, Brattleboro’s charter appears unique. Indeed, what the Supreme Court acknowledged in Clift a municipality statutorily could do — warn a purely advisory article and present it to the voters — Brattleboro’s charter explicitly requires that its Selectboard must do. Thus, the reasoning of Clift and other cases granting the Selectboard discretion in such matters cannot control, and the Selectboard should have included this advisory article in the warning for the town meeting. According to state
I asked about their plans when they graduate (they all wanted to be doctors, except for the 6-year-old on my lap who wanted to be a farmer), what life is like for them as orphans, and what they thought about snow. They had this amazing method of indicating they had something to say by clearing their throat. It was as adorable and obvious as it was respectful and earnest. The 12-year-old to my immediate right used the throatclearing method to perfection as I was waxing on about blizzards. (I live in Vermont.) When I gave him the floor, he asked me if it was true that when babies were born in America, they automatically have parents, money, and a home. Without hesitation, I told him that no, this was not true, and that many children do not have a home. “Orphans?” he asked. “Yes.” I replied. This seemed to surprise him. I made them all promise that we would talk again, although I have no way of holding them to that. But I do so want my own little Dead-Poets-ReadingLolita-in-Uganda klatch, so I’m counting on a bit of fate to bring us together again. n
statutes, unless otherwise provided by law, when the charter of a municipality provides for procedures other than those established by law, the provisions of that charter shall prevail. This leaves the question of a remedy. The plaintiff originally sought to have this article included in the warning for the March 2010 meeting, which is obviously no longer possible. The charter contemplates the calling of a special meeting if a petition is properly received more than 60 days before the next town meeting, and this would be an appropriate remedy. However, at this point it may be preferable to both parties to wait and have the article included in the warning for the next Annual Town Meeting. The Court will therefore leave it to the parties to agree on a remedy in the first instance; if they cannot reach agreement within a reasonable time of no more than 20 days from the date of this order, the Plaintiff can return to Court with a motion seeking his desired remedy. n
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8 MILESTONES
Births, deaths, and news of people from Windham County A memorial service was held at the Obituaries United Church of Dorset and East Rupert on Sept. 18. Donations to the Editor’s note: The Commons will Activities Fund, Thompson House, 80 publish brief biographical information for Maple Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301 citizens of Windham County and others, or the United Church of Dorset and on request, as community news, free of East Rupert. • Nor ma Jane (Cleare) charge. • A l b e r t a H . A n t a k i , 8 4 , of H a m e l m a n , 5 8 , o f W e s t Brattleboro. Died Sept. 13 at Wardsboro. Wife of Paul Bedortha. Thompson House Former wife of Jeffrey Hamelman. in Brattleboro. Mother of Erin Zargo, Paige Wife of Addison Lakin, Rebeccah Hamelman, Sean Pond, Ralph Carey Hamelman, Bonnie Hamelman, Sara and John Antaki, Bernard and Jeremy Bedortha. Was all predeceased. an accomplished baker and was a Mother of Juanita co-owner of Hamelman’s Bakery in L a n e a n d h u s - Brattleboro and the sole owner of band, Kenneth of Sunflour Bakery-Peace of Hamelman’s Brattleboro; Ida Welch and hus- in West Dover. Memorial inforband, Herman, of Virginia; Marlene mation: There will be a gathering Heinonen and husband, Robert, of of friends and family at her home in Winchester, N.H.; George Pond and West Wardsboro at 2 p.m. on Sunday, wife, Paula, of Vernon; and step- Sept. 26. Donations to Grace Cottage daughter Jean Berke and husband Hospital in Townshend, VT 05353. John of Cambridge, Mass. Sister of • Edward E. Haslund, 80, of Catherine Pike of Deerfield, Mass.; Wilmington. Died Sept. 15 at his Delia Bolster of Dummerston; Shirley home. Father of Sally Ambuhl and Horton of Ayer, Mass.; Donald Lynch her husband, Michael of Latham, of Arizona and Laurence Lynch of N.Y, Stepfather of David Schneider Dummerston. Additionally she leaves and his wife, Sue of Lee, Mass.; and 13 grandchildren, 30 great grandchil- Karen Hotaling of Phoenix, N.Y. dren, three great-, great-grandchil- Predeceased by a brother, Ralph dren and many nieces and nephews. Haslund. Graduate of Wilmington She was predeceased by her parents, High School and Union College in Albert and Helen (Lawrence) Lynch, Schenectady, N.Y. Worked for Knolls and a sister, Olive Lynch. Born and Atomic Power Lab in Niskayuna, N.Y., raised in Brattleboro. Worked for many for 42 years, retiring in 1992, and was years in the housekeeping department responsible for designing, manufacat Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. turing and testing the nuclear reacPreviously worked in the kitchen at the tors for the U.S. Navy’s submarine former Brooks House and the former fleet. Memorial information: H. Margolin Pocketbook Shop. Was a A graveside funeral service was held member of Agape Christian Fellowship Sept. 21 in the family lot in Riverview and had also attended Community Cemetery in Wilmington. Donations Bible Chapel. Was a longtime mem- to the Wilmington Historical Society, ber of the Retired Senior Volunteer c/o Covey & Allen Funeral Home P.O. Program in Brattleboro, where she Box 215 Wilmington, VT 05363. volunteered many hours at the for- • Harriet R. Hogan, 88, of Utica, mer Linden Lodge nursing home. N.Y., formerly of Brattleboro. Died Loved to knit and for many years was Sept. 10 at the Presbyterian Home in active with the Reformer Christmas New Hartford, N.Y. Wife of the late Stocking, knitting baby blankets and John E. Hogan. Mother of Theresa baby sets. M emor ial i n for- Prusak of Henderson, Nev.; Mary mation : A memorial service was Cheney of Utica, N.Y.; and Janice held Sept. 17 at Atamaniuk Funeral Symons of Green Valley, Ariz. Sister Home in Brattleboro, with burial of Lillian Frost and Ann Leary of in Dummerston Center Cemetery. Brattleboro; Mary Remillard of Donations to The Thompson House Northfield, Mass.; Louis Bobee of Activities Fund, 80 Maple St., Readsboro and Joseph J. Bobee Sr. Brattleboro, VT 05301. Condolences of Brattleboro. Predeceased by a son, to the family may be sent to www.ata- Edward J. Hogan Sr., and a daughter, Patricia Penoyer. Memorial inmaniuk.com. • Merle “Bar ney” W. Bailey, for mation : A memorial service 85, of Vernon. Died Sept. 16 at for family and friends will be held at 11 Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. a.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at St. Michael’s Husband of Betty G. Gregory Bailey Cemetery in Brattleboro. for 59 years. Father of Michael Bailey, • Sandra Diane Holt, 58, of and his partner, Kelly Massicotte, of Dummerston. Died Sept. 15 at Pine Waterbury Center. Predeceased by Heights Nursing Home in Brattleboro. a daughter, Betty-Jo Bailey. Enlisted Daughter of the the late Charles and in the Navy upon graduation from Ruth Farrington Holt. Sister-in-law Brattleboro High School and served of Carolyn Holt of Putney. Aunt of his country during World War II. His Thomas Holt, Timothy Holt and ship, the USS Presque Isle, provided Tammy White. Predeceased by a logistical support during the invasions brother, Theodore Alan Holt. Worked of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Upon his as an administrative assistant at the return stateside, Barney hitchhiked Holstein Association and the School to California and back with his child- for International Training. Enjoyed hood friend, Walter Zaluzny, which composing music and poetry and was provided good fodder for many stories. best known for her musical talent. Was Retired from Cersosimo Lumber Co. a local organist and played for church after more than 30 years. Memorial services, weddings, funeral, and gatherinformation: A memorial service ings throughout her life. Memorial will be held at a later date. Donations infor mation : A memorial serto The Gathering Place, 30 Terrace vice was held Sept. 20 at the Putney Federated Church, with burial at the St., Brattleboro, VT 05301. • Eleanor “Ellie” (Hall) Baker, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Putney. 92 , of Brattleboro, Died Sept. 15 Donations to the American Cancer at Maplewood Nursing Home in Society or to Brattleboro Area Hospice. Westmoreland, N.H. Wife of the late • Helen Elizabeth Smith Kelton, Curtis L. Baker for 47 years. Mother of 87, of Saxtons River. Died Sept. 15 Gerald “Thumper” Baker of Guilford; at her home. Wife of the late Merle Carol Eddy of Hinsdale, N.H.; Janice Kelton. Mother of Richard Kelton Chase of Vernon; Elaine Cheney of and wife, Althea, of Winchester, Montpelier; and Margaret Winn of N.H.; Michael Kelton and wife, Ellen, West Chesterfield, N.H. Also survived of Greenfield, Mass.; Nancy Olney by 10 grandchildren, 17 great-grand- and husband, Gary, of Derby Line, children and two great -great grand- and Kathy Musson of Havre, Mont. sons. Graduate of Brattleboro High Sister of Deborah Thomas of Arizona. School, Class of 1935. Baked breads Predeceased by her sibling Howard, for the Centerville Store on Western Maynard, Ralph and Paul Smith, Avenue, and later was employed at Pauline Wadleigh, Bertha Grout, the Academy School kitchen, where and Josephine O’Malley. Graduate one of her specialties was her light, of Bellows Falls High School, Class delicious rolls. Longtime member of of 1941. Worked for A.J. Tidd and First Congregational Church in West Rockingham Hospital, and retired Brattleboro and a charter member of from Unified Data Products in Grafton the church’s Thursday Night Club. after 20 years. was a member of the Also a member of the Brattleboro Fire Community Christian Church of Department Auxiliary and held mem- Athens, where she served as treasurer bership in the West Bees Homemakers for 40 years and was also a member of Group. M emor ial i n for ma- the Ladies Guild, where she served as tion : A memorial service was held president for many years. Memorial Sept. 18 at First Congregational information: A memorial service Church with committal services and was held Sept. 21, at the Community burial in Westminster West Cemetery. Christian Church in Athens, with Donations to Hilltop House, 65 burial in the Cambridgeport Cemetery. Harris Ave. Brattleboro, VT 05301 Donations to The Restoration Fund or to First Congregational Church for the Athens Brick Meeting House Memorial Gifts Fund, P.O. Box 2389, c/o Darlene Wyman, 56 Brookline West Brattleboro, VT 05303-2389. Road, Athens, VT 05143. Condolences to the family may be sent • Stanley W. Lacey, 84, of Vernon. to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www. Died Sept 9 at Vernon Green Nursing Home. Husband of the late Alice atamaniuk.com. • Alice Viens Putnam Brunelle, Fournier Lacey for 61 years. Father 61, of Brattleboro. Died Sept. 12 at of three sons, Stanley, Alan and his home. Daughter of Mildred Widener wife, Debbe, and Daniel and his and the late Ervin Viens. Wife of Roy wife, Tammy; and five daughters, Putnam. Mother of Brenda Putnam. Karen Renfrow and her husband, Sister of Ruth Ann, Shirley, Carole Charles, Donna Richer and her husand William. Memorial infor- band, Albert, Alice Johnson and her mation : A graveside service was husband, Kenneth, Theresa Vinales held Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. at the Meeting and her husband, George, and Janice House Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro. Carbone and her husband Robert. Donations to the Epilepsy Foundation. Also leaves 24 grandchildren and 38 • M a r y L . D e V r i e s , 8 3 , in great-grandchildren and three sisters. B r a t t l e b o r o . Was a decorated World War II veteran Died Sep. 12 at and an avid Red Sox and Patriots fan. Thompson House Memorial information : No in Brattleboro. information available. Wife of the late • Leo Paul Leclaire, 85 , of Justus J. DeVries Brattleboro. Died Sept. 16 at Thompson for 31 years. House Nursing Mother of Lou in Brattleboro. Nelsen, Nancy Husband of the late DeVries, Justus Heloise (Giroux) DeVries, Jr. and Andrew DeVries, Leclaire for 49 and their respective spouses Paul years. Father of Nelsen, Colin Nickerson, fiancée Lynn Linda Goss and Heffelfinger and Amy Thebault. Sister husband, Stephen of Elizabeth Donnellan and brother James Lott, Jr. Predeceased by a sis- of Spofford, N.H., Michael Leclaire ter, Ruby Tucker. Born in Brooklyn, and wife, Bridget of Chesterfield, N.Y., Graduate of Fort Hamilton High N.H., Donna Traverse and husSchool, Class of 1945. Lived in New band, John of Richmond, N.H., Jersey and Connecticut before moving Steven Leclaire and wife, Nancy of to Vermont to live full-time in 1969. Brattleboro, and David Leclaire also Among her passions were hand weav- of Brattleboro. Brother of Marie ing, quilting, long-distance bicycling, Rabideau of Brattleboro; Irene Pollica swimming, yoga, baking and garden- of Hinsdale, N.H.; Martha Castine of ing. Memorial information: Brattleboro; Jeanne Lyons of Vernon
T h e C ommons
n Manager resigns
of the things we’ve done [in Wilmington],” Rusten says, referring to collaborative economic development projects taking root in the Deerfield Valley. “Collaboration” sums up Rusten’s management style, and he plans to replicate the collaborative approach in South Burlington that led to successful teamwork in the Deerfield Valley, such as the Tri-Town Economic Development committee. Rusten said there’s value in tapping into others’ strengths, and he always aims to build teamwork and facilitate discussions while relying on and trusting people’s skills. “Sometimes it takes longer, but the collaborative approach tends to get better results,” he says. He doesn’t see the sense for neighboring towns to compete with one another for projects like individual industrial parks. In addition to the Tri-Town Economic Development plan, Wilmington and Dover collaborate through joint bidding. Or why, in the Deerfield Valley, should one community plan one festival in one town for one weekend, when a larger, multiple-town festival can last a week? Rusten asked rhetorically. One result of that questioning: the Deerfield Valley hosted its third annual Blueberry Festival • Thomas “Tom” McHaffie Jr., last summer, with activities tak49, of Montague, Mass. Died Sept. ing place in Wilmington, Dover 9 in Calvin Coolidge Nursing and and Whitingham over a week. and Anita Stacey of Brooksville, Fla.; and Marcel Leclaire of Zephyrhills, Fla. Predeceased by siblings Joseph Henry, Normand, Rene and Richard Leclaire, Yvette Broulard, Annette Marchant, Gertrude Raymond and Jeannine Smith. Born in Burlington and lived in Brattleboro for more than 60 years. Graduated from the F.B.I. National Academy. Served in the Navy from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. He survived the sinking of the destroyer USS Beatty during the North African campaign in 1943. He was assigned to another destroyer, the USS Ingraham, which saw action in the Pacific campaign including the bombardment of Iwo Jima, the liberation of the Philippines, and the Battles of Leyte and Luzon Gulfs. During the Battle of Okinawa, his ship was heavily damaged by a Japanese kamikaze plane. Was employed by Baker’s Bookstore for 16 years prior to taking a position with the Brattleboro Police Department for 22 years, retiring as Deputy Chief in 1988. Upon his retirement, he was employed by the Windham County Sheriff’s Department as a bailiff in the Windham Superior Court for 11 years. Memorial information : A funeral Mass was held on Sept. 22 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, with burial with full military honors will follow in Morningside Cemetery in Brattleboro. Donations to the Thompson House Nursing Home activities fund, 80 Maple St., Brattleboro, VT 05301 or to Rescue, Inc., P.O. Box 593, Brattleboro, VT 05302. Condolences to the family may be sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www.atamaniuk.com.
Rehabilitation Home in Montague, Mass., Son of the late Thomas and Norma (Harmon) McHaffie Sr. Brother of James McHaffie and his wife, Kelly, of Brattleboro. Worked a carpenter and repaired trucks in Franklin County. Memorial infor mation : A memorial service and burial was held Sept. 15 at Leviatt Cemetery in Charlemont, Mass. Donations to the Charlemont Ambulance Fund, Town of Charlemont, Charlemont MA 01399. • Jer r y Pfohl, 81, of Acworth, N.H. Died Sept. 7 at DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. Husband of Gretchen Abendschein for 30 years. Father of Christopher Pfohl of Holyoke, Mass.; Leslie Quarrier of Acworth; Benjamin Pfohl of Blue Hill, Maine; Mark Pfohl of Salvador, Brazil; and Jason Pfohl of Oaxaca, Mexico. Brother of Peter Pfohl of Bradford, Pa.; and Barbara Byrnside of Southern Pines, N.C. Born in Bradford, Pa., he became a serious painter as a teen, and went on to study in New York, London and Paris with some of the top painters of the day and earning major awards for his work. After living in New York City and exhibiting at Janet Nessler Gallery in the 1960s, he moved to Brattleboro and eventually settled in Acworth. His figurative work is known for its complex subject matter, often depicting enigmatic characters in whimsical, inscrutable or disturbing situations. His landscapes, sometimes massive canvasses, are bold yet meticulous odes to New England’s rocky rivers and lush foliage. His work is in countless private collections. M emor ial i n for mation : A memorial service will take place on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. on Pfohl Road, across from 188 Charlestown Rd., in Acworth. Donations to the Acworth Community Charitable Trust, P.O. Box 10, Acworth, NH 03601. • Ann G. Williams, 84, of Hinsdale, N.H. Died Sept. 8 at DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. Mother of Charles F. Williams and his wife, Carolyn, of Brattleboro. Predeceased by five brothers and one sister. Worked for the Veterans Hospital and the Arsenal in Watertown, Mass., as an administrative assistant. Memorial information : A memorial service was held on Sept. 18 at her home.
Births • In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), Sept. 2, 2010, a daughter, Callie Ada-Stover Burch, to Summer Burch and Jason Stover of Brattleboro; granddaughter to Walter and Kathy Stover of Jamaica, Gary and Donna Burch of Granville, N.Y., and Bonita Slater of Cambridge, N.Y. • In Northampton, Mass., (Cooley Dickinson Hospital), Aug. 28,
• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The road to South Burlington
Rusten says he heard about South Burlington’s assistant town manager vacancy and, after a few conversations, applied for the job. He has known the city’s town manager, Sanford “Sandy” Miller, for many years and served with him on the board of directors of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT). South Burlington offered Rusten the job on Sept. 18. According to Miller, the job had been posted for a matter of weeks. “It [the process] did go quickly,” he says.
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Miller described the assistant town manager position as his “right hand man” and said as he and staff members reviewed the applications, Rusten’s name consistently rose to the top of everyone’s list. “We feel very fortunate,” Miller said, adding he appreciates Rusten’s “keen insights,” analytical abilities and collaboration ethos. “The whole package makes Bob [Rusten] an attractive city manager,” Miller said. Although projects assignments won’t be finalized until Rusten begins work on Oct. 25, Miller said he will be working on large projects like the updating budget procedures, developing a capital improvement plan, and the downtown city center. Thanks to his background in the legislature, Rusten will also assist with “legislative relations” between the city and the Statehouse. “Our gain is Wilmington’s loss, but I thank them. He is a great addition to our team,” said Miller. Rusten plans to stay in the South Burlington area during the work week and return to Wilmington, where he and wife Sue have their home. He hopes this will give him time to do things in Wilmington on the weekend.
Former legislator
Rusten took the town manager position in 2006 after retiring from the state House of Representatives, where he served beginning in 1997. “One could call it [the Legislature] a 10-year sentence, but we’ll leave it at that,” he says with a laugh. Rusten ran his own business, 21st Century Consulting, from 1991 to 2006, where he facilitated team building and designed human-resources-related trainings. He previously worked as a senior project associate with New Directions Management Services, Inc., and as a recruitment and training supervisor for Mount Snow. Rusten doesn’t see
2010, a son, G a b r i e l N e r o Carrasquillo, to Matthew and Leah (Nero) Carrasquillo of Easthampton, Mass.; grandson to Artie and Phyllis Carrasquillo and Peter and Judith Nero of Brattleboro; great-grandson to Olive Boyer and Minnie Carrasquillo, both of Brattleboro, and Peter and Lucy Nero of Hudson, N.Y.
Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on advanced placement exams. Aaron Morton qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3.0 or higher on five or more of these exams. Tanner Degenkolb qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, School news and grades of 3.0 or higher on four or • Three students at Bellows Falls more of these exams. Marion Major Union High School have earned AP qualified for the AP Scholar Award by Scholar Awards from The College completing three or more AP Exams with grades of 3.0 or higher.
Wilmington’s successes and strides in economic development as his alone; instead, he places laurels at the feet of his colleagues and the Selectboard. He says the board set the vision for Wilmington, involving the community in the process. He simply implemented the board’s vision, he points out. Rusten advises Wilmington’s next town manager to reach out to town employees and involve them rather than striking out alone. “The staff are incredibly committed to this town, way beyond what most understand,” he says. Selectboard Vice-Chair Bruce Mullen says Rusten “has done a tremendous job” and brought a lot of skill to his position. Speaking for himself and for the entire board, Mullen describes Rusten’s economic development efforts as a “tremendous step forward” for the area. He says Rusten’s ability to facilitate meetings and summarize issues has helped the Selectboard make better decisions. He also credits Rusten’s streamlining of municipal government processes and procedures, as well as his work on the budget with helping Wilmington through the recession. Moving forward, the Selectboard is preparing for the interim between Rusten’s departure and successor. Mullen says the Selectboard will divvy up the 80 tasks on Rusten’s “stream of consciousness list” between the Selectboard, department heads and, even, citizens. “All the department heads are very capable, and I really don’t see [Rusten’s departure] slowing down anything,” Mullen says. The Selectboard will also work with the VLCT on the job search, said Mullen. Prior to Rusten’s hire in 2006, the town manager’s position stood vacant for six months, but Rusten told the Selectboard in a special meeting on Tuesday that he anticipates a shorter search, based on current hiring trends for town managers. “Bob [Rusten] will be sorely missed, but with the Selectboard, department heads and citizens, we’ll get through,” Mullen says. “I will miss him, but I wish him the best,” says Nona Monis, Dover town administrator. Monis says she appreciates how Rusten always kept the lines of communication open between Wilmington and Dover and facilitated the towns’ joint bidding and the Tri-Town group. “Our loss is someone else’s gain,” she says. But, she adds, noting that the Deerfield Valley isn’t losing him as a citizen, “I’ll rope him in. He’ll be on every committee we can find.”
Brattleboro Area
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Shop the Bulk Department The Co-op’s bulk section has all kinds of products in bins and jars.You choose how much product you want. We provide containers or you can bring your own. Select among rice, grains, nuts, coffee, tea, herbs, spices, and more. Our great selection of flours, including organic pastry flour, make the lightest, flakiest pie crusts. Apple season is here! How about making a delicious apple crisp with pecans, crystallized ginger, dried cranberries, and a touch of nutmeg?
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010 • page 9
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Westward W
By Jeff Potter The Commons
EST BRATTLEBORO—A group of artists and craftspeople from the West Brattleboro and Marlboro area will open their studios en masse this weekend. Douglas Cox of Sunset Lake Road, who makes violins, violas and cellos used worldwide by professional and traditional musicians of all genres, has coordinated a tour of 18 studios within a six-mile radius for the second annual Brattleboro-West Arts Open Studio Tour. “The weekend features some work that responds directly to the Vermont countryside, like landscape paintings, figured stoneware, and blown-glass flowers,” writes the group’s publicist, Paula Melton. “Other artists offer a contemporary twist on a traditional local art form, such as quilting, fine cabinetry and wood-fired clay vessels. “Still others incorporate trees or stones from their own property, or take inspiration from the ripples of the Whetstone Brook, the brilliant autumn leaves or the geometry of a freshly mown hayfield.” The tour also provides an opportunity for artists to expand their markets, said Cox, who estimates that the group collectively brought gross sales of $750,000 into the local economy last year, approximately 80 percent from out-of-state. Cox describes the group’s economic focus simply, as two questions. “How do we help each other be more successful?” he asks. “How do we bring a better return?” But the tour provides return beyond dollars and cents, in the form of exposure to potential customers and clients and the joy of sharing beautiful objects with local people who might not fully be aware of the creative lives of their neighbors. “It’s a convenient opportunity to visit,” Cox said. “I’m not expecting everyone to show up and buy a violin.” “Our goal is to share the place and the process from which our creativity flows,” Cox says. Visitors on the tour can stop at the C.X. Silver Gallery at 814 Western Ave. (Route 9), and while there, pick up brochures and maps to the individual galleries. On Saturday, from 1 to 3 p.m., in Cox’s studio, Michelle Liechti and Peggy Spencer will play classical works from Bach and other composers. On Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Laurie Indenbaum and Jill Newton will play fiddle tunes. All music will be performed on Cox’s instruments. In addition to Cox’s studio, the tour includes the work spaces of: Karen Kamentzky of Dummerston creates wall hangings “inspired by microscopic/cellular level imagery • Josh and Marta Bernbaum, glass (West Brattleboro). — a kind of visual invented biology with textiles,” she writes. • Stephen Lloyd, architecture/painting (West Brattleboro). • Matt Tell, wood-fired ceramics (Marlboro). • Xi Cai, painting (West Brattleboro). “Duet Vase,” by • Michael Weitzner, dry-stone masonry (West Brattleboro). Michelle Holzapfel, • Janet Picard, painting (West Brattleboro). one of the artists from • Michelle and David Holzapfel, Applewoods Studio and West Brattleboro and Gallery, woodworking (Marlboro). Marlboro who will • Naomi Lindenfield, layered colored clay (West Brattleboro). open their 18 studios • Jim Giddings and Petria Mitchell, painting (West Brattleboro). on Sept. 25 and 26. • Cathy Osman and Tim Segar, painting and sculpture Holzapfel and her (Marlboro). husband, David, make • Kris McDermet, hooked and braided rugs (Dummerston). handmade/hardcarved • Karen Kamenetzky, fibers (Dummerston). funiture and vessels at • Ron Karplus, sculpture and painting (West Brattleboro). Applewoods’ Studio • Jason E. Breen, woodworking (Brattleboro). and Gallery at 2802 • Xi Le, video and drawing (West Brattleboro). Route 9 in Marlboro. Visitors can also see work from other members of the consortium on display at American Traders Retail Store and Showroom at 257 Marlboro Rd. (Route 9).
HO
Second annual arts tour highlights 18 studios in West Brattleboro/Marlboro area
Economic and social support
The artists joined forces in 2009 after a meeting of the West Brattleboro Association that featured a talk by Jeff Lewis, executive director of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp. Lewis’s suggestions left an impression, Cox says. “He said the surest way for economic growth is to take a sector that is underperforming but has potential and to develop that,” Cox notes. Cox says he reflected on the potential of building visibility and momentum for the dozens of artists in the West Brattleboro n see arts tour, page 10
More than
Muppets By Nell Curley
B
The Commons
RATTLEBORO— If your knowledge of puppetry goes as far as Kukla, Fran and Ollie, the Muppets and Lamb Chop, prepare to have your mind blown. Puppets in the Green Mountains, a biennial 11-day festival, continues through Sept. 26. Eric Bass, who founded Sandglass Theater with his wife Ines in 1982, promises plenty of interesting performances from a variety of puppeteers. “I am the artistic director of the festival,” Bass said. “It’s my job to find the companies, to make the selection of who will perform, and to fit each company into a performing space that will work for them and for COURTESY PHOTO/SANDGLASS THEATER According to the organizers of the every-other-year Puppets in the Mountains their show. I look at each space festival, in Lille Kartofler’s Rumplestiltskin, “Matthias Kuchta plays with almost through the eyes of the performlife-size textile puppets on an open stage. Imagine a play room filled with big ers and understand how their show will play there. I look at toy figures, which suddenly come to life.”
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Biennial festival offers a diverse representation of puppetry arts
the festival programming as a whole and make sure there is a balance of work: work for families and for adults, work that includes a range of styles and emotional qualities, [as well as] work that represents a diversity of cultures.” So what does the Puppet Festival board look for when selecting the biannual line-up? “We look for a certain number of shows for family audiences, at least one for the very young, a certain number for adult audiences, and one large event to open the festival,” Bass said. “We have to match shows with the venues that we have in which to present the work. We [also] have to look at the technical requirements of each group, as well as the size of the audience they can play for.” “The festival is every two years, which gives us time to see work between festivals and decide which groups we want to invite,” Bass added. “After we
make the invitations, then the question of availability arises. But first and foremost, we have to be excited about having the company come to perform in our community.” This year, for the first time, PITGM is featuring mostly American artists. “There are so many wonderful artists in the United States that we feel our audiences should have a chance to meet them, and these artists should also be here meeting their international colleagues. So this year, about half the performers are American, including Blair Thomas from Chicago, Paul Mesner from Kansas City, Larry Hunt’s ‘Masque Theater’ from Connecticut, and Heather Henson from Orlando.” Henson — daughter of the Muppets legendary creator, Jim Henson — performed a familyfriendly (but Muppet-free) piece of her own creation, a puppet, n see PUPPETS, page 10
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THE ARTS/NEWS T h e C ommons • Wednesday, September 22, 2010
10
UPCOMING EVENTS Brattleboro Retreat, BMH to hold annual public meeting BRATTLEBORO — On Thursday, Sept. 23, the Brattleboro Retreat and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will hold a public meeting to discuss the Act 53 Community Report Cards, and to receive input into the hospitals’ respective strategic plans and programs. The meeting will be held at the Retreat Education Conference Center at 5 p.m. The meeting offers a chance for the public to give both institutions input about their plans and programming. Retreat President/ Chief Executive Officer Rob Simpson and Barry Beeman, president and CEO of BMH, will present the strategic plans of their respective institutions. In addition, quality initiatives at both health care facilities will be discussed along with the possible impact of health care reform on the two local hospitals. Other staff and board members will be on hand, and they and the presenters will be available to answer questions.
Information in the Community Report Cards includes quality indicators, safety reports, financial information, strategic planning updates, performance improvement and information about new programs and services at both hospitals. Comments from the public are invited. Copies of each institution’s Community Report Card are available on their respective websites (www.bmhvt.org and www.brattlebororetreat.org).
Civil War is focus of Saxtons River Historical Society program SAXTONS RIVER — Saxtons River in the Civil War is the topic of a Saxtons River Historical Society even on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m., at Christ’s Church on Main Street. Local teacher and Civil War buff Richard Anderson will present his research on the young men who served in the War
n Puppets
Between the States, some of whom are buried in the local cemetery. He will highlight the effect of the war on both the village and the state, with the high incidence of service relative to the population and the losses suffered. He will also describe the branches of service and some of their local members, including Charles Aldrich, a fireman in the U.S. Navy, William Battles, who was a U.S. sharpshooter, and Franklin Butterfield, an officer in the Sixth Vermont Infantry and Medal of Honor winner. Some 68 men were born in, buried in or are credited to Saxtons River. The program will be enhanced by songs from the rich musical legacy of the period played by Eric Bye. The meeting is open to all at no charge and is handicapped accessible through the church’s rear entrance into the dining room where the program will take place. Refreshments will be served.
dance, and multi-media piece, Panther and Crane to open the festival Bass lists his personal favorite puppeteers as Thomas, Mesner and Larry Hunt. “Blair Thomas is probably my favorite American puppeteer for adult audiences. His range is incredible in his styles, his versatility, and his emotional spectrum. Paul Mesner is one of the funniest people working in American puppet theater. Larry Hunt is a great favorite of mine and of our local audiences. He has performed selected mask pieces in the Hayward Gardens Puppets in Paradise event that we do on alternate years (when it isn’t a festival year). It’s great to have him here for a full show — and his rapport with family audiences is great.” Festival-goers should bear in mind, however, that these are not all family-friendly shows. Productions such as the Spanish company Tabola Rasa’s Moliere’s ‘The Miser,’ Company Akselere’s dark coming-of-age version of Sleeping Beauty and Blair Thomas’ Heard-Headed Heart are strictly for adult audiences. Children are welcome to enjoy Paul Mesner’s re-telling of the Three Little Pigs (“As Told By A. Wolf,”) as well as his take on Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories. Forewarned, all puppet-lovers — and those curious about puppetry — are encouraged to attend
whichever productions they wish. Bass points out that the festival aims to celebrate puppetry’s anthropomorphic effect on the audience. “Puppets are magically irresistible not just because they appeal to the child in all of us, but, perhaps even more, because in their witty abstraction of real life they can summon a culture’s deepest hopes and fears and dreams,” Bass recently told the Valley Advocate. “In the right hands, a puppet becomes almost human—the all-but-breathing extension of a flesh-and-blood person.” Bass says that the most enjoyable part of the festival is being able to present the performers and introduce them to the Brattleboro community. “I love to see Vermont through their eyes, to introduce them to the community,” he said. “And I love to talk with the audiences about the shows they are seeing. These performers are coming from far away, playing unusual theater. They are some of the best puppet artists in the world. I just love to see the interaction with our community. And, quite frankly, I love to have the opportunity to see their work again myself.” n For a complete listing of performance times and ticket availability, visit www.puppetsinthegreenmountains.com.
n Arts tour
from page 1
Brattleboro lodge to reveal the secrets of Freemasonry at open house
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WINDHAM HOUSING TRUST
invites you to support our community development programs by joining us once again for the sassy, musical political satire of the uproariously funny
CAPITOL STEPS! Saturday, October 16th 7:30 pm
Theatre seating opens at 7:00 pm
Latchis Theatre Brattleboro TICKET INFORMATION
Front Orchestra $42 ~ Rear Orchestra $30 ~ Balcony $25
Betsy at WHT: 802-246-2114 bhall@windhamhousingtrust.org Brattleborotix.com ~The Latchis Hotel
BRATTLEBORO — The
R.G. Winchester Auto Brattleboro Conservation arrangements
Commission is offering a guided hike up Round Mountain located on Lilac Ridge Farm on Abbott Road in West Brattleboro on Saturday, Sept. 25, starting at 10 a.m. The trail was made possible by the efforts of the Forestry and Natural Resources class from the Windham Regional Career Center, the Thurber Family of Lilac Ridge Farm, the Brattleboro Conservation Board and many individual volunteers. Local experts in forest and agriculture management, along with a representative from the Vermont Land Trust, will speak at various locations along the trail. The trail is open to the general public for their use and enjoyment. The hike can be considered moderate to difficult and has two scenic vistas back to the town of Brattleboro and Mt. Wantastiquet and Mt. Monadnock. The other vista looks onto the West Brattleboro farming landscape. Also, new trails connecting Memorial Park to the Highpoint Development have been completed. Two groups — one made up of a local chapter of a mountain bike group, and the other from the Brattleboro Park and Recreation Board — worked on these trails, which have been designed for both hiking and mountain biking. The Brattleboro Conservation Board meets on the second to the last Tuesday of the month in the Hanna Cosman Room in the Municipal Center. The Commission seeks new members; those interested may contact Chairman Drew Adam at 802-254-5323, ext. 109.
119 Main St., Brattleboro 802-258-2211 www.mysteryonmain.com Support BBBS...learn more at rivercu.com
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Look into Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Windham County
A Wicked Good Laugh for a Worthy Local Cause! Sponsored by Windham Housing Trust
Member NCUA • 802-254-4800 • Brattleboro • Townshend • Putney • Brattleboro Food Coop
• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
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region, who, like him, were toiling in isolation. to commiserate,” Cox says. “That’s proven to be “I knew another couple of people like me,” he very welcome, very effective.” says, and soon Brattleboro-West Arts came to be. JOHN PENFIELD’S The group has organized the gallery tours and The Brattleboro-West Arts Open Studio Tour will take 558 Putney Road Brattleboro other events. The loose consortium of artists also place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25 and 26, from 254-5411 meets monthly for potluck dinners. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. For more information Locally Owned For Over 35 Years! “It’s an opportunity to exchange information, to and a downloadable brochure, visit the group’s webB R A T T L E B O R O — support each other, to be inspired by each other’s site: www.brattleboro-west-arts.com. FREE FALL LUBE, OIL & FILTER Freemasonry is the oldest, and work, to be stimulated to improve our work, and + $225 CHECKOVER $ 95 env. fee largest, fraternal society in the Battery • Coolant world. It grew out of the lodges, Most cars. Special Oil & Wipers • Tires • Lights Up to 5 qts. 5W-30 Filters Extra. or trade guilds, for stone masons that existed during the Middle come and ask questions about VERMONT STATE Ages. These were men who were the organization. INSPECTION trained in construction, engiAn open house will take place Regular GUILFORD—In an effort to as they did during their previneering, mathematics, as well on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9 $ 00 Price as design and were responsible a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Brattleboro offset the costs of its outreach ous visit. FOMAG still must raise for the construction of Europe’s Masonic Center at 196 Main St. program that brings musicians BUy 3, GET 1 FREE Gothic cathedrals. Light refreshments will be served into the Guilford Central School, $3,000 toward its $4,500 budOther brands also available Assurance Tires To inform the public about during that period and guests can Friends of Music at Guilford get for the two-year-old program, what Freemasonry is as an or- learn about some of the other as- will offer a spaghetti supper on which seeks to offset the loss Courtesy Cars or Rides Always Available at No Cost! of music education in the local ganization, Worshipful Master sociated organizations that exist Wednesday, Sept. 29. According to Joy Wallens- school which has fallen prey to Robert Baldauf has called upon within Masonry. VT State Inspection Blue #10 Due Now his officers to join him in openAnyone having questions may Penford, the community music budget cuts. Those attending the dinner, ing up the lodge building to contact project chairman Steve organization’s administrative dimembers of the community to Farrington at 802-257-0464 or rector, the group hopes to bring from 5 to 7 p.m. at the school, Ensemble Datura back to the can also participate in a 50/50 asfent@gmail.com. school for a two-and-a-half-day raffle and other activities “that residency. are festive in general,” Penford Do you like The Tri-state region’s premier center for jazz. The quartet, specializing in said. S a t u r d a y, M a r c h 1 3 t h a t the 8 newspaper? pM traditional music from Turkey, Cost for the dinner is $7, or Conservation S a t u r d aNEW y, M a rSEASON c h 1 3 t h a tBEGINS 8 pM South India, and the Arabic $5 for children 5-12. Families atTell a friend Commission to host world, previously visited the tending pay a maximum of $20. at 8 pm about The Commons. Whirrr! TheSaturday, Music September of Jimmy25th Giuffre school in April. Members of the For more information, contact guided hike up group will offer a public perforPenford at 802-254-3600. with The Harrison/Schuller Sextet with The Harrison/Schuller Sextet RobeRt GlaspeR Round Mountain mance as part of the residency,
BRATTLEBORO TIRE
T h e C ommons
Windham World Affairs Council begins fall lecture season BRATTLEBORO — “Water, water, everywhere...” is the topic for the Windham World Affairs Council’s first program of the fall season on Thursday, Sept. 30, at Rotch Hall on the campus of World Learning/SIT off Kipling Road. At 5:30 p.m., Javed Chaudhri will speak on the floods in Pakistan, and the human and political implications. Chaudhri was born and attended schools in Pakistan and has worked and traveled in many countries of the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, and Africa. He currently teaches at Keene State College. Following an informal dinner and coffee, Carolyn Meub speaks at 7:30 p.m. on Pure Water for the World, a Rotary International program born in Brattleboro to help villages in Central America; and the implications of water shortages for our foreign policy. Meub, the executive director of Pure Water for the World, serves on the executive
Walk for Health Aging to be held in Putney PUTNEY — On Sept. 25, Putney Cares is sponsoring its 13th annual Walk for Healthy Aging, with a new theme this year. They are encouraging folks who want to walk to invite younger ones (grandchildren, children, and young friends) to join them for healthy living and to support Putney Cares in its mission to provide services for seniors in the Putney area. Putney Cares provides a variety of services, including oversight of the Noyes House, a community house for seniors, Meals on Wheels, loan of medical equipment available at the Putney Cares Barn, and programs such as the Artist in Each of Us, the Knitting Circle, and Living Strong. The organization sponsors educational forums and purely fun social events, such as this year’s Victorian tea and the summer picnic for volunteers. Sign up to get sponsors, donate or simply come and walk the loop with friends and neighbors, young and old. Registration is at 9:30 a.m. at the Putney Cares Barn, with the walk starting at 10 a.m. For more information, e-mail putneycares@svcable.net.
committee of the Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group and chaired the first water summit in Los Angeles. For more information about the program, call program chair Margo Neale at 802-579-1602 or WWAC president Bob DiMauro at 802-387-4382.
VERMONT CHEDDAR
By Silvio Graci
SPORTS & RECREATION Colonel boys win John James Tournament
T
Brattleboro he Brattleboro Colonels boys soccer team won the John James Tournament in Bennington on Saturday night with a 3-0 win over Mount Anthony. Travis ElliotKnaggs, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, scored a pair of breakaway goals in the first half to lead the Colonels. Greg Reuter then scored an insurance goal early in the second half as Brattleboro improved to 4-0 on the season. The Colonels advanced to the finals with a 4-1 win over the Burr & Burton Bulldogs on Friday. This was a battle against a team that has had a lot of success in this annual tourney, as Burr & Burton has won it seven of eight times between 2001 and 2008. But Brattleboro showed why it would win this tourney for the second straight year with goals from Matt Dunn, Jackson Batchelder, Eli Pell and ElliotKnaggs. The Colonels defense was solid too, as it did not allow a shot on goal until the 58th minute of the game. Last Tuesday, Brattleboro shut out Springfield, 4-0, last Tuesday. Dunn, Jose-Diego Silva, Batchelder and Alex Phomnath were the Colonels’ goal scorers. Goalkeepers Evan Darling and Galen Finnerty combined for seven saves. The Colonels are off until Sept. 27, when they host Rutland at 6:30 p.m. at Tenney Field.
Boys soccer
• Noah Chapin scored three goals as Leland & Gray won the Josh Cole Tournament in Ludlow on Saturday night with a 4-1 win over Bellows Falls in the tourney final. Colin Nystrom also scored for the Rebels. Bellows Falls made to the Cole final with a 4-1 win over Green Mountain on Friday night. Alfredo Jaikel and Matt Marchica each scored and Ryan Mammone had two goals — one of them coming on a penalty kick. The Rebels shut out host team Black River, 2-0, Friday night to set up the championship match. • Twin Valley lost to Leland & Gray, 5-0, last Tuesday in Wilmington. Jake Hudson and Noah Chapin each scored two goals for the Rebels; Kevin Ameden also scored. On Friday, Twin Valley lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Stratton Mountain School. SMS’ Peter Cervullo scored what proved to be the game winner in the second minute, and the 1-3 Wildcats could not convert on any of their many scoring chances the rest of the way.
Girls soccer
• Brattleboro started last week off with a 5-0 win over Bellows Falls under the lights at Tenney Field last Tuesday. Taylor Kerylow scored three goals to lead the Colonels, and Erin LeBlanc and Halle Lange also scored. The Colonels put 25 shots on Terriers goalkeeper Enny Mustapha, who made some great saves to keep the game from really getting out of hand. Kerylow kept up the scoring on when the Colonels visited Hartford last Thursday. She scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes. Lange got the equalizer before Kerylow’s game-winning blast for the 4-1 Colonels. • Bellows Falls couldn’t recover from the Brattleboro shutout, but the Terriers did manage a goal in a 5-1 home loss to Springfield last Wednesday. Courtney Perry got the goal as the Terriers fell to 0-4. • Leland & Gray played to a 3-3 tie at Black River last Tuesday in Ludlow. Nicole Sherman had two goals for the Rebels and Chelby Nystrom added another. The Rebels then walloped West Rutland, 9-0, on the road last Thursday, Keira Capponcelli had three goals, Sherman and Nystrom each scored twice and Michaela Tietz and Aly Marcucci both
RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT Sports Roundup had one goal. Goalkeeper Cassidy Anderson made nine saves to earn the shutout and keep the Rebels undefeated at 2-0-1. • Twin Valley fell to Stratton Mountain School, 1-0, on Saturday. The Wildcats are now 1-2 overall.
Football
• The losses keep piling up for the winless Brattleboro Colonels. On Saturday night, they fell to Keene, N.H., 4813, at Natowich Field in the 80th renewal of a cross-border rivalry that dates back to 1894. According to The Keene Sentinel, Keene has a 43-35-2 advantage in the series. The 3-0 Blackbirds started off hot as Keene quarterback Lucas Luopa threw for one touchdown and ran for another. Chris LaCroix ran in a score to make it 21-0 after one quarter. Brattleboro’s Griffin Sparks turned a deflected pass from quarterback Nate Forrett into a 50-yard touchdown grab. Keene then exploded for three more touchdowns on receptions by Tyler Slanetz and Cody Bellows and a run by Parenteau. It was 42-7 at the half, and the Colonels could only muster
one more score, on a 1-yard run by Elliot Gragen, in the final minute of the game. Now 0-3, the Colonels travel to Middlebury on Friday night. • Bellows Falls improved to 2-1 with a 35-15 win over the Oxbow Olympians at Hadley Field on Saturday. The Terriers rolled up 291 yards of rushing as Ryan Hayward (129 yards) and Bruce Wells (79 yards) found plenty of room to run behind the offensive line of Peter Falzo, Danny Armstrong, Jake Stratton, Randy Rutkowski and Coty Mellish. Jeremy Kilburn threw for two touchdowns, while Hayward ran for two more scores and Wells added another. The 2-1 Terriers travel to Manchester to face Burr & Burton on Friday night.
Field hockey
• The Brattleboro Colonels lost to the Mount Anthony Patriots, 4-0, last Monday at Tenney Field in a game that was much closer than the final score might indicate. The two teams were scoreless for the first 29 minutes before MAU’s Amber Thomas scored on Colonel goalie Caroline McCarthy in the final minute of the first half. The Patriots then put the game away with three second-half goals. The Colonels didn’t fare much better against Woodstock in a 6-2 home loss last Thursday. Kelsey Kinsman scored both of Brattleboro’s goals. • The Bellows Falls Terriers
Doug MacPhee/Special to The Commons
Brattleboro’s Abe Hirsch (56) tackles Keene’s Chris LaCroix (6) during high school football action at Natowich Field on Saturday night. remain winless after dropping a 1-0 road decision to the Fair Haven Slaters. Kaylie Flannigan scored the game’s only goal on a rebound in the first half. The Terriers are now 0-3-1 and will be back in action against Otter Valley on Sept. 22.
in 25:11.
CRVBL gets ready for next season
• The Putney Fossils of the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League defeated the Claremont Cardinals, 8-3 at Barnes Park in Claremont, N.H., in an exhibition game on Cross country Sept. 12. • The Colonels went up to Claremont has been playing Thetford last Tuesday for a six- in the New Hampshire overteam meet. The boys finished 40 Baseball League for the past third, while the girls came in several years. Richard Bissell sixth. Jacob Ellis won the boys got the win on the mound for race with a time of 18 minutes, Putney, while Dave Guadalupe 38 seconds. Hannah Reichel pitched four scoreless innings was the top Brattleboro runner of relief. Danny Lichtenfeld led in the girls race, she was 22nd the offense with three singles
and an RBI, while Bissell (double), Keith Hazard (double), Sean O’Brien, Joe LeBlanc, and Brian Benjamin had two hits apiece. There will be a CRVBL organizational meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at JD McLiments Pub in Putney. The league’s board will be discussing plans for the 2011 season, including new teams and players, fundraising and other issues. Anyone interested in playing or sponsoring adult amateur baseball is welcome to attend.
THE ARTS
12
T h e C ommons
ARTS NOTEBOOK collaborators, themes and project resources can be found at www. affordinghopeproject.org.
Visual arts
• Archer Mayor reads from newest book in Newfane: On
Filmmaker Ken Burns.
Film • An evening with Ken Burns: The Grammar School’s
50th Anniversary Celebration presents “An evening with Grammar School parent Ken Burns” on Friday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. at the Latchis Theater in Brattleboro The award-winning PBS filmmaker will talk about and show highlights of his latest masterpiece, The Tenth Inning. Picking up where his 1994 film Baseball left off, The Tenth Inning, celebrates the enduring appeal of America’s favorite pastime. The film journeys through the past 17 years of American baseball, offering a sweeping saga of heroics, scandals and achievements, and culminating with a captivating recount of the historic Red Sox World Series triumph in 2004.
He’ll show two segments from the film. Grandioso is about the influx of ballplayers into the major leagues from South America and the Caribbean — especially The Dominican Republic — over the past 25 years. What Have I Done? is about the height of the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry and the dramatic ending to Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. Tickets are $10 for students, $15 for general admission, and $25 for preferred seating. All proceeds benefit The Grammar School’s Accessibility Campaign. To reserve tickets call The Grammar School at 802-387-5364; tickets are available at the Latchis Hotel and Brattleboro Savings & Loan in Brattleboro, People’s United Bank and The Grammar School in Putney, and Ruggles and Hunt in Walpole, N.H.
Photography Project will soon kick off its 12th annual Photography Exhibition and Silent Auction. More than 200 local, national and international photographers have donated their work to support In-Sight’s mission to teach photography to Vermont youth regardless of their ability to pay. These compelling photographs will be on display and available for bidding throughout the month of October at the Vermont Center for Photography, 49 Flat St., in Brattleboro. Join them for the opening reception on Oct. 1, 5:30 to 8:30, during Gallery Walk. You can also view the work and place bids at www. insight-photography.org through Oct. 31. Saenz De Ugarte, who give life Gallery is located at 139 Main St., • Brattleboro Museum & to no less than 12 characters in in downtown Brattleboro. Tickets Art Center calls for entries full view of the audience, provid- for the concert are $14 general/$12 from regional artists: The ing a fresh and funny version of a students and seniors. For ticket Brattleboro Museum & Art Center great classic reservations and information, call welcomes submissions for its triTickets are $16, $14 for stu- 802-254-9276. For more informaannual juried exhibition, In the Zone dents and seniors. Visit www. tion, visit cajuncombo.com and III, which showcases established, puppetsinthegreenmountains. www.hookerdunham.org. mid-career, and emerging artists com/schedule-list.html for more working in all media. Eligible art- information. ists must live either in the state • Ten Minute Play Festival: of Vermont or within 100 miles Actors Theatre Playhouse’s 2010 of Brattleboro. Submissions are Ten Minute Play Festival runs • Leaps & Bounds at due by Nov. 1. Winners will be on Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. M a r l b o r o C o l l e g e : T h e announced in February, and the 24–Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets Affording Hope Project and exhibition will take place April are $8 and reservations are highly Marlboro College present a free 1-July 3, 2011. recommended by calling the toll and open to the public perforAll submissions will be reviewed free Box Office at 877-666-1855. mance of Leaps & Bounds at 8 p.m. by juror Christine Temin, who will Ten Minute Plays are a fun, on Monday, Sept. 27, in the Serkin select finalists for further consid- eclectic grab-bag of delights and Center Dance Studio. eration by BMAC’s chief curator, the challenges can be daunting. Leaps & Bounds, a one-woman Mara Williams. Temin covered You have 10 minutes to establish show produced and performed by visual and performing arts for a situation, introduce your char- Tevyn East is touring faith comover two decades as a critic for acters, deal with a problem and munities and institutions of higher The Boston Globe. She has inter- resolve it. It is extreme short story learning across the United States viewed and reviewed such art- writing employing decisive direct- in 2010. Written in collaboraists as Jenny Holzer, John Cage, ing and acting choices. And best tion with Ched Myers, renowned Robert Indiana, Rachel Whiteread, of all for the audience, the evening biblical scholar and teacher, this Richard Serra, Yoshio Tanaguchi, winds up providing something for show is about the interconnecRobert Wilson, and Doug and everyone….a little comedy, a little tion of faith, ecology, and global Mike Starn. Temin is particularly drama…and sometimes, a little economy. Weaving biblical and interested in the intersection of something in-between. personal narrative, dance, music, public art and architecture. She Visit www.actors-theatre.info and a touch of economic theory, currently writes for a variety of for all production and playhouse it addresses the driving factors of publications, including Art New information. our ecological crisis while awakEngland, Sculpture, and American ening the imagination to a new Craft. way of living with and relating to Artists featured in In the the Earth. Zone I (2005) and In the Zone II As the daughter of two (2008) included Eric Aho, Tim • Cajun combo at Hooker- Presbyterian (USA) ministers, East Allen, Ahren Ahrenholz, Angelo Dunham: Twilight Music pres- has spent most of her adult life deArnold, Olivia Bernard, Rita ents an evening of mandolins, veloping original works of danceEdelman, Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, fiddles and French vocals straight theater as well as teaching dance, Tamara Kartheiser, David Teng from the heart of Louisiana with organizing workshops and other Olsen, Alicia Renadette, Lynn Cajun Combo at Hooker-Dunham cultural events in Charlottesville, Richardson, and Craig Stockwell, Theater & Gallery on Saturday, VA. While she appears on the stage among others. Application instruc- September 25 at 8:00 pm. alone, Leaps & Bounds is the result tions and more information are Led by Louisiana native, of a collaboration between many available at www.brattleboromu- Grammy nominee and Cajun talented individuals. A full list of seum.org or by calling 802-257- French Music Association Fiddler 0124, ext. 103. of the Year Al Berard, the stringstyle Cajun music trio also features Louisiana/Vermont residents Mark Trichka and Lisa Brande. Al, Lisa and Mark perform the heart and • C o m mu n i t y C a b a r e t soul of Cajun music’s two-steps at NEYT: New England Youth and waltzes on various combinaTheatre opens the doors to its tions of fiddles, mandolins and green room to artists from all guitars. Their focus on the roots over the Brattleboro community. of Cajun music lets listeners taste Enrolling now Various performing artists from the flavor and fully hear the beauty Brattleboro & Putney around town will be joining the of these timeless songs that come Early Education Centers NEYT mentors to put on a wildly from a people of living history in collaged performance of music, Southwest Louisiana. 802-254-8882 dance, comedy, drama and mayHooker-Dunham Theater & hem on the evening of October’s Gallery Walk, Friday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m. The Mentors, a group of dedicated youth volunteers at NEYT, are producing this event, hoping to raise funds for the “Angels in the Wings” scholarship fund, which helps students who have special financial needs participate Warm Front Brand in NEYT’s programming. • High Heat Tickets are $10 at the door. For more information about New • Low Ash England Youth Theatre, visit • Manufactured by www.neyt.org.
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Music
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The Spanish puppetry duo Tabola Rassa performs The Miser at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24, and Saturday, Sept. 25, at the Bellows Falls Opera House, In this adaptation of Molière’s story, it is no longer money that everyone covets, but water. The protagonists of this visionary comedy become faucets, pipes and hoses containers of every kind. The objects are manipulated by two actors, Olivier Benoit and Asier
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Sunday, Sept. 26, at 4:30 p.m., author Archer Mayor will be at Olde & New England Books to sign and read from his latest Joe Gunther mystery, Red Herring. It’s the 21st novel in the popular and critically acclaimed series featuring detective Joe Gunther and his quirky staff at the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, and this installment marks a return to southern Vermont where Joe, Willy and Sam deal with a series of baffling, too-trite-to-be-true deaths. A misleading clue has been left at every scene, and Mayor lets the reader follow every fascinating step of forensic technology and old-fashioned police work that leads the team to the murderer and the surprising conclusion of Red Herring. Olde & New England Books is located ay 47 West Street in Newfane. For information about the event or to reserve a book, call 802-365-7074. • A look at Provincetown:
Noted Massachusetts author, journalist and prominent gay-rights movement historian Allen Young will appear on Tuesday evening, Oct. 12, in a community-wide event celebrating his latest book entitled Thalassa: One Week in a Provincetown Dune Shack. The public is invited to this free event, beginning at 7 p.m. at the community space of the Men’s Program, at 15 Grove St., in Brattleboro. Light refreshments will be served. Young is the author of 14 books, and writes a weekly column, “Inside/Outside,” for the Athol Daily News. This event will be an interactive talk about Allen’s experience at the dune shack, with question and answer session to follow, as well as a general discussion of Provincetown as a gay resort and how people experience it. Young’s diverse work includes books on the North Quabbin region of Massachusetts, including North of Quabbin: A Guide to Nine Massachusetts Towns, Make Hay While the Sun Shines: Farms, Forests and People of the North Quabbin, and on gay liberation, including Gays Under the Cuban Revolution and Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation. Copies of Thalassa will be on
sale at the event and Young will be available to sign the book. He is donating 40 percent of book proceeds from this evening to the Men’s Program, an HIV prevention program of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. For more information about the event, contact Alex Potter at eflash@sover. net or 802-254-4444 or visit www. mensprogram.org.
NE NLY B R AT T L E B R
and
• In-Sight hosts exhibition, silent auction: The In-Sight
Books
The
• Painting with water soluble oils: The Saxtons River Art Guild will host a workshop with Jay Doucette on painting with water soluble oils on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the United Church in Bellows Falls. Water soluble or water mixable oil paints have become an alternative to traditional oils for artists who are sensitive to the odor of turpentine. All experience levels are welcome. Paint and materials will be provided by the instructor, just bring your own brushes. This is a great opportunity to experiment with this versatile medium. Jay Doucette, a lifelong artist, has been teaching painting for the last 15 years. He is a member of the Vermont Watercolor Society, the New England Watercolor Society and the Accredited Artists Society. To register for the workshop or for more information, call Kathy at 802-463-9456 or Donna at 603-835-2387.
www.BrattleboroChamber.org
‘Fun in the Field’ on Saturday, Sept. 25 BRATTLEBORO—The West Brattleboro Association invites the community to once again have “Fun in the Field,” this time on Saturday, Sept. 25 (rain date, Sunday, Sept. 26) from noon to 6 p.m. in the field on Marlboro Road, next to the Chelsea Royal Diner. Like the first edition in the fall of 2009, this Fun in the Field will have a barbeque (from the Chelsea Royal), local musicians and other performers, a chowder contest, an apple pie contest, a raffle and games for all ages. Last year’s Fun in the Field was partly a kick-off fundraiser to help preserve the 5-plus acre Locke Farm Field behind the Chelsea Diner on Sunset Lake Road. This year will be
NEWFANE—The 40th annual Heritage Festival, sponsored by the Congregational Church in Newfane, will take place on the Newfane Common Saturday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, rain or shine. The 85 juried vendors sell their handcrafted items — quilts, ironwork, pottery, furniture, photography and art work, jewelry, clothing and much more. The aroma of fresh baked apple pies — sold by the slice or whole — draws visitors to the outdoor food booth for a lunch consisting of a choice of hamburgers, hot dogs, chili or chowder, or popcorn and freshdipped caramel apples as well as specialty foods. The deli in the church will offer baked potatoes with toppings, homemade soups and fresh-pressed cider or other beverages, and warm apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The Super Raffle at the close of the festival offers hand-pieced quilts, hand knit afghans, gift certificates, paintings, and many other unique items — all donated by area businesses, church members, the community, and participating crafters. Attic treasures, along with collectibles and used books, can be found in the Flea Booth. There will be activities for children and musical entertainment Tree Pruning & Removals Views/Vistas • Brush Chipping Free Estimates/Fully Insured 60' Bucket Truck Rentals ———— Brian Huey/Owner-Operator 17 Years Experience Brattleboro, Vt. ————
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BRATTLEBORO — Post Oil Solutions will hold a meeting to discuss the future of the Upper Dumerston Community Garden on Sunday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m., at the Elliot Street Cafe at the corner of Elliot and Elm streets. If you would like to be a garden member next year, plan to attend and invite friends and other interested parties to this meeting. The purpose is to determine if and how Post Oil Solutions can continue to sponsor this garden in 2011. Leadership and management from a core of committed gardeners is needed in order to continue in 2011. For more information, contact Tim Stevenson at 802-869-2141.
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throughout the weekend. On Sunday, the public is invited to join in a service at the historic Newfane Congregational Church — a service of quiet reflection will be held at 8 a.m., and a hymn sing at 10:30 a.m. For complete information, visit www.newfaneheritagefestival.org.
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a celebration of the success of that fund-raiser and preservation effort. There will also be tours of the Locke Farm Field. Brattleboro West Arts is having a studio tour the same day, so people can stop in at Fun in the Field on their way to or from those artist studios in West Brattleboro and Marlboro. For more information on the studio tour, see www.brattleboro-west-arts.com. Through Fun in the Field, West Brattleboro will once again celebrate community, neighbors mingling with neighbors during a fun afternoon. All are invited! For more information, contact Nancy Barber at 802-246-0851 or nanstobar@myfairpoint.net.
Heritage Festival set for Oct.
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SOUTHEASTERN VERMONT COMMUNITY ACTION
Your donations & purchases provide essential services and programs for people living on a limited income.
Reuse and Recycle -Shop in our GOOD BUY STORES & donate clothing/shoes/purses at our red sheds in Brattleboro, Rockingham and 9 other transfer/recycling centers in VT. 45 Rockingham St. Bellows Falls 802-463-9084
23 Main St. Springfield 802 885-7074
676 Hartford Ave. & RT5 S. 2 stores White River Junction 802-359-4183 or 295-6373
We will pick up your furniture donations – 885-7074.
Vermont
GUN SHOWS September 25th & 26th
American Legion #67 Route 103, Chester, Vermont 05143 Saturday 9am to 5pm Sunday 9am to 3pm
FREE GUN APPRAISALS
SELLING BUYING • TRADING New and Used
GUNS & KNIVES Open to the public
802.875.4540
www.greenmtgunshowtrail.com
(800) 628-1900 • 400 CHAPMAN ST, GREENFIELD, MA • www.sandri.com
• Wednesday, September 22, 2010
$1.00 off admission with this ad