THE ARTS - The Commons

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Brattleboro, Vermont
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 • Vol. IX, No. 6 • Issue #240
WINDHAM COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING, INDEPENDENT SOURCE FOR NEWS AND VIEWS
Voices
Group
explores
biomass
VIEWPOINT
Money, music,
and why Lorde
matters
Can the woods
open possibilities
for sustainable
energy for
Windham
County?
page D1
ELAYNE CLIFT
Gender
disparities
continue in
the workplace
Preparing
for the
page D1
The Arts
page B1
THEATER
Absurdity meets
seriousness in
new comedy
page B1
Food &
Drink
NEW GRADES
Get ready for
a new maple
classification
system
page C1
WENDY M. LEVY
How to find
good cheeses
on a budget
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page B5
■ SEE DISTRICT 6, A4
■ SEE BIOMASS, A3
RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS
BUHS board holds final meeting
before setting District 6 budget
By Olga Peters
The Commons
BRATTLEBORO—Two
short rows of empty chairs faced
the Brattleboro Union High
School Board members and
Windham Southeast Supervisory
Union personnel as the board
explained the budget for fiscal
year 2015.
The $27.8 million fiscal year
2015 District #6 budget increased just 0.96 percent over
last year.
Essentially, the budget is level
serviced, explained Board Chair
Bob “Woody” Woodworth.
“I think we have a sound budget,” he said.
The small increase came from
“a good deal of combing through
the budget,” said Woodworth.
Woodworth and Windham
Southeast Supervisory Union administration provided a 20-minute budget overview to an empty
conference room in the WRCC,
Feb. 3.
Collectively, the District 6
budget funds the Brattleboro
Union High School (BUHS),
Brattleboro Area Middle School
(BAMS), and the Windham
Regional Career Center
(WRCC).
According to the Annual
Report 2014 summary, the total operating budget increase of
$241,880 is due to the district’s
negotiated contracts and associated benefits for fiscal year 2015.
Health insurance costs also
increased 4.5 percent over the
previous fiscal year.
Other increases include building maintenance, liability and
property insurance, and worker’s
compensation.
The board decided against offering early retirement incentives
this fiscal year, according to the
report. The district has offered
early retirement to eligible staff
for the past three years as a costsaving measure.
WSESU Business
Administrator James E. Kane
told the board that District 6
will ask to apply $750,000 of
its accumulated fund balance
to defraying upcoming education taxes.
The district is not asking for
new appropriations in fiscal year
2015. The district is requesting,
however, to deposit $150,000
into its Capital Improvement
Fund, established last year.
The Capital Improvement
Fund helps pay for infrastructure repairs and improvements
on the school buildings. The
District 6 board has developed a
capital maintenance plan, looking ahead five to eight years and
setting money aside for these anticipated expenses.
Voters will also be asked to
approve using $600,000 of the
unreserved undesignated fund
balance to defray expenses for
fiscal year 2015.
Also from the unreserved
fund, the District is requesting that voters approve moving $191,957 to its Education
Reserve Fund.
The Education Reserve Fund
“is critical for planning,” said
Climate activists hold vigil
to oppose Keystone pipeline
Life &
Work
Food shortage
brings more
Snowy Owls
to Vermont
Kane. The monies in the fund
help even out dips in cash flow
or cover unexpected expenses
that often occur.
Kane told the board that the
education property taxes are still
estimates, pending final numbers
from the state.
The district has had few new
sources of revenue over the
past three years, said Kane.
The board finance committee
reviewed line items to keep increases down.
The Act 60 education funding formula contains multiple
variables that can change the tax
impact, said Kane.
According to Kane’s early estimates, Brattleboro faces a tax
of $1.76 per $100 of assessed
value. Compared to last year,
the estimated change is less than
5 cents per $100.
Dummerston’s estimate is
$1.79, which represents an
8-cent increase over the previous fiscal year’s tax, he said.
Guilford education taxes are
BRATTLEBORO—
Vermont’s landscape works
for a living.
Across its rolling hills,
pasturelands, rivers, and
forests spring livelihoods
made possible by tourism,
agriculture, industry, and
forestry.
And — in a state where
the workers’ unofficial
motto is “Moonlight in
Vermont, or starve” — one
tract of land can support
many jobs from many industries simultaneously.
According to Guy
Payne of the Sustainable
Energy Outreach Network
(SEON), speaking at a presentation his organization
hosted Jan. 28 at the Robert
H. Gibson River Garden,
this area could develop into
a foremost center of renewable and sustainable energy
in rural America.
The gathering, on woodbased biomass heating and
its economic development
potentials, was attended by
some 40 people identifying
themselves as landowners,
foresters, loggers, wood
processors, retail owners,
educators, energy consultants, builders, and community members.
SEON, an 18-monthold networking organization with headquarters on
Putney Road, aims to develop a regional concentration of renewable energy
and weatherization businesses, educational programs, best practices, and
technologies.
SEON facilitates a threehour monthly Building
Science Learning Circle
There were no members of the public in attendance at a Feb. 3 hearing on the proposed Brattleboro Union
High School budget.
page C1
CHRIS PETRAK
The Commons
VOTE
BOOKS
Marlboro
author writes
debut novel
By Olga Peters
By Randolph T. Holhut
The Commons
BRATTLEBORO—Local climate activists joined in a protest vigil on Feb. 3
calling on President Obama to reject the
controversial Keystone XL pipeline following the release last week of the U.S.
State Department’s Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement.
The candlelight vigil at the Wells
Fountain was organized by Post Oil
Solutions as part of a national campaign led by CREDO, Rainforest Action
Network, the Sierra Club, and 350.org,
among others, calling on the president to
keep his commitment to reduce carbon
pollution and reject the pipeline.
Post Oil Solutions founding director
Tim Stevenson said Monday’s vigil, which
was attended by about 20 people, is the
start of several events and actions that his
organization plans to hold in the coming
weeks as debate picks up over the pipeline.
Sharry Maher, left, and Jonathan Morse were among the 20 people
Stevenson, citing one plan taking shape
who showed up for an evening vigil on Feb. 3 in Brattleboro in to build a gas pipeline in Addison County,
and another that could see the PortlandMontreal oil pipeline carry toxic tar sands
oil, warned Windham County can’t sit
this fight out.
The Portland-Montreal oil pipeline
passes through northeast Vermont.
“Even though these pipelines aren’t
going though our backyards, it is important for the people of Windham County
to both be aware of what is happening to
our northern neighbors as well as act in
solidarity with their efforts to resist these
incursions by Big Oil,” he said.
Stevenson also called on area residents
to press their lawmakers to support legislation that would divest the state’s retirement funds of investments in fossil fuels.
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline,
to be built by Canadian energy giant
TransCanada, would extend from Alberta
to Texas and carry 800,000 barrels of
tar sands crude oil daily from Canada to
U.S. refineries.
On Jan. 31, the State Department released a report that stated that production
■ SEE PIPELINE, A3
opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline.
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A2
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Jane Noyes, Olga Peters, Peter
Seares, Daryl Pillsbury, Carolyn
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ABOUT THE NEWSPAPER
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by Vermont Independent Media, Inc.,
a nonprofit corporation under section
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The newspaper is free, but it is
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VOICES
The Commons presents a broad range of
essays, memoirs, and other subjective
material in Voices, our editorial and
commentary section. We want the paper to provide an unpredictable variety
of food for thought from all points on
the political spectrum.
We especially invite responses to
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THE COMMONS
• Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Nurse returns to Rwanda with $3,000 of aid
Money will rebuild one family’s home
By Allison Teague
cold bucket showers, small, basic facilities, and eating in local
roadside stands,” she said.
During another visit to Ghana,
where she was volunteering,
she lived in a home-stay where
she “hauled water and washed
clothes alongside [her host’s]
mother.”
This year, she and Daniel
will be staying with Felix
Rudasingwa, “my interpreter
and friend,” she said.
Rudasingwa had “just assumed it was too difficult a lifestyle, and I would need or want
the cushion provided by living in
the guest house.”
But that was not the case with
Herlocker. When Rudasingwa
learned that she had previously
stayed with another family and
participated in their lives, he insisted that on this current visit,
she and Daniel stay with his family, including his two biological
and two adopted children.
The Commons
B
RATTLEBORO—
Lauren Rose Herlocker speaks of how
this year she is going
to a small village in
Rwanda to help a woman and
her family build a house on the
20th anniversary of the genocide
in that African nation.
Herlocker and her husband,
Daniel, whom she married in
2010, left the U.S. on Jan. 10 to
travel overland from Ethiopia to
Rwanda, arriving in Rugerero
Village on or around April 18.
The Herlockers both work as
nurses at Brattleboro Memorial
Hospital. This is her fourth trip
to Africa and the first for Daniel.
A Long Island girl turned
West Dover girl, Herlocker said
of these African trips: “I try to
bring whatever I can bring to the
table along with me, whether it’s
education or it’s building a house
or another big project.”
Herlocker said her husband’s
presence will let her feel safer
in some of the areas where she
plans to take them. Such a big
trip would “certainly would not
be possible without a partner,”
she said. “It helps that my partner happens to be male.”
She said the trip would be doable on her own, “but it’s a lot of
stress watching your back.”
Herlocker originally met and
fell in love with a fellow employee on a temporary work
permit visa at Mt. Snow, and
she ended up traveling back to
South Africa with him to meet
his family.
While that relationship did not
work out, Africa and its people
got under Herlocker’s skin.
“I really and truly love being
there,” she said. “The way of life,
the pace of life and the simplicity of it.”
“Maybe it’s a selfish thing
to get away from our modern world, the technology and
phones and being on time for
everything,” she mused. But the
situation is mutually beneficial.
“I enjoy being there and I want
to help.”
Often, where visitors and travelers stay is very different from
how local people live.
Herlocker described how in
a previous journey she stayed in
the plusher accommodations of
a guest house.
But in Rwanda, that distinction is relative.
There, “‘guest house’ means
Shelter for
Salome’s family
Herlocker said she is not traveling under the auspices of a specific group.
“I’m kind of my own organization,” she said.
She said for the current project
in Rugerero Village in Rwanda,
she raised $3,000, which will buy
the materials and labor to build
a house for the woman she calls
“Salome,” her husband, and
their four children.
Their home was wiped out by
a landslide, and her family is one
of the few still living in makeshift
housing. Tarp roofs and corrugated tin provide inadequate
shelter atop a newly built rock
slab that she and her family put
down as a foundation for the
house which they have no money
to complete.
Besides raising the funds here
in Vermont for the project, once
there, Herlocker will help Felix
get the materials and labor together to build Salome’s house.
The bricks are handmade, and
all the lumber is hand-sawn.
There is no electricity, and tools
are basic.
On a previous trip, Herlocker
was introduced by her interpreter, Felix, to Rwanda
Sustainable Families (RSF), a
micro-credit loan program of the
University of Florida’s Center for
Arts in Medicine, whose mission
is to help Rwandans start sustainable businesses to maintain
a healthy life and put their children in school.
RSF, based in Gainesville,
Fla., is led by Director Nancy
Lasseter; Rudasingwa —
Herlocker’s friend and interpreter — works from Gisenyi,
Rwanda, as program manager.
Herlocker originally met
Rudasingwa in one of the villages
where RSF was helping provide
potable water, teach skills to the
men and the women, and help
women start businesses.
She explained that RSF focuses on the women, who have
the main responsibility for raising a family. The program has
been responsible for giving many
women the start they need to
support themselves and their
families.
“Women’s groups get together
to assist one another.” With the
help of the RSF micro-loans, the
women form business co-ops to
help and benefit one another.
The seamstresses like Solome
form a cooperative with the help
of RFS, to find materials and join
forces to sell their textiles.
“It’s a good business plan
to have each other to rely on,”
Herlocker said.
Herlocker said that the men
not only must often leave the
area to work, but they also
must cope with the effects of
post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) that has resulted from
experiences suffered during the
Rwandan genocide in 1994.
Salome’s husband lost an eye
to shrapnel and struggles to find
and keep work.
“He tries hard, but he has his
good days and his bad days,”
Herlocker said.
A medical mission
As a nurse, Herlocker said,
the aspect of her trips that she
most enjoys are the health-education classes she gives to groups
of women.
She said AIDS is still a huge
issue for much of the population in the region she visits.
Solome and her husband are
both HIV-positive.
“They are often feel ill from
not having food to take with the
antiretrovirals the government
supplies for them,” Herlocker
explained on her FB page,
Inshuti of Rwanda (facebook.
com/InshutiRwanda).
“I am a nurse, so I take care of
people with communicable disease here in the states, but for
people who have it over there, it
is a still a big stigma,” she said,
noting that “women have been
shunned by the community
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Lauren Rose Herlocker, on a previous journey to
Rwanda. She and her husband, Daniel, are en route
to the African nation and will arrive in April, the
20th anniversary of the genocide and civil war there.
because they have HIV.”
Herlocker said that stigma
is changing, but such cultural
change happens slowly.
She said on the last trip, “with
Felix’s help, he interpreted the
information to visual aids. They
were really excited and intrigued
with pictures and learning in
their language.”
She said the information she
shares with these women “is incredibly basic stuff we just take
for granted but there [it] goes
really far.”
One example: how to clean
wounds. “Kids gets bumps and
scratches which are not cleaned
properly,” she said.
In Rwanda’s climate, untended wounds can be dangerous
— even deadly. And “because of
poor nutrition and poor hygiene,
these small cuts become infected
wounds,” she said.
With medicine and professional health care out of reach for
most from that area, Herlocker
teaches the women how to make
good medical judgment for their
families.
“With so little money, they
tend to wait a very long time to
take anyone to the clinic,” she
said. “They can cure some things
with home remedies, but when
they get too sick and need meds,
and they wait too long, they get
very sick and and have to spend
more money on medicine and
health care.”
Yet, Herlocker said, insurance
is available for $5 a year. And,
yes, she said, “I’ve bought a lot
of health insurance” for people
in Rwanda, including Solome’s
children, with funds she raised.
A hard life
Of Solome, Herlocker said,
“She is one of the few people
who lives in those conditions.
“But that doesn’t mean other
people are living in any great
condition. Their roofs are leaking, there is no furniture, no bed
nets.” Herlocker said. “There is
a lot of suffering that goes on in
their own homes.
“Most people have a home,
but a good portion of the homes
do not have cement flooring,”
she said. With no beds, people sleep on the volcanic rock
foundation.
But with the help of RSF,
“They are improving their lives.
The women who received the
loans and really worked hard
at their businesses are saving
money and have bank accounts.
Their lives are improving and
they are able to take care of
their family, feed their family,
and send children to school,”
Herlocker said.
“It’s the women who get it
done, to make a broad generalization,” she added. “The
women will spend the money
they have on their family and
children where the men will
spend it on beer.”
“That seems to be their nature,” Herlocker observed. “Or
they go out and buy food and do
something with friends.”
“Women seem to stay with
family, and men leave or find
other wives. Women stay with
children. They don’t pick up
and leave.”
The Rwandan civil war caused
“such a loss of life with the genocide that there are a lot of broken
families,” Herlocker said.
So, building a house that six
people can live in for $3,000 is
a small gesture. But it’s huge at
the same time.
Herlocker’s role, she said, “is
helping raise money here [in the
U.S.] and to help facilitate building” the home [in Rwanda].
A somber
anniversary
The Herlockers will be in
Rwanda for the 20th anniversary
of the genocide, “and that is an
interesting time there,” she said.
“The month of April is difficult for many people because
April 4 was the start of genocide
in 1994. It was the worst month
of their civil war and the genocide. Some 800,000 died in that
single month.”
Herlocker said there is usually
an influx at the clinics and hospitals with people with mental
health problems.
The nursing director of one of
the rural clinics told her about
this problem and how the clinic’s
nursing staff didn’t know how to
deal with it.
“So mental health isn’t something we can teach, but we can
provide education classes about
mental illness and how to take
care of them, how to provide empathy and listen and help these
people who are in such distress,”
Herlocker said.
Herlocker said she and her
husband plan to be in Rwanda
near April 18 and return to the
United States at the end of April.
“It’s a fluid thing,” she said.
“Because of traveling to different
places and visiting and seeing so
many people who need so much
help, I can’t come home and ignore that for the rest of the year.
It’s hard to forget those things,
“I am more of a practical
person — a fact-of-life person.
I don’t look at it as service. I
think, ’I would like to help people and what is a good way that
I can do so?’
“I enjoy being there. I want
to help.”
Sharon Gentry, Esq.
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The Commons
NEWS
• Wednesday, February 5, 2014 A3
Farmers’ market, NECCA
get DRB approval to expand
By Randolph T. Holhut
The Commons
BRATTLEBORO—Two major local institutions are cleared
to expand following a green light
from the Development Review
Board (DRB).
The Brattleboro Area
Farmers’ Market received approval from the DRB on Jan. 22
to turn the former Planet Gas
Station on 570 Western Ave. into
a parking area for the market.
And the New England School
for Circus Arts (NECCA) also
got site plan approval on Jan.
22 to construct a 130-by-85foot building with an attached
1,296-square-foot two-story timber frame lobby for its new home
near the former ReNew Salvage
building on Town Crier Drive.
With the DRB’s approval of
the Site Plan and Flood Hazard
Approval application on Jan. 22,
the farmers’ market can move
forward with removing the gas
pumps, demolishing the canopy,
Alcan Power Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Joe Fuller/Tri-Town Coin. . . . . . . . . . . . B3
Amys Bakery Arts Cafe . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 Keene Cheshiremen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3
Berkley & Veller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4
Ker-Westerlund. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D3
Bob Rueter/Central New England Attack-A-.A1 Kingdom County Productions. . . . . . . . . C3
Brattleboro Food Co-op. . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Marlboro College Graduate School. . . . . . C3
and removing the underground Creamery Bridge.
“The purchase was made posfuel tanks to create 30 new parkThe market is close to com- sible by a generous gift, and it Brattleboro Food Co-op. . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Matt Skove/Audio Design . . . . . . . . . . . D2
ing spaces.
pleting a deal with Green is an exciting move forward as Brattleboro Museum of Art . . . . . . . . . . D2 Members 1st Credit Union. . . . . . . . . . . B6
The cost of this work is expected to come in at $10,000.
All the structures on the site
will be removed except for the
convenience store, which could
be turned into a year-round market pending the approval of the
market board and membership.
In the interim, the market
plans to use the building for storage and to keep the bathrooms
open for market patrons.
The lot that the gas station sits
on is 1.1 acres, with 295 feet of
frontage on Western Avenue. It
sits next to a parking area that
has been used by the Farmers’
Market that was put up for sale
last year by its owner, Jonathan
Chase.
Most of the land used by the
market sits in the Whetstone
Brook’s flood plain. The market currently owns one parcel
of land, called the Mallory Lot,
that it uses for parking near the
n Biomass
and hosts bi-monthly meetings.
The night’s presenters — Paul
Frederick, with the Vermont
Department of Forests, Parks,
and Recreation, and Adam
Sherman, a consultant with
Biomass Energy Research Center
(BERC) — discussed the county’s potential for large-scale biomass thermal energy.
Biomass is any fuel derived
from plant or animal sources:
corn, say, or manure. Biomass
fuels include wood pellets, ethanol, and methane. Wood is the
most common form of biomass,
including in the wood-burning stoves and fireplaces used
as a primary heating source by
nearly 18 percent of Vermont
households.
On the plus side, the speakers
said, many institutional buildings, such as schools, use woodbased biomass, and the county
has ample forests.
On the negative side, they
noted, the county lacks ample
biomass infrastructure, and
many forest lots are small.
Vermont’s forests are an economic driver which supports
more than 6,500 jobs, and drives
about $861 million in direct sales
or manufacturing, according
to Frederick, the state’s Wood
Utilization and Wood Energy
Forester.
According to state data,
Vermont is the fourth most forested state. About 75 percent of
our land boasts forests. Of the
forested land, 98 percent supports trees suitable for harvesting, either for wood products or
biomass fuel.
Frederick said Vermont forests have sufficient trees to permit sustainable production.
He added that, although the
statewide potential for woodbased biomass fuels remains
high, challenges include distances between wood lots and
processing plants.
According to Frederick, the
state has tracked logging since
the 1940s. Figures show logging
peaked in the late 1990s, and
has since tapered off. Logging
infrastructure has followed suit,
he said.
Approximately 25 sawmills
classified by the state as medium
to large operated in Vermont in
1990, said Frederick. Last year,
he said, they numbered 13.
Against that backdrop, he said,
the demand for wood-based fuels has increased among commercial, residential, institutional,
and state users.
Frederick shared highlights of
Windham County forests based
on data collected by University
of Vermont graduate student
Doug Morin, who published his
findings as “The Forest Products
Industry on Windham County,
Vermont: Status, Challenges and
Opportunities.”
According to Frederick citing Morin, about 93 percent of
Windham County is forested. Its
annual 2 percent growth rate is
equal to approximately 275,000
cords of wood. The majority of
the county’s forests are under
private ownership.
Almost half of the land area
breaks into parcels of 50 acres
or less, Frederick explained
— a challenge for harvesting.
As lot sizes shrink, the owners
and neighbors often shift from
a culture of forestry to one of
preservation.
Meanwhile, the county has
several large-scale, wood-based
biomass heating systems: West
River Valley Senior Housing
in Townshend is wood-heated,
as are the Leland & Gray and
Brattleboro school complexes.
Approximately 47 percent of
K-12 students statewide attend schools heated with wood
INDEX to ADVERTISERS this issue
biomass.
Two of the state’s largest wood
processing mills, Allard Lumber
and Cersosimo Industries, are
in Windham County, as are 13
smaller sawmills.
“You’ve got some real jewels here,” Frederick told his
audience.
Another challenge for woodbased fuel: the risk of moving
pests from infected forests into
uninfected areas. Frederick cited
the emerald ash borer, an insect
that destroys ash trees.
He added that infested residential firewood moves the highest number of pests. State and
federal regulations control the
shipping of wood between quarantined areas to uninfected areas.
Frederick said the Department
of Forests, Parks, and Recreation
is compiling strategies to adapt
to climate change. Foresters have
guessed at what trees may die
off, and what trees will replace
them should Vermont’s climate
become drier, warmer, or wetter.
He allowed that planning for
climate change is difficult, as no
one knows for certain how it will
alter the forests.
BERC’s Adam Sherman said
that biomass isn’t perfect, but it’s
better than petroleum. BERC, a
program of the Vermont Energy
Investment Corp., based in
Burlington, works with communities and institutions to develop
biomass projects.
The state’s energy goal is for
90 percent of Vermont’s total energy consumption to come from
renewable sources by 2050, said
Sherman and Payne.
Mountain Power, which owns
the land on which the market has
its booths and eating area. That
land, acquired by the utility in
its recent merger with Central
Vermont Public Service, had
been a proposed site for a CVPS
electrical substation.
The parcel that the market
has leased from Chase fronts
Western Avenue and is used as
its upper parking lot. Although
the organization has attempted
to purchase the parking lot area,
the organization and Chase have
yet to settle on a price.
NECCA envisions a purposebuilt building for all of its programming,” according to the
February issue of NECCA’s
newsletter. “While no schedule has yet been determined for
construction of the new facility,
we expect to offer outdoor flying trapeze lessons on the new
in-town site beginning this summer, 2014.”
The planned 15,000-squarefoot structure will cost $1.2
million, and will be the first custom-built circus arts building in
the United States.
Both the Farmers’ Market
and NECCA are seeking funding from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Rural Development
program to complete their respective expansion projects.
NECCA is also planning a major capital fundraising campaign
to fund the new building.
achievable through a combination of conservation, weatherization, and renewable technologies.
Vermont has long led the
nation in thermal biomass installations, especially using
wood-based fuels such as in
wood pellet boilers in schools.
According to Sherman, the first
school to install a wood boiler
was in Calais, in Washington
County, in 1984.
Unfortunately, due to our relatively cold climate, Vermont also
leads in the use of No. 2 heating
oil, Sherman said. He explained
that Vermont residents spend an
average of $750 million on heating oil annually, and estimated
that 85 cents of each dollar spent
on heating oil locally leaves the
local economy.
Sherman said that purchasing
wood-based fuel keeps an average of $43.6 million in the local
economy.
“You could put a very large
ding” in the amount of heating oil consumed in Windham
County by burning wood-based
biomass, he said.
Many opposing biomass argue that burning wood releases
airborne particulates that take a
toll on respiratory health.
Sherman counters such concern, saying advances in combustion technology have increased
efficiency and lowered carbon
emissions. Equipment used to
scrub the air released through the
burning process is more effective
and cost less than older models.
Sherman and members of SEON also touted a
ing (MOU) signed last fall by
Vermont and Upper Austria, one
of the nine states of Austria. The
intent: to foster ideas and businesses, and to share best practices on biomass.
According to Sherman,
Upper Austria houses 1.5 million people in a region the area
of Connecticut. About 45 percent of the area is forested, and
about 45 percent of its buildings
are heated with wood fuel.
Panelists and audience members called out the challenge of
securing capital as a common
roadblock to installing large biomass heating systems and establishing district heating systems
that serve multiple buildings.
Sherman said he felt that if
consumers focused on installing a number of medium-sized
heating systems, lenders would
see the investment as less risky.
Indeed, Payne said, over the
past year SEON members have
recognized what he called the
economic value of collaboration.
Payne concluded the meeting by taking the names of people interested in serving on a
SEON subcommittee focused
on biomass.
Miller Brothers Newton. . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Brattleboro Savings & Loan. . . . . . . . . . C3 Nancy Gauthier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4
Brattleboro Savings & Loan. . . . . . . . . . A6 NeighborWorks of Western Vermont. . . . . C4
Brattleboro Subaru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Northside Subs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Brattleboro Tire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 Oak Meadow School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Brattleboro Winter Carnival. . . . . . . . . . B3 One Stop Country Pet Supply. . . . . . . . . A3
Burrows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Post Oil Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4
Carmen Berelson, CT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4
Renaissance Fine Jewelry . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Chelsea Royal Diner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Rescue, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4
Chelsea Royal Diner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4
River Valley Credit Union. . . . . . . . . . . . B4
Chimney Doctor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2
Second Chance Shoppe. . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
China Buffet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2
Stone Church Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3
Bigger, better
Costello, Valente & Gentry, P.C.. . . . . . . A2
NECCA, now at the Cotton
The Commons advertising. . . . . . . . . . . B3
Delectable Mountain Cloth . . . . . . . . . . A1
Mill complex, has sought a bigThe Commons advertising. . . . . . . . . . . B4
ger location for the school for
DMI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4
several years. The organization
The Gathering Place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3
Early Education Services. . . . . . . . . . . . B6
bought a three-acre parcel, on
The Marina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4
Town Crier Drive off Putney
Easy Clean Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Road, and owned by People’s
The Outlet Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Elizabeth Julia Stoumen. . . . . . . . . . . . C2
United Bank, just last fall.
The Shoe Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1
Falls Area Cable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3
Trust Company of Vermont. . . . . . . . . . . C3
Fearless Computing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3
Verde. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3
from SECTION FRONT Flying Under Radar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4
Vermont Country Deli. . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4
Grace Cottage Hospital. . . . . . . . . . . . . D2
Sherman said this goal is memorandum of understandHawk and Brush/Paul Gardner. . . . . . . . B6 Vermont Staple Goods Co., Inc.. . . . . . . A6
n Vigil
from SECTION FRONT
Critics say that this report
was designed to provide political cover for President Obama to
approve Keystone XL. Because
the pipeline involves both the
United States and Canada, it
requires a presidential permit to
move forward.
Other Vermont vigils were
held on Feb. 3 in Burlington,
Rutland, Stratford, and St.
Johnsbury. According to 350.
org, there were also 276 other
vigils in 44 states.
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REMEMBER
of Canadian tar sands crude,
which has a bigger greenhouse
gas footprint than other types
of oil, is unlikely to be increased
should the Keystone XL pipeline
proceed — and therefore would
do little to contribute to climate
change.
At the same time, the report
concluded that Keystone XL
would have little impact on
fuel prices in the United States,
nor would it have a significant
long-term impact on the U.S.
economy.
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648 Putney Road
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TOWN & VILLAGE
SECTION B
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 • page A4
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
page A4
RO CKIN GH AM /BELLO WS FA L L S
PUT NE Y
GUI L FORD
Residents
oppose AT&T
cell tower
By John Snyder
The Commons
PUTNEY—Residents at a special meeting of the Selectboard
and Planning Commission came
out strongly against a 135-foot
cell tower AT&T has proposed
erecting on Shag Bark Hill, and
the town is waiting for the telecommunication giant’s latest
tweak to the plan.
The meeting, held Jan. 30 at
the fire department, was concerned with AT&T’s intent to
petition the Public Service Board
for a required Certificate of
Public Good to build a “monopine” cell tower on land owned
by Michael Mecheski at 20 Shag
Bark Hill.
The installation reportedly would improve AT&Tdelivered cell reception in Putney
and along a stretch of nearby
Interstate 91. The company
also could use the infrastructure to rent transmitters to other
carriers.
AT&T representatives are
seeking Putney’s support for the
CPG, and say their firm is hoping to earn it through reasonable compromise. Nevertheless,
the town’s permission is not required for the application, and its
protest, if any is lodged, would
have little apparent weight in the
state’s decision.
An AT&T spokeswoman at
the meeting said the company
was trying to find a site that
would please all abutters, and in
the meantime asked the town to
delay its vote on whether to support the project.
This was the town’s third
meeting on the Mecheski land
proposal. One resident, apparently distraught that locals have
such little ultimate control over
what the PSB will approve at a
carrier’s request, reportedly left
the meeting in tears.
The Selectboard and Planning
Commission said they would
schedule another meeting in the
next week or two, after which
they’ll decide whether to support the CPG.
At the Jan. 22 Selectboard
meeting, Town Manager
Cynthia Stoddard explained
AT&T requested the town not
decide then “because they are
exploring their options.”
Board Chair Josh Laughlin
said at the time that he has heard
“from large quantities of people
that they want better cell service
in Putney. ‘We need better cell
service, we need cell towers; this
is a good thing.’”
Then he asked rhetorically,
“Are there other locations within
Putney that could accomplish
what this is accomplishing that
are economically viable for
AT&T? ... I don’t know of anywhere else in Putney that would
accomplish that.”
Many residents have objected.
One resident, whose name was
not given with BCTV’s stream
of the meeting coverage, said
she disputed the notion that the
tower is needed here.
“What is this about people in
our town saying we want better
cell service, when in fact we can
get better cell service with other
carriers? And why are we willing
to give up our residential area for
this? ... One guy, one company
wants this, and the rest of us suffer. And we don’t even get compensated,” she said.
“I don’t have a good answer,”
Laughlin said. “I feel the best
we’re going to get here is to gain
as many concessions as we can,
and at least we’ve gained that.
And that might be off base; I
don’t know.”
In other action Jan. 22, the
Selectboard:
• Met in a closed executive
session to discuss a legal matter
concerning the fire station roof.
• Heard from Town Manager
Cynthia Stoddard that the town
is unable to sell hunting/fishing
licenses, as these are conducted
electronically nowadays and the
town is not set up to facilitate
electronic banking.
Stoddard said the town is
looking into such improvements
for a variety of transactions, but
that for the time being she would
help put together a pamphlet advising residents how they can buy
licenses from a home or library
computer.
• Held off on buying a replacement used truck for the Water
and Sewer Department, figuring
to stretch repairs for the current
vehicle while a search turns up
more options.
Board Chair Josh Laughlin
joked of the current vehicle,
“How many times can we duct
tape it together?”
Selectboard member Scott
Henry was optimistic: “There’s
a deal out there. There’s a deal
to be had.”
This story reported with the
help of Brattleboro Community
Television’s staff and volunteers,
who make these public meetings
available to all. Watch on channel
10, or at brattleborotv.org.
Town
officials
survive
‘Operation
Bugout’
Training exercise
tests town response
to disaster
Above, left to right:
Doreen Aldrich, Carol
Blackwood, and David
Gould (unopposed
for two-year term).
Left: Incumbents
Ray Massucco and
Deborah Wright.
Five candidates in
running for four seats
on library trustees
ROCKINGHAM—Under
the banner of “Trustees You
Can Trust,” four candidates are
running together as a bloc to fill
the four forthcoming vacancies
on the Rockingham Free Public
Library Board of Trustees in the
March 4 town elections.
The four candidates — Town
Clerk Doreen Aldrich, physician
Carol Blackwood, retired pastor David Gould, and attorney
Ray Massucco — made their intentions known during a news
conference on the library steps
on Feb. 1.
Gould is running unopposed
for a two-year seat on the RFPL
board.
The other three will face
Trustee Deborah Wright for
the three other seats, all threeyear terms. Wright serves as
vice-chair.
Massucco, the only incumbent, was appointed by
the Rockingham Selectboard
last summer to replace former Trustee Steve Fuller, who
resigned.
Current members Laura
Senes and Elayne Clift will not
seek reelection.
In a prepared statement, the
four said they were joining forces
in response to what they see as
“the enormous discord, rancor,
and erosion of trust generated by
the board’s actions over the past
several years.”
While the RFPL is owned by
the town of Rockingham, it is
overseen by an elected board of
trustees that is independent of
the Selectboard.
The candidates said they are
committed to working together
“to restore sound, positive,
civil and transparent leadership
within the Library’s Board of
Trustees in order to serve the
public interest.”
Massucco, who previously
served on the RFPL board and
once was its chair, has been one
of the most persistent critics of
the current board.
“Time after time over the past
few years, the leadership of the
board has operated as petty tyrants without authorization from
the full board,” he wrote in a
December letter to the RFPL
Board. The rest of the Board
majority abdicated their responsibility to serve the interests of
the library and the community
by continuing to allow them to
do it.”
Massucco said that the
“Trustees You Can Trust” slate
represents “the change we need
to turn things around before it’s
too late.”
Much of the turmoil of the
past year on the RFPL board
stems from the library’s $3 million renovation project. Financial
problems by the general contractor for the project, Baybutt
Construction Co. of Keene,
N.H., led to the firm’s bankruptcy and the town and the
RFPL being stuck with about
$700,000 of unpaid bills to the
project’s subcontractors.
The financial turmoil was a
contributing factor in the board’s
decision to fire Library Director
Célina Houlné last August for
insubordination and financial
malfeasance, allegations that the
former librarian has denied and
addressed publicly.
Houlné has filed a civil suit
against the trustees and the town
alleging unlawful dismissal and
seeks reinstatement, compensation for lost income and benefits,
and payment for attorneys’ fees.
The four candidates have not
indicated that they would support reinstating Houlné if they
are elected to the board, but said
they would consider that option.
In an email to The Commons
this week, Wright asserted that
Houlné’s “termination was just.”
Candidates’ forum
Candidates will square off in
a forum, which will take place in
the lower theater in Town Hall
on Monday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.
The debate will be broadcast
live on Falls Area Community
Television, and Moderator Mike
Smith said that as of Tuesday, all
five candidates were expected to
participate.
“It will be completely nonpartisan,” Smith said, noting that
candidates will be permitted to
hold signs and distribute literature at tables in the lobby, but
electioneering will not be allowed
in the debate proper.
The audience will be invited
to submit written questions on
index cards at the event. Smith
also invites viewers to submit
questions to citizensparticipate@
gmail.com, on FACT’s Facebook
page ( fa c e b o o k . c o m / p a g e s /
FACT-TV/92271372095), or as comments during the live stream of
the program on the public access television station’s website
(fact8.com).
The forum will let the five candidates give opening and closing
statements.
“We’ll try to keep it to an
hour,” Smith said,
FACT is also contemplating
similar debates for candidates
for the Rockingham Selectboard
and for the Bellows Falls Village
Trustees, “if this one goes well
and we manage to get through
it in a civilized manner,” Smith
said.
Rockingham’s Annual Town
Meeting takes place Monday,
March 3, at 7 p.m. in the Bellows
Falls Opera House at the Town
Hall. Voting for officers is Tuesday,
March 4, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Replacement Potassium Iodide supply coming
from Vermont Department of Health
Windham Southeast Business Administrator Jim
Kane, left, and Superintendent Ron Stahley review
budget numbers before a Feb. 3 meeting at the
Windham Regional Career Center.
■ District 6
estimated at $1.92, a decrease of
about 2.7 cents.
Putney is next, with an estimate of $1.77, is an increase of
4.4 cents.
Vernon’s estimated tax will
remain at $1.17.
Voters must approve the fiscal
year budget and meeting articles
at the District 6 annual meeting
on Feb. 11.
Residents of legal voting age of
the district towns of Brattleboro,
Dummerston, Guilford, Putney,
FROM SECTION FRONT
and Vernon may vote at the
District 6 annual meeting.
According to minutes from
last year’s budget vote, only
129 of the 14,948 eligible voters voted on the fiscal year 2014
budget. That translates to about
0.8 percent of eligible voters
approving the $27.5 million
budget.
The District 6 annual meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the BUHS
gymnasium.
The Vermont Department
of Health makes potassium iodide tablets available to all who
live and work in the six towns
within the emergency planning
zone around Entergy’s Vermont
Yankee nuclear power station in
Vernon.
Acknowledging that the
current stock of adult tablets
(130 milligrams) expires this
month, the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA)
announces it is extending those
tablets’ “shelf life” by six months.
According to a notice from the
Health Department’s Brattleboro
District Office, despite the original February expiration, the tablets will remain safe and effective
“until at least the end of August
2014.”
Potassium iodide (KI) is a
drug that, taken in an appropriate and timely dosage, can block
exposure to radioactive iodine,
one of the contaminants that
could be released in a nuclear
emergency.
Officials here say the 65 mg
pediatric tablets distributed in
2013 will expire in 2017 and are
unaffected by the adult tablets’
shelf life extension.
Meanwhile, the U.S.
Department of Health and
Human Services says replacement adult tablets are scheduled
to arrive here in April, and that
area health officials will inform
residents and workers in the
emergency planning zone as soon
as the new supply of KI arrives.
The emergency planning
zone includes Brattleboro,
Dummerston, Guilford, Halifax,
Marlboro, and Vernon. The distribution program provides one
tablet per person, and participation is voluntary.
Officials say KI should be
taken only in an announced
nuclear emergency and only
at the direction of the Health
Department.
“There is no substitute for
following emergency instructions such as evacuation. Taking
KI 30 minutes before, or up to
three hours after, exposure to
radioactive iodine can help prevent thyroid cancer, especially in
children,” health officials said in
a press release.
GUILFORD—The town has
survived “Operation Bugout.”
The Board of Selectmen, local and state emergency management personnel, school officials,
shelter volunteers, and leaders
from Halifax met Jan. 28 to hash
out a “tabletop drill” of a catastrophic accident, and evidently
they’re still here to talk about it.
The session, held at the
Guilford Volunteer Fire
Department, was a prerequisite
for the Town of Guilford as a
participant in a statewide emergency management drill scheduled for June.
The exercise, dubbed
“Operation Bugout,” was designed to bring together key
personnel with the goal of understanding, coordinating, and improving the operational response
to a critical incident.
According to draft meeting
minutes filed by the Halifax
Selectboard, which observed the
session, participants included
Halifax Selectboard members
Earl Holtz, Edee Edwards, and
Lewis Sumner; co-emergency
management directors Herbert
Meyer and Candace Stouman;
Guilford Selectboard member
Dick Clark and Administrative
Assistant Katie Buckley; and
many other public service officials, medical personnel, communications specialists, highway
department staff, facilitators, and
observers.
According to Vermont
Emergency Management,
Division of Emergency
Management and Homeland
Security, the purpose of the
Vermont CAT2 2014 Full Scale
Exercise will be to assess capabilities in prevention, response,
and recovery activities following
a statewide catastrophic event.
HA L I FA X
Town gets
extension for
bridge work
HALIFAX—According to
draft meeting minutes filed Jan.
27, Selectboard Chairwoman
Edee Edwards reports that:
• She received an e-mail from
Todd Menees of the Vermont
Agency of Natural Resources
river-management division noting that an extension of dates has
been granted for the Old County
North Bridge work.
• There is no additional information from the Planning
Commission regarding the VTel
tower.
• The school may need to have
an Americans with Disabilities
Act audit.
Delivering the road commissioner’s report, Highway
Supervisor Bradley Rafus told
the Selectboard:
• All of his department’s trucks
are back up and running.
• His office received a modem
from FairPoint Communications
at the town garage.
• He has confirmed that
$25,592 remains in the equipment reserve fund, there having
been $10,500 transferred out of
the gravel account into the equipment fund.
• Rafus said he believes there
is approximately $65,000 in the
gravel reserve.
• The town needs to pay for its
fuel containment unit by April 1
as it is part of a grant.
• He’s identified a 2012 leftover truck available “in the low
$40,000 price range, including
the dump body.”
For questions about potassium iodide and what to do in the event of a
nuclear emergency, call the Health
oliticians are the same all over.
Department’s Brattleboro District
They promise to build bridges
Office at 802-257-2880. For more even when there are no rivers.
information about potassium iodide
—NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV
distribution, visit healthvermont.gov/
enviro/rad/KI_program.aspx.
P
The Commons
• Wednesday, February 5, 2014 A5
still
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your
support
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we’re
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A6
THE COMMONS
AROUND THE TOWNS
Town Auditors’ Report
now available
BRATTLEBORO — The
Brattleboro Town Auditors’
Report for fiscal year ending
June 30, 2013, is available upon
request and may be picked up
at the Town Clerk’s office, 230
Main St.
The Auditors’ Reports will
also be available as part of the
Town and Town School District
Annual Report, which will be
available at the Town Clerk’s office no later than Feb. 21.
Based on a vote at
Representative Town Meeting
in 2010, the town will no longer
mail the Auditors’ Reports to all
voters of the town. Therefore,
persons interested in obtaining a copy should contact the
Brattleboro Town Clerk at 802251-8157. Copies are also available at www.brattleboro.org.
on Saturday, Feb. 8. These
talks take up the status of the
I-91 Brattleboro bridge project.
Participants will learn about the
construction, and are encouraged to ask questions.
The talks will originate at
the West River Trail near the
Marina. The first trail talk is led
by Caleb Linn, project manager
for PCL (the lead contractor),
and Garrett Hoffman, design
manager for FIGG (the bridge
designer).
Interested participants should
meet the PCL/FIGG team at
the West River Trail trailhead
at 8 a.m. The talk begins at 8:15.
Participants will walk the trail
to the I-91 bridge site, so wear
appropriate clothing and footwear. The project’s website, www.
i91brattleborobridge.com, features
current information about the
project, construction photos, and
live traffic cameras.
informational meeting Saturday,
Feb. 8, at 9 a.m., at the Saxtons
River Elementary School for
those on the village’s wastewater system.
The trustees will present
plans for upgrading the village’s
40-year-old sewer system and
options for funding it, including
bonding. Users have been notified of the meeting by mail, and
may contact Ben Wallace at 802869-2196 or bkimwallace@gmail.
com if they have questions or are
unable to attend the meeting.
Asian Cultural
Center celebrates
Lunar New Year
BRATTLEBORO — Asian
Cultural Center of Vermont
(ACCVT) presents the 11th
annual Brattleboro Area Lunar
New Year Festival of China,
Vietnam, and Korea on Sunday,
Feb. 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the
Public invited to
Saxtons River plans
River Garden on Main Street.
Ushering in the Year of the
second ‘Trail Talk’ for special meeting
Horse, this annual celebration
I-91 bridge project
for sewer users
begins with eating together. It’s
BRATTLEBORO — The
SAXTONS RIVER – The a potluck, so bring a dish or other
PCL/FIGG team is conducting Trustees of the Village of refreshments to share. There will
its second on-site “Trail Talk” Saxtons River will hold a special be a craft and coloring table for
younger children, t’ai chi demonstrations, a group calligraphy
mural, Chinese exercises, Lunar
New Year songs, a Korean tug of
war, and more.
To culminate the celebration,
a giant Vietnamese dragon leads
participants in a community parade along Main Street (participants should dress warmly for
the weather). Seth Harter, director of Asian studies at Marlboro
College, brought this extraordinary dragon back from the village
of an accomplished Vietnamese
craftsman.
For more information, contact ACCVT Executive Director
Adam Silver at 802-257-7898,
ext. 1, or 802-579-9088, or visit
them on Facebook.
Osher lectures on the
War in Yugoslavia
conclude
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BCBSVT_OurStory-2014.indd 11
DUMMERSTON — The
Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute (OLLI) announces the
last in its annual midwinter series
of three lectures, to be presented
on Monday, Feb. 10, from 1 to
3 p.m. (snow day Feb. 17) at the
Southeastern Vermont Learning
Collaborative, 471 Vermont
Route 5.
This winter’s lectures are
titled “War in the Former
Yugoslavia: An International
Judge Reflects on the Genocide,
the War Crimes, the Trials.” The
lecturer is Patricia Whalen of
Westminster, who served as an
international judge for five years,
presiding over war crimes and
other trials stemming from the
conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
The Feb. 10 program offers a
look at Bosnia and Herzegovina
today. Parking and handicapped
access are available. Light refreshments will be served. The
per-lecture fee, for OLLI members and nonmembers both,
1/30/2014
1/30/2014 4:43:12
4:43:12PM
PM
Brattleboro Savings & Loan
the Bank of
Brattleboro
Brattleboro’s only Cooperatively Owned
Bank, offering a wide array of consumer
and commercial financial services.
Remember to shop, eat, and bank wisely.
is $6. For more information,
After decades of effort by
call 802-257-8600 or toll-free Vermont progressives, Vermont
866-889-0042.
is on the cusp of implementing
its revolutionary universal health
care plan, Green Mountain Care,
Candidate forum
which will sever the ties between employment and health
presented in
insurance. Unlike the federal
Rockingham
Affordable Care Act, which
ROCKINGHAM — Citizens leaves the employer-sponsored
for Participation in Rockingham health insurance regime in place,
(CPR), a non-partisan group Green Mountain Care will guarwhose mission is to encour- antee universal health coverage
age participation in the demo- to all Vermonters as a right of
cratic process by running for residency.
office and voting, will hold a
But implementing universal
forum for candidates for the coverage in a small state is not
Rockingham Public Library without enormous challenges:
board on Monday, Feb. 10, at 7 Green Mountain Care will not be
p.m., in the Lower Theater in the a single-payer system; Vermont
Rockingham Town Hall.
will have to obtain permission
The forum will be telecast live from the federal government to
on FACTv/Channel 8 and re- use federal money to fund the
broadcast later. The moderator program. Even with the incluis Mike Smith. Anyone unable sion of Medicare, Medicaid and
to attend and who has a ques- other federal sources of funds,
tion may write citizensparticipate@ Vermont will need to raise bilgmail.com.
lions to operate the program.
Running for three three-year
States are often the laboratoseats are Doreen Aldrich, Carol ries of democracy. Can Vermont
Blackwood, Raymond Massucco lead the nation out of its healthand Deborah Wright. The can- care woes? Leading the workshop
didate for the one two-year seat is Craig Miskovitch, who teaches
is David Gould.
in the Marlboro College School
for Graduate and Professional
Studies and advises hospitals
Local professor to
and health systems, nursing
facilities, health maintenance
speak about mixing
organizations and other healthreligion, politics
care providers in Vermont and
PUTNEY — Landmark New Hampshire in health-care
College faculty member Daniel matters.
Miller will present “When
This event is part of the
Religion is Politics” as part of grad school’s Tuesday lunchthe Landmark College Academic time MIX (Management Ideas
Speaker Series, on Monday, Exchange) workshop series.
Feb. 10, at 7 p.m., in the Brooks Register at gradschool.marlboro.
O’Brien Auditorium in the East edu . For more information,
Academic Building at the college. write Ariel Brooks at abrooks@
Miller will talk about how marlboro.edu.
Western thought — with its
strong tradition of secularism
— has been challenged to un- BF Woman’s Club
derstand religious-based po- to meet Feb. 11
litical entities, both within the
American religious right and
BELLOWS FALLS —
worldwide.
Members of the Bellows Falls
Miller is an assistant profes- Woman’s Club will meet on
sor of religion and philosophy at Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the United
Landmark College. The manu- Church of Bellows Falls on
script for his first book, “The School Street, beginning at
Secular in Question: Religion, 1:30 p.m..
Democracy, Politics,” is unProgram presenter is Chris
der review for publication with Potter, speaking on “Being
Duquesne University Press.
Prepared: Life’s Decisions.”
This event is free, accessi- In honor of American Heart
ble, and open to the public. It Month, members are asked to
is presented by the Landmark wear red.
College Speaker Series and coThe winter meeting of the
sponsored by Windham World General Federation of Women’s
Affairs Council.
Clubs of Vermont will be held in
Rutland on Feb. 8. Local club
members plan to attend. Women
Transition Putney to
interested in joining the BF club
and helping with its projects
screen ‘Economics
should call Barbara Comtois at
of Happiness’
802-344-0025.
PUTNEY — On Monday,
Feb. 10, from 7 to 9 p.m., the
Putney Public Library and AAUW program
Transition Putney will screen examines racial
“The Economics of Happiness,”
a film seeking to challenge peo- profiling
ple to believe that it is possible
BRATTLEBORO — Racial
to build a better world.
profiling is the focus of a program
The film describes a world offered by the Brattleboro branch
moving simultaneously in two of the American Association of
opposing directions. On the one University Women (AAUW)
hand, government and big busi- on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 1 p.m.,
ness continue to promote global- at Marlboro College Graduate
ization and the consolidation of Center.
corporate power. On the other
Donna Macomber, director of
hand, communities are com- the Women’s Freedom Center,
ing together to re-build more and Mary Gannon, a diversity
human-scale, ecological econo- educator, will lead a discussion
mies based on a new paradigm: of the effects of racial profiling
an economics of localization.
on the local community. Both
A discussion follows the film. are members of the Community
For more information, contact Equity Collaborative.
Paul LeVasseur at paull@sover.
The program is open to the
net or 802-387-4102.
public. For more information,
call membership chair Vivian
Prunier at 802-387-5875.
Marlboro Grad
School offers free
Green Mountain
Care workshop
VBSR to launch
Southern Vermont
chapter
BRATTLEBORO — A
free workshop entitled “Green
Mountain Care: The end of employer-sponsored health care”
will be held at Marlboro College
Graduate School on Tuesday,
Feb. 11, from noon to 1:30 p.m.
BRATTLEBORO —
Vermont Businesses for Social
Responsibility (VBSR) is forming a Southern Vermont VBSR
chapter.
Designed to give forwardthinking professionals an
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Located on Riverdale Road (Just off Rte 30, Behind River Bend Farm Market) Townshend VT
ongoing forum to network with
like-minded peers, learn about
operating their businesses in
a socially responsible context,
and discuss issues unique to the
region, the chapter is open to
VBSR members and guests from
Rutland, Windsor, Windham,
and Bennington counties.
The first Southern Vermont
VBSR chapter meeting is
Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 5:30
to 7:30 p.m., at the Marlboro
College Graduate Center, 28
Vernon St.
The kick-off meeting consists
of an evening of chapter planning
and organizing, and networking with colleagues and peers.
Additional meetings are scheduled for March 11 and April 8.
The events are free to attend. To
learn more, RSVP, or become a
chapter sponsor for $100, visit
vbsr.org.
BUHS annual report
now available
BRATTLEBORO — In anticipation of the BUHS District
#6 Annual Meeting at 7 p.m.
on Tuesday, Feb. 11 in the high
school gymnasium, the BUHS
District #6 Annual Reports are
now available.
They can be found at all
WSESU schools, the superintendent’s office, Brooks Memorial
Library, district town offices
(Brattleboro, Dummerston,
Guilford, Putney, and Vernon),
and at www.wssu.k12.vt.us.
Toastmasters speeches,
evaluations set for
Feb. 13 at Marlboro
Grad Center
BRATTLEBORO —
BrattleMasters, the Brattleborobased chapter of Toastmasters
International, meets the second and fourth Thursday of the
month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on
the second floor of Marlboro
College Graduate Center, 28
Vernon St., Brattleboro.
The next meeting is Thursday,
Feb. 13. Three speeches and
evaluations are planned, as is
a round of off-the-cuff “table
topic” challenges (all voluntary).
Guests are welcome, and refreshments are provided. There is no
pressure to speak, and members
are working at their own pace
and with assigned mentors to
help them meet their speaking
and leadership goals.
For more information, visit
brattleboro.toastmastersclubs.org.
16th Annual
Homelessness
Marathon broadcast
to air from WVEW
BRATTLEBORO — The 16th
Annual Homelessness Marathon, a
radio program designed to call
attention to poverty in America,
will be broadcast from the studios of WVEW-LP 107.7 FM,
Brattleboro Community Radio,
on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
The show, which runs from 7
p.m. until 1 a.m., will once again
bring the voices of homeless people into America’s homes.
“I wish we could get their
bodies inside too,” says Jeremy
Weir Alderson, the broadcast’s
founder, “but we’re doing the
best thing we can by showing America why this problem
should be, can be, and must be
solved.”
The broadcast — which has
previously originated from
Detroit, Kansas City, and
Katrina-ravaged Mississippi,
among other places — features
live discussions with homeless
people, providing a rare opportunity to see life through their eyes.
This year’s program will originate from in front of the First
Baptist Church of Brattleboro,
190 Main St. The First Baptist
Church provides the space for
Brattleboro’s overflow shelter,
operated by the Brattleboro Area
Drop In Center. A few years ago,
the church sold a prized possession — a Tiffany stained glass
window — so that it could continue its mission, including its
service to the poor.
The 16th Annual Homelessness
Marathon will be available for
free to all radio stations over the
Public Radio Satellite System,
the Pacifica Ku-band and
Pacifica’s Audioport.
Live video of the broadcast
will be carried by Free Speech
Television (FSTV), starting
at 8 p.m. on Feb. 19. FSTV
has channel 9415 on the Dish
Network and channel 348 on
DirecTV, as well as a webcast.
SECTION B
The ARTS
Wednesday, February
C A L E5,
N D2014
A R . . . .•. page
. . . . . . .B1
.B2
T A I L S O F B I R D I N G . . . .B5
page B1
Absurdity
meets
seriousness
A visiting theater
company looks at
technology and politics
with a clear mission —
and a sense of whimsy
By Richard Henke
The Commons
M
The cover of Brian Staveley’s debut
novel, published by Tor in January.
Epic
fantasy
LAURA SWOYER/BSTAVELEY.WORDPRESS.COM/
Marlboro author’s debut novel
hits print as the first book of a trilogy
By Ben Boettger
The Commons
M
ARLBORO—On
Jan. 14, Brian
Staveley became
a published author when his
debut novel, The Emperor’s Blades,
was released by science fiction
and fantasy publisher, Tor Books.
Although this book is his first,
Staveley’s literary journey has already been a long and varied one,
taking him from the study of poetry at Dartmouth and Boston
University, through a 12-year
career as a high-school English
and history teacher and a year
in Asia, to his present home on
a dirt road outside of Marlboro,
and to his present vocation as a
writer of epic fantasy.
In Stavely’s own estimation,
this journey is a circle. His arrival in the genre of fantasy was,
in fact, a return.
While growing up in southeastern New Hampshire, fantasy was Staveley’s first literary
obsession. As a student, he discovered how to pass dull class
time by hiding books in his lap
and reading them with his head
down against his desk.
At school, he was able to plow
through dozens of fantasy novels. His enthusiasm for the genre
did not make him a picky reader.
“If it had swords,” he says, “I
probably read it.”
Another long-term interest,
military history, also grew from
Staveley’s youthful consumption
of fantasy stories, in which clashing armies and world-shaking
battles are a staple trope.
■ SEE FANTASY, B3
ARLBORO—
An absurdist
tour de force
exploring
how we communicate with technological
anxieties in a digital age is
coming to Marlboro College
on Friday, Feb. 7.
The new comedy, Instant
Misunderstanding, from Goat
in the Road Productions
(GRP), will be performed by
GRP’s two co-founders and
artistic directors, Will Bowling
and Chris Kaminstein.
“ I n
I n s t a n t
Misunderstanding, past and
present collide in a whirlwind
of sandwiches, phone conferences, tea, and computer
commands,” Kaminstein says.
Bowling and Kaminstein
created their newest work
along with Northeast
Kingdom native and collaborator Sascha Stanton-Craven,
whose credits include writer/
editor at The Onion (theonion.
com) and Cartoon Network’s
Adult Swim. The production
is directed by Andrew Vaught.
Alison Fensterstock wrote
in The Times-Picayune that the
play is filled with “rapid-fire
comic dialogue, song, dance,
gesture, wrestling, funny accents and cleverly crafted
wordplay.”
Absurdist theater is, according to the American Heritage
dictionary, a “form of drama
that emphasizes the absurdity
of human existence by employing disjointed, repetitious,
and meaningless dialogue,
purposeless and confusing situations, and plots that lack realistic or logical development.”
But don’t think that absurdist theater is analogous
to improv. GRP’s pieces are
meticulously researched and
ensemble-created, and they
usually contain an element
of whimsy to leaven the mix.
Instant Misunderstanding
is comedy that “explores the
way technology can change
the political landscape, in specific how political speech gets
transmitted through technology,” Kaminstein says. “Will
and I believe that very anxiety is what produces those
advancements.”
Kaminstein is an actor, director, and arts instructor who
joined with Bowling to start
Goat in the Road Productions
after moving to New Orleans
in 2008. He has had a hand in
creating and performing most
of GRP’s original work, often
with Bowling, a writer, performer, musician, and scholar
who came to New Orleans after working in the New York
City theater scene.
GPR has presented works
at the State of the Nation
Festival, the New Orleans
Fringe Festival, and Berkshire
Fringe Festival, and the theater has received funding from
the National Performance
Network in 2010 and 2011
for its ongoing collaboration
with Guatemalan-based theater company Artzenico.
Last year, Kaminstein and
Bowling appeared on the
cover of American Theater
magazine, which contained an
article about GRP’s ensemble
practices.
GRP’s mission also includes an educational component, something it takes
very seriously.
Since 2009, it has been
presenting Play/Write, a children’s playwriting program
with two parts: a teaching residency and a showcase of student work.
Over the course of 11
weeks, GRP artists teach playwriting to students in grades
5 through 7 who finish the
class by writing their own
plays. GRP publishes each
play, and 10 plays are chosen
to be produced and presented
by local professional theater
companies.
■ SEE ABSURD, B3
From the chorus
to a starring role
Rockingham woman takes the lead in
MSA’s production of Pirates of Penzance
By Louise Luring
Special to The Commons
SAXTONS RIVER—Lindsey
Soboleski returns to the Main
Street Arts stage for its winter production of Gilbert and
Sullivan’s “The Pirates of
Penzance,” this time in the lead
role.
Last time she was here, in
MSA’s 2004 production of the
LOUISE LURING/SPECIAL TO THE COMMONS
show, the then-13-year-old
After 10 years, Lindsey Soboleski of Rockingham makes a repeat appearance in Rockingham native was cast as
Main Street Arts’ production of “The Pirates of Penzance,” this time as the lead. one of Major-General Stanley’s
Michael Duffin will play Frederic, the male lead.
daughters, a relatively minor role
that introduced her to the grind
of rehearsals, late nights, and
backstage tensions.
She had previously taken
part in MSA’s children’s plays,
but this was big-time adult
performing.
Ten years later, armed with a
degree in music education from
the University of Vermont, and
boasting a position as vocal music teacher at Vermont Academy,
Soboleski brings a wealth of experience to the lead role.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to be
back on the MSA stage playing
Mabel in ‘Pirates’ because that
was my first-ever adult show at
MSA,” Soboleski said. “It was
also my first Gilbert and Sullivan
production, and it remains my
favorite.”
She added: “Over the years,
I came to know the members of
these productions as family, and
being in a show here again, even
after a few years, feels like coming home.”
This year’s production of
“Pirates,” a rollicking musical
about a band of inept pirates
■ SEE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, B3
B2
THE COMMONS
arts & community C A L E N D A R
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
6
7
8
Music
Performing arts
Performing arts
Kevin Parry
Open Mic: Performers get halfprice meal.
▶ 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. every Thursday.
▶ No cover.
▶ Marina Restaurant, 28 Spring
Tree Rd. Information: 802-257-7563;
vermontmarina.com.
MARLBORO
"Instant
Misunderstanding": See story, B1.
▶ 7:30 p.m.
▶ $12 from www.kingdomcounty.
org.
▶ Marlboro College, 2582 So.
Rd. Information: 802-251-7644;
marlboro.edu.
PUTNEY Putney Vaudeville!: The
BRATTLEBORO
Recreation
Music
BRATTLEBORO Scrabble Club:
WEST DOVER Kevin Perry: Classic
Fun, friendly, competitive play. All
levels and all equipment provided.
▶ 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
▶ $3; free for first-time players.
▶ Marlboro College Graduate
Center, 28 Vernon St. Information:
971-344-8730.
Government
BELLOWS FALLS Free Tax Help
(AARP): Thursdays through Apr. 10.
▶ 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
▶ Bellows Falls Senior Center,
18 Tuttle St. Call for appointment:
802-463-3907.
Community building
"Books and
More: What Does Your Local
Library Do?": Library development consultant Amy Howlett, RFPL
librarians Emily Zervas and Sam
Maskell, and others talk about the
role of the library in the community
and about the Library's programs
and services. In conversation with
the audience, the panel reflects on
the larger role of community libraries in a technological age that often
leaves people feeling hungry for personal contact. Moderated by Trustee
Elayne Clift.
▶ 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Rockingham Free Public Library,
65 Westminster St. Information: 802463-4270; rockinghamlibrary.org.
B R AT T L E B O R O Brown Bag
Lunch River Garden Series
Introduces Diana Whitney: Yoga
instructor and mother of Whitney's
irreverent, advice-free parenting column, "Spilt Milk," which ran in the
Brattleboro Reformer and Rutland
Herald for the past four years.
▶ noon - 1 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ River Garden, 157 Main St.
Information: 802-246-0982.
BELLOWS FALLS
Dance
Gentle International
Folk Dancing: Move to the lilting
melodies of dances from countries around the world. Thursdays
through Feb. 13.
▶ 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
▶ $8.
▶ Putney Cares Activities Barn, 54
Kimball Hill. Anne: 802-387-4330;
[email protected].
PUTNEY
Ideas and education
GRAFTON "Honey Bee Health:
How You Can Help": The honey bee
faces many affronts to its immune
system. Colony Collapse Disorder
makes it all the more imperative
that local beekeepers, farmers, naturalists and gardeners learn healthy
ways to assist the honey bee. Ross
Conrad discusses organic beekeeping, managing farms and yards to
provide bee forage and habitat, and
ways that homeowners can help our
pollinators.
▶ 7 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Nature Museum, 186 Townshend
Rd. Information: 802-843-2111;
nature-museum.org.
Rock: Takes requests on guitar and
mandolin.
▶ 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ West Dover Inn, Rte. 100.
Information: 802-464-5207;
kevinparrymusic.com.
BRATTLEBORO Butterfly Swing
Band: Playing hot classic swing
grooves from the '20s, '30s and '40s.
▶ 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.
▶ No cover.
▶ Metropolis Wine Bar, 55 Elliot
St. Information: 802-490-2255;
metropoliswinebar.com.
BRATTLEBORO "Red Riding
Hood": Kathy Mazziott on accordion, Ben Mitchell on guitar, Gray
Zabrisky on percussion. Eclectic mix
of folk, funk, punk and world beat,
blending covers and originals that
defy genre.
▶ 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.
▶ Tu r n I t U p ! , 2 E l l i o t S t .
Art walks and tours
Gallery Walk
Sampling:
▶ 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Brattleboro Food Co-op, 2 Main
brattleborofoodcoop.coop.
BRATTLEBORO
Kids and families
Parent Talk:
Parents/caregivers are invited to
share triumphs, struggles and
ask parenting questions Led by
Robin White.
▶ 11 a.m. - 12 noon.
▶ Free.
▶ KidsPLAYce, 20 Elliot St.
WEST TOWNSHEND Build Your
Own Taco Night: Gene Morrison
and the Kelly Stand sing and play
country, bluegrass and originals.
▶ 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.; music starts
at 7 p.m.
▶ $9 for a taco plate.
▶ West Townshend Country Store,
Rte. 30. Information: 802-874-4800;
[email protected].
BRATTLEBORO
Well-being
New Bone Builders
Class: Age-appropriate weight
training exercises increase bone
density and muscle strength. Key to
the classes are exercises to improve
balance, exercises with free weights,
a warm up and cool down, and dietary and nutritional discussions.
Open to all on Fridays and Mondays.
Sponsored by RSVP. Volunteer class
leaders welcome.
▶ 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Vernon Senior Housing, 82
Huckle Hill Rd. Information: 802254 7515.
VERNON
creation of Rebecca Waxman, Bronwyn
Sims, Patrick Donnelly and Peter
Siegel, this ongoing showcase includes a professional act, live band,
and friends and neighbors displaying skills you may never have seen.
Featuring Hilary Chaplain and the local house band "Gaslight Tinkers"--as
well-versed in afro-pop, funk and reggae as they are in Celtic fiddle tunes
and Tin Pan Alley chestnuts.
▶ 7:30 p.m.
▶ $12; $6 children under 12.
▶ Next Stage Arts Project, 15 Kimball
Hill. Information: 802-387-0102;
nextstagearts.org.
Music
WILMINGTON Kevin Parry: Guitar
and mandolin singing classic rock and
blues requests.
▶ 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Sitzmark Wilmington/West Dover,
54 E. Dover Rd. Information: 802-4641133; kevinparrymusic.com.
B E L L O W S F A L L S Orkestra
Marhaba, Turkish Classical & Folk
Music: Music showcases composed
of instrumental (saz eserleri), vocal
(sarkilari), and music and improvisations (taksimleri) within the framework
of Turkish classical and folk music.
Hear forms such as pesrev (instrumental prelude), saz semaisi (instrumental
postlude), sarki (light classical song),
turku (folk song), and sirto, zeybek
and oyun havasi (dance forms) from
the 17th century through the 20th.
▶ 7:30 p.m.
▶ $17 ($13 seniors/children under
12 in advance); $20 ($15) at the door.
▶ Stone Church Arts/Immanuel
Episcopal Church, 14-20 Church
stonechurcharts.org.
Fundraising and
awareness events
BRATTLEBORO Raising Awareness
Through Movement About the Need
for Every Human Being to Have
Clean Water: Molly Gawler presents
her solo works with live mosic. She has
danced with
the world-renowned company Pilobolus
and has performed at the
Oscars. This
fundraiser, for
Molly's nonprofit Droplet
Dance, is
for those who enjoy dance, art and
imagination.
▶ 8 p.m.
▶ $15 at the door.
▶ SoBo Studio, The Cotton Mill, 72
Cotton Mill Hill, #346. Information:
BRATTLEBORO Brattleboro Winter
Farmers' Market: Shop for farm products fresh baked goods, crafts.
▶ 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. through March
on Saturdays.
▶ Brattleboro Winter
Farmers Market, 153 Main St.
I n fo r m a t i o n : 8 0 2 - 8 6 9 - 2 1 4 1 ;
farmersmarket@postoilsolutions.
org.
Kids and families
Coin, Sports,
Postcard, Family Hobby Show: In addition to coins, currency, stamps and
sports cards, vintage local postcards,
there's a quiz for collectors. Anyone
reaching into the collectable grab
bag and selecting a free Indian Head
cent or Buffalo nickel can double their
prize if they can say who was president
in the year the coin was minted. Door
prizes; scholarship auction. Presented
by the Tri Town Collectors Club.
▶ 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Holiday Inn Express, 100
C h i c k e r i n g D r. J o e F u l l e r :
802-297-1274.
GRAFTON "Snow Secrets: Exploring
Mammal Tracks": This easy to moderate animal tracking hike will likely
require snowshoes, depending on
the weather.
Most mammals remain active
throughout
the winter
months, and
snow provides
a stunning backdrop for wildlife
tracking. The group tramps into the
woods with Lynn Levine, who demonstrates how to identify signs of
wildlife. From scat to tracks in snow,
a multitude of clues reveal the animals in the winter woods. Registrants
meet in Dummerston and carpool to
the nearby Nature Conservancy land,
where there are relic red cedar trees.
The group reconvenes at Levine's
home for a presentation and q&a.
Open to adults and children 10 and up.
▶ 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (snow date
Feb. 9).
▶ $25.
B R AT T L E B O RO
Community building
BRATTLEBORO I-91 Brattleboro
Bridge Project On-Site Trail Talk:
What is the Status?: Led by Caleb
Linn, project mgr. for the lead contractor, and Garrett Hoffman, bridge
designer. Participants walk the trail to
the I-91 bridge site. Visit www.i91brattleborobridge.com.
▶ 8 a.m. meet at the West River trail
head on Spring Tree Road; talk starts
at 8:15 a.m.
▶ West River Trail, 138 Elliot St., #3.
Cindy Cook: 802-272-2829.
West Coast Swing: Dance to a mix
of rhythms and DJ music.
▶ 7 p.m. lesson; 8 p.m . - 10 p.m.
dancing.
▶ $8 singles; $5 students/seniors.
▶ Stone Church in Brattleboro, 210
Main St. Information: 802-579-9990;
[email protected].
Film and video
"The House I
Live In": See Feb. 6.
▶ 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. (discussion
follows).
▶ Free.
▶ The Root Social Justice Center,
28 Williams St., 1st fl. Information:
802-254-3400; therootsjc.org.
BRATTLEBORO
former Poet Laureate of NH, reads
from her latest book, "Winter," which
weaves themes of solitude, silence and
rebirth through vivid images of winter and the outdoors. James Fowler
explores nature and war in Japanese
poetic forms in "Falling Ashes." He won
the Poetry Society of New Hampshire's
National Poetry Contest. Tim Mayo,
widely published and the winner of numerous awards and fellowships, reads
from "The Kingdom of Possibilities,"
poems which reflect the complications
of understanding oneself with charm
and wit. Rick Bates is the final reader.
Reception and book signing follow.
▶ 2 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Misty Valley Books, 58 The
Common. Information: 802-875-3400;
mvbooks.com.
Round Robin
Crochet Class: Four separate
SAXTONS RIVER
MONDAY
10
Film and video
BRATTLEBORO
45-minute projects. Students may
sign up for any or all of these projects
which build upon each other: single,
double, and half double stitches;
changing color; how to read a pattern;
an exploration of combined stitches.
With Joan Lester.
▶ noon - 4 p.m.
▶ $12 per class: $40 for 4 classes.
▶ River Artisans, 26B Main St. Preregistration required: 802-869-2099;
riverartisans.com.
Dance
CHESTER Community Circle Dance:
All classes taught, no partner needed.
Led by Lynn Hartwood and Jean
Buchan.
▶ 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
▶ Donations welcome.
▶ Academy Building Lawn, 228 Main
St. Parker Huber: 802-257-9108.
Celebrations, festivals,
community meals
BRATTLEBORO Lunar New Year
Salsa Dance
Lessons / Salsa Dance Party / Food
Bank Fundraiser: Hosted by dance
instructor Michael Rodriguez every
Saturday.
▶ 7 p.m. beginners; 8 p.m. intermediates; 8:30 p.m. advanced; 9 p.m.
open dancing.
▶ A check or non-perishable food donation for local food bank Project Feed
the Thousands is welcome.
▶ McNeills Brewery, 90 Elliot St.
Michael: 802-362-1819.
"High
Power": with Pradeep Indulkar,
Nuclear Engineer-TurnedEnvironmentalist: This documentary shows the health issues
faced by residents of Tarapur, a
town in Maharashtra, and home
to the 50-year-old Tarapur nuclear
power plant.
▶ 7 p.m. (film runs 27 min.).
▶ Donations to help defray the
travel expenses of the director are
welcome.
BRATTLEBORO
Instruction
Re c yc l e &
Repurpose Plastic Bags into MultiPurpose Carriers: Learn to make a
strong, colorful, and multi-purpose
carrier using everyday plastic bags
and the simple technique of crochet.
Continues Feb. 17, Mar. 3 (snow date
Mar. 24).
▶ 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. in the Community
Room.
▶ $30 for 3 classes.
BRATTLEBORO
Recreation
Moonlight Ski and
Snowshoe Party: Groomed and
tracked trails for skiiers and snowshoers. Rentals available. Complementary
Glogg at the trailhead. Soup and
chili dinner with desserts at the Inn.
LANDGROVE
Korea: Ushering in the Year of the
Horse, this annual celebration begins
with potluck food and refreshments.
Coloring table for younger children,
t'ai chi demonstrations, a group calligraphy mural, Chinese exercises, Lunar
New Year songs, a Korean tug of war,
and more, culminating with a giant
Vietnamese Dragon leading a community parade along Main St. Presented
by the Asian Cultural Center of VT.
▶ 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ River Garden, 157 Main St. Adam
Silver: 802-257-7898 x 1.
Film and video
BRATTLEBORO "First Position":
A Ballet Documentary: Six dancers
from around the world prepare for the
Youth America Grand Prix, one of the
most prestigious ballet competitions.
▶ 4 p.m.
▶ By donation.
▶ Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St.
Information: 802-254-1109; latchis.
com.
Festival of China, Vietnam, and
Sponsored by Nordic Harmoni. $15 includes trail fees and appetizers-dinner.
▶ 5:30 p.m. ski and snowshoe; 6 p.m.
appetizers; 6:30 p.m. dinner.
▶ $15 includes trail fees and
appetizers-dinner.
▶ The Landgrove Inn, 132 Landgrove
Rd. Reservations requested: 802-8246673; landgroveinn.com.
Government
“The House I Live
In” on Feb. 6 and
7 offers a look into
the consequences
of U.S. drug policy.
BELLOWS FALLS Research Your
(AARP): Tuesdays through April 15.
▶ 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
▶ Veterans of Foreign Wars, 40
Black Mountain Rd. Call after 1:30
p.m.: 802-257-9509.
Well-being
Empathy
Cafe: Are You Struggling With
Communication with a Loved
One?: This community forum is
both educational and experiential--people feel more connected
to themselves and to people in
their community. Activities
build on each other and participants gather concrete tools to
continue the practice. Based on
Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent
C o m m u n i c a t i o n P r o g ra m .
Presented by Wendy Webber, Cara
Benedetto, Mary Zabriski, and Robin
White-Diamondstone.
▶ 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. in the Education
Conf. Rm.
▶ Free.
▶ Brattleboro Retreat, 75 Linden
St. Information: 802-258-3785.
BRATTLEBORO Mood-Altering
Herbs: Herbalist Susan Stanton fills
your senses with several herbs traditionally used to uplift the spirits,
create calm, or set the mood for a
sacred event. Learn what modern
research tells us about antidepressant herbs like St. Johnswort and
find out how various organ systems
relate to your mood.
▶ 12 noon - 1:30 p.m. in the
Cooking Classroom.
▶ $7 ($5 shareholders).
St. Pre-registration requested: 802257-0236; brattleborofoodcoop.
coop.
BRATTLEBORO Free Tax Assistance
(AARP): Mondays through Apr. 14.
▶ 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
▶ Brattleboro Senior Center, 207
Main St. Call for appointment 9-noon:
802-257-7570.
Kids and families
"Little Peoples
Program": Activities for kids ages
3-5--sports and games, arts and crafts,
music, story time and more. Take some
time for yourself while your child participates in this fun program with others. Three-week program Mondays
and Tuesdays. Led by Amy Mulherin
and Brandi Doyle.
▶ 9 a.m. - 12 noon Mon., Tues.
▶ $24 residents 1-day ($36 non-residents); $39 residents both days ($51
non-residents).
▶ Brattleboro Recreation and Parks
Dept., 207 Main St. Register: 802-2545808; brattleboro.org.
BRATTLEBORO
Genealogy: Learn the basics of
online genealogical research with
Wayne Blanchard. Learn to use
Ancestry Library Edition to search
the US Census. Bring your own
laptop and follow along, or come
to take notes. (Continues Feb. 19,
26, Mar. 5.)
▶ 10 a.m. to noon in the 3rd fl.
Meeting Room.
▶ Free.
▶ Rockingham Free Public Library,
65 Westminster St. Information: 802463-4270; rockinghamlibrary.org.
Government
BRATTLEBORO Free Tax Help
(AARP): Wednesdays through Apr. 9.
▶ 9 a.m. - noon.
▶ Brattleboro Senior Center, 207
Main St. Call for appointment 9
a.m.-noon: 802-257-7570.
The written word
BRATTLEBORO Writing Group:
This group is self-guided and open
to all who have a desire to write.
Every year a collection of writing is
compiled. Work encompasses poetry, memoirs, songs, stories. Every
Wednesday.
▶ 9:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main
BRATTLEBORO "Every Sunday:
A Father and Daughter's Enduring
Connection.": Author Donna
Dearborn's tribute to her father,
Frank Dearborn, who was a fitness role model and director of
Brattleboro's Recreation and
Parks Dept. for 33 years. Father
and daughter wrote to each other
every other Sunday until a stroke
at the age of 75 paralyzed him,
abruptly changed their lives, and
halted their letters after 32 years.
To cope, she started to write again
to preserve their memories, and she
has never stopped.
▶ 7 p.m. (snow date Mar. 3).
▶ Free.
▶ Brooks Memorial Library, 224
brookslibraryvt.org.
B R AT T L E B O R O
FACEBOOK.COM/ASIANCULTURALCENTER
CHESTER Four Poets: Pat Fargnoli,
Instruction
BRATTLEBORO Free Tax Help
Dance
The Asian Cultural Center of Vermont will celebrate the Year of the
Horse with a potluck, crafts, martial arts, calligraphy, and a dragon
parade.
Arts and Crafts
"The House I
Live In": This film brings you inside the War on Drugs. Sponsored
by Vermonters for Criminal Justice
Reform and Marlboro College
Graduate & Professional Studies.
▶ 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. (discussion follows), Rm. 2East.
▶ Free.
Center, 28 Vernon St. For childcare,
email: [email protected].
P U T N E Y "Rock 'n' Roll High
School": This '79 musical comedy
produced by Roger Korman features the Ramones. Followed by
Karaoke Church, with a band playing Ramones songs on organ, guitar,
and drums, and passing lyrics sheets
and leading the audience in choirstyle renditions of Ramones songs.
This is part of The Future Collective's
Righteous Youth Rebellion Movie
Series, continuing on Feb. 13, 20, 27.
▶ 7 p.m.
▶ $5 suggested donation.
▶ Next Stage Arts Project, 15
Kimball Hill. Information: 802-3870102; nextstagearts.org.
Farmers' markets
▶ Nature Museum, 186 Townshend
Rd. Pre-register: 802-843-2111; naturemuseum.org.
GRAFTON Grafton Winter Carnival:
Snow tubing, cross country ski trail
access, snowshoe trail access and ice
skating; horse-drawn sleigh rides. A
bonfire is located at the Base Area
where activities commence.
▶ 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (sleigh-rides 11
a.m. - 5 p.m.).
▶ $12; add $18 ($10 for kids 12 and
under; free for kids 3 and under) for
horse-drawn sleigh rides.
▶ Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center, 783
Townshend Rd. Information: 802-8432400; graftonponds.com.
9
The written word
Government
B R AT T L E B O RO
802-258-7378; sobodance@gmail.
com.
BRATTLEBORO Shall We Dance?:
The World of
Black Bears: Author Ben Kilham
has been researching and living
with black bears for nearly 20 years
in the Northern New Hampshire
woodlands. He's taken in orphaned
infants--feeding them, walking them
through the forest for months to
help them decipher their natural
world, and reintroducing them back
into the wild. They form friendships
and alliances; abide by a code of
conduct that keeps their world orderly; and when their own food supplies are ample, they help out other
bears in need.
▶ 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. in the Main Room.
▶ Free.
The Grafton Winter Carnival offers
snow tubing, cross-country skiing,
snowshoeing, a biathlon, and ice skating
(weather permitting). And a bonfire.
Community building
Brown Bag
Introduces Tamara Stenn and the
Andean Principle of Well-Living:
▶ noon - 1 p.m.
▶ Free.
WEDNESDAY
11 12
SUNDAY
Dance
BRATTLEBORO
TUESDAY
Community building
BRATTLEBORO Brown Bag Lunch
River Garden Series Introduces
Michael Hertz
Playing Solo
Acoustic
Guitar:
Covering folk,
blues and ragtime songs in a
finger-picking
style.
▶ noon - 1
p.m.
▶ Free.
▶ Strolling of the Heifers.
strollingoftheheifers.org.
Film and video
Monday Movie
Matinee: "Shane":
▶ 9: 45 a.m. Mondays through
March.
▶ Free.
▶ Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St.
BRATTLEBORO
Community building
BRATTLEBORO Racial Profiling:
Discussion About the Effects on
Our Community: Donna Macomber,
director of the Women's Freedom
Center, and Mary Gannon, diversity educator, lead the conversation. Open to the public, this event
is offered by the American Assn. of
University Women and is open to
the public.
▶ 1 p.m.
▶ Free.
Center, 28 Vernon St. Vivian Prunier:
802-387-5875.
B R AT T L E B O R O Brown Bag
Introduces Henry Homeyer, Writer
of a Weekly Gardening Column:
Henry is an organic gardener who
will answer questions during and after lunch. His books will be for sale.
▶ noon - 1: p.m. followed by more
q&a.
▶ Free.
▶ Strolling of the Heifers.
strollingoftheheifers.org.
Dance
BRATTLEBORO Shall We Dance?:
East Coast Swing: No partner
needed. Five-week series or individual classes.
▶ 6:30 p.m. beginner lesson; 7:30
p.m. intermediate lesson.
▶ $10/$15 drop-in both classes.
[email protected].
Ideas and education
BRATTLEBORO "Green Mountain
Care: The End of EmployerSponsored Health Care": Vermont
is on the cusp of implementing
its revolutionary universal health
care plan, severing ties between
employment and health insurance.
Unlike the Affordable Care Act,
which leaves the employer sponsored health insurance regime in
place, GMC guarantees universal
health, dental and vision coverage to all Vermonters as a right of
residency. However, it will not be a
single-payer system; VT will have to
obtain permission from the federal
government to use federal money
to fund the program. Even with the
inclusion of Medicare, Medicaid
and other federal sources of funds,
VT will need to raise billions to operate the program. Can VT lead the
nation out of its healthcare woes?
Workshop led by Craig Miskovitch,
advisor to hospitals and health systems. This is a Tuesday lunchtime
MIX workshop series.
▶ noon - 1:30 p.m. (register at
www.gradschool.marlboro.edu).
▶ Free.
Center, 28 Vernon St. Ariel Brooks:
[email protected].
Film and video
BRATTLEBORO "The Power of
Community": In this true story of
economic recovery after near economic collapse, the people of a
third world country recovered from
enormous decline in resources and
surpassed the previous standard
of living in a very short period of
time. We can learn how the greater
Brattleboro community can respond
and avoid further economic disaster,
hardship and suffering. Tea, coffee,
cookies, conversation.
▶ 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. in the Meeting
Room (the film runs 53 min.).
▶ Free.
Main St. Lynn Russell: 802-451-6468.
To submit your event:
[email protected]
Well-being
Al-Anon Discussion
Group: For friends and relatives of
alcoholics. Every Wednesday.
▶ 7 p.m.
▶ Donations welcome.
▶ Putney Friends Meeting
House, 17 Bellows Falls Rd.
vermontalanonalateen.org.
BRATTLEBORO Yoga in an Art
Gallery: Relax and reinvigorate
--the best of both worlds. Postures
are accompanied with conscious
breathing. Crystal bowl sound healing, some chanting. Dante leads
each class.
▶ 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
▶ By donation.
▶ Gallery in the Woods, 145 Main
PUTNEY
Community building
Brown Bag
Introduces Jed Raga Playing
Solo Piano: Bada Raga plays Indian
Classical music from a Vermont
perspective.
▶ noon - 1 p.m.
▶ Free.
Information: 802-490-6366; julie@
strollingoftheheifers.com.
Dance
West African
Dance Class:
▶ 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
▶ $12 to $15 sliding scale.
africandancevt.com.
BRATTLEBORO
Celebrations,
festivals,
community meals
BRATTLEBORO Vegan Potluck:
Share vegan dishes, recipes and
resources to help make the transition to a plant-based diet. Open
to everyone.
▶ 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. in the
Community Room.
▶ Free.
St. Pre-registration required: 802257-0236; brattleborofoodcoop.
coop.
Film and video
BRATTLEBORO Classic Matinee
Film Noir: "Born to Kill": After the
screening, stay for the discussion
lead by Tom Bedell, golf/beer journalist and lover of film; and Tim
Metcalf, veteran Hollywood screenwriter and Brattleboro Film Festival
Advisory Board member. (Series
continues on Feb. 26, March 12, 26)
▶ 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
▶ Free.
THE COMMONS
THE ARTS
■ Fantasy
“I read about plenty of invented battles, but I wanted accounts of the real thing, to see
if all those fantasy versions had
anything to them,” says Staveley.
He never planned to join the
military himself, but his reading
led to a fascination with historical battles, tactics, and strategy
that continues to this day.
A return to fantasy
Staveley’s literary ambitions
appeared at first to be following
a different path.
As an undergraduate at
Dartmouth, he began to study
and write poetry, and went on to
earn a M.F.A. degree in creative
writing (poetry) from Boston
University.
However, when Staveley began to consider publication,
he found himself returning to
fantasy.
His job teaching English and
history at a private high school
in Cambridge, Mass., gave him
summer vacations, which he devoted to writing. Although he
also worked (and continues to
work) as an editor for the small
poetry publisher Antilever Press,
he wanted his own writing to
have more of the basic appeal
and straightforward narrative
thrust of the stories he had compulsively read beneath his desk
as a boy.
He approached this goal as a
challenge, and the genre seemed
a perfect strategy for meeting it.
“I wanted to try my hand at
something that might appeal to
a broader audience,” he says.
“Ta-da: epic fantasy.”
As his work advanced, writing
in the summer was not enough,
so Staveley quit his teaching
job. He wanted to live cheaply
and without distractions, so he
moved for a year to Asia, with
the goal of producing a complete,
publishable book.
His life there became nomadic.
“Most countries will only give
you a one-month visa, so I’d find
a small town, work out a onemonth deal with a guest house,
and write,” Staveley says. “When
the month was up, I’d head to a
different country.”
“I spent time in China,
Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and
Cambodia, sometimes doubling back to the places I enjoyed
most,” he adds.
Paring it down
The 300,000-word book that
came out of Staveley’s experience takes place in the mythical
Empire of Annur, where a murky
conspiracy had just assassinated
the Emperor and now threatened
the story’s heroes, the Emperor’s
three adult children.
The storyline of the book
B3
FROM SECTION FRONT
would go through some changes
within several drafts over the
coming years, but this basic scenario would remain at its core,
and eventually, it would come
to print as The Emperor’s Blades.
In the meantime, many
changes had to be made — most
significantly, the word count
needed to be brought down.
“Agents and editors tend to
frown on massive novels from
debut writers,” Staveley explains.
“Because I hadn’t done any market research, I discovered at the
end of the trip that I’d written a
book that was far too long and
needed to start over, more or less
from scratch.”
In 2012, Staveley’s rewriting paid off. His agent, Hannah
Bowman, brought him a threebook contract from Tor Books, a
highly respected genre publisher
with a 30-year history that many
fans of science fiction and fantasy, including Staveley, feel a
personal involvement with.
“I’ve been reading Tor titles
since I was a little kid, and when
I met [company founder and
publisher] Tom Doherty, when
he shook my hand and told me
he liked my book, I almost fell
over,” Staveley says.
Staveley’s three books for
Tor will form a trilogy — The
Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne
— of which The Emperor’s Blades
is the first installment.
Staveley says that the second
book in the trilogy, Providence of
Fire, is in the final editing stage
and will be published in 2015.
The trilogy’s conclusion is currently in progress.
Appeal beyond
the genre
Staveley hopes that the world
he’s created in his trilogy will appeal to both fantasy fans and others through his use of the basic
literary elements that transcend
the genre: characters and their
conflicts.
“The Emperor’s Blades does
have magic, but I always wanted
to make sure that the magic was
there to serve the development
of character rather than for its
own sake,” he says. “If magic
makes a character’s life more
complicated or difficult, I’m all
for it; if it’s just a lot of lightning
bolts and grimacing werewolves,
I don’t need it.”
The three characters through
which readers will enter
Staveley’s world are the siblings
Valyn, Kaden, and Adare — children of an assassinated Emperor
who must solve the riddle of their
father’s death.
Staveley says that having three
main characters allows him to
add depth to the world.
“I felt as though I needed at
least three (the second book has
four) to tell a story with some
complexity,” he says. “More
characters means more locations,
more secondary characters, and
a greater richness to the unfolding plot.”
Through the diverse experiences of these three characters,
the reader can examine all aspects, high and low, of Staveley’s
invented world. Kaden is an initiate in a mystic order of monks,
while Valyn is an elite soldier and
Adare, as the imperial minister
of finance, finds herself deep in
palace intrigue.
For readers already steeped in
the fantasy genre, Staveley hopes
the world of The Emperor’s Blades
will have something new.
One of his goals for the series was to create a fantasy empire that wasn’t obviously based
on any real-world civilization,
and especially not on Medieval
Europe. Nonetheless, he wanted
his invented society to have a
feeling of geopolitical realism,
and for that, his former career as
a history teacher proved useful.
So far as the Annur Empire
has any resemblance to a real
historical empire, Staveley says
the closest analogue is Tangera China.
“The Tang, especially in the
first portion of the dynasty,
were expansionist and cosmopolitan,” he says. “At its height,
the dynasty controlled territory
almost as far west as modern
Afghanistan, and plenty of traders moved in over the so-called
‘Silk Road.’ Dozens of languages
and ethnicities coexisted inside
the empire.”
The Annur Empire, likewise,
is a multi-ethnic society of a sort
rarely portrayed in fantasy novels, where civilizations tend to be
monolithic and monochromatic.
Another innovation Staveley
claims for his world is the unit
of special soldiers to which the
character Valyn belongs.
“Lots of fantasy involves
bands of elite warriors, but I
haven’t come across anything
quite like a modern special-forces
unit in a fantasy novel,” he says.
The special forces of Annur
are known as the Kettral, and
they are Staveley’s attempt to
imagine an equivalent of the
Navy SEALs or the SAS (the
British Special Air Service) in
the context of a pre-modern fantasy world.
In another way, however, the
Kettral are an obvious departure
from the real world: They fly into
battle on giant birds.
“The Kettral work in small
teams; each member is a specialist, and they fly massive hawks
to drop behind enemy lines,”
Staveley says. In The Emperor’s
Blades, he draws on his military
reading to imagine the tactics
and combat role of the Kettral
in detail.
Hobby provides
inspiration
Although Staveley has no personal military experience, the
detail he uses to create verisimilitude in his world comes from his
own life. In particular, the physical trials of his characters owe a
lot of their descriptive depth to
his hobby of adventure racing.
Adventure racing is a backpacking and orienteering challenge in which teams compete
to be the first to reach a series of
designated points. The sport entails crossing difficult wilderness
terrain as quickly as possible in
unpredictable weather.
“Adventure racing is an
interesting sport because so
many teams quit mid-race,”
says Staveley. “It’s a fascinating
glimpse into human nature when
these teams fall apart. Sometimes
there are legitimate reasons: hypothermia, broken bike frame,
tachycardia, etc.”
But, he says, in most cases,
“the team just stops working.”
“When you’ve been hammering hard for 45 hours, and
you’ve got another 24 to go, and
it’s pouring rain, and you’re out
of food, everything seems like a
good reason to quit,” he says.
These glimpses into human
nature in response to these hardships translate well into fiction,
he says.
“Physical suffering makes everything else more difficult; it’s
harder to stick to your own convictions when you’re cold, exhausted, and hurt; it’s harder
to have reasonable discussions;
it’s harder to think clearly and
logically. And if an author has
one job above all, it’s to make
things difficult for his or her
characters.”
Other, quieter moments in
Staveley’s books come from different aspects of his life.
“Sometimes I’ll look out the
window with my son and try to
find good ways to describe the
sky or the clouds or the weather,”
he says. “There’s really no end to
the importance of paying attention to real life while writing an
invented story.”
In addition to his fiction, Brian
Staveley has written numerous
essays about the craft of fantasy
writing for his blog at bstaveley.
wordpress.com. He plans to hold a
reading and discussion of his work
at Everyone’s Books, on Elliot
Street in Brattleboro, this April.
FROM SECTION FRONT
and their encounter with a
bevy of young beauties, opens
Friday, March 7, through
Sunday, March 9, at Vermont
Academy’s Horowitz Hall.
Directed by David Stern,
with musical direction by
Walt Sayre, the play features
a cast of local talent including
Kathleen Bryar, Gary Clay, Ira
Wilner, Jim Malley, and Jack
Bryar, each of whom appeared
in the previous production.
Gretchen Abendschein returns as choreographer; Mary
Hepburn produces.
Performances are Friday and
Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and
Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10
for children ($17 and $12 at the
door), and are sold at MSA,
Village Square Booksellers,
Misty Valley Books, Canal
Street Beads in Putney, and at
brattleborotix.org.
For more information, call MSA
at 802-869-2960, write info@
mainstreetarts.org, or visit www.
mainstreetarts.org.
BUYING
SELLING
Immanuel
Episcopal
Church
COINS/PAPER MONEY
sPorts/postcards
HolIday Inn
Sunday
Services:
Brattleboro
SatURDAY
FEB. 8th
802-297-1274
House Calls AvaIlable
[email protected]
8:00 &
10:00 am
20 Church St, Bellows Falls, VT
802-463-3100
immanuelepiscopal.org
immanuelepsicopal.org
TGP provides short-term and
long-term day health services in
Windham County for elders and
adults with disabilities,
and support for their caregivers.
Call or visit TGP today!
30 Terrace Street Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-254-6559 • [email protected]
Volunteer opportunities available.
Experience the Joy!
of sending an unforgettable...
■ Absurd
FROM SECTION FRONT
Surprise your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day with the unique
gift of a Singing Valentine presented in 4-part BARBERSHOP
harmony by a Cheshiremen Chorus quartet!
Third in a series
Goat in the Road Productions
has presented eight original performance works and two original gallery installations. Instant
Misunderstanding is the third play
of a political trilogy by Bowling
and Kaminstein.
The first work of the triptych,
Whatever Just Happened, Didn’t
Happen (2008), is a 20-minute
piece about two men tasked
with the job of shuffling papers
related to the “Starr Report” —
Independent Counsel Kenneth
Starr’s investigation of former
U.S. President Bill Clinton — as
they attempt to get to the bottom
of an irreversible action.
The second, Our Man (2009),
is an hour-long comedy in which
two men in a box decide to elect
as their president a tennis racquet named Ronald Reagan.
Kaminstein and Bowling play
the same characters in all three
plays.
“They are sort of everyman
clowns, rather like the characters you might find in a play like
[Samuel] Beckett’s Waiting for
Godot,” says Kaminstein. “These
two consistent characters help
tie the three plays together into
a trilogy.”
The playwrights are interested in the way technology has
changed the political landscape,
specifically in the ways political
speech gets transmitted through
technology.
“In our trilogy, we explore the
general feeling that the reality of
the political landscape today puts
a mythical gloss on everything,”
Kaminstein says, “and we also
look at how technological advancements are moving so rapidly that it is is difficult to make
political decisions.”
Kaminstein does not think
they push a specific political
agenda in their work.
“We certainly never start out
that way,” he says. “We never
begin a piece with something
to proclaim. If we did that, we
would lose the discovery in the
creation of a work.”
Perhaps this goal of discovery
has led people to tell them that
their plays often feel as if they are
improvised.
■ Pirates of Penzance
Let one of our Quartets Serenade that Special Person in Your
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Proceeds from this fundraising event support our charitable and educational missions
58th AnnUAL
WINTER CARNIVAL PROGRAM
Appearing in
COURTESY PHOTO
William Bowling and Christopher Kaminstein perform their new work “Instant
Misunderstanding” at Marlboro College on Feb. 7.
“They are not,” says
Kaminstein. “We do, however,
use improvisation as a tool in development of our plays.”
First, the
movement
In creating a new work,
Kaminstein and Bowling do not
begin with a thesis or even any
words, but with pure abstract
movement.
“Before we even have any idea
what our work may be about, before we know the text, we begin
exploring certain stage movements,” says Kaminstein. “These
movements that may seem somewhat random give us a bank of
possibilities to work with. They
make what we do become unusual, unexpected, odd and
funny, and take us away from
rigid naturalism in our staging.
“I do not want to give the impression that we are creating
dance pieces here. Our plays are
not dances, but they are stage
pieces concerned with the way
movement and text collide.”
Despite the weight of the
language about his theatrical
philosophy, Kaminstein stresses
an important point: that “our
works may address serious ideas,
but they are also fun.”
“I would characterize what
you will find at Goat in the Road
Productions is a total package of
seriousness backed up with silliness, that is expressed via singing, moment, and text,” he adds.
Instant Misunderstanding is appropriate for all audiences.
“The work is fine for kids to
see, I guess,” says Kaminstein. “I
mean, there may be a curse word
here and there, but nothing really
offensive. Yet given the nature of
the subject, I do not know if the
play would be all that interesting
to young children.”
“Then again, kids always get a
kick out of seeing two silly guys
onstage,” he adds.
“When we were doing Instant
Misunderstanding at North
American Cultural Laboratory
in Highland Lake, N.Y., a fouryear-old child of one of the stagehands sat watching Will and
me rehearse,” Kaminstein says.
“Afterwards, he came up to us
and said in a dry sophisticated
voice, ‘Good work, guys. I love
what you are doing here.’”
Everyone’s a critic.
Instant Misunderstanding
takes place Friday, Feb. 7, at the
Marlboro College’s Whittemore
Theater, a production of Kingdom
County Productions and Goat
In the Road Productions. Tickets
($12) are available at the door,
by calling 888-757-5559, or at
kingdomcounty.org.
FALLS AREA
COMMUNITY TV
802- 463-1613
www.fact8.com
February 12th
Pick yours up at our many locations!
Brattleboro
Winter
Carnival
MURDER
MYSTERY
DINNER
Sunday, February 16
6:00 pm
American Legion Post #5,
Linden St, Brattleboro
$35/person or $300/table of 10
(reservations required)
What happens at the Legion, stays at the Legion… well at least
when this year’s theme is ‘Murder in Las Vegas’! Take a roll
of the dice and see if you can figure out who the murderer is
before all is revealed! You can bet it’s going to be a great dinner,
with lots of friends and a fabulous show! The Vermont Theater
Company will be our entertainment and dinner will be served by
Brattleboro’s One and Only BMH Ladies Auxiliary. Get your
tickets early to be sure you get a seat for this evening of fun, you
won’t want to miss it!
Tickets can be purchased at the Brattleboro Recreation & Parks
office from 9-12 and 1-5, Monday-Friday and at The Shoe Tree,
135 Main ST, Brattleboro, both locations will accept cash and
checks only. The deadline for purchasing tickets is Friday, February 14
and only a few tickets will be on sale at the door that night.
THE ARTS
B4
THE COMMONS
Have heart
Taking flight
Susan and Paul Dedell create Winged Productions, a series
of creative events that explore the sacred and the scientific
By Richard Henke
The Commons
B
RATTLEBORO—
Four years ago, a
large-scale choral
work with music and
libretto by Paul Dedell, “Songs of Divine Chemistry,” had its world premiere as
part of the gala celebrations for
Blanche Moyse’s 100th Birthday with two sold-out and highly
acclaimed performances at the
Latchis Theatre.
Performed by the Brattleboro
Concert Choir under the direction of his wife, Susan Dedell,
“Songs of Divine Chemistry”
was based upon texts of mystic
poets alternating with scientific
writings on neuroplasticity.
On Feb. 16, the Centre
Congregational Church will
be the setting for the return
of Paul Dedell’s “Songs of
Divine Chemistry” under the
direction of Susan Dedell and
featuring tenor Matt Hensrud;
Winged Voices; the Jubilee Girls
Choir; and the Limbic System
Percussion Ensemble.
In addition, “Songs of Divine
Chemistry” will be recorded that
week under the production supervision of Dave Snyder from
Guilford Sound.
The almost two-hour choral
work is composed of 19 parts,
some scored for tenor solo and
others for chorus — some children’s chorus and some mixed.
In “Songs of Divine
Chemistry,” Paul Dedell finds
an intersection of ideas of mystic poets and scientific writings
on neuroplasticity, the brain’s
capacity to define new neural
pathways under a variety of circumstances, ranging from normal human development to a
response to injury.
He writes that he is “drawing
on the ‘renderings’ by Daniel
Ladinsky of the poems and writings of Hafiz, Rumi, Meister
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Eckhart, Rabia, Saint Francis,
and others and excerpts from
Dr. Norman Doidge’s bestselling book, The Brain That Changes
Itself.”
“I explore the realms of human and divine love. The voices
of children, an adult chorus,
tenor soloist, and a percussion ensemble of marimba, vibraphone, ethnic drums, bells,
gongs, and a myriad of other percussion instruments combine to
sing praises of the romantic life
of prairie voles, compassionate monks, neuromodulators,
sweet crushed angels, and all
things love.”
The late Helen Daly, who sang
in the Brattleboro Concert Choir
and was a dear mutual friend of
both Susan and Paul, strongly
believed in the importance of
Paul’s work. She awarded the
Dedells a grant so that “Songs
of Divine Chemistry” could be
revised, revived, and ultimately
recorded.
“Helen really believed in the
importance of what Paul was
doing,” says Susan. “She was
excited by the piece’s concept as
well as music, and she wanted to
help disseminate the work to the
public. She gave Paul the time to
look over what he wrote, and rescore it for smaller choral groups
to use. The original performance
was quite large with the entire Brattleboro Concert Choir
singing. To keep it on that scale
made many other performances
impractical.”
Paul made numerous small
changes to the work.
“I can never stop revising,”
he says. “I never know when
to turn the tap off. Many of the
changes were very internal. I altered a measure or two here and
there, which the general public might not notice, but which
made the piece more cohesive to
me. I also added a new ending to
the work.”
the future recording to choral
groups throughout the country
to promote performances of this
new work. The public will also be
able to purchase the recording
at their soon-to-be-completed
website (stmichaelsvermont.org/
winged-productions).
Paul Dedell is the director
of Hilltop Montessori Middle
School in Brattleboro. For several years he was the production
manager of the People’s Theater
in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
while continuing to write theatrical scores, choral works, and
songs.
His first original theatrical
score, “The Great American
Hero,” won the David B.
Marshall award from the
University of Michigan in 1979.
His scores for the theater have
been heard locally and internationally, most recently in collaborations with the Sandglass
Theater, Marlboro College,
and the New England Youth
Theatre.
His choral score “Come Life,
Shaker Life,” based on Shaker
texts and hymns, received the
Alfred Nash Patterson Grant
Award, and was the first large
choral work he wrote to be directed by his spouse.
Susan Dedell studied piano
with Charles Fisher and György
Sándor, and was choral assistant to Maynard Klein at the
University of Michigan, where —
surprising to many — she also received an undergraduate degree
in biochemistry and worked for a
short period of time in research
at the medical school there.
Upon moving to Vermont, she
joined the piano faculty at the
Brattleboro Music Center, was
rehearsal assistant to Moyse, and
subsequently became artistic director of the Brattleboro Concert
Choir. She has served as director
of chorus at Marlboro College
and she was founder and director of both the VT Repertory
Basic animating
Singers and the Bach Festival
questions
Children’s Chorus.
The Dedells intend to send
The Dedells first met and
worked together close to 25
years ago when Paul contacted
Susan to play songs he had written for the Vermont Composers
Consortium.
“Their artistic commonality,
which they discovered almost
immediately, is their propelling
interest and curiosity about the
basic motivating forces that propel artistic expressions,” they
write on their website.
Susan writes that, from the
beginning, Paul struck her as
“someone who valued communication above manipulation.
That’s something that both of us
seek. It doesn’t matter whether
the subject matter is weighty, or
whether it is totally goofy, and
equal valuation between communicator and recipient is important to both of us.”
With similar goals and values
in hand, the couple has recently
formed Winged Productions.
Winged Productions delves
into what they call “these fundamental questions with curiosity, humor, and thoughtful
perspective.”
Stroll offers community
valentine-making
project on Feb. 7
BRATTLEBORO—
Strolling of the Heifers presents “Love Local,” a week of
community valentine-making
at the Robert H. Gibson River
Garden, a project that kicks
off at Gallery Walk on Feb. 7
from 5 to 8 p.m.
According to Stroll intern
Kristen Fledderjohn, who is
organizing the event, participants can stop in, make valentines, “and share some love,
particularly with local farms
and farmers.”
Fledderjohn said the aim is
to develop the River Garden
as a space “where the community can come together around
projects like this and to create
connections. So this is our first
big effort around that idea.”
She added that the project
also aims to revive the spirit of
Dalia Shevin’s popular “One
Thousand Love Letters” participatory art installation of
last year.
A wide variety of crafts supplies for making valentines —
such as paper, doilies, stickers,
cow pictures, crayons, markers, tape, glue, and ribbons —
will be available.
Music during the Gallery
Walk event will be provided
by Blue Moon a Cappella,
a southern Vermont-based
quintet with a repertoire focused on its special love for
jazz standards but which
makes occasional forays into
other genres.
After Gallery Walk, the
valentine-making project will
be open to visitors during all
regular River Garden hours
(10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday) through
Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14.
On that day, the Brattleboro
Women’s Chorus will perform
as part of the River Garden’s
daily noon-hour Brown Bag
Lunch series.
The valentine-making project is funded by a Kickstarter
campaign that exceeded its
goal, with total contributions
of $550, Fledderjohn said.
Vendor tables are available in
the River Garden during Gallery
Walk for businesses or organizations wishing to share their own
valentines with the crowd. For
table reservations, call Kristen
Fledderjohn at 802-246-0982.
‘Our Fragile Home’
exhibit closing soon
BRATTLEBORO—Have you
caught “Our Fragile Home,” Pat
Musick’s multimedia installation inspired by astronauts’ and
cosmonauts’ impressions of the
Earth from space? Jet on over:
It’s at the Brattleboro Museum
& Art Center (BMAC) through
Sunday, Feb. 9, and then its orbit takes it out of view.
“Our Fragile Home” closes
that day to make room for
BMAC’s Seventh Annual
Domino Toppling Extravaganza
on Feb. 17, followed by the
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
exhibition beginning Feb. 22 (reception and awards ceremony is
March 8).
BMAC Chief Curator Mara
Williams says all other exhibits will remain open through
March 8.
Created and directed by the
Dedells, Winged Productions
is a series of events that the
Dedells say “aims to explore
these basic animating questions
that lie at the heart of the human
experience.”
Susan explains, “We wanted
to create something to support
the mutual and individual spirit
in our lives, and through this new
organization we hope to promote creative events exploring
the sacred.”
The dream of founding
Winged Productions became
a reality when Paul and Susan
were given another generous legacy gift from Daly. This gift was
then supplemented by a grant
from the Narthex Foundation.
“Songs of Divine Chemistry”
is the first presentation of
Winged Productions.
Love: Best Self Practices,” the
neuropsychologist will explore
the nature, biology, and practical application of a variety of
practices intended to improve
or expand the ability of the brain
in a variety of life-altering ways.
The presentation includes an
experiential workshop.
Dr. Fishelman graduated
from Yale University School
of Medicine and trained for
Psychiatry at Yale and the
Institute of Living. She has
served as chief of outpatient
psychiatry at the Anna Marsh
Behavioral Care Clinic at the
Retreat.
The event will be held in the
Education Conference Room at
the Retreat.
For more information, including
hours, admissions, and accessibility, call the Brattleboro Museum
& Art Center at 802-257-0124 or
visit www.brattleboromuseum.org.
“Songs of Divine Chemistry” takes
place Sunday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m. at
Centre Congregational Church, 190
Nature, biology,
Main St., Brattleboro. Admission
and the brain
is by donation. For more informaIn conjunction with the cho- tion, call Winged Productions at
ral concert, on Saturday, Feb. 802-348-7735.
8, from 1 to 3 p.m., Winged
Productions will host a presentation and workshop offered at
the Brattleboro Retreat by Dr.
Lesley Fishelman.
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LIFE & WORK
SECTION B
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 • page B5
page B5
An unusual
number of owls
are visiting
the Northeast
this year in
search of more
abundant
food sources
a
CHRIS PETRAK/THE COMMONS
WINTER
for
I
OWLS
South Newfane
F YOU HAVE never seen
a Snowy Owl, this is the
winter to do so.
Snowy Owls have irrupted into New England and
been commonly reported in
the mid-Atlantic states. At least
one even wandered as far south
as Jacksonville, Fla.
I have seen reports of seven
Snowy Owls sighted in the
Champlain Valley in one day,
and eight on Plum Island near
Newburyport, Mass. That’s the
months-old news alert.
Even the general media has
picked up on the unusually
large number of Snowy Owls in
New England this winter. What
really got their attention was
the Snowy Owl that was seen
looking out of a building window (!) in Portland, Maine.
Yes, somehow she got inside
the building, possibly in the
course of seeking out the building’s roosting pigeons. She
was rescued from the building,
found to be in good health and
with no injuries, and released.
THE SNOWY OWL is a circumpolar arctic bird. It breeds
in open terrain north of the
tree line and to the very edge
of the polar seas. It is a big owl,
with a length of 23 inches and
a wingspan of 52 inches. Only
the Great Gray Owl exceeds
the Snowy Owl in length (27
inches).
The Snowy Owl is by far the
heaviest owl. It weighs on average 4 pounds, as compared to
the Great Horned Owl, which
averages 3.1 pounds, and the
Great Gray Owl, which averages 2.7 pounds.
For comparison, the most
common owl in our New
England woods is the Barred
Owl: length, 21 inches; wingspan, 42 inches; weight, 1.6
pounds.
Snowy Owls are well
adapted to the arctic environment. They are nocturnal in
the endless night of winter and
diurnal in the endless light of
summer. They literally hunt
day and night; they do so regardless of weather.
Like most birds, their
food habits are governed by
With a 52-inch wingspan and weighing 4 pounds, the
Snowy Owl is a large and powerful predator.
CHRIS PETRAK
Tails of Birding
opportunity. They take mammals (small rodents to large
hares), birds (songbirds to
small geese), and occasionally
fish or other aquatic animals.
In the arctic, their preferred
prey is lemmings, small rodents
that are 3 to 6 inches long and
weigh 1 to 4 ounces. They may
consume more than 1,600 in
one year.
Lemmings are active all year,
which means that they are a
consistent food source for the
Snowy Owl. Like many other
rodents, they can reproduce
rapidly — so rapidly that their
population in a particular area
outstrips the resources, causing them to disperse and their
numbers to crash. When lemming populations crash, the
Snowy Owl has to look elsewhere for food.
Snowy Owls move throughout the arctic depending upon
the availability of food; in our
temperate forests, birds of prey
return to the same locality, often the same nest, to breed every year. Snowy Owls have also
been documented using the
same nest year after year. On
the other hand, territorial fidelity is quickly abandoned if food
resources are not available.
Food availability also determines clutch size. Typically she
lays three to five eggs. If food is
abundant, she may lay seven to
11 eggs. If food is scarce, nesting may be aborted.
Snowy Owls has been way
more than usual. Food in the
arctic was scarce, and the birds
went in search of places where
the pickings are better. The
frozen tidal flats and farm lands
of New England beckoned.
We might be shivering in the
subzero temperatures, but our
harsh winter is no big deal to
the Snowy Owl. It can handle
it; this winter is just like home
for this white owl.
A SECOND OWL has also made
a Vermont appearance this
winter. A Northern Hawk Owl
Northern
has been wintering just north
Hawk-Owl.
of Waterbury Center.
A circumpolar species of the
boreal forest, it makes rare and
irregular visits to the northern states. What makes the
Northern Hawk Owl a good
bird to “chase” is that it is diurnal, actively hunting during
the day. When not hunting, it
perches prominently on the top
of tall trees. It stays in the same
area, and it attracts birders
from many miles away.
When I chased the
Waterbury owl a few weeks
ago, I spoke with another
birder from that area who was
out nearly every day looking
for, and photographing, the
bird. He told me where it liked
to perch and the fields in which
it liked to hunt.
A dozen other people were
looking for the bird as well, offering lots of eyes and lots of
help. When the bird perched
at a distance, good spotting
scopes were readily shared with
those who had only binoculars,
a common occurrence when a
rare bird is found.
The Northern Hawk Owl is
a medium-sized owl: length, 16
inches; wingspan, 28 inches;
weight, 11 ounces. With a long
SNOWY OWLS are not unextail and short wings, this owl
pected in New England during resembles an accipiter (Sharpthe winter. Almost every year, a shinned or Cooper’s Hawk) —
few are reported along the New hence its name, “hawk owl.”
England coast. In December
It glides low over the ground
2011, one spent several days in at high speed, or it flaps with
the Brattleboro area, delighting powerful, falcon-like strokes.
the local birders and thrilling
Hawk-like, it often hunts with
many others fortunate enough the perch-and-pounce techto be in the right spot at the
nique, swooping from on high
right time.
when it spots prey.
This year, the number of
■ SEE OWLS, B6 Birders focus on the rare Northern Hawk-Owl.
LIFE & WORK
B6
■ Owls
FROM PAGE B5
LAST WINTER, we had
many daytime sightings of
the Barred Owl. The summer before, the rodent population was abundant, and
these owls had nesting success. With winter came a decline in the rodent numbers,
and these normally nocturnal owls needed to continue
hunting during the day.
Many of our neighbors had
the opportunity to see the
Barred Owl.
This year, the rodent population crash occurred in
the arctic, and Snowy Owls
(along with the occasional
boreal Northern HawkOwl) have hurried to New
England, where its frozen
fields harbor food resources
waiting to be exploited by
these powerful predators
from the north.
Good birding!
Chris Petrak’s column appears
in these pages monthly, and his
Tails of Birding blog appears
at www.tailsofbirding.net. To
find out where the owls are being seen, check the “Vermont
& New England” links on the
website.
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WINDHAM WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL AND
LANDMARK COLLEGE PRESENTS
Daniel Miller
“When Religion is Politics”
O’Brien Auditorium, East Academic Building
Landmark College, Putney, Vermont
Monday, February 10, 2014, 7pm
Free and Open to the Public
Recent decades have witnessed the
emergence “political religion,” that is,
social groups of global significance
who define their political identities in
explicitly religious terms. Examples of
this phenomenon are numerous, and
include global Islamism, Hindu nationalism, and the American Religious Right.
This talk explores the significance of
these movements for Western social and
political thought and suggests how we
need to reconsider our understanding of
the social in light of them.
Upcoming WWAC event on March 3: Prof. Sanjuka Ghosh
“Of Burqas and Bikinis: Afghani Women and the War on Terror”
The Windham World Affairs Council of Vermont is part of the “World Affairs
Councils of America” (WACA), the largest international affairs non-profit
organization with 484,000 members and participants. WWAC is an all-volunteer
council and proudly maintains all events free of charge to the public. Windham
World Affairs Council is actively seeking new members. To join the Windham
World Affairs Council of Vermont and receive regular mailings of events, please
send an email to [email protected].
THE COMMONS
BEEC announces Project SCAT
Chocolate scat sampler for sale at Gallery Walk to benefit Nature Camp scholarships
BRATTLEBORO—
Bonnyvale Environmental
Education Center offers
Valentine’s Day specials of chocolate “scat” samplers for sale
at the Feb. 7 Gallery Walk.
Proceeds of these distinctive
treats support scholarships for
the center’s nature vacation
camps.
BEEC has more than 20 years’
experience providing southeastern Vermont with quality
outdoor education programs,
including walks through area
woodlands to teach participants
to read nature’s signs.
According to Patti Smith,
BEEC’s expert naturalist and
tracker, tracking is much more
than looking for paw prints on
the ground; trackers are trained
to observe all the signs an animal
in passing leaves behind, including — speaking of behind — its
fecal matter, which wildlife biologists call scat.
Smith notes that scat markers indicate the species of the
animal that made the deposit,
as well as its diet: “True naturalists have a strange affection for
scat, and feel great delight upon
a sighting.”
And so the sampler, which you
can track, observe, and purchase
at Gallery Walk, $15 for an assortment of four. BEEC says its
“scat” chocolates are composed
of the finest ingredients, with
edible additions to suggest certain woodland mammals’ diets:
Think sesame seeds and dried
cranberries as found in the diet
of a raccoon, or shredded wheat
for stand in for evidence of a coyote’s fur coat.
Landmark College students
are slated to help in the manufacture of these chocolates.
Rolling and twisting of the “scat”
is equally important in the identification, Smith says, as each
animal’s scat presents a unique
shape based on the particulars of
its intestinal tract.
It’s that hands-on experience which makes the difference, she adds: “When rolling it
out, one tends to remember the
characteristics for that animal
much more than just looking at
a picture. This is important to
know out in the field.”
And these gifts are sweet in
other ways: Each box is arranged
to suggest more refined, traditional chocolate samplers, and
the covers boast descriptions and
ingredients.
Should BEEC run out of
“scat” samplers at Gallery Walk,
volunteers will happily take your
order on the spot, and promise
delivery by Feb. 13, just in time
for Valentine’s Day.
For more information on Bonnyvale
Environmental Education Center,
of West Brattleboro, visit beec.org.
February filled with activities at Senior Center
BRATTLEBORO—The
Brattleboro Senior Center at
the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207
Main St., offers a busy schedule
of activities for February:
• A Wednesday writing group
meets from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m.
All are welcome to join this free,
self-guided group. In addition
to publishing an annual collection of their writings, members
contribute to several local publications. Work includes poetry,
memoir, song, and story.
• The February birthday luncheon celebration is Thursday,
Feb. 13, at 11:30 a.m. Stop by
for appetizers, punch, herbed
roast beef, baked potatoes, and
cauliflower and snow peas, with
cake and ice cream for dessert.
February birthday celebrants,
wave your donation for the day
and enjoy the occasion with a
seat at the birthday table. Feel
free to invite a guest to sit with
you. That said, the guest is encouraged to make the regular
donation: $4 for seniors 60 and
over; $6 for all others.
Entertainment is provided.
Reservations are required; kindly
state whether you are celebrating
a birthday and how many spots
you wish to reserve at the birthday table.
• A Valentine’s Day celebration is slated for noon on Friday,
Feb. 14. This is a special day
with entertainment, chocolates, and flowers. The menu
for the day is baked whitefish,
oven-roasted tomatoes, potato
pancakes, and fruit salad. A
suggested donation of $3.50 for
those over 60, and $6 for all others, covers the meal.
• Monday movie matinees take
place on Mondays in February
and March, starting at 10 a.m.
Relax in the comfy lounge for a
free movie and a snack. Call the
Senior Center for a listing of the
movie titles.
• The Senior Center, partnering with Vermont Legal Aid, offers free legal advice on Monday,
Feb. 24, starting at 9 a.m. An attorney from the Senior Citizens
Law Project of Vermont Legal
Aid will be available to provide a
20-minute consultation. Call the
center to reserve a time.
For more information on these or
other Brattleboro Senior Center programs, call 802-254-7570.
Snowmobile speed limit set at 35 mph
on federal lands in Vermont
U.S. Forest Service officials
in Vermont warn they are implementing and enforcing a
closure order limiting “over
snow vehicle” (OSV) speed on
the more than 400,000-acre
Green Mountain National Forest
(GMNF).
The new order, which took
effect in January, states that the
maximum speed allowed for an
OSV within the Green Mountain
National Forest is 35 miles per
hour.
“This regulatory measure is
consistent with Vermont state
law and speed regulations for
OSV travel on Vermont state
lands,” reads a state press release.
All snowmobile trails within
the Green Mountain National
Forest are multiple-use trails
open to cross-country skiing,
snow shoeing, and dog sledding,
and excessive OSV speed is cited
as an increased risk to other forest users.
The Forest Service also said
that the severity of injuries (including death) as a result of OSV
accidents is directly correlated
with higher speed.
The GMNF and Vermont
Association of Snow Travelers
(VAST) work together to maintain more than 400 miles of national forest system trails that are
part of the statewide snowmobile
trail system. Citing excessive and
unsafe speeds as being a frequent
and contributing factor to OSV
accidents and injury, Forest
Service officials noted:
• Most of the OSV trails on
the GMNF are winding, narrow,
mountainous, and non-linear by
nature, and thereby have limited
sight-lines resulting in reduced
reaction times.
• OSV trails attract users of all
abilities from novice to expert,
and children as young as 8 are
lawfully permitted to operate
OSVs on VAST trails.
• In recent years, snowmobiles
have gotten faster and more powerful and have a greater powerto-weight ratio than other land
vehicles.
• The state of Vermont prohibits OSV speeds in excess of
35 miles per hour statewide on
state lands. Having consistency
between federal and non-federal
public lands provides consistent and clear expectations for
GMNF users as well as state,
town, and county law enforcement officials.
In the coming months, Forest
Service officials will post additional information at trailheads.
Moreover, Vermont has a
tough “snowmobiling while intoxicated” law, covering alcohol
as well as drugs; snowmobiles
must be legally registered and
have liability insurance; operators must purchase a VAST
Trails Maintenance Assessment
decal; and helmet use is required.
Forest Service officials encourage winter trail users to pack
a flashlight, cell phone, food, and
extra warm clothing in case of an
emergency.
Center for Cardiovascular Health
at BMH to host events for women
BRATTLEBORO—To raise
awareness among local women
that heart disease is their No.
1 health threat, the Center
for Cardiovascular Health at
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
will present a series of events
for February to promote “The
Heart Truth,” a nationwide effort to spread information about
Where ings
d
d
e
W
t
Grea gin!
Be
Supporting
The Commons
& Independent
Journalism
World Learning, SIT
February 9 , 2014
12 noon – 3 pm
th
Brides and their guests will receive tickets for a chance to
win a 7-Day Honeymoon
Caribbean Cruise for 2 to Bermuda,
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$5 admission. RSVP via our Facebook Event for
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Brides, bring guests with you! Each guest will receive tickets that brides can
use for more chance to win amazing prizes!
The more guests you bring the better your chances of winning.
Another GREAT event
brought to you by
www.WTSA.net
women and heart disease, prevention, and wellness.
The month-long series
includes:
• A radio series: “Matters of
the Heart” (every Monday at
9:15 a.m. on WKVT-AM’s “Live
and Local”)
• A Red Dress breakfast with
Phaedra McDonough, APRN
(7:30 a.m. on Feb. 26)
• Café Chats with cardiac
nurses for risk factors of cardiac
disease (Feb. 11 from noon to
1 p.m.)
• “Love Your Heart” blood
T
Since 1996
pressure screenings (Mondays
from noon to 1 p.m.)
• Rapid CPR classes (Feb. 19
and 26 from noon to 1 p.m.)
• “Walk this Way to Better
Health” fitness walks (Tuesdays
at 4:30 p.m. and Thursdays at
3:15 p.m.)
For more information about cardiac events at BMH’s Center
for Cardiovascular Health, or to
sign up, contact Marcy Rushford
at 802-257-8217 or mrushford@
bmhvt.org.
he Internet’s kinda in danger of getting heart disease
pretty soon, I think. Arteries are getting clogged.
—SEAN BOOTH
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SECTION B
C
FOOD & DRINK
Wednesday, February
2014
C R O 5,
SSW
O R D • . page
. . . . . . .C1
.C2
page C1
Having your
cheese and
eating it, too
CHANGING THE GRADE
Former Vermont
maple syrup grades
These terms may still be used
in marketing maple syrup
Current USDA
maple syrup grades
Good cheese doesn’t
have to cost a fortune
I
VERMONT
FANCY
VERMONT GRADE A
MEDIUM AMBER
VERMONT GRADE A
DARK AMBER
VERMONT
GRADE B
COMMERCIAL
GRADE
GRADE A
LIGHT AMBER
GRADE A
MEDIUM AMBER
GRADE A
DARK AMBER
GRADE B
OR
GRADE A
EXTRA DARK
COMMERCIAL
GRADE
Brattleboro
T’S TRUE. Good cheese
is expensive. At least at
first glance.
What many of us pay,
per pound, for cheese, we’d
never pay for a nice, wellmarbled, grass-fed steak.
I could go on about why
cheese is generally more expensive than a nice steak. I
could tell you all about the
immense amount of labor
that goes into turning grass
into cheese. I could talk
about capitalism’s disregard
for the small and handmade.
But how would my doing
so help you enjoy fine cheese
without sacrificing your entire bank account?
What’s more fun — and
more delicious — is for me
to help you seek out great
cheeses at fair prices. Yes, it
can be done!
Whether you’re hoping to
create a gorgeous, not-tooexpensive cheese board for
your guests, or you’re here
to pick up tips on selecting good, reasonably-priced
cheese for your daily use, or
both, this column will give
you plenty to work with.
OF COURSE, cost can’t be
the only thing guiding your
purchase, or else you’d end
up with slabs of Velveeta.
Not that we’d judge you,
but this article is about fine
cheese.
Sadly, there’s quite a bit
of chicanery out there, else
I wouldn’t feel the need to
mention it. Bogus, mass-produced, factory-made cheeses
using questionable milk and
bizarre ingredients proliferate, taking advantage of
the specialty cheese explosion. Beware, or your hardearned dollars could end
up supporting a monolithic
mega-agri-business rather
than a true artisan or dairy
cooperative.
Even if food politics bores
you, the sad fact is, you
could end up spending good
money on lackluster cheese.
WENDY M. LEVY
The Cheese Log
You need to develop an
eye for what’s really a fine
cheese, and that takes time
and experience, but one
good tip is to avoid buying cheese that looks like it’s
been created in a factory.
Are all of the pieces of
cheese of uniform size,
vacuum-packed (shrinkwrapped), and slathered with
all sorts of labels boasting
“low fat” or “no trans fats,”
or declaring itself “glutenfree” or otherwise associating itself in alliance with the
latest food-trend bugaboo?
Does the cheese have
fruit, chocolate, nuts, booze,
or other non-cheese things
added to it?
If you answered “yes” to
either question, you might
have a factory cheese in your
hands.
It won’t necessarily be terrible, but it won’t give you
the best value. You’ll be paying more for bells and whistles and marketing schemes
than you will for the cheese.
As of January 2014. Maple
producers have one year
to change labels.
Descriptions of the new
grades from International
Maple Syrup Institute
ONE OF THE easiest ways
to keep your costs down
is to stick with cows’ milk
cheeses. Generally, these
cheeses are less expensive than those made from
sheep’s and goats’ milk because cows, being larger animals, yield much more milk
than their smaller dairy-animal pals. It also takes more
labor to make sheep and
goats’ milk cheeses, and you
get to pay for that.
Some countries — France
and Italy immediately come
to mind — offer a wider variety of prices in cheese than
others, due to import/export
News and notes from the
Windham County restaurant scene
post this week, the menu will
feature a “variety of tacos,
flautas, sopas, mole” food
from Mexico, Latin America,
and South America beginning
March 2.
Northside Subs & More has
just opened on 896 Putney
Road in Brattleboro, in the
former D’Angelos spot next to
One Stop Country Pet Supply.
Run by Dorothy Pond, the Putney
restaurant will serve lunch restaurant recipe
and dinner, Monday through in magazine
Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m.
Ismail Samad’s recipe,
Sandwiches, soups, and sal- “Slow-Cooked Oxtail With
ads will be the main fare on Yogurt & Sweet Potatoes,”
the menu.
appears in the current issue
of Vermont Life amid other
Blue Moose store contributions from Vermont
on Flat Street
chefs on cooking lesser-used
Contrary to information cuts of meat.
provided to the Brattleboro
Samad is chef/co-owner of
Selectboard as part of the li- The Gleanery, at 133 Main
quor license transfer process St. in Putney.
— an error that was unwittingly propagated in this col- Cooking
umn last month — its store class features
will reopen as well at 8 Flat international
cuisine
St. in March.
The Blue Moose Café will
Leslie’s The Tavern
reopen soon at 39 Main St., in a t R o c k i n g h a m ( 6 5 0
the space recently vacated by R o c k i n g h a m R d . ,
Brattleboro Cheese.
Rockingham; 802-463-4929)
T h e b i s t r o w i l l h a v e will feature “Favorite Dishes
a new telephone number: From around the World,” a
802-254-6245.
cooking class on Monday,
Feb. 10 where participants
Special Sunday
will learn to cook “a dish that
menu at Popolo
to a certain degree epitomizes
Popolo (36 The Square the cuisine of that country.”
in Bellows Falls) will feature Participants will do so for five
its New South menu “every or six countries.
Sunday for the foreseeable
Call Leslie Marston, cofuture.”
owner of the eponymous resAccording to its Facebook taurant, to reserve a spot.
GRADE A
GOLDEN,
DELICATE TASTE
GRADE A
AMBER,
RICH TASTE
GRADE A
DARK,
ROBUST TASTE
GRADE A
VERY DARK,
STRONG TASTE
Colour not less than
75% Tc.
“Pure maple syrup in
this class has a light
to more pronounced
golden colour and a
delicate or mild taste.
It is the product of
choice for consumers
preferring a lighter
coloured maple
syrup with a delicate
or mild taste.”
Colour 50-74.9% Tc.
“Pure maple syrup
in this class has a
light amber colour
and a rich or fullbodied taste. It is the
product of choice for
consumers preferring
a full-bodied tasting
syrup of medium
taste intensity.”
Colour 25-49.9% Tc.
“Pure maple syrup in
this class has a dark
colour and a more
robust or stronger
taste than syrup in
lighter colour classes.
It is the product of
choice for consumers
preferring a dark
coloured syrup
with substantial
or robust taste.”
Colour less
than 25% Tc.
“Pure maple syrup
in this class has a
very strong taste.
It is generally
recommended for
cooking purposes
but some consumers
may prefer it for
table use.”
JEFF POTTER/THE COMMONS; DATA: BASCOM FAMILY FARMS; INTERNATIONAL MAPLE SYRUP INSTITUTE
SEASON of
CHANGE
■ SEE CHEESE, C3
FOOD BITES
New sub shop
on Putney Road
New Vermont
maple syrup grades
Vermont is first state to adopt new
international maple grading system
By Olga Peters
The Commons
D
UMMERSTON—A pickup
truck travels slowly along a
curving, snow-covered road.
The truck’s cargo, a stainless steel sap collection tank,
juts across the tailgate. Ahead of the truck
walks a sugarmaker carrying a coil of clear
plastic tubing used to transport maple sap
from three to tank.
Sugarmakers are preparing for another
Vermont sugaring season. It’s the centuriesold practice that renders sweet, clear mapletree sap into thick, amber maple syrup and
keeps sugarmakers running.
This year, Vermont — which leads the
nation in maple production with 40 percent of the country’s syrup last year, according to data from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture — also became the first in
the country to officially adopt new maple
grades, which supporters hope will help the
small state compete on the big international
playing field.
The four new grades will feature levels of
taste — delicate, rich, robust, strong — assigned to Vermont syrup.
Maple lovers accustomed to Vermont
grades like “Fancy” or “Light Grade A
Amber” will soon see descriptors closer to
those found on a bag of Starbucks coffee like
“Grade A Dark, Robust Taste.”
Sugarmakers have 2014 to transition to
the new grading system. Producers selling
within Vermont can continue to use the traditional Vermont grades in addition to the
new grades until 2017.
Over a decade in the making, the four
grades will serve as the maple syrup standard in an international marketplace. Canada
leads the world’s production of maple syrup,
with Québec the highest-producing province.
Seventh-generation
maple farmer Arnold
Coombs, chairman of the
Vermont Maple Industry
Council and past
director of the Vermont
Maple Sugar Makers
Association.
SUSAN RAMSEY AND JIM RABIOLO/SPECIAL TO THE COMMONS
Right now, maple grades change from
state to state and from the U.S. to Canada.
The same lightest-colored syrup — traditionally called Fancy in Vermont — is known
as No. 1 Extra Light in Canada, while in New
York sugar shacks, it’s called Light Amber.
Arnold Coombs, of Coombs Family
Farms, which is part of Bascom Family
Farms, a major wholesaler of maple syrup
to the New England region, notes the commercial headaches of the scattershot grading standards.
While many consumers like Grade B on
their pancakes, said Coombs, Grade B can’t
be retailed in New York.
But critics have cautioned that the new
system could hurt sugar producers by
eliminating grades like “Fancy” — terms
that have, by persistence of tradition, become part of the Vermont brand.
Culinary words
“I’m a native Vermonter, and I don’t like
change either,” said Henry Marckres, Agency
of Agriculture chief of consumer protection
and maple syrup specialist.
Marckres feels the new grading system,
however, will help Vermont sugarmakers
reach new markets and receive more money
for their product.
The International Maple Syrup Institute
proposed standardizing maple grades to the
Agency of Agriculture 12 years ago, said
■ SEE MAPLE GRADES, C2
FOOD & DRINK The Commons
n Maple grades
Monday
Night
Monday
Night
is “Music
Night”
is “Music
Night”
from SECTION FRONT
Marckres, who also served on
the committee charged with developing the grades.
The new grades are based on
multiple consumer panels and
taste tests, he said. The descriptors used, like “robust,” are culinary terms that most people
understand.
“If you said to someone who
knew nothing about maple syrup,
‘Would you like some Medium
Amber?,’ they’d have no idea
what you’re talking about,” said
Marckres.
The agency held public hearings, meetings, and information
sessions to gather feedback and
concerns from the public and
sugarmakers, said Marckres.
Last year, the Legislature issued
a joint resolution supporting the
Agency of Agriculture in writing
the new maple rules.
production has soared above
what Vermonters alone can buy.
According to Marckres, a decade ago, Vermont sugarmakers
s ilesSue ASnuderA
e
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i
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e
n
a
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drilled an estimated one million
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arryuary 1
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b
Fe
four million.
Advances in technology mean
sugarmakers now harvest an average half gallon of sap per tap,
where they used to harvest one
quart, he said.
Thursday
night
is is
Thursday
night
Consequently, Vermont
Steak
Night!
has a “tremendous amount of
Steak
Night!
syrup and we need to export it,”
Join Chef
Jeff for
Join Chef
Jeffafor a
Marckres said.
12 oz12
center
cut sirloin,
oz center
cut sirloin,
The new grading system also
allows grades previously sold
baked
potato
and house
saladsalad
baked
potato
and house
only in bulk for cooking to be
for ONLY
$19.95.
for ONLY
$19.95.
sold retail. The commercial
Introducing
new
wine
selections
Introducing new wine selections
grades, once relegated to graWELCOME
and draft
beersbeers
to to
WELCOME
and draft
nola bars and other food prodcomplement
your
meal.
complement your meal.
to the
ucts, can now be sold on the
to Valley’s
the Valley’s
store shelf as Grade A Very Dark,
at TheatInnThe
at Inn
Sawmill
Farm Farm
at
Sawmill
ONLY
Italian
Restaurant!
ONLY Italian Restaurant! 7 Crosstown
Strong Taste, providing its flavor
Road, West
7 Crosstown
Road,Dover
West Dover
An expanding
remains good.
Reservations:
802-464-8131
OpenOpen
Thursdays
through
Mondays
for Reservations:
802-464-8131
Thursdays
through
MondaysCall forCall
market
Dark syrup can sometimes
Vermont’s maple-syrup have what sugarmakers describe
as an “off taste.”
Sugarmakers will be able to
get better prices for the darker
emILY CoX AnD henRY RAThVon
syrup, Marckres said.
The new grades “even the
playing field,” but marketing is
the ultimate tool that Vermont
“Don’t
DON'TDo
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IT by by
Emily Cox
and Henry
Rathvon
DON’T DO IT by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
CRooked
Crosswords
January
12, 2014
can use to show to the world
how its maple-sugar goodness
Across
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
differs from syrup produced in
1. Wine with sparkle
Across
5. Monterrey pop
other states or provinces, he said.
19
20
21
22
For example, under agency
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withAttorney-__
sparkle
15. Words sworn
23
24
25
26
rules, Vermont-produced maple
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pop
19. Soap units
syrup must have a higher den10. Attorney-__
20. Worse for driving
27
28
29
30
Gaucho’s rope
sity. This regulation translates
15. Words21.
sworn
31
32
33
34
into syrup that is thicker, has a
19. Soap 22.
unitsPrefix on scope
23. Don’t do it
higher sugar content, has more
20. Worse26.
for driving
Urge
35
36
37
38
39
40
flavor, and has a better mouth21. Gaucho’s
27. rope
Radius doubled
Ring in a tossing
feel, he explained.
22. Prefix28.
on scope
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
game
“I really think producers need
23. Don’t29.
do itStar,
in Paris
48
49
50
51
to market that,” Marckres said.
26. Urge 31. Wipes out
Also, if it’s made in Vermont,
Don’t do it
27. Radius33.doubled
52
53
54
55
35.a tossing
Trophy game
name in
the label must read, “Made in
28. Ring in
hockey
Vermont,” allowing sugarmak56
57
58
59
60
29. Star, in
38.Paris
Fancy parties
ers to use the cachet of the state’s
31. Wipes40.
outLodge letters
61
62
63
brand, Marckres said.
33. Don’t41.
do itNunavut native
42. Aids for the hobbled
To sugarmakers attached to
35. Trophy43.name
in hockey
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
The way some suds
older grades, Marckres said the
38. Fancy partiestaste
old terms, like “fancy,” can still
72
73
74
75
AWOL chasers
40. Lodge45.
letters
be included as informal market48. native
Don’t do it
41. Nunavut
76
77
78
79
80
50. Chocolate source
ing descriptors.
42. Aids for
hobbled
51.the
Good
earth
Marckres said that the agency
81
82
83
84
43. The way
suds tastereptile?
52.some
Breathtaking
enacted a long transition to
53.
Pettitte
who
pitched
45. AWOL chasers
the new grades so sugarmak85
86
87
48. Don’t54.
do itPrepped, apple-wise
55. “Embraced by the
ers would have time to phase
50. Chocolate source
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
Light” author Betty
out packaging and incorporate
56.
Thankless
sorts
51. Good earth
new labels.
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
59.
Don’t
do
it
52. Breathtaking reptile?
“We’re trying not to put the
61. Campus mil. group
53. Pettitte
102
103
104
105
62.who
“__pitched
to you!”
burden on the Vermont sugar54. Prepped,
63. apple-wise
List-ending abbr.
makers,” he said.
106
107
108
109
64. Don’t
it
55. “Embraced
by thedoLight”
author
By contrast, New York rules
68. Witty chitchat
Betty 72. Seine city
require that its current grades
110
111
112
113
56. Thankless
sorts
73. 21-Across
synonym
remain in effect until Dec. 31.
59. Don’t74.
do itGander gender
On Jan. 1, 2015, sugarmakers in
75.
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61. Campus mil. group
that state must switch entirely to
76. Truckloads
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78. Don’t
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Peter Miles - February 10
ApresApres
Ski Party
Ski Party
Special
Valentine’s
Saturday,
February
1: 1:
Saturday,
February
4 - 64pm
Menu
-Available
6 pm
Sunday
& Monday’s
Sunday
& Monday’s
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Local’s
Nights
Local’s
Nights
with
Pasta
Specials
with
Pasta
Specials
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Grading maple syrup is both
a science and an art, said Arnold
Coombs, who supports the new
grades.
Maple syrup is categorized by
two factors: sugar content, and
the amount of light the amber
liquid transmits.
A passionate sugarmaker
uses terms like “36 degrees
Baume” or “spectrometer” and
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Pure maple quality
Vermont Rep. Tristan Toleno
(D-Brattleboro), a caterer who
serves on the House Agriculture
Committee, doubts Vermont
maple will lose its identity after
decades of producing a quality
product.
“We’re perceived as specialists in this area [maple],” said
Toleno.
Toleno said the “kicker” in
favor of the standardized grades
for him was maintaining access
to domestic and international
markets.
Vermont could be kicked off
the shelves of stores outside the
state if it had chosen to cling to
its old grades while other states
or provinces adopted the new
system.
Without the new grading,
Vermont syrup would effectively
fall below the industry standard,
and stores could choose not to
sell it, he said.
Rep. Carolyn Partridge
(D-Windham), chair of the
House Agriculture Committee,
heard many concerns about
adopting the new grades.
The three-year transition period that allows dual labeling was
one compromise the committee
insisted on to make the change
more palatable for sugarmakers, she said.
Partridge said that the long
transition period was also designed to give maple producers
time to use the legacy packaging
with the old grades. The committee hoped this concession would
help keep costs down for sugarmakers, who now can phase
in the new labels rather than
abruptly have to invest in a lot
of new packaging.
When asked whether the
strength of the brand of Vermont
maple syrup would become lost
in the sameness of international
maple grading, Partridge answered no.
“I think once people taste
Vermont syrup, they won’t want
anything else,” she said, laughing. “And you can quote me.”
Accurate, Confidential,
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That’s the science part of maple syrup grading, and that will
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What changes is the artful part
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It’s not just the difference
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that confuses people, he said.
Many consumers who didn’t
grow up with maple lack the nous
to differentiate between pure maple syrup and artificially flavored
knockoffs like Log Cabin, Aunt
Jemima, or Vermont Maid.
When a consumer is choosing
which product to buy, they’ll often opt for the less-expensive imitation over the pure deal, he said.
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THE COMMONS
■ Cheese
FOOD & DRINK
C3
FROM SECTION FRONT
counterparts. And you support three separate Vermont
businesses.
supply lines or economy-ofscale issues.
Both countries have interesting, lovely cheeses priced
around $20 per pound, sometimes less. For example, Italian
Gorgonzola Dolcelatte is a
beautiful blue cheese with a
smooth, almost creamy texture
and flavors balanced between
spicy (from the blue) and sweet
(from the milk), and it generally retails for $14 per pound
or less.
pieces of cheese on the platter because it’ll look cheap, but
there are ways to fluff up the
presentation without emptying
FRESHER, SOFTER cheeses
your purse.
tend to be less expensive than
One way is to give individual
their aged counterparts. To age guests their own cheese plates.
cheese requires even more laPut three to five cheeses on an
bor, extra time (which means
individual luncheon-size plate,
the cheesemaker must wait to
or on a slate or wooden board.
get paid), and additional fuel
Remember, no more than two
necessary to maintain the tem- ounces of all cheeses combined
perature and humidity of the
makes each individual cheese
aging cave.
pretty small. And it’s supposed
Fresh cheeses can be sold al- to be that way, so nobody will
VERMONT IS HOME to a great most instantly and require little think you’re a cheap jerk for
number of superb, award-win- labor or fuel. Then again, soft, serving them such little pieces
ning cheeses, but many of them fresh cheeses are not usually as of cheese.
are fairly pricey, as they are
interesting or complex in flaYou can do a few sleightmade in such small quantities
vor as aged cheeses, but includ- of-hand tricks on a larger platand requiring an extraordinary ing one on your cheese board
ter, too. Instead of putting one
amount of labor.
will help keep the overall cost
piece of each cheese on the
However, a few notable, lodown.
platter, cut thin, individualcally made cheeses are truly exAnd in the spring, summer,
size slices and arrange them in
FORMAGGIOKITCHEN.COM
cellent and priced within reach. and fall, many gorgeous loa tall stack or other interesting
One that instantly comes to
cally made fresh cheeses are
pattern. It’ll make a little bit of Regal de Bourgogne from France, one of the few cheeses where the columnist
mind is Spring Brook Farm’s
available at farm stands and
cheese look like a lot of cheese, suspends her distrust of “cheese with stuff in it.”
Reading (farmsforcitykids.org/
markets, and many are priced
similar to how high-end chefs
the-cheese/about-our-cheese),
within reach.
utilize the “vertical food” trick
Vermont’s version of Swiss
During the winter months,
to make the little bits of food
KINGDOM COUNTY PRODUCTIONS AND MARLBORO COLLEGE PRESENT
Raclette, except Reading is
you won’t likely find any fresh, in your expensive dinner jump
nly peril can
made of raw Jersey cows’ milk, local cheeses, because they
out at you and appear to be
bring the French
The Guthrie Theater & The Acting Company
which gives it extra richness.
are out of season, but fresh
substantial. (Meanwhile, you’re
together. One can’t
Plymouth Artisan Cheese
imported cheeses will offer
still hungry afterward, but not
impose unity out of the
TONY-WINNING THEATER - LIVE ON STAGE!
(plymouthartisancheese.com) ofvariety.
so with this cheese platter!)
blue on a country that
LAVISH COSTUMES AND SETS
fers Original Plymouth, a roOne of my favorites is Regale
You can also surround
has 265 different kinds
bust, fruity, cheddar-like
de Bourgogne from France.
the whole or cut-up pieces
of cheese.
cheese invented by Calvin
It’s also one of the few cheeses of cheese with “friends of
—CHARLES DE
Coolidge’s father.
where I suspend my distrust of cheese,” such as fresh grapes
GAULLE
Finally, Tres Bonne
“cheese with stuff in it.”
or berries, crackers or sliced
from Boston Post Dairy
Regale can be found plain,
baguette, roasted nuts, olives,
(bostonpostdairy.com) in
but the best specimens are
cornichons or other pickled
Enosburg Falls is a sweet, mild, coated in either brandy-soaked things, slices of salami, rolled
young Gouda-style cheese
yellow raisins, fresh herbs,
slices of chilled, roasted meats,
“EXPERTLY DIRECTED….
made of goats‘ milk. I have no black pepper, or mustard seed. fresh cherry or grape tomatoes,
idea how the people at Boston The cool, gentle creaminess of or little ramekins of mustard or
A WINNER.”
Post Dairy manage to keep
the cheese provides the perfect fruit preserves.
– NY Times
their goat cheese so inexpenhome for the additional ingreThese products are all gensive, especially considering how dients, which are not used to
erally less expensive than even
nicely it’s made, but I’m glad
mask an inferior cheese. (See,
the priciest cheese, and they
they do. It’s also a great goat
there are always exceptions to
enhance the apparent (and
cheese for those branching out the rules! But you must first
actual) value of your cheese
from cows’ milk cheeses; it’s
know the rules before you ven- board.
not animally or strong at all.
ture out to break them.)
Don’t overlook Vermont
IF YOU USE some of these
Cheddar. Grafton Village
ANOTHER consideration when tips, you’ll surely impress your
selecting quality cheeses on a
guests with your great taste in
(graftonvillagecheese.com) offers
one- and two-year aged chedbudget: a robust, well-made
food. Meanwhile, you’ll satdars are flavorful, handmade
cheese offers more “bang for
isfy your own cheese jones, and
SPECIAL FREE BONUS MATINEE
less than a mile outside of
the buck” than a cheaper, facyou’ll have some money left
downtown Brattleboro, and are tory-produced cheese. You will over to pay the rent.
To Celebrate Winter Carnival!
priced very fairly.
need only a very small amount
Because, if you’re like me,
10:30AM AT THE LATCHIS.
The Cellars at Jasper
to feel satiated, so you don’t
the cheese budget is at the top
Tickets at the door or email
Hill (cellarsatjasperhill.com)
need to buy or serve a very
of the list, with housing and
%s
5
3
[email protected]
age special wheels of Cabot
large piece.
utilities a close second.
e
Sarvegular pri5c2e
Clothbound Cheddar, made
Remember, most people in
Hey, at least I come about it
Sponsors include Brattleboro Retreat,
off
to $
using only the milk of one
one sitting are not going to eat honestly.
Brattleboro Savings Bank,
f $24 unt code
o
neighboring farm (rather
much more than one or two
co
Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Vermont,
e Dis M at
s
U
than the typical collection of
ounces of cheese — that’s toWendy M. Levy is a local cheeBJ unty.org
Arts Council of Windham County.
o
C
9
milk gathered from various
tal, not per cheese. And harder semonger and former owner of
55
dom
King 88-757-5
New England and Canadian
cheeses, like super-aged Gouda the Brattleboro Cheese shop. Saul
r8
KingdomCounty.org
o
dairy farms), and this suor Piave, have such concenZabar, a proprietor of the famed
perb, English-farmhouse-style trated flavors that most people eponymous specialty-foods store in
Cheddar is priced at about $24 want only a nibble or two.
New York City, once commented
per pound, placing it at a priceOf course, when you’re mak- about her, “Wendy Levy? She
point about $10 per pound
ing a cheese board for guests,
knows more about cheese than the
less than its English import
you don’t want to put tiny
cow.”
O
7PM, THURSDAY, FEB. 20
LATCHIS THEATER, BRATTLEBORO
HELP WANTED
COMING SOON
BUSINESS
N
ON
C TT II O
SS EE C
A
B
A1
� � � � � � � �A2
2014
D A R• � page
ry
LEN
C A15,
Wednesday, Janua
� � � � � �A2
OSSWORD
CR
BUSINESS
ry
Wednesday, Janua
COMINGS
& GOINGS
page A1
Wilmington
landmark
finally reopens
15, 2014
Transitions
afoot in
organizations
that serve
and support
Brattleboro
businesses
and economy
Non
empor es
s u s a m
volute non
sequas esti
andis velia
ea provid et
ut dolora
quam
turem. Nam estem prae
lifted it with
quis vellupt atiorequiam,
the foundation and parking lot.
rum facepel lignitet ut ipi
a crane to the back ground, the
By Olga Peters
tecusamet et aut is comni
Once on solid stabilized the
The Commons
dem quia nonsequepudam
crew braced and
comnis nimpor nullant
I L M I N G frame to get it square, plumb,
cullab inus atisciet,
TON—A dull and true, said Matthew. It sat for
us de vol
harum faceperib sitas ute
sky the color about three weeks while workers
oristrum hillibus even
of papiermâ rebuilt the foundation.
, a part
pel ipsum eostibusveratet
ché, and frigid
According to Matthew
dae. Volupta tae am, ex
n Wilmington. of the foundation is original. The
air coat downtow
rehabili
ns of a foot
quatuscius maiorend ribusa
construction workers
Yet not even predictio
stone founda
et volor am, ommolo
the celebratory
cum alist
of snow can quell the snug and tated the original
the height
dolorum fugia
volup
tion. They also raised
atmosphere inside
as part of
eleniss intur? Rupta miniet,
Restaurant.
the foundat ion s.
renovated Dot’s
Valley land of
tatem. Inus quibusquundel
measure
Dot’s, a Deerfield breakfa st floodproofing
on its
back
quatemp orerumis maione
frame
With the
mark and popular
ignamus eaqui abor alis
real work started,
its chili, qui
joint famous for week after an foundation, the
perum quam aut
a smile.
sani
etly reopened last r rebuilding he said with erected staging in
iduntiae pro bearibu que
COMMONS
Workers
extensive twoyea
Storm
OLGA PETERS/THE
construction.
mus doloren ditaquis
nator necessitated by Tropical
volorporro
the river during building hangs
modis ne impe aliquatur
downtown coordi
A portion of the
Irene.
newly-hired BaBB
vendi coreperem
the restaurant over the Deerfield River. It now
but
soon.
y
deli
now,
launched
activit
Irene
area. Before
mostly empty it will be filled with
atem fuga. Moditiis quia
John Reagan
The office isRobert
owned by Patty and stardom on serves as a dining
s hopes
quam harcipi citatiis
overhang area held
alitibus
Jacob Alan
to dubious nationalstorm’s rains the flood, the restrooms.
volore, to te volor blabo
Aug. 28, 2011. The River into a the kitchen and
ff said she
ex es dolupta tecero
.
Angela Yakovle , which
turned the Deerfieldthat flooded
rum qui doluptat
building
raging wall of water ton. Internet likes the newd as brighter and
Doles
she describe
downtown Wilming
nted how watert more open.
con expel
videos docume
went into
restauran
“A lot of thought yet renew
mod quam
swamped the riverside
Dot’s,
to keep
rafters.
facesto ta
tion has to its building seemed a total howshe said.
tur, este
it,”
The
year, the organiza ent, and
past
Dot’s’ pre
promised
of
and
most
chair
s
i
Reagans
She notes
molor
loss, but the
to duty.
struggled with engagem
St., include a second
mending fences
staff have returned
erempo rit
standing coat rack. downtown has been busy ship and town to rebuild.the new restaurant — flood takes it as a sign of how
By Olga Peters
excessi ti
Inside
new, Angela Reagans treat people.
Roberts is BaBB’s 18houra with its member
The Commons
con
l mix of historic,
the
a new
ard.
b coordinator, replacing the pre Selectbo , t h e d e s i g n a t e d a structura of — conversation well
unt faccus as dolupta
said Matthe w.
it,”
unt.
O—Jaco
love
“I
arunt
B
floodpro
BaB
BRATT LEBORwith a laptop week position executive director
erovidem susda
ation for and
rs and wait staff “I’m so impressed with John
ero et
downto wn organizon support swirls as custome
sly knew
Otatis et aboreribquatus
Alan Roberts works in a mostly vious fulltime
each other.
Patty, who consciou
ro focused
playfully call to
kind of a and were reinventing it.”
propped on his knees of traffic position.
aut min nobis sunt
ng the down
doing com Brattlebo
venis audi
“[Dot’s ] is really
f they
talk to
ing and promoti
In his early days
empty office. SoundsStreet echo
isquatem in nest
away, I’ve got tothe next
ment work in town, is shifting its office from bunker,” said Matthew Yakovlef
es san
“Get
Main
periae
develop
in
along
il
munity
trundling
apelignim
t.
” a man at
windows that cities Syracuse and Ithaca, N.Y., the Robert H. Gibson River
sin et et
an
as he eats breakfas
or, spent my waitress,
through the large
ditaquo officta dia
his friend from
Bank and
often sat across Garden a few doors away. The
Yakovleff, a contract
ate table teases
Roberts said he
unsus
give views of People’s
etur? Vellora tatur? ment
in similar positions building was financially orga about a year helping rehabilit
Street.
flood other table. with young kids
Adipsae eaquatu
shops on Elliot the ground run from people n coordinator.
ne sol
for BaBB. The
A family
restaurant. Multiple
the
downtow
“The
into
tainable
the
film,
to
“I have to hit
to
went
the
Garden
dolupta te latem ur, se
s
like
I’d
River
setting the
lines from
nization sold the
“One of these days
of proofing measure
g a higher swaps Bride.”
ning,” says Roberts,
orempora voluptat
Roberts recalls this month to the Strolling
nearby book
videndit
e
Princess
the building, includin
someon
reinforce
comput er on a ons occupying be in their seat,”
quia aut illesciaratatios es
calls
steel
on and
“Hi, guys!”
the Heifers.
A1 foundati
case. His compani Brattleboro’s thinking.
porerio ssundae
provided much from the counter area.
n SEE BABB,
during a time
e post
ments. He also
where
such
He takes the job
asks
r
the
s
Building a Better
inside,
sendis ent raeceper
Over
work
custome
Burrow
Another
for BaBB.
of the finishing
spins in
new office, above 105 Main of transition
eium vent.
restrooms are. She
as the wainscoting.
Specialized Sports,
Yakovl eff, thedisoriented circle before strid
Ihic ten
Accord ing to
direction.
t is un a
duci nonse
ing off in the right
the building’s footprin
the layout is She laughs, saying, “Everything
though
,
nis suntion
changed
now sits to the is so new.”
et faccus
new. The kitchen
doors are
excerum
back. The entrance
accommodate A joint effort
quasperora
wider, better to
to life was
is the rest
Bringing Dot’s backsaid Patty
vel ex es
wheelchairs. Gone
effort,
Deerfield River.
duci volor
room view of the have switched a communitythanking people for
time,” said
qua
The restrooms of the build Reagan, also
at a challen ging in the confer
aditias pelendi catiata
inulpar
their support. way to get a res
from the river side side.
O’Connor, sittingBACC.
By Olga Peters
tium illor am sime
“It’s a hell of a
em enecate
ing to the Ray Hill
ence room of theic and business
The Commons
that it’s done, it
cidipie nihillitat et volest
taurant, but now she said.
The econom the area can
nos enimus dolut
and
O—Kat e
was for the best,” this way a few
Home fries

BRATT LEBORher share of challenges facing
represeque autat. qui re
felt
organiza
she
by one
hard work ff has missed Not thatshe adds.
Us, quas si cumne plig
O’Connor has seen s, from her not be solved adding that she
days ago,
Angela Yakovle
time to
tion, she said,
leadership position
rum restemquaes
of numbers.
Many people donated
the Brattleboro
doluptam
breakfasts at Dot’s.
g Reagan’s
best home
current role on years spent un believes in strength
niet omnihil et
s nist
MONS FILE PHOTO
together can the
the project, includin d the res
“They have the
HOLHUT/COM
RANDOLPH T.
Selectboard to se dome dur Only working its challenges,
non erestis evenimurenihil
who refinishe
seen here fries,” she said.
ate at father, tables.
der the Statehouand Shumli n area rise above
Kate O’Connor,
velectatem conemaboribus
Selectboard,
taurant’s
She and her husband
not receive
she said.
ing the Dean
liquis re optatem Ut mi, te
outgo at her first
a r c h Dot’s every weekend while their
The Reagans did ent funds
up.
O’Conn or replaces r Jerry m e e t i n g i n M
administrations.role as execu
a de pari am fuga.Nam fugi
ct
children were growing
Irenerelated governm
Executi ve Directo weeks. does not see a confli
In her new
eossit que abo. volorae ea
and twoAccording to Matthew, the to rebuild, Patty said. The proj
Brattleboro ing
couple
post
a
the
in
of
this
enit
rg
to
en
tax credits
Goldbe
needed
tive director
taq uiandaes
oc
be shadowing betwe
of Commerce,
o s i t i o n a s construction crew the
ect did receive historic
Area Chamber to unite the ar Until then, she’ll
h e r n e w pdirect
dollorem essit debisqui
or of preserve portions of historic and bank loans.
volorep ed
tive
on the job.
of the funds
O’Connor plans
cus alistet re re pa eliquia
Area structure. Some of the historics
neurs and him wouldn ’t even try to be execu
Patty said mostfrom private
“I
include
ea’s diverse entrepre
the Bratt leboro
issunt aut optae dipid et ut
a better, stron Jerry,” she said of her famous
of Commerce. building remaini ng of the to rebuild came
, A1 Chamber
businesses for
the Friends of
sitios netur modi placeat.
portions
n SEE CHAMBER
groups such as
The
the frame and
ger region.
lab is volorum acese
Foundation and
fu
exciting job
foundation.
e” The Valley Fund VT, estab
“It seemed an
Ibus ut omnim incium
“horribl
was
evereper
Wilmington
The building
donors to help
giatem re pro dolo
tear, and Irene,
ustio.
thanks to wear, dismantled the lished by privatefrom Irene. The
chit volupta natquamillacca
he said. Workers To preserve the area recover n SEE DOT’S, A1
Ut vent re niassim
quunt pe
building to its frame. cut it from
boreprem quiscia sum sitiis
the frame, the crew
diae. Dam, adisplitatia do
el iminctiur sit
esequa
quis
lenisque debit doluptata
mus nonseque si utem
eatento desed que facip
eatio blaut pa prem
molo om
100
sunt quiaestiur e ssitatur,
100
nietur? Consen volupta
100
excepta tquiam,
ure
spelestiis modi corumet
modiatus
re sae. Denimil magnissus
75
niat landa apel
80
eatem que suntint.
ent
Illes molum elestem ta
Holhut
dolecup
By Randolph T.
el molum harias s, ommo
50
60
The Commons
tur? Quis doluptatu
50
faceatatem
ommo offictem quodi con
O—With six
BRATTLEBOR certain that
quiae poreped eos eat.
now
weeks to go, it is
nos dolupta sitate occab
tration’s
40
Et odistius volut
the Shumlin adminisof univer
consent la
selfimposed deadline coverage
inum lam essi acerori ut
Internet
e,
nd
sal broadba
dolut dolorpor audae repta
Dec. 31, 2013
20
for Vermont by
andant, officiur
ihil ma
will not be met. much closer to
voluptati teniminlit fugiam
But the state is
dolo tem dolorum dolestia
was in January
that goal than it Peter Shumlin
exerumqui aciare eum aut
0
the
COMMONS
2011, when Gov. plan.
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Where community
journalism meets
community commerce
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802-246-6397
or email
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UMBERS
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Business & Econom
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PM
PART TIME MUSEUM POSITION
The Historical Society of Windham County is looking
for a responsible person to welcome and assist visitors
Wednesday,
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at its museum in Newfane,
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and 15,
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The museum is open from Noon - 5:00pm.
To place your
2014employment
• page 1
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Applicants should be enthusiastic about local history
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Applicant must have computer skills, writing skills, be
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Send cover letter and resume by March 15 to
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P. O. Box 246, Newfane, VT 05345, or by e-mail:
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FOOD & DRINK
C4
THE COMMONS
Keep the (body’s) home fires burning
OPEN 7
DAYS A
WEEK
Lunch & Dinner Daily, Plus! Sunday Brunch
Food is your body’s fuel — and you need to tend to it in the
winter months, however many the groundhog says are left
G
West Brattleboro
ROWING UP in
Putney Road, Brattleboro, VT 802-257-7563
VermontMarina.com
Vermont, I never understood the myth of
Groundhog Day.
According to Bill Anderson,
who wrote a book on the
subject (and as quoted by
the Punxsutawney [Penn.]
Groundhog Club), the Feb. 2
tradition is “a popular tradition
in the United States. It is also a
legend that traverses centuries,
its origins clouded in the mists
of time with ethnic cultures
and animals awakening on specific dates.”
Groundhog Day, as the tradition goes, is “the day that the
Groundhog comes out of his
hole after a long winter sleep to
look for his shadow.”
“If he sees it, he regards it
as an omen of six more weeks
of bad weather and returns to
his hole.
“If the day is cloudy and,
hence, shadowless, he takes
it as a sign of spring and stays
above ground.”
The part that always confounded was the “six more
weeks of bad weather.”
Only six more weeks? If only!
Around these parts, that would
be blessing.
Imagine if we could start
Still offering the $2 holla!
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2 eggs, choice of meat, toast, homefries...ONLY $2.99!
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Rte 9 W. Brattleboro, VT
open daily 5:30am-9pm
802 254-8399
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FACEBOOK.COM/VISITPA
Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog, saw his shadow in Pennsylvania this year.
tilling our gardens around midMarch instead of purchasing
that new shovel at Brown and
Roberts because the weight
of New England spring snow
snapped another fine shovel
head. Honestly.
But shucks. It doesn’t take
a romantic rodent to offer us
signs that winter’s on its way
out.
SUSIE CROWTHER
Fare Well
Our primary source of sugar
comes through complex carAS A YOUNG GIRL, my father bohydrates from whole foods.
introduced me to Vermont’s
“Complex” means long chains
tender pre-spring signs. He’d
of sugar or starch molecules in
point out the melting snow
these foods. These long chains
around the bases of trees.
could be compared to big logs
It’s something a tween
for our body’s wood stove.
would never have noticed on
The body stores these big
her own. Like, OMG — nalogs — complex chains — in
ture? Whatever. I’m so sure.
our muscles, like a woodpile.
However, when I now walk
To keep the fire burning at a
around our woods, I peek play- steady pace, our stoves need
fully, like a young girl again,
smaller pieces of wood. The
and I celebrate the gap widen- body must convert long chains
ing between trunks and snowy into shorter, or “simple” chains
beds.
— by chopping the big logs into
The other hopeful sign of
smaller, stove-length pieces.
spring is the sugaring! More
These simple sugar chains
wood smoke fills the air, like
are released into the bloodsmoky Christmas lights in the
stream and distributed
sky, signaling the boiling of the throughout the body wherever
sap. Our neighbors Dan and
energy is needed, just as logs
Gail MacArthur (anyone on
burn in the woodstove and disone’s ridge is a neighbor, yes?) tribute heat throughout the
invite us to drop off empty
house. The body is capable
jugs. It’s a February ritual that of burning only a few simple
always sparks happy hope in
chains at a time. This process
my heart.
of burning is your metabolism.
It takes two to four hours
THE BOILING OF SAP reto burn a big log in the fire.
minds me of our own fires
Therefore, long chains provide
burning. We are living beings, a long, steady supply of energy.
and as such, require fuel. The People typically eat three to
fuel we burn, like the sap bub- five times a day, because that is
bling, is sugar.
how many times they need to
stoke their fires.
The liver converts all carbohydrates into glucose — our
body’s burnable energy source.
Complex carbohydrates are
first stored as glycogen in the
liver and muscles to be converted into glucose, as needed.
As sugar is used as energy
— as we burn our logs — the
adrenal glands and pancreas
sense a drop in glucose levels.
As glucose levels deplete, our
fire begins to go out. When the
drop is significant enough, we
need to add more logs to the
fire. The pancreas signals the
liver to convert glycogen into
glucose, which is released into
the blood. Blood sugar safely
returns to normal levels.
Think of it this way: The
pancreas is the nagging housewife, and glucagon is her nag.
The liver is the nagged husband who has to go out into
the cold and get more firewood
to stoke the fire. As we deplete
our glycogen storage (burn our
logs), we experience hunger
(the house gets cold), and the
nagging cycle continues.
Since we are only halfway
into this winter thing, we must
pay heed to our wood stoves.
Here are a few tips, to keep
your fuel systems running
smoothly:
Producer Month
OF
THE
Big Picture Farm
Townshend, VT
1. Burn quality
wood
Eat whole grains and
vegetables. These are your
“small logs” that keep your fire
burning for a few hours. Eat local meats, eggs, and dairy for
your “big logs” that keep your
fires burning overnight.
2. Stoke the fire
During the winter months,
move your body.
Fires need a good ventilation. Despite raging logic and
inertia, you need to get yourself
outside. Food needs fresh air to
burn, so go out and get some.
Stovepipes get sludgy, so
sometimes we have to burn out
the muck. Movement improves
metabolism.
Walk the dogs. Shovel the
deck. Dance in your underwear. Whatever it is, do it.
You will burn your fuel more
efficiently.
3. Circulate
the heat
Winter is cold, so balance
your body with warmth. Just
as a fan circulates the wood’s
heat, we need to stimulate our
fuel’s potential.
Hot foods like soups and
stews warm the system and
give off steam to help break
up nasal invaders. Cook with
stimulating herbs like ginger, cumin, fennel, sage, and
hot peppers to awaken sluggish blood circulation and body
systems, such as digestion and
elimination.
4. Water on
the stove
Yankees put a pot of water on their woodstoves to replenish the dry winter air. Do
the same. Our bodies are comprised of more than 50 percent
water, so rewater yourself. The
adage “eight glasses per day”
will suit you just fine.
5. Conserve
your firewood
Once in a while, we have to
let the fire go out and clean
the stove. While it’s tempting
to nibble nonstop during the
hibernating months, remember that eating requires digestion, which requires massive
amounts of energy. During
winter, we don’t have a whole
lot of energy to waste, so conserve it.
Eat when you are hungry,
not when you are bored or suffering from cabin fever. Eat for
physiological — not psychological — reasons.
ON FEB. 2, that little rat,
Punxsutawney Phil sealed
our fate by seeing his shadow.
Little does he know, we live in
Vermont.
Six more weeks? Bring it on,
groundhog.
Fare well.
Susie Crowther is the author of
The No Recipe Cookbook: A
Beginner’s Guide to the Art
of Cooking, through Skyhorse
Publishing (norecipecookbook.
com).
Every Saturday 10-2
Saturdays 10-3 For
Your Holiday Shopping
At the River Garden
Farms, Food, Crafts
W
hen Louisa Conrad and Lucas Farrell of Big Picture Farm began to think about
farming with goats, they strategized where to locate to pursue their dream.
Upon looking over the Vermont Cheese Map, they decided that southern
Vermont was not as well served with goat cheese and other goat products, so they
ultimately moved to the area and joined forces with Ann and Bob Works at Peaked
Mountain Farm near Townshend. That same year, they got their first three goats as
wedding presents from friends. They worked with Ann and Bob for several years, milking
sheep and making cheese. When Bob and Ann retired, they sold Louisa and Lucas part
of the land and the barn. Big Picture Farm now has 34 goats and Elvis and Josie, their
Maremma guard dogs. The goats all have names, and Louisa and Lucas are quick to point
out the lineage and personalities of each and every one.
As you may well know, their claim to fame is the luscious goat milk caramels that
many have discovered over the past three years. In the fall of 2010, they kicked things
off with their online store. This was a result of a re-focusing strategy they embarked on,
after realizing that they needed a product on which to base their farm. They launched a
beautifully branded product line. They started selling caramels nationwide the summer
of 2012 (their caramel was named best confection by the specialty food association that
year), and hit their full stride with caramels in the summer of 2013. Louisa’s craft as an
artist is immediately evident in the presentation of their caramels. Beautiful, whimsical
line drawings of goats grace the website, the boxes, and the wraps.
Dec 3, 10 & 17
At the River Garden
Dec 24 & Dec 31
Debit/EBT/Market
Match
Open from 10-2
Farm Fresh, Local, Handmade, Homemade
Great Local Food Lunches & Live Music
A wonderful selection of holiday gifts
All you need for your holiday table
Debit and EBT cards welcomed
Visit the Co-op on
Thursday, February 6
from 11am to 1pm,
and try some
farmstead goat milk
caramels!
436 Western Ave., Brattleboro, Vermont
(802) 257-9254 • www.vermontcountrydeli.com
Open 7am-7pm Daily
Fresh Pastries • Salads & Sandwiches
Vermont Products • Gifts • Gourmet to Go
Baking homemade
bread everyday.
Find it here... and all over town!
VOICES
SECTION B
D
Wednesday, February
M I L 5,
E S T2014
O N E S• .page
. . . . . . D1
. .D3
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D4
OPINION • COMMENTARY • LETTERS • ESSAYS
COLUMNS • MEMOIRS • EDITORIALS
Join the conversation: [email protected]
page D1
MUSIC , POL I T IC S and SOCI ET Y
LETTER
VIEWPOINT
Pete Seeger: A life of
resistance to injustice
I
am not going to answer any
questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious or my political beliefs, or
how I voted in any election, or
any of these private affairs. I
think these are very improper
questions for any American to
be asked, especially under such
compulsion as this.”
That was Pete Seeger’s answer to U.S. Rep. Francis
Walter, D-Pa., before a House
Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC) hearing in 1955. That earned Pete
a one-year prison sentence for
contempt of Congress, a sentence that was subsequently
overturned in 1961.
Did he perform at a concert
sponsored by the Communist
Party in 1947? Sure. Such
was a crime under the First
Amendment, as interpreted by
the reactionaries on the committee dedicated to sanitizing
the U.S. by suppressing dissident views.
He knew the consequences
of his answer, and his refusal to
succumb became another emblem of his life of resistance to
injustice.
Pete, who died on Jan. 27
at age 94, offered to sing some
songs to the HUAC. In their
wisdom, they refused his offer, for they knew that the walls
would inevitably come crumbling down if his sweet tenor
was heard.
Fortunately, the people of
our country are greater than
those who purported to lead us
then and now.
We can count on other
voices to be lifted for social
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
justice in the spirit of one of
Pete Seeger arrives at federal court with his guitar over his shoulder, heading to
America’s finest, Pete Seeger.
his trial on charges of contempt of Congress as a result of his failure to cooperate
Tim Kipp with the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1955.
Brattleboro
POEM
A force of nature, a presence of love
Our friend Pete Seeger
passed on to the other side,
Brattleboro
but he did not die,
that is not possible.
NAMAYA is an performance poet,
storyteller, playwright, and jazz poet
who has performed worldwide.
who saw the destruction of
his beloved Hudson River
and created a movement to
heal this mighty river.
He is a force of nature,
made from the strength of love.
He is a chorus of morning
birds heralding the spring.
He is a voice of justice.
In the Civil Rights museums,
Pete’s picture is there, singing
and inspiring us all.
He is a force of life,
championing peace and
social justice.
He is a presence of love,
with his songs and sing-alongs
that made people happy.
Throughout the world, many
know him as the troubadour
who sings for freedom and
human rights.
He is a force of clarity
Last summer, I saw him singing
At the Clearwater Festival on
the Hudson River at sunset.
While leaning on his wooden staff,
He stood as tall and as beautiful
As the Palisades, and his voice as
Strong as the river he so loved.
Pete dying?
Hell, no!
A force of nature never dies.
It lives on in our memory and deeds.
It inspires our action and lives.
The songs of freedom and joy,
his message of peace, and his
life of dignity and grace will
always endure.
That is the force of nature,
this presence of love
known as Pete Seeger.
Money, music,
and why
Lorde matters
We have a bumper crop of
odes to the almighty dollar
that are cravenly irony-free
L
Brattleboro
IKE MOST WRITERS, I am a tiny bit
obsessed with music.
Which is, admittedly,
wholly unrelated to the fact
that I cover Wall Street and noticed this week that more than
10 million Americans remain
out of work, at least according
to the latest blizzard of stunningly disappointing data from
the U.S. Department of Labor.
In the past, our tired, poor,
and huddled masses of unemployed could at least take
some solace in not-happy-tobe-unemployed noises (think
Irving Berlin’s “Slumming on
Park Avenue” or Bing Crosby’s
“Brother Can You Spare a
Dime?”).
Not so this time around, despite the protracted pain in the
labor market. Last month, unemployment rates fell in fourfifths of U.S. states, mostly due
to jobless Americans throwing
up their hands and giving up
on their job searches.
The change in numbers had
nothing to do with employers adding jobs to the pool. In
fact, only 74,000 new jobs were
added — a pitiful number, and
the lowest in three years.
If nearly 7 percent of the
U.S. population is not working
— and that’s not even counting those who choose not to
work — why don’t we see any
Million Unemployed Man
Marches on Washington? It has
been more than five years since
the credit crisis. Where are
the songs of mass discontent?
Where is our version of Billie
Holiday belting “I Gotta Right
to Sing the Blues”?
It takes nine months, on average, for someone who has
been laid off to find another
job. That’s plenty of time to
strike up a clamor with the
other unemployed, if one feels
like it.
Here’s the problem: these
days, not making a lot of
money — and especially being
unemployed — is tantamount
to wearing a scarlet letter.
Professionally, it’s rough. But
socially, it is a death sentence.
WHICH BRINGS ME BACK to
popular music, the best reflection of our culture I can think
of.
During the money-crazed
’80s, we had plenty of songs
about money, but most of
LEAH MCGRATH
GOODMAN works
as senior staff writer for
Newsweek (www.newsweek.
com) (where this piece first
appeared) and as an investigative financial journalist
specializing in “institutionalized cultures of corruption.”
them were ironic (at least
the best ones): “Money for
Nothing” (Dire Straits).
“Big Time” (Peter Gabriel).
“Money Changes Everything”
(Cyndi Lauper). “I Want It
All” (Queen). “All She Wants”
(Duran Duran). “How to Be a
Millionaire” (ABC). “Material
Girl” (Madonna).
In the new millennium,
there’s different sentiment driving the Money Song, one that
celebrates the unapologetic
chasing of the dollar.
We have a bumper crop of
odes to the almighty dollar that
are cravenly irony-free. Even
the traditional love song has
been replaced by a new kind of
dirge devoted to romancing the
size of one’s wallet: “Beautiful,
Dirty, Rich” (Lady Gaga). “In
da Club” (50 Cent, from his
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ album).
“Give Me Everything” and
“Hey Baby” (Pitbull). “Ride
Wit Me” (Nelly). “Rich Girl”
(Gwen Stefani, “borrowed”
from Fiddler on the Roof and
stripped of all its depth). “Gold
Digger” (Kanye West). “Work
B**ch” (Britney Spears).
And the list goes on.
The nature of money hasn’t
changed, but we have.
Money has become our
number-one priority — and,
what’s more, we have made
those who are unfortunate
enough to lose their jobs feel it
is their fault.
Not the fault of our leaders, who have long known the
depth of our problems but fail
to do anything about them.
Nor of our society, which
isn’t offended by members of
Congress having fancy second
and third homes while millions
of Americans lose the only ones
they have.
The worst part of all this is
that too many of our unemployed do feel ashamed, although what has happened to
them over the past six years is
systemic. Feeling this way, who
■ SEE MONEY AND MUSIC, D2
When gender disparities continue
With second-generation gender
bias, women still face uphill battles
even in ‘progressive’ workplaces
S
Saxtons River
HE IS A successful business-
woman whose colleagues respect
her. Still, she sometimes experiences “difficulty getting traction”
for her ideas.
She has worked in her law firm for five
years and has just had a child. Her boss
advises her to take a staff role instead of
staying on the management track.
“It will be easier,” he says. Too late,
she realizes “there is no path back to the
line.”
She likes her firm and feels she has
been treated fairly. “But it seems every
time a leadership role opens up, women
are not on the slate,” she says.
What’s the common denominator in these scenarios? The answer is
But these discriminatory actions are
not deliberate. In fact, many organizational leaders are shocked to learn that
their “progressive” businesses and institutions have fallen victim to such bias,
which can affect men as well as women.
ELAYNE CLIFT
According to Dr. Špela Trefalt, a coauthor of the Simmons study, second“second-generation gender bias,” a phe- generation gender issues “cover those
nomenon that has been studied by the
work cultures and practices that appear
Center for Gender in Organizations at
neutral, but can result in differential exSimmons College in Boston.
periences for and treatment of diverse
“Second-generation gender bias” is a
groups of women and men.”
term that highlights the subtle gender dyWhile seeming innocuous, cultural asnamics that exist within an organization’s sumptions support the notion of men
culture and work norms. These norms
making better leaders and “reflect masand work practices go far in shaping such culine values and the life situations of
formal systems as hiring and promotion
men who have dominated in the public
as well as compensation.
■ SEE SECOND-GENERATION BIAS, D2
Proof generated February 4, 2014 1:00 AM
Lorde performs in Seattle, Wash.
KIRK STAUFFER/WIKIPEDIA
VOICES
D2
THE COMMONS
LETTERS FROM READERS
If the state caves for fear, then what’s
the point of a regulated utility structure?
R
E: “So, where was everybody?” [Viewpoint, Jan.
warmed and the standing
room was to the alcove in the
29]:
Brattleboro site.
Congratulations, Brad
Brad, let me be frank: You
Ferland, on the great press
have been paid to promote
your single op-ed garnered.
Entergy; I have not. This meetYou open your piece with:
ing had nearly two weeks’
“When the state of Vermont
warning. The meeting’s subholds a major public hearing
ject was a pre-Christmas backabout Vermont Yankee and al- room deal by the Department
most no one attends, what does of Public Service that basically
it mean?”
negates the regulatory process
I do not know how many of
in Vermont.
these events you have attended.
What point is it to have a
I will guess it is since the
regulated utility structure, if
Vermont Energy Partnership,
the state caves for fear of bea pro-VY front group started
ing irresponsibly treated by a
by Entergy during the uprate
company clamoring for fair,
hearings, maybe six.
trusted-partner status?
It is not unusual for peoFact: Entergy has not upheld
ple in Chittenden County
agreements made before this
and other sites far north and
Public Service Board (PSB).
west of here to not attend in
Fact: Entergy managers and
any numbers. People spoke
liaison representatives misin Montpelier, Randolph,
spoke under oath in Vermont.
Norwich, and all seats were
Fact: Entergy attorney said
in 2002, “Entergy will not
sue VT using federal field
preemption.”
Fact: Entergy does not know
the radiological condition of
buried/underground pipes on
site.
Fact: Entergy VY made up
the difference between “underground” and “buried.”
Fact: The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission has no
such delineation.
Fact: Entergy VY was fined
for a disdain of the state regulatory board process.
Fact: Entergy attorneys have
been sanctioned twice by the
PSB.
Fact: Entergy is asking in
this memorandum of understanding (MOU) before the
board to receive fair-partner
status.
Truthfully, in my eyes,
the only way Entergy could
earn fair-partner status is for
Entergy to do all stated objectives of the MOU and
more — without approval of
a Certificate of Public Good
(CPG).
If the employees didn’t know
their jobs were in jeopardy after March 21, 2012, then it is
not up to the state to allow the
reactor to operate until the end
of this year.
What Energy is fighting for
is permission to keep the reactor open until next year. They
have operated without a CPG
since the aforementioned date,
yet the stay from federal Judge
John Murtha allows the state to
again act, after the current PSB
decision.
Gary Sachs
Brattleboro
We must ensure the products we use are safe for all
T
here’s an assumption
among Americans that the
products we buy must be safe
if they’re on store shelves but,
unfortunately, this isn’t the
case. From cleaners to shampoos to clothing to children’s
toys, we use chemicals each
day that are harmful to our
health.
Toxic chemicals are harmful to everyone who is exposed,
but children are more susceptible to their dangers. Over the
course of a typical day, children are exposed to measurable levels of toxic chemicals,
including Bisphenol A (BPA),
phthalates, flame retardants,
and lead.
As a mother with a background in biology, I read labels, research alternatives, and
go to great lengths to avoid exposure. But this can be costly,
time-consuming, and disheartening because I can only limit
exposure — not eliminate it.
We don’t live in a bubble, and there are more than
85,000 chemicals in use in the
United States with as many
as 2,000 new ones added
each year. Fewer than 700 are
monitored through the EPA’s
Toxic Release Inventory, only
200 have been tested for human safety, and merely five
have been banned under the
outdated Toxic Substances
Control Act. One such substance, asbestos, was reintroduced after its ban was
overturned.
I shouldn’t need a Ph.D. in
toxicology to keep my daughter
safe from toxic chemicals.
Real change will require a
collective effort. We should
demand transparency and disclosure from corporations that
don’t list all ingredients on
product packaging. We should
demand more scientific research and improved government regulation and oversight.
Now is the time for
Vermonters to lead the way toward a safer future and pass
comprehensive chemical reform that spurs our leaders in
Washington to act on federal
reform.
When it comes to chemical
exposure, history tells us that
it’s far better to be safe than
sorry — and when we advocate for governmental and corporate change, we help ensure
a safer and healthier future
for everyone, especially our
children.
Abigail Mnookin
Brattleboro
FOMAG thanks supporters of Christmas concerts
O
n behalf of the trustees of Friends of Music
at Guilford, I extend sincere
thanks to everyone who attended and otherwise supported our 43rd annual
Community Messiah Sing on
Dec. 7, and our 41st Christmas
at Christ Church concerts on
Dec. 13 and 15, events that
allow us to contribute to the
support of three other local
nonprofit organizations.
Set at Centre Congregational
Church since 1980, the
Messiah Sing was rededicated in 2007 as a benefit for
homeless people at holiday
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time. Since then, we have
raised more than $11,500, divided equally between the
Brattleboro Area Drop In
Center and Morningside
Shelter. This year’s total for the
two agencies was $1,704.
An annual outdoor collection by Drop In Center volunteers supplemented our cash
contribution with groceries,
winter outerwear, and bedding from Sing attendees and
others.
The soloists and conductor
for this community-based event
have traditionally donated their
services to the cause. We appreciate the service trades, discounts, or cash donations from
the Messiah Sing sponsors.
On the following weekend,
we hosted two performances of
the Christmas at Christ Church
celebration in that historic
Guilford structure on Route
5. “Brightest & Best” featured
the Guilford Chamber Singers,
conducted by Tom Baehr, performing an exciting mix of
richly melodic a cappella arrangements from several centuries. Amy Cann led a trio of
Guilford Chamber Players in
delightful instrumental interludes to complement the vocal
selections.
Don McLean’s dramatic
reading for the occasion was a
holiday story by Jean Stewart
McLean (1917-63), his author
mother, whose volume of poems, plays, and short fiction
he edited and introduced to
area audiences at a book release event hosted by Friends
This day shall seal
us Brattleborians all
Brattleboro
Moderator: O that we now had here
ORION M.
But one ten-thousand of those in
BARBER II
Brattle-town
serves as District
That are at home to-day!
1 caucus chair
A Brattleboro Citizen: What’s he that
for Brattleboro’s
wishes so?
Annual
My cousin Mod’rator? No, my fair
Representative
cousin:
Town Meeting.
If we are registered, we are enough
To give our town our vote; and if
elected,
The fewer we, the greater share of honour.
Seven score in all will do the trick.
How know I this? ’Tis Charter tells me so.
God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not weighted down with gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my arg’ments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires:
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a crowd from town:
God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more than Charter says should be
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Mod’rator, through my town,
That he which hath no will to this debate,
Let him depart; his absence shall be noted
And wishes for his presence keenly felt:
Especially if Meeting through wrong voting make mistake!
We would not stand in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to stand with us.
This day is called the feast of Voting Day:
He that outstands this day, and is elect,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Town Meeting.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, “To-morrow is Town Meeting Day.”
Then he’ll roll up his sleeve, show his Report.
And say, “These votes I had on Meeting Day.”
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What points he made that day: then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Selectboard and School Board, Listers and Town Manager,
Committee-of-the-Whole, and escape therefrom,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the good man teach his child;
And Town Meeting Day shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers,
For all my smart sisters are brothers, too.
For he to-day that spends his vote with me
Shall be my brother; whate’er our district,
This day shall seal us Brattleborians all:
And gentlefolk in our town now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That stood with us upon Town Meeting Day.
of Music in November. Each
Christ Church holiday gathering ended, as usual, with a few
carols sung by everyone.
These annual Christmas
concerts are also offered free,
with door donations shared
equally by Friends of Music
and the Christ Church Society
for preservation and maintenance of the building. The
stormy weekend weather put
a damper on our attendance,
but we passed along nearly
$400 for upkeep of the church.
Our heartfelt thanks go to
performers and audience alike
for making this year’s program
a wonderful celebration of the
season.
Finally, we wish everyone
in the broader tri-state community a 2014 blessed with
peace, prosperity, and wonderful music.
Joy Wallens-Penford
Guilford
The writer works as administrative director of Friends of Music
at Guilford.
■ Money and music
can blame them for not wanting to stand up and holler instead of remaining as invisible
as possible until they have jobs
again?
islands, tigers on a gold leash”
in “Royals,” which was named
song of the year. She also won
a Grammy for best pop solo
performance.
A teenager has said what
AND THEN, along comes
millions of adults could not.
New Zealander Ella Yelich(And at the end of the show,
O’Connor — the teenage senshe dryly noted, “The weirdo
sation otherwise known as
had won out.”)
Lorde — with her black lipstick
Lorde’s music is not ironic
and goth-y sartorial flourishes, like the songs of the ’80s. It is
kicking open pop stardom’s
not worshipful of the dollar like
gold-plated gates with her com- so many songs at the turn of
bat boots.
the millennium. Her songs are
Her two Grammys last
simply unabashedly disdainful
month marked a cultural turn- of a culture that tells her what
ing point in a society exhausted to say, what to think and, at
by consumerism.
the same time, would demand
Lorde speaks for the
she, ahem, “Work B**ch”
masses when she openly flouts (as Britney exhorts) for that
“Cristal, Maybach, diamonds
Maserati.
on your timepiece; jet planes,
Not being a mindless subject
FROM SECTION FRONT
seems to be a major theme of
Lorde’s album Pure Heroine
(clearly a reference to the pop
singer herself). In keeping with
her stage name, Lorde makes
no secret of the fact she wants
to rule, not be ruled.
“You can call me Queen
Bee,” she says in “Royals,” a
sort of emancipation proclamation for anyone who “didn’t
come from money,” as the
song states, and shrugs off
pressure to buy a Cadillac to
instead “ride the train to the
party.”
LORDE ISN’T the first to
put her finger on this societal pulse. Remember torch
singer Norah Jones, replying
“Target,” when asked “Who
are you wearing?” by a gushing
red-carpet interviewer at the
2003 Grammys? And at the
latest Grammys, hip-hop duo
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
received two awards for their
huge hit poking fun at conspicuous consumption, “Thrift
Shop.”
Lorde’s voice, however, has
been the loudest and the clearest. Above the rising din that
extols status symbols even as
millions struggle to find jobs,
she says, “We don’t care, we’re
not caught up in your love
affair.”
Now, with two Grammys
in hand and millions bowing
down to her, it will be interesting to see how Lorde will
handle the fortunes that will
undoubtedly be coming to her.
■ Second-generation bias
domain of work,” Trefalt says.
Women’s “invisible work”
— such as team-building, problem-solving, or addressing diversity issues — is often seen as
displaying feminine attributes,
but such skill sets need to be
recognized as effective work.
As several experts recently
pointed out on the Harvard
Business Review blog, secondgeneration bias “does not require an intent to exclude; nor
does it necessarily produce direct, immediate harm to any
individual. Rather, it creates
a context ... in which women
fail to thrive or reach their full
potential.”
And, they add, “without an
understanding of [the phenomenon] people are left with
stereotypes to explain why
women as a group have failed
to achieve parity with men: If
they can’t reach the top, it is
because they ‘don’t ask,’ or
are ‘too nice,’ or have simply
‘opted out.’”
These messages, they say,
“tell women who succeed that
they are exceptions and women
who experience setbacks that
it is their own fault for failing
to be sufficiently aggressive or
committed to the job.”
other work opportunities because of their gender. Some 13
percent thought they were denied a raise at some point because they were women.
The leadership gap between
men and women in business is
EXAMPLES OF gender-based
persistent despite measures to
dynamics abound. For examcombat overt discrimination.
ple, good leaders are expected The percentage of female corto be strong, confident, and as- porate officers in Fortune 500
sertive. But when women act
companies is stuck at 14 perin that manner, they are judged cent. Similarly, the percentage
as self-promoting, aggressive,
of women serving as board diand worse.
rectors is 16 percent, while the
If they act too collaboratively percentage of women among
they are viewed as weak. And
top earners is only 8 percent.
while many businesses and orIronically, recent studies
ganizations have policies that
show a significant correlation
appear to reflect work-family
between greater representavalues, the ideal worker is often tion of women in executive and
seen as the one who puts the
board positions and stronger fijob first. Since women remain
nancial performance.
the primary caregivers in families, the workplace edge goes
SO, WHAT TO DO?
to men.
The first step, as with most
A recent Gallup poll shows
challenges, is raising knowlthat 15 percent of American
edge and awareness, the forewomen believe they have been runner to behavior change.
passed over for promotion or
But beyond that, women need
FROM SECTION FRONT
sponsors as well as mentors,
among them male — and female — bosses who must be
intentional in advocating for
competent women with leadership skills.
As Špela Trefalt and her coresearchers say, “Working together, women and men need
to intervene strategically to interrupt these dynamics in ways
that are good for the organization, for women, and for men.”
Elayne Clift (elayneclift.com)
writes about women, politics, and
social issues.
B
ecause I am a woman, I must
make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, “She
doesn’t have what it takes.” They
will say, “Women don’t have what
it takes.”
—CLARE BOOTHE LUCE
T h e C ommons
• Wednesday, February 5, 2014 D3
MILESTONES
Births, deaths, and news of people from Windham County
College news
• The following local students
were December 2013 graduates at
Castleton State College: Josephine
Barrale of Brattleboro earned a
B.A. in sociology, Casey Bemis of
Brattleboro earned an A.S. in criminal justice, Keighan Chapman of
Jamaica earned an M.A. in education, and Julia Lesure of Vernon
earned a B.A. in health science.
were December 2013 graduates from
Union Institute and University‘s
New England Academic Center
in Brattleboro: Kelly Therieau,
Alyssa Bingham, Kelly Wheatley,
R h e a n n o n S i c e ly, M a r g a r e t
Har r is, Regina Amidon, and
Avantikea Waleryszak.
• Jacob Castine , an architecture major from Vernon, and Dillon
Sparks , a marketing major from
Guilford, both were named to the
Dean’s List for the fall 2013 semester at Roger Williams University in
Bristol, R.I.
• Elizabeth Aekus of
Whitingham has been named to the
Dean’s List for the fall 2013 semester at Curry College in Milton, Mass.
• Andrew Jenzer of Brattleboro,
a fourth-year student in the School
of Dentistry, was named to the
fall 2013 Dean’s List at Creighton
University in Omaha, Neb.
• William Parker, a junior majoring in robotics engineering from
Guilford, was named to the Dean’s
List for the fall 2013 semester at
Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic
Institute.
• Ve r o n i c a B a g u n d e s o f
Brattleboro, a sophomore majoring
in chemical engineering, and Bryce
Bandish of Dummerston, a junior
majoring in chemistry, were named
to the Dean’s List for the fall 2013
semester at Clarkson University in
Potsdam, N.Y.
were named to the Fall 2013
Dean’s List at Champlain College
in Burlington: Benjamin Wilson
of Putney, Seth Jerz of Townshend,
Cuyler Northup-Cunningham of
Brattleboro, and Aubrie Gillam
of Putney.
• Isaac Avenia-Tapper
of Cambridgeport and Rachel
Greenberg of Saxtons River were
named to the Fall 2013 Dean’s List
at the University of Hartford (Conn.)
were named to the Fall 2013 Dean’s
List at Ithaca (N.Y.) College: Sam
Colleran of Vernon, Jacob Huston
of Brookline, and Jenna Jordan of
Londonderry.
• Benjamin Jerome-Lee of
Dummerston was named to the
Fall 2013 Dean’s List at Quinnipiac
University in Hamden, Conn.
School news
• The Brattleboro Lodge of Elks
has honored three students from
Brattleboro Union High School as its
Students of the Month for December
2013. Charles Densmore, a 12thgrader from Wardsboro, hopes to
study diesel engine maintenance this
fall at Vermont Technical College or
the State University of New York at
Cobbleskill. He is a member of Boy
Scout Troop 428 in Townshend
and the Wardsboro Volunteer Fire
Department. Rebecca Mleekzko,
a ninth-grader from Putney, enjoys
writing and reading and is eager to
learn all she can in the hope of getting into college. Andrew Downs, a
10th-grader from Brattleboro, enjoys
cooking, construction, and working
on cars. He hopes to get into the
Culinary Institute of America and
eventually open his own restaurant.
Obituaries
• M a b e l W. B a x t e r, 8 5 , of
Wilmington, a resident of Rivers
Edge Community Care Home. Died
Jan. 26 at the Southwestern Vermont
Medical Center in Bennington. The
daughter of the late Bradley and
Edna Graham, she was born at home
in Albany, Ky. She married Wilford
Laycock in 1948 who had seven children prior to his marriage to Mabel.
They had one daugher, Linda Lou,
in 1949. She treasured her lifelong
relationships with Mr. Laycock’s
prior children. She lived most of
her life in Indiana, where she married Thomas Baxter in 1974. During
the late 1970s, they relocated to
Rockford, Ill., and, for many years,
she was active with her husband running their business, North American
Van Lines. Mr. Baxter died in 1999,
which was a particularly difficult year
for her as she also endured the death
of her only child, Linda Shepherd.
She was a stylish woman who loved
attending social events and dancing,
especially with her husband Tom,
who was an accomplished dancer. In
2001, she relocated to Florida for a
few years, and with health concerns,
she moved to Vermont to be near
her granddaughter Stacy Crawford,
whom she had resided with for some
time and then at Fillmore Pond,
the Vermont Veterans Home, and
the past year and a half at Rivers
Edge. Memorial informa tion: A memorial service was held
Jan. 31 at the Covey Allen & Shea
Funeral Home. She will be laid to
rest with her husband Tom in Sunset
Memorial Garden in Rockford, Ill.,
at a later date. Donations to the
Vermont Veterans Home – North
Wing Fund in care of Covey Allen &
Shea Funeral Home, P.O. Box 215,
Wilmington, VT 05363.
• Lawrence G. “Beanie”
Benson, 82, formerly of Bellows
Falls. Died Jan. 15 at Maplewood
Nursing Home in Westmoreland,
N.H., after a period of declining
health. Husband of the late Angela
Capron. Father of Larry Benson, Jr.
and his wife, Tina, of West Lebanon,
N.H.; Ann Marie DuFresne and her
husband, Alan, of Keene, N.H.; and
the late Gary P. Benson. Brother of
Richard Benson, Jon Benson, and
Barbara Locke, all of Florida. Born
in Putney, the son of the late Robert
and Dorothy (Weeden) Benson, he
grew up in Saxtons River and was
a graduate of Bellows Falls High
School. He served in the Air Force
during the Korean War, stationed in
Great Britain with the Third Motor
Transport Squadron. He was a
Teamster and drove for regional
trucking companies, retiring from St.
Johnsbury Trucking in 1992. He was
a member of the American Legion,
the Elks, and the Loyal Order of
the Moose, all in Bellows Falls, and
was a life member of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars in Hinsdale, N.H.
Memorial information : A
graveside service will take place in
the spring at St. Joseph’s Cemetery
in Hinsdale. Donations to The
Jimmy Fund, P.O. Box 849168,
Boston, MA 02284-9168, or to the
Third Floor Open Staff, Maplewood
Nursing Home, 201 River Rd.
Westmoreland, N.H. 03467.
• John (Jack) A. Connell, 91,
of Newfane. Died Jan. 27 while in
hospice care at his home. Husband
of Rose Marie “Ree” O’Connell for
67 years. Father of Susan Bachmann
and her companion, Kris Hansen, of
Lunenburg, Mass.; Bruce Connell
and his wife, Jinx, of Santa Fe, N.M.;
John G. Connell of Shelton, Wash.;
and George Connell and his spouse,
Thad Bennett, of Newfane. Brother
of Anne Egan of Scottsdale, Ariz.;
Alan Connell and his wife, Phyllis, of
Delaware; and the late Julia Ashton.
Born in Govan, Scotland, the son of
the late John and Cecelia Connell,
he came to America as a schoolboy
and settled in Bay Ridge, N.Y. After
high school graduation, he enlisted
in the Army Air Corps and was an
aerial gunner on a B-24 bomber during World War II. While training at
Westover Air Base in Massachusetts,
he met the love of his life, and he
and Ree got married after the war.
He immediately went to work for
New England Telephone, where he
started as a lineman and retired as a
manager after 38 years. They moved
to Dunedin, Fla., in 1989. He was a
life member of the DAV, American
Legion Post 275 in Dunedin, and
the Elks Lodge 1525. He was a
member of the Scottish American
Society and the Dunedin Boat Club.
In July 2013, he and Ree moved to
live with their son and his spouse in
Newfane. He started hospice care
immediately and he and Ree enjoyed
a wonderful summer, fall, and early
winter in Vermont. Memorial information: A celebration of his
life will be held at American Legion
Post 5 in Brattleboro on Saturday,
Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. Donations to
VNA and Hospice of Vermont and
New Hampshire, 1 Hospital Court,
Bellows Falls, VT 05101.
services are planned. Donations
to Silver Towers Camp, in care of
B.P.O. Elks, Brattleboro Lodge
#1499, P.O. Box 8051, Brattleboro,
VT 05304. Arrangements are under the direction of the Atamaniuk
Funeral Home.
• Mar tha Ann Miller, 73, of
Brattleboro. Died Jan. 30 at Gifford
Medical Center in Randolph, after
a short battle with cancer. Mother
of Katherine Palles of Charleston,
S.C., Emily Wolff of Paris, France,
Beverly Downen of Portland, Ore.,
and Michael Flores of Berkeley,
Calif. Sister of Richard Miller, E.
Reed Miller, David Miller, and
John Miller, all of Vermont, and
the late Mark Arms Miller. Born in
Burlington, the daughter of the late
Ellwyn E. and Beverley Hubbard
Miller, she grew up in Northfield,
Mass., and Putney. She graduated
from Northfield School for Girls
in 1958. After high school, she attended the University of Vermont
and then Windham College, where
she earned a teaching certificate
in 1962. She pursued graduate
coursework at the University of
Vermont in childhood education.
In the 1960s, she taught art and
music in local schools. A very intelligent and talented woman in many
domains — poetry and short story
writing, sewing, and singing — she
was also an entrepreneur. In the
early 1970s, she worked as an independent seamstress and created
KatieDid, Inc., a support system
for battered women. In the early
1990s, she created, owned and ran
ElderWise, Inc., an in-home caregiving service. Over a 15-year period, she developed a comprehensive
collection of courses to develop inhome certified caregivers. In its day,
ElderWise Inc. employed 44 caregivers and additionally trained many
more to become independent, professional caregivers. Her caregiving
course is the only comprehensive
training program for certification
in Vermont. Besides her work as
founder and director of ElderWise,
Inc., she produced several television
shows, including “Getting Older and
Wiser,” on BCTV. She also wrote a
column, “Close to Home,” for the
Brattleboro Reformer and the Vernon
Newspaper. Well-known for her
beautiful soprano voice, she sang
with different groups and churches
throughout her life. A former member of the Burlington Oratorio
Society, she later joined the Church
of Latter Day Saints in South
Royalton, where she acted as choir
director before committing herself
to the church’s genealogy research.
• Chester
Andrew “Chet”
D e a e t t , 9 3 , of
Brattleboro. Died
Jan. 25 at Pine
Heights Nursing
Home, where
he had been a
resident since
December. Husband of Marion
(Towle) Deaett for nearly 68 years.
Father of Michael Deaett of North
Kingston, R.I., Douglas Deaett,
M.D. of Hanover, N.H., Francis
Deaett of Hinsdale, N.H., Sr. Janet
Deaett, S.N.D. of Lowell, Mass., and
Mary Deaett of Danville. Brother of
Peter Deaett of Romona, Calif.,
Alice Shread of Falmouth, Mass.,
Marjorie Wallace of Hueytown,
Ala., and the late Harold Deaett.
Born in East Providence, R.I., the
son of the late Elton and Alice
(Fournier) Deaett, he was raised and
educated in Providence, graduating
from Providence Trade School. He
served in the Army during World
War II in the China, Burma and
India Theater of Operations. Upon
his honorable discharge at the
rank of staff sergeant, he moved to
Brattleboro. He worked all of his career as a licensed plumber for several
Brattleboro companies, including
Loney Construction, Cote Plumbing
& Heating, Gilbert Plumbing, and
Morton Plumbing. He was a communicant of St. Michael’s Roman
Catholic Church and, at the time his
children were being raised, he served
as a Scout leader. Memorial information : A funeral Mass
was held Jan. 31 at St. Michael’s
Catholic Church. Burial in St.
Michael’s Parish Cemetery with
military honors will take place in
the springtime when the cemetery
reopens. Donations to St. Michael’s
School, 48 Walnut St., Brattleboro,
VT 05301, Attn: Elaine Beam,
Principal, or to Rescue Inc., P.O.
Box 593, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Atamaniuk Funeral
Home.
• Andrew “Pete” Gregg, 66,
of Brattleboro. Died Jan. 28 at
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, following a period of declining health.
Born in Brattleboro, the son of the
late Andrew and Norma (Fillion)
Gregg, he always considered George
“Bud” Stebbins his true “heart’
father. His love and affection for
Norma and Bud continued until
the day he died. Throughout his
life, he was very fortunate to make
friends wherever he went. He especially enjoyed his visits to the
Brattleboro Elks Club and American
Legion where he could visit with all
his friends. His favorite lunch spot
was Sportsie’s (The Sportsman’s
Lounge) and time shared with the
owner, Barbara “Barb” Faridoni.
Survivors include his twin sister,
Sue Strong, and her husband, Steve,
of Brattleboro, and his two nieces,
Stephanie Huestis and Jennifer
Rain. Memorial informa tion : Burial in Meetinghouse
Hill Cemetery will take place in
the springtime. No formal funeral
Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing
honors a founder with scholarship award
BRATTLEBORO—After
nearly 20 years of service and
dedication to Brattleboro Area
Affordable Housing (BAAH),
one of its founders has retired
from the organization’s volunteer board.
Byron Stookey — described
by his colleagues as “steadfast,
tenacious, unyielding, determined, inspirational, resolute,
and meticulous” — led BAAH
from its infancy in 1995 to
a tax-deductible nonprofit
organization serving greater
Brattleboro with a number of
initiatives, including three current programs.
• The Save Our Homes loan
program makes no-interest
loans to people facing housing
emergencies.
• The Apartments-in-Homes
program helps homeowners
who have underutilized space
in their homes create a modest and affordable apartment
for rental.
• The Mobile Homes Loan
Program makes low-interest
loans to Tri-Park residents for
repairs or improvements to
their mobile homes.
BAAH also advocates with
the town and the state for policies and programs that support
housing affordable to the people who do the bedrock work
of the community.
In a show of admiration and
gratitude, the BAAH Board
has created the Byron Stookey
Scholarship Award, an annual
prize to a deserving collegebound BUHS graduate who
Memorial information :
A
memorial service was held Feb. 3 at
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints in South Royalton. Burial
will be in the spring at the Miller
family plot at the Dummerston
Center Cemetery. Details to be
announced. Donations to Gifford
Medical Center Hospice Care, 44
South Main Street, Randolph, VT
05060. Arrangements are under the
Courtesy photo
Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing co-founder
Ben Coplan, right, congratulates Byron Stookey
at a celebration in his honor on Jan. 15.
has innovative ideas and/or
compelling projects to enhance
the Brattleboro community. It
will begin this year.
“Applicants should demonstrate a drive that, like Stookey,
exemplifies social justice and
support for our local community,” the organization says.
The board acknowledged
the scholarship to Stookey at a
dinner in his honor on Jan. 15,
which assembled past board
members and Stookey supporters to make contributions to the
scholarship fund.
In an email thanking the
Board, Stookey — for whom
the entire scheme was a
direction of the Atamaniuk Funeral
Home.
• Kenneth R. Shield Jr., 50, of
Guilford. Died Jan. 28 at Brattleboro
Memorial Hospital. Son of Jeanette
Squires Shield and the late Kenneth
R. Shield. Father of Christopher
Shield. Brother of the late Kendra
Shield. A graduate of Brattleboro
Union High School, Class of 1981,
he was an avid hunter who loved
surprise — responded, “I was
overwhelmed by [the] party, especially by the amazing scholarship pledge! Nothing could
please me more than to help
a high school student who has
worked hard and cared about
others. If the scholarship could
be awarded even once, I’d be
overjoyed!”
Then he added, “Now get
back to work!”
Contributions to the Byron
Stookey Scholarship Award Fund
can be made by check (payable to
BAAH with “Scholarship” in the
memo line) to BAAH, P.O. Box
1284, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
taking the kids out for youth day.
He enjoyed snowmobiling and his
Kubota tractor, but most of all, he
loved the outdoors. Memorial information: A memorial service
was held at St. Michael’s Catholic
Church on Feb. 1. Donations
to Rescue Inc., P.O. Box 593,
Brattleboro, VT 05302.
If you need food or shelter...
ShELTERS
Location
Phone
Day & Time
First Baptist Church Overflow Shelter
190 Main St., Brattleboro
802-254-9566
Open nightly, 5:30 p.m.–7 a.m.
Morningside Shelter, Brattleboro
Housing available only by pre-approval
802-257-0066
ext. 104
(24 hours)
8 a.m.–11 p.m.
COMMUNITY MEALS/FOOD ShELVES
Location
Phone
Day & Time
Agape Christian Fellowship
30 Canal St., Brattleboro
802-257-4069
Soup kitchen: Sunday, 1:30–3 p.m.
Food pantry: Thursday, 6:30–8 p.m.
Brattleboro Drop-In Center
60 South Main Street
Brattleboro
Brattleboro Senior Meals
207 Main Street
Brattleboro
802-257-5415
Food emergency:
ext. 225
802-257-1236
Monday–Friday, 8a.m.–5 p.m.
Senior Meals on Wheels
207 Main Street, Brattleboro
Brigid’s Kitchen
19 Walnut Street, Brattleboro
802-257-1236
802-254-1112
Monday–Friday, noon–12:30 p.m. Breakfast on Tuesdays
and Fridays, 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. Over 60 years of age: $3.50
or by donation. All Others: $6.00
Deliveries to those 60 and older who are “food insecure”
and unable to attend community meals.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday,
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Loaves and Fishes
Centre Congregational, 193 Main St., Brattleboro
802-254-4730
Tuesday and Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Food Shelf and the Bright Spot Café
Community Bible Chapel
107 Atwood St. Brattleboro
Grace’s Kitchen
First Baptist Church, Main Street, Brattleboro
Great Falls Community Kitchen
Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St.,
Bellows Falls
Our Place Drop-In Center
4 Island St., Bellows Falls
Blue Door Community Suppers
Christ’s Church, 24 Main St., Saxtons River
HIS Pantry, Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales
238 West Main St. Bennington
Joan’s Food Pantry
Asbury Methodist Church, Rt. 63, Chesterfield, N.H.
Deerfield Valley Food Pantry
7 Church St., Wilmington
The Neighbor’s Pantry
Second Congregational Church UCC
2051 N. Main St., Londonderry
Jamaica/Wardsboro Community Food Pantry
135 Main Street, Wardsboro
Putney Foodshelf
10 Christian Square, Putney
Townshend Community Food Shelf
The Townshend Church
Common Rd., Townshend
Guilford Food Shelf
Center Grange, Guilford Center Road
Guilford
802-254-2910
Café: Tuesdays, noon-3 p.m.
Food shelf: Tuesdays, noon–4 p.m. (everyone).
Seniors (65 and older): 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
Wednesday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Community breakfast,
Sundays, 8:30–9:30 a.m.
Monday 5 p.m., dinner.
802-254-9566
802-463-3100
802-463-2217
802-869-2582
802-442-3141
603-363-8348
802-464-0148
Weekdays: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free breakfast (9–10:30 a.m.)
and lunch (11:30–12:30 a.m.). Food shelf.
Soup and bread, Wednesdays, 5:30–7 p.m. Blue door
entrance off River Street at back of building.
Wednesdays from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.;
Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. or in case of emergency.
802-824-6453
Thursday preceding third Saturday of the month, 1-3 p.m.
Third Saturday of the month, 9-11 a.m.
Food pantry, third Friday, 1–4 p.m.
802-874-7234
Last Wednesday of the month, 6:30-8 p.m.
802-387-2120
Tuesdays, 6-7 p.m.; Saturdays, 9-10 a.m.
802-365-4348
Mondays, 6-7:30 p.m.
802-257-8136
Thursdays (except 1st), 5–6:30 p.m.
Listings are subject to change. If you coordinate one of these essential resources — or have one to add to this list —
we appreciate your sending updated information to [email protected].
Publication of this directory in THE COMMONS is brought to you by
Honoring Lives, With Love, With Dignity
57 High Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 254-5655 • newenglandgreenfunerals.com
Beth Perkins, Funeral Director/Manager
SECTION B
SPORTS
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 • page D4
page D4
Olympic dreams on hold
Lamb instead
will try for third
Harris Hill victory
C
hris Lamb of the
Andover (N.H.)
Outing Club just
missed making the
U.S. Ski Jumping team that
is competing in the Winter
Olympics in Sochi, Russia this
month.
But Lamb has another goal
to shoot for: to be only the fifth
jumper in the long history of
the Harris Hill Ski Jumping
Competition to retire the Fred
Harris Trophy.
Lamb will be in Brattleboro
on Feb. 15 and 16 with more
than 40 of the world’s top
jumpers from the United
States, Europe, and Canada.
He won the 2010 and 2013
Harris Hill competitions and
holds the hill record for the
longest jump, 335 feet.
If Lamb wins this year’s
competition, he will join
Torger Tokle of Norway
(1942), Art Devlin of Lake
Placid, N.Y. (1954 and 1958),
Brattleboro’s Hugh Barber
(1974), and Vladimir Glyvka
of Ukraine (2000) to win three
Harris Hill competitions and
retire the Winged Ski Trophy.
It’s a pretty exclusive club.
Tokle (1940, 1941, 1942) and
Barber (1972, 1973, 1974) are
the only jumpers to win three
years in a row. Devlin has the
most wins overall (1946, 1950,
1954, 1955, 1957, 1958).
Since this is an Olympic
year, many of the competitors
of the past few years will be in
Russia instead of Brattleboro.
They include the four members
of the U.S. Ski Jumping Team
competing in Sochi: Anders
Johnson (the 2009 and 2012
winner) Nick Fairall (third
in 2013), Peter Frenette, and
Nick Alexander.
But if you want to get a
look at who might be in the
2018 Winter Olympics, head
up to Cedar Street to see future Olympians up close as
they launch from the takeoff
at speeds of 60 mph off the
90-meter jump.
This year’s event will
not only feature the Pepsi
Challenge and the Fred Harris
Memorial Tournament,
but will also be the only domestic stop in a nine-event
International Skiing Federation
FIS Cup Series, and will also
serve as a stop on the USA Ski
Jumping US Cup series.
Competition each day will
start at 11 a.m. and will conclude by 4 p.m. For additional details on the event, visit
HarrisHillSkiJump.com.
Girls’ basketball
• Brattleboro started the
week by extending their winning streak to six games with
a 41-35 victory over Rutland
on Jan. 27 at the BUHS gym.
RANDOLPH T.
HOLHUT
Sports Roundup
Maddie Derosia and Ari
Harrison each scored 14 points
to lead the Colonels. Harrison
had 10 rebounds and four assists, while Kayla Savage had
nine rebounds and three steals
to go with her six points.
The Colonels kept the beat
going with a 47-27 win over
Burr & Burton on Jan. 30.
Meghan Siggins scored all of
her 10 points in the second
quarter on the way to a 25-8
lead at the half. Savage added
another 10 points and nine rebounds and Harrison had eight
points and eight rebounds as
the Colonels improved to 12-4
and tied for fifth in the Division
I standings.
• Twin Valley is also on a
roll. They traveled to Arlington
on Jan. 27 and came away with
a 51-35 victory for their fifth
straight win. Hannah Swanson
led the way with 22 points and
12 rebounds, while Colton
Butler scored nine points
and Sammy CunninghamDarrah had nine points and 10
rebounds.
The Wildcats then made
it six in a row with a 5228 drubbing of Black River
in Wilmington on Jan. 30.
Savannah Nesbitt was top
scorer with 14 as Twin Valley
improved to 12-4 and fifth
place in the Division III
standings.
• Leland & Gray started the
week in a slump. They fell to
Otter Valley, 49-36, on Jan.
27 in Townshend for their
fourth loss in a row. Elizabeth
Gallup had nine points to lead
the Rebels. The Rebels then
lost again, this time to Green
Mountain, 63-50, on Jan. 30.
Jessie Stockwell and Rachel
Borgenson scored 14 and 12
points, respectively, as Leland
& Gray finished the week at
3-11.
• Bellows Falls snapped a sixgame losing streak with a 4836 win over Green Mountain
at Holland Gymnasium on
Jan. 27. Molly (14 points) and
Emily (13 points) Dufault led
BF, Chelsea Wilder added nine
as the Terriers shot 14-for-17
from the free throw line. Three
nights later, the Terriers beat
Arlington, 42-34, to improve
to 4-10.
DANA SPRAGUE FILE PHOTO
Four past Harris Hill winners, from left, Anders Johnson (2012), Chris Lamb (2010 and 2013), Mike Glasder
(2011), and Vladimir Glyvka (1996,1999,and 2000). Lamb will be back at Harris Hill later this month to
try for his third Harris Hill title.
nine games heading into last
week’s action. Against Bellows
Falls, another team that just
ended a long losing streak, the
Rebels suffered their ninth loss,
62-58, on Jan. 28 to fall to 4-9.
• Twin Valley started last
week still undefeated after
two close home wins against
Proctor (41-38) on Jan. 24 and
Rivendell (57-54) on Jan. 25.
They cruised past Arlington,
69-46, on Jan. 28. Colin Lozito
led the way with 24 and Dal
Nesbitt added 20. With a 6745 blowout of Black River on
Jan. 30, the Wildcats remain
undefeated at 14-0.
• Brattleboro came close to
spoiling Burr & Burton’s bid
for an undefeated season, but
the Bulldogs hung on for a 4946 win on Jan. 28 at the BUHS
gym. Isaac Roach and Connor
Elliot-Knaggs each had 11 for
the 7-5 Colonels.
Twin Valley point
guard Savannah
Nesbitt has been
one of the players
who have led
the Wildcats
to a six-game
winning streak.
Hockey
• The Brattleboro girls kept it
close against Mount Mansfield
on Jan. 29, but still came up
short, 2-1. Considering the
Colonels lost to the Cougars,
6-2, in the other meeting this
season, it was an improvement to lose a physical, roughand-tumble game by one goal
despite being outshot 41-12.
Sarah Laporte scored the only
goal for the 2-11 Colonels.
• The Brattleboro boys got
shut out by Mount Mansfield, Case, the Boston flagship sta2-0, on Jan. 29, to fall to 4-10-1 tion of the Red Sox Radio
on the season.
Network, WEEI, chose not to
extend the broadcast rights to
Changing Sox
WKVT for the 2014 season.
• For the first time in more
Instead, WEEY 93.5 FM
than four decades, the Boston
in Keene — an affiliate of the
Red Sox will not be heard
WEEI Sports Radio Network
in Brattleboro on WKVT
that airs WEEI’s daytime talk
Boys’ basketball
AM-1490.
shows — will be broadcast• After starting the season
According to WKVT
ing the Red Sox games. The
with three straight wins, Leland
Operations Manager Peter
WEEY signal comes in clearly
& Gray lost eight of their last
To the People of Our
Member Towns
all over Windham County.
Alternatives for AM radio
listeners include two 50,000watt stations, WTIC AM1080 in Hartford, Conn., and
WCRN AM-830 in Worcester,
Mass. Both come in clearly
into Windham County after
sundown.
Listeners south of
Brattleboro can also listen on WWEI 105.5 FM in
Springfield, Mass., another
WEEI Sports Radio Network
affiliate which comes in clearly
along the Interstate 91 corridor
from Exit 3 southward.
Instead of the Sox, Case said
Brattleboro listeners will hear
more Brattleboro Colonels
sports on AM-1490 and its new
translator at 100.3 FM.
Your Local Renewable Energy Partner Since 1975
Start the Process NOW for a March Installation!
Thank You
We at Rescue Inc would like to thank you for your continued support.
For 47 years your support has been the bedrock we depend on. Without
you we would not exist and could not provide the services we do.
RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/COMMONS FILE PHOTO
ING
R
P
KS
THIN
Most of us live in the same towns as you do and it is our privilege to aid
our families, our friends, and our neighbors when they need us.
As healthcare reform proceeds, we at Rescue take our responsibility as
your Emergency Medical Provider seriously. While we hope you will
never need us; if you do, be assured we are working hard to continue
bringing you the same quality care we always have.
Drew Hazelton, Interim Chief of Operations & Kathy Hege, Chair of the
Board of Trustees. For the Staff and Management at Rescue Inc.
Solar
(Photovoltaic)
Geothermal
Net Zero
Integrated Systems
The Power is All Yours
802.257.7493
www.isasolar.com

THE ARTS - The Commons

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