I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of September 6

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

To reduce congestion on I-91, both Exit 3 on ramps will be closed on Labor Day, Monday, September 7 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. I-91 will remain open.

I-91

See above re closure of the Exit 3 on ramps on Labor Day.

The blasting on the north side of the new bridge has been completed.

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge.

Brattleboro Labor Day Closings

by Not Signed In | Town News

In observance of Labor Day, all Town offices will be closed on Monday, September 7, 2015, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Sunday, September 6, and Monday, September 7. All other violations will be enforced.

What To Look For In A Language Program, and Free Demo Class

by Not Signed In | Education

Express Fluency is offering a free Spanish class Thursday, September 10th from 6pm-7pm. Participants will experience a fun and effective way of acquiring language and will leave the class knowing how to order a drink, and tell a joke, in Spanish.

We will also share the secrets of language acquisition- which students can apply to any language they choose to pursue.

Southern Vermont Projects Funded to Mitigate the Economic Impacts of VY Closure

by Not Signed In | Economics

Green Building Cluster, Business Acceleration and Tri State region CEDS alignment

Windham County, VT – On Monday August 31st, Senator Patrick Leahy announced that the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) has been awarded $265K by the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. The federal award was the final piece of funding needed for a $530K project which will launch two major initiatives outlined in the Windham Region S.M.A.R.T. CEDS: Development of a Green Building Cluster Study and the initiation and operation of the Southern Vermont Business Innovation Accelerator.

First Public Hearing on the Draft Brattleboro Land Use Regulations

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

Monday, August 31, 6 p.m.
Brattleboro Municipal Center, Selectboard Meeting Room

This will be the first of two public hearings the Planning Commission will hold on the draft Brattleboro Land Use Regulations. The second hearing will be on Wednesday, September 9, also at 6 p.m. in the Selectboard Meeting Room.

The revised draft is available for review online and at the Brattleboro Planning Services Department, Town Clerk’s Office and the Brooks Memorial Library.This is an entirely new set of land use regulations that will affect the entire town, replacing the current Brattleboro Zoning Ordinance and Brattleboro Subdivision Regulations.

A New Bellydance and Youth Mentorship Program Comes to Brattleboro!

by Not Signed In | Creative

SEEDs (self-esteem, empowerment, and education through dance) is an internationally recognized bellydance and mentorship program, originally founded in 2001 by Myra Krein in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After seeing so much success in Santa Fe, Myra began an intensive teacher training program–and there are now dozens of blossoming SEEDs programs across the globe.

After attending the teacher training in June 2015, local bellydancer Kelsey Eaton bringing this fun and transformational youth bellydance program to Brattleboro. Working alongside her is Devan Moran, a woman’s advocate who works locally to educate youth on healthy relationships, domestic violence, and consent.

BS&L Slated to Open New Branch Monday, Aug. 31

by Not Signed In | Business

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – Brattleboro Savings & Loan will open its new branch in Black Mountain Square on Putney Road, Brattleboro on Monday, Aug. 31.

The new location represents months of building and renovation and is the latest entirely solar-powered bank branch operated by BS&L, which became the first completely solar-powered bank in Vermont earlier this year.

To introduce the new branch and call attention to the vibrant business community in Brattleboro’s Putney Road area, BS&L will also celebrate with Brattorama, a Monopoly-style game for all residents, from Sept. 9 – 23. More than 30 North End businesses have signed on as partners, each with their own spot on the Brattorama game board and stickers that can be collected to win prizes ranging from gift certificates to a $1,000 Savings CD from BS&L.

Main Street Sidewalk Update #5

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

This is our fifth update on the Main Street Sidewalk Project. For those of you who are regularly downtown, you will have seen a flurry of activity!

This week curbing and sidewalk was removed all the way down to Centre Congregational Church. The contractor was able to install much of the conduit in that area for the underground electrical lines for the street lights. Green Mountain Power has completed the installation of the bases for the new light poles. The contractor has also began replacing some of the ramps and sidewalks in the areas across driveways on the northern end of the project. Our job site even survived the rain storm on Tuesday!

Groundworks Collaborative to hold Fifth Annual Hike for the Homeless on September 12th 


by Not Signed In | Activism

BRATTLEBORO, VT – 8/26/2015 – Groundworks Collaborative will hold its fifth annual Hike for the Homeless fundraiser on Saturday, September 12 (rain date, September 13th), on Mount Wantastiquet in Hinsdale, NH. There will be two start times, 10am and 12:30pm, each beginning at the Mountain Road trailhead in Hinsdale (an immediate left after the second bridge on Route 119 when coming from downtown Brattleboro).

Registration begins at 9:30 for the 10am start, and at Noon for the 12:30pm start. Whether hiking to the summit or walking the River Trail at its base, participants can anticipate a beautiful late-summer hike and outstanding views of the town of Brattleboro. Hikers may raise funds individually (a minimum of $50 is suggested) or as a team (suggested minimum $250).

All proceeds from the Hike benefit Groundworks Collaborative’s work with families and individuals experiencing homelessness in Brattleboro and surrounding communities.

Senator Leahy To Join Nonprofits to Mark the Start of Construction of Red Clover Commons

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

− Nonprofits Respond to Damage from Tropical Storm Irene−

Senator Patrick Leahy will join Brattleboro Housing Partnerships and Housing Vermont to celebrate the start of construction of new senior housing. Red Clover Commons, a 55-unit development located on Fairground Road, will replace public housing at Melrose Terrace which was damaged during Tropical Storm Irene. While that damage was repaired, it was clear that seniors and those with disabilities needed to be relocated to a safer site.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of August 30

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

Blasting operations on the north side of the new bridge will resume the week of August 31. The target time for the blasts is weekdays between 1:30-2:00 pm. To ensure travelers’ safety, rolling roadblocks will be implemented on I-91, and traffic will be stopped for approximately 15 minutes at the Exit 2 northbound on-ramp and at the Exit 3 on-ramps in both directions. Sound impacts associated with the blasting will be minimal.

The Vermont Community Foundation Awards Vermont Partnership Grant to Support the Vermont African American Heritage Trail

by Not Signed In | Travel

Brattleboro. The Vermont Community Foundation has awarded Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity an $11,000 Innovations and Collaborations grant. The grant will support Vermont Partnership’s development of the nearly three-year old Vermont African American Heritage Trail to be more accessible to Vermont school children and families.

The Vermont African-American Heritage Trail includes nineteen sites of importance to black history in the state and brings visitors to Vermont museums and cultural sites where exhibits, tours, and personal explorations illuminate the lives of African Americans for whom the Green Mountain State was part of their identity.

Main Street Sidewalk Update 4

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

This is our fourth update for the Main Street Sidewalk Reconstruction Project. This week our contractor completed all the advanced warning signage installation around town.

The Public Works crew has been working closely with Green Mountain Power to get the new street lights installed as well. We currently have all of the concrete removed at the new pole locations and 11 of the light bases are installed.

Qigong for Healing and Living Fully – Stories from China

by Not Signed In | Health

Thomas Garbarino license acupuncturist and partitioner of qigong and taiji quan just recently returned from an epic pilgrimage to Wu Dang mountain in China. He will be sharing his experiences and stories as well as presenting new material to deepen our understanding of healing through the practice of qigong. All are welcomed.

You are your best healer! Come learn how each and everyone of us is born with the innate gift to heal ourselves. In this half-day intensive, you will experience simple and profound ways to awaken your body’s innate healing ability while deepening your capacity to relax and enjoy your life more completely. Participants will leave with a renewed and empowered sense of health and well-being. All are welcome; no experience required.

Beginner’s Hunyuan Chen Style Taiji Quan Class in Dummerston, VT

by Not Signed In | Dummerston

Beginner’s Hunyuan Taiji Quan is a 14 week series that introduces the principles of alignment, balance, correct movement, qi (vital energy) cultivation. Each week participants will learn a new movement of the Hunyuan 12 movement taiji quan form. Through dedicated practice, students will complete the form by the end of the series.

Participants will also learn chan si gong (silk reeling) exercises to help open and relax the joints while simultaneously nourishing the vital qi and blood of the body. All are foundational practices to re-condition the mind/body connection, deepening one’s capacity to relax, release stress, improve balance, and build core strength.

Twilight on the Tavern Lawn Presents Slippery Sneakers on Sunday, August 23

by Not Signed In | Music

Twilight Music concludes its 13th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn series of folk, world beat, rock, jazz, zydeco, Celtic, swing, blues and bluegrass summer concerts on Sunday, August 23 with Cajun/Creole roots music sextet Slippery Sneakers. The seventh and final concert of the 2015 series begins at 6:00 pm in downtown Putney on the Putney Tavern lawn (bring a lawn chair or blanket) or at The Putney Community Center at 10 Christian Square in case of rain.

What Should Happen When Your Child Reports School-Based Aggression

by Not Signed In | Education

Brattleboro. Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity has released What Should Happen When Your Child Reports School-Based Aggression in time for the upcoming school year. “What Should Happen is the latest in a series of easy to read brochures for parents, guardians and community members on what they should expect when a child they know reports being a victim of school-based aggression,” according to Curtiss Reed, Jr., Vermont Partnership’s executive director.

Brattleboro Area Hospice To Hold a 7 Week Bereavement Volunteer Training

by Not Signed In | Health

Brattleboro, VT. Beginning on Thursday, October 8, 2015 Brattleboro Area Hospice will offer a Bereavement Volunteer Training at its home office at 191 Canal Street in Brattleboro. This 21 hour volunteer training will run on Thursdays from 6:00 – 9:00 PM. The final session will take place on November 19th.

Bereavement Volunteers provide emotional support and companionship to individuals grieving the death loss of a loved one. Applications for the training will be accepted until September 4th, or until the training group has filled. Trained volunteers are asked to commit to one hour per week spent with a bereaved individual.

Windham County for Bernie

by Not Signed In | Politics

It’s a safe bet that Bernie Sanders will carry Vermont in our presidential primary. For folks itching to help the national campaign, “Windham County for Bernie” is organizing to help our neighbors in New Hampshire ensure that Bernie Sanders wins the all-important NH primary in February.

We will hold our first public organizing meeting of “Windham County for Bernie” on August 27. NH campaign staff from Concord & Keene will attend to update us on the NH campaign. Sign up for phone banking, canvassing, helping out at NH Bernie events, writing letters to editors, bird-dogging other candidates’ and more.