Seasonal Overflow Shelter Set to Open at First Baptist Church

BRATTLEBORO – Groundworks Collaborative will be coordinating this year’s Seasonal Overflow Shelter (SOS) in downtown Brattleboro at the First Baptist Church, 190 Main Street. The shelter – open each winter from early-November through the end of April – provides a safe and warm place to stay for individuals experiencing homelessness during the winter season. Dinner is provided on a nightly basis.

Groundworks is committed to providing the Overflow Shelter every winter, and is currently entering into the tenth season, however this will be the last year located at the First Baptist Church. According to Groundworks Collaborative’s Executive Director Josh Davis, the organization has “struggled for the past two years with finding a permanent home for the shelter within the downtown footprint, particularly after deciding this past summer not to pursue a project planned for 39 Frost Street.”


West Brattleboro Chicken BBQ October 8th

The West Brattleboro Association and the West Brattleboro First Congregational Church are co-sponsoring a chicken barbeque on Saturday, October 8th, starting at 11 a.m. and lasting until it’s all gone.  Plan to get to the event in front of the First Congregational Church on Western Avenue in West Brattleboro in plenty of time to enjoy the chicken and fixin’s.  

The WBA will be supplying and cooking the chickens and the Church will be supplying the baked beans and coleslaw.  The chicken only will cost $7 and the full meal $10.  The Church will also be supplying baked goods.

Proceeds from the BBQ help defray the expense of the projects undertaken by the West Brattleboro Association and by the First Congregational Church.


VFW Lunch Specials 10-3 to 10-7

Mon – meatloaf sandwich w/ French fries
Tues – spaghetti w/ homemade meatballs and salad
Wed – cheese tortellini w/ chicken & broccoli
Thur – marinated steak tips w/ mashed potato
Fri – coconut shrimp w/ sweet potato fries

The Brattleboro VFW is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served Mon. – Fri. from 11:30 am – 1:30 PM. Specials are only $5.50 a plate. Burgers, fries, onion rings, chicken wings, soups and sandwiches are also available.

If you have more than 4 people in your group, please call ahead of time at 257-0438 for a reservation. Take out orders are available, and some specials sell out fast.


Grief for Beginners

Most of us are unsure of what to say and do when someone we know has experienced a death loss. And the more traumatic the death, in our opinion, the more awkward we feel. This leads us to procrastinate or even fail to reach out to the bereaved person. Unfortunately, what the person almost always needs is to know that others are thinking of him or her.


Brattleboro Senior Meals Breakfast Menu

OCTOBER BREAKFAST MENUS

October 4th – Greens, Eggs & Ham, Home Fries, Fruit, Yogurt, Juice, Coffee.

October 7th – Cheese Omelets w/Tomatoes, Onions & Peppers, Home Fries, Fruit Salad, Muffins, Yogurt, Juice, Coffee

October 11th – French Toast, Home Fries, Sausage, Fruit, Yogurt, Juice, Coffee


What Draws You to iBrattleboro?

I lived in Putney for twelve years and watched iBrattleboro grow to the strong site it is. I’ve since moved away to a similar sized city withOUT a citizen journalism/community portal site. I tried to sit by idly and pretend I didn’t care, but alas, I really wanted something similar. So, what did I do? I created my own site for my new city, it’s called Ashland Talks.

Ashland Talks has been live for almost two months and we’ve received some community member submissions, but it is still largely me posting news. I don’t expect the site to take off over night, but it did get me to start wondering: what is it that draws people to iBrattleboro.com? What do you all like to publish here that you don’t just post on Facebook or Nextdoor?


Jewish New Years Begins

At sundown on Sunday, October 2nd, Jewish people all over the world will welcome Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish year 5777. Rosh Hashanah begins a sacred period known as the Days of Awe that culminates ten days later on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, observed this year on October 12th.

Daniel Kasnitz, President of Congregation Shir Heharim, announces that the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community will offer Rosh Hashanah services beginning at 7pm on October 2nd at the West Village Meeting House of All Souls Church on South Street in West Brattleboro, and continuing there the next day at 9:30 am. The traditional second day of services will be offered at the congregation’s synagogue at 151 Greenleaf Street in West Brattleboro, on Tuesday morning at 9:30 am.


Science and…

The author of a recent polemic, titled, The Separation of Science and Belief – “Give No Solace to the Faithful” posed a great question. He asked: 

“Is it irrational to believe in something that cannot be proven?”

It was clear that he intended it as a rhetorical question, to which there could only be one right answer. Some dialogue followed, and a lot of insult. I think this question is too important to get lost in the fog of verbal warfare. I hope we can revisit it… more productively this time. 


VFW Lunch Specials 9-26 to 9-30

Monday – liver & onions w/ mashed potatoes
Tues – Salisbury steak w/ mushroom gravy, roasted red potato & veg.
Wed – lasagna w/ a salad
Thur – stuffed cabbage w/ mashed potato
Fri – seafood alfredo w/ a salad

The Brattleboro VFW is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served Mon. – Fri. from 11:30 am – 1:30 PM. Specials are only $5.50 a plate. Burgers, fries, onion rings, chicken wings, soups and sandwiches are also available.


iPhone vs. Android?

I am finally ready to upgrade from my flip-phone, so it is time to make a purchasing decision

I have heard that geeks prefer the android system, but less technically astute people (like me) would find an iphone more user-friendly. Then other people say, “No, no, that’s not true. You won’t have any problem with an android, and you’ll love it!”

That leaves me paralyzed, unable to come to a decision. I would be very interested in the persepctive of ibrattleboro participants.


Crafting For The Homeless Is Back For Its Third Year! Come Help Make A Difference

Come join us for our 3rd year of making a difference on Sunday afternoon, October 9th, from 1:00-3:00 pm, to craft items for the homeless population in the area. Using traditional crafts, we will make hats, scarves, blankets and sleeping mats from yarn and fleece fabric. Our group will meet the first Sunday of the month after this session.

Some people come to learn to knit or crochet, others arrive with projects already underway. Some are members of BAJC; someare not. All are welcome! We donate our projects to Groundworks Collaborative. 


VFW Lunch Specials 9-19 to 9-23

Monday – swiss & bacon burger w/ French fries or a salad
Tues – chicken & turkey pot pie w/ biscuit & salad
Wed – goulash w/ salad
Thurs – shepard’s pie w/ salad
Fri – crab cakes w/ macaroni salad


Maybe Coy, Maybe Not

I’ve been living here for several decades and it was my first close encounter of this kind. But what was it? I was riding my bicycle in West Brattleboro, past the cemetary where headstones are splayed on both sides of a dirt road. An animal darted in front of me, something dead, just killed, in its jaw. The prey, a hedgehog, I guess. The predator, what was it? At first I thought it was a German Shepard. A big one. It had a reddish coloring. Then almost immediately I second guessed that. There was no collar, there was something feral.


Brattleboro Area Hospice Offers Opportunity To Create Memory Boxes

On Tuesday, September 27, 2016, from 1:00 – 5:00 PM, Brattleboro Area Hospice will host an opportunity for adults to make a memory or tribute box in remembrance of a loved one. The event will take place at the Brattleboro Area Hospice office at 191 Canal Street in Brattleboro.

Participants in the workshop should bring photos and small treasures, poems, and mementos to create your special work of art. If you have a box you’d like to use, please bring it. Otherwise boxes and the materials you’ll need to paint and decorate your memory box will be provided.


Brattleboro Area Hospice To Offer Seven Week Grief Support Group

A new Seven Week Bereavement Support Group for adults begins on September 29th and will meet each Thursday from 6:00-7:30 pm, ending November 10th. This group is sponsored by Brattleboro Area Hospice and will meet at the hospice office at 191 Canal St. in Brattleboro. Interested individuals must meet with the facilitator, Connie Baxter, prior to the first session, so please call her at (802) 257-0775 x104 by September 23rd for a pre-group appointment. The group size is limited to 8 people.