News & Information

News and information sections, from near to far

Brattleboro Retreat Employee Presumed Positive for Coronavirus, Says VTDigger

by Lise | Town News

An employee at the Brattleboro Retreat is “presumed positive for COVID-19,” according to a story in the VTDigger.org today. The employee is in quarantine at home at this time. However, the same is not true of other Retreat workers who may have come in contact with that employee. They’ve been instructed by the Retreat’s HR Director that they should come to work or be terminated. However, if they “become symptomatic i.e. dry cough and/or fever,” they have been told to contact the HR Director.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – April 7, 2020

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at 6:15pm.  In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting.  Copies of the agenda and administrative report are attached.  Both documents contain information about how to access the meeting remotely.   ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.  We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.  

Free Ads For Essential Businesses That Remain Open

by cgrotke | Business

We want to do something for the “essential” businesses remaining in operation. For any open business in the area: free advertising. 

That’s right. For the duration of the stay-at-home and essential-work orders, we’ll give any open business that wants one a free ad. We’ll even make it for you. Just let us know what you’d like to tell people, and where you’d like the ad to link. It can take people directly to any page on your site.

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status – March 31, 2020, 1:15pm

by cgrotke | Town News

WHAT’S NEW TODAY:
-There will be a special Selectboard meeting this coming Thursday, April 2, at 6:15pm on GoToMeeting.
Meetings of Town boards, commissions, and committees will resume on a case-by-case basis. All will use the GoToMeeting platform for remote-only meetings (with no physical location) until after the COVID-19 emergency has passed.

-The State has advised the Town that we cannot temporarily suspend the pay-as-you-throw program.

– In keeping with the closure of all Town Recreation facilities and programs, the Recreation and Parks Department announces the cancellation of the following seasonal special events:

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting April 2, 200 – Agenda

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, April 2, 2020, at 6:15pm.  In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting.  A copy of the agenda is attached and it contains information about how to access the meeting remotely.  We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status – March 30, 2020, 2:55pm 

by Not Signed In | Town News

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

• We continue to make adjustments in Town operations as we come to clearer understandings of what is possible during these unprecedented circumstances. As we make these adjustments, our goal is to remain as productive as possible in service to the community while fully complying with the Governor’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order. The current status of particular Town services is set forth each day in the function-by-function summary below. 

• Annual Spring Leaf Pickup service will be provided by Triple-T on Friday, April 17, and on Friday, May 1. The Town decided to proceed with this service in the usual manner because curbside solid waste collection is continuing under the “essential services” provisions of the Governor’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order and because the fresh air and exercise involved in doing yard work is a safe and healthy way for people to take a break from staying indoors during the COVID-19 emergency. 

• There may be a special Selectboard meeting this coming Thursday, April 2, at 6:15pm on GoToMeeting. If the plans come together for this meeting, it will be warned tomorrow (March 31) and will also be announced in tomorrow’s COVID-19 Daily Update. 

Governor Scott Orders Restrictions On Travel and Lodging

by Not Signed In | State News

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today ordered additional restrictions on travelers arriving in Vermont and announced additional guidance for the lodging industry to enhance compliance with his Stay Home, Stay Safe order. 

The measures under the Stay Home, Stay Safe order, effective March 25, were implemented in consultation with the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health to minimize all unnecessary activities outside the home to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect the public. 

Governor Scott is taking additional action to encourage compliance with newly released CDC guidance around interstate travel from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which advised residents of those states to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days. 

The 2020 Census Windham County UPDATE

by Dselector | State News

Greetings iBrattleboro people,

My name is David Longsmith with the 2020 Census here in Windham County. I’m now a Census Response Representative and my job is to assist members of our communities with responding to the census questionnaire.

Town of Brattleboro  COVID-19 Response Status – March 27, 2020, 2:00pm 

by Not Signed In | Town News

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

The Brattleboro Police Department (BPD) has transitioned to Level III of its Emergency Response Plan for COVID-19, as follows: 

• BPD is still patrolling the roadways, walking downtown, and visiting merchants that are open, adhering to social distancing best practices when encountering people face-to-face. 

• BPD is answering life safety calls involving physical harm or the threat of harm to individuals. Non life safety calls for service are being handled via appropriate technology (i.e. phone, email, etc.) Patrol Commanders are determining whether or not a physical response is warranted. 

• Dispatch is fully staffed 24/7 and is screening for COVID-19 on all calls. 

• BPD Clerks are working from home. Public Records requests are being accepted by email, but the majority will not be able to be processed until the “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order is lifted. 

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status – March 26, 2020, 3:00pm 

by Not Signed In | Town News

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

There are no new “bullets” of information today, but I do want to share this with the community: 

In keeping with the Governor’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this is the first full day of Town operations with most employees working from home. While we are not in our usual places interacting with the public in the usual manner, we are here for you during these extraordinary times. We have made arrangements for many administrative employees to conduct most or all of their usual activities from their homes. Some will continue to come to the office occasionally to complete tasks that can only be completed there. Importantly, all email communications and most telephone communications are functioning exactly as they do during normal office operations. Field crews will be performing limited ongoing field work to ensure that health and safety concerns are promptly addressed, and all field employees will be on call every day for addressing urgent maintenance issues (like a water main break, a snowstorm, etc.).

Signal Boosting for Vermont Legal Aid

by Wendy M. Levy | State News

Vermont Legal Aid Service Update:

Following the Governor’s State of Emergency declaration on March 14, 2020, Vermont Legal Aid will continue to serve its clients via telephonic and electronic means. While we have discontinued in-person access to our offices, clients may still contact our intake helpline at 1-800-889-2047 to receive assistance. Clients with a legal or benefits problem related to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak also may receive assistance by going to https://vtlawhelp.org/ .

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status, March 25, 2020, 1:30pm

by Not Signed In | Town News

WHAT IS NEW TODAY

In compliance with the “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order issued by Governor Scott yesterday, most of Town government’s non-emergency services and administrative support functions have been suspended. Here are the details:

• Emergency services are still being provided by the Police and Fire Departments, but both departments have instituted policies that adjust their normal procedures to reflect COVID-19 best practices advice from public health experts.

Governor Issues Stay At Home Order

by Not Signed In | State News

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today issued a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order and directed the closure of in-person operations for all non-essential businesses.

These restrictive measures are in place to minimize all unnecessary activities outside the home to slow the spread of this virus and protect the public. These actions were implemented in consultation with the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health and his evaluation of the latest data.

“I want to be very clear about this: We need everyone to limit activities outside of the home and to practice social distancing at all times to slow the spread of this highly contagious and potentially deadly virus,” said Governor Phil Scott. “We all must do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 to minimize infections – particularly for those who are elderly or have underlying chronic health conditions – and prevent it from overwhelming our healthcare facilities. The more Vermonters who take this seriously and stay home, the faster we can return to normal.”

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status – March 24, 2020 

by Not Signed In | Town News

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

• In furtherance of the Governor’s announcement yesterday that all businesses should implement work-from-home practices “to the maximum extent possible” and his suggestion that additional restrictions on people’s movement will be announced tomorrow, the Town has increased the number of employees who are telecommuting and is finalizing plans for full closure of certain non-emergency services and administrative functions. 
• The status of each separate area of Town government will be announced in detail if it does become necessary to fully close any functions or services. 

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status, March 23, 2020, 2:15pm 

by Not Signed In | Town News

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

• Town staff continues to be available for remote communications with the public during normal business hours. However, in keeping with increasingly restrictive social distancing requirements and advice from State Government and public health experts, fewer Town employees are reporting to their usual workplaces. It may become necessary for the Town to reduce the number of hours that non-emergency Town functions are “open” for communication with the public. If that does become necessary, we will explicitly identify the operating hours that will remain in effect. 

Noticed Around Brattleboro – Spring 2020

by cgrotke | Town News

I almost forgot that we needed a new “Noticed” for the new season. This should be an interesting one. I expect some of these observations to change as time goes on.

…

I noticed some people at St Michaels’ today loading up a truck. Looked like volunteers working to make some deliveries.

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status March 22, 2020 1:50pm

by Not Signed In | Town News

• Some residents have asked the Town to suspend the pay-as-you-throw program so that no onewould have to buy the yellow and purple bags until further notice. Our pay-as-you-throw systemis required for the Town to comply with a State-mandate to have “variable rate pricing” for garbagecollection and disposal (i.e. the more one throws away the more one pays). The Town has askedthe State if we can temporarily suspend the pay-as-you-throw system. We have not yet receivedthe State’s permission to do that.