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WSESD Policy & Amendment Committee Meeting Minutes 3/12/25

by Not Signed In | Education

F8 Student Medication
Invited Attendee: Rebecca Olmstead, Nurse Leader

Since the last meeting, RO met with the district doctor regarding this policy, and the doctor approved the draft brought to the committee today. The committee read the new draft aloud, and in consultation with RO, made a number of edits for clarity, consistency, and accuracy. The last two paragraphs (non-prescriptions medications and the concluding paragraph) were reviewed after RO had to leave the meeting, and these will need to be reviewed again. The procedures section was not reviewed.

Help Save the Brattleboro Town Arts Fund!

by Not Signed In | Arts

We are writing with an important update about the Town Arts Fund program and a request for your support and advocacy.

You may be aware that the Town of Brattleboro eliminated funding for the Town Arts Fund program in the proposed FY26 budget. This decision was made by the Selectboard in January without much discussion about the merits or impact of the program. The Arts Council relies on the Town of Brattleboro as the primary source of funding for TAF, and without the Town’s support, it is unlikely we can continue to maintain this program.

Persian Kamancheh Player Mehrnam Rastegari Returns to Putney

by hahrenholz | Music

Virtuoso Kamancheh player Mehrnam Rastegari, who opened last year’s Bandwagon summer series with retro-Mediterranean surf ensemble Habbina Habbina, returns to Putney on Friday, April 18 at 7:30 pm at Next Stage. Tickets are $20 Advance / $25 At the Door / $10 Livestream.

Mehrnam Rastegari is a distinguished Persian musician, award-winning film score composer, singer, violinist, and virtuoso Kamancheh player. Renowned for pushing the boundaries of Persian music, she blends traditional sounds with rock and modern fusion elements, offering fresh interpretations that resonate with global audiences. Her innovative approach to Persian microtonal music aims to bridge the gap between tradition and contemporary styles, capturing the attention of listeners worldwide.

Brattleboro Selectboard Meeting Agenda & Notes – March 20, 2025

by cgrotke | Town News

A Canal Street Corridor Plan is in the works to improve pedestrian safety and other things along that route. The Brattleboro Selectboard will learn about this project at their next special meeting.

The board will also hear about new permit fees, a change to zoning relating to municipal water & sewer service, recent work of ONE Brattleboro, EMS reimbursements, and a safe neighborhoods project. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.

Brattleboro Committee Meeting Warnings

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Charter Revision Commission will meet on Monday, March 17, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room (230 Main Street, Rm 212) and over zoom.

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 8:00am in the Selectboard Meeting Room (230 Main Street, Rm 212) and over Zoom.

Construction Update Brattleboro-Hinsdale Bridge – March 14, 202

by Not Signed In | Hinsdale

An eastbound shoulder operation on the new bridge deck for New Hampshire/Vermont Route 119 will require a flagger-controlled lane closure with one-way alternating traffic patterns. Travelers may encounter short delays.

Flaggers will also be present at the entrance to 28 Vernon Street to assist traffic entering and exiting the facility.

Bridge lights are now fully functional with completed solar panels.

Brattleboro Needs Responsible Budgeting—Not a More-than-12% Tax Hike and Deferred Maintenance

by IsaacEF | Politics

The Selectboard’s proposed budget raises property taxes by more than 12% and defers expenses—setting residents up for even higher taxes down the road. And over the past several months the Selectboard has chosen to deplete Town funds to hire new positions and cover new expenses. Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Finance Committee recently issued a clear warning: The Selectboard must take a more responsible approach to budgeting. I agree. We need longer term financial planning and political courage for responsible budgeting, and the Selectboard and Representative Town Meeting can help us get there.

The Selectboard placed an opinion poll on the March 4th ballot regarding the 2% of the Town budget allocated for human services. But there’s another 98% we need to consider. That’s where the biggest opportunities are for savings.The Selectboard should have taken the Finance Committee’s recommendations seriously. The committee exists to advise Representative Town Meeting members—the ultimate deciders on the budget. To increase the chances of the budget passing, the Selectboard should carefully consider the Finance Committee’s guidance.The Finance Committee expressed concern about the lack of a long-term financial plan and called on the Selectboard to direct the town manager to present a list of potential staff cuts for the coming budget and to identify cuts and deferrals that will likely reappear a year from now when we are considering the following year’s budget. The outgoing Selectboard chose not to implement any of these recommendations.

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part III – Match of the Century Game 11

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

The 1972 World Chess Championship in Reykjavik saw Spassky’s early two-game lead become a three-game deficit after Fischer won games 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10.    In the face of such dire straits, Spassky chose to enter Fischer’s beloved Poisoned Pawn variation despite the Challenger having a +5=4-0 record with the Black pieces.

Spassky uncorked a novelty on his 14th move; soon after, Fischer began to play inaccurately while Spassky’s relentless precision soon allowed him to win the wayward Black queen.   At its midpoint the outcome of the match was again in doubt.

Palestine Film Series Kicks Off March 23 with Oscar-winning No Other Land

by KCasa | Arts

Brattleboro’s second annual Palestine Film Series opens Sunday, March 23, with the Oscar-winning Best Documentary No Other Land, a devastating window on the continuing Israeli settler violence, land theft and forced displacement of Palestinians from their West Bank villages.

No Other Land is one of four films in this year’s series that give audiences an opportunity to experience diverse stories about the lives of Palestinian people. The series is presented by Southern Vermont for Palestine (SVT4P) and Latchis Arts.

Although it has won more than 45 top documentary prizes worldwide including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, No Other Land has struggled to find a U.S. distributor and has been screened in only a handful of U.S. cities.

Support Voices and Choices

by LauraChapman | Other

Since 1998, Green Mountain Self Advocates has hosted the Voices and Choices Conference in Vermont. This two-day conference gives self-advocates with intellectual and developmental disabilities a chance to gather with their peers from across the state and come together to shine and grow.

One self-advocate and their needed staff to attend costs about $460. The cost is prohibitive for many. This raffle helps make it possible for them to attend and supports Voices and Choices as an event. 

Declaration of Independence From the Arbitrary Rule of Tyrant Elon Musk

by CrisEricson2016 | Politics

I HEREBY DECLARE A NEW 2025
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
FROM the ARBITRARY RULE OF TYRANT ELON MUSK, advisor to President Donald Trump
Declaration of Independence from all orders, usurpations of our tax dollars, directives and firings and threats by Elon Musk!

WE THE PEOPLE of the United States of America declare that
when in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Guilford WSESD Seat Recount Results

by Not Signed In | Education

Official recount results are in, for the Guilford seat on the Board of Directors of the Windham Southeast School District: There has been no change to the number of votes for each candidate from Guilford. Jocelyn Fritts has been duly elected to the Board of Directors.

Representative Town Meeting Representatives Have An Opportunity

by cgrotke | Op/Ed

Representative Town Meeting Representatives could reject this year’s budget and the 12.1% increase in municipal property taxes.

Charter prohibitions prevent representatives from telling the Selectboard what specifically to cut, but they can tell them to cut the budget by any amount, and can strongly suggest what needs to be trimmed by the board.

Representatives are in a unique position this year, though. Voters rejected two incumbents that created this budget and replaced them, and the Chair that led this budget process stepped aside and was replaced.  If voters had had the chance, the remaining two Selectboard members might have been tossed, too. 

Sorry for Your Loss: A Comedy Show About Grief A Fundraiser for Brattleboro Area Hospice

by CenterforSolace | Entertainment
sorry for your loss

Michael Cruz Kayne is a comedian and writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. However, his life isn’t always funny. The loss of his young son profoundly changed his world and his family. In this hilarious, difficult, and touching show about grief, Cruz finds moments of humor, compassion, and ultimately some assemblance of acceptance. If everyone dies, why does nobody talk about it?

A Q&A will follow the performance.

WSESD Recount of 3 Year Seat Scheduled for March 11

by Not Signed In | Education

The Town Clerks of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford and Putney have confirmed that they and members of their Boards of Civil Authority will come together in each town for a recount of the contested Guilford 3-year seat on the Board of the WSESD.

Candidates and members of the public are welcome to observe the recount. Time and locations for the re-count: 

Vermont HAZMAT Response at Technology Drive

by Not Signed In | Police & Fire

On March 10, 2025, at 06:30 a.m., the Brattleboro Fire Department responded to 90 Technology Drive for an alarm activation. The first arriving units reported an active ammonia leak of 273 parts per million in the building. Crews established that the building had been evacuated and accounted for all occupants. The Vermont HAZMAT Team was notified and dispatched to the scene.

Death By Medicaid Cuts

by RDavis | Activism

Cutting social support programs that help the most vulnerable in our society has always been a Republican blood sport. Most of those rich old white men have contempt for “those people” who live on handouts because they deem them too lazy to help themselves. It is an old trope. But now things have gotten worse.

The current Republican budget plan which looks likely to pass includes massive cuts to the Medicaid program.

Here is some context from the Center for American Progress. “Last week, House Republicans passed a budget resolution directing Congress to make cuts that would slash Medicaid funding and threaten health care access for millions in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. Medicaid is the largest single health insurance program in the United States and covers 72 million Americans, including low-income kids and adults, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities.”