Sing A Song

by Lise | Music

I was wandering around the house humming this morning, as I often do, and the song that I was humming was “Button Up Your Overcoat.” This is nothing new. I’ve been humming it for the last two weeks. But it was only today that I had time to figure out why. Duh. It’s the pandemic, stupid.

Honoring Our Grandfathers: 75 Years Ago We Defeated Nazi Germany – The War Against Fascism Was Won In May 1945

by David Van Deusen | History

75 Years ago (May, 1945) the United States, Great Britton, The USSR, and Allies emerged victorious over Fascism in Europe; Nazi Germany surrendered. While the price was high (hundreds-of-thousands of American soldiers dead, tens-of-millions more around the world), no one can rationally argue that the sacrifice was not needed. This was, after all, a Just War; one of the few which lacked any moral ambiguity. We were on the side of right, engaged in a historic battle against evil incarnate. Fascism had to be crushed if we were to not enter a new dark age of barbarism equipped with ledgers and death camps. The drum beat of war had to be answered as no other response was capable of overcoming this existential threat to liberty.

Coming out of the Great Depression, my Grandfathers and Great Uncles, like countless others, served in the U.S. Army during the war. The Greatest Generation did their part and are owed a debt that can never be repaid. With victory we won a reprieve from the horrors of Fascism for generations to come. But the ghosts of Nazism were never completely exorcized from our consciousness – this hatred, born out of social alienation, fear, and economic pressures, still persists. Charlottesville reminds us that the twisted vision of Nazism still lurks in dark places, waiting to emerge if our collective will grows weak and if not beaten back through physical force. The xenophobia proclaimed, at times, from the White House, and the camps on our southern border, where even children are caged, also gives form to real concerns that Fascism can again infest the highest halls of state power (and will grow if left unchecked).

Today is 5 -10- 20

by cgrotke | Other

Nothing spectacular, but the date today is 5/10/20, which has a nice doubling to it.

Five times two is ten, ten times two is twenty.

It’s the little things! Happy Mothers Day.

Have Pity On The Weeds

by Lise | Home & Garden
Daisy Fleabane - Fresh Pond Cambridge MA

Every year about this time, I grapple with the dilemma of what to weed. It’s not that I want my garden to be overrun with volunteers, but over the years I’ve become more and more averse to killing living things. This includes plants, with which I’ve always had an affinity. I think I was a plant in a former life, and probably something weedy.

This year’s problem plant is a grove of daisy fleabane which seeded in on barren ground near where I had misguidedly let their mother bloom the year before. There they all are, her strong and healthy children, forming their sturdy basal rosettes with taproots to Eden. Part of me says, pull ’em up. Another part doesn’t feel like it — I tried pulling one up by the roots the other day and it wouldn’t budge. But the strongest part of me, the part that has the upper hand at the moment, is suffering moral pangs at the thought of all those soon to be dead plants in a pile next to my empty flower bed.

Professional Sports In The Time of Pandemic

by RDavis | Recreation & Sports

It would seem that Major League Baseball (MLB) would have been able to figure out how to resume their season without fans in the stands by now. They have nearly unlimited financial resources and they certainly have the personnel to work on solving all of the logistical problems that have to be dealt with. Players have made comments that they would find it difficult to play without fans, but if they really had a love for the game they would realize that the fans would adjust temporarily. They owe it to their fans to make a better effort.

Professional sports in this country are driven by obscene salaries and, no matter what well-intentioned people might say, money rules. Consider these numbers.

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status – May 8, 2020, 1:30pm 

by Not Signed In | Town News

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

• While we will continue to post a daily update to the Town’s website every day, we will issue those daily updates as news releases only on days when there is a change in the status of Town operations. This change is intended to make it easier for the media and the public to identify when something is changing. To check the status of Town operations at any given time, please view the latest daily update posted on the Town’s website. 

• The Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department announces the following update regarding the status of its facilities: 

➢ The Fred H. Harris Tennis/Pickleball Courts at Living Memorial Park are open. 

➢ The frisbee golf course at Living Memorial Park remains open. 

➢ All softball fields are available to families for informal kickball, wiffleball etc. 

Softball fields are not yet open for more formal team activities (games or practices). 

➢ Basketball courts remain closed until further notice. 

➢ The Dog Park at Living Memorial Park remains closed until further notice due to COVID-19 and being recently reseeded to rejuvenate the turf. 

➢ All park equipment remains closed (benches, picnic tables, playgrounds etc.) until further notice because it is impossible to sanitize that equipment in between users. 

➢ Restrooms at Living Memorial Park and West River Park remain closed until further notice. 

3-mile Loop Trail on Wantastiquet Rediscovered

by DanAxtell | Recreation & Sports

There’s a beautiful, unknown 3-mile loop trail on Wantastiquet. I discovered it a few years ago. I’ve pushed fallen branches to the side, so now it’s sort of possible to follow it. I’ve posted a GPS track “kmz” file here that can be used on a smartphone to help stay on the trail, www.danaxtell.com/Wantastiquet_Flank_Loop.kmz . Google Earth will show this track as an overlay.

The trail goes nowhere near the summit, but does visit the best panoramic lookouts on the mountain—the ones that photographers have been using for 170 years. The loop is possible only because there is a carefully graded trail and retaining wall through the rockslides on the steepest section. I have never seen a mention of this stretch of trail. I found it while exploring the various lookout points in the area. It’s a mystery.

Brattleboro Area Hospice Virtual Advance Care Planning/Advance Directive Session

by Not Signed In | Health

Brattleboro, Vermont.  May 13, 2020 10 -11 am Brattleboro Area Hospice’s Taking Steps Brattleboro (TSB) program will host a zoom Advance Care Planning/Advance Directive Question and answer Information session. If you are interested in attending, please contact Don Freeman by email: don.freeman@brattleborohospice.org  or calling 802.257.0775 ext 101 and leave your contact information so that you can receive the emailed zoom invitation and/or telephone call-in number.  

Interested people are encouraged to attend this informational session to ask questions about how to complete or update an Advance Directive for healthcare including where do I find the forms, who should be named as an healthcare agent, who do I give the completed form to, and how do I talk with my family about my healthcare wishes if I am unable to speak for myself? Anyone over 18 years old should have a completed Advance Directive. This is the second weekly zoom informational session, which will be held each Wednesday from 10-11 am through June 24, 2020.

VT Governor Scott Announces Limited Socializing

by Not Signed In | State News

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today announced that outdoor recreation and limited social interactions may resume under strict health and safety precautions, as state modeling continues to indicate a slow in the spread of COVID-19.

While the Stay Home, Stay Safe order remains in effect, if able to comply with outlined safety measures, the Governor’s latest order allows the following social activities to resume:

Gatherings of 10 or fewer. Vermonters may now leave home for outdoor recreation and fitness activities with low or no direct physical contact and to resume limited social interactions and gatherings of 10 or fewer, preferably in outdoor settings that allow for greater physical distancing protocols.
Inter-household socializing. Members of one household may gather – and allow children to play – with members of another trusted household, provided health and safety precautions are followed as much as possible.   

Brattleboro 2019 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes Due

by Not Signed In | Town News

The fourth installment of the 2019 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on May 15, 2020 by 5:00 PM.  Payments made after May 15, 2020 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.

The utility billing is also due on May 15, 2020 by 5:00 PM. Payments made after May 15, 2020 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.

Selectboard Meeting Notes – War and Water

by cgrotke | Town News
brattleboro sb may 5 2020

The Brattleboro Selectboard held their regular virtual meeting Tuesday night to discuss war monuments, COVID-19, the Town financial outlook, a new water treatment plant, a new pump station, a new purchase of property, and an overview of additional planned Utility Fund expenses.

The new water treatment plant is estimated, currently, to cost about $11 million.

“The Stand At Paxton County”

by tomaidh | Op/Ed

I always thought very highly about Humane Societies and animal rights people in general. It’s not always the case.

In the film “The Stand At Paxton County”, I got an entirely different view of the whole situation. (It’s currently available on Netflix)

Though the film is fiction, it’s based on reality.

Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status – May 4, 2020, 5:15pm 

by Not Signed In | Town News

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

All Town offices resumed daily on-site office functions today, in accordance with the following: 

• The exterior entrances to all Town facilities remain locked at all times. 

• Signs are posted at all exterior entrances clearly indicating that no one may enter the building if they have any symptoms of respiratory illness (fever, cough, and/or shortness of breath). 

• There is only 1 employee in each office at any one time, except when more than one employee is necessary to complete a required task. 

• Employees who are not in the office continue to work from home in the same manner as they did during the full closure of Town offices between March 27 and May 4. 

• The public is requested to continue to do as much Town business as possible remotely (by email, internet, phone, or mail). Please note that this includes the payment of property taxes and utility bills. Those can be paid by mail, online, or by dropping an envelope containing your check (no cash) into a locked black drop box that is attached to the large wooden light pole in the parking lot behind the Municipal Center. 

VT Governor Scott Allows Limited Elective Procedures

by Not Signed In | State News

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today announced limited elective procedures would resume, which had previously been put on hold as Vermont’s health care system focused on preparing for, and responding to, COVID-19.

The Governor’s decision comes as the state’s modeling continues to show spread of COVID-19 has slowed – thanks to Vermonters’ physical distancing efforts – and the state’s ability to track and trace outbreaks of COVID-19 has become more robust. Health care providers who recommence these procedures have been provided guidance and must meet specific mitigation criteria to protect patients and clinicians from possible infection.

BCTV Schedules – Week of May 4, 2020

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Channel 8 / 1075 schedule for the week of 5/4/20

Monday, May 4, 2020

5:00 am Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium Virtual Learning – ‘Forces and Motion’ (Grades 5-6)
5:40 am Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium Virtual Learning – ‘Outdoors With Bobby-Farlice Rubio’
6:00 am Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium Virtual Learning – ‘Introduction to Science Topics’
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast