Drone of Leaf Blowers

Is anyone addressing the annoying and endless drone of leaf blowers? Do we live in Vermont to listen to this noise hours on end? Killing the silence of our rural life. I know California has laws regarding them. We should at least have hours of day and limits to how much of this we who live here have to put up with listening to them. Thoughts?


11 Pleasant Street – Carbon Monoxide Poisonings – Press Release

At 12 midnight Engine 2 and Utility 8 responded to 11 Pleasant Street for a Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarm activation.

Upon arrival firefighters were met outside by a tenant who reported the carbon monoxide detector in the basement was going off. Firefighters entered the basement to find the CO detector was sounding, and the gas meter firefighters were carrying with them registered elevated levels of CO. There was also a light haze in the basement, this being caused by a malfunctioning boiler.


Brattleboro Taxes & Utilities Due

The second installment of the 2018 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxeswill be due onNovember 15th, 2018 by 5:00 PM.  Payments made after November 15th, 2018 will have an additional 1% interest added to the unpaid balance.

 The utility billing is also due on November 15th, 2018 by 5:00 PM. Payments made after November 15th, 2018 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.


Brattleboro Unofficial Election Results

Please see the attached for the “unofficial results” for Brattleboro Mid-Term Elections. These are the results from the ballot tallies, not including write-in votes, and not including other towns’ results for the State races.

Thanks to the amazing poll workers and the American Legion who made today possible! We had a lot of voters coming through the doors, and the day was smooth!


Brooks Memorial Library Closed Saturday and Monday for Veteran’s Day

In observance of the Veterans Day Holiday, Brooks Memorial Library will be CLOSED on Saturday, November 1oth, and Monday, November 12th. We will open as usual on Tuesday morning, November 13th at 10 am!

Originally known as Armistice Day, in honor of the end of WWI , and the treaty that was signed on on 11/11/18 at 11 am, the holiday was renamed Veteran’s Day in 1954.


Selectboard Meeting Notes – Budget Preview, and Blinking Lights Baffle

Brattleboro Selectboard

The Brattleboro Selectboard cancelled a few possible contentious items on the agenda (the Harmony Lot mural and the Health Code violation) but still got an earful from a couple concerned that blinking safety lights on Western Ave are unnecessary and lower the value of their home. The Wessel Baffle might prove to be the solution.

Town Manager Elwell gave the board an overview of the coming budget request from Town staff. Of note: the expected 4% health insurance increase is actually more like 17%. Ouch. Call a doctor. Police cars are being uplifted, a new solar project is being considered, and more.


Alternative First Wednesday Fun!

Dear  First Wednesday  Afficionados,

Due to unforseen circumstances, this First Wednesday lecture will not be presented this month. Instead, consider Joining us instead for a sampling of independent films from KANOPY, our newest video streaming service!


Susan McDormand Exhibit Opening on Nov. 10

West Brattleboro, Vt. — “The Right Balance,” an exhibit of paintings by Guilford artist Susan McDormand, is showing through December in the foyer and other gallery spaces at All Souls Church UU (ASC). The public is invited to meet the artist and gain insights into her work at an artist’s reception on Saturday, November 10, from 2 to 4 pm.

McDormand began painting at the River Gallery School in Brattleboro more than 20 years ago. “Ric Campman and Lydia Thomson inspired and encouraged me. Today I continue to paint in oils, on beautiful papers, often implementing pencil and pastel. As the piece develops, I begin to have a mirror . . . it seems to be about intuition, color, and a language being written. For me, painting is so much about blending movements of color together.” The work reflects her goal of creating harmony in life as well as in artistic expression.


Walking the Camino Pilgrimage Trail in Spain

Walking the 1000-year-old pilgrimage trail across northern Spain will be the focus of a presentation at the Putney Library on November 15 at 7:00 pm. The slideshow and discussion will be led by Betsy Bates, Paul LeVasseur, Cicely Carroll, and Bob Lawson.

The Camino is nearly 500 miles long, running from the Pyrenees in France across the northern portion of Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Running from village to village, across farm fields and beside streams and rivers, the path is now walked for many reasons and by many people from many countries.


Either Way They Vote Americans Remain Suckered Into Being a Worldwide Genocidal Killing Machine

Americans being suckered into focusing on voting for one of the two parties of the ruling genocidal Wall St. plutocracy, US CIA controlled media informs of Yemeni children dying from bombs & starvation knowing its captive audience will not turn against the American killing machine. Once USA-EU loses hegemony, the many nations that have seen their children murdered by USA and European empires will demand justice.


Town of Brattleboro Veterans’ Day Closings

 In observance of Veterans’ Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Monday, November 12, 2018, with the exception of emergency services. 

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Sunday and Monday, November 11 and 12. All other violations will be enforced. 

Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Sunday and Monday, November 11 and 12, 2018. 


BCTV Schedules – Week of 11/5/18

BCTV Channel 8 schedule for the week of 11/5/18

Monday, November 5, 2018

12:30 am Connecticut River Conservancy – Source to Sea Clean Up 2018 – West River Trail
1:44 am Bookstock – Yvonne Daley – “Going Up the Country”
2:27 am Promos – Petey Trailer 2
2:30 am Female Founders Series – StartHere Challenge
4:24 am Caterwaul Productions – She-Cat


Free Speech on Campus To Be Discussed at Landmark College, November 13

The final presentation of the Fall 2018 Landmark College Academic Speaker Series is by Linus Owens of Middlebury College, on Tuesday, November 13 at 7 p.m. in the Brooks M. O’Brien Auditorium, located in the East Academic Building.

Entitled “Divisiveness is Not Diversity—Academic Freedom and Free Speech on Campus,” the talk will touch on Owens’s first-hand experience with challenges faced by Middlebury College during the March 2017 visit by controversial author Charles Murray, which was disrupted by hundreds of student protestors.


Outrageous Conspiracy Theories

Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories…G.W. Bush (to United Nations, 11/10/01)

Everybody’s heard the term “conspiracy theory”. In fact, conspiracy theories abound, but that’s only because actual conspiracies really do exist. If you study History, and eliminate natural events, what’s left almost surely involves some sort of conspiracy.


VFW $6 Lunch Specials Open to the Public 11-5 to 11-9

The Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served Mon-Fri from 11:30 – 1:30. Specials listed below are only $6 a plate. Hand made burger, fries, sweet potato fries, wings, onion rings, soups and sandwiches are also available. Take outs available by calling 257-0438


Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – November 6, 2018

There are citizen complaints about the new flashing lights on Western Avenue near Cedar Street, and the Brattleboro Selectboard will hear them at their next regular meeting.

The Town has complaints, too, against a property owner on Oak Street. The Town Arts Committee has concerns about the bookshelf mural in Harmony Lot, the FY20 budget overview will be presented, and a solar array might be coming to a parking garage near you.

You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.