Cheshire-Grinning Wide-Mouthed Gift

by Vidda | Op/Ed

If Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and, indeed, the rest of this Congress had put more effort into single-payer health care as they did in the Affordable Care Act, our growing segment of the increasingly older population, and the future of health and medical science and services for us all would have been better served.In its stead, we watched helplessly as they plowed $12.5 billion dollars into “Obamacare” which is nothing less than a Cheshire-grinning wide mouthed gift of massive proportions to the insurance industries. And now, he wants to push through another $30 billion into expanding it yet more.

Making Peace with Oddity: Drawings and Paintings by Marilyn Allen and Nan Heminway at the Crowell Gallery in Newfane

by Pamela | Arts

Making Peace with Oddity, an exhibition of paintings and drawings by MARILYN ALLEN and NAN HEMINWAY will be exhibited at the Crowell Gallery in the Moore Free Library in Newfane, VT, November 1-December 10, 2014. The opening reception is on Saturday November 1, 3-5 PM.

The work in this exhibition is informed by ALLEN and HEMINWAY’s decade-long practice of visiting each other’s studios. ALLEN, who has been an outreach painting teacher at the River Gallery School for ten years, lives in Halifax. Her paintings began with landscapes dominated by trees in the wild environment where she lives. The focus of her current body of work has moved into a closer perspective that dissolves shapes into more abstracted forms inspired by both natural and man-made shapes.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: How About $12.9 Million, Taxpayers?

by cgrotke | Town News

The Police Fire Facilities Project will move forward with tentative plans to complete the three building projects for the new total of approximately $12.9 million, requiring a return to Representative Town Meeting to request the additional $7.9 million. First, though, there will be a short detour while the committee searches for a new property the police can call home.

The Brattleboro Selectboard approved changes to the Citizen Police Communications Committee mission, heard about upcoming changes as Connecticut River Transit and Deerfield Valley Transit Authority unite to become Southeast Vermont Transit, and voted to continue individual staffing level reviews rather than look at the entire staff structure as a whole. Also of note, a new Town Manager may be proclaimed within days.

How many police officers can be sworn in by a town clerk at once? Almost all of them. Read on for all the details.

Wednesday Market Open This Wednesday

by Not Signed In | Food

For your local eating pleasure we have extended dates for the Wednesday Farmers’ Market: OPEN TOMORROW! 10- 2 downtown by the Coop.

Please come visit and support the delicious hard work of Lost Barn Farm, Deer Ridge Farm, and Anon’s Thai. There’s both yummy storage crops and fresh greens for your cozy fall meals.

Saturday Market: LAST MARKET October 25th. Outside on Rte 9, West Brattleboro, 9-2, Rain or Shine!

Beloved Holton Home Cat Missing Since October 15th!

by Not Signed In | Pets

Pumpkin has been a long term resident of Holton Home on Western Avenue, where he has been a great source of joy to all those who live there.

Sadly he went missing on October 15th.

Pumpkin is an adult male short- haired orange tabby. He is extremely friendly and frequently travels through the surrounding neighborhoods. If you have found him or seen in your neighborhood please call 254 4155 or email 

Sandglass Theater Presents Egg Noir by Spybird Theater

by Not Signed In | Arts

PUTNEY- On October 24th and 25th at 7:30pm, Spybird Theater brings Egg Noir to Sandglass Theater in Putney as part of the New Visions puppetry series. Drawing on object theater and puppetry traditions, Egg Noir is a highly visual and distinctly surreal exploration of genetic engineering.

A scientist who breeds egg heads, a machine who processes them into eye balls, and a poet in the desert who records the eye’s vision, are locked into a routine that produces a healthy eyeball. One day a villain infiltrates this world and modifies one of the freshly hatched eggs in the beginning of the production chain. What used to be a flawless sequence of events now gets messy and the world of Egg Noir unravels, threatening to dissolve its inhabitants and their globe. “This is what you get when you mix puppetry and alchemy,” states Carl Wieting, Puppet Slam Curator at the Puppet Showplace in Boston.

VA to Offer GI Bill Scholarships for Surviving Spouses

by Not Signed In | Politics

Sanders’ Veterans Bill Expanded Education Program

BURLINGTON, Vt., Oct. 21 – U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that the Department of Veterans Affairs will begin accepting applications for college scholarships for surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty. Sanders worked hard to get the provision in the recently-passed veterans bill. He urged all eligible spouses to take advantage of it.

Until the law was changed this summer, the Post 9/11 GI Bill had offered scholarships to children of those who died in the line of duty but not their widows or widowers. Now, eligible spouses may be entitled to full tuition for up to 36 months plus a stipend to cover the cost of housing, books and supplies.

Of Money, Politics, Unions and You!

by SkylerWind | Activism

 Meet “Porkorate Paul”, the enormous big pink pig seen squatting in the bed of a sign and slogan covered pick-up truck, puffing a cigar. He came to Brattleboro this Monday morning, October 20th, on one of his many stops throughout New England.  His purpose: to parade his pompous presumptions of wealthy entitlement over the lower echelon (that’s us).

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, October 20, 2014 at 5:30pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:30pm to discuss the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee. No further business will be conducted.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 10/20/14

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV channel 8 schedule for the week of 10/20/14

Monday, October 20, 2014

12:00 am Kali Quinn: Overture to a Thursday Morning and Vamping

1:39 am Brooks House Grand Opening: 10/3/14

2:00 am Salaam/Shalom: The Architecture of Violenc

3:00 am The Road to Recovery: 2014 Showcase of Events

3:30 am Energy Week Extra: Bensonwood 10/2/14

Brattleboro Time Trade – Week of October 19

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Other

Brattleboro Time Trade:

Exchanging services, creating connections, strengthening communities, one hour at a time.

See below for exciting Upcoming Events and learn what Time Trade is all about!

This week’s fabulous listings, brought to you from the chilliness:

OFFERS:

Writing, Editing, Copy Editing, Proofreading Services
Storm Windows Available
Dog Walking
Citizen’s Awareness Breakfast at the Senior Center
Tutoring for English Reading and Writing
Learn About Meat Rabbits at Home
Help with Minor Household Repair/Upkeep

Sam Amidon + Band at New England Youth Theatre on Wednesday, October 22

by Not Signed In | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present singer, guitarist, fiddler and banjo player Sam Amidon and his band at New England Youth Theatre on Wednesday, October 22 at 7:30 pm.

Sam Amidon grew up immersed in folk as part of a musical family based in Brattleboro, VT. His parents, Peter and Mary Alice Amidon, perform and teach traditional forms of song, dance and storytelling, and his brother Stefan plays drums with the Sweetback Sisters. Sam started on fiddle at the age of three and by eleven had formed a band called Popcorn Behavior, with childhood friend Thomas Bartlett and younger brother Stefan, to play New England fiddle tunes. They toured internationally, gathering attention from NPR, CNN and The Boston Globe, and released five albums. Sam’s first solo album, released in 2001, was a collection of traditional Irish fiddle tunes, simply titled “Solo Fiddle.”

Debate Politics Most Precious – Laughingstock

by Vidda | Politics

Humor is the best and worst of political hay. From Cris Ericson’s sparkling sequined farm dress and Ma Parker’s picnic floppy hat, to Peter Diamondstone’s too patriarchal horn-rimmed glasses, longbeard and grade-school shorts, to Bernard Peter’s pitchfork take-charge Duck Dynasty philosophy, to Emily Peyton’s grinning political dibs through gritted teeth, to Scott Milne’s making each point with a full left head swivel to Governor Shumlin, this lineup is richly deserving of national late-night talk show humor.VTDigger and the Reformer made short work of the “In case you missed it” reportage:

Missing CSA Delivery

by Fisherman | Food

If anyone is missing a CSA delivery it is sitting in my back porch at the corner of Myrtle and Cedar.  It arrived yesterday afternoon and I would hate to see it spoil.  I raise my own veggies, so i do not need it,

Revitalizing West Brattleboro – A Community Discussion, Thursday, October 23rd

by WBA | Town Plan

A community discussion on ways to revitalize West Brattleboro will be held on Thursday, October 23rd at
7:00 pm.  This will be facilitated by the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) and will be held in the Community Room of Hayes Court on Garfield Drive (just west of the West Brattleboro Post Office).

The group invites any and all to come learn about and discuss the report “Revitalizing Southern Vermont’s
Villages – West Brattleboro”. This report has been made available by the Windham Regional Commission and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation. Particular items planned for discussion are the four key strategies listed in the report, which was put together with input from the WBA and the West Brattleboro Master Plan. Those strategies are: Support Community Development; Enhance the Streetscape; Improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity; and Support Economic Development.

Write Action’s Open Reading: Third Fridays at the Blue Dot in the Hooker Dunham at 7:30 PM

by Rolf | Creative

Friday Oct 17 is the third Friday of the month. Do you know what that means? Its time to get together and read poems and stories, out loud. Or, maybe even recite them aloud, with no text to save you. 

On the third Friday of every month, Write Action invites writers to gather and read aloud poetry and fiction. It’s a chance to share your work, or a piece by another writer whose work you admire. Every writer gets about 7 minutes. These readings are usually really eclectic in sty;e content and mood, and every event has some excellence. 

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – October 21, 2014

by cgrotke | Town News

It will be Poliice Night at the Brattleboro Selectboard’s next Tuesday meeting. The new police chief, captain, and sargeant will be sworn in, the Police-Fire Facility Project will get another hearing and discussion, and the Citizen Police Communications Committee is revising their mission statement.

The board will also discuss finances and bus services, and buy a truck. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation if you attend in person. Watch on BCTV, and read the summary hear on Wednesday.

Brattleboro Police Chief Letter to Citizens

by BrattPoliceDept | Police & Fire

To the Citizens of Brattleboro,

I have been approached numerous times and asked about my philosophy on policing and the direction I will lead the Department. I would like to take this opportunity to express my thoughts on policing and the role of the Brattleboro Police Department within this community.

I am a very strong advocate of community involved policing. This concept is not new, these are not my original ideas, and most importantly it’s certainly not a list of activities which you go down and check off the boxes as completed. It is a value system which permeates the department.