Book Sale for Passionate Readers Jan. 25

On Saturday, Jan. 25 from 11 to 2, the Words Book Project is sponsoring a giant book sale at 118 Elliot Street.  Come join us and find books that will inspire, inform, entertain and enlighten.

The proceeds from this big book sale will support the successful publication of a book about Brattleboro’s 250+ year printing and publishing history.  With grant support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and many local contributors, the Book Project has overseen the writing, design and editing of this groundbreaking work.  The book is being written by local authors, designed and edited locally. It tells the fascinating story of the people, places and businesses that caused Brattleboro to be known as a “Print Town.”


Winter Corn Hole Tournament to Benefit Brattleboro Professional Firefighter’s Local 4439

Saturday Feb. 22nd the Brattleboro Firefighter’s will be hosting an indoor corn hole tournament at the Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road from 12pm – 6 pm. Tickets are $25 per team, with a maximum of 32 teams allowed. There will be a cash bar, and food for sale by the VFW. (No outside food or drinks allowed) 1st place $50, 2nd and 3rd place $25.


We Celebrate Democracy Civil Rights For All MLK Day Banner Hanging

I will be taking the banner down to the fire company today so they can hang it over Main Street on Sunday the 19th at 8 am.
It is being hung to honor Martin Luther King and the many, many other martyrs to our great cause.

I will have pro-democracy signs democracy and a song to sing: “We are singing for democracy, democracy, democracy, we are singing for democracy and civil rights for all”, sung to the tune of We Are Marching To Pretoria (popularized by the Smothers Brothers).


Creating Good Governance for Our Local Schools

In June of 2019, the Putney, Dummerston, Brattleboro and Guilford School Districts were merged into the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD), a single district with nine schools.  
Brattleboro Union High School, Brattleboro Area Middle School, Dummerston School, Guilford Central School, Putney Central School, the Brattleboro elementary schools Oak Grove, Green Street, and Academy, and the Windham Regional Career Center are currently governed by a body of eight school board members (School Directors). As of November, 2019, two additional seats were added for School Directors residing in the town of Brattleboro, effective March 3, 2020. 


Brattleboro Closings for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

 In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Monday, January 20, 2020, with the exception of emergency services. 

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Monday, January 20. All other violations will be enforced. 


Governor Scott’s State of the State Address

Mr. President, Madam Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the General Assembly, honored guests and fellow Vermonters:

Today, I welcome the opening of the legislative session with the same optimism I had as a freshman senator from Washington County nearly two decades ago. 

I come before you to report on the state of the state, to reflect on the work we’ve done and to share a vision and priorities for our future. 


BCTV Schedules – Week of 1/13/20

BCTV Channel 8 schedule for the week of 1/13/20

Monday, January 13, 2020

5:23 am Promos – TERRA Collaborative PSA
5:30 am Windham World Affairs Council – Trafficking and Migrating in Southeast Asia Today 11/22/19
7:00 am Heartline Ministries – 31 Reasons Jesus Came #3
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Daily Episode
9:00 am Next Stage Arts – An Evening with authors David Blistein and John Halpern: “Opium”
10:26 am Promos – Windham County Humane Society Capital Campaign


Run for Town Office in Guilford

The Guilford Board of Civil Authority reminds all Guilford legal residents that you are both eligible and encouraged to run for a Town position, via the Australian Ballot at Town Meeting. Here’s the catch: To be on the ballot, you have just 2 weeks to file a petition. It’s not too hard: Go to the Town Office (Mon-Thurs) and sign up. Get a petition for the office you’d like to seek, and get 18 signatures of registered voters, turn it in by the close of the day on Monday, Jan. 27, and you’re a candidate!

Here are the offices which will be elected on the ballot: Town Clerk, 3-year term; Treasurer, 3 years; Selectboard: One 3-year term, one 2-year, and the remaining year on an unexpired term; Lister, 3-year; Auditor, 3-year, and Town agent, 1-year.


Brattleboro VFW $6.50 Lunch Specials Open to the Public 1-13 to 1-17

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 $6.50 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

Mon – stuffed pork, mashed potato, gravy & veg


Vermont Jazz Center Presents: Champian Fulton Quartet

The Vermont Jazz Center is delighted to present pianist/vocalist Champian Fulton on Saturday, January 18th at 8:00 PM. Fulton, a DownBeat Magazine Rising Star, was recently lauded as 2019 Female Vocalist of the Year and 2019 Pianist of the Year by Hot House Magazine/Jazzmobile. She will be performing with her working quartet of over a decade including her father, Stephen Fulton, on Flugelhorn, Hide Tanaka on bass and Fuku Tainaka on drums.

Champian Fulton swings hard – she’s a top-shelf pianist and vocalist with an expansive repertoire and a broad stylistic vocabulary. She likes to leave her sets open-ended so that she and her band can choose between familiar and little-known gems from the Great American Songbook on the fly. Considering her youthful age (34 years old), it is intriguing that Fulton’s repertoire naturally gravitates to selections from the swing era. Her whole persona, public and private, resonates with a love for the music from that time period. She conveys the essence of swing effortlessly and authentically; her performances give listeners a fresh appreciation of the creative possibilities inherent in an older style. In Fulton’s hands, swing is a vibrant, living music that resonates with meaning and joyous playfulness.


Selectboard Meeting Notes – FY21 Finals, Finances, and Fund Balances

brattleboro selectboard january 2020

The FY21 proposed budget inched closer to becoming the FY21 official budget at the first meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard for 2020. The board ran through a list of final loose ends, heard from the human resources committee and police department, talked loans and grants, discussed public toilets, and were offered both CBD joints and liquor.

A citizen stood up for war crime whistleblowers, select board goals were reviewed, and more. A few budget meetings remain in January, but the board skipped the review of their upcoming meetings schedule so any meetings are theoretical at this juncture.


Murder is A Steppingstone

The murder of Iranian general Soleimani was a reminder that there are no moral or ethical boundaries that Trump will not cross. While politicians and the news media dance around the motive for the killing because they want to be fair until they have concrete proof, the rest of the world knows that the execution was a move calculated to divert attention away from impeachment.

As I was reading the New York Times last Sunday I could not find one story that had anything to do with impeachment. Trump successfully used murder to control the news cycle. He is not a complicated man. He acts impulsively and it was clear that he was becoming increasingly irritated at being trashed and constantly scrutinized for behavior that justified his impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives.


BCTV Schedules – Week of January 6, 2020

BCTV Channel 8 schedule for the week of 1/6/20

Monday, January 6, 2020

5:00 am Windham World Affairs Council – Beheading in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility 10/25/19
6:20 am Couch Potatoe Productions – Sword Dancers Performance at the Newfane Heritage Festival 10/12/19
6:30 am Windham World Affairs Council – Trafficking and Migrating in Southeast Asia Today 11/22/19
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Daily Episode


Windham County Delegation Statement on Retreat

The Windham County Delegation has been aware of ongoing financial challenges being experienced by the Brattleboro Retreat related to multi-year, inadequate medicaid reimbursements, unexpected census declines, and the increasing cost of contract RNs and MDs due to national and state-wide workforce shortages.

The Brattleboro Retreat is a 150 year old private mental healthcare institution providing quality, compassionate healthcare to the most vulnerable Vermonters.

As we see play out every day across the country and our state, adequate funding for public healthcare remains an unsolved challenge.