150 Years Ago (1864 4/3-4/4)

by BusyMom | History

Brattleboro, April 3rd, 1864.

Dearest Abiah,

I believe I was in Washington, when I quit writing there I was within a few hundred yards of Jacob I suppose and could not go and see him. That came of being trustworthy. Had to take charge of the men, keep them from running round. I could have fixed them, for I could have taken them to the barracks and I should have laughed to have seen them get out before I or the Captain came, but that would not be doing as I would be done by. At 8 o’clock the Captain came and we took the cars for home. Got into New York the next morning about 8 o’clock and stopped until the next day at 11, and in that time we all had the chance to go where we pleased. I was glad to lie still. I was as tired as I ever was in my life feet so sore that I could hardly step.

Bondville Boys in Concert/Dance at the River Garden

by MartinLangeveld | Town News

The Bondville Boys, an eclectic, edgy bluegrass band, will play a concert and dance at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden in downtown Brattleboro on Friday, April 18 from 7 to 10:30 p.m.

The concert is a benefit for Strolling of the Heifers, which has established its headquarters at the River Garden and is raising funds for renovations and improvements including air-conditioning and a demonstration kitchen.

The Bondville Boys, so named because “some of us are from Bondville, and some of us are boys,” consists of Jake Geppert (banjo, guitar and vocals), Tom Morris (guitar and banjo), Laura Molinelli (guitar and vocals), Dennis Fink (bass and vocals) and Ben Campbell (guitars, mandolin and vocals).

Popular throughout western New England since 1990, the Bondville Boys have shared stages with Del McCoury, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Buddy Cage, and the Gibson Brothers, among others. 

Brattleboro Board of Civil Authority Meeting Scheduled

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro BCA will meet on Tues, April 8 at 12 noon in the Town Clerk’s office to discuss details of the upcoming Town Budget re-vote.

Annette L. Cappy
Brattleboro Town Clerk
230 Main Street, Suite 108
Brattleboro. VT 05301
acappy@brattleboro.org
ph 802-251-8129
fax 802-257-2312

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting – Site Visit, Public Hearing, Special Town Meeting

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a site visit, special meeting and public hearing on Monday, April 7, 2014. The site visit will take place at 176 New England Drive at 5:30pm. The Board will reconvene the special meeting following the site visit and hold a public hearing at approximately 6:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

The Muddy Season – An 1874 Request for Sidewalks in Brattleboro

by cgrotke | History

I found this letter in an 1874 edition of the Phoenix, and it struck me as being somewhat familiar to contemporary opinion pieces.

This letter has it all – citizen concerns, a question of taxes, a call for protest if needed, and a request to do public improvements. Substitute any current town project for the sidewalks mentioned here and it could, with minor edits, be recycled and re-used in 2014.

West Brattleboro Assoc. Monthly Meeting, with Chris Hart, April 10

by WBA | Town News

The next monthly meeting of the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will be held at the New England House
on Thursday, April 10th at 6:00 PM. The guest speaker will be Chris Hart, Executive Director of the Brattleboro Housing Authority who will discuss possible future uses for the Melrose Terrace housing complex once residents are moved to new quarters being built on Canal Street called Red Clover Commons. The group will discuss various other items including the upcoming Green-Up Day on May 3rd and the semi-annual Chicken Barbecue sponsored by WBA on May 24th, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. It will be held once again in the front of the West Brattleboro Congregational Church.

I-91 Project Update: Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project: Week of April 6, Including RT 30 Closure Info

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge in the Fall of 2015.

Weather permitting, night work will be conducted Sunday night, April 6th through Saturday night, April 12th.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Guilford “Spring Fling”

by Not Signed In | Guilford

For winter-weary folks, a special event for Guilford residents of all ages will be held Saturday evening, April 5, at the historic Broad Brook Grange Hall at 3940 Guilford Center Road. The event is a Spring Fling, offering dancing to the music of a local band, open mic time, games of all sorts, refreshments and connecting with neighbors and friends for fun and entertainment. The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., with live music until at least 8 p.m., followed by an open jam and open mic. Admission will be by donations, with the aim of covering the cost of the band, heating the Grange Hall for the evening, and other associated expenses.

Supreme Court Voids Campaign Spending Limits

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, April 2 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today blasted a Supreme Court ruling that voided legal limits on contributions by individual donors to political campaigns.

“Freedom of speech, in my view, does not mean the freedom to buy the United States government,” Sanders said.

The ruling gives wealthy donors like the billionaires Charles and David Koch more power to influence elections. An earlier ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC resulted in a record $7 billion being spent in the 2012 election cycle, including at least $400 million by the Koch brothers alone.

BMH Offers Free Self-Management Workshops for Healthier Living

by BMH | Health

This spring, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is offering three self-management workshops to give individuals new tools to deal with chronic health issues and live a fuller, healthier life. All of the workshops are free and open to the public.

Two of the workshops are being offered in collaboration with the Brattleboro Senior Center. The first program, Healthier Living, will take place from April 15 to May 20. The second program, Healthier Living with Chronic Pain, will happen June 3 to July 8. Both workshops will meet from 9:30 AM to 12 PM every Tuesday for six weeks at the Gibson-Aiken Center.

The Lonely Heartstring Band and The Stockwell Brothers at Next Stage on Sunday, April 6

by Not Signed In | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening bluegrass and newgrass by The Lonely Heartstring Band and The Stockwell Brothers at Next Stage on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 pm.

The Lonely Heartstring Band is Berklee College of Music students George Clements, Patrick M’Gonigle, Matt Witler, Gabe Hirshfeld and Charles Clements. Their music is a combination of old and new styles, melding the sounds of traditional bluegrass with modern songwriting and arranging. The band began with a common love for the music of The Beatles, bringing some of their favorite songs to life while attempting to remain true to the original arrangements.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Town Meeting Petition Triggers Public Vote On Brattleboro Budget

by cgrotke | Town News

The registered voters of Brattleboro will have an opportunity to vote on the town budget within a few weeks. David Gartenstein told fellow Brattleboro Selectboard members that a successful petition by fifty-six Town Meeting Representatives will trigger a town-wide vote by ballot, as stipulated in the Town Charter, allowing for voters at-large to weigh in on the $16.2 million budget.

The Police Fire Facility Project committee has been requested by the board to look for additional ways to cut costs. New cell phone towers, solar arrays, skatepark location possibilities, and more were also discussed Tuesday evening.

Petition Succeeds

by spoon | Town News

56 Town meeting Member signatures were collected calling for a town-wide vote on the budget (Article 19 of the warning for Representative Town Meeting).  This exceeds the minimum requirement of 50.  The Selectboard now has 10 days to set the date for the vote which must be within 15 days thereafter.  Thus the first two if not all three of the initial steps will be concluded in April.  If the budget is defeated the Selectboard will have to call a Special Representative Town Meeting to present a new budget.

The Risk of Returning – Book Reading

by Not Signed In | Books

April Gallery Walk Book Reading, 7:15 pm on April 4th at Everyone’s Books – discussion and refreshments.

A reading and discussion with the authors of The Risk Of Returning.

An excellent new novel set in Guatemala, a society beset by the legacy of a century of American interventionist policies. Authors Rudy and Shirley Nelson of Amherst MA. will reflect on their time in Guatemala,as well as the art and labor of novel writing.

Special Day

by SK-B | Creative

I got a shut-off notice from the power company.

Then I noticed the date – April First.

So I laughed, tore it up, and threw it in the trash.

Suddenly, my lights went out.

Brn Mwr Drops Vowels

by ESchwartz | Education

Bryn Mawr Decides to Drop Vowels

April 1, 2014

Bryn Mawr College is announcing today that it is dropping the vowels from its name and questioning the use of vowels generally. The college will now be known as Brn Mwr. The move is being described as the first major initiative of the college’s new president, Kim Cassidy. A statement from Cassidy said: “This is the age of Twitter, every character counts. And really, what’s the difference, no one can pronounce our name anyway.” The college also announced plans for an academic conference related to the institution’s new skepticism of vowels. The conference is The Hegemony of the Vowel: Incontinence and Lipogrammatics.” One of the planned sessions is “The Habermasian Response: Communicative Ir-Rationality?”

Samirah Evans, Keene Orchestra Join Area Youth at the Kurn Hattin Jazz Invitational

by KurnHattin | Music

Kurn Hattin Homes for Children invites the public to attend its 7th Annual Jazz Invitational Wednesday, April 9th at 7:00 pm featuring special guests: the Keene Orchestra, directed by Scott Mullett, jazz singer Samirah Evans, and with Master of Ceremonies, Eugene Uman of the Vermont Jazz Center. This year’s program features youth jazz ensembles from Bellows Falls Union High School, Brattleboro Area Middle School, Northfield Mount Herman, Kurn Hattin Homes For Children, Vermont Academy, and the Vermont Jazz Center.

Sanders Welcomes Progress on VA Backlog

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, April 1– Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed significant progress by the Department of Veterans Affairs in reducing a disability claims backlog.

The VA announced today that its current backlog of claims pending more than 125 days is at its lowest point in three years. The backlog was reduced from 611,000 one year ago to 344,000 claims pending today, a 44 percent reduction. The VA also said the accuracy of the decisions on disability claims has improved.

New Take on Police/Fire Project?

by MichaelB | Op/Ed

On March 22nd Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting defeated the 1% optional sales tax and approved the FY15 budget, which includes the first interest payment on the second police/fire facilities bond.  So, what happens next?

First let’s state the obvious:  Brattleboro is in a bind.  It took many of us to get it there, myself
included.  We initially approved the police/fire facilities project and then rejected cutting the overall budget
enough to scale it back.  Meanwhile, we defeated the 1% sales tax multiple times.