Press Release: Oscar Heller for Selectboard

by Oscar Heller | Politics

My name is Oscar Heller, and I’m running for Selectboard. I believe I have the temperament and skills to do a great job on your behalf. I value thoughtfulness, hard work, and public engagement. I’m not afraid to admit when I don’t understand something, or to ask hard questions on behalf of the public. And I’m not afraid to stand alone or take a hard vote if I disagree.

I found Brattleboro through Camp Waubanong, and moved here permanently ten years ago. Since then I’ve started two small businesses, bought a building and become a landlord on Elliot St, and gotten involved in local politics. I first joined the Energy Committee, and am currently a town meeting representative and a member of the Finance Committee. I’m 35 years old, and I want to be a part of building our future.

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting Agenda and Notes – February 1, 2024

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will meet for a Special Meeting on Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212). At the conclusion of the meeting the Board will meet and is expected to immediately enter into executive session to discuss contracts, possible litigation, and evaluation of a public employee. No action will be taken in executive session. The public may also participate in the meeting over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.”  ASL interpreters or closed captioning will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.

Brattleboro Planning Commission Meeting: February 5, 2024 Meeting Agenda

by planning | Town Plan

6:15 – 6:45 Neighborhood Center Zoning District Amendment Request
Potential Action on moving forward a proposed Neighborhood Center Zoning District amendment to the Land Use Regulations that would amend Section 224.E.6 pertaining to the location of vehicular service bay doors.

6:45– 7:15 Bike Parking standards
Guest: Jonathon Weber, Local Motion
Discussion of available background information and rationale regarding short term and long term bicycle parking requirements.

7:15 – 7:40 Certified Local Government
Review of Certified Local Government(CLG) ordinance and proposed change to Historic Resource Overlay Purpose (Section 252.A) for potential recommendation to the Selectboard to pursue CLG.

Medicaid & Health Resource Drop-in Hours

by ESchwartz | Health

Have you been cut off of Medicaid, or are you concerned that you may become ineligible? Are you on Medicare and unable to afford a supplement? Are you concerned about going into medical debt?

The Vermont Workers’ Center is hosting drop-in informational hours on Feb. 6 from 3:00-5:30 PM in the Brooks Memorial Library Community Meeting Room, 224 Main St, Brattleboro. All are welcome to stop in to get updated about Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs, and other health care resources. You can find out about your rights in this process and review any communications you have received about Medicaid or other health insurance.

Windham Southeast School District Board (WSESD) Meeting Minutes – Jan 23, 2024

by Not Signed In | Education

SUMMARY:

● Student representatives expressed concern about a lack of positive student attitudes at the high school and asked for students and staff to show greater sensitivity and inclusivity, particularly to English Language Learners.
● Administrators provided an update on the implementation of two new curricula, EL (a literacy curriculum) and Illustrative Math.
● The board awarded the bid for roof repairs at Green Street School to Triumph Roofing in the amount of $322,000.
● The board awarded the bid for window replacement at The Guilford Central School to Monadnock Commercial Building Company in the amount of $362,949.
● The board approved the proposed FY2025 WSESD budget of $65,846,891. This budget will be presented for a public vote at the district annual meeting on March 19, 2024.
● The board voted to approve the proposed FY2025 Capital Plan.
● The board issued a statement regarding the Sexual Abuse Investigation.
● The board re-adopted two updated policies: D7 Volunteers and Work Study Students and F36 Student Freedom of Expression – School Media
● The Social Justice Committee collaborated with the Superintendent to write a statement expressing support for teachers to discuss the situation in Gaza and Israel in their classrooms. The board will vote whether to approve this statement at their next meeting on January 30, 2024.

WSESD Candidates Welcome at Guilford Pre-Town Meeting

by DonInGuilford | Politics

Guilford’s Pre-Town Meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 27, at 6:30 pm at Broad Brook Community Center. This is also the one opportunity for Guilford voters to meet and hear from candidates for local offices that will be voted on Town Meeting Day the following week. In addition to town offices, such as selectboard, the Australian ballot on Town Meeting Day will include elections for board members of the Windham Southeast School District. This year, in addition to filling one seat on the board with a representative from Guilford, a seat from Putney and two from Brattleboro will be elected by voters in the four towns. Therefore, those running for the Brattleboro and Putney seats will also appear on the Guilford ballot. Guilford voters present at Pre-Town Meeting will thus be pleased to have in attendance any candidates running for these positions, to have them make a statement, answer questions, and, after the meeting, meet and chat.

Guilford Pre-Town Meeting, co-sponsored by Broad Brook Grange and the Guilford Selectboard, is an officially-warned public information meeting presenting the articles which will be voted on at town meeting, ranging from budgets to special articles and elections of town officials. The evening will also include an informal update on WSESD and Guilford School happenings. Refreshments will be served.

BCTV Schedules – Week of January 29, 2024

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Channel 1078 Weekly Listing for 1/29/24

Monday, January 29, 2024

5:00 am All Brains Belong – Brain Club: Family Relationships

6:00 am Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce – BACC Annual Members Meeting 1/16/24

6:35 am Brattleboro Literary Festival – Alternate Worlds– Kelly Link & Holly Black

7:30 am The World Fusion Show – Ep 170 – Brian Shankar Adler

Public Domain Fun

by cgrotke | Entertainment

Here’s a little project I did to celebrate Mickey Mouse, and a handful of songs, entering the public domain in 2024.  

I like to animate, and it was hard to resist playing with this early character.

They’re Talking About Homelessness Again

by RDavis | Activism

It goes in cycles. The public conscience gets activated and politicians and policymakers talk about the crisis of homelessness and about how something needs to be done about it. There is a lot of talk, a few stories by major media outlets for a few weeks or months, and then not much changes.

To be fair, there are a number of programs around the country that create housing for homeless people and they do make life better for people as long as there is solid case management support and motivation for people to improve their lives. Brattleboro, Vermont has a number of organizations serving the homeless and, despite growing in capacity and comprehensiveness over the years, they are faced with a Sisyphean task.

Sadly, Vermont has the second highest rate of homelessness in the country. We have a severe shortage of affordable housing, prices for homes that are too high and high property taxes that make it difficult for too many people to stay in their homes as they age and try to live on fixed incomes.

Brattleboro Committee Meeting Warnings

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro RTM Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 6:30pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 211).

The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 4:15pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 211).

Brattleboro 2024 Dog and Wolf-Hybrid Licenses Due

by Not Signed In | Pets

The Brattleboro Town Clerks office is working on a new portal that will streamline the dog licensing process for dog owners, making it quicker and more efficient. Unfortunately, that launch of that portal has been delayed. Once the portal is ready, dog owners will receive renewal paperwork in the mail with instructions on how to access and use the new portal through our website.

If a dog owner needs to license their dog(s) prior to the launch of this portal, they may do so in the same ways that they have license in the past: by visiting the Town Clerk’s office, paying the fee online, or by submitting a check through the mail or the drop-box (please include a note indicating the name of the owner(s) and dog(s) that are being licensed). These methods will remain available after the launch of the portal.

Time Bomb

by AnneODyne | Politics

As I entered the cafe a cat, completely camouflaged crossed my path, calico of course. Speechless, I went inside, got in line where it was impossible to not overhear a conversation well underway. “…it’s a campaign of grievance driven by brainwashing and sleepwalking… how is it not mass psychosis, Nazi Germany in the thirties?”  

I couldn’t tell if the two were a couple or some configuration less tested, but the man spoke with a heft of tone that said, “I know I’ve beaten this drum before.” His partner was sort of drifting off too, looking at me for rescue or corroboration, I couldn’t tell which.

Richard Davis To Run For One Year Brattleboro Selectboard Seat

by RDavis | Politics

Richard Davis, a 74 year old semi-retired nurse, writer and political activist has announced his intention to run for a one year seat on the Brattleboro selectboard.

A Boston area native, Davis has lived in Windham County for the past 45 years, 41 of those years in Guilford and for the past 2 ½ years in Brattleboro with his wife Roberta Levy.

He feels that the current board needs new blood to provide a different perspective on issues important to the people of Brattleboro.

Many people have been frustrated at the appearance of a lack of transparency that has surrounded the actions of the current board, especially in relation to the decision to end a long-standing relationship with Rescue Inc.

Le Patin Libre Returns to Brattleboro with Threshold

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

Next Stage Arts presents Montreal-based contemporary ice skating company Le Patin Libre, performing their work Threshold at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility on Friday, February 16 at 6:00 and 8:00 pm. Le Patin Libre performed to a sold-out audience at the rink last winter. A second show has been added this year to accommodate what is sure to be an enthusiastic response to the company’s return.

A contemporary reinvention of the show on ice, Le Patin Libre company is once again sharpening its blades for a new frozen opus. Dazzlement assured.

Le Patin Libre, whose members are all highly trained skaters, caused a sensation in 2014 with Vertical Influences, a revolutionary display of contemporary dance on ice. “We take full advantage of what makes skating a unique and legitimate art form: the glide”, explains Alexandre Hamel. “The glide allows the disconnection of the body’s displacement in space from its physical movement.” A Le Patin Libre performance is an adrenalin-laced experience. “We use that rush to fuel our choreographic poetry.” The same artistic team—skaters Pascale Jodoin, Jasmin Boivin, Taylor Dilley, Samory Ba and Alexandre Hamel, joined by dramaturge Ruth Little—brings us another gravity-defying show. “Dancers and acrobats have to walk, run, flip, leap, and so on. We, on the other hand, can zoom around without moving a muscle!”

BCTV Schedules – Week of January 22, 2024

by BCTVProg | Media

Monday, January 22, 2024

5:55 am At BMAC – 16th Annual Domino Toppling Extravaganza

6:00 am Around Town with Maria – Jonas Fricke’s Friends Remember Him 12/12/23

7:25 am Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce – BACC Annual Members Meeting 1/16/24

8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast

9:00 am Energy Week with George Harvey – Energy Week #555 – 1/11/2024