Another Shopping Day at the Swap Shop!

by rbrem | Home & Garden

SHOPPING ONLY DAY at Swap Shop at WSWMD on Old Ferry Road, Brattleboro is here again!  Saturday, October 2, 8:30 am to noon. ALL ITEMS ARE FREE. Many new donated items were added last Saturday.  Photos of some available items are posted on Facebook’s Brattleboro, Vermont group page. Halloween and Christmas decorations!

SCHEDULE & HOURS:
Shopping Days- 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month
Donation Days- 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month

Noticed Around Brattleboro – Fall 2021

by cgrotke | Town News

The continuing thread for the little things that are worthy of noting, but maybe not worth writing a full paragraph to explain.  What have you noticed around Brattleboro this fall?

Construction at Amy’s – the former bakery space is getting a makeover.

Brattleboro Fall 2021 Leaf Pickup Schedule

by Not Signed In | Town News

The following dates have been scheduled for Brattleboro’s curbside Fall Leaf Collection. All locations will be picked up each Friday:

Leaf Pick Up Date

ALL RESIDENTS  Friday, October 22, 2021

ALL RESIDENTS  Friday, November 5, 2021

BCTV Schedules – Week of September 27, 2021

by BCTVProg | Media

Monday, September 27, 2021

4:33 am Vermont State House – Pension Benefits, Design, and Funding Task Force Pt3 8/25/21
5:00 am River Valleys Unified School District – RVUSD Bd Mtg 9/20/21
7:15 am Townshend Selectboard – Townshend SB Mtg 9/14/21
8:00 am The David Pakman Show – The David Pakman Show – Weekly Broadcast
9:00 am Energy Week with George Harvey – Energy Week #437 – 9/23/2021
10:00 am Brattleboro Development Review Board – Brattleboro DRB Mtg 9/15/21

Questions for Peter Elwell, Bob Fisher, and Lawrin Crispe for 10/13/21 Meeting 6-7:30pm (allcounted.com)

by Rikki Risatti | Town News

Questions for Peter Elwell, Bob Fisher, and Lawrin Crispe for 10/13/21 Meeting 6-7:30pm (allcounted.com)

The elected district represenatives of Brattleboro’s Steering Committee members are asking the municipal manager, lawyer, and moderator about the annual representative municipal meeting. Which of the following questions do you prioritize our collective hour and half of time together being focused on?

Autumnal Rites

by Lise | Nature

We got the predicted rain last night.  Sometime after midnight, in the darkest hours of the night, the rain began to pour.  It was hard not to notice.  Even the cat was intrigued, opening the curtains to look out despite the fact that it was before dawn.

Groundworks Collaborative to Rebuild Former South Main Drop-In Center as Program Offices

by Not Signed In | Town News

BRATTLEBORO, VT—As the third and final phase of Groundworks Collaborative’s South Main Street capital project, the former Groundworks Drop-In Center at 60 South Main Street will be deconstructed this fall in preparation for the construction of a new building in its place.  The design will allow for adequate space for Groundworks’ growing program staff, many of whom have worked without offices since the start of the pandemic. 

The new 60 South Main Street building will be home to Groundworks’ Case Management team, Representative Payee program, and the team of embedded providers from Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Brattleboro Retreat, and HCRS—known as Healthworks.  

October 20, 2021 Brattleboro Development Review Board Agenda

by bbannon@brattleboro.org | Town Plan

AGENDA

Call to Order
Review and Approve Minutes of previous meeting.
Review of Cases/Public Hearings to be reviewed under the Brattleboro Land Use Regulations.
2021-139              Jason P. Doubleday; Rural Residential District; request for minor subdivision approval off of Rice Farm Road; Tax Map Parcels #30002.000 & 30003.000 continued from 9.15.2021

Brattleboro Committee Meeting Warnings

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Citizens Police Communication Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, September 27, 2021 at 5:30pm in the Brooks Memorial Library Main Reading Room.

The Brattleboro Human Services Committee will meet on Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at 1:00pm in the Brattleboro Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street).

We Are Pawns In A Deadly Game

by RDavis | Health

The American people have become pawns in a deadly game being played between the pharmaceutical industry and Washington politicians. This should not be news to anyone who has to pay for prescription drugs, especially those who struggle with medications such as insulin and other life-sustaining drugs that they have to ration in order to pay all their other bills.

News of this horrific situation is surfacing again because there are a few legislative initiatives in Washington aimed at lowering U.S. prescription drug prices. Our drug prices are the highest in the world because we do not allow negotiation for prices with the drug manufacturers.

According to the Center for American Progress, “Legislation such as H.R. 3—the Lower Drug Costs Now Act—would allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices directly with drug companies to the cost of drugs. The bill ensures that both Medicare enrollees and privately insured patients will benefit from these prices, and it establishes an upper limit of 120 percent of the drug’s average price in several peer nations if drug companies refuse to come to the negotiating table.”

WSESD Board Meeting Agenda and Minutes

by Not Signed In | Education

AGENDA

I. CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – David Schoales, Board Chair

II. CONSENT AGENDA

• CLERK’S REPORT – Approval of Minutes – September 14, 2021

III. Public Comment on Non-agenda Items (10 minutes)

IV. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

• Summer Enrichment Program; Family Outreach and Engagement in the First Month of this School Year

V. COVID Q&A – Dr. Elizabeth Richards

Brattleboro DPW Fall Flushing Schedule

by Not Signed In | Town News

Utilities Division crews will start Fall Flushing of the Town water mains on Thursday September 23, 2021, at 10:00 p.m. and continue through Saturday October 9, 2021.

Some users have recently noticed discoloration of their water. Unprecedented rainfall has added color from dissolved organics in the source water. Additional organics accumulated in the distribution system is the cause of the discoloration. The water is safe to drink. Public Works tests the water throughout the distribution system daily. Flushing the water mains will improve the situation. Brattleboro is currently constructing a new water treatment facility which will improve our ability to treat the water supply during unusual conditions in the future. 

Selectboard Meeting Notes – Steve Barrett To Retire, Stormwater, and a Bridge

by cgrotke | Town News
Brattleboro Selectboard September 2021

The Brattleboro Selectboard met on the last evening of summer, and heard big news. Steve Barrett, long-time employee of the Town, will be retiring and Dan Tyler will be taking his place.  The switch happens in December.

There was discussion of racism in the community, COVID safety at the Stone Church, stormwater plans, designs for and objections to a new bridge on Western Ave, and more.

How About ‘Taking a Knee’ Against USA’s Infamously Greater Racist Homicide in Other Peoples Countries?

by jay janson | Op/Ed

The ‘Taking a Knee’ Phenomenon Shows Celebrities have extraordinary power to influence public protest against injustice.

The wide spread effectiveness of the ‘Taking the Knee’ phenomenon is proof that celebrities have extraordinary power to influence public action in protest of social injustice

(This would seem to imply, by the way, that a celebrity’s power to influence brings a higher level of citizen responsibility to speak out – yet so few do.)

Progressive United! Slate Wins Third Straight Election with Mandate at Vermont AFL-CIO Convention

by David Van Deusen | Activism

Northeast Kingdom, VERMONT: Today the progressive UNITED! Slate overwhelmingly won their third straight election for leadership positions within the Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO at their annual Convention. United! prevailed in winning 18 of 19 Executive Board positions including David Van Deusen for President (2nd term), Dwight Brown for Executive Vice President (1st term), and Danielle Bombardier for Secretary-Treasurer (2nd term). United! also won elections for the Chair of the Rank & File Presidential Advisory Committee (Damion Gilbert), and for President of the Green Mountain Riders Union Motorcycle Club (Dan Brush). The election results are viewed as a mandate by the incoming leadership to keep moving in a more progressive direction.

UNITED! was formed in 2019 in response to the continuing decline of the labor movement happening all over the country, including right here in Vermont. Union density — the percentage of workers who belong to a labor union — has been hovering around 10% nationally, a record low. In Vermont, union density is 11.8% as of 2020, but has climbed in 2021 due to new organizing by UFCW, AFSCME, and AFT. The Vermont State Labor Council now has over 11,000 members.

Online Auction To Benefit The West River Railroad Museum

by Not Signed In | History

The West River Railroad was established in 1880, ran from Brattleboro, Vermont, to South Londonderry, Vermont, and was discontinued in 1936. The Newfane Depot was one of ten on the line and had been used for different purposes through the years until the Historical Society of Windham County was given the opportunity to purchase the Depot in 2014.

The Historical Society set about to restore the Depot and make it a museum for the West River Railroad. The Museum opened in 2017 and has been open every year to the public free-of-charge on weekends from Memorial Day to Columbus Day.