Weekend Creativity Series: Building Ornamentation

by cgrotke | Creative

One of the ways we used to be more creative as a culture was in our ornamentation of buildings. Part of the thrill of visits to big cities is to see the highly decorated and elaborate old facades.

While cost-cutting has streamlined buildings of more recent times, the Washington Cathedral in DC is a relatively new structure that stands as an example of what is possible with carved stone ornamentation. Cats, monsters, frogs, birds, snakes, owls, mules, dragons, pigs, and people are represented as gargoyles and water spouts.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda & Notes – January 19, 2016

by cgrotke | Town News

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will likely endorse moving the police station to Black Mountain Road and doing full improvements for the fire stations. The board will also discuss spending $200,000 to make corrections to the gravity sewer project on Black Mountain Road.

The Waste Water Treatment Plant needs fixin’. Town Meeting Representatives will be summoned for a special Representative Town Meeting. Many articles will be considered for the upcoming regular Representative Town Meeting, the board will hear updates on PAYT as well as implementation of the Town Plan, Living Memorial Park may need a stormwater permit for the proposed skatepark, the parking garage gets new stairs, and more.

You can attend in person and participate! Or watch on BCTV then read about it here after.

Sanders Announces Winners of State of the Union Essay Contest

by Not Signed In | Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 15 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced the winners of his annual State of the Union essay contest for Vermont high school students. Nearly 800 students, a record number, from 39 high schools participated in the contest this year.

A panel of five Vermont teachers served as volunteer judges and selected Meredith Holbrook, a senior at Milton High School, as the winner of the contest. In her essay, Holbrook focused on the need to address domestic economic issues, such as hunger, homelessness and strengthening Social Security in the United States.

Small Business Loans for Windham County Residents

by Community Capital of Vermont | Business

Are you looking to start or grow your business in 2016? Community Capital of Vermont is a nonprofit small and micro business lender, with loans ranging in size from $1,000 to $100,000. CCVT specializes in providing loans to business owners who lack the collateral or credit history to qualify for traditional bank loans.

Loan proceeds can be used for working capital, to purchase equipment or inventory, or to refinance debt.

Dosa Kitchen Is Back at the Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market

by Dosa Kitchen | Food

After a two-month eating tour of South India, Dosa Kitchen is back at the Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market.

We’ll be there this and every Saturday 10-2 through the end of March.

We will be sharing some of our newest recipes from our trip—this week it will be Black Chickpea Curry, a coconut-based curry from the state of Kerala, and Masala Free-Range Chicken, featuring Nash’s family’s signature spice blend.

The Stockwell Brothers at McNeill’s Brewery on Friday, January 15

by Not Signed In | Music

McNeill’s Brewery presents contemporary bluegrass and folk music quartet The Stockwell Brothers on Friday, January 15 at 9:00 pm.

Bruce, Barry, Alan and Kelly Stockwell’s music spans traditional and progressive styles, but their trademark acoustic sound features new singer/songwriter material recast with banjo, alternative rhythms and three-part harmonies. They cover straight ahead bluegrass songs, finger picked acoustic guitar ballads, full tilt breakdowns and traditional mandolin tunes mixed in with more unusual fare – Americana melodies riding world beat grooves and Celtic, jazzy, even neo-classical instrumentals.

My New Theory – Economic Fracking

by cgrotke | Economics

I’ve coined a new term for what I think is going on in the world economy. Certain speculators and money-obsessed groups are fracking the economy, trying to extract smaller and smaller amounts of profit from deeper and deeper crevices. In doing so, they’ve made the underlying economy unstable, and strange, unexpected, and dangerous events are the result. This makes it impossible for those who played by former rules to know how to participate. The old rules have changed.

So, an example of this fracking of the economy would be the investment houses that invest in algorithms to do high volume micro-trades at faster-than-human speeds. They are hoping to extract pennies, or portions of pennies, in their favor.

Ladies of the Rainbow Windham County Heat Fund Fundraiser

by RDavis | Entertainment

“Heating it up with the Ladies of the Rainbow” on Saturday, February 6 at 8:00 p.m. at the VFW on Black Mountain Road in Brattleboro will be this year’s major fundraiser for the Windham County Heat Fund.

In 2005 Daryl Pillsbury and Richard Davis decided to find a way to help people struggling to pay for home heating fuel who were not eligible for existing programs.  They simply decided to raise money and then figure out who was in need and help those people.

They have worked closely with SEVCA and the Windham County HELP Fund so that people can be connected with assistance programs. The Heat Fund is a one-time band-aid, usually consisting of a minimum fuel delivery. The Fund tries to make sure people have explored all other avenues of assistance first.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of January 17

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

I-91

To reduce congestion on I-91, both Exit 3 on ramps will be closed on Monday, January 18, (Martin Luther King’s Birthday) from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. I-91 will remain open.

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. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 may be reduced to a single lane intermittently, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting Notes: Paying the Piper

by cgrotke | Town News

The special meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard examined the cost of borrowing for proposed Police and Fire facility options, life cycle cost comparisons, how and when to apply the excess fund balance, and preliminary Police and Fire facilities survey results.

It’s increasingly looking like two full fire stations and a Black Mountain police station will be presented to voters, but no decision has been officially made as of yet, and more meetings are scheduled before those decisions are cast in stone.

From Clay to Table Opening at The Putney School

by Not Signed In | Arts

Three local ceramic artists—Rob Cartelli, Heta Hilsdon, and Todd Wahlstrom—open their collective show on Friday, January 15 from 7-9 p.m. (snow date January 22) in the Michael S. Currier Center at The Putney School. The event is open to the public and admission is free.

Naomi Lindenfeld, the ceramics teacher at The Putney School, curated the show. Her vision led her to display the finely-crafted functional pottery on furniture rather than gallery pedestals. That way viewers can get much more of a sense of how one would live with the pots on a daily basis.

YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program to be offered at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

by BMH | Health

The YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program helps adults at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes reduce their risk for developing the disease by taking steps that will improve their overall health and well-being.

The (CDC)-led evidence-based program is delivered over a 12-month period in a supportive small group classroom setting. Sixteen weekly one-hour sessions are followed by eight monthly sessions. Facilitated by trained lifestyle coaches Terri Kneipp and Nancy Schaefer, the class is scheduled to begin January 21, 2016 and will be held at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital from 3:00 – 4:00 PM.

Brattleboro Closures on Martin Luther King Day

by Not Signed In | Town News

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all Brattleboro Town offices will be closed on Monday, January 18, 2016, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Monday, January 18. All other violations will be enforced.

A Worm of Robins?

by tomaidh | Nature

This chilly, windy morning, as I was walking my dog, I was surprised to see a large flock of robins fluttering all around the Spring Street Parking Lot.

Are they lost? Or did they miss the southbound AMTRAK?

(According to the Quebec based bird welfare organization Le Nichior, the proper collective noun for robins is
a “worm”.

)

Sanders Announces Finalists of State of the Union Essay Contest

by Not Signed In | Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 11 – With President Barack Obama set to deliver his State of the Union address tomorrow evening, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced 20 finalists in his annual State of the Union essay contest for Vermont high school students. A record number of Vermont high schools and students participated in Sanders’ contest this year.

This year, 799 students from 39 Vermont high schools wrote essays of 250 words to 500 words detailing their own view of the state of the union. That is a substantial increase from last year when 454 students from 27 schools wrote essays for the senator’s contest.

Act 46 Study Committee Agenda and Minutes

by Not Signed In | Education

Representing the Brattleboro Town School District, Dummerston Town School District, Guilford Town School District, Putney Town School District, and the Vernon Town School District
http://www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF MEETING

The Act 46 Study Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at the Green Street School, Brattleboro.

AGENDA

I. CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – Alice Laughlin, Committee Chair

II. REVIEW, PRIORITIZE AND ESTABLISH DESIRED OUTCOMES FOR MEETING BY CHAIRPERSON.

BMH Launches “Mindful Eating For Weight Loss” Workshop Series

by BMH | Health

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital’s Community Health Team will present a free 4-part workshop series focused on the role of mindful eating for those seeking to lose weight.

Presented by Peg Canal MS, RD, CDE Nutritionist/ Registered Dietitian/Certified Diabetes Educator, Carrie Quimby MS, RD Nutritionist/ Registered Dietitian and Nancy Schaefer, BS Health Coach, the workshop series will help participants identify triggers that contribute to unhealthy eating and learn to develop mindful eating practices.

Mexican-Americans: Experience & Identity – A Reading-Discussion Series

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

Mexican-Americans: Experience & Identity–A Reading-Discussion Series: Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. Wednesday 20 January 2016, 7 pm – 8:30 pm. This 4-Part series ‘Mexican Americans: Experience and Identity,’ deals with the experiences of Mexicans living in the United States, from the struggles of migrant farmworkers and day laborers in California to coming of age stories of Chicanos as U.S. citizens. The first book in the series is Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, which chronicles the story of an alienated New Mexico boy who seeks an answer to his questions about life in his relationship with Ultima, a magical healer.