P.T. Barnum in Brattleboro, and Jumbo in the Whetstone

by cgrotke | History

Time for a summer circus story.

As I was reading some old newspapers, I found an entry that caught my eye. In a report about a flood, the newspaper mentioned that it was hard to believe that the flooded field by the Whetstone was the same place that had been host to P.T. Barnum and Jumbo just a year prior.

I’m a big circus fan, but didn’t know that P.T. Barnum had come to town, let alone that his world famous Jumbo walked about our streets. I dug around some more and found that this circus story began much earlier and was more interesting than I imagined. 

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of June 23 – Southbound Closure

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.

On Monday night, June 23 and Tuesday night, June 24, the southbound lane of I-91 will be closed to complete necessary shoulder repairs. The specifics of the closure are:

– The closure will be from 9 PM – 6AM and will take place over two nights, Monday 6/23 and Tuesday 6/24

– The closing will be for southbound traffic only between Exits 3 and 2.

– All southbound traffic will be detoured off at Exit 3.

Yard Sale on High Street – Toys, Office Furniture, Antiques & More

by Not Signed In | Other

We are hosting a yard sale at 76 High Street (McCarty Law Offices) in Brattleboro on Satuday, June 21st from 8-3PM. We have lots of inventory from antiques, a Persian Rug, kids toys (a lot of it from my childhood), books, office furniture and Christmas decorations.

We would love to see it go and for you to come down and see what we have. Hope to see you there.

-McCarty Law Offices

150 Years Ago (1864 6/21)

by BusyMom | History

“Just to the right of Petersburg”

Outer Line of Breast Works June 21, 1864.

Dear wife,

Here I am, just down to the right of Petersburg. Have to be low, so I will improve the time in letting you know how I am and how I got here. I shall always tell you just how it is. Thursday afternoon I went to Camp Distribution. On the next morning about seven hundred of us went to Alexandria, took a steamer for Bermuda Hundred but did not land there. Went back down the river a short distance and came on a few miles, Sunday night, and camped. Heard the roar of guns all night when I was awake, but I slept most of the time. In the morning started again to the Army Headquarters, found it and a lot of rebel prisoners. Then started for Corps Headquarters, found it. There saw a few rebel compliments in the shape of shell. The first one struck a little ways from me. Well, a few dropped around, but no one seemed to mind it, so I thought I would not. There were but four of us to report to this Brigade, that was up to the right of Petersburg, near to the rail road.

Weekend Concert Series: Stray Cats Live at Montreux 1981

by cgrotke | Entertainment

The Stray Cats hit big time with a weird niche. While others were going to discos and still others were reacting by inventing punk, the Stray Cats returned us to 50’s rockabilly with a new energy for it that hadn’t been seen in decades.

Brian Setzer is a great guitarist, and the stripped down, simple setup of guitar, bass, and drum was all they needed. Sure, everyone knows the hits, like Rock This Town, but this show allows us to see them more fully. I’m glad to see Runaway Boys and Rumble in Brighton on the set list.

Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee Meeting Agenda

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, June 24, 2014, starting with a site visit at 8:00am at the Linden Lodge/Phoenix House on Linden Street, and reconvening in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center at approximately 8:30am.

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

Sanders and Vermont Religious Leaders Address Wealth and Income Inequality

by Not Signed In | State News

BURLINGTON, Vt., June 20 – Vermont religious leaders joined U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today to address the moral implications of extreme wealth and income inequality.

Bishop Thomas Ely, the Rev. Dr. Lynn Bujnak, Monsignor Roland Rivard and Rabbi Joshua Chasan joined Sanders to emphasize that increasing wealth and income inequality in the United States is one of the great moral issues of our time and is undermining the fabric of our nation.

Congressman Welch Joins Overwhelming House Vote To End Some NSA Activities

by cgrotke | Politics

Vermont Congressman Peter Welch voted in favor of defund some of the NSA’s spying on innocent Americans yesterday. He added his support to a bill that stops the backdoor searches of information collected under the Section 702 program and blocks the NSA from mandating that tech companies add backdoors in their software or hardware.

The Senate and White House will need to approve, but a vote of 293-123 shows that the House, at least, is ready to curtail some of the NSA’s unnecessary activities. It’s the first time that Congress has acted to defund NSA activities since Edward Snowden gave documents to journalists just over a year ago. It’s a pretty solid vote, too, across party lines.

Oil Speculators Use Iraq as Excuse to Drive Up Prices – Sanders’ Bill Would Invoke Regulators’ Emergency Powers

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, June 19 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today accused oil companies and Wall Street speculators of using unrest in Iraq as a phony excuse to artificially drive up crude oil and gasoline prices.

The price of oil today rose above $115 a barrel – a new nine-month high on the New York Mercantile Exchange – ostensibly because of concerns that sectarian violence in Iraq could cut off the country’s exports. The price of regular gasoline rose to $3.67 a gallon today, up a nickel in the past month. That was despite the fact that today there is more supply and less demand for gasoline than five years ago, when the average price of a gallon of gas was just $2.67 a gallon.

Brattleboro Police Chief Search – Community Committee

by Not Signed In | Police & Fire

In recognition of the fact that everyone is a legitimate stakeholder when it comes to public safety, a committee of citizens is being formed to participate in candidate interviews as one step in the overall process of hiring the next police chief. The Town Manager’s Office will be accepting letters of interest from motivated members of the public for participation in the Police Chief Search – Community Committee.

Vermont Economic Development Authority Public Meeting for Revolving Loan Fund

by Not Signed In | State News

On Thursday, July 10, 2014, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) will hold a public hearing from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., in the Select Board Meeting Room, Brattleboro Municipal Center, 230 Main Street, Brattleboro.

The purpose of the public meeting is to take public comment on utilizing a portion of the $10 million made available through the MOU between the State of Vermont and Entergy Vermont Yankee to establish a Windham County Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) administered by VEDA. The RLF would be part of the Windham County Economic Development Program under development by ACCD to implement the MOU.

The Great American Drug War: “A Problem That Will Not Go Away”

by Vidda | Op/Ed

Getting inebriated is an intentional human behavior — it is not a mistake or an accident. Neither is it a mental health crisis. It is, in fact, perfectly normal human behavior well within the range of good mental health. Just like the drugs themselves, it is a question of degree (or percentage) of usage and effect.

Deeply ingrained in the desired effects of drug use is another perfectly normal human behavior: Moderation. In fact, moderation is the largest component of drug use behavior. It represents the behavior of up to 85-95% of all human drug use (…with one glaring exception – cigarettes, which run roughly at a 98-100% addiction rate).

Beware Of A Legal Hospital Scam Called “Observation Care”

by SK-B | Health

Hospitals can keep patients overnight — even for several nights — for “observation care” without telling the patient that they are officially an out-patient, even though they are in a hospital bed. Medicare patients can then be surpised to receive high bills which which are not covered, but should have been if they had been an in-patient. 

It is unconscionable — but unfortunately not so unusual — that at at a time of greatest vulnerability, a patient is on their own to defend themselves against a powerful institution. Here is a link to an article which warns patients who are kept overnight at a hospital that it is essential to verify exactly what their patient status is, since the hospital is not required to tell them.

Brattleboro’s Calamity – The First National Bank Ruined

by cgrotke | History

If you were alive in 1880, you may have been attracted to the following story in the newspaper: one of the three local banks left in ruins after the bank president skipped town after being discovered forging accounts.

It was a massive and stunning crime, as evident from this coverage in The Phoenix. Read on for an amazing story of Brattleboro banks, lawyers, investigators, detectives, and people who lost everything, today in history.

Dublin in Song and Story with Tom O’Carroll: Fund Raising Concert

by Brooks Memorial Library | Music

Get your tickets NOW for a great evening of music! Please join the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library in this fund raising event to celebrate James Joyce and Bloomsday. Dublin in Song and Story with musician and Irish folklorist Tom O’Carroll will be presented on Thursday, June 19, at 7:30 PM, in the Library’s Main Room. 

Dublin born folklorist, folk-singer and instrumentalist Tom O’Carroll brings a wealth of stories, humor, wit and history to his performances. In this program Tom tells the tales and sings the songs of his native city. This capital city on the River Liffey has an abundance of history and colorful characters and Tom will introduce you to some of them. This program is ideal for those interested in Irish Literature.

Social Media Surgery for Non Profits: A Workshop

by Brooks Memorial Library | Business

Join Rob Fish, Nonprofit Advisor and Community Organizer, Vermont Digital Economy Project Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) in a workshop, Social Media Surgery for Non Profits on Wednesday 18 June 2014, 7 pm – 8:30 pm at the Brooks Library. 

Does your organization need help using Facebook or Twitter? At this event, we will be bringing social media experts from around the state to work one on one with area organizations. This won’t be a workshop like any you have attended before.

Created by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) in response to the 2011 floods, the Vermont Digital Economy Project’s mission is to construct more resilient communities, by helping Vermont communities, businesses, and nonprofits better use online tools as a way to speed flood recovery, spur economic development and job growth, and improve community resilience to disasters.

Sanders Votes No as Senate Panel Backs Tar Sands Pipeline

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, June 18 – Over staunch opposition by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 12-10 for the construction of the Keystone Pipeline which would transport oil from the tar sands region in Alberta, Canada, to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.

Sanders said extracting and refining “the dirtiest oil imaginable” would spew more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and worsen global warming.

Completing the Keystone XL pipeline, he added, would send a signal that the United States is unwilling to lead the way toward reversing global warming.