Minding the Mind: Keeping Tabs on Your Changing Brain

by northeastpni | Health

Alexander Potter will give a presentation on our human brain’s ability to change and grow throughout its
life span on Tuesday, November 12, from 7–8:30 pm. This event, taking place at the Marlboro College Graduate School in Brattleboro, is part of the ongoing series of talks, classes, workshops, and support groups offered by the Northeast Psycho-Neuro-Immunology Institute for Healing (NEPNI).

The brain’s ability to reorganize is now often referred to as neuroplasticity.  Our brains change on a daily basis, and we play a role in directing those changes, with or without our knowledge.  You can keep tabs on how your brain is changing –and direct those changes for your benefit.

2013 Halloween Costume List for Cedar Street

by cgrotke | Creative

Halloween 2013 was a spooky one. It was raining and very, very dark on Cedar Street. The power went out just before 6 p.m. leaving every house without light.

And out of the darkness they came. First small and alone, then in increasing numbers. By our count, 196 goblins came out of the darkness in search of treats.

Here is the official 2013 Halloween costume list. Forgive us for any errors.

Tiny Batman
Thing 1
Thing 2
The Cat in the Hat

Dark Hallowe’en On Cedar Street

by Lise | Town News

This year’s hallowe’en celebration was our darkest ever — at a little before 6 o’clock, some heard a bang, others saw a flash, and then, lights out.  Meanwhile, the street filled with cars and kids, out for hallowe’en treats, most of them hardly noticing that the reason our street was so spooky was that no one had power.  

We decorated the front hall with candles (safely stowed in holders) and an old storm lantern that nicely showed off the giant spider shadows on the back wall.  Meanwhile, hundreds of kids made their way through the gloom and rain, with glowing pumpkins and lighted walking sticks to guide their way.  

Winter Farmers’ Market Returns to the River Garden

by Not Signed In | Food

The Winter Farmers’ Market returns to the River Garden for the eighth season of the longest running diverse indoor farmers’ market in southern Vermont. With the upcoming transfer of the River Garden property from BABB to Strolling of the Heifers, the Winter Farmers’ Market keeps it wonderful home on Main St. Fans of the famous outdoor summer farmer’s market in West Brattleboro, can simply follow many of their favorite vendors indoors starting Saturday, November 2 from 10 – 2.

BCTV Video Calendar: 10/31/13 – Brattleboro Film Festival, Hospice Auction, Windham Orchestra

by BrattleboroTV | Media

BCTV’s November edition of the video calendar includes plenty from the Brattleboro Film Festival as they prepare to launch two straight weeks of screenings, events, and more, Brattleboro Area Hospice and their Cherished Goods Auction, and Windham Orchestra Maestro Hugh Keelan talking about his collaboration with students from Kurn Hattin Homes for Children entitled Resounding Hills: A Transformative Musical Collaboration.

Building a Better Brattleboro Membership Meeting – Thursday, November 7, 2013

by Not Signed In | Business

Building a Better Brattleboro will hold a meeting of its membership on Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden. BaBB will present its FY 2015 work plan and budget. Following the presentation the membership will vote on whether to approve the budget in accordance with Chapter 15 of Brattleboro’s Code of Ordinances.

BaBB’s membership, as well as the public, is encouraged to attend.

Building a Better Brattleboro
babb@sover.net

Three-Minute Siren Test Scheduled for Area Vt., N.H., and Mass., Towns Saturday, November 2 at Noon

by Not Signed In | The Region

On Saturday, November 2 at Noon, state and local public safety agencies will conduct an audible sounding of the 37 sirens located within the Vermont Yankee ten-mile emergency planning zone. The pole-mounted sirens are located in the Vermont towns of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford and Vernon, and in the New Hampshire towns of Chesterfield, Hinsdale, Richmond, Swanzey and Winchester. In Massachusetts the sirens are located in Gill, Colrain, Leyden, Bernardston and Northfield.

The three-minute siren testing is being conducted by the Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts state public safety agencies in compliance with the regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure the effectiveness of the public notification system.

Elliot Street Fire Relief Fund Established

by JohnWilmerding | News & Information

Just when the weather is getting pretty cold, . The Elliot Street Fire Fund has been established at TD Bank to help these folks.

While emergency relief agencies have seen to their immediate survival needs, there are also needs that won’t be filled because of limits to those agencies work programs and resources. Click the story title, above, for details.

Heat Pump Workshop Offered

by Not Signed In | Home & Garden

Are you paying too much to heat your home, business, or rental property, or looking to cut your use of fossil fuels? A new generation of super-efficient electric heat pumps, suitable for northern climates, may be the answer for you. These devices provide heat and domestic hot water using 25-50% less energy than conventional systems. They are environmentally-friendly as well – 87% free of carbon emissions in Green Mountain Power territory. Heat pumps can also be combined with solar electric panels to provide 100% renewable energy.

David Macaulay: Life in the Studio

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

Save the date! David Macaulay, award-winning author and illustrator of Castle, Cathedral, and The Way We Work, will discuss current projects in a talk, “Life in the Studio,” at the Library on Wednesday, November 6, at 7 PM, in the Main Room. The talk is part of the Vermont Humanities Council First Wednesday Lecture series

Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post–Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award.

Senate Panel Advances Older Americans Act

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 – A Senate committee today advanced legislation by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which supports Meals on Wheels and other services for the country’s rapidly-growing population of seniors.

The 5-year reauthorization sent to the Senate floor by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was cosponsored by Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman, and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the ranking member. Sanders chairs the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.

First passed by Congress in 1965, the Older Americans Act provides essential services for seniors like nutrition programs, job training, caregiver support, transportation, preventive health services and protection from abuse and financial exploitation.

Town School Board Budget Meetings

by Lise | Education

The Brattleboro Town School Board has three budget meetings scheduled for Wednesday, October 30, 2013.

First meeting 10/30/13 – 8:30 a.m.

Wednesday, October 30th: 8:30 a.m. The Brattleboro Town School Board’s Energy Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 30 in the WSESU Central Office Conference Room, 53 Green Street. 

Brattleboro Jelly Company?

by Not Signed In | Questions & Answers

This morning I was at Dental Health on Western Avenue and while I was there I saw some really interesting product labels from the Brattleboro Jelly Company. Dr. Neumeister had them mated and framed and they looked like they were probably from the early 1900’s. I looked online and I found other vintage Brattleboro Jelly Company labels for sale. Amazon.com even sells a canvas reproduction of the company’s maple syrup label. But I couldn’t find any information on the company itself.

Where was it located? Who owned it? When was the company in business? I have a feeling that there’s an interesting story behind those labels and I’m hoping that someone on ibrattleboro knows it and is willing to share.

Ken Brace

Sanders: Listen to the American People

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that a special congressional committee meeting for the first time on Wednesday should do what Americans clearly want and come up with a budget to promote jobs and the economy without cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits for working families.

“At a time when less than 10 percent of the American people approve of the job that Congress is doing, I believe it’s time that we started to listen to what the American people want us to do,” Sanders said.

A member of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders was appointed to the joint Senate and House conference committee that is assigned to come up with a long-term budget plan by Dec. 13 in order to avert another government shutdown.

The Wailing Wail

by spinoza | Op/Ed

I once visited the Western Wall in the holy city where notes are stuffed into the cracks, the in-box of God. Imagine, the standing ruins of Roman Jerusalem, and a procession of unique wordsmiths each hand-delivering the edited essence of their ultimate skinny.

In that crumbling courtyard, under protective eye of Uzi-packing soldiers and who-knows-what-else, I remember scribbling my note, eyeing my spot. Can’t remember what I put on paper. Nor do I recall whether my missive was responded to or not, time just washed it away.

1984 – 30 Years Too Late

by tomaidh | Opinion

About a week ago, I was speaking with an old college buddy. He was reminiscing about a time when we both read George Orwell’s 1984 (everybody was reading it at the time). He sent me a You Tube link to a
film version released in 1956.

In the classic novel, Orwell describes a then-not-too-distant future where an oppressive totalitarian elite has perfected a system of social control based on perpetual warfare, manipulation of perceived reality, and total surveillance of the population. The servile obedience of the bureaucracy and the mindless poverty of the masses keeps them in power. (MHP)

Leahy Co-Introduces Act to Curb Unwarranted Spying on Citizens

by Not Signed In | Politics

Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Introduction of the USA FREEDOM Act of 2013

October 29, 2013

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, was enacted 35 years ago to limit the government’s ability to engage in domestic surveillance operations. In the years since September 11, 2001, Congress has repeatedly expanded the scope of this law to provide the government with broad new powers to gather information about law-abiding Americans. No one underestimates the threat this country continues to face, and we can all agree that the intelligence community should be given necessary and appropriate tools to help keep us safe. But we should also agree that there must be reasonable limits on the surveillance powers we give to the government. That is why I have consistently fought to curtail the sweeping powers contained in the USA PATRIOT Act and FISA Amendments Act, while also bolstering privacy protections and strengthening oversight. And that is why I continue my efforts today by joining with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, as well as members of Congress from both political parties, to introduce the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act of 2013.

People’s United Bank Helps BMH Open “The Doorway to Exceptional Care”

by BMH | Health

Hospital officials announced today has once again stepped up in support of the greater Brattleboro community with a $75,000 pledge to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital’s “The Doorway to Exceptional Care” capital campaign.

“We are proud to support Brattleboro Memorial Hospital’s capital campaign for the renovation and expansion of the Emergency Department. The improved facility is vital to our community and to People’s United Bank’s 160 employees working in Brattleboro,” says Arne Hammarlund, Community Services Manager.

Encouraging Smart Commuting: Energy Committee Works With Local Businesses to Promote Alternative Transportation

by Not Signed In | Town News

Alternative transportation can be a tough sell in a rural state like Vermont, where residents often have to travel long distances to get to work and shopping. Brattleboro’s main streets are often choked with traffic, creating headaches for motorists along with air pollution that can cause health problems.

The Brattleboro Energy Committee has been working for several years to address this issue. In 2010, the Committee organized the Brattleboro Business Transportation Roundtable, made up of representatives from Brattleboro-area businesses and institutions such as the Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, and Landmark College. The Roundtable has been working to promote alternative commuting such as biking, walking, carpooling, and taking the bus among its employees through programs such as the Way To Go Commuter Challenge.

Windham Region Organizations Testify to 2 Million Dollars in Immediate Needs Due To VY Closure

by Not Signed In | State News

VERNON – On Monday October 28th, the Vermont House Commerce and House Natural Resources and Energy Committees held a joint hearing in Windham County to hear about community and economic impacts expected from the date certain closure of Vermont Yankee.

The Windham Regional Commission (WRC), Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), southeastern Vermont’s regional development corporation, and the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) testified about the need for full decommissioning, urgent economic development needs, and the plans they have developed to meet those needs, in the Windham Region. All three organizations are poised to work on the rebuilding of the Windham regional economy in the face of the loss of jobs, payroll and business activity resulting from the closure. The regional organizations estimate their immediate mitigation financial needs at 2.3 million dollars.