VFW $6 Lunch Specials Open to the Public 4-15 to 4-19

The Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served Mon-Fri from 11:30 – 1:30. Specials listed below are only $6 a plate. Hand made burger, fries, sweet potato fries, wings, onion rings, soups and sandwiches are also available. Take outs available by calling 257-0438


Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – April 16, 2019

The Brattleboro Selectboard will review and reject bids for the skatepark at their next regular meeting. They all came in over the amount available in the budget for the project, so plans will need to be adjusted.

There will be quite a few Heifer permits, a public hearing on Water & Sewer rates, adoption of the Local Emergency Operations Plan, a report from the Windham Regional Commission, and adoption of a new whistleblower protection policy. You can, as always, bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.


Brattleboro Winter Parking Ban Lifted

The Brattleboro Parking Department would like to announce the lifting of the winter parking ban. Starting tonight, 04/12/18, at midnight, overnight parking will be allowed on all streets EXCEPT in the downtown area. The following streets are never available for overnight parking:

Main Street
High Street


Brattleboro Committee Meeting Agendas

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at 1:00pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at 5:00pm in the meeting room at the Brattleboro Tennis Club (202 Cedar Street).

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, April 18, 2019, at 8:00am in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center.


Main Street Water Main Repair Details

The Brattleboro Department of Public Works Utilities Crew will be conducting work in front of 181-183 Main Street beginning today, April 9th, 2019, in order to install a new water main gate valve. The order of events will proceed as follows:

April 9th, 2019 – 11:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. – Saw cuts will be made in the northbound lane of Main Street to prepare for excavation
April 10th, 2019 – 7:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. – Utilities Crew will dig trench necessary for valve installation. Steel plates will be placed over the trench until the following day.


Old News Questions Answered: Yes, BMH Closed ICU in 2018

BMH Brattleboro VT

Recently, the question has been posed to iBrattleboro: Has the Intensive Care Unit at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital closed or is it going to be closed? Not knowing ourselves, we called Brattleboro Memorial Hospital to ask. The answer is yes, the ICU is closed and has been for almost a year.

According to Gina Pattison, a BMH public affairs representative, the ICU at Brattleboro Memorial closed officially in June 2018 when the unit was physically removed. In its place is what is called a PCU or Progressive Care Unit, which provides a notch lower level of care than an ICU but makes more efficient use of nursing staff. The Hospital reps we spoke to made clear, however, that this change has not affected patient care.


BCTV Schedules – Week of 4/14/19

BCTV Channel 8 schedule for the week of 4/8/19

Monday, April 8, 2019

4:31 am Vermont Treasures – The Revenants
5:00 am Brooks Memorial Library Events – An Army Physician’s Experience in Vietnam
6:30 am Dummerston Conservation Commission – Winter Lecture Series Pt 4
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast
9:00 am Talking Nerdy – Ep. 15 – Chocolate and Pi


Main Street Water Main Project Begins April 9

Work on the Main Street water line replacement project will be starting Tuesday April 9thwith pavement marking and cutting.  Parking will be prohibited on the east side of Main Street between 133 and 167 Main Street starting at 6:00 a.m. during this pavement cutting period.  Traffic will be restricted in the area.


“Fine & Dandy” Gala Celebrates Gershwin’s Muse, Composer Kay Swift

West Brattleboro, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford’s tenth annual celebration of Women in Music begins at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, and salutes Katherine Faulkner “Kay” Swift (1897-1993). She was a classically trained composer who became George Gershwin’s trusted musical advisor and companion. After Gershwin (1898-1937) encouraged her to compose popular music, Swift became the first woman to write a hit Broadway musical, “Fine and Dandy” (1930), now the borrowed title for FOMAG’s gala.

Some of both genres of music will be performed at this house-concert benefit for FOMAG’s current 53rd season. The program opens with a piano transcription of the Overture to “Fine and Dandy,” performed by Virginia Eskin, and later includes Swift’s Theme and Variations for Piano and Cello, performed with cellist Rebecca Hartka. Eskin will also accompany several songs from Swift’s musical theater and film scores featuring vocals by Jessica Gelter and Tony Grobe.


One Scholarship for Pottery Class Starting April 10

Wheelhouse Clay Center recently opened at 48 Harmony Place in downtown Brattleboro. It’s the vision of two local potters and former members of Brattleboro Clayworks, Shari Zabriskie and Teta Hilsdon.

Wheelhouse’s four basic offerings are rentals for potters, classes, special events, and a gallery. As classes begin to roll out, Teta Hilsdon is offering one scholarship to her Beginner Wheel Throwing class, an 8-week course covering the basics of wheel throwing technique, trimming, decorating, and glazing.


VFW $6 Lunch Specials Open to the Public 4-8 to 4-12

The Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served Mon-Fri from 11:30 – 1:30. Specials listed below are only $6 a plate. Hand made burger, fries, sweet potato fries, wings, onion rings, soups and sandwiches are also available. Take outs available by calling 257-0438


BSD Dance Scholarship Deadline is May 1

Company of Muses announces May 1, 2019 is the deadline to apply for scholarships for summer sessions at the Brattleboro School of Dance. Applications can be found at www.companyofmuses.org.

Funds are available for dancers of all ages and abilities so long as the family can demonstrate need according to federal financial assistance guidelines. The amount of assistance available is determined by these guidelines, as well as the number of applicants.


Brattleboro Main Street Water Main Repairs

The Town of Brattleboro has contracted with Zaluzny Excavation from Vernon, Vermont to replace a portion of the water main on the easterly side of Main Street between Elliot and High Street. Construction will occur on the easterly side of Main Street starting at 133 Main Street and proceeding north to High Street.

Construction preparations will be starting Monday, April 8, 2019. Construction is expected to be completed no later than May 17, 2019.


AFSCME Local 1343 President Challenges Lawmakers Stand With Us On Card Check, Or You Are Complicit

Montpelier, Vermont 4/3/19 -Vermont AFL-CIO Unions including AFSCME, AFT, IBEW, USW, & PFFV, have been fighting all winter to get legislators to advance H.428 & S.36, card check recognition for public sector workers. The bills were introduced in the House by Progressive Brian Cina, and in the Senate by Democrat/Progressive Phillip Baruth. If passed, card check would establish that whenever a majority of workers sign a Union card in any given public sector shop, their Union would be immediately recognized. Despite Labor’s united front on this issue, the Vermont Senate and House (which is overwhelmingly composed of Democrats) has yet to hold hearings on the bills, let alone move them out of committee.


Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas at Next Stage on Thursday, April 11

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of cutting edge fiddle and cello explorations of Scottish, Celtic and global music by Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas at Next Stage on Thursday, April 11 at 7:30 pm.  With a shared passion for improvising on the melody and the groove of traditional tunes, Alasdair and Natalie feature dazzling teamwork, swapping melodic and harmonic lines and trading driving rhythmic riffs.   “…soaring sustains, windswept refrains, and sudden, jazzy explosions. Their sound is as urbane as a Manhattan midnight, and as wild as a Clackmannan winter.” — Boston Globe


Windham Regional Commission Receives Funding to Launch Forest Connectivity Collaborative 

The Windham Regional Commission (WRC) is pleased to announce that it has received funding from the High Meadows Fund’s Forest Health and Integrity program, for the launch of the project entitled, “Windham Connectivity Collaborative: A scale-hopping approach to conservation planning in southeastern Vermont.”

Emily Davis is the WRC’s natural resources planner and project point person, and she says that, “the Windham Regional Commission has always been committed to sound conservation planning. But recently, we’ve wanted to more systematically unite the many smaller, local, conservation efforts under one comprehensive conservation strategy for southeastern Vermont. These groups, along with our town conservation commissions, have exhibited grassroots leadership.  They do such great work with relatively few resources, and we’re pleased to be able to support their work through capacity-building, project coordination, and strategic collaboration.”


Selectboard Meeting Notes – Representative Town Meeting Review, Main Street Repairs

Brattleboro Selectboard April 2019

The first meeting of the new configuration of the Brattleboro Selectboard went off without difficulty. New members Daniel Quipp and Elizabeth McCloughlin were initiated with a fill agenda including actions as Liquor Commissioners as well as Water & Sewer Commissioners.

The board considered issues raised at Representative Town Meeting, approved grants for a slight expansion to Red Clover Commons, helped renegotiate some loans due to the Town, and more.


Brattleboro Selectboard Chair’s Remarks- 4/2/2019

Good afternoon! Here are the remarks I will be distributing and reviewing this evening at the  Selectboard Meeting:

Welcome to the first meeting of the new Selectboard season! I am excited to serve as your Chair, and am looking forward to a busy year ahead of us.

As some of you may be new to attending Selectboard Meetings, I thought I would help to give a lay of the meeting, including some non-negotiable boundaries within which these meetings will operate:


Sheriff Keith Clark Announces Retirement and Resignation

NEWFANE, VT – After almost 30 years in police work, I have decided to retire from law enforcement and as Sheriff of Windham County, effective June 30, 2019. This follows much discussion with family, colleagues, and close friends. My wife, as some of you know, has been working in North Carolina for some time now, and we are both looking forward to again sharing the same roof. That being said, this has been a tough decision for me. Being Sheriff has been the single most rewarding of all my various law enforcement jobs.