Filling the Void Left by Vermont Yankee

by tomaidh | Vernon

A recent program on Vt. Public Radio reported that energy leaders from across the state met in Vernon Sept 12th to help the town plan for life after Vermont Yankee.

Entergy closed VY in December, 2014, leaving behind an enormous switchyard that can handle hundreds of megawatts of electricity from a power plant.

The town wants to replace VY’s tax base — and lost jobs — and with those high voltage transmission lines, Vernon is looking for an energy project that could make use of the electrical infrastructure.

Crafting For The Homeless Is Back For Its Third Year! Come Help Make A Difference

by BAJC Shir HeHarim | Activism

Come join us for our 3rd year of making a difference on Sunday afternoon, October 9th, from 1:00-3:00 pm, to craft items for the homeless population in the area. Using traditional crafts, we will make hats, scarves, blankets and sleeping mats from yarn and fleece fabric. Our group will meet the first Sunday of the month after this session.

Some people come to learn to knit or crochet, others arrive with projects already underway. Some are members of BAJC; someare not. All are welcome! We donate our projects to Groundworks Collaborative. 

Thoughts on 9-11

by tomaidh | Op/Ed

 

When playing serious poker, they say that if you can’t figure who the “patsy” is within 3 hands, the patsy is you.

Oswald thought he was doing something patriotic when he took the (CIA) job in the Book Depository.  No one was more surprised than he when he realized JFK had been shot. “Holy Sh*t” he said. “I’m the patsy”. “I better GTF out of here”. He didn’t succeed.

VFW Lunch Specials 9-19 to 9-23

by Not Signed In | Food

Monday – swiss & bacon burger w/ French fries or a salad
Tues – chicken & turkey pot pie w/ biscuit & salad
Wed – goulash w/ salad
Thurs – shepard’s pie w/ salad
Fri – crab cakes w/ macaroni salad

Rhythm & Songs of the Tof Miriam Drum Workshop

by BAJC Shir HeHarim | Music

“Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine (also called “Tof Miriam” or “Frame Drum”) in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing”-Exodus 15:20.

Brattleboro Area Jewish Community will be hosting Marla Goldstein leading a frame drum workshop titled ‘Rhythm & Songs of the Tof Miriam Drum’. The Tof Miriam is a very special and important instrument for the Jews. Played during the splitting of the Red Sea, it symbolizes freedom, joy, and celebration.

Maybe Coy, Maybe Not

by spinoza | Nature

I’ve been living here for several decades and it was my first close encounter of this kind. But what was it? I was riding my bicycle in West Brattleboro, past the cemetary where headstones are splayed on both sides of a dirt road. An animal darted in front of me, something dead, just killed, in its jaw. The prey, a hedgehog, I guess. The predator, what was it? At first I thought it was a German Shepard. A big one. It had a reddish coloring. Then almost immediately I second guessed that. There was no collar, there was something feral.

Brattleboro Fire Department New Hires

by BrattFireDept | Police & Fire

There has been a tremendous amount of change within the Brattleboro Fire Department over the last month which has included two new entry level firefighters being hired; two firefighters that have been promoted to lieutenant and two lieutenants have been promoted to the rank of captain. All of the candidates participated in a written test, oral board and Chiefs’ Interview. I am happy to announce the following hires and promotions;

Weekend Creativity Series – Soldering and Circuits

by cgrotke | Creative

Here’s a handy skill everyone should have – how to solder. Knowing how to use a soldering iron greatly expands your ability to make home repairs and build useful and interesting electronic devices.

This short video gives some tips and tricks for basic soldering of both wires and components.

The Separation of Science and Belief – “Give No Solace to the Faithful”

by Vidda | Op/Ed

One of the primary elements of good science is to be challenged. Challenge is a welcome, necessary and learning component of all science. Change and new discoveries are expected by any good scientist. And, theoretical and practical sciences are the most self-correcting of all human intellectual disciplines. All of which helps to keep science alive and relevant.Too many non-scientists use those components, however, as a wedge or a club to make us think that science is unstable, unreliable, does not “know everything” and that science cannot reach proven conclusions because waiting around the corner is another change.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – September 20, 2016

by cgrotke | Town News

Residents of Bittersweet Lane have asked the Brattleboro Selectboard to reconsider their recent decision regarding road reclassification. The board denied the request for the Town to take over the private road.

The Welcome Center may be getting a pump station, the Traffic Safety Committee would like more time to study the need for additional flashing pedestrian crossing lights, Blanche Moyse may get a road named after her, and there are many grants and financial reports to consider.

Attend and offer your two cents. You can always bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of September 19th

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. 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 Area Hospice Offers Opportunity To Create Memory Boxes

by Not Signed In | Health

On Tuesday, September 27, 2016, from 1:00 – 5:00 PM, Brattleboro Area Hospice will host an opportunity for adults to make a memory or tribute box in remembrance of a loved one. The event will take place at the Brattleboro Area Hospice office at 191 Canal Street in Brattleboro.

Participants in the workshop should bring photos and small treasures, poems, and mementos to create your special work of art. If you have a box you’d like to use, please bring it. Otherwise boxes and the materials you’ll need to paint and decorate your memory box will be provided.

Vermont Virtuosi Flute Ensemble: “Pipe Dreams 5” on Oct. 1

by fomag | Music

Brattleboro, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford presents the Vermont Virtuosi Flute Ensemble, seven of the finest orchestral and solo flutists in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, at 7:30 p.m on Saturday, October 1, in the sanctuary of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. The Barre Montpelier Times-Argus says, “Vermont Virtuosi concerts are
now among the most rewarding chamber music performances in the state.”

“Pipe Dreams 5” is the back-by-popular-demand fifth public program by Vermont’s only professional flute choir. Playing five different types of flute, from petite piccolo to colossal contrabass, the ensemble will perform transcriptions of works by Bernstein, Vivaldi, Doppler, Debussy, Gershwin, and Leroy Anderson as well as original works by Vermont composers David Gunn and Dennis Bathory-Kitsz—whose piece was commissioned by Vermont Virtuosi.

WRC Seeks Public Comment on Renewable Energy Grant Program

by Not Signed In | The Region

The Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund has awarded $400,000 to the Windham Regional Commission (WRC) to develop a grant program to support renewable energy projects in Windham County. The program will focus on small-scale projects. Award amounts are proposed to begin in the $10,000 range and go up to $320,000. The WRC will host a public meeting in the Townshend Town Hall, 2006 Route 30 Townshend, Vermont Thursday, September 29th at 6 pm to solicit public feedback on the program proposal. RSVPs are preferred though not required to mmajor@windhamregional.org.

A World Without Money

by tomaidh | Other

Michael Tellinger is a South African author, archeologist and politician

Tellinger is a proponent of Contributionism, a social movement based on the African philosophy of Ubuntu.

In 2012 he founded the Ubuntu Party in South Africa, based on his principles of Contributionism.

Ubuntu USA headquarters are located at Bolton Valley, Vermont.

Brattleboro Youth Rock Festival Announces 2016 Line-up; Tickets on Sale Now

by brattrock | Entertainment

Fourteen youth rock bands and solo artists will take the stage at 118 Elliot in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont on Saturday, October 1 for BrattRock 2016, the first Brattleboro Youth Rock Festival. Performances will take place on two stages, one indoor and one outdoor, between 5:00 and 10:00 PM. Gates open at 4:30 PM. The festival will also feature food vendors, as well as an arts and crafts activity tent hosted by the River Gallery School. All are invited to attend this family-friendly event.

Advance tickets are available online via the BrattRock website at . Prices are $8 adults/$6 students in advance and $10 adults /$8 students at the door. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Youth Services.

Rummage-Tag Sale at Dummerston Community Center

by Dummerston Community Center | Dummerston

The Dummerston Community Center will host a rummage and tag sale, featuring books, bedding, kitchenware, footwear, toys, clothing and many miscellaneous items. Rain or Shine, indoor event. Proceeds benefit the Center’s operating and maintenance cost. For information, call 802-254-9212 or 802-254-2415.September 17th, from 9 am to 12 noon. Dummerston Community Center, 150 West Street, West Dummerston, Vt. 05357

Brattleboro Area Hospice To Offer Seven Week Grief Support Group

by Not Signed In | Health

A new Seven Week Bereavement Support Group for adults begins on September 29th and will meet each Thursday from 6:00-7:30 pm, ending November 10th. This group is sponsored by Brattleboro Area Hospice and will meet at the hospice office at 191 Canal St. in Brattleboro. Interested individuals must meet with the facilitator, Connie Baxter, prior to the first session, so please call her at (802) 257-0775 x104 by September 23rd for a pre-group appointment. The group size is limited to 8 people.

Political Decoys

by cgrotke | Rumors

Today I learned from the Internet that after Hillary Clinton wobbled and was taken to her daughter’s apartment, she was switched! The person who emerged from the apartment was a body double, a political decoy.

The evidence, the internet said, was there. Look at the earlobes! The nose! Why was no one nearby in case she wobbled again? She was sick and now feels better. Clearly a coverup.

As a kid, I recall the buzz about Nixon being switched. It happened in China, when he took a bathroom break. The Nixon that emerged after was a different person, or so the rumors swirled. I remember adults having fun with it, but no one taking it terribly seriously.