BCTV Channel 8 / 1075 schedule for the week of 5/18/20
Monday, May 18, 2020
4:30 am Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium Virtual Learning – ‘”What’s the Matter” with Bobby Farlice-Rubio’
5:15 am Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium Virtual Learning – ‘At Home Science’ (Grades K-2)
5:30 am The Social Distance Reading Series – Kathryn Nuernberger 3/24/2020
6:00 am Groundworks Collaborative – Camp for a Common Cause 5/1/2020
The Town of Brattleboro Water Department’s annual Consumer Confidence Report/Water Quality Report for 2019 is now available. This report can be viewed on-line at https://www.brattleboro.org/ccreport or printed copies are available at the Brattleboro Municipal Center in the Town Manager’s Office or Town Clerk’s Office or at the Department of Public Works, Brooks Memorial Library, Tri Park CO–OP Office, and the Guilford Country Store. Questions about this report can be addressed to the Department of Public Works at 254-4255
Class of 2020, welcome to your virtual commencement address. Please mute your microphones.
You don’t need me to tell you that the Class of 2020 is like no other. A world locked down over a virus caused your senior year to go off the rails.
Some of you were probably happy to get out of classes and in-person tests, but you were denied the reward that every other senior before you received for faithfully attending school for so many years – the joy of the final countdown to graduation.
The attached image illustrates surveillance cameras installed in a street in Communist China. Fortunately we live in a free country where such things don’t exist (except on Main Street in Brattleboro).
WHAT IS NEW TODAY
• The Recreation and Parks Department has received many questions about the usage of Town parks facilities by people from outside of Brattleboro. Recreation officials all over Vermont have received many similar questions. In the Governor’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” addendum issued on Friday, May 15, he clarified earlier instructions regarding limits on day travel to Vermont from out of state.
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu May 18 to May 22
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
May 18 Quiche Lorraine
Oven Roasted Potato
Squash
Pears
As the pandemic evolved there seemed to be hope for a unified effort to combat a common enemy. Despite the political polarization in the United States, it did seem possible that we might be able to cast aside some of the “us vs them” mentality to join forces and minimize the death and destruction that the COVID 19 pandemic is causing.
Instead, we have business as usual. The U.S. president is displaying more and more signs and symptoms of progressive mental illness. Everything is about him and, if you don’t agree with his unfounded recommendations about dealing with the virus, then he will punish you by withholding support and supplies from your state.
Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today signed Addendum 14, a Be Smart, Stay Safe order to extend the State of Emergency to June 15 and update previous emergency orders to reflect re-openings and eased restrictions announced in recent weeks.
State data and modeling indicate the spread of COVID-19 continues to slow and Vermont now has one of the lowest 3-day and 7-day growth rates in the country. The Governor and Department of Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, however, continue to caution that the state must also consider neighboring states where the virus is much more prevalent and outbreaks are still occurring.
“Vermonters have stepped up in a time of crisis, following guidance from the beginning to quickly slow the spread and keep our health care system from being overwhelmed. These efforts have saved hundreds and hundreds of lives and given us time to build the testing and tracing capacity we need to contain future outbreaks,” said Governor Scott. “The important thing to remember is that the smarter we are about our individual actions, and the more disciplined everyone can be during each step forward, the more steps we’ll be able to take to safely restart Vermont.”
COVID-19, and the Utilities Fund, will be the primary focus of the next regular, virtual meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
The FY20 year-end budget will be reviewed, a new treasurer will be appointed, they will discuss the parking budget, and Brattleboro will apply for some grants. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during virtual public participation.
As the viral pandemic of 2020 reached American shores, certain clear actions were required. Life is worth living, so it must be preserved! Those in positions of public responsibility bear the weight of decision-making. Our survival depends on their just policies. How would human lives be best safe-guarded? How would vital services necessary for our well-being be maintained while simultaneously curtailing public gatherings? A virus needs time to spread from person to person, ensuring its deadly existence.
Brattleboro, Vermont. May 20, 2020 10 -11 am Brattleboro Area Hospice’s Taking Steps Brattleboro (TSB) program will host a zoom Advance Care Planning/Advance Directive Question and answer Information session. If you are interested in attending, please contact Don Freeman by email: don.freeman@brattleborohospice.org or calling 802.257.0775 ext 101 and leave your contact information so that you can receive the emailed zoom invitation and/or telephone call-in number.
Interested people are encouraged to attend this informational session to ask questions about how to complete or update an Advance Directive for healthcare including where do I find the forms, who should be named as an healthcare agent, who do I give the completed form to, and how do I talk with my family about my healthcare wishes if I am unable to speak for myself? Anyone over 18 years old should have a completed Advance Directive. This is the third weekly zoom informational session, which will be held each Wednesday from 10-11 am through June 24, 2020.
Town Manager Peter Elwell has announced the appointment of Andre Jaeger to be the Town’s new Finance Director. Jaeger’s first day with the Town will be on Wednesday, May 20, 2020.
Jaeger comes to the Town of Brattleboro from Keene State College, where he was the Budget Director. That position was eliminated on May 1, 2020, as part of the college’s reducing and restructuring its administration and support staff. Prior to working at the college, Jaeger had 3 years of experience as a tax associate with the accounting firm of PriceWaterhouse Coopers and 16 years of audit and financial management experience with private companies in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, including 6 years at the headquarters of C+S Wholesale Grocers in Keene. He earned a BA in Economics and Accounting from the University of Massachusetts and is a Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts. He also is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Information Systems Auditor, and Certified Fraud Examiner.
After decades of broadcasting on Comcast Channels 8 & 10, Brattleboro Community TV has moved to a new location higher up on the cable lineup. The new numbers are: 1075, BCTV’s public access channel, and 1085, BCTV’s government and education channel. Both sets of channels have been simulcasting since mid-February, but 8 and 10 will be reassigned on May 18 and will no longer carry BCTV.
Southern Vermont Cable customers will continue to find BCTV on channels 8 and 10.
Back in the days of real television — the kind that was broadcast through the air to TVs outfitted with antennas — our choices about what to watch were limited to what the networks opted to show that night. Today, our choices are nothing short of staggering. There is so much on at any given moment that we couldn’t begin to watch it all. The advent of unlimited, on demand, streaming media has given us the gift of choice, but how to choose?
If you wondered what it is like behind the scenes here at Brooks Memorial Library, here is a sample of some items that are checked out, bagged up, dated, and ready to go!
Please make sure to tell us what day (and time if possible) you plan to come, and make sure to bring a sign to display at the door. That way we can match the name on the bag with your name to avoid mistakes, while reducing direct contact
Dear Library Community,
When bringing items back to us, please place them in the Big Blue Drop Box, immediately on the left when you enter the municipal lot (near where the police station used to be).
There is a handy parking spot reserved for your car, and you can drop them in from the driver’s side window Walkers are welcome!
• Reminder: As buildings (or parts of buildings) that have been in a state of full or partial shutdown begin to be actively used again, water lines within buildings should be flushed to keep the water supply safe. While the Town has recently completed semi-annual flushing of the water mains and is continuing to deliver water to the meter that complies with all safe drinking water standards, the water quality within the interior piping of a building will deteriorate if not used.
• Reminder: Summer Camp registration application forms are now being accepted. You may use this link to access the application form: https://www.brattleboro.org/vertical/Sites/%7BFABA8FB3-EBD9-4E2C-91F9-C74DE6CECDFD%7D/uploads/Official_Youth_Registration_Form_With_T-Shirt_Size_2020(1).pdf. You may submit your completed form online or mail it to: Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department ATTN: Summer Camp Registration PO Box 513 Brattleboro, Vermont 05301 All registrations will be required to be paid in full by June 1st, unless other payment arrangements have been made with the Recreation and Parks Director. No one will be turned away for lack of ability to pay. Please be advised, however, that the number of camp participants will be limited this year due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements and will be confirmed on a first-come first-served basis with priority given to Brattleboro Residents.
The Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Friday, May 15, 2020 at 1:30pm. In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting. A copy of the agenda is attached with information about how to access the meeting remotely.
Something to brighten up your day:
The Connor Party
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErFN7Y7qnLg&app=desktop
Lyrics Transcript :
00:30 You can catch it when you’re at the grocery store
00:36 You can catch it off the handle of a door
00:41 You can catch it from a friend just dropping by
I just found a bunch of respirator-style facemasks in my closet. I’don’r even remember how I got them. I’d like to get ‘em out on the street, where they’re needed.
Right now, they are in two boxes, one containing 20, and one with 60 masks. I’d like to sell them in those quantities. Please call me if you can use them.
