Activism

By David Van Deusen*

We, in each of our towns, and throughout Vermont are, together, a community. As Town Meeting approaches, I trust that all of us, regardless of your particular political persuasion, agree. And as a community we do well to agree that one does well, when one’s neighbor does well. This commitment to our friends, family, and fellow residents is old one. When the Green Mountain Boys evicted New York land surveyors, tax collectors, and sheriffs, I do not doubt that they too were motivated by this notion of self-preservation as inalienably linked to community; Freedom and Unity. More recently, we saw this belief manifest during the crisis following Irene. Such acts of human solidarity will never be forgotten. In essence Vermont has a long and proud history of people reaching out in solidarity when their neighbors could use a hand. We are, in a word, a people who embrace and honor the core value associated with the very notion of community as the foundation upon which rests the prosperity of the individual.

You may have noticed a new banner at the bottom of the page. Today, we’re using the site to help protest NSA spying on innocent Americans, weakening of encryption standards, being generally creepy without oversight, and making the internet less fun and less useful. It’s all a part of a day of action to let legislators know that they should work on reforms. You are invited and encouraged to participate.

The Brattleboro Time Trade and iBrattleboro are exploring ways to advertise BTT members’ services & goods regularly on the iBratt website. We will start by simply submitting recent offers & requests as a story, and see what other mechanisms unfold or get developed.

RECENT OFFERS:
Pickup truck for moving or errands
Eco Toilet Tours
One ticket to a VJC concert
Complimentary Adult Lift Ticket to Mount Snow
Graphic Design
Repair Lamps/Appliances
Solar Energy Site Evaluation

Fellow residents of Brattleboro,

It has come to my attention that at least two, maybe all three, of Brattleboro’s three election districts each lack a few candidates for election as voting Representatives to Town Meeting this year.

There is one more business day — tomorrow, Monday, January 27 — during which one might pick up a petition at the Town Clerk’s office, get only ten (10) signatures of registered voters in their district, and turn their petition in by the end of the day (5:00 PM).

BRATTLEBORO 1/24/2014 – Over the course of two very long (13+ hour) days, a dedicated team of Entergy employees completed two much-needed projects at Morningside Shelter. As part of Morningside’s Project: Re-Vamp – Design for Dignity initiative, Entergy foot the bill for materials and recruited their skilled employees as volunteers to complete the projects.

On December 13, a crew of six Entergy employees, led by Project Manager Brian Tietze (with technical assistance from GPI Construction), completed a safety repair to the Shelter’s main staircase. The stair treads, which are traversed by hundreds of feet each day, had begun to split and the surfaces had become slippery. The bannister on the staircase had been patched a number of times, and although it had never been in violation of safety codes, Tietze noticed the potential safety hazard in the low height of the railing and made it a priority to raise it to a sounder height.

We, at the Basin Farm, Westminster, Vermont want to announce the creation of the Basin Farm Fire Relief Effort. Although we, Niflaah and I, no longer live at Basin Farm we are still very much connected to our friends circumstances there. Already many of our friends and former customers of our Harmony Parking Lot Common Loaf Bakery have responded with aid and sympathy.

If you are thinking about buying a car between now and January 2, 2014 consider Brattleboro Subaru. Brattleboro Subaru’s Share The Love promotion will donate$100 to any local charity, cause, or person of your choice in addition to the $250 that Subaru donates to a national charity. Please consider directing your donation to the Windham County Heat Fund.           

We are in Santiago,Chile for our human rights art project MEMORIA HABLAR DIGNIDAD which is also at our Facebook site by the same name. Last year we were at Villa Grimaldi the Peace Park where thousands of
people were tortured, and two hundred thirty six people were killed by Pinochet’s soldiers. The history of this horrific period is well documented at .

We schlepped the tower about 25 kilos with the 100 Flowers of peace poems down with us. Our friend Roger did a beautiful job in making the portable tower.  We who normally travel with less than 15 kilos of luggage anywhere, were a bit overwhelmed, and then the airlines charged extra for my guitar.  But we arrived in a nice flat in the downtown.

Brattleboro, Vermont – On Friday morning November 15th, Project Feed the Thousands will kick off its 19th annual food drive. The launch will take place at the Price Chopper Supermarket on Canal Street in Brattleboro, with a live broadcast hosted by long time media supporter, WTSA 96.7 FM.

The community goal this year is to raise $100,000 in cash and to collect enough provisions for 200,000 meals. The Project Feed the Thousands Team will collect non-perishable food, personal care items and cash donations on behalf of the thousands of people who face hunger each and every day throughout southeastern Vermont and southwestern New Hampshire.

Have you seen the blue and orange Smoke-Free Zone stencils on the streets of downtown Brattleboro? Are you wondering how they got there? Check out this video and find out more:  

During the November Gallery Walk, BUHS students used non-toxic spray chalk to create Smoke-Free Zone stencils on the sidewalks in front of supporting Brattleboro businesses.

Downtown Brattleboro businesses who supported the project and allowed Smoke-Free Zone stencils in front of their business include Amy’s Bakery, Boys and Girls Club of Brattleboro, Brattleboro Bike Shop, Brooks Memorial Library, Burrows Specialized Sports, Candle In the Night, Everyone’s Books, Experienced Goods, Gallery in the Woods, Hotel Pharmacy, In the Moment Records, Insight Photography, Latchis Hotel & Theatre, Life’s Little Luxuries, Mystery on Main, Peter Havens, Renaissance Fine Jewelry, The River Garden, Silver Moon Adornments, Taylor for Flowers, Vermont Artisans Gallery and Windham Flowers.

The TPP is a corporate handout disguised as a trade deal. It gives multi-national corporations unprecedented rights and is being negotiated in secret.

From “Reject Fast Track for the Trans Pacific Partnership Action Page”:

The Vermont Workers’ Center (VWC) announced this week that it will officially join the newly created Root Social Justice Center in Brattleboro.  Tonight there will be an opening celebration from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. during Gallery Walk. Stop by to join the VWC and other members of The Root for an evening of celebration, refreshments and activities. The Root is located on the ground floor of the beautiful Whetstone Studio for the Arts building at 28 Williams Street in Brattleboro. The VWC’s Southern Vermont office will be based at The Root, along with other members of The Root collective: Alex Fischer of Open Bookkeeping, Mel Motel of the Just Schools Project, and Angela Berkfield of ACT for Social Justice.

From Bethany Thies:

http://www.mealtrain.com/train/invite/1.aspx?id=R7TKvTbHB6I%3d

“The meal train link benefiting the displaced families of the Elliot Street Fire is linked below. Please share, add people via e-mail on the link and also share of your time. We are still looking for donations of food for today, Saturday 10/19 and tomorrow, Sunday 10/20. Help how you can! if you can not make a
meal, we also need beverages (milk, juice and water), fresh sliced fruits and veggies and dessert items. Please give of your hands and heart.

The Root Social Justice Center is hosting an opening celebration on Friday, November 1 from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. during Gallery Walk. Located on the ground floor of the beautiful Whetstone Studio for the Arts building at 28 Williams Street in Brattleboro, The Root Social Justice Center provides a physically and financially accessible space to support and bring together communities working for social justice. The Root is a co-work office collective by day and a community space on evenings and weekends.

…a USDA (the currently shuttered agency that administers the )
memo obtained by the Crossroads Urban Center in Utah carries in it a
very disturbing warning for the 46+ million Americans currently on
foodstamps.

To all with eyes to see, it’s clear that climate change is here now and already having a profound effect on the places we live, the natural resources we depend on and the species that provide rich biodiversity around the planet.

Nature knows. The Maple Sugar industry is concerned that our forests are migrating northward. The timber industry is worried about dying trees and increased risk of forest fires. Populations of small animals are changing. Cottontails are seen with increasing frequency. Turkey Vultures are staying for the winter. Canada Geese can be seen at Christmas time. Southern species of fish are seen further north than ever.We need to take significant steps now to curb greenhouse gas pollution and avoid the worst effects of runaway global climate change.

We’re cleaning up Pliny Park and need your help!

When: Wednesday, October 2nd – 5:30 p.m.

We’ll be raking, sweeping, and picking up trash Bring gloves, rakes, brooms or wheelbarrows if you have them.

Feel free to share this email with a friend!

This message is from your friends at
Building a Better Brattleboro
P.O. Box 961 – Brattleboro, VT 05302
(802) 257-4886

We are desperately seeking a tent as well as a place to pitch it, we are willing to pay anyone that has a large quantity of land or at least a decent amount. … and we are willing to pay quiet a bit to stay there until we are able to find housing. please contact me via FB by private message if you can help and are interested. THANKS SO MUCH!!!!

About 50 people rallied in Brattleboro on Sunday for action on climate change and in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline.  The latter, if built, would bring petroleum from Alberta, Canada to ports in New England for trans-Atlantic shipping, but at terrific cost to the environment in Alberta and the climate in general.  A contingent of students from Williams College made the trip to Brattleboro, a number came from down in the Pioneer Valley as well as from up valley.

Right now, there are children involved in the Windham County Family Court who need your help. They don’t need your money – just your time and attention. In some cases, these children have been abused, neglected or caught in the middle of a custody dispute – but they all have the same need: to have a judge-appointed advocate who will look out for their best interest. To be a Guardian ad Litem, you needn’t have any specialized experience – just a willingness to volunteer your free time, strong interpersonal and communication skills, a passion for helping vulnerable children and the ability to think critically, be assertive, work with others effectively, and use sound judgment. Training is provided, and the personal reward is immeasurable.