Funky Cornstalk

This lonely volunteer shaft of corn is growing downtown, near the firehouse.

Except…

I don’t think its corn.

Looks more like sorghum, but I don’t think sorghum grows in Vermont.

If it is, how did it get here?

Any ideas?


Brattleboro Time Trade Listings – Week of August 3

Brattleboro Time Trade:

Exchanging services, creating connections, strengthening communities, one hour at a time.

See below for exciting Upcoming Events and learn what Time Trade is all about!

This week’s fabulous listings, brought to you from the height of summer:

OFFERS:

Reiki and Flower Essence Therapy
Sota Brand Bio-Turner
Light and Sound Meditation Mind Machines Available
Dr. Hudla Clark Frenquency Generator Available
InterPlay for Fun and [sometimes] for Performance
I’ll Be Your Walking Buddy
Shopping & Errands
Borrow My Post Hole Digger


SeVWA’s July 30, 2014 River Sampling Day

This past Wednesday, July 30th, marked the fourth sampling day of the season for river monitoring by Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance (SeVWA). Earlier in the week heavy rains and thunderstorms brought severe flooding to some towns in our sampling region which includes the West, Williams, and Saxtons rivers as well as North Branch Brook, Rock River, and the Whetstone Brook.

August is vacation month and as everyone prepares to head to new or traditional vacation places, please think about how you can help to maintain healthy waterways. Some of these ways are complying with boating laws and regulations, carrying out all trash, and making sure harsh chemicals are disposed of properly. Also, checking boating equipment for aquatic invasive species helps to prevent the spread of non-native plants and animals into waterways. Think about the steps of CLEAN, DRAIN and DRY as you recreate on waterbodies or move your activities from one waterbody to another. Taking these steps will help prevent the transport of invasive aquatic species from one waterbody to another.


Harvest Health Coupons for EBT Customers at the Farmers Market!

The Brattleboro Farmers Market, open Saturdays 9-2 on Rte 9 in West Brattleboro, and on Wednesdays by the Brattleboro Coop from 10-2, welcomes EBT to participate in the Harvest Health Coupon matching program. Come to market and spend EBT dollars and get *free* matching coupons– double your money up to $10 per market visit!


New Bereaved Parents Support Group

A new 8 week Bereaved Parents Support Group for parents mourning the death of their teenage or young adult child will be held at Brattleboro Area Hospice. The group will meet Tuesdays, beginning August 19, from 4:30-6:00 pm. Cheryl Richards will be the facilitator. Please call Cheryl at (802) 257-0775, X108 by August 12 to register for the group.

The death of a child is one of life’s most devastating losses. Sharing and connecting with other grieving parents can be a powerful component in the healing process.


Meteoric Body Seen Passing Through The Heavens Over This Village

In the iBrattleboro’s column “Today In Local History” of July 28, 2014 the leading entry from 1860 reported:

“A meteoric body was seen passing through the heavens over this village at apparently no very great height on Friday evening of last week. The time was about ten o’clock and not more than a minute was occupied in the passage of the brilliant object. It lighted up the heavens with great brilliancy, and with its long and illuminating train it was momentarily thought to be an enormous piece of fireworks.”

On Oct 20, 2012 Halley’s Comet Orionid Shower visited the Northern Hemisphere and on that night standing in the center of Prospect Graveyard on South Main Street three Brattleboro residents had agreed to meet at 10pm. This is my email newsletter sent the next day:


Is Quick Cash Possible in the Digital Age?

With everything digital, what do the kids sell when they need some quick cash nowadays?

In the olden days of, say, the 1990s, we had physical CD’s, albums, books and such that cold be sold relatively easily for cash. The quick cash would often help us young folk survive a few more days until payday.

Increasingly, everything is on hard drives. What do young people do now when they need a few dollars to smooth their cash flow issues?


Use of GPS Attached to Dashboard or Windshield

I just bought a GPS unit. Since I recently learned that ornaments hanging from the windshield mirror are illegal, as they obstruct the driver’s vision, I am wondering if there are any restrictions to the use of a GPS monitor and how it is mounted. I need to be able to read it, but I don’t need a ticket.

Thanks.


Pertussis in the Community

By Dr. Kathleen McGraw, CMO

Summer is here in full force, and with that comes more outdoor activities, scraped knees, and the occasional summer cold. However this past month we also had a more unwelcome guest in our community – Pertussis. The Vermont Department of Public Health has reported 11 cases of Pertussis in Windham County during the month of June, most of which were children ages 3-17. While none of these cases have been seen in at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, we do see the need to do all that we can to prevent its further spread.


BMH Celebrates World Breastfeeding Week

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital’s Birthing Center, the Windham County Breastfeeding Coalition, and the BMH Ten-Step Committee to Empower Mothers and Nurture Babies are joining forces to celebrate the 2014 World Breastfeeding Week during the first week of August.

This year’s theme, as established by the (WABA), is “Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal – for Life!”


Can Anyone Help with a Projector?

Hi Neighbors,

Liz Johndrow of the Nicaragua Pueblo Project is giving a presentation at the Brattleboro Library on Tuesday and she is in need of a projector to show slides and a video from her computer. Do you have one, or do you know of a person or organization that might have one we can borrow for the evening?


Just So Pediatrics Welcomes New Physician

Just So Pediatrics is pleased to welcome new pediatrician Dr. Heather Lesage-Horton to their group, as of July 15, 2014.

Dr. Lesage-Horton, who is board certified, most recently worked at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. A member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, she earned her medical doctorate and bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont, and completed her pediatrics internship and residency at the University of Michigan Health System, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.


SeVWA’s Third 2014 River Monitoring Day, July 16th – Halfway Point of the Sampling Season

The Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance (SeVWA) had their third 2014 river monitoring day on Wednesday, July 16th, marking the halfway point of the sampling season. Volunteers successfully collected 26 samples from sites along the West, Williams, Middle Branch Williams and Saxtons Rivers as well as North Branch Brook, Rock River and the Whetstone Brook. Many of the results indicated very high E. colii levels. There were extremely heavy rains in the days preceding which likely washed contaminants from the land into the water resulting in these high numbers. The presence of E. coli in the water indicates a likely fecal contamination by warm-blooded animals. Swimming in water with an E.


Community Service Opportunity For Students

Do you know a student who needs to complete community service hours?

If so, Vermont Partnership for Fairness & Diversity has such an opportunity that would take about three hours to complete.

Have them contact Curtiss at 254-2972. Thanks


Clown Repa Asks Tokpa Dorje a Most Important Question

One day Clown Repa came before Tokpa Dorje with a very important question. Earlier that morning, Tokpa Dorje had thought that perhaps he’d go for a walk, so he had a disciple bring him his cane. However when he sat up from his common reclining Buddha posture he was struck yet again with the sheer wonder of enlightened manifestation and was so joyously inspired, he hadn’t moved from that position. And so it was like this that Clown Repa found him. Not wanting to disturb him, he sat near some other disciples who were meditating in the room.

After awhile Tokpa Dorje turned to the others and said, “Clown Repa has a very important question that he’s dying to ask and it would pain me greatly if the son died before his father.”


The Case of the Vanishing Farmer’s Market

It seems like the Wednesday Farmers Market located on the Whetstone Path near the co-op is slowly disappearing. Of course it has always been a smaller market that the big Saturday one but today it was really surprising. There were only 2 small farms there-both selling very limited types of produce. No berries to be found anywhere. There was the flower man; a bakery with a few tasty looking morsels. the always popular Thai food truck (with a very long line); there may have been someone selling honey but that was it. Definitely not worth the trip if you weren’t planning on going to the co -op (where I was able to find local blueberries).


Wild Blue, Claremont Winners In Latest CRVBL Action

The Walpole Wild Blue and the Claremont Cardinals kept their hopes alive for for a first place regular season finish in the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League with victories in their most recent games. The team they are chasing, the undefeated Putney Fossils, return to CRVBL action this weekend.

The defending champion Claremont Cardinals beat a shorthanded Walpole Maples team, 13-1 at Barnes Park in Claremont. Veteran pitcher Mike Wells, kept the Maples off balance all day with an assortment of scuffed fastballs and doctored curves. Wells threw 6 strong innings, allowing one run on three hits, with 6 strikeouts. He also helped himself by starting a nifty double play to stop a possible rally in the 4th inning. The offense was paced by the four hit and five RBI performance of Mr. Nate Duford. Todd Bersaglieri raked three hits and Andrew Sullivan had two more.


Host Family Needed For Teenage Boy From Nigeria

Might you be able to help a 15-year old boy from Nigeria who has been accepted at BUHS for the coming school year? Oche is the recipient of a prestigious Kennedy-Lugar YES scholarship from the U.S. State Department for future leaders of countries with significant Muslim populations and will be attending BUHS this fall.

We are looking for a family who could welcome Oche for about 6 weeks, from August 8 to September 20 or so. Host families provide room and board for the student, as well as support and guidance as he adjusts to life in Vermont. He does not need a separate bedroom, as long as you can provide a bed in a room with a host brother and a place to study. As a YES student, Oche will have a monthly stipend for personal expenses and school lunches, as well as medical insurance.


Sunset Canyon on 23rd Street

I was raised on a small rural farm between two rushing rivers not far from the western shore of the Chesapeake with luxuriant greenery and cultivated fields not even topped by the best of Vermont’s prolific shades of green.

After leaving home and hitchhiking 6000 miles in a Summer of Love east-west-east roundtrip, I ended up in New York City, where I spent most of my adult life.

Now, after seven years as a Vermonter I can indulge myself locally in the greenacres and only look back to recall or revisit my storied life in the concrete canyons.