Swap Shop is Overflowing!

SHOPPING ONLY DAY at Swap Shop at WSWMD on Old Ferry Road, Brattleboro on Saturday, May 21, 8:30 am to noon. ALL ITEMS ARE FREE.   Photos of some available items are posted on Facebook’s Brattleboro, Vermont group page.  WE ARE OVERFLOWING WITH TREASURES! Please help us clean out our space.

SCHEDULE & HOURS:
Shopping Days- 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month
Donation Days- 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month
If a month contains 5 weeks, the Swap Shop will be closed
Hours are 8:30am-12pm.  (Large donation loads may not be accepted after 11:30am)


Youth Services Is Finalizing Play Times for May 21 CORNSTOCK: Cornhole for a Cause!

The deadline for registrations is fast approaching for “CORNSTOCK: Cornhole for a Cause!”, according to organizers at Youth Services.   The inaugural year of this new fundraiser, Youth Services is offering space on Saturday, May 21 for 12 teams to play this popular lawn game every hour, between noon and 5, on the Farmhouse Square at Retreat Farm on Rt. 30 in Brattleboro, Vermont.

CORNSTOCK: Cornhole for a Cause! is presented by Chroma Technology. Sponsors for all Youth Services events in 2022 are Pacesetters Brattleboro Subaru, The Richards Group and Headwater Precision.


Abortion, The Supreme Court, and the Death of Democracy

American women will soon find it more difficult to make decisions about pregnancy thanks to the persistent bullying of a minority of Americans. When the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, abortion will be an issue that will be controlled by individual states.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, “If Roe were overturned or fundamentally weakened, 22 states have laws or constitutional amendments already in place that would make them certain to attempt to ban abortion as quickly as possible. Anti-abortion policymakers in several of these states have also indicated that they will introduce legislation modeled after the Texas six-week abortion ban.”


Brattleboro Dog and Wolf-hybrid Licenses Due

Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months of age and older must be licensed per Title 20, Section 3581(c) of Vermont State Statutes.  For dogs not previously licensed in Brattleboro, a new dog license application form is available on the www.brattleboro.org website; go to Departments; Town Clerk; on the right-hand side bar is a section on Dogs.  From that page on the right side bar look at Licensing a New Dog.   Licenses being renewed may be processed in the Town Clerk’s office (in-person or by using the drop box in the Municipal Center parking lot), through the mail or paid online at www.brattleboro.org.   


Lament of A Hopeful Pessimist

There is something programmed into the human psyche that hopes for a better world than the one we have. Hope is important.

The problem is that what some people think makes a better world can be at odds with what others think. That is the world as it is.

When the pandemic unfolded it looked as though the leaders in this country were finally beginning to understand how dysfunctional our health care non-system is. It became clear that those at the lower end of the economic ladder did not have access to the same level of health care as those with more resources.


No Mow May

Need an excuse to be lazy for a month? I have one for you. No Mow May.

It started in England and is a movement to NOT mow lawns in May, to let dandelions, violets and other plant life have a chance to feed some bees.


Brattleboro VFW Breakfast and Lunch Open to the Public

Breakfast at the Brattleboro VFW every Wednesday and Saturday from 6 am – 10 am. Sausage, bacon, corned beef hash, eggs made to order, home fries, homemade pancakes and more.

Public welcome as are to-go’s by calling 802-257-0438

Remember, breakfast will be served on our hall side from now on. (Except April 30th, which will be served canteen side due to a function)


“Here We Are” with Abby Jacobson

ABBY JACOBSON shares her story of growing up as a foster child and adoptee, giving us a real-life look into a search for family and identity.

Now, as an Adoption Consultant, she helps others find their way on the path.


Lies Continue to Be Murder Weapons

A strong culture of lying has developed among world leaders as well as the people who support them. That culture is growing and it is able to turn lies into a pseudo-reality by repeating them so often that people start to believe them.

It might seem reasonable to believe that as the human species has evolved it would move in a direction of embracing the truth.

That has not happened.


Swap Shop Shopping Day

SHOPPING ONLY DAY at Swap Shop at WSWMD on Old Ferry Road, Brattleboro on Saturday, April 16, 8:30 am to noon. ALL ITEMS ARE FREE.   Photos of some available items are posted on Facebook’s Brattleboro, Vermont group page.

SCHEDULE & HOURS:
Shopping Days- 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month
Donation Days- 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month
If a month contains 5 weeks, the Swap Shop will be closed
Hours are 8:30am-12pm.  (Large donation loads may not be accepted after 11:30am)


We All Need A Plan to Deal with COVID

It’s more than two years since we were first confronted with a new pandemic. There have been very difficult times and less difficult times, but most of us have reached the point where we want this whole COVID thing to be over. But COVID will most likely be with us forever and we need to learn how to deal with it.

People have started to act more “normally” in the past few months because the number of COVID cases and deaths has been decreasing and the number of vaccinated people is high. Unmasked is the more common attire these days and it scares me.


Words Are Not Enough For Ukrainians

When Hitler was committing atrocities too much of the world stood by and did not do enough to protect the 12 million people whose lives became just one of the horrors of war. People who survived the Holocaust try to keep the memory of those events alive because they don’t want that kind of horror to play out again.

What we are witnessing now in Ukraine is the systematic brutality and elimination of a population of people deemed to be expendable by Putin and the Russian war machine. We are able to see the images of what war does to people and places at a level of detail never before possible and that should be enough to force world leaders to act to stop the Russian war machine.


Memorial Planting To Honor Helene Henry

At 11 a.m. on Saturday April 16th, 2022 there will be a Memorial Tree Planting for Helene Henry at Prospect Hill Cemetery, South Main Street, Brattleboro.

Helene was known for her passion, commitment, and steadfast dedication to enhancing Brattleboro’s green spaces. She strongly advocated for trees being a part of any landscape, if she had her say. She believed that trees were the answer.


Beating Speculation: Requiring A Wait Period Before Renting Out

Here’s an interesting idea to curb speculative investing: Create a rule that any new homebuyer must wait a year or two before renting out a property.

The Washington Post has a story about it being tried in a few places. Not a perfect solution, but slows that out-of-state speculation and the big investment companies are squealing so it must be working to some degree.


Local Pharmacies Are Losing The Battle

The town of Brattleboro recently lost one of its only two remaining local pharmacies not owned by national chains. Small independent pharmacies will soon become dinosaurs in an industry whose operations are convoluted and opaque.

I would like to explain why this problem exists but it is so complicated that it would take volumes to scratch the surface. A simple explanation might be helpful. The problem for small pharmacies is that their profit margins have been reduced to three or four percent in many cases. That is an unsustainable business model and something that keeps independent pharmacy owners awake at night.