Opinion

For opinion pieces on any topic.

Thank You John Allen!

by Timmy | Opinion

Over the past year as I served on the Selectboard, I had the pleasure of working with and getting to know John Allen. When I first joined the board, I fully expected to butt heads with John over many issues, and while we sometimes did disagree, not once did we do so with acrimony. It quickly became clear to me that we shared a love for Brattleboro, and that while we might come at problems from different viewpoints, we could usually arrive together at solutions that were best for our town.

Representative Town Meeting – The Fire Truck

by spoon | Op/Ed

Town meeting is this coming Saturday, the 24th.  The big issue that has come out so far, not surprisingly, is the request for a new ladder truck for the fire department.  Generally speaking, from what I saw a the informational meeting the issue is less about it than whether this happen this year or next and how should it be paid for.  Of those two the issue taking up the most time was how to pay for it.  I concede that I brought that up.

Suggestion! High School Play on Gun Rights?

by CrisEricson2016 | Op/Ed

How About A Brand New High School Play on Gun Rights?

Alternate method to teach gun rights to children by doing a high school play! (Just a suggestion!)

(1) The scene where the Native American Indians are defeated by the European settlers with guns
and the Native American Indians are forced onto reservations, losing their homelands;

(2) the scene where the European settlers invade Africa and chain the Black African people and stack their
live bodies in the bottoms of sailing ships and take them to the new America to work as slaves;

Poverty

by tomaidh | Op/Ed

Poverty is not a 3rd world phenomenon.

A friend who lives in Bennington writes poignantly about it:

“In Bennington there are three very distinct classes.

First, there are the ‘fancy people’. They are the ones who rule and control everything. They are on the boards — the hospital board, the library board, the select board, the school boards. They attend the formal fundraisers for the hospital and other institutions. They have the power — even the power over life and death. They, occasionally during a medical crisis in the hospital, make the decision to pull the plug or allow life to go on.

Modern Policing

by tomaidh | Op/Ed

The British invented modern policing in the early 19th century, establishing the ‘Peelian Principles’ of policing by consent. (After Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel)  

Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Informational Forum and District Caucuses – Public Invited

by Not Signed In | Politics

Brattleboro Town Selectboard will hold a pre-town meeting information forum on Wednesday, March 14 at Academy School beginning at 7:00 PM. Representative Town Meeting articles will be discussed, including the budget, and the bond issue. At 6:30 p.m., town meeting members of each district will be available to meet with constituents to offer residents an opportunity to share their views and discuss articles to be voted on at the annual meeting. Also, at that time, all three districts will be accepting nominations to fill town meeting member vacancies for 1 year.