Opinion

I have distributed the following proposal to Town Meeting Members. It should be noted that any town meeting action that may come about can only deal with the bonding amount. All other aspects of this proposal must be considered separately. Voting to change the bonding does not automatically put anything else into effect. The purpose of holding back on the second bond is to open the scope of the project to far greater possibilities and benefits.

Rethinking the Police/Fire Facilities Project

Do you want F-35 test bombs droping on Vermont? Ten years ago I lived in northern Vermont. My mother’s house and yard was adjacent to the Ethan Allen U.S. Army National Guard Firing Range on Bolton Mountain, the other side of the Mtn. From Bolton Ski Resort. 3.9 miles up a dirt road to get to Mom’s house, and when the Army was doing off M 155s the ground shook and the house shool, Now, even if the F-35 jets only drop 2,000 pound test bombs, the ground is going to shake and your house is going to shake – and they will most likely chose a rural area to drop them, not the city of Burlington.

Prosecutors, Panhandlers, and Politicians
 
Town officials spoke first. Then just like a scene from the movie, up to the mike, came one lone citizen. Central casting could not have been better at selecting just the right person to speak. He looked like every man you see every day, everywhere. Dark hair, about 5′ 7″, a blue T-shirt, denim jeans with a small hole on one knee.
 
 

I once visited the Western Wall in the holy city where notes are stuffed into the cracks, the in-box of God. Imagine, the standing ruins of Roman Jerusalem, and a procession of unique wordsmiths each hand-delivering the edited essence of their ultimate skinny.

In that crumbling courtyard, under protective eye of Uzi-packing soldiers and who-knows-what-else, I remember scribbling my note, eyeing my spot. Can’t remember what I put on paper. Nor do I recall whether my missive was responded to or not, time just washed it away.

The West Brattleboro Association is celebrating another successful barbecue. To raise funds for programs that help our neighbors and our neighborhood, we sold 216 half chickens over Columbus Day weekend.

We could not have done it without the support of our generous members and sponsors, including Joe Jewett, who gave up part of his birthday to mix up his signature marinade and serve as head chef;  Tim Cuthbertson, who coordinated the event and shared chef duties; Helen Robb, who baked many, many beans—and the rest of the Robb family, including Charlie Robb Jr., who helped with the cooking; Mary Durland, whose giant bowls of slaw rounded out a delicious meal; Carl Hirth, Kris McDermet, Stewart McDermet, and Lynette Hamilton for rounding out the crew; and Barbara Gentry, of Dynamic Words, for promoting the event.

Reports are that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is engaged in a massive, military buildup.

An article by the Associated Press () confirmed an open purchase order by DHS for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.  

This has been confirmed elsewhere by (a private marketing news service).

This is a response to the letter in the Oct, 12th Reformer in regards to the demise of the wild beaver in the West River next to the corn field. Mr. Hamilton refers to killing a “few” beaver when in actuality a whole community was annihilated . Mr. Hamilton refers to killing scavengers such as coyotes, and vermin such as rats, Beaver are neither.

Here’s Fukushima Industries Corp.’s new mascot whose name has been humorously lost in translation.

The Japanese freezer company debuted the smiling, winged-egg creature on Monday.

It would be a more fitting mascot for TEPCO.

Is empathy making a comeback? In Brattleboro and the surrounding area, we have well-established evidence that it is. Since 2005, Daryl Pillsbury and Richard Davis have been running the Windham County Heat Fund, created to help families in financial crisis to heat their homes during the unforgiving, often brutal Vermont winters. Even after applying for fuel assistance from the State of Vermont, many families fall through the cracks, either over-qualifying for sufficient aid or receiving too little fuel to make it through the winter. Luckily, even in our era of government shutdown and drastic economic cuts to almost every social service, vulnerable populations in Windham County can still receive crucial assistance through the caring generosity of their neighbors.

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Equivalent shock for Kenyans as 9/11 was for Americans. Background of these two massacres are pathetically similar. Both were blowback on US genocidal foreign policy. Osama bin Laden in his 2002 Letter to Americans, included “attacks on Muslims in Somalia” in his list of reasons for the al Qaeda 9/11 attack. Synopsis, chronology of US genocide in Somalia given. Every American should consider his or her possible involvement.