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Living story sections

Brattleboro Floral Arts & Garden Club Offers New Format

by JillStahlTyler | Home & Garden

Gardens provide continuity and hope every year, and the Brattleboro Floral Arts & Garden Club shines as a happy reminder that natural beauty continues in our community.

New president (and local mystery writer) Lynne Kennedy is the club’s new president.   As the annual April meeting was cancelled this year, and in response to social distancing requirements, outgoing Co-Presidents Lynn Kuralt and Melissa Kuralt passed the keys “on a ten-foot pole”.  Other new officers include Vice President Shelia Kinnare, Recording Secretary Frankie Knibb, Corresponding Secretary Judith Wagenbach, Treasurer Libby Lafland and Librarian Carlene McCarty.

Food Security

by spoon | Food

Let’s get concrete. One aspect. Food security. There was a suggestion, a well worn mantra but nonetheless very true, to buy local. We’ll keep that narrowed to food. The presumption is that the more local food we buy the more local growers will be inclined to raise. Each additional pound of food gets us one pound closer to security. But there is another factor. The food has to be affordable.

Small farms, especially the organic farms and it would be ideal if all were organic, can’t get food to the market at the same price as agribiz. Agribiz doesn’t care about or thus factor in the external costs of pollution (and resulting health issues) from chemicals or gmo’s or any such thing. On top of that they get huge subsidies. The subsidies are added to everyone else’s tax bill.

Vermont Covid-19 Real Estate Guidance

by SK-B | Health

Stay Home Stay Safe Sector Specific Guidance

New Rules effective April 20 for various occupations:
https://accd.vermont.gov/covid-19/business/stay-home-stay-safe-sector-specific-guidance

Guidance specifically for Real Estate

Blind Men and An Elephant

by RDavis | Health

There is a lot of solid science to help us understand how to deal with COVID 19, the disease caused by SARS-Cov 2. Keep in mind that this disease is related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that occurred in 2002-2003, but experts believe that COVID 19 has somehow become more pathogenic.

We want to trust the experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, because he has become a prominent spokesman for delivering news that seems based in science and not politics.

But even Fauci and many other equally reputable scientists admit they wish they knew more about this new disease outbreak to provide guidance about the safest way for societies to proceed. Politics is clouding the picture and erring on the side of caution is the best advice for now. We need to move slowly while using the best available scientific information.

Food Delivery For Those In Need

by LisaL | Food

The Brattleboro VFW Post #1034 and the Brattleboro Elks #1499 is banding together with the guidance of the Brattleboro Fire Department to buy groceries and other essential items for those who cannot and should not venture out. Volunteers will be purchasing items, bagging or boxing them, and delivering them to homes where needed in the Brattleboro area.

Brattleboro Senior Meals

by KathrynT | Food

Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu April 20 to April 24
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU

Apr. 20 Quiche Lorranie
Roasted Potatoes
Brussel Sprouts
Roll

Vermont Primary Voting?

by RobertOeser | Activism

There will be an election – the State Primary – in August (!) this year in Vermont (!). . . and it’s not too early to be prepared.

How do you do that, you ask?

Visit your My Voter Page, update your registration address, including your physical and mailing addresses, and request absentee ballots.

UPS Delivery Problems?

by asegar | Questions & Answers

Has anyone else been having problems receiving delivery from the Brattleboro UPS terminal? I have had a package “out for delivery” in Marlboro for four days now (Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and today) and at the end of each day I get an email that the package is delayed, even though the UPS tracking system says it’s on the truck. An email to UPS has had no response, and it’s impossible to speak to anyone at the UPS 800 number.

Online Fruit Tree & Perennial Sale at Scott Farm Orchard

by PamK | Home & Garden

Looking for top quality bare-root fruit trees and unusual perennials to start or expand your home orchard or garden? Place an online order by April 30, with pick up by appointment May 2 or 3 at Scott Farm Orchard!

In response to COVID-19, Scott Farm’s annual Fruit Tree and Perennial Sale will take place online this year (instead of on May 2). We are offering a wide selection of bare root and potted fruit trees and perennials to include: Heirloom Apple Trees, Common Apple Trees, Stone Fruit and Pear Trees, Potted Fig Trees, Blueberry Bushes, Heirloom Apple Scions, Orchard Products, and Perennials.

Farewell, Dan Cummings

by Lise | Obituaries

I wanted to write a few words about Dan Cummings who passed away last week, suddenly, at the age of only 64.  Dan was our very first friend in Brattleboro, and he was one of the most true friends we’ve ever had, here or anywhere.

At the time we moved to Vermont, in 2001, he owned Avenue Grocery on Western Ave, a few blocks from our new home.  Since I was in his store many times a week, we got to be good friends.

I’ll never forget the first time I stopped into the store.  I walked in late one afternoon to buy a six pack, and of course, Dan carded me.  Being over 40 at the time, I was a bit bugged, but I could see he wasn’t going to budge so I went home and got my ID.  I told him to be sure to remember me because I would be coming in many times in the future.  He laughed and that was the last time I got carded there.

Brattleboro Time Trade – Uncancelled

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Activism

One thing in Brattleboro is UNCANCELLED!  Brattleboro Time Trade is perfect for this very time…

We trade TIME rather than $$$… and can be very creative about how we do it — 6 feet apart, remotely by Facebook, Zoom, telephone, Hangouts, you name it…  For example — Get someone to help you with your computer… then trade with someone else — the beautiful handmade cards you love to create… your imagination is the only limit…

A Ballet of Rain

by Lise | Nature, Spiritual

I found myself standing in the upstairs window, watching the rain fall in the meadow outside and humming “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”  Clearly, I thought, I want to ride away on a sunshiny day in search of adventure.  Realizing that wasn’t likely, I continued to watch the rain as it fell, gradually noticing the budding silver maple just outside the window.

Food Delivery For Those In Need

by LisaL | Food

The Brattleboro VFW Post #1034, Brattleboro Elks #1499, Masonic Lodge #102, and the American Legion Post 5 is banding together with the guidance of the Brattleboro Fire Department to buy groceries and other essential items for those who cannot and should not venture out. Volunteers will be purchasing items, bagging or boxing them, and delivering them to homes where needed in the Brattleboro area.
We are asking for donations to support this cause. 100% of the proceeds will be used to purchase items. Please make checks payable to VFW Post 1034, and include a return address so a receipt can be mailed. Mail to:

An Update from the Brattleboro Food Co-op

by BratFoodCoop | Food

Greetings from the re-invented Brattleboro Food Co-op! We have now more or less stabilized into our new schedule for curbside orders paired with open store hours. Just to remind you, we take orders at 802-246-2800 from 8:00 a.m. to noon for same-day pickup, and noon to 2 for next day pickup. We also are open for those not isolating from 2 pm to 7 pm, except for Sunday April 12, when we are closed for Easter.

A few explanations about how we are doing what we are doing, and what you can expect from us.

Brattleboro Senior Meals

by KathrynT | Food

Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu April 6 to April 10
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU

Apr. 6 Beef Stroganoff over Noodles
Brussel Sprouts
Glazed Carrots
Clementines

Pandemic Diet – Eating Beans and Rice

by Lise | Food

It’s important to keep up morale during the emergency.  One way to do that is food.  But what to do when you hit those days when your delivery order isn’t ready yet, your curbside pickup order isn’t till tomorrow, or you just don’t feel like going to the grocery store yourself?  This kind of circumstance can lead to a lot of bean and rice dinners, and who’s to say that’s a bad thing?  It brings us back to basics, enduring a little hardship in what is, after all, a life and death situation.  On the other hand, simple, noble cooking can be seriously boring if you really like food.  

I think the key for me is to have on hand a few basic meals that we actually like to eat.  That way, we can always make something reasonably appetizing.  It’s important to keep meals appetizing because boredom and depression can diminish appetite and you want to keep eating, within reasonable bounds.  Food makes us feel good, and it’s good to feel good, especially during an epidemic, because feeling good boosts our immunity.

Groundworks Invites Supporters to Fundraise By Camping-in-Place on May 1

by Not Signed In | Activism

BRATTLEBORO—Amidst the organization’s many measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Groundworks Collaborative has pivoted to a virtual approach for their 8th annual Camp for a Common Cause fundraiser.  

The event, which normally seeks a permit to lift the Town of Brattleboro’s public camping restriction for one night each May on the Brattleboro Common, will happen virtually this year on Friday, May 1st.  Organizers are encouraging participants to camp at home—on lawns, in garages, on balconies and decks, etc.—and in so doing, raise funds that Groundworks reports it needs “now more than ever.”  

Coronavirus: Vermont AFL-CIO Crisis Demands & The Need To Rebuild The Economy Through A Green New Deal

by David Van Deusen | Health

Much progress has been made in the Green Mountains since the start of the Coronacrisis. And we should all recognize the rapid pace at which it was achieved. Together, as Vermonters, we have:

* Unemployment Insurance: Greatly lowered the qualifying thresholds for unemployment insurance;

* Worker Safety & Health: Seen most unionized cities and towns take meaningful steps to better protect the health and safety of workers;

* Feeding Low Income Children: Secured food for low income children;