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Hire Putney School Students on April 16th – Support the VT Refugee Resettlement Program

by Not Signed In | Activism

The Putney School’s annual Charitable Work Day will take place on Saturday, April 16th. If you live within 30 minutes of Putney, you can hire high school students to do yard work or house work for you, and all of the money raised this year will go to the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program.

Did you know that when refugees arrive in the US for resettlement, the government only provides them with about $925 each to get them started in their new home? Imagine trying to settle into a new country, find a job, and earn enough money for your next month’s rent before that initial stipend runs out.

Youth Services’ Summer Camp Fair During April Gallery Walk

by Not Signed In | Family

Youth Services will host their Annual Summer Camp Fair on Friday, April 1, on Gallery Walk Night from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the River Garden in downtown Brattleboro.

Many summer camp providers will supply activities and entertainment for the children. The public is encouraged to take advantage of this great opportunity to arrange a fun-filled summer while being entertained. To entice the public to stop in, Youth Services is holding a free drawing for $100 credit toward a camp of the winner’s choice and giving out free balloons.

Just So Pediatrics Announces Extended Office Hours

by BMH | Health

Just So Pediatrics (JSP), a member of the BMH Medical Group, is now offering extended hours in order to accommodate patients who request evening and occasionally, weekend appointments. In addition to its regular hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays, JSP has extended their office hours from 8 AM until 8 PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with additional appointments available on some Saturdays.

“Extended hours benefit working parents who cannot come during 8:30am to 5pm hours,” says Cynthia Howes, RN, a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with JSP. “They also increase health care access to school aged children and decrease school absences.” Research from the University of Michigan shows children who have access to extended pediatric primary care appointments have half as many Emergency Department visits as those who do not.

Brattleboro Dog Licenses Due

by Not Signed In | Pets

Brattleboro dog and wolf-hybrid licenses are due on or before April 1. Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months of age and older must be licensed on or before April 1. For dogs not previously licensed in Brattleboro, a first-time license must be obtained in person from the Town Clerk’s office. Licenses being renewed may be processed in the Town Clerk’s office, through the mail or online at www.brattleboro.org.

Vaccination against rabies is required by Vermont Statutes before licensing. A current vaccination means:

All dogs and wolf-hybrids over three months of age shall be vaccinated against rabies. The initial vaccination shall be valid for 12 months. Within 9 to 12 months of the initial vaccination, the animal must receive a booster vaccination.

Jukrislim Woman – This is Bone of My Bones

by Vidda | Nature

In the beginning the LORD Thankgodiamaman created the heaven and the earth.

On the second day Thankgodiamaman gets very busy creating all kinds of things out of the void and from the face of the deep.

He said let there be light, let there be a firmament; let there be lights in the firmament and stars in the heavens; he made the land, he made the wetland; he divided the waters from the waters; he brought forth grasses, herbs and fruit trees; he made the creatures, two by two, on the land, in the waters and flying fowl, whereupon Thankgodiamaman blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply.”

WKVT Presents “A Call to Action: Mental Health” Forum, March 31

by ChrisLenois | Health

WKVT radio presents a live broadcast of a public forum about mental health needs and services in the community, from 10:00am to 12:00noon on Thursday, March 31 in the Brooks Memorial Library Meeting Room.

Much like the 2014 “Call to Action” program that addressed opiate abuse, WKVT hosts Peter “Fish” Case and Chris Lenois will moderate a guest panel consisting of state and local officials involved in policy-making, treatment, and emergency response, as well as impacted individuals and families. 

“There is a similar level of urgency around mental health issues as there is around addiction in Windham County and the surrounding area,” says Case. “We hope to connect those people who are facing the same challenges with those who are working on solutions, so the community has a better understanding of the available resources.”

April Services at Brattleboro Area Jewish Community

by BAJC Shir HeHarim | Spiritual

There will be two Shabbat morning (shacharit/Torah) services this month, at 10:00 on April 2nd, led by Cantor Kate Judd, and on the 9th, led by a guest leader. Morning services are followed by a light kiddush snack and time for shmoozing.

There will be a Yizkor service on the last night of Passover, April 29th, at 6:30, the third of the four required Yizkor services in the Jewish calendar–the special memorial prayer recited by all those who have lost a parent or a close loved one.  A minyan is needed for the service, which will be quite brief. Please come for Yizkor, then stay, if you wish,for a musical Kabbalat Shabbat and dessert potluck (no chometz, please!).

Do You Crochet or Knit? Help Us Help the Homeless!

by BAJC Shir HeHarim | Activism

Come join us on Sunday afternoon, April 10th, from 1:00-3:00 pm, to craft items for the homeless population in the area. Using traditional crafts, we will make hats, scarves, blankets and sleeping mats from yarn and fleece fabric.

Crafting for the Homeless is in its second year of meeting on the first Sunday of the month (Except this month only!) at Brattleboro Area Jewish Community, Congregation Shir Heharim.

That’s Funny – You Don’t Look Gnostic!

by BAJC Shir HeHarim | Spiritual

Join us Sunday April 10th from 3:00-5:00 p.m to explore Gnosticism with Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Keiner. 

Gnosticism is the shared root of Jewish, Christian and other ancient Mediterranean faiths and cultures. But just what exactly is shared between these various religions? What is Gnosticism? How is it embedded in Jewish text, life and practice today?  During our afternoon with Rabbi Andrea, we will explore the core concepts of the Jewish mystical tradition and its Gnostic roots. We will ask what the core insights of this tradition are, and how it is reflected today in our communities.  As these principles draw us into a deeper understanding of our own beliefs and practices, we will also gain the ability to have meaningful interfaith dialogue with others.

100 Year Old Tree Down in Crowell Lot?

by Not Signed In | Questions & Answers

Anybody know what happened to the tree in the Crowell Lot around 3/17? Lightning? Wind? I think D&E Tree was on the scene to clean up the body. The kids just got a new piece of playground equipment – 2 tree stumps. While I’m at the Crowell Lot, has anyone noticed the basketball stuck in the tree about 50 feet up?

Great Leap Forward for Women’s Rights

by tomaidh | Pets

A Saudi panel of scientists recently concluded that women aren’t just household items as it was previously
thought, but are mammals and therefore should have same rights as camels and goats.

Previously, women had the same rights as a chair or a table and were seen more as individual property.

They now have an equivalent status to certain animal species, and thus must receive, at the very least, feeding, watering and be conferred a minimum of attention.

“Ain’t that precious?”

Anyone Have Experience with VTel?

by DonInGuilford | Questions & Answers

Our neighborhood in Guilford is beyond the terminus for cable, so we use Fairpoint DSL, which is, let’s say: better than dial-up. It looks as though a newish company called VTel is promoting itself as intending to cover all of Vermont with good broadband, via, as I understand it, a combination of fiber-optic and some wireless technology. They may be making progress on reaching our area. So I’m asking if anyone knows about them, or, possibly, uses their services?  There have been some similar-sounding schemes lately that haven’t turned out well (see the Great Auk story in today’s Reformer.)

Food Justice: To What Extent Does It Exist In Our Community?

by ESchwartz | Food

Who in our community has the means and access to grow, sell, and eat healthy food?  Is it a reasonable expectation that our food be fresh, nutritious, affordable, and grown locally, with care for the well-being of the land, workers and animals?

The Shareholder Forum of the Brattleboro Food Coop will hold a community dialogue on food justice on Sunday, March 20, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the Brattleboro Food Co-op Community Room, 7 Canal Street. A panel of local experts will address these questions from the different perspectives of farmers (Howard Prussack, High Meadow Farm, and Brian McNeice, Bonvue Farm), children (Vicky Senni, Let’s Grow Kids!), seniors (Chris McAvoy, Brattleboro Senior Meals), low-income people (Rhianna Kendrick, Groundworks Collaborative), and the Brattleboro Food Co-op (Sabine Rhyne).  Members of the community are invited to participate in this dialogue with the panelists and fellow community members.

And The Heat Goes On – New Global Temperature Records

by cgrotke | Nature

Enjoy the warm temperatures while you can. That is, enjoy the warm days with a grain of proverbial salt. These warm days are actually bad things.

Scientists are reporting that February broke global temperature margins at record levels. used words such as: jaw-dropping, stunning, shocker, climate emergency, bombshell, extraordinary, frightening, and unprecedented.

New Podiatrist Starts at BMH

by BMH | Health

In collaboration with , podiatrist will be opening a local office at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, where she will see patients in the Podiatry Department as well as the BMH . 

Dr. Newkirk holds a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine from New York College of Podiatric Medicine in New York, New York and a Bachelor of Science from North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Georgia. She completed her residency in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in New Hyde Park, New York and is qualified by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. In addition to joining the staff of the Center for Wound Healing, Dr. Newkirk is an employee of the Department of Podiatry at Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene.

350Vermont Launches Mother Up! Parents Exchange for Change

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Family

A message from one of our time trade members:

For many parents, our days are filled with putting food on the table, wrestling limbs into snow gear and checking in on school work. Often our busy lives prevent us from taking a leading role on the larger issues at play in the world in which we are raising our children – racism, climate change, gross economic inequality.  

Many parents share a profound sense of despair in the face of climate change and other big issues, yet feel powerless to act. Time Trader Abby Mnookin is working from Brattleboro with 350Vermont as part of a new team project: “Mother Up! Parents Exchange for Change.” This team believes parents are powerful voices in fighting for the health and safety of our children’s future!

Rip Currents

by spinoza | Nature

In a recent comment I used the metaphor that we Americans were headed for a Rip unless we woke up, and it got me wondering if this was accurate. My exact line was “…the election is a vast nasty leading to a larger and far more dangerous rip tide.” Rips are naturally occurring, and while often deadly, they are avoidable, and deal-able, if panic doesn’t prevail. Most fatalities happen because people freak out and try to swim against the current, directly into shore, and drown from exhaustion or fright. Even strong swimmers can’t contend with the force of outgoing surge.

It’s worth keeping in mind, Rips don’t have vertical pull, they won’t suck you under. Mostly they channel water back out, built up from incoming waves.  Some Rips, according to recent science, a great many, are large surface level conveyer whirlpools, streams that will eventually return you to shore if you go with the flow.  You can’t always be sure that will happen though, so riding it out may not be practical, even if viable. In any case the current will only carry someone out a few hundred yards beyond where the waves break as a result of shallower seabed, or sand bars.