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Winter Sunshine Puppetry Series presents Under Night Sky, by PuppetKabob

Putney, VT- Sandglass Theater kicks off the Winter Sunshine family puppetry series with guest artist Sarah Frechette of PuppetKabob. Performances are Saturday March 5th at 11am and 2pm at Sandglass Theater.

Under Night Sky follows three children on journeys united by threads of courage, love and hope. Unravel the stories of the Underground Railroad stitched together in Grandmother’s patchwork quilt. Hear the waves crash aside the ship as you listen to the magical tale of an Irish Memory Quilt. Quietly enter an Old School House to see a girl proudly wearing her coat of rags, stitched to patchwork perfection.


Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee Guide to the Brattleboro Budget

Complying with a vote of Representative Town Meeting in 2021, RTM’s Finance Committee has prepared a “Guide to the Brattleboro Town Budget.” The guide is posted on the Town’s website under the Finance Committee’s page and the RTM Resources section, both of which are accessible from the Representative Town Meeting tab on the left menu bar. Also newly posted is the annual report for RTM’s consideration of the FY23 budget.


Vermont Jazz Center Presents: George Cables Trio

The Vermont Jazz Center will present the George Cables Trio in concert on March 12th at 8:00 PM. Cables will perform with his longstanding trio of Essiet Essiet on bass and Jerome Jennings on drums. The concert will be held in front of a full-capacity audience (proof of vaccination, photo ID, and masks required) and will also be live streamed on Facebook and the VJC’s website.

George Cables is a living legend of jazz piano. He is one of the few masters alive today who toured the world and recorded with many of the musicians who are currently hailed as the top artists of the post-bop movement. His live recordings with Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Art Pepper, Woody Shaw, and Freddie Hubbard are testaments to the era of burning-hot solos, where groups would stretch out on a jazz standard for 15-plus minutes.


Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Information Session and District Caucuses

Brattleboro Town Selectboard will hold a pre-town meeting information forum on Wednesday, March 9 via Zoom beginning at 7:30pm. Representative Town Meeting articles will be discussed, including the budget.

Beginning at 5:15pm (District 1), 6:00pm (District 2), and 6:45pm (District 3), 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 those times, each district will be accepting nominations to fill meeting member vacancies for 1 year.


Water Main Break Update

The water main break near Brattleboro Museum and Art Center has been repaired and water service has been restored to all customers as of 1:00 am.

Vernon St. has also been opened. Crews will be working to make temporary repairs to the side of the roadway today. There may be some traffic disruption, but everything is open.


Water Main Break Near BMAC Closes Vernon Street

Due to a water main break near the Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center, Vernon Street will be closed
until further notice. Water will be out for Bridge Street customers until further notice. Town staff is aware
of the situation and they are working to safely resolve it.


Guilford Town Meeting Ballot Results

Here are unofficial Guilford Town Meeting ballot result highlights. In contested races for Selectboard: Michael Becker (421) was re-elected over Jason Herron (242) and Tara Cheney received 45 write-in votes; Zon Eastes re-elected with 422 over Lynn Latulippe King at 281. All other races uncontested. All Articles passed; the Library Addition article was the only close vote at 348 yes to 333 no. 719 people voted.


VT Town Meeting Day – America’s Last Bastion Of Direct Participatory Democracy – Defending Our Rural Tradition

3/1/2022, Cabot Vermont – Today is Town Meeting Day here in our Vermont. While a community may have many Town Meetings throughout the year, the first Tuesday in March is, for the most part, when all our communities come together to make important decisions for the coming year. From Town budgets to School budgets, from local ordinances to expressing views on a range of topics, Town Meeting is where Vermonters debate and decide on the issues of the day.

And traditionally it is at such Town Meetings that ALL the citizens of a community act as the legislative branch of local government, with the power to publicly debate, make motions, propose amendments, and ultimately vote from the floor on those issues set before them.


Brattleboro Town & School Unofficial Election Results

Please see attached for the “unofficial results” for Brattleboro Town Meeting. The attached is formatted to show the unofficial winners for each race in bold. These are the results from the ballot tallies, not including write-in votes.

Brattleboro’s WSESD unofficial results are at the bottom of the spreadsheet. These are not the final results, as the school district needs to tally the votes from all 4 towns.


Selectboard Meeting Notes – Mask Rules Lifted, Sidewalk Rules Enhanced

brattleboro selectboard march 1 2022

The Brattleboro Selectboard lifted town rules requiring masks. People and businesses are free to once again do as they please with caution. The mask rules can come back if things get bad again.

The board also passed a new rule requiring downtown property owners to clear their sidewalks of snow within 24 hours of a snowstorm or face fines and costs. It may be a while before this is tested, though, as winter is wrapping up for the season.


iBrattleboro Selectboard Candidate Interview – Jessica Gelter

Jessica Gelter is an incumbent running for a one year seat.

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Tell us a bit about yourself and why you are running for a one year seat…

I’m a nonprofit business leader, a townie, an artist, and a mom. I’m running again because the work that fired me up and inspired me to run last year is still underway, and I would like to be accountable and follow through on some of the decisions I helped make last year, like hiring new town manager Yoshi Manale.

What did you think of your first budget season?  Enjoy the overview of Town Operations?

I keep saying, it felt like a love fest! It was really surprising. Peter and the staff handed us a budget that was really easy to understand and say yes to, with some minor tweaks and alterations to make sure the tax rate didn’t jump up significantly again. I certainly learned a lot about the various functions of the Town departments, and all the equipment we own!


A Quantifiable Asset

A small town may not have any special qualities over living in a large city. Many of the neighborly community senses found in Brattleboro may be elsewhere. A good deed here is likely universal and inherent in much of our day to day lives.

Recently, I dropped my bank card in the Brattleboro Post Office where it was found by a good person who promptly delivered it to TD Bank across the street. The best customer service is that which protects its patrons, even if it can be inconvenient at first.