The Brattleboro Selectboard will meet on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at 6:15pm. It is anticipated that the Board will enter Executive Session at that time. In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting. The attached agenda contains information about how to access the meeting remotely.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
“Protests have been an important part of our democracy, driving change throughout our history. The peaceful protests we’ve seen in Vermont are an important outlet for our communities to express their sadness, anger and frustrations, and to call for change. This is a critical moment in our history, and it is our responsibility, as public servants, to listen and allow for these protests to safely continue. I thank Vermonters for their commitment to protecting each other, both through the change we are trying to seek and how we are seeking it.” – Governor Phil Scott
NOTICE OF MEETING
The Windham Southeast School District Programmatic and Performance Equity Committee will meet remotely at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 via Zoom:
Demand a New Deal – No To Racism – No To Austerity – Union Yes!
“An Attack On One Is An Attack On All”
WE DEMAND A NEW DEAL!
NEW DEAL: We demand the Federal Government, the State of Vermont and municipalities commit to a economic recovery effort through a progressively funded NEW DEAL that puts the working class first, and gives rise to a more directly democratic society free of racism, discrimination, oppression, and economic exploitation of the laboring classes;
Another black man is murdered by American police. People are outraged and they take to the streets. Their protests help to ease the pain of injustice every black person has to endure every day while trying to enjoy the privileges and rights of citizenship that the rest of us take for granted.
Those in power will sit back and do nothing to change the root causes of injustice that have led to yet another horrific moment in American history. They will engineer sound bites and they will pick out easy political memes to try to ease their base of the brain-dead followers who also are in the same political camp as the rich and privileged. They will even go so far as tear-gassing crowds of people near their home so they can take a walk whose purpose is to use the Bible as a prop in a culture war of their own creation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard held another virtual meeting Tuesday night. Utility rates are set to rise, the General Fund end-of-year looks pretty good, the FY21 Parking and Solid Waste budgets were discussed, preliminary options for holding Representative Town Meeting were presented, and dogs were warned of their illegality. Read on for the details.
NOTICE OF MEETING
The Windham Southeast School District Personnel Committee will meet remotely at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, June 5, 2020 Via Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
An important school election is coming up! The WSESD Annual Meeting vote is Tuesday, June 30, 2020.
Follow this link for Information about the Windham Southeast School District FY ’21 Budget Vote including links to the Warning and a Sample Ballot.
https://sites.google.com/wsesu.org/wsesdboard/home
The Budget Vote on Tuesday, June 30 is via Australian Ballot
For better or worse, we start the June dashboard numbers roundup, with numbers from the Vermont Department of Health and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital with looks at nearby counties in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
You can find the May dashboard reporting here, and the April numbers here.
I was part of the Vermont Peace Movement from 1882 to 1984. A very short time indeed. However it was packed full of intense moments of friendships and activism with David Dellinger (who then lived in Peacham, Vermont) and Abbie Hoffman both of the Chicago 7. We were arrested numerous times during those Nuclear Freeze days of Helen Caldicott. When David Dellinger endorsed Jesse Jackson for President in the 1984 Vermont primary I deeply pondered what it would take to bring about a world where “Imagine All the People Living Life as One”. How do you vote in a change of heart?? So here is another page of my life to consider as once again our country is in the midst of anguish and pain. Thank you, Melevav of the old Common Loaf Bakery, Brattleboro.
……
Radical of Radicals – Depth of A Movement
BCTV Channels 8 / 1075 schedule for the week of 6/1/20
Monday, June 1, 2020
4:30 am Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium Virtual Learning – ‘Movements and Rhythms of the Heavens’ (Grades 5-8)
5:00 am The Rhema Word – Explosions of Truth
5:50 am Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium Virtual Learning – ‘Science of Thunderstorms (Grades 3-8)’
6:30 am Vote for Vermont – Meredith Angwin, Nuclear Energy Advocate
7:30 am The World Fusion Show – Ep 46 – Gokh-Bi System
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast
With tides higher than they have been in decades, many of south Florida’s drainage systems and seawalls are no longer sufficient. Here’s a photo of a King tide at a residential neighborhood in Miami Beach. Some of those cars are “toast”.
Miami has the most to lose in terms of financial assets of any coastal city in the world, just above Guangzhou, China and New York City.
Hundreds of protestors in Brattleboro on Sunday joined in the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd.
Lining Main Street from one end to the other on both sides of the streets, were social-distanced people with masks and signs, chanting and singing. This crowd was probably as big if not bigger than the Iraq War protests in 2003.
A sampling of signs:
Black Lives matter
Justice for Floyd
Tonight, over 2000+ Vermonters converged on the Burlington Police Department in protest of the racist murder of unarmed Black man George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis PD. Over the last 48 hours, rebellions & demonstrations have broke out in a multitude of US cities. In Minneapolis citizens overran the police department building where the officers responsible for the killing were based. Violent confrontations have flared between protesters and law enforcement in many urban centers outside Vermont. President Trump has called for looters to be shot, and has threated to mobilize the U.S. military.
In Burlington, the demonstrations were lead by Black Lives Matter. Amongst the many protesters were VT AFL-CIO District Vice President Dwight Brown, AFSCME Local 1343 President Damion Gilbert, and Progressive State Representative Brian Cina (who is also a member of DSA).
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu June 1 to June 5
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
June 1 Franks & Beans
Potato Salad
Cole Slaw
Watermelon
The Brattleboro Selectboard will approve their own budget for the first time, due to a special act of the Vermont legislature to bypass Town Meeting Representatives this year in an effort to get the budget approved prior to the new fiscal year on July 1. The board will also discuss options for convening a Representative Town Meeting at some point.
Water and sewer rates will be raised, downtown parklets for businesses will be purchased, the Solid Waste Fund will be discussed and might be folded into the General Fund, another COVID-19 update will be given, and even more will happen during this packed agenda. Prediction: watch as Selectboard members mention that they hate the dog warrant language again this year! “It’s the owners, not the animals…” You can bring up other items and animals not on the agenda during Public Participation. Just don’t ask your questions in the chat room of the virtual meeting.
WHAT IS NEW TODAY
Two big announcements today!
From the Recreation and Parks Department:
The Living Memorial Park Swimming Pool and Rotary Water Playground will be opening for the season on Saturday, June 20th, 2020, at 1pm. Space will be limited to 25 patrons and staff inside the gated area at any one time. Daily reservations may be made by calling the pool at 802-254-6700. Priority will be given to Brattleboro Residents.
Due to COVID-19, the pool schedule, fees, and procedures have been updated for the Summer of 2020:
NOTICE OF BOARD MEETING
The Windham Southeast School District Board will meet remotely at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, 2020 via Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
Vermont is again “opening the spigot” to allow gatherings of up to 25 people if certain rules are followed. There are new guidelines for close contact businesses (you can get your hair cut again) and summer camps and college programs, as well. Pick your own agriculture has a green light to get going, as do flea markets, gyms, libraries, massage parlors, museums, tattoo parlors, theaters, nail salons, and the similar.
None of this looks particularly easy or fun, and there are a lot of hoops to jump through to gather and work correctly. Masks and distancing rules still apply. Participants must give up contact information. Curbside pickup remains encouraged. Still, if your goal is to get out and about, here are the new guidelines for you to follow:
The Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department is pleased to announce that the Living Memorial Park Pool / Rotary Water Playground will be opening for the season on Saturday, June 20th, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. Priority will be given to Brattleboro Residents and will be open to Non-Brattleboro-Vermont Residents as space allows. Due to COVID-19, the pool schedule, fees, and procedures have been updated.
Pool Reservations: Pool reservations will be taken daily beginning at 10:00 a.m., and reservations can only be taken at the swimming pool by calling (802) 254-6700. Only 25 people including staff will be allowed into the gated area at a time. Please note that only same day reservations will be accepted, and you can only reserve one time slot a day. Additional slots may be available by calling the Pool after 2:30 p.m. When making a reservation you will be required to provide your address, phone number and first and last name of everyone in your reservation party. If all time slots are full you can add your name to the waiting list in case of no shows or cancellations.
