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WSESD Virtual Board Meeting Scheduled

The Windham Southeast School District Board will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at the Dummerston School. Please note that this meeting will take place remotely via GoToMeeting. It can accept up to 150 people, online or on the phone. The instructions to access remotely are listed below:


Governor Scott Orders Restrictions On Travel and Lodging

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today ordered additional restrictions on travelers arriving in Vermont and announced additional guidance for the lodging industry to enhance compliance with his Stay Home, Stay Safe order. 

The measures under the Stay Home, Stay Safe order, effective March 25, were implemented in consultation with the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health to minimize all unnecessary activities outside the home to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect the public. 

Governor Scott is taking additional action to encourage compliance with newly released CDC guidance around interstate travel from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which advised residents of those states to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days. 


BCTV Schedules – Week of 3/30/20

BCTV Channel 8 / 1075 schedule for the week of 3/30/20

Monday, March 30, 2020

4:00 am All Things LGBTQ – Interview with Fantasy Author Kathrin Hutson
5:00 am Windham World Affairs Council – Can Democracy Be Saved? (and Why Bother?) 2/21/20
6:30 am Montpelier Happy Hour – COVID-19 and the Cracks in the System
7:30 am Yestermorrow – Tiny House VT 2019 – Alexandre Landry and Jeremy Aranoff
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast


WGDR Interview: VT AFL-CIO President Van Deusen on the CoronaCrisis & Rebuilding Through A Green New Deal

The Coronavirus public health crisis is rapidly becoming an economic crisis for the working class. In this interview (WGDR 91.1 FM) Vermont AFL-CIO President David Van Deusen discusses the steps already taken to address the needs of working people, what still has to be done in the here and now, and the need for a Green New Deal to rebuild society after the immediate danger passes.

Click on the below video link to listen to the full interview:


The 2020 Census Windham County UPDATE

Greetings iBrattleboro people,

My name is David Longsmith with the 2020 Census here in Windham County. I’m now a Census Response Representative and my job is to assist members of our communities with responding to the census questionnaire.


Essential Information: Brattleboro Food Co-op and Covid-19

The Brattleboro Food Co-op is well considered an essential local business and is open for business with limited hours and curbside pickup for groceries, sundries, fresh and frozen foods, wellness supplies, and more during this Covid-19 epidemic.

As a central local business focused on food and health, the Co-op feels it is important everyone in the Bratt community knows the Co-op is making every effort to keep its staff and customers safe and comfortable during this crisis. The store hours have changed temporarily to 2pm-7pm daily so customers can come into the Co-op to do their own shopping. The Co-op has also created a Curbside Pickup service for those who are compromised and don’t want to go into the store. Customers can call the Curbside Hotline at 802-246-2800 to place an order for pick up curbside either that same day or the next day.


Town of Brattleboro  COVID-19 Response Status – March 27, 2020, 2:00pm 

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

The Brattleboro Police Department (BPD) has transitioned to Level III of its Emergency Response Plan for COVID-19, as follows: 

• BPD is still patrolling the roadways, walking downtown, and visiting merchants that are open, adhering to social distancing best practices when encountering people face-to-face. 

• BPD is answering life safety calls involving physical harm or the threat of harm to individuals. Non life safety calls for service are being handled via appropriate technology (i.e. phone, email, etc.) Patrol Commanders are determining whether or not a physical response is warranted. 

• Dispatch is fully staffed 24/7 and is screening for COVID-19 on all calls. 

• BPD Clerks are working from home. Public Records requests are being accepted by email, but the majority will not be able to be processed until the “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order is lifted. 


Anti-Labor Turncoat, Cynthia Browning, Removed From VT House Committee Assignment – Brattleboro’s Emilie Kornheiser Becomes Progressive Alternative

I would challenge anyone to find a single instance were VT Representative Cynthia Browning voted in favor of any piece of major legislation that benefited Vermont workers or was supported by Organized Labor. And this week she challenged the quorum of the House thereby compelling 100 lawmakers to converge on the Statehouse, despite the rapid spreading virus, in order to enact emergency voting procedures desired on a tri-partisan bases during the crisis. The Vermont AFL-CIO celebrates Browning’s removal from the powerful Ways And Means Committee and encourages Speaker Mitzi Johnson to not appoint her to any committee. We further call on the Vermont Democratic Party to continuously reject Browning as a recognized member of their Party and thereby refuse access to their Party lists, endorsements, and assistance during the November General Election. And frankly, the Vermont AFL-CIO asserts that such actions should have been taken years ago.


Amtrak Vermonter Shut Down North of New Haven

According to Amtrak, no Vermont service on the Vermonter, or Ethan Allen Express, until further notice:

“Vermonter (Washington – St. Albans): No service north of New Haven (Monday-Saturday) and no service on Sundays.

Ethan Allen Express (New York – Rutland, VT): No service north of Albany”


Vermont Schools Dismissed For 2019-2020 School Year

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today directed schools to remain dismissed through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Districts will close schools for in-person instruction and be required to implement continuity of learning plans for remote learning. This extends the Governor’s previous directive dismissing PreK-12 schools from March 18 to April 6. 

This decision was made in consultation with the Vermont Department of Health and the Agency of Education in the continued effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. To minimize disruption to students’ learning, the Governor’s order directs school districts to come up with plans for distance learning by April 13. 


Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status – March 26, 2020, 3:00pm 

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

There are no new “bullets” of information today, but I do want to share this with the community: 

In keeping with the Governor’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this is the first full day of Town operations with most employees working from home. While we are not in our usual places interacting with the public in the usual manner, we are here for you during these extraordinary times. We have made arrangements for many administrative employees to conduct most or all of their usual activities from their homes. Some will continue to come to the office occasionally to complete tasks that can only be completed there. Importantly, all email communications and most telephone communications are functioning exactly as they do during normal office operations. Field crews will be performing limited ongoing field work to ensure that health and safety concerns are promptly addressed, and all field employees will be on call every day for addressing urgent maintenance issues (like a water main break, a snowstorm, etc.).


Signal Boosting for Vermont Legal Aid

Vermont Legal Aid Service Update:

Following the Governor’s State of Emergency declaration on March 14, 2020, Vermont Legal Aid will continue to serve its clients via telephonic and electronic means. While we have discontinued in-person access to our offices, clients may still contact our intake helpline at 1-800-889-2047 to receive assistance. Clients with a legal or benefits problem related to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak also may receive assistance by going to https://vtlawhelp.org/ .


Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status, March 25, 2020, 1:30pm

WHAT IS NEW TODAY

In compliance with the “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order issued by Governor Scott yesterday, most of Town government’s non-emergency services and administrative support functions have been suspended. Here are the details:

• Emergency services are still being provided by the Police and Fire Departments, but both departments have instituted policies that adjust their normal procedures to reflect COVID-19 best practices advice from public health experts.


Reflections In The Time of Pandemic

We are focusing our efforts on self-preservation and prevention during this time of pandemic. But we will all have more time on our hands for reflection and I urge people to stand back a little and try to take the bigger view whenever possible. It will help with the state of your mental health and it may provide some comfort, even if fleeting.

Most of us have had little experience with the process of death and dying and that inexperience tends to create fear. In past generations death was a part of life that everyone watched play out in their family. They had a chance to understand what lay ahead and they learned acceptance of that inevitability.


Bubblewrap Live on WVEW 107.7fm Tonight

This Wednesday evening (tonight), Lise and I will be hosting our radio show, Bubblewrap, live on WVEW-LP 107.7 FM. You can listen in over the air, or stream the signal from www.wvew.org.

We won’t be violating any stay at home orders, either! We will be attempting to host our show from our home, send a stream of that signal to the station, and then have the station pick it up and broadcast it to you.


Governor Issues Stay At Home Order

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today issued a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order and directed the closure of in-person operations for all non-essential businesses.

These restrictive measures are in place to minimize all unnecessary activities outside the home to slow the spread of this virus and protect the public. These actions were implemented in consultation with the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health and his evaluation of the latest data.

“I want to be very clear about this: We need everyone to limit activities outside of the home and to practice social distancing at all times to slow the spread of this highly contagious and potentially deadly virus,” said Governor Phil Scott. “We all must do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 to minimize infections – particularly for those who are elderly or have underlying chronic health conditions – and prevent it from overwhelming our healthcare facilities. The more Vermonters who take this seriously and stay home, the faster we can return to normal.”


Town of Brattleboro COVID-19 Response Status – March 24, 2020 

WHAT IS NEW TODAY 

• In furtherance of the Governor’s announcement yesterday that all businesses should implement work-from-home practices “to the maximum extent possible” and his suggestion that additional restrictions on people’s movement will be announced tomorrow, the Town has increased the number of employees who are telecommuting and is finalizing plans for full closure of certain non-emergency services and administrative functions. 
• The status of each separate area of Town government will be announced in detail if it does become necessary to fully close any functions or services.