The July 2, and July 16 Regular Selectboard Meetings have been cancelled due to the July 4th holiday.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will meet on July 9 and on July 23 for the month of July. They will return to their regular schedule (first and third Tuesdays) next month
July 1 Salisbury Steak w/Gravy & Onions
Mashed Potato
Green Beans w/Almonds
Apple Sauce Cake
June rainfall of 4.23″ compared to a NOAA average of 4.52″. Just a little below normal. The first 20 days of the month were quite dry then several days of heavier rainfall brought us to near normal. For the calendar year still well above at 28.55″ compared to the NOAA average of 22.13″. Any rainfall we were to receive today would be recorded/reported tomorrow at 7am, the start of a new month. All numbers are from my location in the SE corner of Brattleboro.
In the first televised presidential debate between JFK and Nixon- I’m not old enough to remember- the tide swung in favor of the more telegenic Kennedy, when Nixon’s candidacy went down awash in beads of face sweat and furtive glances.
In certain matters Americans are forgiving. Will Smith is back. Even Nixon was able to rise again. But in other matters we are an obstinate people. And irrational to boot. I don’t understand it, but have often observed the phenomena. Why are the optics of Jan 6th malleable? Why are Nazi’s back? The world can be mad and maddening, that fact goes back to antiquity.
Returning to the present moment. Biden’s debate performance is fixed in the collective mind, nothing can or will erase his frozen expression and underwater responses to softball opportunities. Leaving for now the conundrum of Biden’s opponent being a recidivist and deranged narcissist, the question becomes: are Americans willing to vote for a dead man over a return to Trumpian autocracy.
The Windham County Heat Fund is strong and thriving as we move into the 20th year of the non-profit’s life at the beginning of the next heating season. That might seem like good news, but when Daryl Pilsbury and I started the organization we thought it would only be needed for a few years. We had no clue how much people were suffering at the lower end of the economic scale and we were under the delusion that the cost of heating fuel was the most important factor putting pressure on needy people and families.
We have been given a glimpse into the complexity of people’s lives and the pictures are not pretty. The heat fund has been a godsend to many people who might have suffered through a winter living in one room with the thermostat at 50 degrees. Then there are the families who really can’t make ends meet at the end of the month but somehow find a way to pay rent and buy food but they have to put heating fuel at the bottom of the list.
Then there are those people who thought they were doing well until they got a diagnosis of cancer. They often lose their jobs and their health insurance. When the got their diagnosis they thought their lives couldn’t get any worse.. Then they found out they couldn’t pay for treatment and they couldn’t pay their rent. Imagine what it’s like for a person who has an aggressive cancer eating away at them, or a severe chronic illness to have to live on the streets. It happens; and more often than you might think.
F1 Student Conduct and Discipline – Review with BUHS Admin Cassie Damkoehler, assistant principal at BUHS, reviewed F1 with the committee. The following changes were made:
● In the Due Process section on page 4:
o The intro and bullet 1: stay the same.
o Bullet 2 becomes: “students’ right to a fair hearing before being suspended for up to ten days.”
Plan A was when the Libertarians nominated me back in April to be their U.S. Senate candidate, but then they threatened to sue me for expressing my freedom of speech. They accused me of “spam” when I posted Facebook news about other Libertarian candidates for U.S. Senator in other states. How is that “spam”? I was learning about the Libertarian views and wanted to share what I was reading. Any of them could have told me on Facebook they didn’t enjoy the posts I shared, but they did not. Any of them could have blocked me, but they did not.
At some point I got around to reading all of their Rules, which I had not previously found on their website, because they are not posted in a way you could find them. Reading their Rules shocked me, so I contacted a Libertarian candidate in another state who said there was no way they could have those Rules in his state Libertarian party. I questioned their Rules on line and was then attacked by the Libertarians who threatened to sue me. For what? After they kicked me out, and rescinded my nomination, I watched the Libertarian national party convention online and saw that lots of members question the rules. Hmph!
2024-62 Stephanie Abrams; Residential Neighborhood 3600 District; request for Waiver of Dimensional Standards Approval to construct 10’ tall fence at 117 Pine Street; Tax Map Parcel #00325467.000
2024-71 David Timmons & Robin Bitters; Residential Neighborhood 5400 District; request for Waiver of Dimensional Standards Approval to construct a 41′ x 42′ 2-story home, located in part in the front yard setback in keeping with the character of the neighborhood and in response to site conditions at 101 Chestnut Hill; Tax Map Parcel #00265205.000
The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents five-piece band Bombay Rickey, on Saturday, July 27 at 6:00 pm at New England Center for Circus Arts, 10 Town Crier Drive, in Brattleboro.
“[Bombay Rickey is] easily one of the most adventurous and daring artists we’ve worked with – how many ensembles are fronted by an opera singer and can count cumbia, spaghetti-Western, and Bollywood as influences?” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “I saw them in New York in January, and they made my jaw drop on the floor. I’m over-the-moon excited to present them to our Vermont community.”
Praised as “a true treat for the adventurous ear” (TimeOut NY), Bombay Rickey is a five-piece band with a unique sound evocative of 1960s movie soundscapes. The group plays both covers and original music that borrow equally from the worlds of surf rock, cumbia, spaghetti-Western, and Bollywood, balanced out with soaring operatic vocals.
Work continues to progress toward the Vermont abutment on the remaining overhang formwork, placing shear studs into girders, grouting deck panels, and placing rebar. Grouting of deck panels in Vermont will take place on Monday, July 1st, with the concrete delivered to a pump truck located beneath the bridge in the Barrows & Fisher’s property.
The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents the rising star of Mexican electronic folk, Pahua, and experimental Latin Tropical band Meridian Brothers, on Saturday, July 20 at 6:00 pm at Cooper Field, 41 Sand Hill Rd, in Putney.
“Electronic beats mix with Mexican soul in Pahua. Cumbia meets psychedelic rock in The Meridien Brothers. This double bill is one for the ages,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “Pahua’s artistry bridges many divides and is for anyone interested in how music marches forward with electronics, ethnic flavor, and mastery. The Meridien Brothers are for anyone who seeks out new sonic adventures while still wanting to tear up the dance floor.”
Pahua is the project of Mexican singer, composer, producer and DJ Paulina Sotomayor; a blend of electronica and folklore that represents a very deep part of its creator: femininity, nature, inner strength and self-discovery.
On Thursday, June 27, 2024, a contractor hired by the Town of Brattleboro will be painting road markings on many of the roads throughout town. The contractor will be painting 4” white fog lines and 4” double yellow lines. The work will begin at 9:00pm Thursday night, continuing through the morning hours of Friday June 28, 2024. Traffic will be restricted and motorists are reminded to use caution as road paint could still be wet.
Is anyplace or organization hosting a public debate view in town?
6:50 – 7:20 Plan Action Review and Agenda Suggestions for upcoming meeting
Review projects in the various town plans that have not yet been completed. Identify Planning Commission projects & meeting topics to work on in the coming year.
As of 9:45 p.m. on June 24, the Brattleboro Fire Department is on the scene at 541 Vernon Street (Route #142) responding to an active hazardous material leak involving a railcar. There is no threat to the public at this time, but the area of Vernon Street is closed for emergency scene operations.
The Brattleboro Fire Department asks all community members to avoid the area. Detours have been established via Cotton Mill Hill Road to ensure your safety and the safety of emergency crews.
Are you going through treatment? Feeling overwhelmed or scared? Talking with others may help.
The Serious Illness Program support groups provide a safe space for people to share personal experiences, feelings, coping strategies, and allow for shared learning.
Free, facilitated, peer support group for people who live in Windham County and neighboring NH towns who are experiencing a life-altering illness with a focus on cancer, heart and organ diseases.
The agenda was amended to add discussion on a VSBA business voting member under new business, using the Personnel committee for summer hires, and ideas on how to better insure follow up on board matters.
There being no changes made to the Consent Agenda, the board approved the Consent Agenda (items listed below) as presented on a motion by Tim Maciel.
Brattleboro, VT, 22 June 2024: New audio recordings created by multimedia artist Shanta Lee will enhance the visitor experience at selected sites on the Vermont African American Heritage Trail. These recordings resulted from a collaboration between the Brattleboro Words Trail and the Vermont African American Heritage Trail, will be shared on both sites, and can be viewed all together at: https://brattleboro.stqry.app/1/list/26097.
The recordings invite visitors to explore: the back stories of the Turner Family at Journey’s End in Grafton; the 54thRegiment sculpture of Black Civil War Soldiers in Rutland; Abijah and Lucy Terry Prince in Guilford; Black Civil War veterans buried in Woodstock; the Pullman Porters at Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home in Manchester; the archives of Daisy Turner at the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury; Alexander Twilight at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington; and freedom seekers at the Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh.
There’s magic in turning human waste into vital nutrients…and Abe Noe-Hays at Rich Earth Institute here in town tells us all about it. Tune in to hear how Abe and his team are changing the wastewater world through pee-cycling, and helping to bring health to our rivers and streams.
Healthcare access and affordability affects every single Vermonter—regardless of your insurance. Join local community leaders, hospital leaders, legislators, state officials, and your neighbors at your local Healthcare Community Meeting to discuss the options your community has for supporting the future of healthcare in Vermont.
