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Brattleboro Food Co-op Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The Brattleboro Food Co-op Staff and Board of Directors are pleased to announce they will be honoring Martin Luther King, Jr on Monday, January 16th with numerous social justice and activist organizations featured in the store throughout the day. There will also be a free screening of the movie “13th” in the evening, a bit of music, and, of course, food! The idea for the event grew out of the Co-op Board of Directors’ newly formed “Engagement Committee,” as well as feedback from staff. As Ruth Garbus, employee and Board Member, says, “We gotta get together!


Run for Office in Guilford

GUILFORD TOWN & SCHOOL BOARD OFFICES UP FOR ELECTION

Petitions are now available for those interested in seeking public office to be voted by Australian ballot at Guilford’s March 7th Town Meeting.  The filing deadline is Monday, January 30, at 5 pm, at the Guilford Town Office, where petition forms are now available. The office is open Monday through Thursday, closed Friday.


Brattleboro January Senior Meals Breakfast Menu

JANUARY  BREAKFAST MENUS

January 3rd – Stuffed Egg w/Sausage Gravy, Scone, Potato Pancake, Fruit, Yogurt, Juice, Coffee.

January 6th – Whole Wheat Pancakes, Syrup, Sausage, Fruit, Juice & Coffee

January 10th – Greens, Eggs & Ham, Home Fries,  Fruit, Yogurt, Juice, Coffee


Vermont Jazz Center Presents: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah presenting Stretch Music

New Orleans Trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah to present “Stretch Music” at the VJC on Saturday, January 14th, 2017

The Vermont Jazz Center presents Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s Stretch Music on Saturday, January, 14th, 2017 at 8 PM. Scott is one of the leading voices of his generation – a composer, a bandleader, a record producer, an educator, an articulate activist championing racial equality and prison reform; he is an eloquent speaker whose goals include “reaching a consensus to move forward.”

Scott aTune Adjuah will be performing on trumpet as well as two custom-designed horns: a reverse flugel and a sirenette. He will appear with the same group that plays on his most recent and highly acclaimed CD Stretch Music. The ensemble includes renowned young artist Elena Pinderhughes (flute), Logan Richardson (alto saxophone), Lawrence Fields (acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes), Kris Funn (upright and electric bass) and Corey Fonville on drums.


VFW Lunch Specials Jan. 9th – Jan. 13th

The Brattleboro VFW at 40 Black Mountain Road is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served from 11:30 – 1:30 PM. Specials are only $6 a plate. Burgers, fries, onion rings, chicken wings, soups and sandwiches are also available.

Mon – liver & onions w/ mashed potato & veg
Tues – mushroom swiss burger w/ homemade potato chips
Wed – Hungarian goulash over noodles
Thur – corned beef & cabbage dinner
Fri – tuna noodle casserole

Take outs available by calling 257-0438


Brattleboro Area Hospice to offer Six Week Grief Support Group

A new Six Week Bereavement Support Group for adults begins January 18th and will meet each Wednesday from 4:30-6:00 pm, ending February 22nd. This group is sponsored by Brattleboro Area Hospice and will meet at the hospice office at 191 Canal St. in Brattleboro. Interested individuals must meet with the facilitator, Connie Baxter, prior to the first session, so please call her at (802) 257-0775 x104 by January 13th for a pre-group appointment. The group size is limited to 8 people.


My Failure As Inspector of Lumber

For many years I was a Fence Viewer, a town position that was fairly active, with a few calls and inquires per year. When I hit my term limit, I decided to continue to volunteer and looked at the two other “odd” jobs, Weigher of Coal and Inspector of Wood, Lumber and Shingles.

As a Fence Viewer I learned there were both state statutes and materials available from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns to help explain the job, so my first step with Coal and Lumber was to look up what the jobs required.

VLCT said the positions were considered obsolete and unnecessary. They date from an earlier time prior to consumer protection laws, and now everything these positions were responsible for are handled in other ways.


I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of January 9th

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

To reduce congestion on I-91, both Exit 3 on ramps will be closed on Monday, January 16th (MLK Day) from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM (I-91 will remain open). Traffic conditions on both I-91 and through the town will be monitored closely throughout the day. Should traffic congestion become an issue, the ramps may be re-opened until traffic conditions improve. This will be managed actively throughout the day until peak traffic volumes have passed.


Loss of Fairground Rd Trash Bins

Am I hearing this right?

What a stupid move.

I lived in a town (Lake Luzerne, NY) where they tried something like this many years ago.

The unintended consequence was a “Yuuge” increase in trash being discarded by the side of the road.

Why not eliminate all trash and garbage collection for good and let the free market do its magic?


Ukulele Classes Start Next Week in Brattleboro!

Join the local ‘Ukulution’ and learn to play this sweet and easy instrument, with instructor Lisa McCormick!

Classes start the week of Jan.9, and run for 6 weeks, at New England Youth Theater, 100 Flat St., in Brattleboro.

Beginners (no musical background needed!), and Advanced Beginner levels available. Daytime and evening options. Ukuleles avaible for use in class.

More info and schedule: bit.ly/UkeClass


Selectboard Meeting Notes: The FY18 5 Cent Tax Increase Discussion, and Gartenstein Not Seeking Re-Election

David Gartenstein will end six years of Selectboard service at the end of his current term. He announced his intentions not to seek re-election at the start of a long, first Selectboard meeting of 2017.

Most of the meeting was spent discussing budget loose ends and lingering questions regarding the FY18 budget. The board also heard about facilities project updates, had a late-evening welcome for our new Town Clerk and took up a few matters related to Representative Town Meeting.


Start the New Year with Gratitude, Writing Thank-You Letters at Brooks Library

Join us at Brooks Memorial Library on Thursday 19 January 2017, 3 pm – 5 pm and Monday 23 January 2017, 6 pm – 8 pm for writing thank you letters. At this time of year we think that it’s important to find and express the things that we’re grateful for. To that end we’re setting up some tables with paper, pencils, pens, envelopes, and stamps and we’re writing letters. Thank-you letters. We’re writing letters to thank the sun for coming up, to thank a friend for their love, to thank our bodies for carrying us through life.


Drop-In Scrabble at Brooks Library – Weekly EXCEPT on First Wednesdays

Weekly Drop-in Scrabble will continue weekly on Wednesdays at 6 pm in the Local History Room, EXCEPT on First Wednesdays. Free and all welcome. Join us for 1st Wednesday Jan 4th, hope to see you at scrabble next week!

Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301

Contact us at info@brookslibraryvt.org or 802-254-5290


First Wednesdays at Brooks Library: Canterbury Tales, Still Funny after All These Years

Dartmouth professor Peter Travis will discuss the genius, comic wisdom, and enduring humanity of Geoffrey Chaucer, the fourteenth-century “Father of English Poetry,” in a talk at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St., in Brattleboro on January 4 at 7:00 pm.

His talk, “Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales: Still Funny After All These Years,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public.


That Which Accounts for the Blueness of the Sky

Has anyone told you, you have beautiful eyes today? No? Why don’t you try on hazel eyes for a day and let me be the first?

The beauty of hazel eyes adds a bit of a mystery on the human eye-color chart. Less than 7% of the world’s population has hazel eyes, which make hazel eyes rather rare.

The science of the observable characteristics of hazel eyes is, like all eye colors, determined by genetic traits “influenced by up to sixteen known genes, passed to you that you inherit.” Science no longer thinks that your hazel eyes “(or any other eye color) happened because of a dominant gene.”


Brattleboro 2017 Town and Town School Election Petitions and Election Schedule

Petitions for Brattleboro Town and Town School District Officers and Town Meeting Members are now available at the Town Clerk’s office. Town elections will be Tuesday, March 7, and the Annual Representatives Town Meeting, Saturday, March 25.

Petitions for Town Officers must contain at least 30 valid signatures of registered Brattleboro voters and be filed in the clerk’s office no later than 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 30 in order to have their name placed on the ballot.


Brattleboro Dog and Wolf-Hybrid Licenses Available

Brattleboro dog and wolf-hybrid licenses are available for the 2017 licensing period. Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months of age and older must be licensed on or before April 1.

Renewal licenses may be obtained in person at the Town Clerk’s office, through the mail or online at www.brattleboro.org. Dogs being licensed in Brattleboro for the first time may be licensed in person or through the mail by printing the license form from the website listed above.

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


Shovel Thoughts

I’ve been shoveling out driveways and sidewalks most of my life. With the exception of a few years in Florida and DC, grabbing a shovel and clearing snow has been a part of my winter routine.

Shoveling provides time to think about shoveling.

The type of snow matters. Light powder is easily removed but often blows around and stings the face. Heavy, wet snow is a chore to remove, but it usually stays in place while I move it. Following forecasts to know what sort of snow to expect is a starting point.