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Harris Hill Ski Jump – Sunday Results

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — A 24-year-old Slovenian bested two dozen of the world’s best up-and-coming ski jumpers Sunday to win the Harris Hill Ski Jump’s annual namesake Fred Harris Memorial Tournament.

Gasper Bartol won the event in front of a crowd of several thousand spectators, with fellow Slovenians David Krapez, 22, second and Zak Silih, 20, third.

“This is the first win in this season for me,” said Bartol, who was competing in America for the first time and finds English as challenging as the weekend’s snow-melting temperatures. “The hill was a little bumpy and slow, but it’s OK. The feelings are really good — I’m happy.”

The nearly century-old event featured athletes from the United States, Austria and Slovenia shooting off New England’s only Olympic-size venue at speeds of 60 mph before soaring more than 300 feet in the air.


BCTV “Quiet Rebel – The Lynn Martin Story” Showtimes

Long time Brattleboro resident, Lynn Martin is an activist, poet and painter, and a retired HIV Prevention Specialist of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont and Brattleboro, where she worked as a volunteer for 18 years. Martin has published three books of poetry (and several mystery stories) and often participates in open poetry readings as a member of Write Action.

In September 2005, Lynn was honored as that year’s outstanding older worker from Vermont as part of the Experience Works Prime Time Awards Program. Senator Patrick Leahy presented the award to Lynn in Washington, D.C.Lynn Martin’s story is told in “Quiet Rebel” through interviews with her and with family and friends. The 80 minute film is produced by Paul Bennett and Vidda Crochetta, and is being presented with the help and support of BCTV and Write Action.


Harris Hill Ski Jump – Saturday Results

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — A 24-year-old Slovenian bested two dozen of the world’s best up-and-coming ski jumpers Saturday on the first day of this weekend’s Harris Hill Ski Jump.

Gasper Bartol won the Pepsi Challenge in front of a crowd of several thousand spectators, with Florian Gugg, 21, of Austria second and David Krapez, 22, of Slovenia third.

The nearly century-old event is featuring athletes from the United States, Austria and Slovenia shooting off New England’s only Olympic-size venue at speeds of 60 mph before soaring more than 300 feet in the air.

One hometown jumper, Brattleboro’s Spencer Knickerbocker, not only is competing but also is helping the snowmaking crew maintain the hill in temperatures as high as 55 degrees.


Police/Fire Project

Town Meeting Members will be asked to vote on a question that asks if they are willing to spend $4,500,000 on the relocation of the police station to Black Mountain Road.  The vote will in fact authorize the spending of about $13,000,000 above the five million dollar loan already taken out.  

The actual loan, which will include work on the West B. fire station, is in fact anticipated to be $7,760,000.  Interest on the loan, for a twenty year option, is an additional $2,740,000.  What is not calculated into the final figure is the cost of having the station on the far north end of town.  Nearly all the police business and activity occurs in the central, south and west end of town.  Not surprising.  There is almost no residential population at all in the north end.  

Consequent to that location it is therefore necessary for every town vehicle that either originates from or is destined to the police station (every cop on duty, every administrator going to a meeting from or to there, every DPW trip etc etc) is traveling four extra miles and ten minutes every roundtrip.  Take out a pencil and paper.


Auditions in Guilford for Titanic & Women’s Jury Plays

Auditions will be held for two upcoming one-act plays on Tuesday February 23rd (6 to 8 p.m.) and Sunday February 28th (3 to 5 p.m.) The production is a project of Guilford Center Stage. Written and directed by local author Michael Nethercott, both works will be 

premiered in June. Nocturne Titanica is a mythological take on the sinking of the Titanic. The Lace Jury is based on one of the first all-women juries in the country at the turn of the century. Rehearsals will be largely in May, and the actual performances are Friday June 3, Saturday June 4 (both evening shows),


Happy Birthday, iBrattleboro

Happy birthday, everyone. We’re all teenagers today!

Today is the day that iBrattleboro.com turns 13 years old. We can now watch PG-13 movies without adult supervision!

13 is a baker’s dozen, the number of cards in each suit of the deck, and the number of original colonies.

Math lovers will note that 13 is the 6th prime number, the smallest emirp, a Fibonacci number, and a happy number.


Pope Francis Spoke Out Against Trump but While a Powerful Jesuit Was Silent During Murder of Thousands

Those of us who know that Pope Francis, while he was the most influential Jesuit leader in Argentina, maintained a cooperative silence, even as millions of people throughout the world were aghast at the horrific news that thousands of Argentinians were being murdered or ‘disappeared’ during the brutal US supported dictatorship of General Videla, see the Pope’s present outspokenness about anti-establishment presidential candidate Donald Trump as consistent with the Papacy having always been a tool of the business interests of the colonial, now neocolonial, capitalist elite in Europe and the United States.


New Meal Team Coordinator for Groundworks’ Seasonal Overflow Shelter  

BRATTLEBORO- This week’s weather safety advisory is in full effect across the region. “Extreme weather poses imminent danger to our community. In these conditions, it’s imperative that people can access at least one hot, nutritious meal after fighting through days like this” said Rhianna Kendrick, Groundworks Drop In Center Director and Seasonal Overflow Shelter Coordinator.

The Seasonal Overflow Shelter (SOS), coordinated by Groundworks Collaborative and located in downtown Brattleboro at the First Baptist Church (190 Main Street) is in its ninth year of operation; open each night from 5pm – 7am.  A hot meal is served nightly at 5:30pm with the support of a variety of generous meal team volunteers.  Community volunteers provide nightly meals, as well as the staffing for overnight shifts.


I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of February 21

I-91

To reduce congestion on I-91, both Exit 3 on ramps will be closed on Sunday, February 21, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. I-91 will remain open.

Sunday afternoon closures of the Exit 3 on ramps will continue each weekend through the end of the ski season.

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.


Weekend Creativity Series: Basic HTML

This week, let’s learn to code! Nothing difficult, of course, but it is good to know about the basic tags and how a page gets formatted.

This was something many of us learned in the early 1990’s (we used Netscape Navigator to do just what you see in this video), and is very similar to the old word processing programs of the 1980’s.

More recently, people using the internet use pre-made sites and are “protected” from needing to know any code, except for perhaps the skill of cutting and pasting links or embed codes for videos.

But that’s silly. Being able to create, name, and fill a web page with information is useful. Ever site we visit on the internet is built upon the HTML foundation. It is the language underlying the world wide web.


Brattleboro Committee Meetings and Agendas

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Monday, February 22, 2016, at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, February 22, 2016, at 5:30pm at Brooks Memorial Library in the community room.

The Brattleboro Regional Economic Hub Study Group will meet on Thursday, February 25, 2016, at 6:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.


Brattleboro March 1 Election Information

Below is information that might be helpful to know for March 1st elections.

In addition to local elections, the Democratic and Republican Primaries will be held.

Attached is a sample ballot from each of Brattleboro’s three districts.

Polling place for all three districts in Brattleboro is the Selectboard Meeting Room, second floor of the Municipal Center from 7:00 am until 7 pm.


Thinking Outside the Box

Recent news articles about a proposed Vernon gas plant have stimulated much thinking.

Ever since Yankee announced closure, many wondered what, if anything would replace it.

It’s a wonderful opportunity for investors who can successfully answer that question.

The existing (and newly renovated) switchyard pictured here constitutes an “injection point” where up to a gigawatt of electricity can be supplied to the grid for distribution over already robust transmission lines to markets in New England, New York and even Canada.

 


The Brattleboro Historical Society Presents: This Week in Brattleboro History Podcast – Dunham Brothers Shoe Company

It was 115 years ago this week that the Dunham brothers held their annual banquet for employees and their two-day school for traveling shoe salesmen.

This week BHS trustee, Joe Rivers, and his intrepid band of young historians at the Brattleboro Area Middle School examine the Dunham Brothers shoe company


Act 46 Study Committee Agenda and Minutes

ACT 46 STUDY COMMITTEE

Representing the Brattleboro Town School District, Dummerston Town School District, Guilford Town School District, Putney Town School District, and the Vernon Town School District
http://www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF MEETING

The Act 46 Study Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at the Guilford Central School.


The Brattleboro Historical Society Presents: Slideshow of Main Street Through the Years

Joe Rivers presents his slideshow, Brattleboro’s Main Street Through the Years, at the Brattleboro Historical Society’s annual public meeting, 16 November 2015.

This video was created using the actual slides and a recording produced for archival purposes, rather than public release. We mention this by way of a disclaimer, because the audio isn’t always great, and for that we apologize. The presentation, however, was great and we thought our gentle viewers would forgive a few seconds of spotty audio in its reproduction.

The slideshow was created and presented by BHS trustee Joe Rivers. You’ll also hear the voices of John Carnahan, Bill Holiday and many other in the audience of this well-attended, annual public meeting of the Brattleboro Historical Society.