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Selectboard Meeting Notes: Brattleboro Skatepark Grant and VY Decommissioning Schedule

by cgrotke | Town News

Our local skatepark project got a boost with approval of a $230,000 grant application by the Brattleboro Selectboard at Tuesday’s meeting. If granted, the money will be used for design and construction of the skatepark at Living Memorial Park.

Emergency plans for Vermont Yankee are set to change as the storage situation in Vernon evolves. Maybe. The board also delat with annual approvals of liquor licenses, a Grand List certification, parade permits, and the adoption of a new ordinance for pets.

Brattleboro Women’s Chorus Welcomes Singers

by Not Signed In | Music

The spring session of the Brattleboro Women’s Chorus will begin on Wednesday evening March 2 from 6:30-8:30 at 118 Elliot, or on Thursday March 3 from 10 am – noon at Centre Congregational Church. New and former singers are encouraged to join this spring as we prepare for a May concert of compositions and arrangements by our founder and conductor, Becky Graber.

The first two rehearsals are open to anyone who would like to come and check out chorus for the first time. All women and girls over 10 are welcome, and there are no auditions. Reading music is optional since music is taught by rote and by ear with part recordings available. While many singers enjoy performing, some prefer to sing weekly and not participate in the concerts at the end of the session (Mother’s Day weekend, May 7 & 8).

Library Closing at 7pm

by JMW | Town News

Due to the weather, the Brooks Memorial Library will close at 7:00 this evening, Tuesday, Feb. 16th. The Audubon Society meeting at the library has been cancelled.

Need to Talk Politics?

by cgrotke | Politics

Let’s see. We’re approaching Super Tuesday. Vermont can weigh in on the primaries in March.

A Supreme Court Justice has died, leaving a puzzle of sorts. Republicans appear willing to gamble that they’d get a better appointement under President Sanders, it seems.

Trump continues to do a Don Rickles impersonation, trying to become more popular with each insult. Rubio is sweaty! The amazing thing isn’t so much his insults, as the inability for those insulted to respond.

Brattleboro Area Hospice Spring Volunteer Training To Take Place in Westminster, Vermont

by Not Signed In | Health

With the goal of increasing the pool of volunteers available in the Greater Falls area, Brattleboro Area Hospice will offer its Spring Volunteer Training at the Westminster Institute on Route 5 in Westminster beginning on March 16 and ending on May 25. Sessions will be held from 3 – 6 PM on Wednesdays. Application deadline is March 4, 2016.

Throughout Windham County hospice volunteers aid neighbors and their families who are living with life-threatening illnesses. Help may range from errands to gardening to emotional and physical support. Our volunteers report the work is challenging and very rewarding. Training topics include hospice philosophy, nuts and bolts of volunteering, ethical issues, personal attitudes toward death and dying, and grief issues among others. Presenters include professionals from the community as well as Hospice staff and volunteers.

David Blume, Author of “Alcohol Can Be A Gas,” on WVEW

by pockets | Entertainment

David Blume will be on DJ Pockets’ “buttahmilk”tonight. Tune in 6-8pm on 107.7fm or www.wvew.org

David Blume started his ecological training young. He and his father Jerry grew almost all the food their family ate, organically on a city lot in San Francisco in the mid-’60s!

Dave taught his first ecology class in 1970. After majoring in Ecological Biology and Biosystematics at San Francisco State University, he worked on experimental projects, first for NASA, and then as a member of the Mother Earth News Eco Village alternative building and alternative energy teams.

The Annual Homelessness Marathon on WVEW-lp Wednesday Night

by WVEW-lpfm | Media

This Wednesday (February 17th, 2016) starting at 7pm and continuing until 9am Thursday morning, WVEW-lp (Brattleboro’s all volunteer Community Radio station) will once again forgo its usual programming to air the annual Homelessness Marathon. It is not a fundraiser. It is the only national broadcast which addresses homelessness in our country, and is carried mostly on independent and Community Radio stations. This year the broadcast originates from the streets of Washington, D.C. The Marathon is sponsoring a petition to H.U.D. (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) for better treatment of people who are Homeless. You can sign the petition at their website:
http://news.homelessnessmarathon.org/

We hope you’ll listen in.

WVEW-lp 107.7fm, or wvew.org

BCTV Schedules For The Week Of 2/15/2016

by cgrotke | Media

BCTV channel 8 schedule for the week of 2/15/16 

Monday, February 15, 2016

12:00 am Generator Big Maker: Paolo Pedercini – The Art of Games

1:30 am Bill McKibben: People of Faith and Climate Change

2:25 am Green Mtn. Academy Lectures: The Race for the Presidency

3:30 am A Tour of the Brattleboro Police Station – Jan 2016

4:15 am 1st Wed: Vincent Van Gogh

Guilford Pre-Town Meeting Thursday

by DonInGuilford | Guilford

Broad Brook Grange will hold its annual Pre-Town Meeting on Thursday, February 18, 7:00 pm at the Grange hall. 

This is the only opportunity for voters to hear details of the articles which will be presented at the Town and School District Meetings, and to meet and discuss issues with the selectboard and school board all in one evening, in advance of Town Meeting.  

In addition, candidates for town and school board offices are urged to attend to introduce themselves to the voters.  State law prevents any “campaigning” by candidates at Town Meeting, when an Australian ballot is used, as in this instance.  So this is the only time before the vote for the public to meet and hear the candidates all at once.  

Brattleboro Time Trade Listings – Week of February 14

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Other

Brattleboro Time Trade:   Exchanging services, creating connections, strengthening communities, one hour at a time.  See below for more exciting Upcoming Events and learn what Time Trade can do for you!

How Time Trade Works: You do something for someone and earn
time credits for your “bank,” which you can then put towards someone
else doing something for you! It’s that simple – and amazing!

This week’s fabulous listings, brought to you from the arctic depths:

Now anyone can see a listing of all our Offers and Requests: https://brattleboro.timebanks.org/ads?type=1

OFFERS (i.e. things people could do for you):

Holistic Health Coaching
Buddy Help for CW3
Flower and Herbs Seeds – Get Ready for your Next Garden!
Baked Goods Prepared for You
Editing
Snow Shoes Available

Online Tax Filing Tools at Brooks Library

by Brooks Memorial Library | Other

Online tax filing might be easier than you think! The library partners with MyFreeTaxes.com, a project of Windham County United Way, to make online tax filing easy and free for qualifying households. Or try FreeFile, another easy online option from the Vermont Department of Taxes. If you need a fast computer, visit the library; we’ll help you get started and give you all the online time you need. Click here for links & more info http://brookslibraryvt.org/search/subject-guides2/tax-prep

File Online: Prepare and file your state and federal taxes online. Both are free to qualifying households. If you don’t qualify for free filing, you can still use the services; you’ll simply be charged a filing fee.

Call for Chamber Singers to Perform on June 25

by fomag | Music

Friends of Music at Guilford seeks additional voices for its Chambers Singers in preparation for its yearly “A Cappella à la Carte” event and 50th birthday party on Saturday, June 25, at a hilltop property in Guilford. The gathering will include a brief annual meeting, a festive potluck meal, and concert sets by the Singers and the Singcrony women’s quartet. Other music-making may emerge as plans develop. The Chamber Singers will perform love songs by Dowland, Elgar, Holst, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Young & Heyman, Healey Willan, and the group’s director, Tom Baehr; one or two others may be added. Rehearsals begin Monday, February 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Guilford Community Church. Contact Baehr at (802) 387-2796 or tombaehr@myfairpoint.net with questions or to join the group.

Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition Set For February 20 and 21

by Not Signed In | Recreation & Sports

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — The nation’s best young ski jumpers are set to fly at New England’s only Olympic-size venue Feb. 20 and 21 during the annual Harris Hill tournament in Brattleboro, Vt.

The nearly century-old competition will feature two dozen athletes from the United States, Austria and Slovenia leaping off a 90-meter hill that’s one of just six of its size in the country.

Since its start in 1922, the annual event attracts several thousand spectators who watch jumpers shoot at speeds of 60 mph before soaring more than 300 feet in the air.

Weekend Creativity Series – Formula

by cgrotke | Creative

Pop songs of all genres have formulas for success. Most radio hits are 3 minutes, have an intro, a verse, a chorus, a verse, a breakdown, and go out with the chorus. Most keep the lyrics simple, and geared toward basic emotions, or thought one might have on a dance floor.

This extends beyond pop rock to pop soul and pop country. This week, we take a look at the creative work of Sir Mashalot, who shows us just how similar the county pop hits of today really are.

He chops and re-arranges six songs — “Sure Be Cool If You Did” by Blake Shelton, “Drunk on You” by Luke Bryan, “Chillin’ It” by Cole Swindell, “Close Your Eyes” by Parmalee, “This is How We Roll” by Florida Georgia Line, and “Ready, Set, Roll” by Chase Rice — showing just how formulaic and similar they are.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda & Notes – February 16, 2016

by cgrotke | Town News

Brattleboro’s proposed skatepark may take a major step forward if the Selectboard approves a $230,000 grant application request from BASIC and the Recreation & Parks department. The grant application would be to the National Creative Placemaking Fund.

The board will approve special event permits, learn about the VY Decomissioning timeline for emergency management, and will hold a second reading and public hearing on proposed changes to ordinances regarding pets.

Attend in person to participate, watch on BCTV, and read about it here the day after.

Dinner and Hot Latin Jazz at Compass School – International Program Fundraiser

by Not Signed In | Entertainment

Dinner and Hot Latin Jazz at Compass School Saturday Feb. 27th

On Saturday, Feb. 27th, Compass School will host a Latin American-inspired dinner and a musical performance by Eugene and Julian’s Latin Party Band featuring renowned musicians Eugene Uman and Julian Gerstin.
The evening begins at 6:00 p.m with a fabulous, multi-course dinner, and concurrently there will be a silent auction which will include gift certificates to area businesses, fine arts, furniture, clothing, and much more. All-inclusive tickets for dinner and music are just $18 adults and $12 students – a fun and very affordable night out.

Namie, Fukushima Japan 5 Years Later

by Safe and Green Campaign | Activism

One month from today, March 11, will mark 5 years since the Fukushima nuclear disasters began in Japan. The town of Namie, Japan is the same distance from the nuclear reactors in Fukushima as Brattleboro is from Vermont Yankee. 500 Namie citizens died in the tsunami, and Namie was evacuated. Five years later, it is still off-limits to its 15,000 residents. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report May 2015, Namie residents received the highests doses of radiation from the Fukushima meltdowns: 10 to 50 miliseverts. The Telegraph posted photos of Namie yesterday:

The Safe and Green Campaign will hold a vigil in downtown Brattleboro on Saturday, March 12th. We will honor the 150,000 evacuees of the Fukushima meltdowns, and to educate ourselves on the continuing public health, environmental and political effects of this horrific accident.