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Public Invited to ‘Trail Talk’ To Be Held For I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the next on-site “trail talk” for the Public on Saturday, January 10, 2015. There has been a lot of progress at the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge project site, which will be shared with attendees. The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor) and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).

Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead on Saturday, January 10, 2015, at 8 a.m. and the talk will begin at 8:15 a.m. Participants will walk the trail to the I-91 bridge site, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.


Brattleboro Committee and Board Vacancies

The Town of Brattleboro is looking for citizens to serve on the following committees and boards:

Agricultural Advisory Board
BASIC (Brattleboro Area Skatepark is Coming) – must be Brattleboro resident
Conservation Commission
Development Review Board
Development Review Board Alternate
Energy Committee


I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of January 11

Night work on the new bridge will resume in the vicinity of Route 30. Night work will be conducted Monday night, January 12th thru Friday night, January 16th.

The next trail talk is scheduled for January 10th at 8:00 AM.

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.


Selectboard Meeting Notes: Much Ado About Money

Brattleboro’s municipal budget, and how to pay for it, was the focus of the first regular meeting of the selectboard in 2015. Very few decisions were made – that’s being saved for their next meeting – but issues were discussed in detail and a few Town Meeting Representatives even joined in the debate.

Property taxes appear to be going up, the 1% Local Option Sales tax may or may not be re-voted, a decision on the Futures Committee has been put off until the future, and the town has a long list of necessary improvements to do.

Board members held differing views on when the public and representatives should be consulted via votes or discussions, and which issues should be reconsidered. 


The Small, Small Post-Snowden World

After seeing the Edward Snowden movie Citizen Four at the Latchis recently, I was left with an impression that was not what I had expected. I had expected to be buried in acronyms – I was. I expected moments of understated drama – they were there. But what I didn’t expect was this lingering feeling of claustrophobia which comes of spending two hours watching a man whose physical existence is now confined, 24 hours a day, to a single beige hotel room which could have been anywhere but happened to be in Hong Kong. What struck me more disturbingly was that you don’t have to be an NSA whistle-blower to feel a hint of that claustrophobia in your own life. Many of us, I suspect, feel confined to a smaller space these days, especially in the time since Snowden’s revelations.


BMH’s Richardson Elected Chair of VT Hospital Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Committee

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced that its Director of Emergency Services, Brian Richardson, has been elected Co-Chair of the Vermont Hospital Emergency Preparedness Coordinator (VTHEPC) Committee.

Richardson joins Co-Chair Chris Lackney of in Townshend and Secretary John Berino from in Burlington as leaders of the VTHEPC committee, which is comprised of emergency preparedness coordinators from 14 participating Vermont hospitals and the state department of health.


Great Board Training Opportunities in Brattleboro

T​his spring, ​Marlboro ​College ​will offer its first Board Leadership Institute​. ​The Board Leadership Institute is a series of skill-building workshops in March and April that, taken together, introduce board members to the most important knowledge and skills for successful board service. Board Teams and Individual Trustees should register here to reserve their place in the Board Leadership Institute.


Brattleboro Department of Public Works Tree Trimming

Weather permitting; the Department of Public Works crews will be working with a contractor to remove low hanging branches that pose a danger to vehicular traffic on several streets around town on January 12th and 13th. DPW personnel will continue trimming throughout the rest of the week as needed.

If you have any questions, please contact Hannah O’Connell, Town of Brattleboro Highway / Utility Superintendent at (802) 254 – 4255.


Town of Brattleboro
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
211 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
Tel: 802-254-4255 • Fax: 802-257-2316 • E-mail: brattdpw@sover.net


Open Letter To Vermont Voters Regarding Legislative Vote For Governor January 8, 2015

Open Letter To Vermonter Voters,

I have complained here at ibrattleboro.com during the fall of 2014 that my vote count was lowered from the “unofficial” vote count to the “official” vote count four days later.   This never happens to major party candidates.  It happened to me in 2010, and it happened to me in 2014.  I want some positive, constructive changes made!  Because this never happens to major party candidates, I am now complaining that I believe the Constitution of the State of Vermont is being violated.


Antje Duvekot, Hayley Reardon and Hannah Hoffman at Next Stage on Saturday, January 10

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present a triple bill of contemporary folk singer/songwriters featuring Antje Duvekot, Hayley Reardon and Hannah Hoffman at Next Stage on Saturday, January 10 at 7:30 pm.

Antje Duvekot is a German-born, American-raised singer/songwriter whose songs have been critically praised for their hard-won wisdom, dark-eyed realism and street-smart romanticism. Her bicultural upbringing and relative newness to English have helped shape her unique way with a song, giving her a startlingly original poetic palette. They are the keys to the powerful, even revolutionary, empathy that informs everything she writes. She has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the Kerrville Folk Festival Best New Folk Award and the Boston Music Award for Outstanding Folk Act.


Quintessential Brit {VictoriaRegina}

I say, old chaps, I wonder if you mightn’t enjoy this 52 minute Sherlock Holmes episode with the irrepressible Jeremy Brett.

It has all the elements of what any decent Anglophile who appreciates the late-Victorian period would enjoy.Should you accept this most sensitive assignment of the highest order of the Empire, this message will self-destruct in 5 seconds.

The Second Stain by Arthur Conan Doyle


Marijuana Regulation Effort Launches

With Legislative Session Approaching, Broad Statewide Coalition Forms to Support Regulating Marijuana Like Alcohol in Vermont

Local advocates and organization leaders will hold a news conference in the Vermont State House at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday — the day before the general assembly convenes — to launch the Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana

 MONTPELIER — With the Vermont General Assembly set to convene this week, a group of citizens, organizations, and businesses from around the state is officially launching a coalition to support legislation that would end marijuana prohibition in Vermont and replace it with a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol.


Brattleboro Fire Department Cold Weather Advice

The National Weather Service is warning of cold temperatures for much of this week. Wind chills will be below-zero at times and could be colder than 20-degrees below zero Wednesday night into Thursday. Those temperatures have the potential to pose a danger to health and property.

Some steps to take to keep yourself, your family, your pets, and any elderly or homebound neighbors safe during cold weather:

Monitor weather reports and plan ahead.

Be a good neighbor. Check with elderly or disabled relatives, neighbors, and friends to ensure their safety.


Sanders: Trade Pact Terms Must be Disclosed

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 5 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today asked the chief trade representative for the United States to turn over the full text of a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

The 12-nation pact, which could soon come before Congress, has been negotiated in secret but with input from corporations that stand to profit on the deal.

In , Sanders called it “troubling” and “unacceptable” that the only sources for Congress to assess what would be the largest global trade deal in history are a few leaked documents.


BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 1/5/15

BCTV Ch.8 schedule for the week of 1/5/15

Monday, January 5, 2015

12:00 am Full Duty: The Civil War Collection of Howard Coffin

1:25 am Common Good VT: Campaign for Vermont

2:00 am Green Mtn. Vets for Peace: Guest Rache Siegel – Peace and Justice Ctr

3:00 am The Music and Life of Eugenie Gorin

4:15 am Vermont Association of the Blind and Visually Impared: Volunteer Video


Sovereign Citizens – Watch Out!

“At approximately 12:30 pm on 30 Dec, Police officers made contact with Robert Earl Lawrence at the Dothan City, AL Animal Shelter after he attempted to turn a stray animal over to an employee. Lawrence, a “sovereign citizen”, became disorderly after being told he could not leave the animal without producing identification. After repeatedly being told to calm down, Lawrence was advised he was being placed under arrest. A physical altercation ensued, to which Lawrence was shot in the abdomen. Lawrence, 30, was transported to the Southeast Alabama Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 9:50 p.m. last night.” (CLG release)


Brattleboro Time Trade – Week of January 4

Brattleboro Time Trade:

Exchanging services, creating connections, strengthening communities, one hour at a time.

See below for exciting Upcoming Events and learn what Time Trade is all about!

This week’s fabulous listings, brought to you from birthday thoughts:

OFFERS:

BodyTalk
Educational Services
Knitting Lessons
Lactation Support
Sewing


Will The Stars In The Sky Tell Us Who Will Win The Legislature’s Election Jan. 8, 2015 for Governor of Vermont?

Who will win January 8, 2015 for Governor? Will Astrology and Astronomy combined,  tell us?

Astrological analysis of the top 2 voter getters, keeping in mind that the 3rd, Dan Feliciano,  might win – a meteor may fly over Montpelier,  a falling star could hit the Capital Dome, so don’t discount Dan;  after all, I think he and his wife are definitely the friendliest of the bunch!  

PETER
Looking first at Peter Shumlin, he was born on March 24, 1956 in Brattleboro, Vermont with his natal Jupiter in 22 degrees Leo.


At the River Garden: “New England Through the Eyes of an Artist”

During January, the Gallery at the Garden features an exhibit entitled “New England Through the Eyes of an Artist,” presenting original watercolor paintings by Jane May Jones, with subjects ranging from fall in Vermont to summer on Cape Cod and everything in between.

The Gallery at the Garden is located at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, home of Strolling of the Heifers, at 157 Main Street in Brattleboro. The show opens Friday evening, Jan. 2, with the gallery open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and continues through January 30.


A Landlord’s Responsibility?

Does anyone in the ibrattleboro community know exactly what a landlord’s legal responsibility is in terms of shoveling steps and walkways on their property?

The house I live in is managed by a local ‘property management” and any time there is a major storm on the weekends he never has anyone come to shovel. Currently, my walkway is like a skating rink -there is no way I could safely walk on it-especially since I now have to use a cane.