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Stacey Conn Joins the Stroll as General Manager

by MartinLangeveld | Business

Stacey Conn has joined Strolling of the Heifers as its new general manager, it was announced by Orly Munzing, Stroll founder and executive director.

Conn earned a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in 2014. As part of her MBA program, she visited Ghana to teach entrepreneurship skills to high school students and to prepare them for the Babson Cup, a regional business plan competition. 

She also served for a year as a Babson Board Fellow — a non-voting board member for the non-profit organization Partners for Youth with Disabilities, and created a strategic road map.

Brattleboro-West Arts Offers “Harmony: Health” Art Exhibit at BMH

by MartinLangeveld | Arts

Brattleboro-West Arts members are collaborating with Strolling of the Heifers to present an art exhibit entitled “Harmony: Health” in the hallways of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, beginning on Friday, December 5.

Expanding on the agricultural themes featured in twoshows presented by the organizations last summer, the artwork will explore pathways to better health including spiritual pursuit, engagement with the natural world, and through local agriculture.

All of the works are for sale, and proceeds will benefit Strolling of the Heifers as well as the artists.

Gallery at the Garden Presents Farmer Photos by John Nopper and Brattleboro Food Co-op

by MartinLangeveld | Town News

The December exhibit at the Gallery at the Garden (Robert H. Gibson River Garden, 157 Main Street, Brattleboro) features photographs of Vermont’s organic farming pioneers by John Nopper, along with photos from the Brattleboro Food Co-ops long-running “Producer of the Month” series.

Nopper’s photos will be accompanied by texts by Susan Harlow telling the stories of the farmers depicted. These farming pioneers started farming in the 1970s and 1980s, some as members of communes, others as new arrivals to the state looking to “get back to the land.”  

They were, in fact, reviving a way of farming that the Green Revolution had all but killed off. They learned how to grow vegetables and raise livestock in a difficult climate and topography, without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. They learned how to grow food that was good, and good-looking. 

Senate Panel Probes Exorbitant Prices for Hepatitis C Drugs

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 – The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing today on exorbitant prices charged by drugmakers for new treatments for hepatitis C, a liver disease that claims about 15,000 lives a year in the United States.

Gilead, the leading manufacturer of the drugs, refused to testify at the hearing about the $84,000 it charges for a 12-week regimen of Sovaldi and the $94,500 price tag for a newer drug, Harvoni. The price per pill is about $1,000 for Sovaldi $1,125 for Harvoni.

Even with bulk-purchase discounts, the Department of Veterans Affairs spent $370 million in the past year on new treatments. Outlays are projected to soar by an additional $1.3 billion for the next two years.

The Costumes of Downton Abbey: First Wednesday at Brooks Library

by Brooks Memorial Library | Arts

Middlebury College artist-in-residence Jule Emerson will discuss the fashions worn by Lady Mary and her family in the popular PBS series Downton Abbey in a talk at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro on December 3 at 7:00 pm.

Her talk, “The Costumes of Downton Abbey,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public. 

Emerson has been an Artist-in-Residence, costume designer, and professor at Middlebury College since 1990. Prior to coming to Middlebury, she worked professionally as a costume artist for television, feature films, commercials, and the professional theatre.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: FY16 Budget Preliminary Proposal, West Brattleboro Fire Station An Asset To Brattleboro

by cgrotke | Town News

In one of their longer meetings to date this year, the Brattleboro Selectboard worked their way through a great deal of municipal information Tuesday evening. 

They heard a full and detailed report on the usefulness of the West Brattleboro Fire Station, No. 2, learned about work being done by the Brattleboro Energy Committee, outlined preliminary and potentially positive plans for the FY16 budget, appreciated the work of the Downtown Alliance, discussed the value of putting vague items on the agenda, and more. There were also suggestions of abandoning the Municipal Center, and getting rid of the pool, from former Chair Dick Degray.

Sanders Details Economic Agenda for America

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today outlined a progressive economic agenda to reverse a 40-year decline of the American middle class and the growing gap between the very rich and everyone else in the United States.

In a Senate floor speech, Sanders detailed measures to create millions of new jobs, raise wages, protect the environment and provide health care for all. He said the most significant question facing the American people is: “Are we prepared to take on the enormous economic and political power of the billionaire class or do we continue to slide into economic and political oligarchy?”

Flash Fiction Writers Read Their Works On The Theme of Hope Friday Dec 5th, 2014

by Rolf | Arts

Flash Fiction writers who have written pieces on the theme of hope will be reading their stories at the Blue Dot Studio in the Hooker Dunham building on Friday, Dec 5 at 7 PM. The prizewinners of Write Action’s writing contest, Anna Blackburn, Stephanie Greene and Helen Neswald will read as will other talented writers, including Olivia Howe, Jennie Reichman, Pamela Mandell, and Elayne Clift.

After these readings, there will be 20 minutes reserved for anyone who wants to read a flash fiction piece on the theme of hope. Bear in mind that all readers are limited to no more than 5 minutes to read. This is about excellence, hope, and brevity.

Sanders Wants Probe of FairPoint Service Interruptions, Calls for Company to Resume Talks with Striking Workers

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today applauded a Vermont Public Service Department request for an investigation into FairPoint Communications telephone service interruptions, including a nearly six-hour lapse in emergency 911 service on Friday.

A FairPoint equipment failure prevented 45 Vermonters from reaching emergency dispatchers at the Montpelier Police Department and the Vermont State Police in Williston, St. Albans and Middlesex. “That is simply unacceptable,” Sanders said. “FairPoint’s history of bankruptcy and poor service should be cause for real concern in terms of the company’s ability to deliver the emergency services Vermonters need, deserve and are paying for.”

The Vermont Jazz Center Presents: The Annual Big Band Gala–A Tribute to the Swing Era

by Not Signed In | Music

The Vermont Jazz Center will present its annual big band swing gala on Friday, December 5th at 8:00 PM. This year’s event celebrates the swing music of the 30s, 40s and 50s, when big band jazz served as North America’s popular music and provided the pulse for social dancing. The 17 piece Vermont Jazz Center Big Band will be joined by Rebecca Holtz and Rob Fletcher, two exquisite singers with strong affinities to Swing. For one exceptional evening, their voices will ride on the waves of the authentic big band sound, bringing to life the allure of glitter and fantasy that characterized the musical diversion we still cherish.

What Is A Quaker?

by JohnWilmerding | Activism

For my friends and acquaintances, who will frequently ask me “What’s a Quaker?” “Aren’t they something like the Amish?” and especially “Why do you always seem to speak out about things that concern you?”

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 12/1/14

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Ch.8 schedule for the week of 12/1/14 

Monday, December 1, 2014

12:00 am Paul Winter in Concert: Latchis – 10/25/14

2:15 am TED Talks: Ameenah Gurib-Fakim: Humble Plants that Hide Surprising Secrets

2:30 am Michael Nerney: Adolescent Brain & High Risk Behaviors

4:30 am Flemming Museum of Art: Special Artists of the Civil War

5:38 am Common Good VT: Shelagh Cooley – Progressive Thought

Brattleboro Time Trade – Week of November 30

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Other

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 the stuffies:

OFFERS:

Thinking Of Starting An Online Business?
Learn to Knit the Basics
Moving & Packaging Materials STILL Available
Photo Restoration, Photo Editing
Visit BMAC

Brattleboro Finance Committee

by JohnWilmerding | Economics

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Thus far, I am the only volunteer to be re-appointed to the Town of Brattleboro Finance Committee. I was re-appointed shortly following last March’s Representative Town Meeting.

The Town Charter calls for the existence and work of the Finance Committee. This is the wording in the Charter:

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – December 2 2014

by cgrotke | Town News

The usefulness and need of the West Brattleboro Fire Station will be discussed at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.

The organization formerly known as Building a Better Brattleboro will present their annual request for funds from the Downtown Improvement District, the board will talk about the budget being created, the Energy Committee will give an annual report and ask for their annual funding to be considered by Town Meeting Representatives, and there will be a discussion about whether Chris Chapman should be given time on a future agenda, once again, to present his thoughts on Town Fundraising to the board.

You can watch it all on BCTV, or attend in person and participate. You can even bring up other items that aren’t on the agenda during Public Participation. We’ll write it all up and you can read all the details here after the meeting.

Vermont Author Gary Miller: Reading & Book Signing at Brooks Library

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

On Monday, December 1 at 7 pm, the Library will host a reading and book signing for Vermont author Gary Lee Miller’s short story collection Museum of the Americas. The event will be in the Meeting Room on the Library’s 2nd Floor, and is free and open to the public.

Praised by Vermont Poet Laureate Sydney Lea as “art in its truest sense,” as well as in Seven Days and on WDEV Radio’s Mark Johnson Show, Miller’s debut collection explores the mysteries of the past—and of the human heart. Miller is well known in Vermont as the co-producer of the documentary films Rookies at the Road, which tells the story of Barre’s Thunder Road racetrack, and Act of Faith, which explores the making of the Jay Craven feature film Disappearances.

Researchers Determine There Will Be A Visitation From The Stars On The Saturday Nearest The Solstice

by Not Signed In | Entertainment

According to prominent scientists at the University of Brattleboro, there will be a “visitation” to Brattleboro on the Saturday closest to the solstice. With realtive pinpoint accuracy, they predict that it will be seen some near Elliot Street or Flat Street, sometime after Sunset, probably close to 6 O’clock.