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Sam Amidon + Band at New England Youth Theatre on Wednesday, October 22

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present singer, guitarist, fiddler and banjo player Sam Amidon and his band at New England Youth Theatre on Wednesday, October 22 at 7:30 pm.

Sam Amidon grew up immersed in folk as part of a musical family based in Brattleboro, VT. His parents, Peter and Mary Alice Amidon, perform and teach traditional forms of song, dance and storytelling, and his brother Stefan plays drums with the Sweetback Sisters. Sam started on fiddle at the age of three and by eleven had formed a band called Popcorn Behavior, with childhood friend Thomas Bartlett and younger brother Stefan, to play New England fiddle tunes. They toured internationally, gathering attention from NPR, CNN and The Boston Globe, and released five albums. Sam’s first solo album, released in 2001, was a collection of traditional Irish fiddle tunes, simply titled “Solo Fiddle.”


Debate Politics Most Precious – Laughingstock

Humor is the best and worst of political hay. From Cris Ericson’s sparkling sequined farm dress and Ma Parker’s picnic floppy hat, to Peter Diamondstone’s too patriarchal horn-rimmed glasses, longbeard and grade-school shorts, to Bernard Peter’s pitchfork take-charge Duck Dynasty philosophy, to Emily Peyton’s grinning political dibs through gritted teeth, to Scott Milne’s making each point with a full left head swivel to Governor Shumlin, this lineup is richly deserving of national late-night talk show humor.VTDigger and the Reformer made short work of the “In case you missed it” reportage:


Missing CSA Delivery

If anyone is missing a CSA delivery it is sitting in my back porch at the corner of Myrtle and Cedar.  It arrived yesterday afternoon and I would hate to see it spoil.  I raise my own veggies, so i do not need it,


Revitalizing West Brattleboro – A Community Discussion, Thursday, October 23rd

A community discussion on ways to revitalize West Brattleboro will be held on Thursday, October 23rd at
7:00 pm.  This will be facilitated by the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) and will be held in the Community Room of Hayes Court on Garfield Drive (just west of the West Brattleboro Post Office).

The group invites any and all to come learn about and discuss the report “Revitalizing Southern Vermont’s
Villages – West Brattleboro”. This report has been made available by the Windham Regional Commission and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation. Particular items planned for discussion are the four key strategies listed in the report, which was put together with input from the WBA and the West Brattleboro Master Plan. Those strategies are: Support Community Development; Enhance the Streetscape; Improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity; and Support Economic Development.


Write Action’s Open Reading: Third Fridays at the Blue Dot in the Hooker Dunham at 7:30 PM

Friday Oct 17 is the third Friday of the month. Do you know what that means? Its time to get together and read poems and stories, out loud. Or, maybe even recite them aloud, with no text to save you. 

On the third Friday of every month, Write Action invites writers to gather and read aloud poetry and fiction. It’s a chance to share your work, or a piece by another writer whose work you admire. Every writer gets about 7 minutes. These readings are usually really eclectic in sty;e content and mood, and every event has some excellence. 


Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – October 21, 2014

It will be Poliice Night at the Brattleboro Selectboard’s next Tuesday meeting. The new police chief, captain, and sargeant will be sworn in, the Police-Fire Facility Project will get another hearing and discussion, and the Citizen Police Communications Committee is revising their mission statement.

The board will also discuss finances and bus services, and buy a truck. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation if you attend in person. Watch on BCTV, and read the summary hear on Wednesday.


Brattleboro Police Chief Letter to Citizens

To the Citizens of Brattleboro,

I have been approached numerous times and asked about my philosophy on policing and the direction I will lead the Department. I would like to take this opportunity to express my thoughts on policing and the role of the Brattleboro Police Department within this community.

I am a very strong advocate of community involved policing. This concept is not new, these are not my original ideas, and most importantly it’s certainly not a list of activities which you go down and check off the boxes as completed. It is a value system which permeates the department.


Brattleboro Union High School Board Meeting Agenda

BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL BOARD
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The BAMS Committee will meet at 7:45 a.m. on Monday, October 20 in the Middle School Conference Room.

The BUHS #6 Teacher Curriculum Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 20 in BUHS Room 192.


Great Produce, Great Music at the Saturday Farmers’ Market!

Saturday, October 18th, the Brattleboro Farmers’ Market hosts live music by Mary Lea and friends from 11-1.

As always, there’s lots of great produce at the market and this time of year there are bountiful apples, pears, cider, donuts and pies from local orchards, plus pumpkins, winter squash (including bulk sales!), potatoes, onions, hardy fall greens, fresh lettuces and bunched carrots and beets, and lots more.


Real Estate Recovery: Wishful Thinking?

MLS data for Windham County shows median home prices during the first three-quarters of 2014 running 5.26% below median home prices for the same period a year ago.

National real estate and other economic indicators are mixed and increasingly volatile, with even a fragile recovery, uncertain. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reports that prices for existing homes nationwide rose by 4.8% in August compared with the previous year, despite the number of sales slipping by 1.8%.


Retreat Tower Questions

I took my young sons up to the Retreat Tower this past Tuesday — it was their first visit.  I’ve never been inside, but have heard that it is opened to the public now & then.  Does anyone know if there are fixed dates that it’s open, or where one can find out when it will be open?  The boys are dying to have a look inside and climb to the top for a view of the area.


I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of 10/19 and Road Closure

I-91 Northbound Closure for Pothole Repair: Monday Night, October 20th

I-91 Northbound between exits 2 and 3 will be closed to all traffic to complete pothole repair in advance of the winter season. This work is scheduled starting at 8:00 pm Monday October 20th through Tuesday morning, October 21 at 6:00 am. Traffic will be routed onto Route 5, and law enforcement officials will be on site. If this closure needs to be rescheduled due to weather, we will inform stakeholders a minimum of 72 hours in advance after the team is able to confirm forecasted weather conditions are acceptable for work to proceed.

Upper Dummerston Road Closure: October 27th 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Upper Dummerston Road will closed on Monday, October 27th, from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM to allow work on the new bridge that will span Upper Dummerston Road. If this closure needs to be rescheduled due to weather, we will inform stakeholders a minimum of 72 hours in advance after the team is able to confirm forecasted weather conditions are acceptable for work to proceed.


Don’t Let Billionaires Buy the Senate, Sanders Tells Labor Convention

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 15 – Speaking at a labor union convention here today, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the future of American democracy is at stake.

“We are not living in a democracy when 60 percent of Americans are not voting, while billionaires like the Koch Brothers are spending hundreds of millions to buy the United States Senate. That’s called oligarchy, not democracy,” Sanders said.

The billionaires Charles and David Koch and other wealthy individuals are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into this fall’s campaigns by taking advantage of a disastrous 2010 Supreme Court ruling and subsequent court decisions that gutted federal and state laws limiting campaign spending.


Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting – Personnel

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Friday, October 17, 2014 at 6:15pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 6:15pm to discuss the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100


Brattleboro Town Manager Search Committee Meeting and Agenda

The Brattleboro Town Manager Search Citizen Committee will meet on Friday, October 17, 2014 at 2:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Committee will enter into executive session at 2:00pm to discuss the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee.


Resigning From Academy School

Letter to the Editor,

It is with deep sadness that after almost thirty years of dedicated service to the children of Brattleboro, I have made the decision to resign as a fourth grade teacher at Academy School.

I want to thank the approximately six hundred brilliant, insightful and talented students I have been privileged to work with while they learned, questioned, problem solved and continued their growth towards becoming empathetic and socially responsible members in their community.

I am in awe of the hundreds of devoted and nurturing parents I have had the privilege to work with as they wrestled with the educational, social and personal issues that parents raising children today face.


Hungrytown Duo Coming to Brattleboro

The Friends of Brooks Memorial Library will host a fundraising concert on Friday, November 7, 7:30 PM in the Library, with Hungrytown, a Vermont folk-based duo. Hungrytown is the musical and married team of Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson.  They have released two highly acclaimed CDs, Hungrytown (2008) and Any Forgotten Thing (2011), both of which continue to receive much airplay on folk and Americana stations worldwide. 

Rebecca and Ken tour full time; their adventures have taken them throughout the US, Canada, Europe and New Zealand.  Their songs have been performed by many other artists, including Nashville songwriting legend David Olney, and bluegrass veterans the Virginia Ramblers. Hungrytown’s music has also appeared on several television shows, including the Independent Film Channel’s hit series, Portlandia.