occupation - The Commons

Transcription

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Brattleboro, Vermont
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 • Vol. VI, No. 40 • Issue #122
W ind h am C ounty ’ s A W A R D - W I N N I N G , I ndependent S ource f or N ews and V iews
News
Bellows
Falls
occupation
shelter gets set
for the season
Walking into an
bRATTLEbORO
Memories of
the birth of
the Latchis
page A2
But some area residents
want it relocated elsewhere
Listing of
area shelters,
food shelves
By Allison Teague
page A4
The Commons
JAMAICA
Temporary
bridge opens
a week early
page A5
VERNON
VY refueling
work begins
page A5
Voices
VIEWPOINT
Olga Peters/The Commons
Brattleboro resident Shoshana Rihn was one of 20,000 demonstrators who
marched in New York on Oct. 5 as part of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street
protest.
W
e’re the 99 percent,
and so are you!”
Protesters, including a contingent from
Windham County,
chanted these words as they marched
from Zuccotti Park to Foley Square in
New York City on Oct. 5.
An estimated 20,000 Occupy Wall
Street protesters and members of dozens of labor union members stood together in New York City’s government
district to speak out against an economic
system that they believe benefits few
while leaving the majority of Americans
high and dry.
What started as barely 2,000 people
protesting on Wall Street on Sept. 17
has boiled over into more than 60 other
cities and towns, including Brattleboro
this weekend.
But, as the Occupy Wall Street protest
grows people ask, where will this movement take us?
Special Focus, section B.
Fish
hatchery
program
is a failure
page C1
vtdigger.org
The Arts
JAZZING IT UP
Sports
SOCCER
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Vermont Independent Media
Nelini Stamp, center, calls out instructions to marchers.
JAMAICA—Rep. Oliver
Olsen, R-Jamaica, announced
last week that he will not be running for his seat in 2012.
Olsen, 35, has been an outspoken and articulate critic of
several Shumlin administration
proposals, and he is described
even by Democrats as a “rising star.” A year after winning
his first election bid last fall,
however, Olsen has decided to
forgo a second race.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult, Olsen said, to take care of
his young family and pursue his
professional career while serving four months a year in the
Legislature. Olsen manages a
consulting practice for RightNow
Technologies, a software service
company based in Bozeman,
Mont.
“I’m grateful that we have a
n see olsen, page A3
A web of knowledge
Students learn about spiders through
environmental education program
By Thelma O’Brien
Wildcats
cope with
loss of their
home field
State rep says
he won’t run
for second term
By Anne Galloway
page C1
page d1
n see SHELTER, page A4
Jamaica Republican Olsen
cites pressure of commitment
State’s new
energy plan
is vague
Workshop
puts new
life into
old hymns
BELLOWS FALLS—As
housing issues rise in Windham
County in the wake of Tropical
Storm Irene, and Vermonters
prepare for winter, residents have
again lodged complaints that it is
inappropriate to locate an overnight homeless shelter within
the village.
The Greater Falls Warming
Shelter (GFWS) is preparing
for its second year at the location beneath Athens Pizza at 83
Westminster St..
However, the Zoning Board
and Planning Commission must
decide soon whether to issue a
permit to reopen the shelter by
Nov. 1, if the owner, Alpha G
LLC, agrees to the board’s stipulations for opening.
Village residents went before a
joint meeting of the Zoning and
Planning boards last month, citing alleged nightly disruptions
from outdoor lighting, smoking
outside in the parking lot, audible use of foul language, and the
involvement of the Bellows Falls
Police at least 20 times over the
four months that the shelter was
open last season.
Further fact gathering, a site
inspection and meeting were
set for discussion on Oct. 5 in
Bellows Falls. However, GFWS
Committee Chair Louise Luring
told the board the person acting
as agent for the owner “could not
be found” that night.
The zoning board felt it was
important that the owner of the
building be present to answer
“crucial questions regarding
concerns and requests raised by
abutters.”
The Commons
V
ERNON—Fourth
grade students, a volunteer, a teacher, and
a reporter at Vernon
Elementary School
now know a lot more about some
spiders common to New England
than they used to, as well as some
of their webs, their bodies, their
diets, and the adaptations they’ve
developed to survive in their environment, thanks to programs created by the Four Winds Nature
Institute in Chittenden.
During a training for this
detailed spider program, the
trainer, the volunteer, and the reporter spent a little time outdoors
and in no time found four of the
webs common to this region
on the shrubs and in the interstices of plants and of manmade
structures.
First, there was the funnel
web, an asymmetrical horizontal sheet with a silken tube at
the back. The web catches insects, and the spider, hiding in
the tube, waits to feel the vibrations and then darts out. The
spider delivers a paralyzing bite
and drags the insect back to the
funnel for immediate or delayed
snacking.
Grass spiders are funnel-web
creatures found often in this region, mostly outdoors and rarely
inside. They are generally brownish or grayish with light and
dark stripes near the head, and
they’re about three-quarters of
an inch long.
They’re called grass spiders because they usually construct their webs in tall grass,
heavy ground cover, and in the
branches of thick shrubs.
Some other webs include the
ubiquitous and dust-collecting
cobweb, hanging from everywhere; the gossamer sheet web
on the grass; and the orb web,
the most recognizable of all the
webs, with a round, compartmentalized shape.
Four Winds delineates five
broad natural concepts for volunteer teachers to follow in
Thelma O’Brien/The Commons
their presentations: patterns of Vernon Elementary student Maggie Lonardo
n see spiders, page A3
cautiously examines a spider.
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About The newspaper
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essays, memoirs, and other subjective
material in Voices, our editorial and
commentary section. We want the paper to provide an unpredictable variety
of food for thought from all points on
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T h e C ommons
BR AT TLEBORO
A rich legacy
for Latchis
73 years after its grand opening was
delayed by a hurricane, theater deals
with aftermath of another epic storm
By Fran Lynggaard Hansen
The Commons
B
RATTLEBORO—
“We were all aware of
the history of the hurricane of 1938 and
the Latchis Theatre,
and yet we assumed that something like that could never happen
today,” said Gail Nunziata, managing director for the Brattleboro
Arts Initiative and the Latchis
Corporation.
“But, of course, we were
wrong,” she said.“Because it
did happen to us.”
The Great New England
Hurricane of 1938 swept
Brattleboro off its feet the very
day the grand opening of the
Latchis Theatre was to have
taken place.
One of the hallmarks of that
storm was that it moved so
quickly up the coast that it arrived without warning, making
any kind of preparation or notification impossible. Conversely,
when Tropical Storm Irene arrived on Aug. 28, it came without surprise.
But what was unexpected
this time was the extent of flash
flooding that accompanied
Irene’s high winds and heavy
rains. The Latchis building was
one of those most deeply affected
in downtown Brattleboro.
“We’re looking at least half
a million dollars worth of damage. Flood insurance likely won’t
cover even half of it, but we’re at
the very beginnings of that process and are still hopeful,” said
Nunziata.
Demetrius (Jim) Latchis was
7 years old when his family was
preparing the grand opening
of the theater that was created
in memory of his grandfather,
Demetrius P. Latchis. He doesn’t
remember the day the hurricane
arrived.
“I was named for my grandfather, though he died when I was
two in 1932. I have no memory
of him. But the stories, there are
plenty of stories about him,” he
said with a smile as he chomped
on his cigar.
According to his grandson,
Demetrius Latchis came from a
mountain village in Kastanitsa,
Greece to Brattleboro in 1901.
A majority of the Greeks whom
he knew were immigrating to
American cities to work in the
shoe factories.
Demetrius had a different
idea. His plan was to come to
Vermont and sell fruits and vegetables from a push cart.
“Why are you going to
Vermont, selling fruit to
farmers?” his grandson said
people asked him at the time.
They thought it was like trying
to sell ice cream to the Eskimos.”
A determined Demetrius
arrived and rented a room in
Hinsdale, N.H.
“He used to walk,” says
Latchis, “and walk and walk.”
Later, Latchis said, “he was
able to purchase a horse-drawn
wagon, but he started out walking. His legs pretty much gave
out on him when he turned 60,
years later.”
Demetrius Latchis walked
to Brattleboro from Hinsdale,
with his push cart to purchase
his goods directly off the trains.
Another day, he would walk to
Northfield, Mass., and still another day to Chesterfield, N.H.,
the toughest day of all because
of the hills involved.
A few years later, he was able
to bring his two eldest sons, Peter
and Spiro, over from Greece.
It took many years, but eventually the family was able to
purchase a home in Brattleboro
which housed four boys, three
girls, and their parents. The family was happy to be all together
once more.
Latchis grew his business for
20 years until he had enough
money to purchase the property
at the corner of Flat and Main
streets in 1921. He built his first
theater behind the corner block,
despite the fact that he had never
even seen a moving picture. He
then moved his fruit and vegetable business from the Park
Building, which occupied the
land where the Brattleboro Food
Co-op is currently constructing,
to his own block.
With the Latchis Fruits &
Vegetables Shop and the theater doing well, Latchis opened
a soda fountain, where he sold
candy and made his own chocolates. Eventually, he moved that
business to the corner of Elliot
and Main streets. It was still in
operation when Jim Latchis was
in high school in the late 1940s.
Beverages from the soda fountain were “a much different thing
than the soda that we drink today,” Latchis remembered.
“They had far less sugar and you
could add all kinds of flavors to
them. They were a real hit with
the teenagers,” he said.
Eventually, the family began
to expand their theater and hotel
businesses all over New England.
Demetrius Latchis has been described as an affable man who
was interested in public affairs
and enjoyed the friendship of
his family, who worked actively
in his businesses. By the time of
Courtesy of the Brattleboro Historical Society
Mural painter Louis Jambor works on one of his creations at the Latchis Theatre
in 1938.
his death, he owned six theaters.
By 1938, the family owned 14.
“We ran the theatre in the
old Brattleboro Town Hall,”
Latchis said. “We also owned a
couple of theaters in Keene. The
Colonial Theatre was originally
built as a playhouse, but then the
movie business started coming
on strong.
“People didn’t want to see
plays anymore; they wanted film.
My father and his brother Peter
purchased it and showed movies there instead. They kept it as
it was originally. I always marveled at what a wonderful condition it was in. They owned a
second theatre in Keene, not
300 feet from the Colonial as
well,” he said.
Silent films were popular right
up until 1927, when the first
“talkies” were shown, he said.
The most successful years
for the Latchis family business followed the golden age of
Hollywood.
In the 1930s, America was
still recovering from the Great
Depression. People were out
of work and went to the movies
as an inexpensive treat to forget their troubles for an hour or
two. Tickets were inexpensive,
a dime or 15 cents. Feel-good
movies were always in vogue,
and comedies.
After their father’s death,
Peter and Spiro Latchis decided
to take down the buildings and
replace them with what they
called “a town within a town.”
The new hotel building would
be art deco in design, and featured not only a hotel and several eateries, but also a brand
new theater in honor of their
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• Wednesday, October 12, 2011
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Courtesy of the Brattleboro Historical Society
The original Latchis Theater at the corner of Main
and Flat streets. This building was torn down to make
way for the current Latchis complex, which opened
with great fanfare in 1938.
father’s legacy. It would be the
largest theater in the tri-state
area with seats for 1,200 people.
The building would be fireproof,
and the theatre and public areas
would have an ancient Greek
theme.
Peter and Spiro Latchis had
previously been pleased with the
work of an artist, Louis Jambor,
who painted their father’s portrait. They asked him to come
to Brattleboro from New York
City to paint the interior of the
theater.
A native of Hungary, born in
1884, Jambor gave an interview
in which he described running
away from home at a tender
age to enroll in the Academy of
Art in Budapest. His father had
wanted him to be an architect.
He then studied in Munich and
Dusseldorf in Germany. From
there, after earning many prizes
for his artwork, Jambor returned
to Budapest.
By 1922, his work well received, he came to visit the
United States out of “extreme
exhaustion.”
His idea was to stay for three
months to rest, but he found
enough opportunities that he decided to remain in the country.
His murals were found in hotels and churches of the day.
Jambor painted 26 murals alone
at the Hotel New Yorker. He
painted the proscenium in the
Atlantic City auditorium and in
churches from Buffalo, N.Y., to
Rhode Island, to Connecticut.
He went on to paint the illustrations for the 1947 edition of
the novel Little Women.
Today, Jambor’s artwork
fetches high prices at auction.
Jambor liked that the Latchis
brothers wanted to build the theater as much for beauty as they
did for business. He chose visual
motifs inspired by two Greek
myths, Apollo on one side of the
theater and Baccus on the other.
The Brattleboro Daily Reformer
was filled with three pages of descriptions of the interior of the
theater and its accompanying
lobby and public rooms. For
months, Jambor worked quietly and alone inside the theater, climbing up and down the
many ladders he needed to paint
the ceiling and the high walls. He
mixed beeswax with the paint to
give it a watercolored look and
extra staying power.
It is unknown how much
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damage to the building arose
from the Hurricane in 1938, but
the grand opening was rescheduled and held 14 days later.
The theater had the first
runs of The Wizard of Oz and
Gone with the Wind, and later
Casablanca and The Sound of
Music. Those were not the films
that interested Jim Latchis.
“There was too much Bette
Davis there for me, so I went to
the Town Hall to see the westerns,” he said with a chuckle.
By the 1950s, television became the thing to watch and the
movie theaters suffered. Some
wondered if the age of film was
gone. Competition among theaters was high.
“We had a theater in
Claremont, N.H., that was the
biggest one we owned. That
one had tough times. A competitor moved in right next door.
Professional thugs came in and
were hired to destroy it. We all
thought that it was paid for by
the competitors. It was wrecked
and had to be torn down after
that,” said Latchis.
Eventually, it became too expensive to show one movie in
a theater. Multiplexes became
the way to bring more people
to more movies. Jim’s son Spiro
joined him in running the family
business and did the renovations
to add more theaters to the building, which brought the public
back to the Latchis in a big way.
“I’ve watched the movie business all of my life. It was really
enjoyable in those early days.
We had big bands, vaudeville
acts on the stage. Rudolf Serkin
played a concert every year and
we packed the house with his
fans,” said Latchis.
Seventy-three years after the
delayed opening of the theatre
due to weather, the Latchis is
set to reopen again this Friday.
“We can’t thank our local
subcontractors enough,” says
Nunziata. “They’ve all done
a wonderful job. There is still
much to do, but we are so excited to reopen.”
Nunziata said the hotel was
closed the whole month of
September and half of October,
missing the fall foliage wave of
tourism entirely, “a big hit.”
“But beyond the financial issues, it was a morale hit too,” she
said. “We just love to have the
hotel bustling and full of people.”
T h e C ommons
NEWS
• Wednesday, October 12, 2011 A3
Vernon Elementary students Christopher Truncale and Daniel Amidon examine Vernon Elementary student Aliyah Kimball makes a paper spider.
a spider.
n Spiders
similarities, cycles of nature,
structure and function (adaptation), ecosystem and earth, and
the environment.
Within those concepts, volunteers can teach 14 subjects, from
rocks and minerals to insect life
cycles to traveling seeds to predators and prey. The concept chosen applies for the entire year.
Volunteer teacher Beverly
Current, a busy swimming coach
and teacher, had spiders as her
subject (under the structure and
function/adaptation rubric) to
teach the 21 fourth graders at
Vernon Elementary School.
She first taught the Vernon
class in 1987, when her daughter was in kindergarten, and she’s
been doing it ever since.
It was raining the day of the
class, so there was no going outside. The class began with the
“Olympic Puppet Show,” created by the institute and performed by five class members
who had first practiced.
The puppets were paper spiders attached to string and sticks
which could be manipulated up
and down.
They chat with a woodchuck.
The objective of the show is
to introduce general information about spider adaptations
and other information in story
form, such as: spiders are not
insects (they are arachnids);
they have two body parts, the
head (or cephalothorax) and the
abdomen; and they have eight
legs and spinnerets, organs on
from section front
the abdomen from which silk is
extruded.
In most cases, spiders have
eight eyes, each one performing
a supporting function. They have
fangs and jaws and pedipalps
(feelers), organs that differ in
shape in male and female spiders.
All spiders can produce silk
but only some spin webs; others catch their prey by hunting.
Sometime spiders are called web
builders and wanderers.
Web spinners may use their
silk for many things: as snares, to
wrap eggs, to subdue their prey,
to sew leaves together to form a
shelter, to trap air in a bubble to
form an underwater diving bell.
Non-web builders may use
silk strands sometimes for nest
building under leaves, for navigating, or for leaving trails. (So
the next time you’re wondering
how spiders get from one place to
another, remember that.) Some
spiders can walk on water, facilitated by their extra hairy legs.
When the puppet show is over,
out come the spiders in about
eight glass jars with perforated
lids and, in this case, spiders
caught by Current. She tells the
children to study the spiders and
not to upend the jars.
“It’s okay to be afraid, but it’s
not okay to scream or drop the
jars,” she said.
One child said, “I don’t feel
good now.”
Another was really scared, and
she disappeared behind a wall in
the classroom. Toward the end,
she sat in a chair away from the
tables and studied a drawing of
a spider.
Another young girl was also
afraid at first and became very
pale. By the time the class was
over, she was actually sitting at
a table and handling a spider jar.
The class was relatively subdued, and, even when the spiders
came out, most of the kids were
contemplative. Some studied the
spiders intently and commented
on their size or color.
After studying the spiders and
passing the glass jars around,
each child was given a felt board
and a packet of felt cutouts of
spider body parts to create a spider on the basis of what they’d
observed.
Most of them placed the eight
legs on the larger abdomen, as
most people would, and were
quick to correct that when asked
to take another look to find out
where the legs really belonged —
on the cephalothorax.
Another task tested one’s
ability to detect vibrations. A
wooden square with long strings
attached was placed in the center of a table. Each person took a
string and one student, the designated spider, whose eyes were
covered, had to detect where a
deliberate vibration was coming from.
Two more tests included “spider truth or fiction” and “sharing
a web,” in which a ball of yarn
was rolled among a circle of eight
to ten children until a tangled
n Olsen
citizen legislature, it brings our
government much closer to our
communities and the people
we represent, however it does
make it very challenging for a
large segment of Vermonters to
serve,” Olsen said in an interview. “There’s a whole segment
of folks who have the responsibilities of raising a family and
maintaining a career who don’t
have the financial resources to
take four months away from professional life.”
Olsen and his wife, Peggy
Vernon Elementary student Sam Fontaine examines a spider.
cobweb was created.
Four Winds Nature Institute
describes itself as “a nonprofit
organization advancing the understanding, appreciation, and
protection of the environment
through community-based natural science and research.”
An outgrowth of the Vermont
Institute of Natural Science
Environmental Learning for the
Future, or ELF, programs, Four
Winds has been independent
from VINS for five years.
The institute has devised a
series of nature programs appropriate for elementary schools that
include detailed information and
materials and training for volunteers who deliver the programs
to classes.
Individual schools may buy
the programs for varying fees.
Nine elementary schools
in the Windham Central and
Windham Southeast supervisory unions have purchased
the programs, according to
Lisa Purcell, director of Four
Winds. They include Vernon,
Putney, Guilford, Green Street,
and Academy in Windham
Southeast Supervisory Union,
and Townshend, NewBrook,
and Wardsboro in Windham
Central Supervisory Union.
The institute recommends
that each school provide eight
workshops per school year, and
smaller schools are encouraged
to share workshops.
More information can be
found online (www.FWNI.org).
from SECTION FRONT
Floume, have two young sons,
Ethan, a 2-year-old who has cerebral palsy, and 11-month-old
Karsten. Ethan’s medical condition necessitated a month-long
stay in the hospital right after
Olsen’s election last year.
“Every family has its own
challenges, but when you have
a family member with complex
medical needs it puts additional
demands on your time, and
that’s a big factor in my decision,” Olsen said.
Republican Gov. James
Douglas named Olsen to the
post in 2010 after Rick Hube,
the longtime representative
of the Windham-BenningtonWindsor-1 district, died in office.
Olsen serves on the powerful House Ways and Means
Committee, and he frequently
(and openly) clashed with
Democrats. He most notably
led the fight against a cash for tax
credit proposal from the Shumlin
administration for the Clean
Energy Development Fund.
Olsen said supporters and
detractors have mistakenly assumed he had bigger political
ambitions.
“I enjoy serving in the House,
and I have never had any intention of serving in any other capacity, including leadership,”
Olsen said. “I have a busy professional career outside my political life. Anyone who wants to
aspire to higher office has to be
committed to a career in politics
or be retired — that’s not where
my heart is at. I enjoy serving
my district.”
October 15
Saturday, 10am to 4pm
T
he Grammar School
campus will transform into a
medieval village as it hosts its
24th Annual Medieval Faire.
Enjoy the village as King Arthur
and his royal court preside over
games, feasts, and peasant frivolity.
Admission is FREE.
All-day or individual game & ride
passes are available.
The Grammar School
69 Hickory Ridge Road South, Putney, VT
I91 Exit 4/5N, follow Faire signs to School
Apple pie workshop
offered at Scott Farm
DUMMERSTON — An heirloom apple pie workshop with
Laurel Roberts Johnson will be
held on Saturday, Oct. 15, from
10 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Scott Farm
on Kipling Road.
Laurel Roberts Johnson was
the owner of the Queen of Tarts
Old-Fashioned Bakery and former pastry chef at the award winning Restaurant du Village, both
located in Chester, Conn. She
is known for her seasonal pies,
simple old fashioned desserts
and unique cookies and studied
Baking and Pastry Arts at the
Culinary Institute of America.
Participants will learn how to
prepare flakey pie dough and effortlessly roll out pie crust using
the right recipe and technique.
Pies will be prepared and baked,
using heirloom apples from Scott
Farm. The $40 price of this
workshop includes the pie you
bake, the dough you make, and a
take-home tote of heirloom baking apples.
Reservations are requested,
Contact Kelly Carlin by email
(kellyc@landmarktrustusa.org) or
call 802-254-6868.
A
nyone can count the seeds in an
apple, but only God can count
the number of apples in a seed.
—Robert H. Schuller
info: 802-387-5364
or visit www.thegrammarschool.org
Townshend, VT • www.gracecottage.org
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802--463-3038 Home
802-376-7448 Cell
Available Pets for Adoption
Windham County
humane SoCiety
Make a friend
for life
916 West River Road, Brattleboro, VT
802-254-2232 View all at: wc hs4 pets.org
Hi everybody! My name is
Lazarus and I’m just the
sweetest little boy you’ll
ever meet. I came to the
WCHS as a stray and am
looking for a new home
now. I absolutely love
people and would do great
in a home with other cats. I haven’t met any dogs yet,
but they probably wouldn’t phase my confident self. I
should also only be place in a home with kids 10+. I
can’t wait to go to my new home! Is that home yours!?
Meet Cody! Cody is a little
spitfire of a terrier mix who
would love a home with action,
fun and playtime! Cody has a
great sense of humor too and
besides keeping you active, he
will have you laughing at his
adorable doggie antics! He does
well with other dogs but will
most likely not be a good fit with cats. He would do
best with children 8 and up as he is still learning about
gentle play with people. Stop by and play a game of
fetch with Cody!
Hi there! My name is Rocket and I came to
the WCHS as a feral kitten some months ago. I
grew up on my own so I wasn’t used to human
contact. It was very scary! I’ve come a long
way though, and now I am starting to trust
the people around me who can be slow and
patient with me. My new family will have to
work at getting me adjusted to my new home,
but I am very sweet and it will all pay off in the
end. I Because I grew up with other cats, I would love to go to a home with
another cat and I could learn to trust people even more from them. They
can be my role model! I haven’t met any dogs yet, but with a slow introduction I’m sure we could make friends. Kids 12+ would be best for me. I sure
hope someone will give me a chance at a normal life...and soon!
My name is Saucy and
I am a sassy Lab mix
lady who loves me some
cuddle time! I also am
quite an explorer and I
love to check out new
places and trails. I enjoy
training and I am smart,
smart smart! I have been
learning sits, downs and
different tricks at a furious pace. Please come in
and see me- I can into the shelter as a stray I am
hoping to leave with a wonderful new home!
This space is graciously sponsored by:
648 Putney Road
Brattleboro, VT
802.257.3700
OSHA / MSHA Training coMPLianT
Fully Insured • Presby CertIFIed
one sto p co u n tr y p et.co m
149 Emerald St
Keene, NH
603.352.9200
NEWS
A4
T h e C ommons
BELLOWS FALLS/ROCKINGHAM
n Shelter
Consequently, the board made
the decision for a second continuance until Oct. 21, stating that
“none of us want this to be continued indefinitely.”
In response to Luring’s difficulty getting the landlord for
the shelter to a meeting, in what
may be the first time ever —
“I’ve been on this board 8 years
and I’ve never had occasion to
use this,” DeRoscha said — the
Zoning Board and Planning
Commission opted to use their
power to subpoena the Alpha G
LLC owner to get their questions
answered.
However, DeRoscha said that
if the Alpha G representative is
willing to sign a letter stipulating
that he agrees to a three-point list
of changes that include an entry
into the building for shelter users other than the one they used
last year, an extension of existing
fencing, and maintaining a natural screen provided by trees and
shrubbery, the board would accept that communication in lieu
of the owner’s presence.
“I don’t want to keep continuing this. It’s getting cold out
there. I want people to have a
place to stay,” board member
Robert DeRoscha said.
Riverside Apartment residents
signed a petition for the opportunity to have a representative
address the board with their
from SECTION FRONT
concerns.
Board members told the residents that their concerns were
not within the zoning board’s
purview.
Chair Alan LaCombe also
clarified concerns expressed at
the Oct. 5 meeting, saying it was
clear that some “facts” had been
reported erroneously, but “now
that we have those facts, [they]
will be thoroughly reviewed” by
the committee.
Chroma issues
a challenge
While the shelter issues
play out before the zoning
board, Chroma Technology of
Rockingham recently issued a
challenge to other town businesses to contribute money to
keep the shelter open this winter.
“We are asking businesses and
community partners to match
Chroma’s pledge to match the
first $2,500 of the total funds
received by the Nov. 1 deadline,” explained Maggie Kelly, a
Chroma employee and member
of the GFWS board.
“It’s discouraging that the
need may be even greater this
year,” said Luring. “We’ve seen
a big increase in those asking for
the food resources of Our Place,
which we’re extrapolating to
mean there will be more people
facing problems with housing
this winter.”
So far, Luring said, $500 has
been matched.
Several employees from
Chroma also volunteer at the
shelter. At least one, Nicholas
Day, wonders about the community’s reluctance to lend a
helping hand.
“Nobody deserves to [sleep
in the] cold for the night ...or
freeze to death,” Day said. The
residents he got to know were
“grateful guests who got to sleep
in a warm place” during cold
winter nights.
The shelter’s costs run around
$30,000 to serve up to 14 people a night, according to Luring.
Last year, the shelter served 45
people.
The shelter opened three
years ago when the director of
a shelter in Brattleboro warned
Selectboard member Ann
DiBernardo that Rockingham
would need to take care of
its own homeless people for
the upcoming cold season, as
Brattleboro’s was at capacity.
Daisy Chase said she was
“glad the shelter was there” last
winter in January when she broke
up with her boyfriend and was
left without a place to live.
“It was great,” she said, “I
didn’t have to sleep in a snow
bank or in a tent.”
Chase said she helped out at
the shelter wherever and whenever she could “to give back.”
“I helped unload trucks, and
helped keep [the shelter] clean,”
she said.
She added that “this year,
we’re going to assign chores on
a rotation so everybody has a
turn.” As often happens in life,
“it was the same people doing
the chores every night.”
Chase has since found shelter
with friends, and expects to have
her own place soon. “We’re waiting to hear from the landlord,”
she said, smiling.
She is dealing with ongoing
health problems that precipitated
her breakup.
“He didn’t want to take care
of me when I was sick,” she said.
“He told me to get out.”
As Chase spoke, her new
boyfriend stopped by to check
in with her and confer about
appointments they had for
the afternoon, including one
with Southeastern Vermont
Community Action (SEVCA).
Her trust and ease with him
were reflected in her smile as
they talked.
Concerns in
Athens
assistance requests and were told
how to correctly resubmit their
applications online, one resident
said there was a good possibility
that “if it gets too cold this winter, we may need a place to take
our kids.”
She said she was glad the shelter would be there for them.
Several families in an Athens
trailer park are living in smelly,
damp, and moldy mobile homes
that are “unfit for our children to
stay in,” she said, and say they
would be very grateful to have
“a place to get the kids out of the
cold” this winter if it becomes
necessary.
Extensive flooding knocked
most of the trailers off their
pilings and twisted the flimsy
homes so badly that water now
leaks into the living space.
“And we still have to pay
rent,” one young mother said.
“It stinks in there. It’s not good
for our kids.”
Her two children stay next
door with her mother, while she
stays in the trailer “because I
don’t want people to think [our
home is] abandoned and [what’s
left is] up for grabs.”
“I told my landlord this
month’s rent might be late” because the family had to spend
money replacing items lost in the
flood for the kids, “not to mention the trailer is uninhabitable,
but he said if I didn’t pay rent, I
could expect to leave.”
Asked if she had a place to go,
she shook her head.
“No,” she said.
The conditions in the two
trailers that sit side by side is
horrendous, according to Lisa
Pitcher, director of Parks Place
Drop-In Center in Bellows Falls,
who had seen them, but “the
landlord refuses to do anything
to help the tenants.”
Pitcher said this family was
one of many affected by the
flood.
“Some of them have been
placed, but there are a lot out
there still trying to figure what to
do,” she said. “They think that
because they still have a roof,
they don’t need assistance.”
When it starts getting cold,
Pitcher said, reality will set in
and “they are going to need a
place to take shelter” from the
cold overnight.
‘Secret Life of Bears’
presented at RFPL
businesses and individuals donate items and services for both
silent and live auctions.
Tickets for the Empty Bowl
are $30 and will be available
at Village Square Booksellers
in Bellows Falls, Real to Reel
Video in Walpole or by calling
Our Place at 463-2217.
Following a meeting in
Athens, where a FEMA offiBELLOWS FALLS — On
cial answered residents’ ques- Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.,
tions following denial of their at the Rockingham Free Public
Library, join Forrest Hammond,
from Vermont Fish & Wildlife,
for a talk about black bears in
Vermont and the challenges they
face, especially from future development in the state.
The black bear is the smallest
of the three bear species found in
North America, and it’s the only
bear we have in Vermont. These
ShELTERS
bears prefer wild areas and are
relatively shy animals and seldom
Location
phone
day & Time
seen by people, though if natural
First Baptist Church Overflow Shelter,
802-257-5415 5:30 p.m.–7 a.m., when Morningside is full (until the
food supplies are low, you may
Brattleboro
end of March, depending on weather) Nov. 27- April.
find them near your bird feeders
or garbage cans.
Hammond will discuss the
Morningside Shelter, Brattleboro
802-257-0066 8 a.m.–11 p.m.
role the public can play in pro(24 hours)
tecting bear habitat and in determining how many bears exist
Greater Falls Warming Shelter, Bellows Falls
802-376-4193 7 p.m. - 7 a.m., November through April.
for the future.
This program is free and open
to the public. For more inforCOMMUNITY MEALS/fOOD ShELVES
mation, call the library at 802463-4270 or visit www.rockingham.
Location
phone
day & Time
lib.vt.us.
Agape Christian Fellowship, Brattleboro
802-257-4069 Soup kitchen: Sunday, 1:30–3 p.m. Food pantry:
Thursday, 6:30–8 p.m.
If you need food or shelter...
Brattleboro Drop-In Center
14th annual Empty
Bowl Dinner to
benefit Our Place
Brattleboro Senior Meals
802-257-5415
Food
emergency:
ext. 225
802-257-1236
Meals on Wheels
802-257-1236
Brigid’s Kitchen, Brattleboro
802-254-6800
Centre Congregational —
Loaves and Fishes, Brattleboro
802-254-4730
Tuesday and Friday, 11:30 a.m.
Community Bible Chapel
107 Atwood St. Brattleboro
802-254-2910
Tuesdays (except 1st) 9-12pm for seniors
12-3pm open for all.
First Baptist Church — Grace’s Kitchen,
Brattleboro
Immanuel Episcopal Church, Bellows Falls
Our Place Drop-In Center, Bellows Falls
802-254-9566
Wednesday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Community breakfast,
Sundays, 8:30–9:30 a.m.
Monday 5 p.m., dinner.
Weekdays: 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Breakfast and lunch.
Food shelf.
Monday–Friday, 8a.m.–5 p.m.
Monday–Friday, noon–12:30 p.m.
Breakfast on Tuesdays, 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. (Suggested
donation $6; $3.50 for people over age 60.)
Deliveries to those 60 and older who are “food
insecure” and unable to attend community meals.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, 11:30
a.m.–12:30 p.m.
802-463-3100
802-463-2217
His Pantry, Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales
238 West Main St. Bennington, VT
Joan’s Food Pantry
Methodist Church, Rt. 63, Chesterfield, NH
802-442-3141
603-363-8856
Saturday 9am - 1pm or by emergency
Deerfield Valley Food Pantry
802-464-9675
802-368-2942
802-824-6453
Third Saturday, 9–11 a.m.; Thursday before the third
Saturday, 1–3 p.m.
Third Friday, 1–4 p.m.
802-874-7234
Last Wednesday of the month, 6-8 p.m.
802-387-2120
Tues 6-7, Sat 9-10
802-365-4348
Thurs (except 1st) 5-6:30pm
Second Congregational Church UCC,
Londonderry
Jamaica/Wardsboro Community Food Pantry
Putney Community Food Shelf
10 Christian Square, Putney VT
Townshend Community Food shelf
60 Common Rd., Townshend, VT
WINDOW & AWNING, LLC
185 Island Street, Keene 352-1932
www.carboneswindowandawning.com
Design-a-Plate returns
to Brooks library
BRATTLEBORO — The
30th annual Design-a-Plate
workshop will be held on Friday,
Oct. 21, at Brooks Memorial
Library.
Stop in any time between 10
a.m. and 4 p.m. to make a 10inch melamine plate, 20-ounce
melamine bowl, or both. Each
item costs $6. Cash and checks
made out to Brooks Memorial
Library are accepted. Plates and
bowls will be ready for pickup in
early December, just in time for
holiday gift giving.
Design-a-Plate is great for
children of all ages and a fun
measure of your child’s changes
through the years. Some favorite
design ideas include tracing your
child’s hand and writing his/her
name and the date; making a special plate for a family member or
pet; or marking a special event of
the past year.
The workshop will be held
in the Meeting Room on the
top floor of Brooks Memorial
Library. For more information,
call the Children’s Room at 802254-5290, ext. 110, or visit www.
brooks.lib.vt.us, and click on the
Children’s Room.
SWE E T C O R N
PI C KE D DAI LY !
F a l l R a s pb e r r i e s
& Peaches
Brattleboro ~ Bellows Falls ~ Norwich
Wilmington ~ Keene, NH
Storm & Vinyl, Entry Systems
New construction & Replacements
New Screen & Glass Made
Plex-e-Glas & Lexan • Decorative Glass
PUTNEY — The October
Senior Luncheon at the Putney
Cares Activities Barn takes place
on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at noon.
On the menu this month is
chicken stew, herb biscuits,
pumpkin pie, and coffee and
tea. Locally produced food is
served whenever possible for
these lunches.
Call 802-387-5593 or email
them at putneycares@svcable.
net with your reservation, or
if you would like to volunteer.
Sponsored by Putney Cares
Board and The Council on
Aging.
OUR OWN
Publication of this list underwritten by
Windows
BELLOWS FALLS — Our
Place Drop-in Center is now
collecting bowls and auction
items for its 14th annual benefit
Empty Bowl dinner and auctions Sunday, Nov. 6, at Alyson’s
Orchard in Walpole, N.H.
“Gather and Share” is the
theme of this year’s soup supper
event that begins at 5 p.m. with
an auction preview and social
hour. A highlight of the event
is each attendee’s selection of a
handmade bowl to take home as
a reminder of those who struggle
to put food on the family table.
Proceeds of the dinner go
towards supporting the food
programs of Our Place, which
include a food shelf, a daily
breakfast and lunch, and nutrition education.
The oldest such event in the
area, the Our Place Empty Bowl
has been a major fundraiser for
the food shelf and daytime shelter. Potters from all over the state
have donated handmade bowls,
and local restaurants and other
food preparers have prepared
soups and other food items for
the event. In addition, local
Senior lunch served
at Putney Cares
1-800-222-6016
www.therichardsgrp.com
Hybrid & Heirloom Tomatoes
Apples & Fresh Cider
Eggplant • Green Beans
Red, Green, & Yellow Peppers
Lettuce • Herbs • Potatoes
The Tri-state region’s premier center for jazz.
Pumpkins • Gourds • Winter Squash
S a t u r d a y, M a r c h 1 3 t h a t 8 p M OUR OWN FRESH
S a t u r d a y, M a r c h 1 3 t h a t 8 p M
Saturday,
October 15th at 8 pm
Fresh Fruit Pies • Bread • Fudge
Whirrr!
The
Music
of
Jimmy
Giuffre
Maple
& Black Raspberry Creamies
Whirrr!
The Music
of Jimmy
Kenny
Barron
TrioGiuffre
with The Harrison/Schuller
with The Sextet
Harrison/Schuller Sextet A Fine Selection of Local Cheeses
at
the
Latchis
Theater
featuring Marty Ehrlich & Cameron Brown
Fresh Cut Flowers • Corn Stalks
featuring
Marty
Ehrlich
& Cameron Brown
An NEA
Jazz
Master,
a living
legend,
Masterful
improvising
and killer
arrangements
Fall Mums
one of the
finest jazz
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and killer arrangements
in the world.
www.duttonberryfarm.com
O P E N DA I LY 9 A M –7 P M
72 C otton M ill H ill
B r attleBoro, Vt 05301
o ff e xit 1, i nterstate 91
www.vtjazz.org
(802) 254-9088
Route 30,
Newfane
802-365-4168
Route 9,
West Brattleboro
802-254-0254
Routes 11/30,
Manchester
802-362-3083
T h e C ommons
NEWS
• Wednesday, October 12, 2011 A5
VY begins refueling, maintenance outage
VERNON—Control room
operators began removing the
Vermont Yankee nuclear power
station from service on Saturday
night to begin its 29th refueling
and maintenance outage.
The refueling, which will cost
$92 million, including labor,
maintenance and fuel, involves
replacing about one-third of the
plant’s fuel rods, or about 116
assemblies.
Fuel rods must be replaced
every 18 months, and spent fuel
rods are stored at the plant.
Workers will also perform
various maintenance activities,
tests, and inspections on plant
equipment that runs throughout the operating cycle. Nearly
1,000 additional workers will
be brought in from around the
country, according to a press
release from the plant’s owner,
Louisiana-based Entergy Corp.
Plant officials said the shutdown marks “the completion of
Whitingham
Historical Society to
hold annual meeting
WHITINGHAM — The
Whitingham Historical Society
will hold its annual meeting on
Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m.,
in the Jacksonville Municipal
Center.
Howard Coffin, well-known
Vermont author and historian
of the Civil War, will present a
program called “Vermont and
the Civil War.” As our nation
marks the 150th anniversary
of the beginning of that war,
Vermont families recall stories
of their forebears who fought at
Gettysburg and other famous
battlegrounds, of triumphs and
disasters, and hardships borne
by families at home in Vermont.
Anyone who has diaries, letters or records that shed light
on Vermonters’ roles in the
war effort and sites in Vermont
where supporting activities were
carried out, is urged to bring
them to share at the meeting.
The program has been designated a Vermont Humanities
Council event. All are welcome,
admission is free and the building is handicapped-accessible.
Refreshments will be served.
For more information, call Betsy
McKinley at 802-368-2376.
African supper in West
Brattleboro raises
funds for youth trip
the plant’s 29th operating cycle
in which the plant again demonstrated its value as a safe and reliable electricity supplier to New
England consumers.”
But, depending on the outcome of a lawsuit now in U.S.
District Court, it could be
the last refueling cycle for the
38-year-old plant.
Attorneys for Entergy filed
suit against Vermont in federal
court in April. The corporation
claimed the state’s regulation of
VY infringed on the authority
of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) as the sole
regulator of nuclear safety.
Entergy purchased the
38-year-old nuclear plant in
Vernon in 2002. The plant needs
a federal-issued license and
a state-issued Certificate of
Public Good (CPG) to operate
in Vermont.
VY’s current federal operating license expires March 2012.
In March, the NRC renewed
the license so the plant can run
until 2032.
Last year, however, under Act
160, the state Senate voted 26-4
to deny VY a CPG hearing, effectively closing the plant’s docket
before the PSB.
During trial testimony last
month in Brattleboro for the federal lawsuit, the state’s legal team
claimed that a host of different
concerns unrelated to nuclear
safety issues — such as a deep
mistrust of Entergy and misstatements by employees about
the existence of underground
pipes that leaked tritium into
groundwater — motivated the
Legislature to vote against VY’s
continued operation.
Entergy made the decision
to go ahead with the refueling
despite U.S. District Judge J.
Garvan Murtha’s ruling in July to
deny the corporation a preliminary injunction to keep VY open
while the lawsuit wends its way
through the federal court system.
In his ruling, Murtha wrote
that Entergy failed to make the
case that it would suffer irreparable harm if it had to delay the
refueling outage while waiting for
the case to be resolved.
Murtha wrote that the decision to refuel is “a business decision made very difficult by the
uncertainties of litigation.”
It is not, however, harmful, he
wrote, “if Entergy prevails on the
merits, or it is not a cognizable
injury if Vermont’s statutes are
upheld. This may present a dilemma, but it does not constitute irreparable harm that can
be resolved by a preliminary
injunction.”
Company officials sought the
preliminary injunction because
they said they didn’t want to
buy more fuel unless they could
use it.
The decision to go ahead
with the refueling was seen as
a sign that Entergy believes it
has a good chance of winning
the lawsuit, either on pre-emption grounds or on the merits
of the case.
If Entergy wins on a factual or
pre-emption basis, and the court
grants a permanent injunction,
then the state can appeal the case
at the Second Circuit Court in
New York City.
Temporary bridge on Route 30 now open
AOT also reopens segment of Route 100 in Readsboro
JAMAICA—The Vermont
Agency of Transportation
(AOT) opened a temporary
bridge on Oct. 7 along Route
30 in Jamaica Village.
The new structure restores
the community’s vital traffic
link north towards Manchester
and Route 7, and south toward
Brattleboro and Interstate 91.
The bridge was originally
scheduled to open on Oct. 15,
but construction crews were
able to accelerate work so that
it could be ready in time for the
Columbus Day weekend.
Route 30 was severed when
Tropical Storm Irene washed
away a nearly 150-foot-long
bridge on the site. Local traffic
was able to detour around the
washed-out bridge location,
but the detour was not suitable for commercial vehicles or
other large vehicles like motor
coaches or RVs.
The temporary bridge allows all vehicles weighing up to
80,000 pounds to use Route 30
without restriction.
The bridge was one of four
state highway bridges in the
town closed by the storm.
The only impediment remains along Route 100, where
the agency is erecting a temporary bridge scheduled to open
later this month.
AOT also announced late
last week that the 4-mile stretch
of Route 100 that runs from
Readsboro to Heartwellville has
been reopened. This segment
of Route 100, which connects
Route 100 to Route 8, reopens
the primary route between the
Deerfield Valley and North
Adams, Mass.
AOT officials warn that parts
of that route remain gravel and
more work will be needed before the road is returned to
normal.
Construction crews remain
out in force throughout stormdamaged areas in southern
Vermont, doing work such as
paving, repairing guard rail,
unplugging culverts, and conducting a host of other highway repairs.
Questions regarding stormdamaged roads and bridges related to Tropical Storm Irene
can be answered by calling
AOT’s Irene Storm Center at
1-800-Vermont. People may
also visit the AOT website (www.
aot.state.vt.us), where they can
sign up for travel updates for
their mobile phone, and follow
Frank Fedele/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
the agency’s progress on both One of the three state highway bridges in Jamaica damaged by the powerful
Facebook and Twitter.
flooding from Tropical Storm Irene.
Governor: Oct. 22 is ‘Vermont Clean Up Day’
Gov. Peter Shumlin has deShumlin said Clean Up Day a project in one of the affected who lost their homes and belong- Up Day projects, much as they
clared Oct. 22 the first-ever will signal an aggressive single- communities, or organize a vol- ings get reestablished.
do for the anti-litter Green Up
‘Vermont Clean Up Day’ in- day push for financial donations unteer effort in your town if you
“The last several weeks have Day event. He said the need for
WEST BRATTLEBORO — spired by the generosity of for Irene recovery, coordinate are aware of a need. In addition shown that we Vermonters have help providing everything from
All Souls Unitarian Universalist Vermonters helping the state re- volunteers with communities to volunteer labor, skilled la- a natural instinct to help our food to furniture, to mucking
Church is hosting an East cover from Tropical Storm Irene. that need help cleaning up from borers such as plumbers, elec- neighbors,” said Lt. Gov. Phil out basements and clearing deAfrican Supper on Saturday,
Modeled on its springtime sis- the storm, and allow people to tricians, and heavy equipment Scott. “This statewide clean up bris, and much more has never
Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. as a fund- ter event – Green Up Day – the donate to specific families who operators who are willing to do- day will lend some organizational been greater.
Since
raiser for the Brattleboro Area newly created Clean Up Day will were impacted by Irene. In funate their time on this one day support to help those who have
“I hope that all Vermonters
Interfaith Youth Group’s mission ensure all Vermont families and ture years, the event will become
needed.
the greatest need. With just a will participate in this special
194are
6
trip to Kenya next spring and as a communities impacted by the a way to help all Vermonters in
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or through hand count."
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For Vermont Clean Up Day your local
volunteer coordinator
Shumlin said he hopes busi- do a little it will mean a lot to
of cancer on Sept. 25 at age 71. thank you for everyone’s out- 2011 on October 22nd, there or food shelf. This list and your nesses, communities, individuals, those in need.”
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woman around the world to plant would sustain but all of us knew rebuilding
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more than 30 million trees to that
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Cut once
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energy
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year…
help improve the environment would all join together to begin
• Sign up to volunteer on
installing
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by stopping desertification.
theby
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and even- more
Clean Up Day by joining a volBuderus
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unteer
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Call
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Brattleboro,
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from five different churches in
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Windham County, accompanied
Wall-Hung
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by seven adults, will learn firstCut
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costs
this
year…
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hand in Kenya about the Green
Depot St. Brattleboro, VT
Direct Vent
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in Maathai’s Boiler
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NEWS
A6
T h e C ommons
Conference on responsible AIDS Project seeks memorabilia to highlight 25 years
fatherhood to be held Nov. 1 BRATTLEBORO—In ad- APSV would also welcome as the community. They have nonperishables? What about
The Vermont Fatherhood
Initiative will host its first statewide conference on Responsible
Fathering at the Vermont
Statehouse on Tuesday, Nov.
1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A brochure/registration form can be
found at this link; www.vnacares.
org/fatherhood.
The conference will feature
keynote speaker John Laing. He
is a father, businessman, and
consultant to the Massachusetts
Department of Children and
Families. Welcoming the assembled will be Gov. Peter Shumlin
and Vermont Supreme Coury
Chief Justice Paul Reiber. The
day will include workshops for
fathers and those serving fathers
and families in Vermont.
The Vermont Fatherhood
Initiative is a fledgling group of
dedicated volunteers made up
of parents, professionals and
concerned citizens who believe
fathers count and that responsible fathering is an essential part
of healthy child development.
Organizers say the event is a way
to come together to talk about
how to strengthen families by
uplifting fatherhood.
The body of research documenting the benefits of responsible fathering shows:
• When fathers are positively
involved, younger children display increased exploration of
the world around them and
greater tolerance of stress and
frustration.
• Older children display increased academic performance.
• With increased non-custodial
father engagement, children in
foster care return to kin more often, foster care stays are shorter
and fewer, and there are fewer
child abuse/neglect allegations.
• Delinquent behaviors lessen
proportionate to how much time
non-custodial father spends with
the youth.
• On the other side, children
in fatherless homes are five times
more likely to be in poverty, and
three times more likely to be
incarcerated.
The short term goals of the
VFI are to map current services
across Vermont, identify best
practices and initiate strategies
to foster the propagation of more
services for fathers that promote
greater positive involvement and
more responsible fathering.
For more information about
the event, contact state Rep.
Mike Mrowicki at mmrowicki@
leg.state.vt.us.
Got an opinion?
(Of course you do!
You’re from
Windham County!)
Got something on your mind? Send contributions (500 words
or fewer strongly recommended) to editor@commonsnews.org;
the deadline is Friday to be considered for next week’s paper.
When space is an issue, we give priority to words that have
not yet appeared elsewhere.
vance of its 25th anniversary
elebration in 2012, the AIDS
Project of Southern Vermont
(APSV) is seeking photographs,
artifacts, and memories created
over the years.
Former Board members, volunteers, clients, and
staff are particularly invited
to go through albums and
files and send along any pictures, posters, and other print
and electronic depictions of
APSV’s important work in the
community.
1-3 minute video clips of people
sharing experiences and memories for use in stories they’ll be
sharing via public access TV,
community radio, and the web.
Taking this opportunity to
self-assess, APSV also is seeking feedback from all community members about the value
of the organization’s various
programs and services.
The APSV Board of
Directors is interested in how
people value their work, both
as it affects individuals as well
BRATTLEBORO—The
Brattleboro Recreation & Parks
Department offers the following programs this fall. If more
information is needed, or if any
special needs are required, call
802-254-5808, or stop by the
Recreation & Parks Department
office at the Gibson-Aiken
Center, 207 Main St.
Baton twirling
classes
• Baton twirling classes will be
held at the Gibson-Aiken Center
on Thursdays, beginning on Oct.
20, for eight weeks, from 5:30 to
6:30 p.m. The cost of the eightweek program is $55 for residents and $70 for non-residents.
Baton twirling is great for improving hand-eye coordination,
self confidence, rhythm, teamwork and ambidexterity. Classes
are open to girls and boys ages 3
and up. All students are invited
to participate in performances
such as local parades and shows.
Class instructors are Lynda
Lawrence, who is the director
of the Brattleboro Area Baton
Twirlers, and assistant instructor Alison Cornellier.
Exotic Thai Cuisine
The Far East Just
Got a Little Closer!
7 High Street
Brattleboro, VT
(802) 251-1010
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Toddler – Preschool Lead Teacher
Looking for a full-time enthusiastic team player to join
our inclusive, NAEYC-accredited early education center.
Qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree or higher, early
education or related field preferred. For more information
visit our website at www.winstonprouty.org.
Interested candidates should send a letter of interest,
resume and names of three references
by October 17, 2011 to:
Alissa Bourque, The Winston Prouty Center
20 Winston Prouty Way
Brattleboro, VT 05301
alissa@winstonprouty.org
Fax 802-258-2413
No phone calls please. EOE
their HIV Prevention programs
for gay and bisexual men and
for women at risk?
The survey — to be completed anonymously — is
available online at http://
www.surveymonkey.com/s/
VM9BPB2, or in print format by calling Karen at 802254-4444. The first analysis
of results will be done in early
November, so it community
members are asked to complete
the survey by Nov. 1.
Recreation & Parks Dept. lists programs
Open Gym and
Game Room
• The Open Gym and Game
Room will begin Oct. 17 and
last through April 28, 2012. The
weekly schedule is as follows:
Monday: 3-5 p.m. for grades
K-6, Tuesday: 2:45-5 p.m. for
grades 7-12, Wednesday: 3-5
p.m. for grades K-6, Thursday:
2:45-5 p.m. for grades 7-12,
Friday: 3-5 p.m. for grades K-6,
Saturday: 1-4 p.m. for grades
7-12 and adults. When there is
no school, Open Gym is from
1:30-5 p.m. for all ages.
This is a free, supervised program and a great way to spend
time after school. Come and play
with your children, or leave them
in the care of the Recreation &
Parks staff. The gym is closed
Sundays and some holidays.
Open Gym is for recreation
basketball, so sneakers must
be worn on the gym floor. The
Game Room is open for bumper pool, foosball, ping pong,
and air hockey. Other activities
during Open Gym include a
homework and snack area, arts
and crafts, board games, Chess,
Legos, and books.
Fitness bootcamp
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an online survey where people
can quickly answer a few questions and give them ideas about
our work.
What is most important to
you about the Project? Is it
that they are a resource for
people living with HIV/AIDS
and making sure they have
access to such resources as
medical care and housing? Is
it their collaboration with the
Vermont Foodbank in providing free meals, meats, vegetables, dairy products and
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• Another session of
Brattleboro Bootcamp begins on
Oct. 17. Brattleboro Bootcamp is
a community-based, high energy
workout and wellness program
that specializes in rapid fat loss,
muscle toning, sports improvement, stress management, and a
food plan for life.
All fitness levels are welcome.
Each training will be taught
by local fitness expert Trisha
Selbach, CPT. Fitbody online
nutrition/ coaching with Lisa
Dumont, BSc. CPT.
The program will be offered
Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays from 6:15-7:15 a.m. at
the Gibson-Aiken Center for
ages 17 and up. This session will
go for 13 weeks. The cost is $297
for residents (unlimited sessions)
and $317 for non-residents. A
drop-in session costs $15.
Chess Club
per night. Game boards will be improving balance without havprovided.
ing to learn a set of forms.
The T’ai Chi Ch’uan course
Kung Fu
begins with basic opening and
• Running Fist Kung Class stretching exercises (Qi Gong)
begins Oct. 17. The program is necessary to obtain full benefit of
being held at the Gibson-Aiken T’ai Chi Ch’uan practice. From
Center in the Blue Room on the preparatory exercises the
Monday and Wednesday eve- class moves into the study of the
nings from 6 to 8 p.m. You may Yang style long form of T’ai Chi
register at any time and join the Ch’uan. The class includes corclass.
rect body alignments, balanced
Sifu Lew Henderson, the in- movements and martial applicastructor, has studied martial arts tions of the forms.
for 37 years, and is also a Charter
ChiMotion will be offered
Member of the American Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m.,
Federation of Martial Arts.
while T’ai Chi Ch’uan will be ofRunning Fist Kung Fu is an fered Tuesdays from 6:45-7:45
eclectic style of Kung Fu that is p.m. Both classes take place at
taught through a series of con- the Gibson-Aiken Center. The
cepts rather than a technical cost of each program is assessed
approach of martial arts. This ap- monthly: $60.00 for residents
proach ensures that the student and $80.00 for non-residents.
can easily adapt to the variables
The instuctor, Joey Carroll,
of a given situation. The goal has been studying T’ai Chi
is to help the student develop Ch’uan and Qigong for over 20
spiritually, mentally, and physi- years. For more information,
cally so that he or she can read- contact Carroll at 802-380-9170.
ily adapt to many challenges of
everyday life.
Adult co-ed
The classes are run as month- volleyball
to-month lessons and are $85 per
• Adult co-ed volleyball will be
month for residents and $105 offered on Thursday evenings
for non-residents. Classes run at the Gibson-Aiken Center,
through the end of April 2012. second floor gym, from 6 to 8
For information and registra- p.m. Mike White will provide
tion, contact Henderson at 802- instruction for the eight-week
365-4514 or RunninFstMonk@ program. This session will beaol.com.
gin on Oct. 20 and run Dec. 15.
The cost of the session is $20 for
Tai Chi
Brattleboro residents and $40 for
C h i M o t i o n & T ’ a i C h i non-residents.
Ch’uan begins Tuesday, Oct.
White will give guidance and
18. ChiMotiton is an exercise instruction throughout the length
routine based on the core body of the program. The program
mechanics, energies and move- is for all levels of players who
ments of T’ai Chi Ch’uan and want to gain knowledge, experiQigong. It’s an easy, fun way to ence and improve on their game.
learn how to move and breathe in Sneakers must be worn in order
a natural, healthy manner while to participate.
Girls on the Run
Vermont seeks
coaches for
Spring 2012 season
• The Chess Club will meet in
the Gibson-Aiken Center Senior
Center on Wednesdays, from 6-9
VERNON—If you could help
p.m., beginning Oct. 19, and gonot just one girl, but 15 young
ing until April 18, 2012.
This program is for ages 16 girls, gain a stronger sense of
and up. The cost is $1 per person identity, greater self-acceptance,
a healthier body, and an understanding of what it means to be
part of a community in just a few
hours a week, would you?
Girls on the Run Vermont is
802-258-3962
seeking volunteer coaches at new
and established sites throughout
the state to run its 10-week proBook
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Sitework
FREE
ESTIMATES
schools may establish sites for
Septic
Systems
David Manning
the 2012 season.
103 Frost
Place,Construction
P.O. Box 276
Utility
& Road
Girls on the Run is the umBrattleboro, VT. 05302 Fax: 802-257-2617
General Sitework
brella
organization for two expeDavid Manning
riential learning programs: Girls
103 Frost Place, Brattleboro, VT
on the Run, for grades 3 through
5, and Girls on Track, for grades
6 through 8. The programs
are offered during after school
hours nationwide and incorporate training for a 3.1-mile run/
walk into self-esteem-enhancing,
uplifting workouts. In addition,
each group performs a community service project.
Throughout, Girls on the Run
encourages positive emotional,
social, and physical development, together with the recognition that each girl is part of a
larger community. Each site will
be provided with a detailed curriculum. Each 90-minute lesson in the curriculum includes
a “getting on board” exercise, a
warm-up activity, a stretch routine with question and answer
time, a workout with a team
goal, a cool-down and stretch,
and a closing cheer or words of
encouragement. In 2011, some
2,400 girls around the state took
part in the program.
“When young girls are put in
a comfortable environment, one
where they feel safe and encouraged, they thrive,” said Nancy
Heydinger, executive director of
Girls on the Run Vermont. “This
is what I see over and over in our
participants. They see themselves succeed — by their own
standards — and see themselves
in a new light. Self-confidence
drives so many other changes.
A girl who believes in herself becomes more outgoing and more
willing to take healthy risks.”
In fact, a national impact evaluation study determined that the
Girls on the Run curriculum positively affects participants’ selfesteem, body size satisfaction,
and physical activity behaviors.
One Vermont father said of his
daughter’s experience with the
program, “My daughter Sydney
was so pleased that she ran the
entire Girls on the Run 5k without stopping to walk. It is by far
one of the proudest accomplishments in her young life. I feel
strongly that because of GOTR,
Sydney knows that if she puts her
mind to it, she can do anything
she wants.”
And the mother of another
participant said, “I was jumping up and down and crying as I
watched her cross the finish line.
Her coach and a classmate (who
happens to be a very strong runner) stayed with her, encouraging her, the entire run. Molly has
a new self confidence and ‘I can
do it!’ outlook on life thanks to
the Girls on the Run program.”
Coaches come from a variety of backgrounds — teachers,
nurses, guidance counselors,
principals, paraprofessionals,
parents and community members. A minimum of two coaches
is needed at each site; individuals may serve in either a head or
an assistant coach capacity. All
coaches must attend a free training session.
Coach training sessions will be
held in various locations around
the state and require pre-registration. An “early bird” training is
scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12,
in Berlin; nine more trainings are
slated for January and February.
For detailed information
about coaching, establishing
a new site, or registering for a
training, as well as a list of the
2011 site locations, visit www.
girlsontherunvermont.org, or
find them on Facebook.
T h e C ommons
NEWS
• Wednesday, October 12, 2011 MILESTONES
Births, deaths, and news of people from Windham County
$119,000
Editor’s note: The Commons
will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham
County and others, on request, as
community news, free of charge.
Hinsdale, N.H.
Died April 3 in
Erving, Mass.,
after a long courageous battle
with mental illness. Brother of
Janelle Barrett, Trevor P. Lang,
and Jacob M. Harris. Born in
Keene, N.H., son of Sandra J.
(Robarge) and Gene M. Lang,
he graduated from Hinsdale
High School, Class of 1997. He
had worked for Erving Paper
Co. as an oiler mechanic. He
had also worked at the Vermont
Bread Co. as a mechanic. He
also served in the Army. He was
an avid reader of literature, and
loved all types of history. He
enjoyed hiking the Long Trail
and Appalachian Trail. He was
talented with his hands, and
would buy junked motorcycles
and rebuild them to showroom
condition. He liked to ride his
bicycle and rode one time to
Maine. He was an avid swimmer and loved to run. He was
a complex man and gentle soul,
with great love for his family.
Memorial information : A
memorial service was held Oct.
9 at Stonewall Farm in Keene.
Donations to The National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill/
New Hampshire (NAMINH) 15
Green St. Concord, NH. 03301.
• A l i n e
D i a n e
Martin, 83,
of Brattleboro.
Died Oct. 3
at Brattleboro
Memorial
Hospital. Wife
of the late Edward W. “Bub”
Martin for 51 years. Mother of
Diane Corey and her husband,
Douglas, of Salisbury, Cindy
Foster of Brattleboro, Richard
Martin of Baltimore, Vt., and
Dean Martin of Milton. Sister
of Frank Bald of Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla., and Louis Bald of Bristol,
Conn. Born at home on the family farm in Stanton, Quebec, the
second to the youngest of 12
children to the late and Louise
(Laventure) Bald, she was raised
and educated in Stanton. A resident of Brattleboro for almost
60 years, she was a nurse’s aide
at the former Linden Lodge
Nursing Home, retiring in
1993 after 20 years of service.
Previously, she performed private duty care in the Brattleboro
area. She was steadfast in her
walk of faith and her daily worship was important to her. She
was a member of the Kingdom
Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in
Brattleboro. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting, her cats, and
time shared with her family,
especially her grandchildren.
memorial service was conducted
Oct. 9 at the Kingdom Hall in
West Brattleboro. Messages
of condolence may be sent to
Atamaniuk Funeral Home at
www.atamaniuk.com.
• Ja n e H wa P u (a l s o
known as Ching Ying Pu),
97, of Brattleboro. Died Oct. 5 at
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
Wife of the late Hung-Ki Pu.
Mother of Sung-Wen Chang,
Ching-Wen Taylor, Robert
and Glen Pu, and the late WeiWen Chang. Born in Guiyang,
HS103A 28x28
Approx.
1531 sq. ft.
Price Reduced to
99,000
$
• M o n a
Amelia Duke,
82, a resident at
• Corey
M i c h a e l
L a n g, 3 2 , of
The Bedford
Two-Story by Pennwest
Obituaries
Charlene Manor
Nursing Home
in Greenfield,
Mass., and a
former resident of Brattleboro. Died Oct.
5 at the Farren Care Center
in Greenfield. Former wife of
Alderic Bourbeau. Wife of the
late Robert Duke. Mother of
Stephen Bourbeau of Greenfield.
Sister of David Markley, Judy
Vidor, and the late Ronald
Markley. Born in Veazie, Maine,
daughter of the late Wilbur
and Annie (Doane) Markley,
she was raised and educated
in Greenfield and was a graduate of Greenfield High School,
Class of 1947. She was a faithful and devoted homemaker
and mother whose life centered
around her family. She played
golf for many years and was a former member of the Brattleboro
Country Club. She also enjoyed
reading, jigsaw puzzles and classical music. Memorial information : Graveside committal
services were held Oct. 7 in
Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery in
Brattleboro. Donations to Rescue
Inc. P.O. Box 593, Brattleboro,
VT 05302. Messages of condolence may be sent to Atamaniuk
Funeral Home at www.atamaniuk.com.
A7
Display Home Only
Some Features
• 5/12 Roof Pitch • 80# Roof Load
• Rafters 16” On Center • Ice Shield
• Prep for Hot Water Base Board Heat
Stubbed through Floor
• 90” Bay Window
• (2) Additional Windows in LR
• 29x40 Temp. Bath Window
• Kitchen Design
• Black Appliance Package
• Drapery Throughout
• Laminate Floor in Foyer
• Vinyl Floor in Master Bath
To order this home as shown
(Includes delivery, crane, and set on your foundation)
Fineline Homes
The Housing Specialists Since 1969
Route 119, Hinsdale, NH - 603-256-3156
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 to 5; Sat. 9 to 4; Closed Sun.
www.finelinehomes.net
Courtesy photo
Former state Sen. Robert T. Gannett of
Brattleboro is the 2011 recipient of the Anna
Marsh Award from the Brattleboro Retreat.
Awards
• The Brattleboro Retreat
recently bestowed the 2011
Anna Marsh Award to former state Sen. Rober t T.
Gannett . The Anna Marsh
Award was established by the
Brattleboro Retreat in 2009 to
recognize individuals for their
advocacy on behalf of people
with mental illness. Gannett
served on the Brattleboro
Retreat Board of Trustees
from 1967 to 1981.
Gannett graduated from
Harvard College in 1939
and Harvard Law School in
1942. He came to Brattleboro
with his wife, Sarah Alden
Derby Gannett, in 1946 after completing four years of
military service in the Army.
Guizhou, China, daughter of
the late Wen-chi Hwa and Tsunlan Hsieh, she led a remarkable
and sometimes adventurous life.
She came from a well-known
and respected Guiyang family, renowned for managing the
salt monopoly first in Sichuan
and then in Guizhou, establishing the Wentong Press (one of
seven major presses in the nation), the Yongfeng paper mill,
and developing the famous
Maotai liquor distillery — used
to this day in China to celebrate official and other important events. In 1944, as World
War II was winding down, her
husband, an educator, scholar
and gifted linguist, left China
for graduate study in the U.S.
In 1949, with China in the turmoil of civil war, Mrs. Pu and her
three daughters made their way
to Hong Kong and from there
took a ship to the United States
to rejoin her husband in New
York, who had by then become
a Chinese-Russian translator
for the United Nations. During
these years, their two sons were
born, and she devoted herself
principally to raising their five
children. After her husband retired, she moved to Brattleboro,
where their son Robert and his
family lived. They spent the
rest of their lives enjoying life
in Vermont and cooking wonderful feasts for their children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren whenever they visited.
private memorial service was
held at the Atamaniuk Funeral
Home on Oct. 8. Donations to
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
or Brattleboro Area Hospice.
• John Paul
Suskawicz,
90, of Hinsdale,
N.H. Died Sept.
30 at home.
Husband
of Felicia
(Matuszewski)
Suskawicz for 63 years. Father
of Janice Nichols of Westbrook,
Maine, and Donna Suskawicz
of Boston. Brother of Paul,
Jr., Alexander and Ignatius
Suskawicz, and Ann Donley.
Born in Hempstead, N.Y., son of
Paul and Mary (Poly) Suskawicz,
who immigrated to the United
States from Russia. As a teenager during the Depression,
he worked with the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC)
and traveled around the country
working on construction projects, including the Surry Dam
in New Hampshire. He enjoyed
boxing and participated in the
Golden Gloves Tournament
at Madison Square Garden in
He became a member of the
Vermont state bar in 1947
and has been a practicing
lawyer for more than 60
years. Gannett represented
Brattleboro in the Vermont
House of Representatives from
1953 to 1959, and Windham
County in the Vermont Senate
from 1973 to 1992.
He has served as a corporator and past president
of Brattleboro Memorial
Hospital; director of National
Life Insurance Co.; director of the United Way of
Windham County; and trustee
of the Vermont Community
Foundation. In addition to his
involvement with these and
many other organizations, he
has been an avid golfer, fisherman and fan of the Boston
Red Sox.
New York City. Served in the
Navy during World War II in
the South Pacific. He was a talented artist and, after the war,
received a scholarship to attend
the Vesper George School of Art
in Boston. Marriage and family
delayed his artistic pursuits, but
he continued to paint throughout his life, and was well known
for his paintings of local covered
bridges and historic buildings.
He worked for many years at the
Hinsdale Paper Mill and later as
a pressman at the Book Press in
Brattleboro. He was a skilled gardener and produced a bountiful
vegetable garden each year. He
participated in the Brattleboro
Farmers’ Market for many years.
He also created a Christmas
Tree farm and frequently donated Christmas trees during
the holidays to families who
were less fortunate. Throughout
his life, he was a lover of nature
and animals. M emorial information : Graveside committal rites with full military
honors were held Oct. 6 at St.
Joseph’s Cemetery in Hinsdale.
Donations to Brigham House/
Zola Center for Persons with
Disabilities, 20 Hartford St.,
Newton, MA 02461. Messages
of condolence may be sent to
Atamaniuk Funeral Home at
www.atamaniuk.com.
Births
• In Brattleboro (Memorial
Hospital), Sept. 27, 2011, a
daughter, Lucy Elizabeth
Nims , to Dawn (Descant) and
Jonny Nims of Brattleboro;
granddaughter to Ken and
Lorraine Nims and Gene and
Debbie Descant.
• In San Francisco, Calif.,
Aug. 21, 2011, a daughter,
Bryher Elowen Lake Burtis,
to Jennifer Thomas and Patrick
Burtis; granddaughter of Jack
Thomas of Sanibel, Fla., and
Richard and Irene Burtis of
Brattleboro.
A News Contest for
Vermont Middle Schools
This fall, Vermont middle schoolers are taking part in a
statewide project to gather news in their communities
and create their own ‘front page.’ It’s an exciting,
community-focused project co-sponsored by VPT
and newspapers across the state.
Nov. 7-11 is
“news gathering week,”
so hurry!
To get your middle school class involved:
Visit: www.vpt.org
email: outreach@vpt.org
call: 800-639-3351
Hope to see your stories
on the front page!
Co-sponsored by VPT, The Commons,
and newspapers statewide.
A8
T h e C ommons
Windham Regional
Career Center
Community Education
and Training Programs
Fall 2011
MANUFACTURING
Toolingu.com – On-Line Manufacturing Training
Tuesday, November 8, 5:00 to 7:00, Instructor: Amy Anthony
Come learn about Toolingu.com, the leading online training provider focused on the unique needs of
manufacturers. Toolingu.com has developed an extensive catalog of manufacturing-specific content and
innovative learning tools to help workers bolster their expertise and leverage their skills to succe ssfully
compete in today’s economy. Toolingu.com trains workers through a range of carefully integrated online
learning tools. The courses tie the online curriculum to matching hands-on tasks that put the theory into
practice. Seats for this on-line program are $100 for a two month session with a possible extension, including
any hands-on labs. Students work at their own pace at home and will come into the Career Center for handson labs a few times during the session.
HEALTH CAREERS
American Red Cross Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA)
Course starts Monday, October 24 through December 20, $1,525, Instructor: Stacy Chickering, LPN
Classes will be held at the Windham Career Center.
This course certifies nursing assistants for work in the healthcare environment. Successful completion of the
course enables participants to take the state competency examination for state licensure. This 120 hour
program includes classroom, laboratory, and clinical practicum. Certification in adult CPR and AED a re
included in the LNA Program. Registration is required. Call 603- 313-3604 for additional information and
registration. A limited number of partial scholarships are available for individuals currently working in
the healthcare field through the Next Generation Grant from the Vermont Department of Labor. Call
802-451-3965 for more financial aid information.
802-451-3965
www.wrccvt.com
Thriving With Adult ADHD
Thursday, October 27, 6:00 to 9:00, 3 hours, $30, Instructor: Sue Venman
Are you easily distracted, prone to mood swings and have problems with procrastination and disorganization?
You may have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is more difficult to diagnose in adults.
Symptoms are often disguised as difficulties in relationships, occupational underachievement and low
frustration tolerance. It can be a frustrating disorder to live with – but you can learn to manage it successfully.
In this informative course, Susan Venman, an ADHD coach and professional organizer, will talk about the keys
to successfully managing your ADHD along with identifying ADHD in yourself and others; understanding what
causes ADHD and how it is diagnosed; developing an 8-Step individualized program for managing ADHD; and
addressing issues of procrastination, time management and disorganization.
Organizing 1-2-3
Thursdays, November 3, 10 and 17, 6:00 to 8:00, 6 hours, $60, Instructor: Sue Venman
Is your life buried under a mountain of mail? Does your to-do list look like a sad attempt at the great American
novel? This 3-week course teaches you simple, straightforward strategies for de-cluttering and organizing
your home and office. Sue Venman of Breathing Space: Home & Office Organizing (www.breathingspace.com) will offer steps to create a space that WORKS FOR YOU. We will deal with issues including
handling paper, paring down rather than piling up, organizing other people, improving home and offic e layout
and how to maintain the progress that you have made.
Over 300 On-Line Courses!!
Go to: www.wrccvt.com
Click on On-Line Instruction Center on the left to view the entire catalog.
CAREER TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
ON-LINE LEARNING COURSES
ServSafe Certification Training for Food Service Workers
Monday, November 7, 8:00 to 4:00, 8 hours, $65, Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon Street,
Brattleboro, VT.
This is the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation certification training for food service
workers. Learn knowledge and skills to prevent food and safety related incidents, improve food servi ce
operations, and reduce risk and incidence of food borne illness. Certification testing is done at the end of class.
This is a nationally recognized certification. A limited number of full scholarships are available for those
individuals currently working in the healthcare field through the Next Generation Grant from the
Vermont Department of Labor.
Leadership Skills Development Series
Fridays, November 4, 11 and 18, 8:00 to 4:30, 25.5 hours, $1,050 per person for the entire series
includes materials
Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon Street, Brattleboro, VT.
Leadership is the responsibility of everyone in an organization. This six-part series is designed to develop skills
that will help make supervisors, managers, team leaders and those with cross-functional responsibilities more
efficient and effective. These highly interactive sessions combine group discussions, activities and action
planning to deliver training objectives. Each of these 6 units is approximately three and one-half hours long.
They can be combined and structured in different configurations in order to best meet the needs of the
participants. For this public offering in Brattleboro, the 6 units will be delivered over 3 day long sessions. The
series includes: Essentials of Leadership; Building an Environment of Trust; Setting Performance Expectations;
Coaching for Improvement; Reviewing Performance Progress; and Leading Change. The sessions will be
facilitated by a certified Development Dimensions International member of the VTC-TED team.
Windham Regional Career Center, in partnership with ed2go offers over 300 on-line learning courses. Our
instructor-facilitated online courses are informative, fun, convenient, and highly interactive. Our instructors are
famous for their ability to create warm and supportive communities of learners. It’s no wonder that many longlasting friendships have formed in our lively discussion areas. All courses run for six weeks (with a two-week
grace period at the end).Courses are project-oriented and include lessons, quizzes, hands-on assignments,
discussion areas, supplementary links, and more. You can complete any course entirely from your home or
office, any time of the day or night.
A sample of topics include: Accounting Fundamentals, QuickBooks 2010, Medical Terminology and Coding,
Administrative Assistant, Digital Photography, Grant Writing, Graphic Design, Veterinary Assistant, Languages,
Human Anatomy and Physiology, Math, Personal Development, Start Your Own Business, Creating a Busine ss
Plan, PC Troubleshooting, Creating Web Pages, Effective Business Writing, Project Management
Fundamentals, Introduction to PC Trouble Shooting, Buy and Sell on eBay, Test Prep, Java Programming and
much more!
CERTIFIED CAREER TRAINING PROGRAMS
Windham Regional Career Center, in partnership with ed2go (formerly Gatlin Education Services), offers
over 100 online open enrollment programs designed to provide the workforce skills necessary to acquire
COMPUTER COURSES
professional level positions for many in-demand occupations whether you are entering a new field or
advancing your current career. The programs are designed by a team of professionals from each respective
field, who work to provide you with an effective web-based learning experience. Instructors/mentors are
actively involved in your online learning experience. They respond to any questions or concerns, as well as
encourage and motivate you to succeed. Each program includes a set of lessons and evaluations; grades are
a combination of the instructor/mentor’s evaluation of students’ work and computer graded tests. We know
you’ll appreciate the quality as well as the convenience of anytime, anywhere learning!
Wednesdays, October 26 to November 23, 6:00 to 8:00, 10 hours, $100, Instructor: Cheryl Coplan
Learn the basics of using a computer - Windows, internet, e-mail, as well as exploration of common program
features including editing, clipboards, toolbars, menus, images and other topics. This hands-on class is
designed for individuals who are new to computers or for those who want to sharpen their computer
skills. Class limited to 10 students.
Sample Programs Include: Healthcare & Fitness; Business & Professional; IT & Software Development;
Management & Corporate; Media & Design; Hospitality & Service Industry; Skilled Trades & Industrial;
Sustainable Energy & Going Green; and Career On-Line High School.
Computer Applications
The Mystery of Excel Uncovered – Microsoft Excel Basics
Mondays, October 24, 31, November 7, 14, December 5, 5:00 to 7:00, 10 hours, $100, Instructor: Cheryl
Coplan
Microsoft Excel is an electronic spreadsheet that runs on a personal computer. It is most useful for organizing
data and performing mathematical calculations. This course will uncover the mysteries of rows, colum ns,
formulas, workbooks vs. worksheets, as well as customizing charts and graphs. By the end of the course you
will be able to work with your workplace or household budget and feel more comfortable working with data.
Knowledge of navigating in a Windows environment is helpful. Class limited to 8 students.
✁
Community Education and Training
Programs - Fall 2011
USE THIS FORM TO REGISTER
FOR COURSES
Creating a Google Website
Mondays, October 24, 31, November 7, 21 and 28, 5:00 to 7:30, 12.5 hours, $125, Instructor: Jil
MacMenamin
Creating a Google Site is a fun and easy way to organize what you want to present to the world on a web site.
No knowledge of HTML, JavaScript or Cascading Style Sheets is needed. There is no software to buy, or
monthly fees to pay. Bring your Gmail login and password to class and know how to log in and send email. Jil
can work with you the week before class to set up a Gmail account if you don’t have one. You can also set up
a domain name to access your site. Class limited to 12 students.
Digital Photography
Mondays, December 5 to December 19, 5:30 to 7:30, 6 hours, $60, Instructor: Jil MacMenamin
Learn your camera or phone features by using your manuals so you can do what you want! Transfer pict ures
from your camera to your computer/internet using Picasa - a Google tool. Store your pictures, and organize
them in folders. Become adept at Auto Fix, Rotate, Crop, Resize, Exposure, Colors, Sharpen, and Red-eye.
Share your pictures and slideshows with family members and other individuals or put them on your web page.
Create captions for each picture. Receive feedback on individual pictures that you can audit. Just bring your
camera and a cable to get the pictures from your camera to the computer. Class limited to 12 students.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Weatherization Skillshop
Saturday, November 5, 9:00 to 4:00, 7 hours, $50, Instructor: Brad Cook and Bob Reuter
Learn how to make your home more comfortable and more energy-efficient! Weatherization Skillshops have
been created to give people with handyman skills the building science background, how-to demonstrations and
hands-on skill-building to make energy-saving home improvements. You’ll get great information, hands-on
skills training, a reference text, access to tools & supplies, and lunch! You’ll learn how to: • Eva luate your
home’s needs • Choose the right materials and tools for your project • Use materials properly—for
effectiveness and safety. If you have basic building and home repair skills, you will be able to tackle many
energy improvements in your home that can help make your home more comfortable, reduce your fuel use,
and save money. For registration and information: Call: 888-514-2151 (toll-free), visit our website:
weatherizationskillshop.com or email us: info@weatherizationskillshop.com. The Skillshop will be held
at the Windham Regional Career Center in Brattleboro.
Introduction to Woodworking
Saturday October 29 and November 5, 1:00 to 5:00, 8 hours, $80 plus $25 materials fee – total $105 –
Instructor: Gail Grycel
Learn about woodworking through building a simple, personalized pine bookcase. Some basic woodworking
machines and power tools will be used, safety procedures and some joinery taught, and finishing opti ons
explored. Bring a pencil and tape measure. Students will pick and supply the finish they want (paint or
stain).The $25 materials fee will cover wood needs for the bookcase and miscellaneous needs. Gail Grycel is
the owner of Twin Birch Woodworking in Westminster West, VT Class limited to 8 students.
• Registration deadline is 1 week before the start of a course.
• REGISTER EARLY! Class sizes are limited and must have a
minimum number of students to run.
•You will be contacted with further information about your class
approximately one week before the start of class.
• No tuition will be refunded after the first class.
Send form and payment (check only) to: WRCC, 80 Atwood Street,
Brattleboro, VT 05301 Att. Community Education
Name:
Address:
Phone: work
home
Email:
Course
Cost
Course
Cost
Amount Enclosed
Windham Regional Career Center is committed to providing a respectful learning environment for all. WRCC insures equal employment opportunities in compliance with federal and
state law regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or marital status
T h e C ommons
NEWS
• Wednesday, October 12, 2011 S E C T I O N B1
B
SPECIAL FOCUS
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 • page B1
sports & recreation, page B4
Walking into an
occupation
Why would people drive
hundreds of miles from
Windham County to join
20,000 in New York City to
protest economic injustice?
The Commons went along to
talk with some of the participants
in the Occupy Wall Street
protest. Here are their stories.
By Olga Peters
The Commons
P
rotesters from and
members of dozens of labor unions
marched through
Lower Manhattan
from Zuccotti Park to Foley
Square Oct. 5 in what media
commentators called the biggest
rally to date for the Occupy Wall
Street (OWS) protest that began
last month.
An estimated 20,000 people,
including a contingent from
Windham County, streamed
down the sidewalks past tourists,
fellow New Yorkers, and police
officers chanting, “We are the 99
percent, and so are you!”
The rallying cry for the nonviolent occupation of the privately owned Zuccotti Park in
the city’s financial district distills
the protesters’ frustrations with
a political and economic system
that allows unprecedented control of the country’s wealth to a
disproportionately tiny sliver of
the U.S. population.
Response to the protest has
ranged from positive, to negative,
to disbelief, to hope, to praise,
to befuddlement at the protesters’ lack of a crystallized set of
demands.
Two faculty members from
Marlboro College Graduate
Center, Ralph Meima and Caleb
Clark, along with Brattleboro
resident Shoshana Rihn and
Meima’s daughter Kristina,
drove to New York on Oct. 5 to
observe the march.
Walking into an
occupation
Cars, vans, delivery trucks,
double-decker tour buses, and
taxis crawl through the streets
of Lower Manhattan.
Waves of pedestrians cross
the street as the traffic signals
change, hold, and release.
Around the corner from
Ground Zero, a white passenger van from Marlboro College
Graduate School stops for a red
light. Clark and Rihn jump out.
Clark carries a cardboard box
of food. He tells Meima to send
a text once he’s found parking.
The light changes. Meima,
with his 15-year-old daughter
Kristina as co-pilot, drives away.
Clark and Rihn stride in the opposite direction searching for
Zuccotti Park.
Zuccotti Park, a stone postage
stamp dotted with trees, served
as a staging area for emergency
crews after 9/11. Bordered by
Church Street and Broadway,
the privately owned park has
flower beds and stone rectangles
that serve as benches. Buildings
tower above the area. Food
trucks ring the park.
Clark and Rihn turn onto
Church Street in search of the
Occupy Wall Street protest,
which started Sept. 17, when an
estimated 2,000 people marched
on the city’s financial sector.
The protest has spread to more
than 65 cities around the United
States.
Seeing firsthand
The overflowing Zuccotti
Park, which protesters have renamed “Liberty Park,” continued to fill with their numbers,
as well as with curious onlookers, advocates, union members,
and more media than one could
shake a microphone at.
Alison, who did not wish to
give her last name, calls herself
one of “the timid ones.”
She divides her time between
her “place” in New York and her
home in Charlotte, Vt.
She says she has concerns
about the power of the Tea Party
movement and wanted to check
out the OWS protest.
“[This protest] seems to mean
something,” she says.
Alison had walked to Zuccotti
Park that morning because she
wanted to see OWS first hand.
To her, the voices calling for
change in the small park came
from “regular people, not extreme voices.”
She also noted that the media has not covered the protest
as much as she expected. Alison
thinks the protest has been “ignored somewhat.”
Taking the
long view
Danny Schechter promotes
his new film Plunder: The Crime
of Our Time as he walks through
the park.
The longtime journalist
started his career as the “News
Dissector” at WBCN-FM in
Boston. He later transitioned to
television, working at WGBH
(Channel 2) in Boston, and
then as a producer for WLVI
(Channel 56) and WCVB
(Channel 5) and CNN.
Schechter has reported from
61 countries for mainstream
and alternative newspapers,
magazines, and websites. He
has worked as an adjunct professor at the Graduate School
of Journalism at Columbia
University and taught investigative reporting at The New
School.
Schechter has participated in
many protests over the years.
He said that, compared to the
1960s marches, Occupy Wall
Street is “an expression of another generation.”
He acknowledges that many
activists in that era “were
at odds” with labor unions.
Schechter hoped that the Oct. 5
march represents an evolution
in attitudes.
To Schechter, OWS appears
less ideological, less top-down,
and more interactive. He also
describes the protest as “intergenerational, interracial, and
international,” and believes that
OWS represents the frustrations
people have felt in the face of
powerful forces in Washington
and Wall Street.
“[We’re] finally coalescing a
challenge to what’s going on,”
Schehcter says, adding the people standing in Zuccotti Park are
“not wackos.”
As a journalist specializing in
economic issues, Schechter says
he’s warned that Wall Street’s
“financial crimes” would come
to roost upon everyday people.
OWS has built a hopeful, if
fragile, momentum, he says: “It’s
something.”
But Schechter believes the
future of the OWS protest and
the community at Zuccotti Park
looks uncertain with the oncoming winter.
“I’m inspired by it,” Schechter
says. “I worry for it.”
The scene in Foley Square in New York, near the municipal court.
friend Alan Gilburg. “I’m here
because of Alan,” he says.
In their blazers, dress pants
and ties, the two gentlemen
in their 70s could pass as two
Liberty Plaza office workers out
on their lunch break.
Gilburg, from Holyoke,
Mass, represents the First
Congressional District in western Massachusetts as a council
organizer for MoveOn.org, a leftleaning education and advocacy
organization.
“I have got to be here,”
Gilburg said. “This is the tip of
the wedge that will break the corporations open.”
Gilburg said he loves the
“young energy” of the protest
— a protest that has “muted the
influence of the Tea Party.”
He thinks most of the coverage in the media has erred on
the side of lies, while the “Wall
Street world” acts like nothing is
happening.
Shaking his head, Gilburg describes the current political debate as an argument between
“the ruthless and the clueless.”
He likens the choice between the two dominant political parties as a choice “between
Stormtroopers or C-3PO.”
“The system is rigged and it’s
always been rigged,” Gilburg
says.
Wahman says that, in the
1950s and 1960s, unions pushed
for better education and health
care for their workers. They also
pushed for civil rights, he adds.
These rights expanded to all
workers, but as labor’s power
weakened, no one took its place
to defend and preserve those
worker benefits.
He calls Wall Street “parasites” who are perpetually sucking money from the economy
through financial instruments
like hedge funds, adding that
70 to 80 percent of hedge funds
are unregulated and operate in
secrecy.
A few months ago, adds
Wahman, he attended another
demonstration in New York
City to protest against corporate taxes.
About 300 people showed up,
and someone preformed a skit.
Wahman describes the tepid
attendance as “symbolic of the
powerlessness” people feel, he
says. But the energy in Zuccotti
Park feels different.
“God bless these kids,” says
Gilburg.
Gilburg refers to the young
twentysomething protesters as
“the self-esteem generation.”
Unlike Generation X, he said,
these kids believe “we deserve a
better, more just society.”
The closest
thing to hope?
“I don’t know how to compare [OWS]” to earlier protests,
says Rihn, one of the Windham
County participants.
Rihn describes herself as a
“red diaper baby” following in
her parents’ activist footsteps.
Over the past 10 years, however, she says, she has felt discouraged at protests because the
crowd looked “older and older.”
However, OWS “is clearly
young-dominated,” she says,
adding she feels “delighted and
thrilled” to see a new generation
The self-esteem
spearheading a movement.
generation
And the people participating
Tom Wahman points to his in OWS belong to a different
Caleb Clark, of the Marlboro College Graduate Center, and Shoshana Rihn of
Brattleboro, rest in Zuccotti Park.
time, culture, and context from
those who took to the streets in
the 1960s.
Rihn has felt frustrated with
the media’s coverage of OWS.
She says that reporters have ignored the movement, or they
have dismissed the protesters as
villainous, stupid, or ineffectual.
With the march to Foley
Square, the protesters have
“forced the news to report” on
it, says Rihn. And even if the
media continues to heap contempt, OWS’s message has “hit
a nerve.”
In Rihn’s opinion, so many
people see themselves reflected
in the OWS protesters that the
movement won’t go away.
She says that she sees “all that
energy and support and determination” and knows that “this is
not a flash in the pan.”
“This could be the start of a
significant movement for change
in this country,” says Rihn.
Rihn says that from listening
to the people gathered in New
York, she heard big concerns
about losing jobs, losing their
homes, and crushing debt.
“I was struck by the specifics,” she says.
“We were activists in a time
of abundance,” Rihn said of her
time in the 1960s.
She says that, in her younger
days, people could fight for ideals
while still holding down jobs and
having money to pay their bills.
But, she says, Americans are
living tethered at the end of a
long chain of broken promises.
“The American people were
promised ‘If I work for a living, then I can earn a living,’”
Rihn says.
But living paycheck to paycheck “is not living,” she said.
The energy at OWS feels like
the “closest thing to hope as my
personality and political outlook will allow,” Rihn says with
a laugh.
“The American people are
coming alive, coming awake, and
they’re not going to take it lying
down,” she says. “Things may
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n Occupation
not change, but we’re not going
to be quiet.”
Rihn says that she can see the
value in the protesters not stating
any demands at this early stage.
The country has so many issues
to take on that getting people
out and involved may be the best
first step.
Participants can sort issues
as they go along maybe eventually breaking into focus groups,
she says.
For now, Rihn loves the “We
are the 99 percent” call to action
because it contains an education
of how the economic system
leaves many out.
“There will always be assholes
trying to screw other people,”
she says. “So we always need our
dissenters.”
The center of it all
Clark and Meima plan to
chronicle their trip through social media. Clark also filmed
the march to post as an independent CNN iReport, the cable
network’s program encouraging video contributions from
viewers.
This was Day 18 of the protest, and the day that dozens of
labor unions joined the leaderless movement in a march from
Zuccotti Park to Foley Square.
A protester organizing a tarp
and sleeping bags points Clark
toward the open-air kitchen. The
volunteers behind the kitchen’s
counter say “thank you” as they
accept Meima and Clark’s donation of cookies, apples, and
peanut butter.
People stream through the
park.
Some display “Hello my name
is” tags. A man walks by wearing
a coat with “INFO” Sharpie-d
on the back. Another man in a
three-piece beige suit, silver cufflinks, and loafers died oxblood
sits on a stone bench eating a
muffin. Protesters holding placards line the steps under Mark
di Suvero’s red sculpture Joie
de Vivre, which reaches toward
a blue sky.
Members of the U.S. and international media stop the hundreds of people flowing past to
ask questions.
Police stand on the sidewalk
circling Zuccotti Park.
“You can’t block the sidewalk. Keep moving,” an officer
says to the tourists stopping for
photographs.
T
rue individual freedom cannot
exist without economic security
and independence. People who are
hungry and out of a job are the stuff
of which dictatorships are made.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt
The protesters have organized
the park into a community. In
addition to the kitchen, they
have established a medical area,
a place for sleeping, a press area,
and a library.
Volunteers can sign up to
help with outreach, media,
and Internet at folding tables
throughout the park. Each station lists a daily meeting time.
According to Nathan
Schneider, in his article
“Occupation for Dummies: How
it came about, what it means,
how it works and everything,”
although the occupation remains
leaderless by choice, numerous
organizations helped spark it.
Schneider’s article appeared
in the The Occupied Wall Street
Journal, a publication distributed
in Zuccotti Park and online (www.
thenation.com).
Schneider credits Adbusters,
a Canadian magazine, with being the first to call for a protest
in mid-July.
Other organizations joined
the cause, including US Day of
Rage, which calls for fair and
free elections where only people make political campaign
donations.
Anonymous, a group of clandestine computer hackers, joined
in August, said Schneider.
People involved with NYC
General Assembly also helped
with the planning in the city.
Decisions get made via consensus through a consortium
of protestors, the NYC General
Assembly, said Schneider.
“Get ready for some jargon,”
Schneider warns. “The General
Assembly is a horizontal, autonomous, leaderless, modified-consensus-based system with roots
in anarchist thought.”
According to Schneider, the
General Assembly is similar to
the assemblies that drove the
social movements in Egypt’s
Tahrir Square and Madrid’s
Puerta del Sol.
“Working toward consensus
is really hard, frustrating, and
slow,” Schneider writes. “But
the occupiers are taking their
time. When they finally get to
consensus on some issue, often
after days and days of trying, the
feeling is quite incredible.”
The movement has not named
its demands, because, writes
Schneider, the political system
“is so shot through with corporate money” that making demands would yield little until
the protest grows its own political muscles.
Most of the people involved
with the protest have no desire to
get themselves arrested or instigate violence, writes Schneider.
Still, the protesters have
clashed with police. On Sept.
T h e C ommons
from section front
24, the New York Police
Department (NYPD) arrested
80 people,“mainly for disorderly conduct by individuals who
blocked vehicular and pedestrian
traffic, but also for resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and, in one
instance, for assault on a police officer,” the police said in a
statement.
According to Reuters, on
Oct. 1 police arrested more than
700 protesters on the Brooklyn
Bridge during a march after
some participants stepped off the
sidewalk and onto the roadway.
As the protest moves forward,
the participants have created
some structure.
On Sept. 29, the General
Assembly (GA) released a document called Declaration of the
Occupation of New York City. It
listed the 22 reasons that brought
the protesters to Zuccotti Park.
“We come to you at a time
when corporations, which place
profit over people, self-interest
over justice, and oppression over
equality, run our governments.
We have peaceably assembled
here, as is our right, to let these
facts be known,” writes the GA.
Most of the reasons center on
economic injustices.
The list of grievances (bit.ly/
grievances) ranges from banks
foreclosing on homeowners illegally, to executives receiving
“exorbitant” bonuses, to energy
companies covering up oil spills,
to corporations perpetuating
workplace inequality and discrimination, to companies determining economic policy, to
agribusiness poisoning the food
supply “through negligence, and
[undermining] the farming system through monopolization.”
‘$900 I don’t have’
Cara Hartley moved from
Indiana to New York City in
July. She heard of the protest via
an email list she belongs to, and
she says she wanted to “check
it out.”
“I’m fascinated with this new
democratic process,” she says.
Hartley says she has $40,000
in student loans from earning
her English degree. She works
as a waitress and shares a room
for $300 a month.
And every month, Sallie Mae,
the agency that originates many
federally insured student loans,
calls to ask her for “$900 I don’t
have,” she said.
Hartley says she bought into
the “myth of college,” believing that she could better her life
and income on “the merit of my
degree.”
She wants to see the current
economic system — the system
that “benefits a few” — change.
See store for details. Offer expires 10/31/11.
A protester in Zuccotti Park in New York.
The 27-year-old believes that
officials don’t hear people.
“Let’s make our representatives represent us,” she says.
Hartley disagrees with some
news outlets that have criticized
the movement for not releasing
any concrete demands.
No demands is a good thing
at this stage, she says.
The weeks-old movement
has launched conversations and
ideas, she says. Right now, there
is no one solution and it’s important to focus on “all that is
wrong,” Hartley asserts.
“We just need huge change,”
she says, adding that “solutions
are important.”
The first step, she says, involves organizing and involving people. The ideas will come
about, and awareness will rise.
She points to the tables ringing
the park labelled “newspaper,”
“security,” “internet and open
source,” and “outreach.”
“[We’re] being a part of
history,” she said. “Occupy
everywhere.”
Not your ‘hippie
dance party’
Tom Maxwell drove 11 hours
from North Carolina on Sunday,
Oct. 2. He plans to drive back
home after the march.
He had followed OWS since it
started, but decided to drive to
New York City after a friend of a
friend became one of more than
700 arrested on the Brooklyn
Bridge Oct. 1.
Sitting in the middle of the
park, Maxwell, 46, calls the protest “extraordinary.”
“This isn’t a hippie dance
party,” he says.
At first, he thought the
movement was disorganized.
Instead, he found a protest that
is “decentralized.”
The community existing on
a small bit of granite in Lower
Manhattan appears flexible to
Maxwell.
“It’s a new way of organizing [a protest],” he says. I’m
amazed at the “media savvy and
marvelous diversity of my fellow
citizens.”
Maxwell believes the protest
will evolve, “seeding itself” and
eventually feeding the national
conversation. For example, he
says, Occupy North Carolina’s
participation has tripled in a
week.
“The name of the game is perseverance,” Maxwell says, adding that he will stay involved as
he can.
In his opinion, people “don’t
want to admit the [current financial system] is broken,” that people don’t possess the same level
of wealth as their parents, and
the middle class has evaporated.
He says that people need
to “meaningfully address” the
current corporate structure and
remedy the imbalances — like
“monstrous” for-profit health
insurance corporations.
Maxwell’s son, now 8, survived leukemia many years ago.
Maxwell says that he had health
insurance through work at the
time, but the premiums went
sky-high in response to his son’s
cancer treatment.
Maxwell said he lost his job in
the recession and now is trying
to support himself as an artist.
He says that some of the country’s current problems have been
“carefully crafted” by people
who prefer a population “dogpaddling and paying bills” over
an “informed electorate.”
“It’s every man for himself,
and we have to be self-reliant,”
he says.
For three years, Maxwell says,
the country has felt a dangerous
combination of “dispossessed
and hopeless.”
The people participating in
OWS are peaceful, wanting to
avoid arrests, he points out. But
if politicians in Washington don’t
address the protesters’ grievances
in a meaningful way, he fears
things could eventually turn ugly.
ways he is participating in the
protest is by starting a OWSinspired discussion from his
laptop.
In addition to providing support for the protestors, Meima also wanted to
present a document, “ (bit.ly/
pg5PN7)The American People’s
New Economic Charter (bit.
ly/pg5PN7 )” ( bit.ly/pg5PN7 )
(APNEC) (bit.ly/pg5PN7).
Meima says he created the
“crowdsourced” document —
one to which anyone can contribute ideas — based on Occupy
Wall Street’s Declaration of the
Occupation of New York City,
released Sept. 29.
The declaration’s list of 22
reasons for the occupation
mostly centered on economic
concerns, says Meima. He hopes
the APNEC, publicly available as
a Google Doc, will help contribute to a new economic structure
in America.
On the APNEC’s cover page,
Meima calls the charter a “a
crowdsourced expression of popular will — created by and for the
99 percent.”
As Meima moves through
New York City, he notes that 80
people contributed to the charter. For three days, the document had remained completely
open, he says. But repeated sabotage has forced Meima to limit
participation to individuals who
identified themselves.
“I don’t want that,” Maxwell
says.
The ratio of the 99 percent to
the 1 percent may “not be the
America we want,” but we can
change this, he says.
Maxwell believes in acting
beyond the “old dichotomy of Chanting in
left or right,” and instead acting the streets
through collaborative “targeted
“Mic check! Mic check!” calls
participation by people of differ- one of the march supporters to
ent political stripes.”
the increasing crowd.
“Mic check!” the crowd calls
More than ‘lucky’
back.
Senia Barragan, a doctoral
To comply with city rules,
candidate in Latin American the protesters don’t use megaHistory at Columbia University, phones. They are using a callchecks the time.
and-response system of shouted
Originally from New Jersey, messages that relay through
she has helped organize the stu- the crowd from messenger to
dent walkout orchestrated to listeners.
coincide with OWS’s afternoon
The supporter goes over
march with New York Students guidelines for the march: “The
Rising (NYSR).
walk back from Foley Square is
According to its website, permitted. The walk there is not.
NYSR is a statewide network of Stay on the sidewalk.
students and campus organiza“We ask.... No one break the
tions. The network aims to de- rules. “We ask... that no one start
fend public higher education and to riot.
empower students, who, they
“Stay together, keep moving,
say, are often underrepresented we’re peacekeepers. Here are your
in the campus administrations rights if you’re arrested.... You
and state government. Students, don’t have to consent to a search....
NYSR points out, face higher You don’t have to give your immipublic education tuition and gration status.... Here’s the number
more student loan debt.
for the National Lawyers Guild,
Barragan, who has consid- New York, write it on your arm.
ered herself an activist since
A volunteer hands out a pamhigh school, hopes that 1,500 to phlet by the Guild: “Know Your
2,000 students will walk out of Rights.”
their classes and down to Foley
“We just want you to be safe,”
Square.
he says.
She said she was participating
The crowd moves up the steps
in OWS on behalf of her working past the red Joie di Vivre sculpfamily members.
ture and onto Broadway.
Her family almost lost their
The sideway barely holds the
home to foreclosure because of a bumpy mass of people trying to
predatory loan. These loan com- squeeze past media with longpanies make a habit of preying lensed cameras and tourists
on poor whites, hispanics, and snapping photos with iPhones
blacks, Barragan says.
and disposable cameras. The
In her opinion, Barragan finds police line the sidewalk telling
it interesting that often corpora- people to stay off the roadway.
tions blame the working class for
The marchers raise signs
not having the money to provide above their heads.
for daily needs like food, clothChants rise over the city’s
ing, and housing.
drumbeat of engines, construcBut the inequity exists in so- tion sites, and pedestrians watchciety with a playing field tilted ing from across the road.
against people without the finan“Occupy Wall Street: All day
cial resources or connections to — all week!”
avoid “horrific” situations like
“We are the 99 percent, and
foreclosure.
so are you.”
Barragan says that, with“The banks got bailed out. We
out her family, she would be got sold out.”
homeless.
“NYPD, you’re the 99 percent
Although her family saved just like me. You’ll join us, wait
their home, Barragan says, “I and see.”
don’t want anyone to feel that
“This is what democracy
way.”
looks like.”
“We’re the lucky ones,” she
The marchers find their
says.
rhythm and fall into step. The
But, Barragan adds, she sea of people winds its way for
doesn’t want luck. She wants at least an hour down Broadway
“all to have what they need.”
to Worth Street and empties
into the green grass and streets
Listening
around Foley Square.
Giovanni Almonte, a certiA woman in the crowd says
fied life coach located in New she decided to march for her son
York City and credited through and 9-year-old grandson.
the International Coaching
She says her parents raised
Federation, volunteers because five children. They had a “good
he sees a number of people look- life,” she recalls: not a fancy
ing to make a positive change but life — everyone had hand-mefeeling unsure how to engage down clothes — but her parents
with the OWS movement.
put food on the table and a roof
“[OWS] has no identity,” over their children’s heads, her
Almonte said, adding peo- mother put two children through
ple should know “that this is college, and the family could afinclusive.”
ford vacations.
He says that the movement
All on factory wages, she says.
stands wide open. Almonte says But her son and grandson can’t
that he listens to people and have a good life with the current
helps them get “in touch with economy.
their own values” and reasons
for joining the movement.
Home base
“Intelligent people” — from
Night falls as the protesters
professors, authors, econo- return to home base in the park.
mists, philosophers, and artists Some staying the night crawl
— have stopped at Almonte’s into sleeping bags under heavy
table to talk.
blue tarps.
People, he says, have exMeanwhile, a woman shyly
pressed to him values of quality, watches the people in Zuccotti
compassion, love, community, Park.
and putting humans before the
She says she works in Liberty
almighty dollar.
Plaza.
They’re interested in becomThe bosses look out their wining “involved intelligently,” he dows and say “Oh, those prosaid. “People just want to make testers,” she says. But some of
a better world.”
the younger people in the office
agree with the protesters.
Engaging
She said someday, maybe, she
through ideas
will come to a OWS rally if she
Meima says that one of the ever feels braver.
T h e C ommons
SPECIAL FOCUS • Wednesday, October 12, 2011 B3
Patriotism redefined
Veterans participate, volunteer in protest
By Olga Peters
“I’m pro-soldier,
anti-war, and
pro-the-99percent,” says
Joseph Carter,
third from left,
who served in the
Army from 2002
to 2007, with two
combat tours in
Iraq.
The Commons
N
EW YORK—“You
get more flies with
honey than vinegar,” says former
Marine Michael
Russo, a security volunteer for
the Occupy Wall Street (OWS)
protest.
Earlier that morning, a yelling
match broke out between two
people in Zuccotti Park..
With little fuss, the security
volunteers appeared, diffused the
conflict, and dispersed the gaggle
of curious bystanders.
Dispersing the crowd removes
the fuel for any flaring tempers,
says Russo.
He says that the security volunteers would call in the New
York Police Department if necessary, but they haven’t needed
to. Besides, he adds, it’s always
best to use diplomacy first.
As NYPD officers stand watch
around the park, many clearly
feel the potential for flared tempers leading to violence.
With accusations of police
brutality by protesters during
recent arrests freshly on people’s
minds, the protesters themselves
tell marchers before an afternoon
rally that Occupy Wall Street has
no intention to riot.
It’s a Marine’s role to take care
of those who can’t care for themselves, Russo says, hardly looking up from a drawing of a police
bomb squad defusing a bomb as
he staffs the security table.
Security is one of many working groups that people can join
at the protest.
To Russo’s left at the same table are volunteers for “Outreach”
who are working on the OWS
newspaper, The Occupied Wall
Street Journal.
“It’s my civil duty,” said
Russo, in response to why he
volunteers.
According to Russo, everyone
contributes what they’re good at
in Zuccotti Park. The people volunteering for security duty come
from a variety of military and law
enforcement backgrounds. But
people contribute in other ways,
too, he says.
Russo grew up in Brooklyn,
where the people in his neighborhood used to watch out for one
another. But the area has gotten
gentrified, he says, and now people just “walk over each other.”
“My neighborhood is destroyed,” he says.
“It’s all me, me, me,” Russo
says, adding that material things
don’t interest him.
Russo, honorably discharged
from the military after eight
years of service between 1981 to
1988, says that he saw a lot during those years. He goes back to
working on his drawing.
“People are tired of the
abuse,” he says, referring to
why he thinks the OWS protest
has inspired people to come out
to the park.
In Foley Square that afternoon, four Iraq War veterans
hold a banner for the organization Iraq Veterans Against the
War (IVAW). Members from the
organization Veterans for Peace
stand with the Iraqi vets.
The crowd swirls around the
soldiers. One Iraq veteran in his
dress fatigues stands stiff. Two
others wear a black T-shirts emblazoned with the organization’s
website (IVAW.org).
“I’m pro-soldier, anti-war, and
pro-the-99-percent,” says Joseph
Carter, who served in the Army
from 2002 to 2007, with two
combat tours in Iraq.
Carter now serves as the coexecutive director for Coffee
Strong, a veteran owned and
operated GI coffee house in
Washington, and works with
IVAW’s Operation Recovery.
Coffee Strong helps connect
soldiers and veterans to resources
and support, while Operation
Recovery works to stop the redeployment of traumatized troops.
In Carter’s opinion, the U.S.
government spends its money on
the war and bailouts while leaving citizens dry.
“The [government] tells us we
don’t have money,” says Carter.
“But it always finds money to
fund the wars,” wars that he
believes are “bankrupting” the
United States.
Carter says he joined IVAW
because of what he saw in Iraq.
Within six months of his first
tour, he says, it became clear that
the “deadly” weapons of mass
destruction that were cited as the
justification for the U.S. invasion
of Iraq did not exist.
The government lied to the
troops and American people, he
I
would rather be exposed to the
inconveniencies attending too
much liberty than those attending
too small a degree of it.
—Thomas Jefferson
Security volunteer Michael Russo
served in the Marines from 1981 to
1988. The people volunteering for
security duty come from a variety
of military and law enforcement
backgrounds.
says. “It enraged me.”
Carter says he views the military as a tool for supporting public policy. He doesn’t agree with
critics who say if someone is antiwar, they’re anti-soldier.
Disagreeing with rationales for
military action is not a betrayal
of the troops, he asserts, especially when it come to Iraq and
Afghanistan.
“Those wars are not about defending our country,” he said.
Citizens can “support the
troops by speaking truth to the
government,” says Carter, who
considers the willingness to
speak up as “holding true to the
American spirit.”
Carter said the OWS movement needs to grow. People
should join the movements near
them, he said.
“We need 10,000 [people] in
every major city,” he says. “If we
do that, [the government] can’t
ignore us.”
“To be a patriot, you have
to believe in democracy,” says
Elliott Adams, a former Army
infantryman and paratrooper.
Adams, whose military career
took him to Korea, Vietnam,
Japan, and Alaska, believes that
wars are not a form of conflict
resolution, nor do they contribute to national security.
One thing he is sure of, however, is that a few people “make
a whole lot of money off every
war.”
So, he asks, “Then why do we
assume it’s not the intent?”
“Democracy is an active form
of government,” says Adams,
who also has a penchant for
quoting Frederick Douglass.
Citizens have all the power,
Adams says, because they are
the ones who fight the wars, fires,
and crime, the ones who pay the
IRS, and the ones who elect the
representatives. But people have
fallen asleep, he says, forgetting
they call the shots.
And democracy can’t grow
when 90 percent of the financial
assets belong to 10 percent of the
population, Adams says.
Occupation by
the numbers
The Occupy Wall Street protest has struck during an economically tumultuous time for many Americans.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) estimates that 25 million Americans are either unemployed or underemployed.
The BLS reports an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent,
up from 6.2 percent in September 2008 and 5 percent in
September 2001.
OWS, so far, has been characterized in media reports as
a movement comprised of people under the age of 30 struggling with mountains of student loan debt as they see very few
job prospects.
According to the BLS, unemployment for those between 16
to 24 rose to 19.1 percent, the highest rate since the federal
agency started reporting this statistic in 1948.
Among major demographic groups, the BLS’s data showed
unemployment rates for young men (20.5 percent) continued
upwards. Of unemployed young men, blacks showed a rate of
33.4 percent and Asians at 21.6 percent.
The jobless rates for young women (17.5 percent) remained
“virtually unchanged,” the BLS reported, with whites at 16.2
percent and Hispanics at 22.1 percent.
The number of college students taking on student loan debt
has also increased, according to the National Postsecondary
Student Aid Study (NPSAS).
NPSAS reported that according to the most recent figures
based on the 2007-08 academic year, 1.4 million students,
about 67 percent, who had graduated from a four-year college
or university carried student loan debt.
The average debt increased 24 percent to $23,200 in 2008
from $18,650 in 2004. Vermont graduates carry an average of
$27,786, according to NPSAS.
In Zuccotti Park, protestors reported that their wages
couldn’t cover their basic living expenses, let alone student
loan debt.
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producers
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OF
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Real Pickles
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ctober is Co-op Month
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Food Co-op is celebrating by
featuring not one but three
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Own Sausage produced by
Joe Crompton, Dan Rosenberg
and Addie Holland’s Real
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Appalachian
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Goshen, MA
B4
T h e C ommons
SPORTS & RECREATION
Left without a home field,
Wildcats go on the road
T
win Valley’s soccer
teams have had a nomadic existence this
season.
The flooding from Tropical
Storm Irene on Aug. 28 thoroughly trashed Baker Field,
rendering it unplayable for soccer or any other sport for the
rest of this year.
The backup site was the
Twin Valley Middle School in
Whitingham. But the combination of poor drainage and heavy
rains for most of September
has left that field unplayable
too.
So, the Wildcats have been
forced to play “home” games
in Arlington, Bennington, and
Brattleboro.
Fortunately, Brattleboro
Union High School has been
generous in offering Sawyer
Field for Twin Valley’s use.
But it is no substitute for being able to dress in your own
locker room and then walk a
couple hundred yards to your
home field.
When every game is a road
trip, it wears on everyone. That
is as good an explanation as
any for why the Twin Valley
boys and girls are struggling
this season.
In a “home” game in
Brattleboro last Wednesday,
the Wildcat boys lost 3-0 to
Windsor, another school that
lost its soccer field to Irene’s
flooding.
Windsor scored in the first
minute of the game when Nick
DeBartolo knocked in a misplayed ball. Shawn Pinsonault
added another goal in the 29th
minute and David Young got
the final tally in the 69th minute. Windsor is a team whose
roster is filled with seniors, and
Randolph T. Holhut/The Commons
Jamie Moore of Bellows
Falls won the Russ
Pickering Invitational
boys’ race on Friday in
Westminster.
times and Cassie Pedigo added
another. BF got all of its goals
in the second half.
West Rutland beat the
Terriers in overtime, 2-1, on
Thursday. Samantha Lacz got
RANDOLPH T.
West Rutland’s first goal at
HOLHUT
the 20 minute mark. Dumont
Sports Roundup
tied it in the 30th minute, and
the game stayed that way until Lacz got the game-winner in
the experience showed in the
way they dominated on defense the second overtime period.
• On Thursday, the Rebels
for most of the game.
lost at Arlington, 3-1. Stevie
The boys finished the week
Roberts scored for the Rebels.
on a high note on Saturday
Leland & Gray then lost at
with a 3-0 win over Otter
Bellows Falls in overtime,
Valley in Arlington. Colin
2-1, on Saturday morning.
Lozito and Ricardo Pereira
Dumont scored for BF in the
each had a goal and an asfirst half, but Alex Morrow
sist, and Dylan Brage scored
got the equalizer late in the
a goal off a Tony Tarr pass.
second half. Dumont then
Freshman goalkeeper Sam
Molner notched his first career scored the game-winner from
shutout for the 3-5-1 Wildcats. Kammie Crawford in the secAs for the Wildcat girls, they ond overtime.
haven’t won a game. They
Boys’ soccer
thought they might have a re• Brattleboro got shut out
versal of fortune in Townshend
by Monument Mountain, 5-0,
last Monday against another
last Tuesday. They followed
struggling team, the Leland
that effort up with a 1-0 loss to
& Gray Rebels. Instead, the
Burlington on Thursday. The
Rebels pulled out a 2-1 win.
Colonels then broke their losLeland & Gray’s Giannina
ing streak with a 2-1 win over
Gaspero-Beckstrom scored
first, but Twin Valley’s Jordan Hartford on Saturday. Jordan
Renouf and Cesar Moore were
Niles later scored on a breakaway to make it 1-1 at the half. the goal scorers as Brattleboro
ended the week with a 4-5
The game remained deadrecord.
locked until Ashley Goddard
• Bellows Falls lost to Twin
got the game-winner off of
Valley, 3-1, last Tuesday.
an acrobatic throw-in by
Jeremy Hunt and Tarr scored
Oliva Capponcelli in the 53rd
to give Twin Valley a 2-0 halfminute.
time lead. Tarr scored again
Twin Valley had their
early in the second half before
chances at salvaging a tie, but
BF’s Drew Guild broke up the
Rebels goalkeeper Bit Aekus
shut out.
and the defensive line of
The Terriers were playing
Elizabeth Symanski, Caitlin
without their leading scorer,
Persa, Capponcelli and Alex
Morrow foiled every one of the Matt Marchica, who injured
Wildcats’ scoring opportunities his leg against Green Mountain
on Sept. 26 and is likely out for
in the second half.
the season.
On Thursday, Proctor shut
Last Wednesday, BF lost
out Twin Valley, 6-0, and the
to Woodstock, 2-0. The game
girls finished the week with
was scoreless in the first half,
a tough 3-2 loss to Arlington
but Julian Scherdling scored
on Saturday. Shannon Lozito
twice in the second half for the
and Savannah Nesbitt scored
Wasps.
for a 2-0 lead at the half, but
• Leland & Gray traveled
Arlington stormed back with
to Proctor last Monday and
three unanswered goals in the
second half as the Wildcat girls escaped with a scoreless tie.
Rebels goalkeeper Tanner
fell to 0-6-1.
Kard made 11 saves, while
Girls’ soccer
Proctor’s Rick Carroll stopped
• Brattleboro started its week 10 shots.
with a pair of scoreless ties.
The Rebels blanked Bellows
The Colonels played
Falls, 2-0, on Saturday to imStevens to a 0-0 tie at home
prove to 7-2-1. Brandon Reilly
last Monday. Tori Svec and
and Hunter Buffum were the
Marissa Smith split the goalgoal scorers.
keeping duties, as Svec made
six saves and Smith stopped
Football
a penalty kick. The scor• Brattleboro snapped a
ing drought continued as the
four-game losing streak with a
Colonels played Rutland to a
21-6 win over the Burlington
scoreless tie. Smith had five
Seahorses at Natowich Field
saves in goal.
Friday night.
Against Mount Anthony
Burlington scored first on a
on Saturday morning, the
24-yard touchdown reception
Colonels gutted out a 2-1
by Claudio Herrera. After that,
win. Molly Gurney and Greta
it was all Colonels. Trenton
Pellerin both scored in the
Fletcher recovered a fumble in
first half, and the Brattleboro
the end zone for Brattleboro’s
defense held on to give the
first touchdown. Andy Hale
Colonels a 3-4-3 record.
started the second scoring
• Bellows Falls beat Mount
drive when he recovered an
St. Joseph, 4-2, last Tuesday
onside kick to start the secas Sara Dumont scored three
ond half. Elliot Gragen scored
in a 1-yard run and quarterback Tyler Higley ran in the
two-point conversion to make
it 14-6.
Higley later scored on a
2-yard run and Jake Gaboriault
kicked the extra point late in
the game to ice a victory on
Homecoming Night. The 2-4
Colonels face Spaulding this
Friday.
Bellows Falls goalkeeper Enny Mustapha smothers a loose ball in front of Leland
& Gray forward Giannina Gaspero-Beckstrom (24) during the first half of their
game in Westminster on Saturday morning. Watching the play is Leland &
Gray’s Stevie Roberts.
• Bellows Falls came close to
knocking off undefeated North
Country on Saturday, but fell
short, 20-18, at Hadley Field.
Trailing 18-12 with 1:09 left
in the game, North Country
halfback Jason Hatin keyed a
game-winning, 69-yard drive.
He threw a 29-yard pass to
Jacob Buckles, which set up his
2-yard touchdown run. Hattin
then ran in the two-point conversion to keep the Falcons
perfect at 6-0.
The Terriers took a 6-0 lead
on a 13-yard by Cooper Long.
Buckles scored on a 7-yard run
to tie it at the end of the first
half. In the second half, Will
Bourne hauled in a 13-yard
touchdown pass from quarterback Jeremy Kilburn in the
third quarter. North Country
quarterback Tre Sanville tied
up the game on a 2-yard run,
but Bourne then scored on a
90-yard kickoff return to give
the Terriers an 18-12 lead with
9:07 left in the fourth quarter.
It was a tough loss for the
2-4 Terriers, who travel to
Lyndon this Saturday.
Field hockey
• Brattleboro got its first win
of the season last Wednesday
night, beating Monadnock,
2-0. Lara Atamaniuk and
Meghan Kinsman each scored
in the second half.
Last Tuesday, Brattleboro
lost to Mount Anthony, 4-1,
in Bennington. The outcome
might have been different, had
not three of Brattleboro’s goals
been disallowed. Nicole Hudon
scored the only goal that
counted for the Colonels.
The Colonels finished the
week with a 1-9 record after a
3-0 loss to Hartford on Friday.
• Woodstock shut out
Bellows Falls last Monday,
3-0. Quinn Lawrence and Shea
Wilkinson split time in goal for
the Terriers.
BF bounced back on Friday
with a 1-1 tie with Springfield.
Kya Coursen scored from
Tori Bissell just three minutes
Twin Valley forward Colin Lozito (2) turns toward
the goal, closely pursued by Windsor defender
Tanner Dana (18) during the first half of their game
Wednesday in Brattleboro.
into the game. Springfield got
the equalizer from Morgan
Johnson with under five minutes left in the first half. BF
outshot Springfield, 20-9, but
couldn’t break the tie. The
Terriers played well defensively and Wilkinson had eight
saves in goal to finish the week
at 1-5-2.
Cross country
• In a meet last Tuesday
in Manchester, the Bellows
Falls and Brattleboro boys finished second and third behind
Mount Anthony.
BF placed three boys in the
top 10: Jamie Moore (fifth in
19:49), Collin Johnson (ninth
in 20:43), and Timmy Jones
(10th in 20:45). Spencer Olson
was the top BUHS runner, finishing 12th in 29:47.
In the girls’ race, BF’s Anna
Clark took second place in
23:26. Brattleboro placed
three runners in the top 15
— Hannah Reichel (ninth in
25:39), Leah Silverman (10th
in 26:09), and Helen Manning
(13th in 27:00) to edge
Springfield for third place in
team scoring.
• In the Russ Pickering
Invitational at Bellows Falls
Union High School on Friday,
the Brattleboro girls finished
third. Reichel finished ninth
in 21:59 to lead the Colonels,
while Manning was 11th in
22:28. Kasey Kidder was 21st
in 24:52, Sakia Bailey-De
Bruijn was 24th in 24:57 and
Janna Yang ended up 39th in
26:36.
Anna Clark placed third in a
personal best time of 20:40 to
lead host Bellows Falls. Jamie
Moore of Bellows Falls won
the boys race in 16:31. Olson
was Brattleboro’s first finisher,
placing 14th in 18:21.
Staff Pick!
We carry a wide variety of local Vermont dairy products
like organic Strafford Milk, Butterworks yogurts and
creams, and Commonwealth Dairy Greek yogurts. Please
try to support our Vermont farms in the aftermath of
the flooding from Tropical Storm Irene! Blue Diamond
Almond Milk in 3 flavors including unsweetened, is just
2.99 for a half gallon. We now have GoodBelly Probiotic
drinks in yummy flavors like mango and pomagrante on
sale as well. And to celebrate Octoberfest, check out one
of our local Producers of the Month, Real Pickles from
Greenfield, MA, with their locally-sourced sauerkraut.
Perfect with those sausages!
Hannah Reichel and Helen Manning led the
Brattleboro girls to a third place finish at the Russ
Pickering Invitational on Friday.
Something new for you to enjoy on
your morning toast is
earth Balance Coconut Spread.
–Whitney,
Bulk and Frozen Foods Manager
BrATTleBoro
Food CO - OP
Mon - Sat 8–9, Sun 9–9
2 Main Street, Brattleboro
www.brattleborofoodcoop.coop
SECTION B
C
VOICES
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 • page C1
OPINION • COMMENTARY • LETTERS
Join the discussion: voices@commonsnews.org
VIEWPOINT
DISPATCH
Not enough,
too fast
Public needs more time
to digest state’s energy plan
Wilder MEREDITH ANGWIN
hortly after
(yesvy.blogspot.com), a familGovernor Peter
iar pro-Vermont Yankee voice
Shumlin took ofin the region, is founder of the
fice, he said that he
Energy Education Project at
was very surprised that the
the Ethan Allen Institute. A
State Energy Plan included
physical chemist, writer, and
Vermont Yankee operatenergy educator, she has ining past March 2012. Now
dustry experience in renewable,
his team has put together a
combustion-based, and nuclear
proposal for Vermont withenergy.
out Vermont Yankee: the
Comprehensive Energy Plan
(CEP).
choices.
The plan was released by
The Institute for Energy
the Department of Public
and the Environment of
Service (DPS) on Sept. 14.
Vermont Law School (VLS)
The public comment peannounced that it had exriod ends Oct. 10, less than a tensive input on the CEP.
month later.
Indeed, the plan includes
The CEP covers electricreferences to “process” and
ity, heating, transmission,
“stakeholders” and many
and transportation. It is over proposed legislative changes.
600 pages long, including
Montpelier will be busy. But
the appendices. The main
there is little here that an envolume is 368 pages. Less
gineer would call a plan.
than a month does not give
the public much time to reDespite its lack of content,
view the documents.
the plan has already come
Even a cursory review
under fire from Vermont
shows some serious flaws.
Public Interest Research
The CEP includes ambiGroup (VPIRG).
tious renewable goals, but
VPIRG spokespeople
little actual planning. Among said that Governor Shumlin
other things, it doesn’t adshould be more aggressive
dress the issue of electricabout building renewables
ity supply without Vermont
than the plan indicated.
Yankee in a straightforward However, it is unclear how
fashion.
VPIRG derived the numbers
The electricity section
on proposed build-out rates
of the summary document
for renewables. These num(pages 7 through 9) includes bers are not explicitly in the
expanding the standard ofplan.
fer program for renewable
The plan’s discussion of
energy, and hiring a new
future greenhouse gas emis“renewable energy project
sions is also problematic. A
development director” for
chart of greenhouse emisDPS. The electricity section sions (volume 2, page 14)
does not mention natural gas shows that greenhouse gases
or acknowledge any gap in
from the electricity sector
the electricity supply.
rise after 2012.
However, the home and
Presumably, this rise ocbusiness heating section
curs after Vermont Yankee
of the summary (pages 10
would close — although this
through 12) does note that
fact is not specified. The
there might be an electricity chart also shows aggressive
supply gap.
and unworkable projections
On page 11, the heating
for lowering greenhouse
section encourages the exemissions, along with a note
pansion of a gas pipeline into that the greenhouse goals
Vermont because natural gas will not be met.
“can address two key needs:
The state of Vermont
reduce Vermonters’ reliance claims that controlling
on overseas oil for heating.... greenhouse gas emissions is
and help fill a gap in electric a major energy policy goal.
supply.”
The CEP chart shows that
Continuing with electricclosing Vermont Yankee will
ity concerns, the CEP conlead to more greenhouse
tains goals such as meeting
gases.
90 percent of our energy
However, Shumlin’s polneeds by renewable sources icy is to close Vermont
by 2050 (page 3 of summary Yankee anyway. This makes
document). There are no
no sense.
numbers or dates for future
People in Vermont need
construction of renewable
to see more content in the
sources, however. No state- plan and fewer massive inments such as “this much
consistencies. They need
wind energy by this date.”
more time to review the
Vermonters need facts:
plan.
costs, timelines, sites, hard
At this point, it is hard to
data about proposed gentake this lengthy document
eration, and transmission
very seriously.
We are the
99 percent
S
‘When I watched the corralling,
the pepper spray attack, the beatings of people
already subdued on the ground prior to arrest,
and the detention of journalists — our eyes and
ears in New York — I had to do something.
‘The next day I was on the road to Zuccotti Park.’
John Nirenberg
Take your pick of causes.
Brattleboro John Nirenberg has served as a dean, professor, consultant, in New York — I had to do
and writer, applying his education and experience to uncovering the
something.
principles that result organizations in that are psychologically healthy,
The next day I was on the
October centerfold
creative, productive, and satisfying places. He works as a mentor to
road to Zuccotti Park.
of Adbusters magazine showed a female doctoral students in the School of Management at Walden University,
The energy in the park was
dancer atop the brass bull icon an online university headquartered in Minnesota.
of lower Manhattan, the symthrilling. It was festive, welbol of Wall Street. She is calm;
coming, engaging.
her arms are outstretched.
It was also comforting and
when I watched the corralShe is not quite Joan of Arc, to think freely, whether tea
reassuring because here was a
ling, the pepper spray attack,
but she conveys the power and partiers and anarchists or
gathering of articulate, comCommunists and Catholics;
the beatings of people already
grace of a superior consciousmunity-building people who
another is the right to peacesubdued on the ground prior
ness rising from the back of
didn’t feel they all had to have
the charging bull unaware that fully assemble. There are other to arrest, and the detention of
the same priorities, the same
necessary rights, of course, but journalists — our eyes and ears
his time is up. Behind her, in
n see 99 percent, page C2
a cloud of tear gas, a mob is in
the throes of battle.
The call rang out in bold
text: “Occupy Wall Street
September 17th. Bring Tent.”
Unlike the poster’s hint
of Seattle at the ministerial
meeting of the World Trade
Organization in 1999, what
the New York City police
got instead was a YouTubed,
Twittered, Facebooked exposé
of this generation’s confrontation with “Gestapo-like tactics
in the streets of New York,”
to paraphrase Connecticut
Sen. Abraham Ribicoff at the
1968 Democratic Presidential
Convention in Chicago, shaming the police back into a
mostly civil relationship with
the gathering.
From the pepper spray seen
‘round the world to the surprisingly respectful response by
the gathering, this seed of what
could have been just another
anarchists’ picnic germinated
and sprouted into a flowering
consciousness-raising that this
country desperately needs.
I had to go, just as I had to
be in Chicago in ‘68.
If we are to be the democracy we claim for ourselves,
there are some things I consider inviolate.
John Nirenberg
One right is that of anyone
A graphic statement against financial greed on Wall Street.
T
he September/
VIEWPOINT
Failed salmon program
doesn’t deserve new life
$10 to $14 million to rebuild Bethel hatchery
could help the Connecticut far more effectively
Greenfield, Mass. Karl Meyer (www.karlmeyerwriting.com), an environregional direcmental journalist and author,
tor of the U.S.
writes frequently on Connecticut
Fish and Wildlife River issues.
Service’s (USFWS) Northeast
Region in Hadley, Mass., and
Bill Archambault, deputy asWRNFH is salmon eggs — six
sistant regional director of
million of them annually for
fisheries, want a boatload of
our river’s longest running failpork for the failed salmon pro- ure, the 44-year attempt to recgram of the Connecticut River reate an extinct salmon strain.
Atlantic Salmon Commission
One hundred and seven fish re(CRASC). Now!
turned this season.
Through an act of Congress,
What will senators Kerry,
Weber and Archambault are
Brown, Leahy, and Sanders
seeking $10 to $14 million in
do with this request in a time
emergency funding to rebuild
of paper-thin budgets and colthe White River National Fish lapsing native herring and shad
Hatchery (WRNFH) in Bethel, runs?
wiped out by Tropical Storm
Irene in August.
Last year, when the
The primary product of
WRNFH got $723,000 in
W
endi Weber,
federal stimulus funds for a
makeover, more than $421,000
went to a refrigeration manufacturer in Missouri for an egg
chiller.
Ironically, a $100,000 egg
chiller has sat useless at the
Richard Cronin National
Salmon Station in Sunderland,
Mass., for years. Upon delivery, it simply never worked.
Four years ago, WRNFH
spent millions in taxpayer dollars to build a well system to
supply its hatchery salmon.
Upstream, the White River had
become infected with the invasive, bottom-smothering algae
didymo, which could be transported via eggs and fry that
they disperse to tributaries and
sent to school programs.
They want to start again.
Meanwhile, state/federal
CRASC commissioners seem
willing to play fast and loose
with the potentially disastrous dispersal of didymo to
Connecticut River tributaries
through hatchery fry.
Right now, they are devising
a rush plan to parcel the surviving 900 broodstock hatchery salmon at White River to
hatcheries in Massachusetts,
Vermont, and Connecticut —
though they admit they can’t
be “100 percent certain didymo won’t be taken out of the
[White River] facility.” They’d
jeopardize an ecosystem for
their program.
All this information was
revealed at an emergency
CRASC Tech Committee
n see hatchery, page C3
Ann Froschauer/USFWS
A USFWS technician at the White River National
Fish Hatchery in Bethel sorts Atlantic salmon that
escaped and were recaptured after flood waters from
Tropical Storm Irene receded.
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n 99 percent
from SECTION FRONT
agenda, or the same list of
grievances, but who shared the
belief that the system is not
only broken, it will take serious
rethinking to get our country
back on track.
The genius of the coalition
that urged the occupation was
to recognize that it isn’t about
a single grievance — not even a
long agenda of grievances.
It is about the vulgar appropriation of the labor of the nation for the astronomically
disproportionate benefit of a
select few people: the 1 percent, as they say, at the expense
of the 99 percent.
It is the vulgarity of controlling all of the resources
and means of production and
then vacuuming all the crumbs
that fall from the table: the socalled “entitlements” of Social
Security, unemployment insurance, children’s health assistance, and other programs that
are no more than the collective
common decency of one neighbor extending a helping hand
to another.
It is the relentless aggregation of wealth in so few hands
that is particularly galling. How
can a decent society allow 400
people to accumulate more
wealth than the total accumulated wealth of 160 million of
its other citizens?
This voluntary, spontaneous coalition of self-organizing, self-regulating, respectful,
articulate people is a welcome
antidote to the self-centered,
privileged, and paranoiac Tea
Partiers who have so perversely
twisted history and logic to
claim that people like the fictional characters John Galt and
Gordon Gekko built this country on self interest, greed, and
narcissism, and that they deserve to own it as their personal
bounty — and to hell with everyone else.
Every now and then I, as
well as the nation, seem to fall
through a rabbit hole, and I
think I must be missing something when tax breaks for the
rich are seen as reasonable
even though their taxes are already at their historically lowest
point, while so many societal
needs go unmet.
I wonder how the Democrats
fell into this hole, too, and
became complicit with the
Republican agenda. Their socalled “compromise” for bipartisanship is capitulation by
another name.
Like the child crying out
“But he isn’t wearing anything
at all!” in “The Emperor’s
New Clothes,” these articulate,
mostly young people, point out
the abject failure of the freemarket system that in a winner-take-all world impoverishes
millions, destroys the middle class, and has substituted
a blanket of insecurity for the
pitiful safety net that was once
seen as the very least a prosperous country could do for its
people.
When did it become a source
of shame to build community?
When did the idea of progress toward a healthy, satisfying
life for all become treasonous?
When did the idea of a pension at the end of one’s life
become a socialist plot to undermine America?
When did public education become a tool for instilling
competitiveness and individual
success instead of citizenship
and a national identity?
Being at the gathering in
Zuccotti Park allowed me to
stand in solidarity with those
John Nirenberg
abused by the system.
It was a way for me to take
part, even an infinitesimal one,
in the long-overdue repudiation of the Reagan-birthed neoconservative economics that
became today’s perverted predator capitalism — the one that
ate not only New York, but
also Chicago, Tokyo, SÃo
Paulo, Bangkok, Johannesburg,
London, Paris, and everything
in between, the one with globegirdling tendrils that has made
globalization synonymous with
a rapaciousness that would
make Adam Smith spin in his
grave.
Bringing some of the pain
— of unemployment, of a deteriorating environment, of
out-of-reach higher education
costs, of credit crunches and
property foreclosures, of rising
poverty, of deteriorating health
care, of inadequate pensions,
of a collapsing infrastructure,
of more — to the doorstep of
those who profited by causing
all of this mayhem is the duty
of each one of us.
They must be held accountable. The people of this country have paid to protect their
privilege and shore up their
institutions.
In return, the bankers and financiers resumed their abuse
and restored their arrogance
with the nourishment of enormous bonuses as if entitled to a
bailout while forgetting where
it came from. They need to be
reminded.
Laying out myriad reasons and demands would only
comfort them. It would only reassure them that fundamentally
the system they created was
okay, if only we just changed
the oil or fixed a flat tire.
That won’t do. The system
itself needs a transformation.
As one sign said, you can’t fix a
system that believes in “infinite
growth on a finite planet.”
Was it a coincidence, I wonder, that Sept. 17 was chosen
to begin this demonstration?
That was the day in 1787 that
the U.S. Constitution was
signed in Philadelphia and sent
to the states for ratification.
Ours was the first modern
country to depend on its citizens to legitimize it. The document as read in the 13 state
houses began, “We the People
of the United States, in Order
to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the
general Welfare...”
The thrill of being with these
people — young and old, employed and unemployed, union
workers and professionals, the
tech savvy and the tech averse
— was all the more remarkable
because of the conversations,
the patience in listening to one
another, the diversity of causes
and aspirations, and the fundamental sense of participating
in a commonwealth of mutual
teaching and learning that was
exhilarating. All voices were
welcomed.
There was a scene that typified my observations.
Someone from the financial
district began a conversation
with a resident of the gathering,
and it was going all over the
place as these things do, but it
was respectful.
A crowd naturally gravitated
to the size that could accommodate natural hearing since
there was no voice amplification. And, after going around
a few times between “liberty”
on the one hand and “fairness”
on the other, a truce was called
and with a handshake, the knot
of spectators dispersed.
I turned to listen to the band
play and watch a woman gyrating to keep several hula hoops
moving while holding a sign
that read, “There is enough to
go around.”
She looked much as I imagined Joan of Arc felt who said,
“I am not afraid... I was born
to do this.”
W
hen an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human
being, his very act of protest confers
dignity on him.
—Bayard Rustin
T
o sin by silence when they
should protest makes cowards
of men.
—Abraham Lincoln
LETTERS FROM READERS
VY: safe and reliable by
‘all objective fact-based measures’
McKay’s Used Cars I
Now in 2 Locations
T h e C ommons
have read a lot of articles
discussing “safety” and “reliability” when it comes to
Vermont Yankee.
The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission regulates safety
at the plant. This is done by
providing two full-time inspectors and implementing an inspection program that includes
about 12 specialist inspections
per year.
All of Vermont Yankee’s
findings over the recent
past have been “green” on
the NRC’s color-coding
scheme, indicating that the
plant is considered very safe
by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission. Information
about Vermont Yankee’s safety
record can be found at www.
nrc.gov (www.nrc.gov).
Reliability at Vermont
Yankee is monitored by the
nuclear industry itself. In 1979,
the nuclear industry formed
the Institute for Nuclear Plant
Operations to promote excellence in nuclear plant operation
through plant evaluations,
training accreditation, events
analysis, and assistance.
Industry efforts to improve
plant reliability have been very
successful, with plant capacity factors reaching well into
the 90-percent range. Vermont
Yankee is recognized as a top
industry performer and has historically had very high capacity factors.
Since 2002, Vermont
Yankee has had two breakerto-breaker operating cycles,
which means the plant operated nonstop for an 18-month
fuel cycle, resulting in a capacity factor of 100 percent.
By all objective, fact-based
measures, Vermont Yankee
is both a safe and reliable
plant. I would think that people who look objectively at
the operation of the plant will
come to the same conclusion
and welcome 20 more years of
safe and reliable operation.
Jim DeVincentis
Vernon
The writer, a 27-year employee
of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear
Power Corp., and subsequently,
Entergy, is a registered professional engineer.
Community has really come together
E
xcellent commentary by
John Mack [“A long-term
process,” Voices, Sept. 28].
There certainly was a core
group of people who went
way beyond what normal people would be expected to do:
people (like John Mack, and
I could name countless others) who worked endless hours
every day for free during the
emergency. We thank you, one
and all.
In addition, there have been
few people in the villages, it
seems, who haven’t pitched in,
despite lives that became incredibly complicated and time
consuming.
People who couldn’t cook
or take a shower were shoveling dirt out of neighbors’ driveways, painting homemade
road-hazard signs, putting up
cones and barriers to stop people from driving off cliffs that
had previously been roads, and
performing an endless number
of other tasks. These were people struggling to get by, putting
in 12 to 15 hours a day simply to survive, yet still finding a
way to help out.
The community really has
come out and come together.
John Darling
South Newfane
T h e C ommons
VOICES
• Wednesday, October 12, 2011 ESSAY
C3
EDITORIAL
A day out of time The 99 percent cries ‘Enough!’
When just being with
one’s family creates
special moments
Brattleboro Mary W. Mathias, a
licensed clinical social worker and
I left home in
a writer, spent many years workBrattleboro around ing in refugee mental health. She
8:30 a.m. and drove is writing a book about communal
north to spend the day with my farming in the 1970s.
son and his family. It felt lucky
from the start, with sun shining
and no sign of rain.
fruit, and some produced
When I arrived, close to
sour green, and we took what
three hours later, those night
we could, tossing the wormy
owls — Dave, Heather, and
and fungus-y ones. Where we
home-schooled Aedan, age 10 walked, we squished fallen ap—were getting up, making cof- ples, until the air around us
fee, stirring about in preparawas apple sharp. Yellowjackets
tion for the day. I never have
buzzed in for the sweetness.
to leave home at the crack of
After dumping all the apdawn to show up in time for
ples into a basket back at the
their breakfast..
house, we headed out again
They live on a hill in
on the bikes, on another road
Hardwick, up a steep drive, in
past some horses and cattle in
a little yellow half of a house.
a pasture. Aedan led us downThe other half burned down
hill, shirt-tails flying. I was less
in 1997. The house has under- wobbly, but still took it slow.
gone many changes over time,
We turned onto a shady,
but that side of the family has
grown-over logging road,
lived there for almost 35 years. muddy after rains, brown burBeing there made me feel
dock bushes on either side.
younger again — more play“There’s a nice apple tree in
ful and adventurous, with
the clearing,” said Dave. “I’ll
the sense that everything one
go check it out.” He dumped
needed was available right
his bike and bounded ahead,
around. Everyone one needed
startling a pair of deer browsing
to spend time with was no
fallen apples under the tree.
more than a whisper away. We
Aedan and I were puddle
had planned nothing ahead of
jumping through damp grass
time, other than spending the
when Dave came back toward
day together.
us.
Smelling crispness in the
“These apples are too small
air, finding a red leaf on the
to bother with,” he said.
ground, noticing dry seed
He opened his collecting
heads blowing in the wind,
bag; he had already gathered
Dave finished up his coffee and dozens of little green ones. We
said, “Let’s go down to Paul’s
reached in for a taste, thinking
and pick wild apples.”
maybe they would be worth“Can I ride my new bike?”
while, if sweet. Crunched besaid Aedan. He had already
tween the teeth, the green skins
been looping around the door- were rough and tough; the apyard on his black mountain
ple meat was juicy, but gave off
bike. His home school had de- only pale wisps of flavor.
clared a holiday, and he was
“Let’s give them to the
ready for a field trip.
horses and the cows,” said
There were two old bikes
Dave.
leaning against the back of the
And so we did, offering them
house. Dave took a tall threepalms up to the three horses
speed, and I rolled the other
while leaning carefully over the
one — a beat-up, off-white
electric fence. The cows stayed
one-speed with hand brakes — back but were happy to mouth
out into the dooryard.
up tossed apples from the pasI wondered if I could even
ture grass.
remember how to ride a bike.
“How about you, Heather?” Back in the kitchen, we
Heather said, “I’m going to
washed, quartered, and seeded
do laundry and hang it out.
as many apples as we had paBeautiful day. No rain!”
tience for, threw them into a
“You’ll do fine, Mom,” said three-quart pot, and set them
Dave. “But be careful, only the simmering. Within an hour,
front brake works.”
there was a pot of applesauce
They rode off down the
on the stove, and an appledriveway, and I followed on
scented house, like the old days
foot, wheeling the bike by its
on the Farm.
handlebars. Once on the hard
In the front garden, Aedan
gravel road, Aedan went flyhad discovered a stand of tall
ing ahead, followed by Dave,
conical shaggy mane mushand then me, wobbling along,
rooms, which we knew to be
squeeze-testing the front brake safe to eat.
every few seconds.
We collected and cleaned
the young ones, and Dave
Paul’s apple trees were not
made a mushroom-tomato
far away, although no one
stew, adding leftover chunks
passing by in a car would ever
of chicken, and we all ate
have noticed them, close to
lunch in the late afternoon, sitthe road but lost in the dense
ting outside at the picnic taovergrowth.
ble in the warm westering sun,
We parked our bikes in a
with a salad of young lettuce
ditch, clambered up a weedy
leaves fresh from their garden.
bank, and then beat our way
Freshly laundered clothes blew
over branches and jumble to
in the breeze nearby.
reach the tall, scraggly, unTo me, it was a day out of
pruned wild orchard.The trees time — or a day lived as days
there were laden with apples.
had been lived long ago, when
Aedan climbed up in a tree
people woke up and smelled
and shook it. Down came the
the air, glanced at the sky, and
ripe apples.
decided with few words what
The ones freshly fallen were that day was meant for.
warm from hanging in the
It was a day lived with litsunny air, but the ones that had tle fanfare or planning, where
lain on the ground overnight
humans and the natural world
were cold to the touch. We
around them fell easily into the
gathered and bagged the best
same rhythm, until the line beof the warms and then moved
tween people and nature beon to the next tree.
came so exceedingly thin as no
Some trees bore sweet red
longer to exist.
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I
f you are wonder-
ing why protesters
have occupied Wall
Street for the past
few weeks, and why similar
protests have been springing up around the country,
consider these facts.
Since the end of 2007,
the number of working-age
Americans has grown by 7
million. Yet the number of
those over age 18 who have
full-time work has declined
by 300,000.
Job growth has come to
a standstill, yet many U.S.
corporations are enjoying
record profits and are collectively sitting on a cash
stash of $2 trillion. They
say they won’t create new
jobs until there is enough
consumer demand to support them.
Consumer spending
makes up 70 percent of the
U.S. economy. But consumers aren’t spending.
If you have a job, you’re
worried about keeping it,
knowing that you are only
a couple of paychecks away
from disaster. If you’re jobless, you’re too busy trying
to survive and aren’t thinking about buying a new car
or a television.
We now have this vicious cycle of decreased
consumer demand leading
to fewer jobs which leads
to still-lower demand. But,
unlike past recessions, corporations are still making
money because they are
producing and selling more
products overseas than in
America.
In other words, corporations have reached a point
where they don’t need
American consumers to be
profitable.
And, unlike past recessions, the federal
government is doing almost nothing to stimulate demand because our
Congress is being held hostage by conservative berserkers who would rather
see an economic collapse
than a second term for
President Obama.
There are too many
politicians in Washington
more obsessed with the
federal deficit than addressing the needs of 25
million Americans who
are either unemployed or
underemployed.
These politicians are
more concerned about protecting the people they’ve
taken to calling “job creators” than about helping
the millions of Americans
drowning in mortgage and
personal debt.
All of what we are seeing now is a culmination of
three decades of economic
policies that benefited the
wealthy at the expense of
the rest of us.
Since 1979, the median
U.S. income, adjusted for
inflation, has been virtually flat, even though the
economy is twice as large
as it was three decades ago.
And nearly all the gains
have gone to the wealthiest
Americans.
The richest 1 percent
now accounts for 24 percent of the nation’s income and 40 percent of
its wealth, and the gap between the richest and poorest Americans is the widest
it’s been since the 1920s.
That is why Occupy
Wall Street became inevitable, and why this protest is
gaining more support with
each passing day.
Capitalism no longer
works for the 99 percent of
Americans who aren’t super-wealthy. Politicians of
both parties are bought and
paid for by the wealthy and
powerful, and none of the
CEOs who looted the federal treasury and brought
the global economy the
brink of total collapse has
faced accountability for
their actions.
Far from being the selfindulgent, incoherent, and
confused dirty neo-hippies that the chattering
class make them out to be,
the workers, the students,
the unemployed, and the
poor who are camped out
in Liberty Square form
just the first wave on the
beachhead, fighting a longoverdue battle against the
forces of unbridled avarice
and greed.
They are one with their
brothers and sisters who
did likewise earlier this
year in Tunis and Cairo,
in Madrid and Athens, in
Tripoli and Damascus,
and in Madison. They are
standing up and fighting
back.
They are crying
“Enough!”
It is not an exaggeration to say that our nation’s
entire economic, social,
and political order is being
challenged by a movement
that is calling for America
to live up to its promise of
democracy.
Too many people are
impoverished, disenfranchised, and cast aside by
a system where the elite
call all the shots. The cry
rises up for something better from people who have
been let down one time too
many.
The elites didn’t take
the young people in Cairo
seriously until former
Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak was forced to
step down. That’s what can
happen when the collective
courage of a small group of
determined people sets into
motion a force that ultimately can’t be stopped.
This force is what we
are seeing in New York.
This force is what democracy looks like.
Editorials represent the collective voice of The Commons and are written by the editors or by members of the Vermont
Independent Media Board of Directors. We present our point of view not to have the last word, but the first: we heartily
encourage letters from readers, and we love spirited dialogue even if — especially if — you disagree with us.
Send your letters to voices@commonsnews.org, or leave a comment at www.commonsnews.org.
n Hatchery
meeting on Sept. 23. This capital-intensive, million-dollar
system of four federal and two
state hatcheries floats a small
number of well-benefitted government jobs, while ignoring
native migrant fish and the lessons of a river ecosystem.
It’s a public relations machine, reaching into public
schools and assisted via a few
hundred, spawned-out hatchery salmon dumped into lakes
and streams to mollify anglers
duped into believing it will
work.
With $14 million you
could do a lot of good for the
Connecticut.
With just a fraction of that
money, independent scientists could conduct investigations and get real answers
about why millions of migratory American shad have remained blocked from getting
upstream to Vermont and
New Hampshire on the main
stem Connecticut at Turners
Falls for decades, abandoned
from SECTION FRONT
to a treacherous power canal literally behind the federal
Silvio Conte Anadromous Fish
Laboratory.
A tiny share of those dollars could begin getting real
answers to why a flood of
630,000 blueback herring passing Holyoke dam in 1985 collapsed like the September Red
Sox to a “run” of 138 fish here
in 2011.
Less than half of $14 million
could easily build an independent, Five College–based, river
ecology lab that would advance
our understanding of native
fish, the food web, and the mix
of seasonal life cycles critical to
sustaining a healthy ecosystem.
Massachusetts is the
crossroads of the Connecticut,
where migratory fish have remained blocked from Vermont
and New Hampshire waters
since 1798. Once built, a sustaining endowment could
surely be found for such a facility. “New England’s River”
would finally have a think
tank worthy of its critical
importance.
Today, just a few hundred
thousand could easily get an
answer to the simple question
that’s left New Englanders in
the dark for generations: Why
hundreds of millions of dollars spent on an extinct, coldwater fish is never going to
sustain anything but pork production for the 44-year-old
Connecticut River Atlantic
Salmon Commission, on a
warming river in the era of climate change.
In 1967, New Englanders
from Enfield, Conn. to
Walpole, N.H., and Bellows
Falls, Vt. were promised great
fishing and a bounty of seafood by the New England
Cooperative Fisheries
Restoration Program, the organization that became today’s
CRASC.
The chief objective of
this federal/state amalgam:
“provide the public with
high-quality sport fishing opportunities in a highly urbanized area as well as to provide
for the long-term needs of the
population for seafood.”
Runs of a million American
shad, commercially harvestable blueback herring returns,
and a hypothetical run of fishable (though centuries extinct) salmon were promised.
Instead, we’re left with an endless conveyor of salmon pork,
no seafood, and damned poor
fishing.
It’s time to stop this recklessness and waste on the
Connecticut. It’s time for accountability from the USFWS.
Jettison the Age of Aquarius
salmon scheme; refocus the
program on still-living native
runs.
A new name — the
“Connecticut River Migratory
Fisheries Commission” —
would help; all-new commissioners and an ecosystem focus
would be a real start.
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NEWS
C4
T h e C ommons
AROUND THE TOWNS
Google seminar on
online business tools
offered Oct. 13
BRATTLEBORO — Building
a Better Brattleboro (BaBB),
in partnership with Marlboro
College Graduate School, will
present a Google seminar that
provides the tools and resources
for Vermont businesses to get
online and succeed online at
the Marlboro Grad Center, 28
Vernon St., on Oct. 13.
Morning and afternoon sessions will be held at 9 a.m. and
1 p.m. This is a free seminar
for small businesses run by real
Google employees. All area businesses are invited and encouraged to attend.
According to BaBB Exceutive
Director Andrea Livermore, the
seminar kicks off an important
component of a primary project
that it had taken on this year,
namely the digital upgrade of the
entirety of the downtown business community.
“Our hope is to develop a
stronger, more cohesive web
presence that will translate into
increased business,” she said.
“We know that 97 percent of
Americans look online for local products and services and
63 percent of America’s small
businesses do not have a website
or online presence. These businesses are virtually invisible to
many potential customers. We
can’t afford for Brattleboro to
be invisible."
At the seminar, small business owners will learn how to get
a free website, run one’s small
business online, and best practices on marketing one’s business online. With professional
templates and a few easy steps,
businesses can create and publish
a website in less than 60 minutes.
For more information, or to
register for the seminar, go to
sites.google.com/site/vtgyboreg. If
you can’t make it to the seminar, you can get your free website and hosting online at www.
vermontgetonline.com. For more in-
The church is located at 18
formation, contact BaBB at 802- Town Crier Drive, off Putney
257-4886 or via email (babb@ Road, across from the Shell
sover.net).
Station. The entry way is handicapped accessible. For information, contact the church office
Methodist Women
at 802-254-4218 or by email
host fall rummage sale (fumc@sover.net).
BRATTLEBORO— The
United Methodist Women of the
First United Methodist Church
will be holding its fall rummage
sale on Saturday, Oct. 15, from
9 a.m. until noon.
New and used clothing will be
featured. Prices are not marked.
Customers may take what they
need and pay what they can.
Monies received are given
to both local and Methodist
Mission needs, including the
Brattleboro Drop In Center,
Brattleboro Pastoral Counseling
Center, Women’s Freedom
Center, Morningside Shelter,
the overflow shelter, Brattleboro
Area Hospice, Windham Child
Care, CHABA, and others.
Yoga classes offered at
BMH starting Oct. 15
BRATTLEBORO —
will offer an eight-week
“Introduction to Yoga” course
with Kim Timlege, LMT, starting Oct. 15.
This gentle, beginners’ class
demonstrates yoga philosophy and the eight-limbed path,
along with how to incorporate
the practices of mindfulness
in yoga. Classes take place every Saturday through Dec. 3,
from 9-10:30 a.m., in the BMH
Exercise Room.
Timlege is a Certified Kripalu
Yoga Instructor and owner and
founder of The Massage Studio
in Brattleboro. She brings her extensive training and knowledge
in therapeutic massage, yoga and
meditation to help students bring
their body, mind, and spirit into
balance.
Class size is limited to 12
students. To register, call 802257-8877 and leave your name
and mailing address to receive
the release form, which must
be mailed back along with the
$100 registration fee. Checks
should be made payable to Kim
Timlege and received by close of
registration.
The third annual Brattleboro
Buddy Walk takes place on
Saturday, Oct. 15, at the town
common. Participants include,
but are not limited to, people
with Down syndrome, their families, friends, teachers, coworkers
and other supporters. Anyone,
with or without a direct connection to a member of the Down
syndrome community, is welcome to attend.
The Buddy Walk was developed by the National Down
Syndrome Society (NDSS) to
promote acceptance and inclusion of all people with Down
syndrome. Brattleboro will join
more than 250 other locations
around the nation in this event.
Alfred Hughes Jr. will be the
Brattleboro Grand Marshal.
Contact Chloe Learey at the
Prouty Center at 802-258-7852,
ext. 11, or by email ( chloe@
winstonprouty.org ) for more
information.
Prouty Center hosts
Buddy Walk on Oct. 15
BRATTLEBORO — The
Winston Prouty Center is participating in the National Buddy
Walk program as part of Down
Syndrome Awareness Month in
October.
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011 • page D1 S E C T I O N B
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Wednesday, October
12, 2011 • page
• Wednesday, October 12, 2011 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jazzing up
hymn
book
the
Workshop at
First Congregational
Church to bring jazz,
gospel performers to town
By Richard Henke
Special to The Commons
WEST BRATTLEBORO—
Sometimes it takes a force from
outside to shake things up —
even if what is shook is something as solemn as a church
hymn.
In this spirit, the First
Congregational Church has invited the “Minister of Music”
and the lead soprano from All
Peoples Christian Church in
Los Angeles to lead a workshop
on gospel music on Saturday,
Oct. 22.
It is open to anyone who would
care to learn more about singing,
no matter their individual beliefs
or religion. Participants will be
also invited (and encouraged) to
take part singing in the 10 a.m.
Sunday worship service the day
after the workshop.
The idea for the workshop
Courtesy photo
Aeros Pierce, the Minister of Music at All Peoples
Christian Church in Los Angeles.
Courtesy photo
came to Joseph Amico, the
church’s pastor, during a service when everyone began singing the assigned hymn, “This is
the Day.” Although the organist played the music as well as
he usually did, and the people
sang with their usual enthusiasm,
Amico felt “as if the song came
straight out of a hymnal.”
Amico remembered having
heard this song sung with so
much more verve.
Frankie Stewart, lead soprano and an elder at All
As a pastor of a small multi- Peoples Christian Church in Los Angeles.
cultural, multi-racial church in
South Los Angeles before coming to Vermont, Amico said that
what was very memorable about
All Peoples Christian Church
had been its “outstanding music.” And when people ask what
he misses most from his old
church, he always says, “I miss
the music.”
It was at All Peoples where he
had heard “This is the Day” sung
with such exuberant passion,
as that church’s congregation
clapped hands, hit tambourines,
and made the song such a raising
of the spirit.
So Amico turned to his new
congregation in West Brattleboro
and asked if they could “jazz the
hymn up a bit.”
Not really to his surprise,
Amico found that the congregation was not only quite successful in breathing new life into the
hymn, but they also really enjoyed themselves doing so.
Spontaneously jazzing up
“This is the Day” proved such a
hit with his congregation in West
Brattleboro that Amico went to
n see gospel, page D2
Restored
theater curtains
on display
in Guilford
GUILFORD—On Saturday,
Oct. 15, at 7 p.m., the Broad
Brook Grange will show all of
its painted theater curtains,
described by the program’s
organizers as “a collection of
important folk art works.”
Guilford’s Grange Hall has
four curtains, but they are not
ordinarily all viewable on any
given occasion. As part of the
ongoing 250th anniversary celebration of the town, all four
will be lowered and then, over
an interval, raised one by one to
reveal each of the four scenes.
Some 160 Vermont town
halls and Granges contain one
or more of these painted theater
curtains, an example of a folk art
form that flourished for only a
few decades.
These curtains were cleaned
and restored by a team from
the Vermont Painted Theater
Curtain project, under the
auspices of the now-defunct
Vermont Museum and Gallery
Alliance. The project continues,
however, now called Curtains
Without Borders, as it moves
into other New England states.
M.J. Davis, who was one of
the conservators who worked on
Guilford’s curtains, will present
exhibit materials in a slide presentation on the Vermont project, showing notable curtains
from various towns, and will
speak on the process by which
these curtains were located,
catalogued, and, in many cases,
restored.
All of Guilford’s curtains, as
well as at least some of a set of
scenic panels, have been identified as the work of one of
Vermont’s principal artists in
Courtesy photo
The Grand Drape in Guilford, the curtain that was generally used to keep the stage hidden before a
show or between scenes. Chariot scenes are a frequent subject of painter Charles W. Henry.
this genre, Charles W. Henry,
who happens to have been born
in Guilford.
Henry and his family comprised an itinerant arts group
that traveled from town to town
in the late 19th and early 20th
century. They would take up
residence in a town, and, while
Charles Henry fulfilled commissions to paint scenic curtains for
local buildings, his family would
perform vaudeville shows, often
on the stages where the curtains
would be hung. Up to 45 scenic
curtains in Vermont are thought
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THE SMART CHOICE
THE ARTS D2
n Gospel
the church’s deacons to ask if
he could arrange a workshop on
gospel singing.
The deacons were excited
about the idea.
When Amico was leaving his
Los Angeles post, Aeros Pierce,
the minister of music at All
Peoples, and Frankie Stewart,
the lead soprano and an elder
there, said that they would be delighted to “come up to Vermont
and do a workshop,” he said.
Amico took them up on their
offer.
Pierce, a jazz musician, received the NAACP Theatre
Award for best music director
for the play “Bananas,” based
on the life of actress, dancer,
and singer Josephine Baker. The
play was performed at the 2009
National Black Theatre Festival
in Winston-Salem, N.C., and
the National Black Touring
Circuit Black History Month
Play Festival in Harlem.
Stewart studied music at
Tuskegee Institute, but has
never performed professionally.
When Amico first heard her soprano voice, amazed, he asked
her where else he could see her
T h e C ommons
from section front
perform.
She told him that she was an
amateur and had done her only
singing in the choir. Amico believes Stewart is a great undiscovered talent, “sort of a black
Susan Boyle.”
Championing
diversity
The feat of bringing black
gospel singers to primarily white
protestant Vermont is not out of
character for Amico, who has a
long and varied history championing diversity.
Before becoming pastor at
First Congregational, he served
as a consultant for Brattleboro
Retreat, where he set up the first
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inpatient psychiatric and addiction treatment
program in New England.
As an ordained United
Church of Christ minister,
he worked with the UCC and
the Congregational Christian
Church of Mexico to form a
Church Without Borders in the
Southwest.
Amico thinks that the Oct.
22 gospel workshop will mean
a great deal to a number of different kinds of people, from devoted parishioners to those who
will come just for the music.
The workshop will include a
combination of favorite hymns
on which Pierce and Stewart will
put a new twist, as well as other
church songs for which they will
provide some new jazz arrangements of their own.
The Sunday worship service
will be jointly planned by Amico
and Pierce, with Stewart singing
solos, and backed by the jazzand-gospel-trained workshop
participants.
“Windham County is in
for a musical delight!” Amico
promised.
The workshop will take place on
Saturday, Oct. 22 at 880 Western
Ave. in West Brattleboro from 1
to 5 p.m. The cost: $10 per person, $20 for families of three or
more. For those who pre-register,
the cost is $8 per person or $16 for
families. To preregister, call First
Congregational Church, 9 a.m. to
noon, at 802-254-9767.
Courtesy photo
Lindsay Mitnik (Antipholus) and Louisa Strothman (Dromio) in a scene from
the BUHS Players production of “The Comedy of Errors,” which will be
presented on Oct. 14 and 15 at Brattleboro Union High School.
BUHS Players
present Shakespeare’s
‘Comedy of Errors’
BRATTLEBORO—The
Brattleboro Union High School
Players will present William
Shakespeare’s farce The Comedy
of Errors, on Oct. 14 and 15, at
the BUHS Auditorium.
Shakespeare’s first comedy
(written in 1589 and freely
adapted from a work by the
Roman playwright Plautus)
boasts two sets of twins, long
separated by a storm at sea, who
are thrown together in the town
of Ephesus.
Antipholus of Syracuse and
his servant, Dromio, arrive in
Ephesus unaware that their respective mirror image already
lives in the town. Confusion ensues and escalates as each twin
is mistaken for the other.
Courtesy photo
Eric Bass’ award winning puppet piece, “Autumn Portraits,” will be presented
at Sandglass Theater in Putney on Oct. 21 and 22.
‘Autumn Portraits’ presented
at Sandglass Theater
PUTNEY—Eric Bass’ award
winning solo performance,
Autumn Portraits, will take center stage on Oct. 21 and 22 at
8 p.m., continuing an annual
Sandglass Theater tradition.
Tickets are $15 ($12 for seniors
and students).
Autumn is a metaphor for that
time of life when our thoughts
turn inward, when we feel the
loss of summer warmth. Each of
these puppet “portraits” presents
a moment in one character’s existence. Some are funny, some
touching, some bizarre, and all
speak to the human experience,
as only puppets can.
Autumn Portraits is a compelling evening-long solo puppetand-mask performance, a series
of five interlocking vignettes,
each exploring one puppet character and its interplay with its
manipulator, who might appear
as a masked figure, or simply a
voice from the sky.
Bass’ rod puppets act out their
stories in precise and evocative
gestures as they meet their pasts,
their selves, even their puppet
deaths. Bass performs solo, and
for most of his performance he
manipulates the characters in
full view of the audience. He
combines his own craft with the
traditional Japanese Bunraku
methods of puppetry. While the
performance may be enjoyed by
older children, Autumn Portraits
is intended for adult audiences.
Bass has presented his work
in theaters and festivals throughout Europe, America, Australia
and Israel. His awards include
the Citation of Excellence from
Pecs, Hungary, and the First
Prize Critics Award for Best
Production at the International
Festival of Puppetry in Adelaide,
Australia.
The New York Times has written, “He is a master.” And the
Derniers Nouvelles D’Alsace, in
Strasbourg, France, wrote “...
from these astonishing creatures...which are in reality our
doubles, our secret brothers,
sprung from a shadow within
us...one learns more...than from
the many laborious works on the
human condition that are proposed to us by philosophers, psychoanalysts, and psychologists.”
Sandglass Theater is located in
the center of Putney, on Kimball
Hill. For reservations and information, contact Sandglass
Theater at 802-387-4051 or
info@sandglasstheater.org, or
visit www.sandglasstheater.org.
A subplot that frames the
farce from start to finish involves Egeon, a merchant from
Syracuse and father of the
Antipholus twins, who visits
Ephesus in his lifelong search
for the boys and soon becomes
embroiled in the complications.
In every scene, identities are
confounded, roles reversed, and
moral distinctions blurred as
audiences watch the confusion
unfold much like a juggling act,
with more and more balls being
tossed into the air.
The BUHS company includes many actors playing
multiple roles. Featured performers include Matt Carroll
(Duke Solinus. Jailer), Mary
Friesen (Egeon, Luciana),
Lindsay Mitnik (Antipholus
of Syracuse and Antipholus of
Ephesus), Louisa Strothman
(Dromio of Syracuse and
Dromio of Ephesus), Charlotte
Maxwell (Adriana), Amanda
Rink (Courtesan, Amelia),
Emily Stromberg (Luce), Willow
Coronella (Merchant), and
Casey Metcalfe (Angelo, Doctor
Pinch).
The production is under the
direction of Bob Kramsky and
is stage-managed by Willow
Coronella.
Performances are at 7 p.m. each
evening and tickets are $5 at the
door. For more information, call
802-451-3762.
Olssons to kick off series
at Main Street Arts
SAXTONS RIVER—
Musicians Ken and Julie Olsson
will kick off the fourth annual
Taste of the Arts series at Main
Street Arts (MSA) Thursday,
Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. by telling their
love story through song.
Taste of the Arts features local
personalities with interesting stories to tell over a catered meal in
an informal setting. Reservations
are requested at least three days
in advance.
Ken Olsson was musical director of the MSA productions of
H.M.S. Pinafore, The Gondoliers,
and High Button Shoes, and he
and Julie will be co-directing The
Mystery of Edwin Drood at MSA
in March.
Although they have been performing as the Dynamic Two-O
for a few short years, the Olssons’
musical collaboration goes back
more than 25 years.
Both grew up in southeastern
Connecticut, attending the same
school system and church. Julie
attended Ithaca College and was
followed there four years later by
Ken. In Ithaca, their relationship
and musical collaboration began, but after a few short years,
Ken and Julie went their separate ways.
Julie went on to graduate studies at the University of MissouriKansas City. While there, she
joined the Lyric Opera of Kansas
City and began to pursue a career in opera. She has been
featured in productions of Die
Fledermaus, Suor Angelica, The
Magic Flute, The Marriage of
Figaro, and Madama Butterfly.
Meanwhile, Ken stayed in
Central New York and worked
with Tri-Cities Opera in
Binghamton, N.Y. He was a
vocal coach and accompanist
at Binghamton University and
became an accompanist and
music director for the musical theater program at Elmira
College. He went on to become
an assistant conductor with
Syracuse Opera and was involved
in many productions, including
Macbeth, Otello, La Traviata,
Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and
The Magic Flute.
The couple reunited after 14
years, were married in 2007, and
moved to Vermont to spread the
joy of music through their teachings and performances. Locally,
they produced Amahl and the
Night Visitors at the Jamaica
Town Hall.
The Olssons have also made
appearances with Opera Theatre
of Weston and Raylynmor Opera
in Keene, N.H.
Julie will also present a
voice recital at the Guilford
Community Church as part of
the Friends of Music at Guilford
concert series.
This year’s Taste of the Arts
series will also feature painter
Charlie Hunter (Nov. 10); Bob
Wilson, author of Vermont
Curiosities (Jan. 12); and travelers Eric and David Robinson
(Feb. 9).
The series is offered as a fundraiser for Main Street Arts.
Admission is $50 per person for
all four events or $15 per event.
Children accompanied by an
adult may attend for $5.
Tickets are available at Main
Street Arts or online ( www.
MainStreetArts.org). More information is available by contacting MSA at (802) 869-2960 or
by email (MSA@sover.net).
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
V
Serving Vermont’s Progressive
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ermont Independent Media (VIM) seeks an experienced, energetic, creative Executive Director with
excellent communications skills to manage and grow its
business operations. Vermont Independent Media is a
growing non-profit organization based in Brattleboro,
Vermont and publisher of The Commons, an awardwinning, independent weekly community newspaper
serving Windham County.
The VIM board of directors seeks a business-oriented
entrepreneur to lead the organization and the newspaper
into the next phase of growth. The Executive Director
will oversee the financial sustainability of all operations,
including the Media Mentoring Project, which brings
journalism skills to schools and to community workshops.
Fundraising activities will include membership building, events planning, and grant writing.
In this new position, the Executive Director will manage ad sales, accounting, and digital strategy, and will
have business computing skills. Some knowledge of
Quickbooks and graphic design skills are a plus.
VIM seeks an exceptional and visionary professional
who will care about community journalism and be willing
to begin part-time and provide the leadership and expertise to build the job into a sustainable full-time position.
Please submit your cover letter and resumé by October 14
to VIM-search@commonsnews.org or to VIM/Search, P.O.
Box 1212, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
T h e C ommons
LIFE & WORK
• Wednesday, October 12, 2011 D3
HELP CHARLES
C
harles Marchant of
Townshend has a collection of 20,000 postcards,
and he would like to know
more about the people and
places they show. Each issue we will publish one of his
postcards with a question or
two in the hopes that readers
can help him preserve a piece
of Windham County history
for future generations.
At right: A Harry
Chapman photo
on the Townshend
Common, circa
1910. Do you
recognize the
people in the
image?
If you can help
Charles Marchant,
please call him at
(802) 365-7937
or email
Elizabeth Ann Agostini, ESQ.
Publication of this postcard
is underwritten by:
Attorney
2087 VT Route 30
Townshend, VT 05353
www.agostinilaw.com 802•365•7740
helpcharles@commonsnews.org.
WARDSBORO—Tropical
storm Irene has not interrupted plans for the ninth annual Gilfeather Turnip Festival
scheduled for Saturday, Oct.
22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in
the Wardsboro Town Hall and
under a big tent, both on Main
Street.
The free event takes place rain
or shine, and is the largest community fundraising event supporting the town’s public library.
The unique festival celebrates
the Gilfeather turnip, first propagated in Wardsboro in the
early 1900s by farmer, John
Gilfeather. Gilfeather Farm
still exists, right in the heart of
Wardsboro, and the current
owners carry on the tradition of
Farmer John by planting a large
crop of the heirloom turnip that
originated on their farm at the
turn of the century.
The festival has grown in popularity through the years as more
people discover the culinary
possibilities of the now-famous
sweet tuber. It’s exciting that a
humble root vegetable – which
some say is actually more of a
rutabaga – has attracted much
attention to the small town even
after leaf-season has peaked, and
all for a good cause as well.
This year, more than 100
pounds of Gilfeathers will be
cooked for the event’s signature
Gilfeather turnip soup. Another
200 pounds will be given out to
various Wardsboro chefs to prepare different recipes that will
be featured as “turnip tastings”
at the Turnip Café. Casseroles,
slaws, soufflés, breads, cakes,
pies are only a few of the many
offerings that will appear on the
“tasting table.”
The turnip cart outside town
hall will be loaded with up to
700 pounds of Gilfeathers, many
grown on neighboring farms
such as Dutton’s in Newfane or
in local gardens. Turnips are sold
by the pound and “they go fast,”
according to the Friends’ top turnip sales person, Cris Tarnay.
She says, “they are hardy and
easy to cultivate from seed, but
shouldn’t be harvested before a
bite of hard frost. It acquires a
notable sweetness after a frost
and that sweetness is what makes
the Gilfeather so special.”
The Turnip Café is located in
the Wardsboro Town Hall and
serves homemade cider donuts
and coffee beginning at 10 a.m.
followed by lunch and a la carte
servings of turnip tastings plus
the delicious, creamy Gilfeather
turnip soup from 11:30 a.m. until the food runs out. Soup and
tastings are available for “take
out” or to enjoy at a sit-down
lunch. An outdoor “soup station” is for event-goers who want
to buy soup only.
The most exciting part of the
Turnip Festival is the annual
Turnip Contest. Contestants
may register Gilfeathers (big,
ugly or both!) from 10 a.m. to
noon and then return to town
hall for the announcement of
the winners and ribbon awards
immediately after the judging.
More than 30 craft and farmers’ market vendors are set up
inside Town Hall as well as outdoors under the big tent. The
most popular booth is the Turnip
Shoppe featuring apparel, accessories, books and movies all
about the Gilfeather turnip, as
well as many other gift items of
local interest. This year, the turnip gifts on sale will fill one entire
room in Town Hall.
Live music is always a big
draw at the Turnip Fest. Visitors
will be treated to the guitar
and vocals of Jimmy Knapp,
Wardsboro’s strolling musician
who annually serenades visitors
with his original Gilfeather turnip ballad. Alan Bills and his
band of talented musicians are
also performing.
Festival admission and parking are free. The festival is a
fundraiser for the Friends of
the Wardsboro Library for the
support of the Gloria Danforth
Memorial Building, the home of
the Wardsboro Public Library.
For more information, call 802896-3416 or visit www.friendsofwardsborolibrary.org.
BMH to provide
health services to
people traveling abroad
BRATTLEBORO—
announced it will begin providing health services to area citizens
planning trips out of the United
States through its Occupational
Health Department.
The services fill a gap left
by World Learning when they
closed their travel health center
prior to the start of their fall semester. Previously, students in
the World Learning programs
as well as the general public
could go to the Black Mountain
Road campus for immunizations and other travel-related
health advice.
BMH President & CEO
Steven Gordon says the hospital has hired an occupational
nurse with experience in the
field to begin offering this service
immediately.
Gordon says BMH is also in
discussion with World Learning
about providing consultative services on non-emergency issues
for its students, including reviewing and evaluating student medical forms, as well as emergency
services through the hospital’s
Emergency Department.
“World Learning has a number of students on campus who
will need advice on medical
issues during the application
process, and when they are
on campus as well as in another country,” said Gordon.
“The nursing and medical staff
in our Occupational Health
Department has the capability
to serve both World Learning
students and the general public
in this capacity.”
BMH’s Occupational Health
Services department provides
resources to area businesses that
create a safer workplace environment and improve overall
employee health, including preplacement and annual physicals,
drug screening, flu clinics, ergonomic evaluations, and on-site
and off-site testing of hearing,
vision and blood pressure.
The Occupational Health
Services department is open
Monday through Friday from
7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments
can be made by calling
802-257-8235.
ThE COMMONS CROSSWORD
“Not as Good as Gold”
NOT AS GOOD AS GOLD Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon (xworders@gmail.com)
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Passing fancy
39-Down jilted by Aeneas
Arafat’s successor
Have by dint of
Sitar piece
Grandson of Eve
Hogwash
Malamud’s Yakov Bok, e.g.
Dull songbird?
Mean disposition?
Morsel for an aardvark
Militarily relaxed
Vega’s spectral type
Not of this earth
Goes on wheels
Conqueror of Aztecs
Last-place finishers?
Campus feature
Surfeit
Diner seating option
Tofu, for one
Yoga accessory
Med. research agcy.
Gasp and cry
Club obligation
Surrealist Magritte
Be in a funk
Harmonizes
Statues or sardines
Fit for growing cacti
Thumbs up at sea
Pet-store reject?
Go mad with hunger
“Gilligan’s Island” ingenue
Lightly fries
Lesser Bond villain?
Bit of merriment
Oversized plugs
“Understood”
C-3PO’s sort
Winged archer
Combine
Was familiar with
Item of regalia
Muckraker Tarbell
Flattery in verse
Wheel with teeth
Non-Polynesian
“Amanda” band
Pitch
Fielder’s booby prize?
Ratty town of legend
__ -miss (spotty)
Taco topper
Delivery from a sibyl
Overjoys
Arm-twisted
Lousy retirement gift?
Turn into gold, maybe?
Passed out
Astronomer Tycho
Engaged a clapper?
Chapters in history
Goo-yielding plants
On the move
Makes a choice
Place to get a Reuben
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© 2011 Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
DOWN
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Court order
Pace-pushing runner
“Young Frankenstein” flunky
Artificial
Residents of Asgard
Down and out
Elmer, to Bugs
Govt. labor watchdog
Camus, by belief
Scope
Unfairly influences
“Avant”’s opposite
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Harden
Get rid of
Software helper
Stay alive
All wound up
Killer whales
Projected works
Comes to mind
Pair plus one
Big cheese
An eye for 24- Down?
Where tolls may be taken
Feel the pain
Spot for a stud
5-Across, in Carthage
Spice in curry
Worthiness
Ouzo flavoring
Geek Squad members
One Dionne quint to another
Faintly praise?
Disprove
Out of whack
Boo and hiss
Bilko, familiarly
Safety device
Advertiser’s Yule
Crooning actor Montand
Highly caustic stuff
Pre-owned
Social pariah
Flirted
“Let It Be” label
Pincher of pennies
From square one
Championship match
Sail of a sort
Go head over heels
Two-toned treats
Poet Dove
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Bakery freebie
Castle-building material
Nub
Esophagi
Maker of hard drives
Someone else
Grimm baddie
Has a rightful place
Watering holes
Moved en masse
Taunt from the stands
Quixotically charge
Unoccupied
Element maker
Moon of Uranus
Chinese tourist hot spot
Gets wind (of)
Houston ballplayer, to fans
Make sound
List-ending abbr.
Lucy’s partner
Org. that awards belts
50 Cent style
Last issue’s solution
“A
Day
atPARK
the Park”
A DAY
AT THE
(globexword@gmail.com) Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
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© 2011 Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
PUBLICATION OF THE CROSSWORD IS UNDERWRITTEN BY
Brattleboro Tire
558 Putney Rd., Brattleboro • 254-5411
commons
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Gilfeather Turnip
Festival benefits
Wardsboro library
EMILY COX AND hENRY RAThVON
"
Gilfeather turnips.
Deirdre Holmes/planithealthier.wordpress.com
VT STATE
INSPECTION
$5 OFF THE REGULAR PRICE
VT State Inspection
Red#10
#6 Due Now
Red
D4
T h e C ommons
arts & community C A L E N D A R
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Film and
video
WEDNESDAY
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
I deas and education
14
n
B R A T T L E B O R O
.
Peter Kinder Discusses
Corporations: With the Supreme Court's
recent ruling that the U.S. Constitution guarantees corporations the right to participate in
elections, the rights of corporations as individuals has again become a hot issue. Speaker
Kinder has studied the relationship between
society and corporations for 40 years. n 5
p.m. - 6:30 p.m. n Free. n Marlboro College
Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St.
17
n
.
Free
Prostate Screening Clinic:
BRATTLEBORO
In addition to the free screening, the visit
will include a PSA blood test and a digital
rectal exam. To be eligible, individuals must
be between 40 and 70 years old and must not
have had a prostate screening or PSA blood
test in the past 12 months. n 5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. n Free. n Brattleboro Memorial
Hospital, 17 Belmont Ave. Information: 802251-8459; www.bmhvt.org/events/healthier_living.shtml.
17
n
.
Talk:
Cultivating spiritual connection: Join a short talk on what it
P U T N E Y
means to have a spiritual connection with
the land and how that directly relates to improving crop yield and homestead planning.
P er f orming arts
n 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. n Free. n Putney
Public Library, 55 Main Street. Information:
802-387-4407.
19
n
.
Black
Bears in Vermont: Join Forrest
BELLOWS FALLS
Hammond, from Vermont Fish & Wildlife, who
will talk about Black Bears in Vermont and
the challenges they face, especially from future development in the state. n 7 p.m. n
Free. n Rockingham Free Public Library, 65
Westminster Street. Information: 802-4634270; www.rockingham.lib.vt.us.
V isual arts
and s h ows
15
n
.
GRAFTON
Classical realist: Jon McAuliffe: McAuliffe
is noted for his portraitures in both oils and
charcoal, and his work is in private collections
in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York City,
and Chicago. The public is invited to meet
Jon and see his new work. n 5 p.m. - 7:30
p.m. n Free. n Hunter Gallery of Fine Art,
74 Main Street. Information: 802 843 1440.;
www.hunterartworks.com.
MEMBERS 1ST CREDIT UNION
“The SMALL Credit Union
with a BIG HEART”
www.members1cu.com
10 Browne CT
PO Box 8245
N. Brattleboro, VT 05304
NCUA
Insured to
250,000
13
n
13
n
WEST CHESTERFIELD
.
Ten Minute Plays: Ten Minute
Plays capture pivotal moments. They challenge
the playwright, the director, and the actors to
make it all happen now the way it often does
in real life. n 7:30 p.m. Through Saturday,
October 15. n $8 and reservations are highly
recommended. n Actors Theatre Playhouse,
Corner Brook & Main St. Information: 802-2544714; www. Actors-Theatre.Info.
14
n
.
NEYT:
"The Children's Hour" : Lillian
BRATTLEBORO
Hellman's drama is about the power of lies and
the consequence of not speaking out against
them. An angry student, Mary Tilford, runs
away from her all-girls boarding school. To
avoid punishment she invents a lie to tell
her grandmother - that the two headmistresses are having an affair. The accusation
proceeds to destroy the women's careers,
relationships and lives. n Varies. Through
Sunday, October 16. n $13, $11 seniors, $9
13
n
.
Community Gardens:
The Greater Falls Great Food Community
Conversation (GFGFCC) will host a community
gathering to discuss and plan for the development of community gardens in Bellows Falls
for 2012. The conversation will take place at
St. Charles Sacred Heart Education and Social
Center, 39 Green Street, at the corner of Green
and Williams Street. n 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
n Free. n Post Oil Solutions. Information:
802-869-2141; www.postoilsolutions.org.
.
Literary
Festival Writing Workshops:
BRATTLEBORO
Serving
Windham Counties
Windsor
&Windsor
Windham&Counties
Serving WindsorServing
& Windham
Counties
R ecreation
Operated
by
Operated
by
Operated
by River Transit
Connecticut
River Transit
Connecticut
Connecticut River Transit
ProvideProvide
Your RideYour
LetLet“The
Current”
YourRideRide
Let“The“TheCurrent”
Current”
Provide
15
n
.
oculars. n 7 p.m. n Museum and SoVerA
members free; non-member adults $10, chil
dren 18 and under $5, family max $25. n
Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center, 783 Townshend
Road. Information: 802-843-2400; graftonponds.com.
www.crtransit.org
or Call us at 888-869-6287 or
www.crtransit.org
or Call
us at 888-869-6287 or
(7433)
or802-460-RIDE
Call us at 888-869-6287
802-460-RIDE
(7433) or
802-460-RIDE (7433)
Alcan Power Equipment
Sales • Service • Parts
!!! WE ARE BACK !!!
We want to thank our friends & customers that helped with our clean up
and those that called from out of state to offer help and support.
Our roads are shaky but YOU CAN GET HERE! If in doubt, call us for
an update or to have our truck do pick up and delivery for you.
Thanks again to all,
Tom, Pat, & The Alcan Staff
Hours: Mon-Fri 8-5 Sat. 8-12
Augerhole Road So. Newfane, VT
BRATTLEBORO
GUILFORD
ducted by Marco Armiliato, is based on the final, tragic days of Anne Boleyn and has been
a dramatic and vocal showcase for some of the
greatest sopranos in operatic history. n 1
p.m. Through Sunday, October 16. n Saturday
$26; Sunday encore: $24. n Latchis Theatre,
50 Main Street. Information: 802-254.1109;
www.latchis.com.
15
n
.
Theater:
"Comedy of Er rors" : The
BRATTLEBORO
Brattleboro Union High School Players will
present William Shakespeare's hilarious
farce. Filled with mistaken identities, madcap chases, and ridiculous characters, this
comic classic offers laughs and delight for
workshop will be led by Nicholas Delbanco
from the University of Michigan. All workshop students are invited to a private author
reception on Friday evening. n 1 p.m. - 4
p.m. n $75. n Marlboro College Graduate
Center, 28 Vernon St.
15
n
.
Fall
Landscape Workshop: Learn
BELLOWS FALLS
to paint beautiful fall colors with watercolorist Robert J.Brien. This one day workshop
will focus on painting the spectacular fall
landscape of Vermont. n 9:30 a.m. - 3:30
p.m. n Cost not available at press time.
n Saxtons River Art Guild, United Church.
Information: 603-835-2387; donnabascomlund@comcast.net.
.
Healthy
17 cooking: This informative
sesn
BRATTLEBORO
collection of important folk art works will be
available to be seen by the public, as Broad
Brook Grange shows in one evening all of its
painted theater curtains. Guilford's grange
hall has four of these curtains, but they are
not ordinarily all viewable on any given occasion. As part of the ongoing 250th anniversary celebration of the town, all four will
be lowered and then, over an interval, raised
one by one to reveal each of the four scenes.
n 7 p.m. n Free. n Guilford 250, Broad
Brook Grange. Information: 802-254-5910;
pulpitfm@myfairpoint.net.
FLOOD CLEAN UP SPECIAL
Free chain sharpen with this coupon
Good through October 15, 2011
We Service
all Brands
18
n
.
Job
Search 101: Young adults ages 15
BELLOWS FALLS
to 21 are invited to come to the Rockingham
Free Public Library for Job Search 101, a fiveweek series that will give the basic information, skills and techniques to begin planning
a career and finding a job. n 3:15 p.m. n
Free. n Rockingham Free Public Library, 65
Westminster Street. Information: 802-4634270; www.rockingham.lib.vt.us.
C ele b rations , f estivals ,
community meals
14
n
.
Brattleboro Literary
Festival: The festival is a three-day cel-
ebration of those who read books, those
who write books, and of the books themselves. Located in downtown Brattleboro,
the festival includes readings, panel discussions, and special events, featuring emerging
and established authors. n Various times.
Various locations. Through Sunday, October
16. n Free. n Brattleboro Literary Festival,
Various locations.
15
n
PUTNEY
.
Medieval Faire:
Vermont will be transformed into a
medieval village. Enjoy the village as King
Arthur and his royal court preside over games,
feasts, and peasant frivolity. n 10 a.m. - 4
p.m. n Free. n Grammar School, 69 Hickory
Ridge Road South.
13
n
.
Documentar y:"Hey Boo":
In a series of interviews with Scott Turow,
James McBride, Wally Lamb, Rosanne Cash,
Anna Quindlen, Oprah Winfrey, and Tom
Brokaw, and with rare cooperation from Harper
Lee's sister and friends, documentarian Mary
Murphy traces the history of an astonishing
phenomenon. n 7 p.m. n Free. n Brooks
Memorial Library, 224 Main Street. Information:
802-254-5290; www.brooks.lib.vt.us.
18
n
WEST BRATTLEBORO
.
Films for the Spirit series:
"Cherry Blossoms": Doris Dorrie"s
fim is a tender, emotionally intense and profoundly moving story of marital love. n 6:30
p.m. n $5 suggested donation. n All Souls
Church, 29 South Street. Information: 802-2549377; www.ascvt.org.
15
n
BRATTLEBORO
.
Kenny
Barron Trio: To hear Kenny Barron
is to experience one of the greatest jazz pianists in the world. n 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. n
Cost not available at press time. n Latchis
Theatre, 50 Main Street. Information: 802254.1109; www.latchis.com.
15
n
.
Live:
The Alash Ensemble : The
BELLOWS FALLS
throat singing ensemble Alash will perform
the unique, traditional music of Tuva, a tiny
republic in the heart of Central Asia. n 7:30
p.m. n $14-$22 with a discount of $4 for
students and seniors. n Bellows Falls Opera
House, 7 The Village Square. Information: 802463-3100.; www.bfoperahouse.com/.
.
Live: Pianist
Nigel Coxe: This performance will
MARLBORO
include works by Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, as
well as works by Marlboro music professor
Stan Charkey. n 3 p.m. n Free. n Ragle
Hall, Serkin Center for the Performing Arts,
Marlboro College.
.
Live: Cincha:
16 Cincha puts her beautiful
voice, a
n
GRAFTON
15
n
.
BRATTLEBORO
Artist
talk and book-signing:
Acclaimed children's-book illustrator Salley
Mavor, whose original fabric reliefs are on
view in the Museum's Activity Gallery, will discuss her career, describe her technique, and
sign copies of her award-winning Pocketful
of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes and
other books. n 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. n Free.
n Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, 10 Vernon
Street. Information: 802-257-0124; www.brattleboromuseum.org.
16
n
.
Vermont Reads: "To Kill a
Mockingbird" : The Vermont Humanities
Council is again sponsoring Vermont Reads,
the statewide one-book community reading program, during the Brattleboro Literary
Festival. Discussion of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
will end the festival's program. n 5 p.m. n
Free. n Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main
Street. Information: 802-254-5290; www.
brooks.lib.vt.us.
Fundraising
and
awareness
events
15
n
.
Bingo
Benefit: Bingo Benefit for displaced
residents of Wilmington. n 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
n Cost not available at press time. n Twin
WILMINGTON
Valley High School, 1 School Street. For more
information: Brenda Ouellette, Coordinator of
Event. 802.780.8159.
M usic
802 /348-7898 n
16
by Andrezej Mikijaniec, Chef at Brattleboro
Memorial Hospital, who will present valuable information for ways that busy families can eat a healthy diet. n 11 a.m. to
12 p.m. n Free. n Brattleboro Memorial
Hospital, 17 Belmont Ave. Information: 802251-8459; www.bmhvt.org/events/healthier_living.shtml.
sion on healthy cooking will be presented
Astronomy
Evening: Learn how to enjoy ceGRAFTON
For Bus Schedules and Information Visit our Website at
For Bus
Schedules and Information Visit our Website at lestial neighbors through a telescope or bin-
For Bus Schedules
and Information Visit our Website at
www.crtransit.org
The Met:
. Curtain
15 Live in HD: "Anna Bolena":
n
15 Raising & Presentation:
The opera, directed by David McVicar and con- n
A
deaf teen living in New York City, discovers
the power of American Sign Language poetry. The documentary film will be followed
by a discussion with Jim Castrese, Residential
Director of the Vermont Center for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing. n 7:30 p.m. n $6,
$4 seniors, $3 students. Members and children
5 and under are admitted free of charge. n
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, 10 Vernon
Street. Information: 802-257-0124; www.
brattleboromuseum.org.
T h e written
word
The Brattleboro Literary Festival, in conjunction with Marlboro College, is pleased to announce it is offering workshops for poets
and fiction writers for the first time in 2011.
New York poet Jeanne Marie Beaumont will
run the poetry workshop, while the fiction
Leave your
Car behindbehind
and
Leave
your
and
Leave
yourCar
Car behind and
.
the entire family. n 7 p.m. n $5. n
Brattleboro Union High School, Brattleboro
Union High School Auditorium. Information:
802-451-3762..
I nstruction
14
n
Tel. (802) 257-5131
Fax (802) 257-5837
students. n New England Youth Theatre, 100
Flat Street. Information: 802-380-5090; jcallahan.84@gmail.com.
.
BRATTLEBORO
Deaf
Jam: In Deaf Jam Aneta Brodski, a
Bonnie Raitt, she has an entirely original
sound that hooks every audience she plays
for. n 8 p.m. n $10 per person and pro
ceeds go to the Grafton Fund, a giving program
of the non-profit Windham Found. n Old
Tavern at Grafton, Main Street. Information:
802-843-2211; melissa.gullotti@windhamfoundation.org.
16
n
.
Benefit
concert: Come dance and groove
BRATTLEBORO
to the music of Flabbergaster at Marijuana
Resolve's first benefit concert. Meet and
Greet the band in mid-set. n 6:30 p.m.
n Donation at the door. n Hooker-Dunham
Theater & Gallery, 139 Main Street. Contact:
802 451-8390 or marijuanaresolve@gmail.
com; www.marijuanaresolve.org.
.
Wendy's jazz
soiree: Bob Stabach with Eugene
GUILFORD
This space for rent
Uman on piano, George Kaye on bass, Tim
Gilmore on drums and Bob on sax will premiere
new compositions. The band will be playing
some of their favorite tunes which lend themselves to extended improvisations and emotional depth. n Jazz at 7pm and potluck at
6pm. n Suggested donation $8 to $15 at
the door. n Soirées Musicales, 2596 Tater
Lane. Information: 802- 254-6189; wendy@
asteriamusic.com.
You are looking at Windham
County’s best advertising
value. To promote your
business in the next issue of
The Commons, call Nancy at
(802) 246-6397 or e-mail
ads@commonsnews.org.
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amazing array of original songs. While likened to Sarah McLachlan, Joni Mitchell and
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19
n
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Home-Schooler & Christian Materials
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