The Shopper 10-28-20
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HAVERHILL, NH ECRWSSEDDMECRWSS ELECTION DAY fall back NOV. 03 your vote is Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 a.m. your voice Your Local Community Newspaper OCTOBER 28, 2020 | WWW.VERMONTJOURNAL.COM VOLUME 59, ISSUE 22 Community creates “Black Lives Matter” mural BY JOE MILLIKEN member Laura Chapman as a long term, those conversations Other guests at the event in- The Shopper way to not act as a political state- will bring greater understand- cluded Senate Majority Leader ment, but rather to simply coun- ing, creating a community that is Becca Balint, Lieutenant Gov- PUTNEY, Vt. – After receiving ter and transform prejudice. genuinely inclusive.” ernor David Zuckerman, State approval from the Putney Se- Nearly 100 people took part The main purpose of the com- Representative Mike Mrowicki, lectboard, community members in the event throughout the mittee and the mural project is and Windham Southeast School recently united in front of the day, which was also attended by to ensure that all Putney resi- District Board Chairman David Putney Central School on West- Steffen Gillom, president of the dents, town employees, and visi- Schoales, and Vice Chairwoman minster West Road to proudly Windham County branch of tors receive equal treatment and of the School Board Anne Beek- paint a message for all to see: the National Association for the opportunity regardless of race, man. “Black Lives Matter.” Advancement of Colored Peo- color, religion, ancestry, national Understanding the impor- Manned with gallons of bright ple, who expressed to the par- origin, income, veteran status, tance of this positive message, yellow paint, brushes, and roll- ticipants and attendees that he sexual orientation, age, marital the school district board helped ers, adults and youth alike hoped that we can all continue or familiar status, disability, or initiate the event by issuing a teamed up to express their posi- to use art as a means for creat- gender identity and expression. statement endorsing the project tive message, countering nega- ing an awareness and discussion “I believe that the mural was and giving the town permission tive ones that had been displayed moving forward. actually the least we could do, in to use the elementary school around Windham County back Putney’s Equity and Inclusion the light of the fact that someone parking lot, which is private in July, including one such de- Committee, led by co-chairs Community members in Putney gathered to paint a “Black Lives had offended some of our most property, as part of creating the rogatory message found in Lisa Munoz and Jaime Contois, Matter” mural outside Putney Central School. vulnerable neighbors,” Beek- mural. Putney. The Windham County is also offering an anti-racism PHOTO BY EVIE LOVETT man added. “However, I am Upon completion of the mu- Sheriff’s Department assisted in book club through November, heartened to see the effort that ral project, which was carried directing traffic while the com- as well as organizing workshops practices, and decision-making Beekman said. Beekman is a people across the country are through without any incidents munity members created their for town employees. The com- processes. member of the Equity and In- making to dismantle the racism or negative feedback from the message. mittee identifies and advises the “In the immediate term, I clusion Committee. “It has and that is baked into our society. I public, the participants and at- The mural project had been Selectboard about addressing think that Putney really stepped continues to spark important, am moved by the support of the tendees concluded the event originally presented to the Se- inequities and encouraging in- up to support our neighbors of often difficult, and sometimes Putney community and hon- with a round of applause and lectboard by Chairman Josh clusive practices in town servic- color, and I hope it has made unpleasant conversation among ored to serve with my colleagues a positive group chant: “Black Laughlin and former board es, programs, human resource them feel safer in Putney,” Anne our citizens. I hope that in the on the committee.” lives matter! Black lives matter!” Bellows Falls author wins Successful food drive fills international book award shelves BELLOWS FALLS, to Families BY BILL LOCKWOOD Laramie Award is focused on tive American tales. She has Vt. – Chroma Tech- distributions, The Shopper Americana and the Civil War. Shoshone ancestors, three nology of Bellows families hav- She says “Seven Aprils” covers of whom were members of Falls led a successful ing used up BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Last the “whole scope of the war,” the Lewis and Clark expe- food drive that added their extra month Bellows Falls author but it is not about the battle dition. Her works have re- almost a thousand pandemic Eileen Charbonneau won the but the “forgotten part of the ceived a number of awards, pounds of food to the 3SquaresVT grand prize of the Laramie war.” Her story is about a wom- the Rita Award for romance shelves of Our Place food benefits, Award for Western, Pioneer, an who poses as a male nurse writers, Hearts of the West, Drop-In Center and and reduc- Civil War Fiction, one of 16 and then later becomes a spy. and a Daffanie De Morey. $3,000 to their coffers. tions in un- categories of the Chanticleer It is based on a true story that Her works have spanned the “We are so grate- employment International Book Awards, for she found through exhaustive 19th century, but she says, “I ful for everyone at benefits. her novel “Seven Aprils” that research. Charbonneau says stayed away from stories set Chroma who made Chroma Technology personnel, left to right, Rick Holloway, As a frame was released last year by Books she was inspired by the movie in wartime ‘til I was a witness this happen,” said Our Ellen Lawrence, and Jessica Ratner recently delivered about of reference, We Love Publishing of Canada. “Glory.” She says, “There must in New York.” Place director Lisa 1,000 pounds of food donations collected by employees to she cites 137 Our Place Drop-in Center. It is the first book of her “Civil be so many people like that.” She was on jury duty six Pitcher as she surveyed PHOTO PROVIDED households War Brides” series. The second Charbonneau and her hus- blocks from Ground Zero the boxes and cans that served in Jan- book, “Mercies of the Fallen,” band Ed moved to Bellows Falls on the day of the 9/11 attack. were being weighed as uary through had a virtual reading event at a few years ago after he retired Her most recent series before they were unloaded recently more than ever,” said OP direc- March before the pandemic re- Village Square Booksellers in and no longer had to follow ra- the current one was set in by Chroma personnel Rick tor Lisa Pitcher. “We have seen ally hit and the number falling Bellows Falls Oct. 16. It was re- dio jobs that had taken them up World War II. Her hero was Holloway, Ellen Lawrence, an increase in the number of to 87 in May and 48 in June as leased this spring shortly after and down the eastern seaboard. one of the Navajo “code talk- Jessica Ratner, and Dale Kon- meals we prepare go from 600- the stimulus and other benefits the pandemic prevented the They had honeymooned in this ers” who foiled the Nazi code dracki. plus in June and July to 842 in kicked in. usual live event at the store it part of Vermont and have had breakers by simply speaking Also collaborating in the August and 994 in September. Currently, Our Place is not would have otherwise received. an attachment ever since. With their native language. The collection with the employee- In September, we served twice open, but breakfasts and lunch- Charbonneau says, “Chanti- retirement they found an old latest of the current series, owned company was Jani- as many households in the food es can be accessed through a cleer is international so I feel Victorian in Bellows Falls. “Mercies of the Fallen” takes Tech Cleaning Services. pantry program as we did the window and food boxes can be like it’s part of a world literary Starting in 1988 Charbon- the reader from the Battle of The center’s annual Over- month before, going from 52 picked up at the door. Home community.” neau has had 13 historical fic- Antietam through Gettys- flow the Opera House food households to 109, represent- deliveries of boxes of food are This year she received her tion novels published as well burg to the New York draft collection event had been ing 328 people, plus we made 34 made to 34 seniors. award at home, participating as one nonfiction work, a riots. She is thinking of con- canceled due to the pandem- home deliveries to seniors. And She applauded the work of in the ceremony through her how-to on writing. She is origi- tinuing that series by taking ic, so the center held a drive- about 30% of those accessing Amanda Reed and Kim Wallace computer. She says she is really nally from Cold Spring, N.Y., her heroine, Ursula, through by collection at its location at the food shelf have had to come for keeping the center on task impressed by their yearly con- in the Hudson Valley where the rest of the war. 4 Island St. Donations were in more than once in a month to and meeting the community’s ference since “American pub- “Seven Aprils” is partially set.