Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

That vote has been costly. Prize it! The vote is a power, a weapon of offense and defense, a prayer. Understand what it means and what it can do for your country. Use it intelligently, conscientiously, prayerfully.

Carrie Chapman Catt, suffragette and founder of the Women's League of Voters, in 1920

     As we look forward to exercising our right to vote this coming Tuesday at Town Meeting Day, WeCAN community, please take a moment to double check your polling place location and hours of operation, voter registration status, finalize the candidates for which you will be voting, and cement your answer to any ballot and referendum questions posed.
     For more information, please check out the Vermont Secretary of State website here: https://sos.vermont.gov/elections/voters/. On this website you can find your voter registration information, absentee voting information, polling place locations and hours, as well as a Voter Checklist and a Town Clerk Guide.
     Just a reminder: same day registration is available in Vermont with a current photo ID (license, passport), current utility bill, bank statement, or government documentation detailing your residential address. If you want to be a delegate for a Democratic presidential candidate at either the state or national conventions, or if you want to participate in your town’s caucus to select delegates, you must vote on the Democratic ballot in this upcoming primary.
     If you are in need of transportation to the polls please don’t hesitate to post on the WeCAN-Windham County Action Network Facebook Page or email [email protected]; your neighbors will work hard to get you to your polling place on Tuesday.
We’d love to hear about your experiences and see your pictures from Town Meeting Day! Send us an email at [email protected] and we will feature your images and words in a future Weekly Email Update. 

HAPPENING THIS WEEK, MONDAY, MARCH 2nd, 2020-SUNDAY, MARCH 8th, 2020

Informal Democracy Round Table Discussion and Q&A
part of the Brattleboro Democracy Forum with Woody Bernhard and Nick Biddle
Monday, March 2nd, 2020 at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden (157 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12pm-1pm. For more information please contact [email protected]  or 802 464 3154.
12 string guitarist Burrie (A Burris Jenkins) from Northampton, MA will provide background music for the occasion.
Nick Biddle PhD. is a retired professor of history and Brattleboro resident since 2013.
Woody Bernhard is a Marlboro resident, retired carpenter, and organizer of the Brattleboro Democracy Forum.
Burrie is currently performing every 2nd Saturday night at The Floodwater Brewery in Shelburne Falls, MA.
Organized by We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All: positive nonviolent public action for democracy and civil rights for all people.

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Climate Cafe presents
Solidarity Event in Support of Indigenous Tribe’s Resistance to Oil Pipelines on Their Ancestral Land
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Monday, March 2nd, 2020 at the Brattleboro Food Coop (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in the Community Room (please use the 7 Canal Street entrance). 6pm-7pm. Please do not use the Coop parking lot; please park on Canal Street. Free. Light refreshments available.  
Hereditary Chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation in (so-called) British Columbia have called for URGENT SUPPORT as they defend their ancestral lands from fracked gas and oil pipelines and defend their sovereignty. COME TO a film/fundraiser to support the Unist'ot'en Camp!
We will show a short film, Invasion, about the ten-year Wet'suwet'en struggle and the healing center they have built in the path of the pipeline, as well as several short video updates.
The Canadian and provincial governments are violating Wet'suwet'en, Canadian, and international law. The Unist'ot'en Camp on 22 square kilometers of unceded territory is right now under attack by the courts and the RCMP. A call has gone out for Indigenous and settler-ally land defenders. Funds are urgently needed for on the ground and legal defense.

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No War, No Sanctions: Iran Study Group
facilitated by Brattleboro Solidarity
Mondays in March: 
Monday, March 2nd, 2020: Iranian History and Culture 
Monday, March 9th, 2020: US-Iranian Relations History
Monday, March 16th, 2020: Current Situation
Monday, March 23rd, 2020: Moving Towards Action
Monday, March 30th, 2020: Next Steps and Possible Local Actions
All meetings take place at the Brattleboro Memorial Library (224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 6pm-8pm. To sign up, contact [email protected] or call 802-380-1463.
Study materials created by Catalyst Project: Anti Racism for Collective Liberation with a curriculum to support action to stop war on Iran. 

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Whole Hearted Activism with Steven Vannoy, PhD
part of the Brattleboro Democracy Forum
Monday, March 2nd, 2020 at Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 7pm-9pm. For more information please contact Woody Bernhard at 802 464 3154.
Social activism is hard work. Our limited resources of time and energy must often be shared amongst family, work and community. The truly daunting challenges we face nationally and globally stir up feelings of anger and resentment, which fuel our activism. Although anger and resentment can be entirely appropriate and useful, who wants their lives to be driven by, and be exhausted by, these emotions? In this talk we’ll explore deeper aspects of our lives that can be used to nurture and sustain our calling to social-ecological-political activism. Whole hearted activism is activism fueled not only by outrage, it draws on compassion, gratitude, and other heart-centered values that give deep meaning to our lives and are thus sustainable sources of activist engagement.
Steven Vannoy, PhD, is a practicing psychologist in Brattleboro, and a socially engaged citizen.
The views expressed at the Brattleboro Democracy Forum are not necessarily those of Brooks Memorial Library 
Organized by We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All: positive nonviolent public action for democracy and civil rights for all people

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Say Her Names Film Screening
Wednesday, March 4th, 2020 at Hilltop Montessori School (99 Stafford Farm Hill Road, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the Arts Barn. 5pm-7pm. The screening is free but we are collecting donations for Rebel Womxn. Childcare is provided with an RSVP to [email protected] or [email protected].
Join us to honor and center the liberator actions and historical legacies of Fannie Lou Hamer and Anita Hill. We will be sharing the films: Anita: Speaking Truth to Power and Fannie Lou Hamer: Stand Up. Films contain adult themes, please watch trailers before bringing youth.

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Views, Brews, and Grilled Cheese Legislator Mixer
sponsored by Windham Votes!
hosted by Windham County Vermont Democrats and Hermit Thrush Brewery
Thursday, March 5th, 2020 at Hermit Thrush Brewery (29 High Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm-7:30pm
Join our  legislators to talk about the upcoming election and issues relevant to millennials living, working, and raising families in Windham County. 

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VT State House Democratic Candidate Nomination Meeting
Thursday, March 5th, 2020 at Village Square Booksellers (32 Square, Bellows Falls, VT 05101). 7pm.
On Thursday, March 5 at 7 PM at the Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls, the town committees of Athens, Brookline, Grafton, Rockingham, and Windham will meet to identify candidates for the State House seat recently vacated by Matt Trieber.  Any resident of Windham District 3 is eligible to be nominated or they can nominate themselves.  The town committees will identify the top candidates to be forward to the Governor who will make the final appointment. Anyone interested in this process should contact the chair of their Democratic town committee.

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Protest Vigil at TD Bank
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, March 6th, 2020 (and every Friday) at TD Bank Brattleboro (215 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT). In front of the building. 12pm-1pm. Signs will be provided
TD is a major investor in Tar Sands. TD helps to fund the Dakota Access Pipeline. What You Can Do (besides attending the vigils): If you’re a TD depositor, change banks! Founded in 2005, Post Oil Solutions is a 501c3 community organizing project in Southeastern Vermont whose mission is to help empower the people of the Central Connecticut River Valley bioregion in this era of global warming and climate change to develop sustainable, resilient , collaborative, and socially just communities leading to a self- and community-sufficient post petroleum society.

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Rally for Medicaid and Healthcare for All
sponsored by Vermont Workers’ Center
Saturday, March 7th, 2020 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (1 Medical Center Dr., Lebanon, NH). 12pm. To RSVP and sign up for carpools: https://www.workerscenter.org/calendar/2020/03/07/rally-for-medicaid. Questions? Contact [email protected].
Tens of thousands of people in Vermont can't afford the health care we need - whether we're on Medicaid, Vermont Health Connect, or get health insurance through our employer. But rather than treating health care as a public good, Governor Scott is moving to further privatize our health care under OneCare Vermont,  a private company run by Dartmouth-Hitchcock and UVM Medical Center.
There will be simultaneous rallies at the two anchor hospitals of OneCare Vermont in support of a public health care system that puts people first. The Windham County Workers’ Center will be organizing transportation to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock rally.

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Welcome Party: Out in the Open
Saturday, March 7th, 2020 at Cotton Mill Hill (74 Cotton Mill Hill, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in Suite A206. 3pm-6pm.
See the new community space, meet new staff & board members, and celebrate rural LGBTQ community! More information about the afternoon coming soon!

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LGBTQ+ Night at the Circus Spectacular
hosted by Frog Meadow Bed and Breakfast and Massage Oasis for Men: Southern Vermont and Necca- New England Center for Circus Arts
Saturday, March 7th, 2020 at Echo Restaurant (69-73 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301) and the Latchis Theater (50 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). Fundraiser begins at 5pm. Circus Spectacular begins at 7:30pm. Free admission. 
The Circus Spectacular is a dazzling fundraising event. Starring guest artists from circuses around the world, this is a unique opportunity to see some of today’s most renowned high flying aerialists, acrobats, and jugglers in Brattleboro on the Latchis Theater stage. An evening of incredible, world-class entertainment that supports scholarship and outreach programming that affects LGBTQ youth, families & circus professionals!
Over a third of those enrolled in NECCA’s programs (professionals, adults and kids) are either LGBTQ or and/or are being raised in same-sex parent households. NECCA is an oasis of support, trust, love and positive reinforcement for these LGBTQ kids, adults and families!
The excitement begins at Echo Restaurant across from the Latchis Theater! Join us from 5-7 pm for a pre-show Reception & Benefit to launch NECCA’s new LGBTQ+ Scholarship Fund complete with VIP Circus Cast appearances, door prize, $3,000 worth of raffle prizes, food, and cash bar. Plus, special Master of Ceremonies, professional circus performer and NECCA Graduate Marshall Jarreau!
Agenda:
     The excitement begins at Echo Restaurant across from the Latchis Theater! Join us from 5pm-7 pm for a pre-show reception & benefit to launch NECCA’s new LGBTQ+ Scholarship Fund complete with VIP Circus Spectacular cast appearances, door prizes, $3,000 worth of raffle prizes, food, and a cash bar. Plus, special Master of Ceremonies, professional circus performer and NECCA Graduate Marshall Jarreau will be on hand to dazzle! 
     Join us as the fun moves across the street to the Latchis Theater for the 7:30 pm performance of the 10th Annual Circus Spectacular. We look forward to seeing you there! 

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Hands-On Vegan Cooking and Eating Experience
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, March 8th, 2020, at the Brattleboro Food Coop (2 Main Street. Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the Community Kitchen (please use the 7 Canal Street entrance). 4pm-6pm. Free. Donations accepted with gratitude. Space is limited. Please reserve your space by calling Shareholder Services at 802-257-0236 or emailing Marilyn at [email protected].
Join Edible Brattleboro chefs for a hands-on cooking experience preparing several recipes that feature leafy green vegetables in a three-course meal. 

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Grrrls 2 the Front 2: A Benefit for the Women's Action Team
sponsored by The Women's Action Team, Jeopardy, Dune Hunter & Future Fable.
Sunday, March 8th, 2020 at The Stone Church (210 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 4pm-10pm. Admission: Sliding scale $5-20 at door.
Come celebrate and advocate for women's rights with us on March 8th! (International Women's Day). Featuring live music by these incredible female-fueled artists: Jeopardy, Thus Love, Dune Hunter, Moxie, Future Fable, Cyndi Cain Fitzgerald, Faye Patrick Kennedy. 

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Healthy Relationship Lab
presented by the Brattleboro Community Justice Center and facilitated by a member of the Women's Freedom Center
Monday, March 9th, 2020 at the Brattleboro Coop (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the Community Room (please use the 7 Canal Street entrance). 6pm-8pm. Please RSVP to [email protected]. This room is wheel-chair accessible from the Canal Street entrance.
Join us for a lively conversation on intimate relationships. We'll discuss the full range of relationships, from healthy to unhealthy to abusive. We’ll explore communication styles, share ideas, & build skills to foster healthy relationships and discuss red flags. We will also learn about local resources.
This lab is a part of Community, Accountability, Safety, and Harm (CASH) Labs, a series of labs put on by the Brattleboro Community Justice Center that seek to build the skills that folks need to prevent, respond to, and heal from instances of interpersonal harm while addressing the harm's systematic roots.
Please RSVP, but it’s also okay if you show up the day of; the Community Room has a limit of 25 people so there is a small chance that if you don't RSVP you won't be able to attend the lab.

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The Windham County Democrats Monthly Meeting with Guest David Zuckerman
Monday, March 9th, 2020 at the Winston Prouty Campus (209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in Holton Hall. 6:30pm-8pm.
We will be meeting this month on March 9th from 6:30pm-8:00 pm in Holton Hall on the Winston Prouty campus.  Meetings are regularly held on the first Monday of the month, but because of town meeting, we have moved the March meeting to the second Monday. 
On March 9th, David Zuckerman will be our guest speaker, presenting his priorities and taking questions regarding his candidacy for governor.  
The meetings of Windham County Democrats are open to the public.  If you are interested in helping get out the Windham County Democratic vote in November 2020, please join us. 

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Restorative Justice Panel Volunteer Training
Thursday, March 12th, 2020
Thursday, March 19th, 2020
Thursday, March 26th, 2020 at the Brattleboro Community Justice Center (230 Main St., Suite #302, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 5:30pm-8:30pm. Attending all three sessions is required. The BCJC is physically accessible, with accessible parking spaces in the back parking lot and an elevator to the third floor. We also have single-use, gender-free bathrooms on our floor for all to use. Please contact us with other accessibility needs. Dinner will be provided. Each meal will include vegetarian items. Let Jackie know any other dietary concerns. RSVP (and/or send questions) to Jackie Trepanier at either [email protected] or (802) 251-8141.
What is a Restorative Justice Panel?
A group of 4-5 community volunteers, a person who has broken a law, and the Justice Center's panel coordinator sit in a circle and discuss the crime that took place in terms of what happened, who was harmed, and what can be done to repair that harm. This happens once a month for 3 to 4 sessions. 
Who is this training for? 
Folks who are interested in volunteering as a Restorative Justice Panel Volunteer. This is a 2 and a half hour, once a month commitment. 
What's being covered at this training? 
March 12-  A Personal Tour of Restorative Justice
March 19 - DoC (Dept. of Corrections) Training and Exploring the Vermont Criminal Justice System
March 26 - Basic Restorative Justice Panel Procedure

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Dance for Democracy: A Windham Votes! Benefit
hosted by the Windham County Democrats
Friday, March 13th, 2020 at The Stone Church (210 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 8pm-11pm. A suggested donation of $10 will be collected at the door with the proceeds going to support get out the vote efforts in Windham County.
The Windham County Democrats are hosting a fundraising and energy raising dance to support its Windham Votes! program.  All are invited to enjoy the music of VT Shakedown and join in the dance at the Stone Church in Brattleboro.  The Stone Church will be offering food and drink for sale.  Come out and join our community in dancing for our democracy!

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State Delegate Selection Plan Training
hosted by the Vermont Democratic Party
Saturday, March 14th, 2020 at Brattleboro Savings and Loan (221 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the Community Room. 11am-1pm.
Join the VDP and the Windham County Democratic Committee to learn about the Party's 2020 delegate selection plan.

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Climate Café presents
Self Care and the Climate Crisis: Healing the Internal and External Environment
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions 
Sunday, May 3rd, 2020 at the Brattleboro Food Coop (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the Community Room (please use the 7 Canal Street entrance). 1pm-4pm. Please do not park in the Coop parking lot; please park on Canal Street. Reservations Required; please email [email protected] to secure your spot and for more information.
Join Brendan Kelly--acupuncturist, herbalist, author--to hear how the overheating of the planet mirrors a similar overstimulation in our culture and within us individually. Using the lens of Chinese medicine, we’ll discuss how forest fires, melting ice and the rapid warming of the planet speaking to bigger and deeper issues for us personally and collectively. We’ll also discuss the importance of differentiating aspects of self-care and the use of local herbs, diet and lifestyle to address internal and ecological imbalances 
Brendan Kelly has been practicing Chinese medicine full-time for 16 years. He currently practices at the clinic he co-founded in Burlington, VT, Jade Mountain Wellness. He teaches Chinese medicine to undergraduate and graduate students at Northern Vermont University/Johnson State College, the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in FL and Daoist Tradition in NC. In 2015, North Atlantic Books published his first book The Yin and Yang of Climate Crisis which uses the lens of Chinese medicine to look at the bigger and deeper issues of global warming.

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The Salt of the Earth: The Rhetoric of White Supremacy
hosted by the Vermont Humanities Council and Brooks Memorial Library
presented in partnership with Middlebury College and the Mellon Foundation
Wednesday, May 6th, 2020 at Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 7pm-8:30pm. Part of the Vermont Humanities First Wednesdays free lecture series.
In 2014 in Grand Saline, Texas, a 79-year-old white Methodist minister named Charles Moore set himself on fire as a final protest against the community’s racism. Drawing from his documentary film Man on Fire, Middlebury professor James Sanchez discusses the rhetoric of white supremacy and suggests ways communities might address bigotry.

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RESOURCE FOR WeCAN

Rapid Response Text Alert System
When WeCAN began, Song & Solidarity set up a Rapid Response Text Alert System for WeCAN Groups. Directions for signing up are on WeCAN's website, here: https://www.wecantogether.net/rapid_response. We are grateful to Song and Solidarity for providing this service.

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STANDING REGULAR MEETINGS  

Women Veterans Weekly Coffee and Tea Social
Thursday Mornings at Brattleboro Legion Post 5 Inc. (32 Linden Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-10am.
All female veterans are invited to join in the Women Veterans group coffee held at the American Legion.  All women veterans are welcome. You do not need to be a Legion member.

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Youth 4 Change
Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month from 5:30pm-8pm. 
For more information please contact Youth 4 Change at [email protected].
Agenda:
5:30pm: Drop in homework time and art making
6:00pm: Food
6:30pm: Meeting and Organizing
Youth 4 Change is for local-area youth 12-22 interested in political organizing around local/state/national social justice issues that are important to them. Brattleboro area advocates and educators are holding a space, and assisting youth in building a strong personal tool kit to organize for change. Using a variety of creative methods, we aim to enable youth with tools for resilience, courage and compassion, while fostering their ability to speak up about issues that matter to them, and to take action in the name of love and liberation for all people.  Come explore issues of racial, economic and gender justice through art, movement, first-hand accounts and contemplative practices. Connect with area youth around the issues that matter to you and strengthen your tool kit for action! 

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Windham County NAACP Regular Meetings
Monthly community meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month at The Root Center for Social Justice (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) on the First Floor from 6pm-7pm. For more information please email [email protected]. All are welcome. 
The meetings are open to anyone interested in racial justice. The Mission of the NAACP is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

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Racial Justice Organizing Meetings Hosted by Lost River and The Root’s BIPOC Caucus
hosted by The Black, Indigenous, & People of Color Caucus and Lost River Racial Justice
4th Monday of Every Month at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:45pm-8pm. Dinner is provided; Childcare is available; Fragrance-free, nut-free, wheelchair accessible space. To learn more visit: http://lostriverracialjustice.org/racial-justice-organizing-meetings/ or contact [email protected].
All those who wish to join the movement for racial justice are encouraged to attend our monthly RJO meetings. These meetings focus on education, organizing, relationship-building, and collective healing. We work together in a multiracial group as well as in breakout groups for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-identified and white-identified people.

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Lost River Racial Justice Working Meeting
hosted by Lost River Racial Justice
2nd Monday of Every Month at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). First Floor. 5:45pm-8pm. Bring a dish to share if you’re able. Please contact us at [email protected] if you need childcare. Fragrance-free, nut-free, wheelchair accessible space.
Lost River is starting a NEW monthly meeting for white-identified people to gather and deepen our work together. We envision this being a space to dig in to the leg work of organizing and responding to community needs, to support each other with our process of unlearning and challenging white supremacy, and to be a place for new people to plug in. We hope you can join us and bring a friend!

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ONGOING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING 

Indigo Radio
Sundays at 12pm on Brattleboro Community Radio 107.7FM. To stream live, visit: www.wvew.org 
Indigo Radio, deepening understanding and making connections! IndigoRadio is a group of area educators seeking to learn through engaging with others in our community and throughout the world. We will be talking about educational and social issues both globally and locally and connecting them to our lives and Brattleboro community. Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indigoradiowvew/. For archive recordings of past shows: https://soundcloud.com/user-654648353. 
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     Thank you, friends, for your unwavering commitment to Windham County. We appreciate your time, effort, and energies so very much. Until next week...

Joanna and Leslie 
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