Top Stories for Tuesday May 16, 2006

New Works New Styles New Themes
By Ed Barna
    The Warren Kimble fans who think of him in terms of serenely stylized New England barns and houses, whimsical farm animals, and Americana like Uncle Sam are about to get a big surprise.
    As two ongoing exhibitions show, he’s quite capable of moving in very different directions, and quite surefootedly. In Brandon, where “Transition” will be up at the Brandon Artists’ Guild downtown gallery through June 29, and at Green Mountain College’s Feick Center in Poultney, which will have “How Many Widows?” through June 17, people can see the results of time spent at another Vermont cultural institution: the Studio Center in Johnson.    
    Every year, Kimble said in an interview May 10, he spends a month at this artistic colony (which has revitalized Johnson, according to some sources--score another for the Creative Economy). Free of the telephone and other harassments, and able to get his meals at the dining hall shared by about 50 attendees, he can gather his forces and make advances.
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Health Care Reform Passes...
By Mike Cameron
    A piece of Vermont history was made on Wednesday evening 5-10-06 at the eleventh hour, when lawmakers approved a hotly debated health care reform bill in the Vermont Senate by a vote of 25-2.
    The bill was previously approved by the House of Representatives in the final minutes of the 2006 session will now include provisions for the establishment of an entity called “Catamount Health”.
    In effect, the landmark legislation will now allow private insurance companies to offer 30,000 uninsured Vermonters health insurance coverage.    
    Lawmakers on both sides of the argument appear to have found some common ground at least for the next two years.  [ more ]

Elderly Services Will Host Open House

   On Saturday, May 20, from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Elderly Services will be hosting an informational open house.  Joanne Corbett, Director, explains, “We've done the open house to show off our beautiful new building, now this open house is an outreach effort.”  People with concerns regarding the care of an elderly relative are invited to learn about available services and speak with a social worker about their specific concerns.
    Corbett said that folks might have an elder living in their home, or living nearby, or even elsewhere in the country.   It really doesn't matter as long there is a concern and the individual is looking for a solution.  Those interested will have a chance to spend 20 minutes with a social worker, and if more time is needed a longer follow-up appointment can be made for a later time.
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