A bus accident on I-91 Friday was swiftly responded to and the work of emergency crews allowed all involved to be returned home from hospitals by weekend’s end. For this, the responders are being praised.

The accident happened around highway marker 23 between the exits to Putney and Westminster just after 4 p.m. The bus was carrying a number of UMass students to a skiing lodge in Quebec for the weekend when it skidded and flipped over. The driver pulled over after feeling sick, and says the next thing he knew, the bus was in a ditch. Police say that judging by the lack of skidmarks on the road and in the grass, he didn’t hit the brakes while pulling over and fell into the ditch on the opposite side of the highway.

Putney Fire, Vermont State Police, Rescue Inc. and the Vermont Agency of Transportation all responded quickly and began getting the injured to local hospitals. There were no critical injuries as feared at first, and the only one remaining in the hospital after Friday was the driver, who is being checked to find out how he passed out. Edward Blaguszewski, a spokesman for UMass, is commending the responders on their calm and intricate handling of the situation, telling the Brattleboro Reformer “”This was a situation that was disconcerting and time sensitive. We thought the responses of the Vermont State Police and the regional hospitals were outstanding.”

Putney Fire Chief Tom Goddard, who as one of the leaders of the rescue effort, also praised the responders, saying “Everyone worked together. It was a tremendous effort by everyone who reported to the scene. At first we did not have a clear picture of what was going on and everyone worked together to make sure the victims received the care they needed.”

More information will be released as it becomes available from Vermont State Police.

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Protesters gathered in front of Mike’s Barber Shop in Bellows Falls on Saturday to show their disdain for an alleged racial refusal of service.

Those that protested said they read a letter in the November 3 Brattleboro Reformer by a man who claimed he was denied a haircut because he is black. In the letter, Darryl Fischer, a physician from Silver City, New Mexico, walked into Mike’s and asked for a haircut. He witnessed two men sitting down playing cards, and they said the barber wasn’t in. When he came back, the same man that said the barber wasn’t in was cutting a white man’s hair. For this incident, Fischer says he will not be relocating to the city.

The town is trying to beat back claims that as a whole they are racist based on one man’s actions. The barber, Mike Aldrich, is not denying that he was inconsistent with the man, but denies that it was a racially charged decision. The Brattleboro Reformer reports the man as saying “I was trying to avoid cutting his hair without embarrassing him or myself. For five years I tried (to cut African American hair). I ordered special equipment and everything; their hair is entirely different.”

He says he has had instances where African Americans have came in and understood why he couldn’t cut their hair, and that this is being blown out of proportion. So far, his business hasn’t taken a hit, and many customers joke about the outcome of the letter for the misunderstanding.

Still, the dozen or so protesters outside of the 50 year old barbershop are determined to prevent this from happening again. Aldrich acknowledges his mistake, and the town is now intent on proving they are not a reflection on his actions.

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