GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
A fine October day ahead. Clouds will lessen over the course of the morning as high pressure builds in, and with plenty of sun we should see temps getting to 60 or higher, at least in the valleys. Winds today from the west, lows dropping only into the upper 40s to around 50 tonight, with clear skies ahead.Aurora! "The clouds finally cleared enough at 3:30 am to take this photo from my home in West Leb," Tracy Hill writes way too early this morning. "The aurora was faint to the naked eye, more visible using night mode settings on my camera." Tracy adds that though the clouds rolled back in, the geomagnetic storm's still under way and tonight's clear skies may offer another chance. SpaceWeather's got a gallery of Oct. 11 aurora photos from all over the world and WMUR's u local NH page has a bunch from around NH.Skunk checking things out. "The recent Ice Age affected the evolution and distribution of North American mammals," Ted Levin writes about Erin Donahue's trail cam subject. "The genetic structure of widely distributed species—deer mice, raccoons, and striped skunks—results from glaciers having fractured and isolated populations. The boldness of a skunk's stripes reflects predation risk. Nearly all-black or all-white skunks indicate relaxed selection pressure ... few predators. People enter into the equation, too. Skunk stripes tend to be small or absent where we've eliminated large predators."And what the heck: Some more fall photos.
Here's the view from Slayton Hill in Lebanon, by Janice Fischel
And in Jericho Mountain State Park in Berlin, NH, by Brian Meyette
Stockbridge bridge closed after state finds “visible lateral movement" when cars crossed it. The bridge over the White River in Gaysville, the village just west of Barnard, was built in 1929, Darren Marcy writes in the Herald. An Oct. 1 VTrans report following a September inspection says the bridge has superstructural decay that puts it in “imminent failure condition"; the agency then ordered the town to close the bridge. The bridge will need at least three new steel beams to make it safe for light vehicles, an official tells Marcy, while a temporary bridge may take a year and a half to install. A foot bridge is in place.As public vote nears on whether Woodstock should buy Aqueduct Company, questions and answers. The floor vote's on Oct. 29, and as debate swirls around town, the Standard's Tom Ayres sat down with municipal manager Eric Duffy and Charlie Kimbell, who's facilitated the Water Working Group, to talk about this vote and a second in December on acquiring a 358-acre tract of land with reservoir. The discussion's detailed—but the basic issue is that WAC's longtime owners, the Billings family, doesn't want to run it any more, so as Kimbell says, will it be the town or new private owners that buy it?SPONSORED: It’s Gonna Be (moon)Lit! Eighty percent of tickets have already been sold for the Positive Tracks Sweat For Good Games: SuperMoon Edition. Join us at Whaleback Mountain in Enfield on Friday, Oct. 18th from 6–10 pm for an adult destination party under the largest SuperMoon of 2024! Over 200 attendees will enjoy dancing, drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and games, culminating in an optional moonlit summit. All proceeds directly benefit Positive Tracks, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing free leadership programs for ages 12 - 25. Get your tix now! Sponsored by Positive Tracks. My fault! Nancie Severs' photo yesterday was at the RVC (River Valley Club), not UVAC. Apologies to all the dedicated swimmers at both fine institutions. Too many acronyms in my morning. Link goes to Nancie's photo.So why'd it take all day and a good bit of the evening for crews to fix downtown Lebanon's water main break? You saw Wednesday's water-covered roadway at Mascoma and Hanover streets yesterday. What the view didn't reveal was what lay beneath—which is why it took until about 10:30 pm Wednesday for the city to give the all-clear. As Brian Clancy writes in to accompany his photo, "I’m not sure anyone would’ve wanted to take their chances with this!"SPONSORED: Want to develop skills for better conversations across the political divide? Attend a free workshop on Tuesday, Oct.15, 6-8:30 pm at the Kilton Library in West Lebanon led by the VT & NH alliances of Braver Angels, a cross-partisan, volunteer-led, national group working since 2016 "to bridge the partisan divide for the good of our democratic republic." Join us at 5:00 for a simple potluck! Space is limited. To register or for questions contact Patricia Higgins at [email protected]. Sponsored by Braver Angels. Public murals in Fairlee, West Leb unveiled. One piece of art in Fairlee's I-91 underpass is ready for prime time, WCAX's Adam Sullivan reports: Middlebury artist Matt Heywood's "Snow Sister." "She is here to remind us of this really deep connection with the natural world,” Heywood tells him. Locals hope work can start on the remaining abutments in about a year. Meanwhile, there's a new wall-sized "Welcome to West Lebanon" mural facing I-89 in the Upper Valley Plaza. "It’s about creating these really beautiful moments," says Tyler Blinderman, with WS Development, which owns the plaza.Hanover Selectboard names Rob Houseman to permanent role as town manager. Houseman, the town's former planning director, had stepped up to the interim manager position Aug. 1, after former manager Alex Torpey left in July. In a non-public session on Monday, reports Clare Shanahan in the Valley News, the board voted unanimously to make the hire, without having conducted a search. “We were already very positive with respect to his candidacy and the more feedback we got we realized that we really felt confident in moving forward,” board chair Carey Callaghan tells Shanahan."Full winter conditions at the summit" close top of Mt. Washington yesterday. "A little snow accompanied by temperatures in the mid-20s today, winds up to 60 mph, and wind chill values in the single digits remind us that winter comes early at the top of New England!" wrote state park staff on FB yesterday. As someone writes in the comments, "The best New England foliage photos are fall colors and Mount Washington covered in snow in the background. Someone is going to have some great photo opportunities today!"Hiking Close to Home: Aitken State Forest, Mendon, VT. If you're looking for another great trail for fall foliage and don't mind venturing out of the Upper Valley, the Upper Valley Trails Alliance recommends the Bald Mountain "lollipop" loop in Aitken State Forest, with its views of Killington and Pico. The state forest also has beautiful trails for walking, viewing wildlife, and hunting. And though hunters know hikers like getting out there, too, it's hunting season and the UVTA says it's best to exercise caution and alert other users of your presence with blaze orange clothing and a bell/noisemaker.Thanks to a "master stitcher," crossing NH by bike. That's what Ted Reinstein, the veteran reporter for WCVB-Boston's Chronicle, calls Marianne Borowski, the force behind the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail. The 83-mile trail, which runs clear across the state from Woodsville to Bethel, ME, took its inspiration from the Cross VT Trail and, over time, was pulled together by Borowski using existing trails and some former rail rights-of-way. She takes Reinstein on a ride from Woodsville (with a detour through the Haverhill-Bath covered bridge) to Jefferson, with stops in Littleton and elsewhere.Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because Daybreak's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions for you. Like, what did the Hartford Selectboard decide about downtown WRJ parking last week? And what was that big award Hartland native Victor Ambros just won? Those and other questions at the link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to know if you know which social media company VT's AG is suing.
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, as hundreds of thousands of migrating birds cross NH, what can people do to help birds stay safe?
In rare move, NH legislature overrides two vetoes. Lawmakers yesterday met to consider 15 bills that Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed this year, and in most cases failed to get the two-thirds vote necessary to override—though several met that threshold in the House but failed in the Senate, report NH Bulletin's Ethan DeWitt and Claire Sullivan. One successful override will now require state agencies that hold public hearings on administrative rules to give a detailed explanation if they decide to ignore public comments. The other places new restrictions on fertilizer use in a bid to curb cyanobacteria outbreaks.NH civic health report delivers sobering findings. The report from UNH's Carsey School of Public Policy finds that since 2019, and the pandemic in particular, NH residents "feel that they matter less to their communities and are engaging less with others"; older Granite Staters engage with people of a different race, ethnicity, or culture at a much lower rate than other age groups; and urban residents vote in national elections at a lower rate than rural or suburban residents. There were some bright spots: trust in neighbors and local news has climbed a bit since 2019, though trust in local government has fallen.As some NH insurers drop their Medicare Advantage plans, "it is really important that [seniors] pay attention and put a plan together very quickly." That's state insurance commissioner DJ Bettencourt talking to the Concord Monitor's David Brooks. Though the state's two biggest insurers, United Healthcare and Anthem, have given no hint that they intend to stop selling Advantage plans in the state, others—including Harvard-Pilgrim—will end them as of Dec. 31. Bettencourt tells Brooks he's especially worried about seniors losing prescription drug coverage if they don't act.
Meanwhile, in the Upper Valley, Lake Sunapee VNA has announced it will no longer accept United Healthcare Medicare Advantage next year, reports the VN's Clare Shanahan. The move, Shanahan writes, "could leave some older adults and people with disabilities without coverage for home health and hospice care." VNA says United Healthcare's proposed reimbursement rates won't cover its costs.
Vermonter dies of EEE; follows 2nd EEE death in NH. The 70-year-old from Chittenden County is the first death in the state from the illness since 2012; he was hospitalized in late August. The state has seen one other confirmed case this year. Meanwhile, New Hampshire has had five confirmed cases, and state health officials last week announced that a Danville resident had died of the mosquito-borne disease. In NH's case, all five infected residents came down with the illness in August. In VT, the number of new mosquitos carrying EEE is dropping, but it was still present at the end of September.In gubernatorial debate, Phil Scott and Esther Charlestin meet for the first time. It was online, but that didn't keep GOP incumbent Scott and Democratic/Progressive challenger Charlestin, a former Middlebury Selectboard member, from trading barbs. Though at times, reports VTDigger's Shaun Robinson (Digger hosted the debate), Scott was more interested in scorning the legislature. “They have no interest in working together. They just want to score political points," he said. Charlestin responded, “Blaming them for where we are, when you’ve been in office for eight years — I struggle with that.” What to do in WRJ or Windsor or Bellows Falls or Springfield or Barre or St. Albans or... Earlier this year, Seven Days culture writers—including Norwich's Nina Sablan, who interned there over the summer—put together visitors' itineraries for 10 towns in the path of the eclipse, on contract with the state tourism department. They were a hit, so the weekly was asked to write more. The result, at the link, is a new "Visiting Vermont" series of bite-sized guides, each with a short intro and a set of recommended stops. Here's publisher Paula Routly's guide to the guides.Tadpoles with “light, energy and a feeling of synchronised movement.” That's the photo that made Shane Gross Wildlife Photographer of the Year, according to this year's judges. Smaller still are red wood ants swarming one unfortunate blue ground beetle in Ingo Arnd’s amazingly detailed photo. Fortunato Gatto’s gnarled, lichen-covered birch tree in Scotland has the feel of a painting. And in what must be the contest's most heartbreaking image, Britta Jaschinski documents police at Heathrow dusting a tusk for fingerprints against a backdrop of confiscated fur and skin coats. But there's lots, lots, more.
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We may be the middle of nowhere to everyone else in VT and NH, but
we
know what's good! Strong Rabbit's Morgan Brophy has come up with the perfect design for "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Plus you'll find the Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, as well as sweatshirts, tees, a fleece hoodie, and, as always, the fits-every-hand-perfectly Daybreak mug. Check it all out at the link!
Pentangle Arts is hosting this rare local appearance by jam-and-roots rocker Hollister and his entire crew tonight, with Kris Gruen opening. It's a benefit for Kevin and Adam Pearce's Love Your Brain Foundation.
7 pm this evening.
For the last seven years or so, the jazz vocalist has been immersing herself in the music of the legendary Cape Verdean singer, Cesária Évora, teaming up with some of Évora's bandmates for a joint 2023 album devoted to carrying on that sound as a tribute both to Évora and the island archipelago. 7 pm this evening.
With a video cam catching all the keyboard action on their shared keyboard, Weiser and Borowsky will play a program of works by Georges Bizet, Gabriel Fauré, Amy Beach, and George Gershwin. At Windsor's Old South Church tonight at 7:30, the WRJ home of Andrew Bauman tomorrow at 2 pm, the First Congregational Church of Lebanon tomorrow at 7:30, and a free concert Sunday at 2 pm at the Calvin Coolidge Historic Site.
Tonight's lineup features bluesy folk singer-songwriter Cosy Sheridan at 7:30; the Nashville duo of MaryBeth Zamer and Mike Davis, who perform as The Twangtown Paramours, at 8:15; and local folk musician and writer Allison Fay Brown at 9 pm.
McKinney, who grew up on the NH-ME border and spent seven years in rural Maine as a deputy sheriff before trading it all in for the glamor of the standup life, just released his fifth special. 7:30 at Alumni Hall.
Saturday
Food trucks, gourmet food vendors, craft vendors everywhere you look, Troy Wunderle's Big Top Adventures, balloon animals, an apple pie contest, cider donuts, a beer and wine garden, live music... 9 am to 4 pm tomorrow at the Riverside Middle School.
It's the group's annual self-guided chance to visit the studios of some 15 artisans in
Bradford, Corinth, Fairlee, Newbury, and Topsham
. Link takes you to VNBH's site, where you'll find a map for driving and information about each artisan. You can plan on lunch in Corinth Town Hall in Cookeville. Runs tomorrow and Sunday.
The exhibition charts the population and economic shifts that have buffeted small towns since the 1800s as well as the efforts by locals to sustain their communities. It opens tomorrow at River Valley Community College in Claremont and will be at the Chandler in Randolph starting in February.
The exhibition "examines AT’s evolution, from its humble beginnings as a program of the Upper Valley Senior Citizens Council to becoming a major regional transit agency" and it kicks off with an opening reception at 10:30 am.
At Woodstock Union from 10 am to 1 pm—bring paper for shredding and your old computers, peripherals, monitors, and more for recycling or reuse. If you can't make it because of Yom Kippur and have something relatively small to drop off (like a box of documents), email [email protected]
today
to arrange drop off in Woodstock.
Following up on Windsor's successful Great Jigsaw Puzzle Challenge over the summer, the Quechee Library hosts its race at 11 am tomorrow for five teams, each competing to finish the same 500-piece puzzle. The event moves on to the Wilder Library on Oct. 19, same time. People can sign up by emailing [email protected]—there's still room.
Gates open at noon at Ascutney Outdoors (449 Ski Tow Rd. in W. Windsor) for the all afternoon and evening celebration of community-powered vitality. Jason Cann & Warehouse; Justin Park & Timbermash; Red River North; and Jay Nash, Brooks Hubbard, and Val MacClum closing things out. Plus food from Butcher & Pantry, The Spicy Spoke, and Lazy Cow ice cream.
Sponsored by the West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts, the veteran taiko group's full-on athletic-workout-via-drum starts up at 3 pm tomorrow in Broad Street Park (or the Claremont Creative Center across the street if it's raining).
Ever wonder where the term comes from? The Dartmouth Film Society's giving you a chance to go to the source: George Cukor's 1944 noir thriller, starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Angela Lansbury in her film debut, and a seriously creepy London mansion. 7 pm.
The creator and host of
This American Life
uses audio clips, music, video, and his own familiar voice for "Seven Things I've Learned", his talk about his creative process and the successes and failures that have marked his career. Q&A to follow. 7:30 pm.
The actor and rock musician, along with J.D. Andrew and the band, are on tour promoting their newest album,
Love & Hate In Desperate Places
. 7:30 pm.
Sunday
Kruck's new picture book, with illustrations by Erika Meza, began as a writing exercise that involved putting a twist on a fire-breathing dragon—like, what about a kid who breathes fire? She'll be reading it and talking about it all starting at 11 am Sunday.
The Tunbridge-based Fieldstone Equine Clinic throws an annual concert, and this year it's got Tunbridge fingerstyle guitarist Neil FitzGerald opening with songs from his first three albums as well as an upcoming release. He'll be followed by Brooks Hubbard, Val McCallum, and Jay Nash, sharing stories and performing songs from Hubbard's upcoming album,
House I Grew Up In
. Beer from Brocklebank, food from Friends of the First Branch Schools. 3-7 pm.
So there's this cantor (Jason Schwartzman) who's lost his wife and lost his voice, and suddenly his old music teacher (Carol Kane), in her 70s, shows up after he gets into a bar fight and wants to be his bat mitzvah student. Nathan Silver's 2024 film (filmed in early 2023) is part satire, part gentle comedy, part Philip Roth. 4 pm in the Loew.
And let's go into the weekend...
...with bluegrass mandolinist Sierra Hull's
She's played it live for years (the YouTube algorithm will no doubt serve DelFest up to you right next door), but there's a haunting quality to this version that serves the song beautifully.
Have a fine weekend. See you Monday for CoffeeBreak.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
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