GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
More rain, minor flooding on creeks and streams possible. That front is moving through more slowly than first expected, which is boosting rainfall amounts: In all, the weather folks expect 1-2 inches around here, with higher amounts to the south and north. Things should start tapering off mid- or late morning, though there could be showers into the afternoon. Temps up to the low 60s, down to around 40 tonight, winds will be calmer.As for how much rain... The map from the Weather Service in Burlington captures expected rainfall totals from the storm for all of Vermont and much of New Hampshire east to Concord.
This place we live. An album of readers' beautiful fall photos when it's not raining, none of which you've seen in Daybreak before.Reading blanks. Well, a blank book, anyway, which is what Eddie's doing this week, up in a tree in Lost Woods. As he does every week in this spot, Lebanon writer and illustrator DB Johnson chronicles the doings in his favorite patch of forest—and on his blog he points you to the new "story walk" at Lyme Hill Conservation Area, where the Upper Valley Land Trust is using Henry Climbs a Mountain. Grand opening is tomorrow at 1 pm and he'll be on hand to talk stories, illustrating, and Henry (and probably Lost Woods, if you ask nicely)."There's some cartoons that I've done that just aren't funny enough without hair." Brookfield's Ed Koren has had "thousands" of cartoons in The New Yorker, David Goodman announces on his latest Vermont Conversation podcast. "I'd say something closer to 1,400," Koren corrects him. Koren has long resisted Goodman's efforts to interview him, but finally agreed last week, and despite his struggle with incurable lung cancer, he remains in conversation as reflective, wry, and thoughtful as ever. They talk cartooning, life, mortality, firefighting, skiing the Catamount Trail with Bill McKibben...SPONSORED: The folk-rock musical Spring Awakening, winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, only until Oct. 23 at Northern Stage. With music by Grammy Award winner Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening achieved cult status by giving powerful voice and glorious dance to teenagers rebelling against a cruel and repressive society. History and today’s headlines intersect in this powerful folk-rock musical that's not to be missed at Northern Stage. $20 TICKETS FOR AGES 25 AND UNDER. Sponsored by Northern Stage.“I just want you to remember that we’re children. It’s one child on the receiving end of all this hate." That was Lilly Patton, captain of the Randolph Union High girls' volleyball team, at an emotionally charged community discussion Tuesday night on the use of the girls' locker room by her 14-year-old teammate. Unlike the out-of-town vitriol that's been directed at the school's voicemail, email, and social media, the discussion was civil, reports Darren Marcy in The Herald, with much—but by no means universal—support among the 350 audience members for the child and her right to use the locker room.The Haven can start cooking again. At its meeting Wednesday, the Hartford Zoning Board reversed a June ruling and voted to allow volunteers with the organization's food shelf to begin prepping hot meals. As the Valley News's Patrick Adrian notes, the decision comes at a good time: A new USDA grant will go in part to helping the Haven buy a new stove.As a performance space, Sawtooth Kitchen aims to expand social life in and around Hanover. With programming that includes both local bands and current and former Dartmouth students, writes The Dartmouth's Zander Kurita, the newly opened restaurant, bar, and stage is already drawing interest both on campus and off, especially as an alternative to nightlife at the frats. Owner Kieran Campion tells Kurita that he sees a chance for Sawtooth “to bring the talents of the community and the talents of the College together, which often do not cross-pollinate.”Springfield VT, Randolph groups get $1.5 million in federal funds to boost local tech economies. The money, which is being matched by the state and private donors, will go to the Black River Innovation Campus in Springfield to expand programming at its tech incubator and accelerator, and to the Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation in Randolph to create an incubator and accelerator there, reports Fred Thys in VTDigger.Hiking Close to Home: Bear Brook State Park. With over 60 miles of trails across 10,000 acres, the UVTA says there's something for every trail user in the park, which is in Allenstown, NH. Bear Brook is the largest developed state park in NH and boasts swimming, boating, public archery ranges, fishing (including a fly-fishing-only pond) as well as cabins. There are all sorts of mountain biking trails, and all trails are open to hiking, running, mountain biking, and equestrians. It's still fall foliage so day use reservations are required.Been paying attention to Daybreak this week? Because the Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions for you. Like, what are Dartmouth grad students organizing? And where does Norwich's new police chief come from? And which Upper Valley town is an "energy-savvy" leader? You'll find those and other questions at the burgundy link. NOTE: There's a back-end hiccup this morning, so if you get last week's quiz, check back in an hour or so.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to know if you know... What did that driver doing 100 mph in his Jag collide with? And what did the state legislature just decide to do with its Covid rules? And Stowe skiing regulars took exception to which new addition to the resort's lineup? Plus more...
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions. Like, why is someone suing the Patriots? And why did opera singer Andrea Bocelli just sue an NH air charter company? And what's a Canadian firm buying on the CT River?
VT police arrest "person of interest" in unsolved slaying of Concord couple. The interstate legalities are a little complicated: Logan Clegg, 26, was wanted as a fugitive from Utah—and was arrested in South Burlington after Concord detectives spotted him. In a press release yesterday, the NH AG's office said police had "made contact" with an unnamed person of interest in the April murder of Steve and Wendy Reid; VT police filled in further details. Clegg, who is homeless, had bought a one-way ticket for a flight to Germany scheduled to leave New York on Friday, WMUR's KC Downey reports. VT doesn't get all the fun: NH voters will decide two constitutional questions on the November ballot. The first comes up every ten years, reports the Keene Sentinel's Rick Green (here via NHPR): whether to hold a convention to change the state constitution. In 2012, voters rejected the idea overwhelmingly. The other question would remove county registers of probate from the constitution, effectively eliminating a position whose duties were legislatively zeroed out in 2011 and handed to circuit court clerks.Maybe we're moving out of the pandemic, but at VT ski areas, some innovations will remain. Though operations are mostly returning to normal, resorts are holding onto some of the changes they made the last two years, reports Bonnie MacPherson in Mountain Times. Outdoor spaces like warming stations and fire pits proved popular and have been upgraded at many areas. Online ticketing, cashless payments, RFID cards and other proof-of-purchase media will remain as well. And in case of a Covid resurgence, says the VT Ski Areas Assn's Bryan Rivard, each resort "already has a playbook to implement."In Brattleboro, resettled refugees have a friend and ally in Joe Wiah. Last fall, when people escaping the Taliban in Afghanistan arrived in southern VT, it was another immigrant—originally from Liberia—who stepped forward to welcome them and offer the guidance and support he knew they would need in their new home. For Seven Days, Jennifer Sutton spotlights Joe Wiah, head of the VT branch of the Ethiopian Community Development Council, who has worked tirelessly over the last year on behalf of refugee families, and whose experience offers deep value to a community he knows well. The humbling grace and power of the elements, captured on film. Whether battering a coastline or hovering as mist through a valley, for better or worse the weather is quite the showman. In this selection from the Royal Meteorological Society’s Weather Photography of the Year winners, atmospheric moisture is in love with the camera. The overall winner, Christopher Ison, leaned into a typhoon with his lens as a massive wave enveloped a lighthouse. And then there’s Jamie Russell’s heartbreakingly lovely shot of a placid scene on the Isle of Wight, cradled by a double rainbow.This kind of research needs more funding. That's what Tweeter Theo Shantonas says, and who are we to argue?The Friday Vordle. If you're new to Vordle, you should know that fresh ones appear on weekends using words from the Friday Daybreak, and you can get a reminder email each weekend morning. If you'd like that, sign up here.
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T-shirts, tank tops, and, of course, coffee/tea/cocoa mugs. It's all available thanks to Strong Rabbit Designs in Sharon. Check out what's available and wear it or drink from it proudly! Email me ([email protected]) if you've got questions.
At 7 this evening, Hop Film has Mountainfilm On Tour in Spaulding. This year's collection of short documentaries shown at the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride includes artist and climber Jeremy Collins narrating a river by brushstroke; a film about the 1978 ascent of Annapurna led by Arlene Blum with a group of American women at a time when men dominated high-altitude mountaineering; a community skate park in one of India's poorest states; "Stranger at the Gate," about a former Marine who'd decided to bomb the local Islamic Center in Muncie—until its members' kindness turned his life around; and more.
This evening at 7:30, the Lebanon Opera House brings in mandolinist Jacob Jolliff and his band. Jolliff, who started out with Boston-based roots stringband Joy Kills Sorrow, then moved on to progressive bluegrassers the Yonder Mountain String Band. For the last year or so, he's been touring with Béla Fleck's My Bluegrass Heart project, as well as with his own fine band.
Also at 7:30, the Anonymous Coffeehouse sets up at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon with a trio of favorite acts: Still Hill, the central VT bluegrass band at 7:30; the NH Seacoast husband-wife duo Green Heron at 8:15; and local actor and musician Tommy Crawford, whose new album, Athena and the Moon, you may already have checked out. Organizer Adam Sorscher also writes, "Kate McNally, who hosts NHPR's The Folk Show, is coming to check us out so we're hoping for a big turnout!"
Tomorrow from 10-4, Orford's Open Air Market celebrates its final market of the season with lots of vendors selling locally made food, G.R.P BBQ doing, well, you can figure it out, and Lyme's Paphanh Sithavady offering Southeast Asian food, a cornhole tournament, a costume parade, and more.
And at 2 pm tomorrow, VINS celebrates its 50 years of life at a get-together with two of its co-founders, David Laughlin and Sally Laughlin, along with current director Charles Rattigan. There'll be cake and refreshments and plenty of talk about the organization's history.
At 4 pm tomorrow, Upper Valley Music Center presents a faculty concert by violinist Alicia Casey and pianist Annemieke McLane at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon. They'll be performing "Favorites from Our Youth,” a program that includes works by Elgar, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Scott Joplin, and Florence Price.
Tomorrow evening at 7, after a long pandemic hiatus, the Barbershop Harmony Society's A Cappella Showcase returns with "How Can We Keep From Singing?", this year in the Mascoma Valley High auditorium in Canaan. UV favorites The North Country Chordsmen and VoxStars anchor the show, and are joined by Harmony Night and a cappella singers from Lebanon High. You're welcome to stick around afterward for "Afterglow," with refreshments and more singing. Admission by donation.
And at 7:30 tomorrow evening, pianist David Feurzeig brings his "Play Every Town" series of free piano concerts to the United Church of Chelsea. Feurzeig set out in May to play in every town in Vermont, highlighting the twin concerns of climate and community. He'll be joined onstage tomorrow by Free Verse Farm herbalist and poet Taylor Katz, reading poems to an improvised accompaniment.
Sunday morning it's the October edition of Bradford Parks & Rec's "Dayhike & Dine": the hike is the Andrew Brook Trail up Mt. Sunapee (6.5 miles; 1,400 feet of elevation gain), followed by the dine part at Salt Hill Shanty in Newbury, NH. Meet at the Bradford (Vt.) Park & Ride at 10 am, the Wilder Park & Ride at 10:30 am, or the Grantham Park & Ride at 10:55 am.
Or if you prefer a different way of covering a trail, at 9 am it's the Hoofin' It trail ride and walkathon to benefit the High Horses equine-assisted therapy program in Sharon. The walk/ride's on an extensive network of privately owned trails in Woodstock
Sunday from 11-2, Harpoon Brewery is throwing a "Birds and Bagels" event at its spot in Windsor's Artisans Park: UVJustBagels' Katie Stamper will there for the whole time with an array of her freshly baked goods, and at 1 VINS will be on hand for a live owl demonstration.
On Sunday at 5 pm, a bit of a drive away but seriously, how often do you get to see this?: Four stars of the domino-toppling world will be at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center for its 15th annual domino toppling extravaganza. Lily Hevesh, Shane O’Brien, Chris Wright, and Nathan Heck will have been on site for 48 hours painstakingly getting everything ready.
And to take us into the weekend...
They're ace musicians all:
Jacob Jolliff on mandolin, Myles Sloniker on bass, guitarist Stash Wyslouch, and Alex Hargreaves on fiddle.Have a fine few days, and 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.
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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Writer/editor: Tom Haushalter Poetry editor: Michael Lipson
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