GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny, colder. That's because as yesterday's storm moved out, cold air moved in behind it. Today we'll get into the mid 20s under partly then mostly sunny skies, with winds from the northwest and some gusts. Mid teens tonight.And though there'll be some clouds around both tonight and tomorrow night, you should go outside and look up anyway. That's because this week, Jupiter's outshining almost everything else in the night sky (only the moon and Venus are brighter)—especially at midnight, when it's directly opposite the sun in our skies and directly overhead (it was also at its closest approach to Earth this morning at 6, but you might have missed that...). Here's more from Smithsonian.Antlers. The buck on Erin Donahue's trail cam sports a pretty magnificent set. Ted Levin writes: "The size of a whitetail's antlers is a function of genetics and nutrition, not age. The Boone and Crockett Club, founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt, promotes wildlife conservation and big-game hunting. The Club records trophy deer by an arcane scoring system and knowledge of antler words: beam, burr, brow tine, bey tine, trey tine, and points. Each projection on the antler over an inch long is a tine or point. Erin's buck, 10 points. Vermont State Record, 12 points. New Hampshire, 27 points. World, 30 points."Behind the fence. To accompany its update yesterday on the ledge removal project at the Fairlee cliffs ("Crews will continue drilling holes for the installation of rock dowels for the next couple of weeks"), VTrans sent along a photo of the view from behind the I-91 barrier fence. In case you've been wondering.So, did you check out "Dear Daybreak" yesterday? If not, you missed Corlan Johnson on going up versus going down—in life as on hills; Doug Heavisides remembering (in verse) his neighbor, Henry, from when he was growing up; and Megan Coleman's "Little-Known Gem of the Upper Valley" in Charlestown. You'll find it all at the link, and if you've got a good story or unusual photo to submit, do it here.At their first chance to weigh in on proposed budget, Leb residents give city council an earful. Wednesday night's four-hour-long City Council hearing was packed, reports Clare Shanahan in the Valley News, as residents responded to budget scenarios that include cuts to the city's libraries, police department, arts and rec programs, and more. The city's caught in a vise, facing rising costs, a series of expensive capital projects, and daunting annual tax increases. Things got heated, Shanahan writes, as attendees criticized decisions that led to the array of unpalatable choices the city faces.After Tunbridge fire: “Nobody is taking no for an answer. The drive to help is so strong.” As you may remember, the Tunbridge home of Rudi Ruddell and Lisa Kippen burned down early last Friday morning. As Darren Marcy writes in The Herald, the fire "left the couple with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing, their dog Holly, and a car for which they no longer have keys." Marcy lays the whole thing out: the couple's deep community ties; how the fire began; the loss of Ruddell's prized 1940s guitar; the rebuilding effort. That GoFundMe to help rebuild the house is now over $107K.SPONSORED: When the nights are the longest, we seek out the light. Experience the comfort and joy of St Thomas’ Sankta Lucia Festival of Light. Join us this Sunday at 10:30am in Hanover for this service of illumination, led by the Children’s Choir, and followed by a smorgasbord of Scandinavian delights. Find out more at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
In Woodstock, the police chief saga gets even more tangled. There are two new developments, Mike Donoghue reports in separate articles in the VT Standard.
For starters, a group of citizens led by sidelined Police Chief Joe Swanson's sister, Anne Swanson, and his husband, Nico Seldon, has delivered a petition to town officials arguing that municipal manager Eric Duffy "violated the Woodstock employee personnel handbook and defamed the chief" by placing him on leave. The town boards, which were consulted by Duffy before he acted, say they'll review the matter.
Meanwhile, Seldon—who was involved in the traffic incident that set the whole thing off—has filed a public records lawsuit against Duffy and the Town of Woodstock after he says he was prevented three times from gaining access to public records related to the move to place Swanson on leave. Seldon also alleges that various town officials have publicly spoken against Swanson "for purely personal reasons having nothing to do with Chief Swanson’s job performance.”
SPONSORED: Celebrate the holidays with music! UVMC's Holiday Music Festival starts tomorrow with student recitals, an open house, and caroling during Lebanon’s tree lighting ceremony. Then, for two weeks, there are free community events, such as sing-alongs and lunchtime concerts. The festival ends with the Messiah Sing on December 22. Join us for one event or all of them! Sponsors include Lebanon Paint & Decorating, LaValley Building Supply, Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, and Coldwell Banker Lifestyles. Sponsored by Upper Valley Music Center.As temps drop, opening delayed for emergency winter shelter in Lebanon. The problem, reports Emma Roth-Wells in the VN, is that the Haven—which operates the Mechanic St. shelter—needs eight people to staff it, and currently has only six... and is still doing reference checks for them. “We want to be certain we have the right people,” Haven director Michael Redmond tells Roth-Wells. “It takes special folks to do the work. I won’t say we’re picky, but we are.” Last winter, the shelter helped over 50 different people. Meanwhile, the Warm Welcome Shelter in Claremont won't open until Jan. 1.Snowshoeing Close to Home: The Town House Trail, Strafford, VT. With snow on the ground, the Upper Valley Trails Alliance has snowshoeing on its mind this week. This moderate, nearly four-mile-one-way trail (which is also good for hiking) runs from the village of Strafford near the Town House to the highest point on Route 132 on O'Neill Road. It traverses woods and fields and offers exceptional views. Parking is available at the start of the trail behind the Strafford Town House in the center of Strafford Village.Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because Daybreak's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions. Like, which well-known Upper Valley company has just struck a partnership deal with a California private equity firm? And what do those three warrants just issued by the Hanover Police Department involve? 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: How much does one official forecast project property taxes in VT will rise next year?
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, what consequence could parents of school bullies in NH face under a proposed new bill?
Incoming NH Exec Council member Karen Liot Hill: "I think this is going to be a really difficult environment for local taxpayers in the next couple of years." Hill, of course, was just elected to the council from this region. She and Republican John Stephen, also just elected to the council, sat down with NHPR's Rick Ganley to talk about what's ahead. First up, the state budget—which led Hill to make the point that when the state gets into straits, local taxpayers are often asked to make up the difference. Hill talks about being the only Democrat on the council; Stephen about his support for family planning."The most interesting man in Vermont politics." That's VT Conversation podcaster David Goodman talking about John Rodgers, the state's newly elected lieutenant governor. The Democrat-turned-Republican sat down with Goodman for a wide-ranging conversation, from his discomfort with state Democratic politics—“I think the Democrats in the legislature have lost their way and no longer are taking care of the working class people in Vermont"—to his discomfort with national Republican politics to whether he'd run for governor eventually. "It’s not really that desirable a job," he says.A little more on whiskey fungus: "Playground swings look gunky. Road signs are unreadable. Trees are dying." That's not Mineville, NY, where Shoreham VT-based distillery WhistlePig has a storage facility and whiskey fungus is alarming residents. It's Mulberry, TN, a small town in Lincoln County bordering the sprawling Jack Daniels distillery. And as Nashville NPR station WPLN reported last year, whiskey fungus is endemic there—and Lincoln County residents "are fighting this fungal spread in court, as people begin to fear for their property value, plant life and personal health and wellbeing."
Somewhere in this photo from Paris, there are some Vermonters. This weekend, Notre Dame gets its moment in the global spotlight, as it reopens after five years of post-fire restoration efforts. Last Friday, all 2,000 people who helped with the restoration posed for a photo in the restored nave. Among them was Will Wallace-Gusakov of Goosewing Timberworks in Lincoln, VT—who last weekend spoke with Susan Apel for Artful. "I feel both very proud and incredibly lucky to have taken part in this project, alongside so many hundreds of talented artisans who are so committed to their craft," he told her.Run 700 miles so you can make a little Strava stick figure dance? You bet! Okay, technically speaking, the dance is on TikTok—but the stick figure was designed via Strava, as Duncan McCabe spent 10 months mapping 120 runs covering 700 miles on Toronto streets to create a 27-second now-viral TikTok video. Sound definitely up. Background here.
Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
Fleece vests, sweatshirts, head-warming beanies... Strong Rabbit has updated the Daybreak page to keep up with the changing weather. Plus, of course, the usual: t-shirts, long-sleeved tees, the Daybreak jigsaw, those perfect hand-fitting coffee/tea mugs, and as always, "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Check it all out at the link!
Sheesh, there's
a lot
going on this weekend!
The tour and conversation, led by the
Main Street Museum's David Fairbanks Ford, will cover downtown WRJ's music scene over the decades. Starts at 4 pm in front of the Upper Valley Food Coop on N. Main, loops through downtown, and winds up at the MSM for conversation and a listening session. And elsewhere:
with Jakob and Kit from Route 5 Jive and an art show by Jes Raymond from 5-8, while the rest of the building
, the galleries, and the restaurants will all be hopping as usual.Ken Cadow reads from and talks about Gather—and much more—at the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock. He'll be discussing his Kirkus Prize-winning novel as well as "
rural life, resilience, class differences, addiction and recovery, housing and food insecurity, a deep relationship to the land, and the power of community," the NWPL says. 4 pm.
At the Nugget in Hanover, a special showing of two holiday films. They'll be screening A Charlie Brown Christmas and Frosty the Snowman at 4:20 this afternoon, with donations and non-perishable food going to The Haven. The Hanover Improvement Society's wreath sale will be going on outside.Ida Mae Specker, John Specker, and friends at the Claremont Creative Center. The accomplished daughter and father team up with
Ida Mae’s frequent collaborators Mowgli Giannitti and Sam Merwin for an evening of original material and creative, high-energy arrangements of traditional old-time tunes, bluegrass, and country songs.
6:30 pm.
Founded by Jane Sachs and co-directed by her, Jo Shute, and Joshua Brown, the Ringers are a handbell choir of experienced local musicians who perform seasonally at community gatherings. Their free holiday concert starts at 7 pm at Whipple Hall, 25 Seamans Rd. in New London.
"Every song is dedicated to singing about the magical and mystical beings associated with the holiday," they write. "We will be singing music from all across the globe, from an incredibly wide stretch of time and musical style, lots of languages." 7 pm tonight at the United Church of Strafford, 7 pm tomorrow at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon, and 4 pm Sunday at the First Congregational Church of Thetford.
. Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic, in a weekend run at the Lebanon Opera House: 7 pm tonight, 7 pm tomorrow, and 1 pm Sunday.
Setiawan, who's been playing since he was a kid and went on to Berklee, is known in the bluegrass world for venturing far beyond bluegrass—though with Fine Ground, that's their sweet spot. 7 pm.
Strafford neighbors Brooke Wilkinson and Justin Rodig start things off at 7:30 with their shared passion for slightly offbeat acoustic folk and Americana; at 8 pm it's Erin Ash Sullivan, once half of the folk duo Edith O. with Amy Speace, now out there solo; and at 9 pm, Trifolium, the Upper Valley trio of Andy Mueller, Chloe Powell, and Justin Park.
Philip Liston-Kraft and Dan Weiser in a "virtuosic ballet of twenty fingers on a single piano" with carols, the
Blue Danube
, the
Nutcracker Suite
and more. Tonight at 7:30 in Windsor's Old South Church, tomorrow at 2 pm at Piano Prodigies Studio in Lebanon and 7 pm at the home of Marilyn and Al Austin-Nelson in West Leb, and Sunday at 2 pm at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
High energy. Rock. Be ready to dance. 9 pm.
Saturday
Things get going at 10 am tomorrow with a hot chocolate bar and craft-making, then move to the Loew at 11, where
there'll be a free viewing of the 1967 short animated special
featuring Dr. Seuss' "
original Christmas grump...who [plans] to disguise himself as Santa Claus to steal Christmas from the town of Whoville."
Things get going from 11-4 tomorrow with the open house: open studios, exhibitions, and more. The reception and party run from 5 to 7, with the artists whose
fine art and handmade crafts are filling AVA's galleries on hand.
It starts up at 1 pm, with trees decorated by locals ringing the common, sleigh rides,
music by Jerry Grimo and the East Bay Jazz Band, cookies, casseroles, and soups to buy for home, and an ice sculptor at work.
It's an encore presentation of Julie Taymor's pathbreaking 2006 Met Opera staging of Mozart's classic in English. "
With dazzling puppets and a colorful setting, Mozart's enchanting musical fairy tale is one of the ultimate seasonal sensations for family audiences," the Met says. 1 pm tomorrow.
Nesa Azimi's 2024 documentary focuses on Desiree Wood, once homeless, who's rebuilding her life as a long-haul trucker—and as head of Real Women in Trucking, a loose-knit group of women truckers who help each other out on the road and confront the industry's challenges daily. Tomorrow and Sunday at 3 pm, and Azimi will be on hand for a conversation after tomorrow's screening.
The great blues veteran, two-time Grammy nominee, actor, and author (and son of Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis) has a pile of albums and collaborations to his name. He'll be at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation's coffeehouse on Route 5 in Norwich tomorrow at 7 pm.
Sunday
The Granite Stater who saw and helped bring it all to the world's attention—folk in the '60s, folk-rock in the '70s, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne and James Taylor—is now in his 80s and still at it. He'll be joined by one-time goat farmer and classical pianist-turned-troubadour Nakoa. 2 pm Sunday, call for reservations.
From Back and Handel to "Amazing Grace" to McCartney to Lennon and more. Plus the Chandler Children's Chorale and a Christmas Carol singalong to end it all. 4 pm Sunday.
Whew.
Let's look ahead to this weekend.
Here's mandolinist Ethan Setiawan with the great trad violinist Darol Anger and "Golden", off Setiawan's most recent album—which Anger produced.
And here's Guy Davis last year, with one of his best-known songs, "Loneliest Road That I Know", his take on Mississippi Fred McDowell's "61 Highway".
Hey, there's some snow out there! 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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