GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Coldest day of the week. Though at least it'll be drier. Temps somewhere around freezing, and we'll have gusty winds out of the northwest. The clouds will clear out overnight as the winds shift a bit, and though there'll still be cold air filtering in—lows tonight in the low 20s—warmer air is on its way.Introducing... WindoVision! Henry manages to improve on tv (and streaming) with a handsaw. It's Lost Woods, Week 18 and today, as every Friday, Lebanon author and illustrator D.B. Johnson brings his still-new comic strip to this spot, a week's worth at a time. If you're just joining it, dive in! You can scroll right to see what happens next or left to catch up on previous weeks. As the seasons transform... (They are, it just doesn't feel like it right now).
Lisa Lacasse was on a back road in Hartland on Wednesday and came on a stand of birches whose red leaf buds are just starting to show—"a sure sign that spring is actually coming," she writes. Fortunately, she had her drone with her.
And Etna photographer Jim Block has been wandering around Enfield, Lyme, Norwich, Orford, and other towns capturing early-spring scenery (including a striking sunrise on Mascoma), ice breakups, and bird life of all descriptions (including a gap-feathered tom turkey).
NH police SWAT team shoots, kills Claremont man. It happened Wednesday night, after Claremont police responded earlier in the day to a report of gunshots in a group of industrial buildings on Sullivan St. Jeffrey Ely, 40, was barricaded inside, and the police called in the state police. Ely and six members of the SWAT team exchanged gunfire, reports the Valley News's Anna Merriman. Friends of Ely, who grew up in Windsor, had grown concerned about his mental health after a series of "troubling" FB posts, Merriman writes. Thetford Elementary gets fifth principal in a decade. The Orange East Supervisory Union yesterday announced that Bernice Mills of Fairlee, the district's current student services coordinator, will take over once the school year ends, reports Laura Covalla in the new Thetford blog, Sideline. Mills replaces Chance Lindsley, who abruptly announced his departure in an email to the school community in February—a few minutes after OESU announced his position had been publicly advertised.SPONSORED: Long River Gallery hosts "Farmstead" exhibit. A selection of pastels by local artist Jocelyn Randles, inspired by Vermont farms, is now on display at WRJ's Long River Gallery through June 1. Tonight, you can meet the artist (after hours) and see her whimsical animals and her parallel work inspired by the pandemic. Sign up in 15-minute increments at the maroon link. CDC protocols strictly observed. Visit the gallery in WRJ Wed–Sat 11-5 or by appointment, shop online, or email [email protected] for a personal shopping service. Sponsored by Long River Gallery.Agreement between VT Tech, UV Land Trust comes under spotlight. Wednesday night, VTDigger published a piece by Katy Savage about newly disclosed details in the settlement of UVLT's 2019 lawsuit against VT Technical College over land and buildings now occupied by Norwich Farm Creamery, which VTC is selling.
In her article, Savage writes that the redacted agreement gives the college "little control over the sale" and "shows the land trust stands to receive a portion of the profit from the potential sale."
That's misleading, UVLT President Jeanie McIntyre responds in a Daybreak Interview, clarifying that the agreement allows VTC to use part of sale proceeds to pay the settlement. UVLT is "plain not engaged" in the sale, she says, and describes both the agreement and its backstory.
How We Got Through. "We may not yet be able to hug each other, but we can call out 'It’s good to see you!' and 'We made it!' to our neighbors... We're calling this one for Team Hope," Courtney Cook writes for Junction mag, introducing 14 short pieces on what it took people around the region to make it through the past year: puttering, cartoon zombies, the gift of time at home, freedom from the office, leaning into being Korean, MarioKart, trees, snowshoes, birds... and, yep, hope. Bet you can't read just one.Hiking close to home: Mt. Ascutney State Park. The Upper Valley Trails Alliance points out a trail network that can partially work at this time of year, with over 20 miles of trails that lend themselves to social distancing despite the park's popularity. For hiking, the Brownsville Trail has base-to-summit trekking, ridgeline views, waterfalls, a lookout tower (via detour) and even a rock quarry. For mountain biking, the Swoops and Loops trail opposite the campground entrance provides 3.5 miles of beginner-friendly trails. Note: Please pay attention to mud season closures.Appalachian Mountain Club huts to reopen in June. The organization announced yesterday that its eight high huts will open to overnighters on June 3, though with limitations for at least the first two weeks. Each bunk space—whether in its own room or with dividers between—will be assigned to a single group, food will be served according to NH restaurant guidelines, blankets and pillows won't be provided, and vaccinations are encouraged but not required. Details on the individual huts at the link."We're losing the cold." That's Elizabeth Burakowski, a UNH researcher, at a discussion on the impact of climate change on NH winter recreation, reports the Union Leader's John Koziol. Several models, Burakowski noted, show NH may wind up with a climate like Virginia's—whose skiing "is not as awesome as we have in New Hampshire." The president of Ski NH argued that while ski areas are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, the biggest contributor is people driving to them. When it comes to electric vehicle infrastructure in the Northeast, she said, "New Hampshire is the big doughnut hole.”NH schools must go fully in-person by April 19. That's per Gov. Chris Sununu, who yesterday announced the new mandate. “We all know we need to get our kids back into schools, not just for educational reasons but for mental health reasons, for socialization," he said, adding that about 60 percent of the state's schools are already open full time. The timeline, reports the Monitor's Eileen O'Grady, is based on when all school employees will have received their second vaccine dose.VT backpedals, sort of, on college-student vaccines. After a fair amount of blowback to Gov. Phil Scott's announcement Tuesday that out-of-state college students wouldn't be eligible for vaccines, his office on Wednesday night said that out-of-state students who don't qualify as VT residents will be able to sign up by April 30 if enough vaccines are available, WCAX reports. State officials said they also expect to be able to offer doses to second-home owners. Top Dem officials pour cold water on VT House pension overhaul plan. The proposal, which among other things would require teachers and state employees to work longer, contribute more to their pensions, and receive fewer benefits, had already faced a buzzsaw of criticism from teachers, state employees, and unions. Now, reports VTDigger's Xander Landen, both Lt. Gov. Molly Gray and Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint are criticizing it—though Balint says that whatever happens, it's likely that both public employees and taxpayers "are going to feel some pain.”Is this the worst mud season ever? It's pretty much like clockwork, right? Around the beginning of April, there's a story asking the question. Local leaders around Barre, writes VTDigger's Kevin O'Connor, say "the muck is some of the worst in memory." Gov. Phil Scott, who lives on a back road, says, "I hear this every single year...It's about typical, from my perspective." Whatever, Belvidere Town Clerk Cathy Mander-Adams tells O'Connor. “If you buy a house on a dirt road, you probably ought to know about what to expect; i.e., potholes and lost exhaust pipes.”"We measure our maple syrup production in the tens of thousands of gallons and our birch syrup in the hundreds of gallons." That's Mike Farrell, who ran Cornell U's maple syrup research center for 13 years and is now CEO of New Leaf Tree Syrups, whose miles of tubing snake through the 3,000 acres of woods it owns in Marshfield, VT and the 7,000 acres it owns in Lyon Mountain, NY, in the Adirondacks. Seven Days' Anne Wallace Allen profiles the company, which doesn't just make vast amounts of maple syrup, but birch, beech, and a maple-walnut blend as well.Guess I'm going to have to stop using my old iPhone as an excuse. Because it turns out, you can take some great photos with mobile phones. The Mobile Photography Awards have been around for a decade—they write, "If it’s true what Henri Cartier-Bresson says, that our first 10,000 photos will be our worst, then mobile photography has given people an historic opportunity to quickly get past 10,001." They're out with their most recent winners and runners-up, a weekend's worth of some remarkable pics from around the world.
Last numbers for the week.
Dartmouth reports 33 active cases among students (up 4) and 2 among faculty/staff. There are 59 students and 4 faculty/staff in quarantine because of travel or exposure, while 34 students and 11 faculty/staff are in isolation awaiting results or because they tested positive.
Colby-Sawyer's down to 5 cases among students, none among faculty/staff, with 5 people in isolation and 3 in quarantine.
NH reported 433 new cases yesterday, for a cumulative total of 84,539. There were 7 new deaths, bringing the total to 1,245, and 81 people with confirmed cases are hospitalized (up 4). The current active caseload stands at 3,287 (up 174). The state reports 143 active cases in Grafton County (up 4), 44 in Sullivan (up 1), and 283 in Merrimack (up 17). In town-by-town numbers, the state says that Hanover has 36 active cases (no change), Claremont has 19 (up 4), Lebanon has 15 (no change), New London has 9 (down 1), Newport has 8 (down 1), and Sunapee has 5 (no change). Haverhill, Rumney, Canaan, Enfield, Plainfield, Grantham, Grafton, Springfield, Wilmot, Cornish, Croydon, Charlestown, and Newbury have 1-4 each. Piermont and Unity are off the list.
VT reported 233 new cases yesterday, bringing it to a total case count of 19,523. It had no new deaths, which remain at 227, and 32 people with confirmed cases are hospitalized (up 1). Windsor County gained 17 cases and stands at 1,196 for the pandemic, with 79 over the past 14 days, while Orange County added 14 new cases and is at 564 cumulatively, with 29 cases in the past 14 days.
News that connects you. If you like Daybreak and want to help it keep going, here's how:
Today, the Hop starts up a monthlong Film On Demand series, with a bunch of films worth checking out. There's Oscar-Nominated Shorts—which are just what the title says; the annual Women's Adventure Film Tour, from the Arctic to paragliding the Tetons; Golden Globe nominee Two of Us; films from Iran, France, Southeast DC; and lots more. $8-$12 for the public, free to Hop members.
At 5 pm today, NH Humanities hosts Plymouth State historian Whitney Howarth talking about "The Hot Drinks Revolution." Tea, coffee, cocoa... they've all got a backstory stretching back centuries. Howarth will talk about the historical forces—from the Atlantic slave and sugar trades to the development of café culture to indigenous resistance to tea plantations—that made them such a prominent part of modern life. Free, but you'll need to register.
Tonight at 7, Middlebury's free performing arts series continues with Same But Different, a collaborative dance piece by faculty members Christal Brown and Lida Winfield exploring their differences and similarities. Among other things, Brown is Black, Winfield white; both grew up in small towns, Brown in the South, Winfield in the north. And as children, "Christal was considered a genius and Lida was labeled dumb." Scroll down.
Tonight starting at 9, the Capitol Center for the Arts is offering the livestream of a Good Friday special by the Blind Boys of Alabama, the venerable and justly world famous gospel group, who'll be doing a mix of old and new songs. Tix are $18.
In case you want to catch a little winter-sports stardom, tomorrow starting at 10 am, the Upper Valley's Tara Geraghty-Moats will be stopping by Omer & Bob's on the Leb Mall to thank the Upper Valley ski community and talk about her Nordic Combined World Cup championship this season, won at the first-ever women's Nordic Combined championship in Austria in December. She'll have the World Cup globe along with her.
Tomorrow at 8 pm, Here in the Valley is back with Jes Raymond and Route 5 Revival hosting live from the Briggswith special (streamed) guests Save Room For Pie, banjo wizard Steve Hennig, poet and songwriter Laura Jean Binkley, Here In The Valley Voices, and River Glen, joining in from Canada. Sliding-scale donations: As Jakob Breitbach writes, "It’s amazing how quickly buying 50 feet of HDMI cable or walkie-talkie headsets for the camera crew can add up."
And if you're looking for some in-person art viewing in addition to what Long River is offering, ArtisTree's "MUD" exhibit is up and running. The gallery had to close for last year's version, but its doors are open with a set of works by local artists focused on this most New England of seasons, "some hoping for a brighter future and the warmth and color to come, others reflecting on the familiar, spare landscape of recent memory and what they've missed this past year."
You can sort of think of Bombino—the name Omara Moctar uses on stage—as the little brother of Tuareg desert blues. Tinariwen blazed the way in the late '70s and early '80s; Bombino, who grew up in an encampment of nomadic Tuarags in Niger, spent his '80s childhood on the move through drought and war, but eventually settled and joined a band in Agadez, Niger. Now he's got his own band, also called Bombino,
.
See you Monday.
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
Want to catch up on Daybreak music?
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Banner by Tom Haushalter Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Tom About Michael
And if you think one or more of your friends would like Daybreak, too, please forward this newsletter and tell them to hit the blue "Subscribe" button below. And thanks! And hey, if you're that friend? So nice to see you! You can subscribe at:
Thank you!