GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Still warm and partly sunny, but a change is in the air. Warm air continues to flow into the region, and we’ll see a mix of sun and clouds with highs today back in the mid 80s, lows overnight around 60. A pair of upper-level troughs arrive overnight, and the interplay between them and the high pressure that’s been in control the last few days makes timing a little uncertain, but it’ll get showery tomorrow afternoon and Sunday, with some decent thunderstorm chances tomorrow and tomorrow night.
Such a young age to be gangly… A newly arrived faun (with mom) in Hanover, in video from Carol Keeffe.
A look at the Windsor County sheriff’s race. As you know, incumbent Ryan Palmer is not seeking re-election, given his legal travails. "I think it makes the most sense at this time,” he tells The Herald’s Darren Marcy. “It allows the department and myself to plan for the future without the distraction of my campaign.” Instead, Marcy writes, three Democrats and a Republican are seeking the post. The Dems are Christopher Norton of the Windham sheriff’s office, Joshua Lake of the Bellows Falls PD, and Claude Weyant, chief deputy in the Windsor sheriff’s office. Richard King, with over two decades in the same office, is the sole Republican in the GOP primary.
Hanover finds higher-than-normal iron levels in reservoir water. It’s still within the safe limit for drinking water, water treatment supervisor Dylan McDermott tells The Dartmouth’s Iris WeaverBell, but at 0.16 milligrams per liter, he adds, it’s double what he’d expect. Over the past week or so, the town’s water department has gotten complaints about a metallic taste in the water both from students at the college and from the Ray School, prompting McDermott to test five sites; the results from the Fletcher Reservoir were the only abnormal result. He suspects runoff from rainstorms over the past month has been raising iron and manganese levels in the reservoir.
For new Woodstock-area school, VT education bill is “double-edged sword.” On the one hand, writes Tom Ayres in the Standard, the years-long effort to build a new middle/high school for the Mountain Views district got a boost when legislators “decoupled” capital construction debt from the per-pupil spending cap; voters’ approval of the $111.9 million bond issue in March was contingent on that happening. On the other hand, Ayres reports, the bill effectively pulls the state’s pre-approval and requires a new application process. “It’s such a long and winding road that few want to go down that path,” MVSU Supt. Sherry Sousa tells Ayres, who explains at the link.
SPONSORED: Celebrate Pride with Lebanon Opera House! Join in on Friday, June 12 for LOH’s fifth annual salute to the LGTBQIA+ community! Start the evening with their free resource and artisan fair at 6 PM in Colburn Park, before dancing the night away inside the theater with the incredible DJ Rekha at 8 PM. All are welcome! Sponsored by Lebanon Opera House.
At Saint-Gaudens, it’s not just “exquisite grounds and gardens.” In fact, writes Susan Apel in Artful, there are five compelling reasons to visit the national historical park in Cornish. There are, of course, the home, the grounds, and the studio spaces. There are also Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ justly famous sculptures. But the park isn’t just dedicated to the man and his work; it’s also an arts venue. Starting July 12 with pianist John Davis, there’s a long lineup of music. There’s a chance to see sculptor-in-residence Heidi Mortensen at work. And there’s artist Leslie Lyman’s exhibition focusing on the “unsung contributions” of Saint-Gaudens’ wife, Augusta, also an artist.
Upper Valley Baroque announces season. Astoundingly, it’s the high-end Baroque and classical ensemble’s sixth season under the baton of Filippo Ciabatti. It begins in October with Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, a “meditation on grief, empathy, and love”; moves on to a holiday concert in December and Mozart in January; brings in Grammy-winning soprano Amanda Forsythe and Opera Prima, an ensemble created by gambist Cristiano Contadin, for English songs in March; and closes out with a monumental performance in May (two orchestras and two chamber choruses) of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion to celebrate the work’s 300th anniversary.
SPONSORED: Planning a trip? Going on vacation, weekend away, sabbatical? Available for your consideration: kerrhousewatching.com. We can come by weekly (or more often during very cold weather) to make sure your home is warm and dry and quiet—and meet service people and deliveries, collect packages, make sure everything is running as it should. (Please note: no overnights or pet sitting.) Email [email protected] or call 603-252-0679. References available. Sponsored by Randy Kerr House Watching Services.
In the land of farm-to-fork, a soda with peanut butter, whipped cream, tri-colored marshmallows, chewy red candies, and crushed pretzels. And that’s just one of the “dirty sodas” that TikToker and dirty soda enthusiast Brooke Burgee is bringing to Randolph after a 15-year stint in Utah—where the custom-made non-alc drinks have been all the rage for years. Like a “fun-loving mad scientist,” reports Maryellen Apelquist in The Herald, Burgee has set up shop in the Wood’s Maple sugarhouse in Randolph, where she’ll be through early October. She and Al Wood aren’t just counting on locals; Burgee has TikTok followers across the country who might visit.
NH AG will look into Northern Rail Trail blockade in Andover. You remember the deal: a private landowner has barricaded a mile-long section of the trail in a dispute with the state. The Monitor’s David Brooks (here via NHPR) reports that Lenny Caron took that step because he says officials won’t let him use the trail to get heavy equipment to some parcels of his land after changes to a covered bridge made avoiding the trail impossible. He claims old deeds give the state “no rights to the land.” The old rail corridor was bought by the state in 1995. “You’d think every property owner would understand this is an existing rail trail that people use,” says Gov. Kelly Ayotte.
SPONSORED: Parish Players opens its 60th Season with Circle Mirror Transformation—by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker, directed by J. Bailey Burcham, running June 11-21! In a small-town Vermont community center, five ordinary people who sign up for an acting class slowly begin to reveal more about themselves than they ever intended. Funny, relatable, and quietly moving, whether you love theater or have never set foot in a rehearsal room, this tender and hilarious play will feel achingly familiar in the best way. Sponsored by Parish Players.
Former Tour de France cyclist—and Hanover High math teacher—Andy Bishop dies at 61. Bishop was a pro racer who did the Tour three times, eventually moving to Williston, VT in the 1990s. He taught for five years at Harwood Union High School, then moved on to Hanover High, where he taught math and helped coach Nordic skiing. He died of cancer on Tuesday, reports WCAX.
Hiking Close to Home: Healdville Trail, Okemo State Forest. This moderately difficult trail in Mount Holly, VT runs to the summit of Okemo Mountain and a refurbished fire tower that provides 360° views, says the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. Hikers are treated to bridge crossings, switchbacks, and a combination of steep climbs and level stretches, with plenty of mountain views. True, you can also make it easier by driving up Okemo Mountain Road and taking a short, 0.3 mile hike to the fire tower and summit. Trail details at the burgundy link.
Daybreak’s Upper Valley News Quiz. Were you paying attention this week? Because we’ve got questions! Like, which town’s listserv has Vital Communities just paused due to “uncivil communication”? And who’s kicking off the Lake Morey Resort’s summer concert series in a couple of weeks? You’ll find that and more at the link. Meanwhile, you’ll find NHPR’s New Hampshire quiz here, and Seven Days’ Vermont quiz here.
NH Legislature axes two major GOP bills—with Ayotte administration help. Without discussion yesterday, the Senate voted down a controversial move to let students enroll in any NH public school—and take their local tax dollars with them. Its decision came after Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she’d veto the measure, given local school district opposition. Meanwhile, reports NH Bulletin’s Ethan DeWitt, the Senate passed a bill making the legislature the only authority for firearms regs—overriding municipalities, universities, and police departments—but after AG John Formella came out against it this week, 28 House Republicans joined Democrats yesterday to vote it down.
On the other hand, NH legislators approved a bill requiring voters in every city and town to weigh in on capping local property taxes for school spending. If the bill is signed by Ayotte, voters in each community would consider capping taxes tied to schools at the rate of inflation this November and again in 2028. A three-fifths vote would be needed for a cap to pass. NHPR’s Josh Rogers reports.
A look at what the VT legislature did before it adjourned. As a team of VT Public reporters note, education reform “stole the headlines,” but there’s a long list of other steps the legislature took—or avoided. They run down the measures, including: a ban on herbicide paraquat; refinements to last year’s measure moving the state to a new healthcare-pricing framework; moves to bolster the state’s transportation fund; a bill to “pare back the controversial motel voucher program while attempting to streamline how the state funds and governs emergency shelter and services”; the much-covered partial repeal of several land use regs; and more…
Nails—and claws—in Aisle 9. It doesn’t take much to come up with a reason to stop by the hardware store. But in lots of Aubuchons, writes Carolyn Shapiro in Seven Days, there’s one more reason: a resident cat. The company started employing kitties about 20 years ago at locations that stock feed (and thus, draw critters), and now some 100 are hard at work charming customers. They come from shelters and are usually the ones overlooked by adopters, but once they get to their new home/office, their popularity explodes. Several have their own Instagram accounts, and competition for a spot on the Hardware Cat Calendar is fierce.
Sherpa given up for dead on Everest found alive. One more Mt. Everest item just because it’s so extraordinary. Back on May 29, Dawa Sherpa was descending from the summit when his client went on ahead as oxygen supplies dwindled and climbers were rushing to get to base camp. The sherpa wasn’t seen again—nor was a rescue effort mounted. Alone, he made his way down the mountain without oxygen—then fell into a crevasse, where he remained for more than two days, surviving on melted ice and a packet of biscuits and hoping for help. None came. When a small avalanche raised the snow level in the crevasse, he clawed his way out. He crawled into Base Camp, where a cleanup crew found him yesterday. Everest Chronicle’s Dewan Rai reports.
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The head spins. Italian reggae band The Appetizers giving New Orleans funk band The Meters a Jamaican lilt…
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