GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Just a hint of a taste of fall. Barely a suggestion, really, so nothing to get worked up over: Just think of it as a cooler summer's day. There's high pressure working in from the west, and it will be with us for a while. Mostly sunny today, highs in the mid 70s, dropping to around 50 overnight. Repeat tomorrow... and Sunday, in case you're making plans.Former local priests among those named by lay-led VT Catholic committee as "credibly accused" of child sexual abuse. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington released the report yesterday, which covers accusations from 1950 to as recently as the mid-2000s. “These shameful, sinful and criminal acts have been our family secret for generations,” Bishop Christopher Coyne told reporters. In all, 40 former Vermont priests are listed, though one of them was accused in Iowa. Nine of them worked at various times for churches in the Upper Valley, including in Randolph, Woodstock, WRJ, and Windsor. Last month's NH report on 73 priests is here.Grafton selectboard okays meetinghouse deal. Just catching up from earlier this week... At its meeting Tuesday night, the selectboard approved a contract with Mascoma Valley Preservation that clears the way for the group to buy the fire-damaged building. It's now trying to raise $50,000 to restore it and turn it into a community center. (VN, subscription reqd)Opening of new trail from APD to Mascoma River Greenway celebrated. The new handicapped-accessible path leads from the hospital's parking lot to the popular trail that runs between Leb and West Leb (and on to the Northern Rail Trail). The project, carried out by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, was finished earlier this month and officially opened at a ceremony yesterday. And speaking of handicapped-accessible trails... Hanover will be closing the River Trail along Mink Brook for five weeks starting Sept. 3 to make a section of it wheelchair-friendly. “It’s the most popular trail in town, and there’s been an expressed need for handicapped access, not only wheelchairs but strollers and baby carriages and that sort of thing,” says Jim Kennedy, who chairs the town's conservation commission. (VN, sub still reqd)Royalton sued for broken guardrail in 2017 crash. The accident two summers ago on Back River Road killed 38-year-old James Arbuckle when the car in which he was a passenger hit the guardrail, which pierced it. The railing was missing its "end treatment," which is designed to prevent exactly that kind of occurrence. The suit was filed by Melissa Pratt, who is the mother of Arbuckle's son and administrator of his estate. The driver of the car was Jeremy Potwin, who was shot and killed by police in Tunbridge this past spring.NH gets $46 million grant to expand charter schools. The money comes from the federal Department of Education's charter school program; New Hampshire's one of only three states to secure the funding this year. The five-year grant focuses on at-risk kids and professional development for charter-school staff and board members. "These funds will help us improve education in the Granite State – a win for our kids,” says Gov. Chris Sununu.Ruling in favor of Sununu's election funding may backfire. The Election Law Unit of NH's DOJ recently ruled that it was okay for Sununu's 2018 campaign to accept contributions from limited liability partnerships, despite a ban in state statute. Partnerships, the unit ruled, have the same right to contribute as other corporate entities. But the statute also bans unions from contributing, and Concord lawyer Jay Surdukowski argues that the decision now clears their way. It "has the hallmarks of being a game-changer in 2020 if the unions take up the opportunity the Department of Justice has served up on a silver platter."VT joins court case opposing fast-track deportations. In all, 17 states and DC have joined an amicus brief filed Wednesday in federal district court in DC seeking an injunction against the Trump administration's move last month to expand low-level immigration officers' ability to deport people. The fast-track regs were issued without advance notice or public comment. "These individuals are welcome members of our communities," the brief states. "They face severe consequences if placed in expedited removal."But really, Pabst Blue Ribbon? As I'm sure you know, Vermont has the most breweries per capita in the country (11.5 per 100,000 people), and it's got this hoity-toity beer aficionado reputation. But when the website Uproxx surveyed bartenders on the most-underrated beers in the country, they didn't mention any from around here. There were some interesting ones — Trumer Pils from CA, La Rubia from Miami's Wynnwood Brewing — but also Pabst, Sapporo, and, yikes! Bud Light.SO HERE WE ARE, FRIDAY! WHAT'CHA GOT?The Contenders will be in Woodstock. Guitarist Jay Nash and drummer Josh Day follow the wandering Americana/roots/folk/country tradition, and the people they've met and stories they've heard wind up in their music. "I suspect that the universe has some particular resonant frequencies and I believe that is truth that we are all looking for. Just as it exists in the physical world, I think that we can find that resonance in melody, harmony, rhythm and poetry," Nash says. Starts at 5:30 on the North Chapel back lawn. Check them out at the link. Meanwhile, the Henry Danaher Trio will be on the Lebanon Mall. Part of the weekend jazz series that sets up between Salt Hill and Three Tomatoes. Danaher is the choir director and organist for the First Congregational Church in Lebanon. He'll be on keyboards, playing his favorite jazz and Latin standards. Runs from 6 to 8:30. Sorry, no link.Or you could head to Windsor to see Manos: The Hands of Fate. Wait! Bear with me! Manos disappeared after its 1966 premiere, only to pop up on Mystery Science Theater 3000, which brought it fame as one of the worst movies ever made—so unredeemably awful it's funny. Made on a bet by fertilizer salesman Harold P. Warren, it had virtually no budget and no one with experience behind the camera. The clapboard shows up before transitions, there are long unaccountable silences, the voices were dubbed in post-production and Warren could only afford one voice actress so she did all the female roles. Best of all? It's only 74 minutes long. Presented at 7:30 by Windsor On Air at the Windsor Farmers' Exchange.Torgo: There is nothing to fear, Madam. The Master likes you! Nothing will happen to you! He likes you!Margaret: Likes me? I thought you said he was dead.See you Monday.
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