A TREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN, UPPER VALLEY!
Though it's a gray start to the year. A low pressure system tracked across the region last night, and others appear headed this way, but all are going to stall off the coast, leaving us with occasional flurries, cloudy skies, and generally moderate temps in coming days. Today, any remaining snow will taper off early and there's a chance we might see a little sky later on. High in the mid-30s, low tonight in the mid-20s.The sun, the moon, and a new year. Taylor Haynes captured them all in a panorama just after sunrise on Jan. 1, when she sent her new drone up for a spin just above where Dothan Road and Jericho Street meet in WRJ. And while we're on the moon... The night before, talk-radio host and former sing-in-the-car star Jason Place was hanging out in Canaan shortly before midnight and caught the turn-of-the-year atmospherics.Hanover's Davison Block sells to three Dartmouth alums. The Main St. stretch of shops and apartments—including the Dirt Cowboy Café, Murphy's, Tuk Tuk, and Left Bank Books—had been owned by the Davison family since the early 1900s. The new owners "work separately in the real estate industry but banded together to acquire the Davison Block as a personal investment," reports the Valley News's John Lippman. "This is a generational asset. We plan to own this building for a very, very long time," says one of the new owners. (Second item; first is a preliminary overview of the new stimulus package.)Leb proposes trail to keep bikers off graves in Sacred Heart and Valley cemeteries. The two cemeteries sit between Pine Tree Cemetery Rd. and the Mascoma Greenway, the multi-use trail that connects to the Northern Rail Trail downtown. Earlier this year, workers found evidence that mountain bikers had been using the cemeteries as a cut-through. As a result, reports the VN's Tim Camerato, Leb recreation director Paul Coats has laid out a plan for volunteers to build a path along the cemeteries' western edge. A petition is circulating to oppose it. The city's cemeteries board takes up the plan next week.SPONSORED: Start the year learning a dance loved by millions all over the world. Join Raq-On Dance via Zoom on Thursday, January 7th at 6 pm for a FREE beginner belly dance foundations class. No dance experience necessary! Email [email protected] for the Zoom link. Raq-On Dance has been fostering fearless curves in the Upper Valley for over a decade and has both live and recorded classes available. Raq-On also offers private parties for you and your friends, even over Zoom! Sponsored by Raq-On Dance.More people died of opioid overdoses in Windsor County in 2020 than died of Covid in the whole Upper Valley. The VN's Nora Doyle-Burr reports that Windsor County led VT in overdose deaths, with at least 25 (10 of them in Hartford); 18 people had died of Covid in the Upper Valley as of Dec. 30. Sheila Young, executive director of the Second Wind Foundation, tells Doyle-Burr that the pandemic is keeping people from using services; in addition, says Hartford Police Chief Phil Kasten, drug suppliers have taken advantage "as agencies that might normally keep an eye on those sorts of things…run at a different level of operations.”It wasn't just your imagination: Locally, 2020 was the 3rd or 4th warmest year on record. The uncertainty is due to a 130-day "data gap" for 1998 from the weather monitoring equipment at Lebanon Airport, writes the VN's John Lippman. But even so last year's average mean temperature of 48.3 degrees is just a tad under the 48.9-degree record set in 2010. Meanwhile, it was the second-warmest year on record for Vermont, at 49.4 degrees.And NH saw its fourth-hottest average temps since the late 1800s. Overall, January to November of last year was about four degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the historic average, state climatologist Mary Stampone tells NHPR's Annie Ropeik. And climate change is not just driving rising temperatures, Ropeik points out: We're not really out of the woods yet from last year's drought, with (lest you forget), its crop losses, drinking-water shortages, and forest fires, especially if the snowpack is low this winter, warns Stampone. First US coin to honor a teacher unveiled. Its subject: Christa McAuliffe. The artwork for the commemorative silver dollar was made public last month at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord by Steven McAuliffe, Christa's widower, and inventor Dean Kamen. "As the first participant in NASA's Teacher in Space program, Christa embodied the dreams of many who wish to reach for the stars," the US Mint's director said. "The Christa McAuliffe Silver Dollar will celebrate the life and legacy of a true pioneer, a passionate educator and an inspiration to millions." (Thanks, MT & MP!)We're four days in, and already NH's 2021 legislative year is off to an interesting start. The legislature convenes on Wednesday. In the Senate, it will be remote. In the House, however, Speaker-Elect Sherman Packard plans a drive-in session, with members debating and voting from their cars; Democrats have objected, claiming it would disenfranchise disabled and health-compromised members. Meanwhile, of course, the usual gubernatorial inauguration is off after Gov. Chris Sununu cancelled it, citing potential danger from armed protesters.VT's legislature also convenes Wednesday, with all-new leadership. Brattleboro's Becca Balint will take over as Senate President, while Burlington's Jill Krowinski will debut as House speaker. The upcoming session is filled with uncertainty (though at least they know they'll be remote through March at the earliest): Top priority, report VTDigger's Kit Norton and Xander Landen, will be Covid relief. In addition, Balint hopes the Senate will tackle criminal justice reform, and both she and minority leader Randy Brock believe there will be momentum for expanding broadband access.VT ski towns seeing rising Covid numbers. VTDigger's Erin Petenko looks into the town-by-town numbers released by the state last week (for Upper Valley numbers, see below), and notes that Burke, Dover, and Stockbridge—all host to or near ski resorts—were among the towns with the fastest-growing number of cases. If you want to dig, she's got the latest town numbers and growth rates laid out in an easy-to-read graphic."Oh, yeah, I'm just shooting over to the tavern to...um... mail a letter." Turns out, local historian Larry Coffin writes in a blog post on early post offices in the region, the post office in E. Thetford long ago was the slots on the banister in a local tavern. Early POs were also in homes and stores, and at one time Thetford and Newbury each had six. Postmasters earned money by selling stamps, selling subscriptions, and from increased foot traffic to their businesses; they were essentially political appointees. Stunningly, Coffin writes, "the practice of postal patronage" didn't come to an end until 1971.Attention, Corgi lovers: Avert your eyes! "This dog mocking a Corgi has me in tears," writes the tweeter of this video. Though you know, it could be sympathy. Or curiosity about what the world looks like from way down there. Whatever, here's betting you don't watch it just once. (Thanks, GR!)
Been a while! Let's catch up...
NH is now at 46,450 cumulative reported cases, or 7,938 more than 11 days ago. There were 103 deaths over that time (they now number 780 total), while 913 people are hospitalized (that's 608 more than just before the holidays). The current active caseload stands at 6,096 (which is actually lower than before the holidays); 85 percent of all cases have recovered. Grafton County is at 165 active cases (up 19), Sullivan has 99 (up 46), and Merrimack has 692 (down 150). Town by town, the state says that Claremont has 52 active cases (up 37 since Dec. 23), Lebanon has 24 (up 11), Hanover has 22 (up 8), Enfield has 20 (up 11), Charlestown has 19 (up at least 15), Canaan has 13 (up at least 8), Newport and New London have 8 each (down 2 apiece), Wentworth has 7 (up at least 3), Sunapee has 6 (down 7), Rumney has 5 (down 3). Haverhill, Piermont, Warren, Orford, Lyme, Grafton, Plainfield, Cornish, Unity, and Newbury all have 1-4 each.
VT is now at 7,793 total reported cases, which is 1,113 new cases over the last 11 days. It now has 2,381 active cases, with 67.7 percent of all cases recovered. There were 23 new deaths since just before Christmas, bringing the total to 140, and 27 people with confirmed cases are hospitalized. Windsor County gained 95 cases to stand at 442 for the pandemic (with 105 over the past 14 days). Orange County gained 25 cases, putting it at 323 cumulatively (with 29 cases over the past 14 days). In the most recent town-by-town numbers, over the two weeks leading up to Dec. 30 Hartford gained 13 cases, Springfield gained 11, Randolph gained 6, Woodstock and Windsor each gained 5 while Corinth added at least 5, Thetford and Chelsea each added 4, Bradford and Bethel gained 3, Norwich and Killington added 2, and Hartland and Fairlee added 1 apiece.
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This is the 45th year for the Elden Murray Photographic Exhibition and Competition, hosted by the Howe for local amateur photographers to strut their stuff. The window for submissions—coordinated by the Quechee Area Camera Club—just opened, and closes on Jan. 20. They'll be announcing winners on Jan. 30, and this year, the photographic exhibition (in February and March) will be online. Definitely something to look forward to!
And speaking of photographs, there's a particularly timely exhibition—which you can see online—at the Brattleboro Museum, called "Ice Shanties: Fishing, People, and Culture." They feature photographs of the ice-shack towns that spring up every winter in Vermont, by Colombian-born photographer Federico Pardo. As the museum notes, he used long-duration exposures, "beginning his work after sunset and continuing long into the night. The resulting images, lit by both sunset and moonlight, carry a surreal quality of blended night and day." As for Pardo, he tells VTDigger's Kevin O'Connor, "I first thought, ‘Who would want to sit on a frozen pond on hours on end to wait for a fish?' Then I saw the look of the shanties and the landscape of winter — a world I had never seen before."
There are
so
many ways to start off the year, but let's just keep it simple and low-key and strut into the week with Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks and
See? You watched that dog at least twice, didn't you? See you tomorrow.
Want to catch up on Daybreak music? Check out the Spotify playlist generously maintained by Sarah and Nelson Rooker!
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Banner by Tom Haushalter Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Tom About Michael
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