GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Mostly to partly cloudy, pleasant. Showers tied to low pressure moving through the region finished up earlier this morning, and cloud cover will decrease as the day goes on—at least, for a bit. Highs today will reach the mid 50s before temps start a long drop with the arrival of a cold front that will bring us a renewed chance of showers overnight and—if you've got some elevation—a chance of some road icing by tomorrow morning's commute. Though in the valleys overnight lows will be in the low 40s or upper 30s.Winter settles in up high. The sunset view from atop Mt. Washington, where Orford's Paul Goundrey is volunteering. Yesterday's high was 38, peak wind gusts hit 56 mph. Here's what the summit looked like.A heads up about I-89 southbound crossing the river. For three days this week—tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday—NHDOT crews will be placing concrete on the southbound bridge deck. They'll be closing the right lane across the river from 5 am to about 4 pm each day (depending on the weather), as well as Exit 10A on I-91 northbound (the exit leading to I-89 southbound). Motorists on I-91 needing that exit will be detoured to the Wilder exit, where they can get onto I-91 southbound and then take the exit to I-89 southbound.So, Woodstock's going to own a water company. Now what? As you'll remember, the town voted overwhelmingly a couple of weeks ago to buy the Woodstock Aqueduct Company, but as Lauren Dorsey writes in the VT Standard, there's still a lot to work out. For starters, there's another public vote on Dec. 10: one article asks whether the town should fund capital projects to replace the main water distribution pipe, replace a water main across the Elm St. bridge, and bring the system into accord with state standards; the other involves buying a 358-acre parcel of land and reservoir. Dorsey explains.In Grafton County, "upstart" wins sheriff's race. That's how the Valley News describes Democrat Jill Myers, who beat Bath Police Chief Todd Matthew Eck last Tuesday, 28,937-23,098. Myers, 30, is currently a part-time police officer in Littleton, and, as John Lippman writes, worked for a time for the sheriff's department—before threatening to sue the county after she accused outgoing sheriff Jeff Stiegler of creating a hostile work environment. Myers, who won the county's most heavily Democratic towns, says she'll focus on more training for deputies and turning the department into a more active police agency.Thetford decides to contract for social services help. In Sidenote, Li Shen takes a look at the selectboard's Nov. 4 decision to sign a memorandum of understanding with the White River Council on Aging for a part-time social services coordinator who can make referrals and help residents navigate the various public and non-profit agencies that can help with various needs. Li traces the history of the town's efforts (including "bidding out" care for poor families starting in 1792), before noting that the town's existing service officer is a volunteer who "simply lacks the time" to do all the work the job requires.Dartmouth wants to expand its rugby clubhouse. The 6,000-square-foot building, which sits at Garipay Field, was built almost two decades ago, when both women's and men's rugby was a club sport. Now, the women's team competes at the varsity level, has bragging rights to an Olympian (Ariana Ramsey), and, as Emma Roth-Wells notes in the VN, ranks first right now in the NCAA Northern Intercollegiate Rugby Association. A proposed $3.6 million renovation, which Hanover's planning board will take up tomorrow, would expand the women’s locker room and add space for visiting teams."I am a storyteller. As a storyteller, I write. Journalism pays the bills." Mark Travis, whom you read about last week, "occupied just about every position available in local newspapers, from freelance writer to publisher," writes David Brooks in the Concord Monitor. But as his friend and neighbor, the Rev. Steve Blackmer, told Brooks, Mark saw himself as a writer who told other people's stories. Around Canterbury, one local says, he was "a lifelong learner, a lifelong giver." Brooks traces his career, his close ties to former Monitor editor Mike Pride, and his efforts to find "new ways for local journalism to thrive."No change to NH judges' retirement age after constitutional amendment fails. Actually, the move to raise the mandatory retirement age from 70 to 75 won heavy support from voters last week taking just under 66 percent of the vote to just over 34 percent from opponents. But that wasn't quite enough to win: As NHPR's Todd Bookman notes, constitutional amendments in the state need the backing of 66.67 percent of voters. The age limit of 70 was set in the 1792 state constitution.Now that the GOP really controls the NH State House, what's ahead? In theory, last Tuesday didn't change much: Republicans held both legislative chambers and the governorship beforehand, too. But as Ethan DeWitt writes in NH Bulletin, their majorities in the legislature grew. So he looks at what to expect next year: some tax cuts (though state revenues are expected to drop, so there are no big plans); an effort to ban "sanctuary cities" in the state; a new "parental bill of rights" bid after attempts failed in 2021 and 2023; an effort to expand education freedom accounts; and more.Federal judge again extends NH's ER boarding deadline. Originally, Judge Landya B. McCafferty gave the state until this past May to end the practice of keeping people hopitalized involuntarily for mental health crises in emergency rooms until a psychiatric bed could be found. She then extended the deadline until December this year, and now, reports Paul Cuno-Booth for NHPR, says the state has until next March. That's because hospitals say the state is making progress on its plans to add inpatient beds, create new community services, and add more housing options for people with mental illness.It's "back to the drawing board" for downtown Rutland after Walmart says it's moving to former mall beyond the city center. The chain store has been a downtown anchor for three decades, writes Kevin O'Connor in VTDigger; now, with its announcement that it's building a "supercenter" out at the former Diamond Run Mall, Rutland City leaders are trying to figure out what's next. “Rutland is a city that is built for 30,000 people and it’s currently being sustained by about 15,000,” Mayor Mike Doenges tells O'Connor. There are lots of ideas about what should come next, including downtown housing.The Monday jigsaw. It's downtown WRJ in 1956, looking up N. Main toward the tracks. As the Norwich Historical Society's Cam Cross writes, "Notice the traffic pattern that's quite different from the current one-way route. Note also the gas station in the far center of the photo. This is currently a parking lot across from the Coolidge." Here's the original photo by renowned Hartford photographer Collamer Abbott.
Heads UpIt's Veterans Day, and there are observances throughout the region today, from a retreat and drill ceremony on the Dartmouth Green (along with military hymns from the Baker Bells) to a parade in Lebanon to ceremonies in Claremont, Hartford, Orford, Perkinsville, and S. Royalton. The VN rounds them up.At Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center, "Ungoverning and the Politics of Chaos". Last month, Dartmouth political scientist Russ Muirhead and his Harvard colleague, Nancy Rosenblum, published Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State. Today at 4 pm in Rocky 001, Muirhead will talk about the book's dive into the deliberate effort to dismantle the capacity of government to do its work, and at the challenges likely to be faced by officials entrusted with running the operations of the US government.
And to get us going this week...We're going to turn to Walk Off the Earth. The buoyant Canadian band was one of Mark Travis's favorites, and for me it was a trip to be in a position to feed his habit. So in his honor, here's the almost brand-new "Mom's Old Car".See you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Associate writer: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
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