Daybreak Monday, 11/17/25

A note about later this week: There’ll be no morning Daybreak on Thursday, though the weekend Heads Up will be out as usual on Thursday afternoon. Back with the newsletter itself first thing Friday morning.

Mostly cloudy, windy. The mountains got great snow over the weekend and it’s continuing today, but here in the Connecticut River Valley, we’ll probably miss out. What we will get, though, are wind gusts up in the mid-20 mph range, with mostly cloudy skies and highs in the mid 30s. Down to the mid 20s overnight.

And what does that mountain snow look like from down here in the valleys? Here’s Lynne Fitzhugh’s shot from Fairlee looking over toward Moosilauke.

Meanwhile, turkeys strut their stuff. Thoughtfully crossing a New Hampshire road at the “Livestock Crossing” sign in Eileen Blatchford’s photo in today’s Journal-Opinion newsletter. As the JO’s Alex Nuti-de Biasi notes, “all domesticated turkeys, like these, are descended from North America's wild turkeys,” which had vanished from VT and NH until 31 were released in Pawlet and Hubbardton, VT, in 1969 and 1970, and then 27 were re-introduced to Walpole, NH in 1975.

“Large-scale police operation” descends on Grafton farm; man arrested on weapons, explosives charges. The incident took place on Nov. 7, reports John Lippman in the Valley News, when US Marshals, Merrimack County sheriff’s deputies, and others took Seamus Murphy into custody, along with homemade “ghost gun” parts, body armor, and explosive devices. Though he was in Grafton Co., he was wanted on multiple Merrimack County warrants. The marshals contend he’s a “self-proclaimed sovereign citizen,” Lippman writes. His wife tells Lippman, “I’m not sure where this came from…. Police came in, wrecked my house, my garage and stole my husband.”

Sharon group gets backing to revitalize Congregational church, boost community access. The money (and help from experts) for Sharon Connects comes from the Village Trust Initiative, an effort in VT “to support rural, historical villages that are undertaking revitalization projects,” reports Isabel Dreher in The Herald. Sharon Connects president Ryan Haac tells Dreher that the work to preserve and upgrade the church “just gets the ball rolling with getting more uses in that space, and being able to give that space and that building the respect it deserves for standing for so long.” Haac says it will remain a space for worship, but also expand to host community events.

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1,000 pieces of medical equipment in search of forever home. On a gray Sunday morning earlier this month, about 50 volunteers showed up to move wheelchairs, bath benches, crutches and canes, a couple of power recliners, and hundreds more pieces of donated medical paraphernalia from a storage facility in Lebanon to a temporary space offered up by Hypertherm. But as the Hanover Lions and Rotary clubs say in a press release, the volunteer-run “Health Closet” that lends out medical equipment to people who lack health insurance or can’t afford to buy new only has the space through March, when it will need to find a new home. More details at the link.

At W. Leb’s Cold Stone Creamery, remembering the early days of mix-ins. Susan Apel and her husband were watching the guy behind the counter plonk a scoop of ice cream onto a small granite slab and stir in various goodies when “my aging brain snapped to and I said, ‘This is just like Steve’s.’” What she was remembering was the shop in Somerville, MA opened in 1973 by Steve Herrell, where the idea of not just topping ice cream, but actually mixing in ingredients like crumbled Heath Bars was invented. Susan got turned onto it with a visit in the mid-’70s, and so did millions of others over time as the idea spread. She recounts the history—and the customer who came in after her, in search of Heath Bar…

Hanover Police warn of scam. In a press release, they write that residents report “receiving phone calls from a person claiming to be a Hanover Police officer, advising residents that they've missed a court date or jury duty, and need to deposit money into a select account to clear up the matter.” Not only do Hanover police officers “never call to ask for money, for any reason,” they note, but they don’t have the ability to "clear up" missed court dates or jury duty—tasks that are handled by the courts. If you do get a call from someone claiming to be a police officer, hang up and call them back through dispatch (in Hanover’s case: (603) 643-2222).

And speaking of scams: There’s a new one targeting SNAP recipients. This one involves 3SquaresVT recipients, and according to Attorney General Charity Clark, reports myChamplainValley, “scammers are trying to steal money needed for food assistance, and calling and texting recipients claiming their EBT card has been ‘locked.’” Real government officials never request this information over the phone, Clark says, and warns recipients never to give out their EBT card numbers. As a Daybreak reader writes, “If criminals are actively targeting SNAP recipients in VT, it’s extremely likely they’re targeting recipients in other states.” Thanks, TH! 

NH House committee advances bill allowing sale of uninspected meat. As Molly Rains reports in NH Bulletin, the measure’s backers contend that it’s “a bold approach” to dealing with a shortage of USDA-approved slaughterhouses. The state has four, including one in Haverhill, but some farmers contend it’s not enough. “It’s an absolute bottleneck in the fall,” says one, who adds that he’d set up an on-farm butchery if the bill eventually passes. State AG Secy Shawn Jasper, on the other hand, told the committee, “I am a bit horrified by what you’re attempting to do here.” Most farmers make “good decisions,” another tells Rains, “but it doesn’t mean they all do.”

Hantz-Marconi says she’ll no longer hear cases as NH Supreme Court justice. It’s something of a reversal, after she returned to the bench in the wake of her conviction for misusing her position to try to get favorable treatment for her husband in his criminal case. Now, Hantz-Marconi says, she’ll step aside from cases before the court and instead focus on administrative matters ahead of her mandatory retirement in February. “Justice Hantz Marconi’s decision to step back from judicial duties is a smart one,” GOP Rep. Ross Berry tells NH Journal’s Michael Graham. “It allows the Court to carry on its work without any further distractions.”

The Monday Jigsaw: A round barn. It once stood at the intersection of Academy Road and Route 132 at the Norwich end of Union Village, writes the Norwich Historical Society’s Cam Cross. “While this particular barn is gone, the good news is that several round barns still stand nearby,” he adds, and on his Curioustorian blog notes that you can still see round barns in Strafford and in Piermont, and offers up links on where to find others in the twin states.

Today's Wordbreak. With a word from Friday’s Daybreak.

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HEADS UP
The Dartmouth Libraries host novelist and essayist Peter Orner talking about the research that went into The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter. Orner’s new novel has gotten raves and he’s given readings around the Upper Valley, but this one’s a bit different: After he gives a reading, librarians Wendel Cox and Shawn Martin will join him “for a conversation about the research process that made this book possible, as well as the unique concerns that arise when an author weaves fact into fiction.” 12:30 pm in the Baker-Berry Library’s Berry 180A. You’ll need to register.

And for today...

Back in October, Rachel Bell and Becky Tracy (aka, Eloise & Co) were in Lebanon with Rachel Aucoin for a pair of concerts. It was “extraordinary,” one reader writes, and adds, “A few years ago, Rachel and Becky (joined by Bethany Waickman on DADGAD guitar) dropped a beautiful video of another Rachel tune, ‘We're Not Broken.’ As a meditative piece to start the day, it's hard to beat.” Sure enough… (Thanks, DM!)

See you tomorrow.

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