GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny today, snow overnight. It's looking more like it should out there, eh? And there's a chain of systems on each others' heels off to the west—but that's for later in the week. Today: A mix of sun and clouds, getting cloudier this afternoon ahead of snow that's likely to arrive around midnight. High near 30, low or mid 20s tonight. Projected totals through tomorrow look to be 3-4 inches.Those pileateds, man... One's been going to town on a maple in Gary Johnson's yard in Etna. "The maple is now trashed," Gary writes, "but the artwork and persistence are worthy of praise…"Daybreak turns 4 today. I know, right? Hard to believe. In the early days I wasn't even sure it would last a month. The only reason it's made it this far is because of you. My profoundest thanks to:
You dream marketers who talk it up to your friends;
You photo and idea contributors who help make this a community gathering spot;
You writers and editors at blogs and news organizations too numerous to mention who do the heavy lifting every day to keep Vermont and New Hampshire informed;
You sponsors who've trusted Daybreak to help you let the Upper Valley know what you're up to;
And above all, you financial contributors (about 1 of every 7 readers, in case you're curious) who've taken it on yourselves to help make sure Daybreak exists. It wouldn't be here without you. It’s that simple.
And at the risk of going on three lines too long: Just for kicks the burgundy link takes you to Daybreak's very first issue: Feb. 27, 2019, when it had 25 subscribers. It's changed.Fire damages Geisel building. It broke out shortly after 7 am yesterday in a seventh-floor lab of the Remsen Medical Sciences Building; Hanover fire crews arrived five minutes later and were able to contain it—despite heavy smoke and operating "in near zero visibility conditions," according to a press release from Hanover chief Martin McMillan. The cause is unknown, says Dartmouth's Office of Communications (burgundy link); fire officials spent the day investigating. The building "sustained fire and water damage in the lab, and substantial water damage throughout the rest of the structure," the college says.Police looking for box truck that struck Union Village Covered Bridge. Friday morning's accident, writes Alex Nuti de-Biasi in today's Journal Opinion newsletter, was caused by a northbound truck and did extensive damage to the bridge's upper braces. Witnesses, Nuti de-Biasi writes, "reported seeing wooden beams fall from the top of the truck." Police are hoping residents will check footage from their security cameras to help identify the truck.SPONSORED: Vote with your fork! Let your local farmers handle your grocery list starting this May. Sweetland Farm’s CSA covers 24 weeks of high-quality, delicious, and diverse (100+!) produce varieties, grown and harvested by a small, dedicated group of farmers. Starting with early spring greens and ramping up to the very best sweet corn, hot peppers, tomatoes, rhubarb, plums, heirloom apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and other produce this side of the river. Snag your spot for access to pick-your-own gardens, discounts, barter table, and much more! Sponsored by Sweetland Farm, Norwich.Leb eyes buying three West Leb parcels. The properties, owned by Chiplin Enterprises, flank Church Street; the two largest sit across from Shyrl's Diner. Altogether, reports Patrick Adrian in the Valley News, the properties comprise about an acre. “It is our hope that the redevelopment of these parcels will spur further investment in this entire area, which is sorely needed,” Mayor Tim McNamara told a city council meeting earlier this month. The purchase would cost the city $1.8 million; the council will hold a hearing on whether to appropriate the funds on March 15."It's like finding a secret treasure. We just need to open it up.” That's Corinth's Kenya Lazuli, one of the moving forces behind the shift in ownership of the North Thetford Church from the United Church of Thetford to the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. Lazuli works for NFCLT, and since January, reports Vermont Public's Lexi Krupp, she's been at work returning the church building to its role as a community gathering spot: turning one room into a library, another into a tool lending library, and hoping to create a commercial-grade kitchen. Krupp talks to Lazuli about the organization's plans.When it comes to town meeting, "It’s two good things that we want." Those would be: lots of participation and lots of conversation, town meeting expert Susan Clark tells the VN's Alex Hanson. As towns wrangle with whether it's possible to get both, Hanson writes, more are contemplating switching from traditional floor vote to all-day balloting—which the past few years have shown can boost turnout. Objects Clark, “Basically, we do democracy differently at Town Meeting. We tell stories. We show up as neighbors." But towns facing contentious issues want as many residents as possible to weigh in.At Concord elementary school, a battle over how a teacher should dress. In the Boston Globe (paywall), Amanda Gokee dives into the controversy surrounding Silas Allard, a 24-year-old art teacher at the Christa McAuliffe School, who was placed on leave after a parent complained he sometimes wore "feminine clothing." The parent has enlisted the help of We The People NH, which describes itself as "Liberty minded freedom fighters"; the school community has rallied around Allard; Allard is seeking a stalking order against the parent; and there are now police present during pickup and dropoff hours.In brief window of control, NH House Dems pass bills. The events last Thursday are "the latest example of the precarious control over the chamber this session," writes Ethan DeWitt in NH Bulletin. As DeWitt writes, with a 201-198 Republican edge in the chamber, "large absences can tip control" and on Thursday, Democrats found themselves with the majority. Their first move was to place limits on eligibility for education freedom accounts; they followed that up with a measure changing how utilities can deal with renewable energy credits. Both bills will face another vote next month.As Sununu seeks to eliminate dozens of professional licenses, some professionals fret. The changes are included in the NH governor's budget proposal, reports Paul Cuno-Booth for NHPR, and among other things would do away with license requirements for foresters, athletic agents, some barbers and cosmetologists, landscape architects, “hawkers and peddlers,” and licensed nursing assistants. The moves are aimed at removing barriers to work, but have aroused opposition. "I think you need professionals that are educated, experienced and held to a standard," says one retired forester.That's more like it! For first time in two years, Stowe Derby offers its full course. The 78th Derby was held on Saturday, with skiers following either a 6K course or the more traditional 22K course from the top of Mt. Mansfield down 2,800 feet into the village of Stowe. Lack of snow has gotten in the way the past few years, but that wasn't an issue this time, reports NBC5's Tyler Boronski. The race began in 1945 when Sepp Ruschp, the head of the local ski club, and Erling Strom, a mountaineer from Norway, decided to settle a bet.And in another sport entirely... Amazing things can happen on a basketball court, and in case you missed it, here's the 60-foot heave that gave Arizona State its stunning at-the-buzzer upset over Arizona Saturday. Plus the aftermath, which is even more entertaining.The Monday Vordle. With a word from Friday's Daybreak.
Heads Up
This evening at 6 pm, both in-person and online, the Howe Library in Hanover brings in maple sugarers Rich Menge and Tim Bent to talk about maple sugaring in NH. Menge and his wife Jackie own Maple Leaf Farm in Lyme, a family operation that's been in business for over a century; Bent and his wife Betsy Storrs boil sap from their Mink Meadow land at a sugar house on Bent Road in Etna. They'll talk history, technique... and have samples on hand.
And to ease us into the week...
Steve Okonski is a classically trained pianist who plays regularly with the Indiana-born, NYC-centered R&B band Durand Jones & The Indications. His musical tastes range widely, though, and last year he and two of his Indications colleagues, bassist Michael Isvara Montgomery and drummer Aaron Frazer took to an Ohio recording studio to work on a set of jazz pieces Okonski was composing. The session completely flipped things around: Instead of digging into fully realized compositions, they found themselves improvising. The results just came out on Friday with Okonski's debut album, Magnolia.
See you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Writer/editor: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
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