GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Showers as far as the eye can see. Or until Thursday, anyway. The heavy rain is to the south and west: Basically, two low-pressure systems have stalled over the Southwest and the Ohio Valley, and the latter is feeding our weather up here with a "deep rich moist conveyor belt across the eastern seaboard," the weather folks write. Unclear how much rain will fall or precisely where it'll be, but there's a likelihood of showers 'til early afternoon and then a chance the rest of the day and overnight (and tomorrow, and Wednesday...). Highs in the low or mid 50s, lows either side of 50.Sky art. The other afternoon, Susi Richardson found herself gazing up at the sky from a West Leb parking lot, "astonished by the unusual, wave-like cloud formations," she writes. "I slowly turned myself around, and sure enough, my entire 360-degree view up above was a beautiful dense blanket of wavy patterns. My niece, Olivia Richardson, was excited to recognize this relatively rare cloud as Undulatus asperitas. I’ve been carrying the wonder of it into my week, and since no one else around me seemed to be paying attention at the time, decided to pass the magic along here."S. Strafford general store will shift to new hands this summer. On Saturday, the Strafford Community Trust announced that it's moving ahead with its plan to buy the longtime community anchor from Sue and Melvin Coburn, who've owned and run it for over 47 years. The trust back in February reported that it had raised $1.8 million for the purchase, renovations, and to support a proprietor, and in its new email announced that Adam Smith, a longtime store manager for the South Royalton Coop, will take on that role, leasing the store from the trust. The ownership handover is scheduled for late June.Brown Furniture owner goes viral as he outlines travails. As you know, the longtime West Leb furniture store suddenly closed its doors last week after many months of mounting financial problems. On the advice of a friend, owner Brad Nelson took to TikTok Friday to explain his situation and ask for help—and, reports WMUR's Jon Schoenheider, has racked up millions of views, while a link to a GoFundMe page "has brought in [at least $44,000] in donations, from the West Lebanon area and around the world, ranging anywhere from $5 to $500." Here's the original post, and Nelson's updates.Thetford Center post office shuts amid building safety concerns. The closure came at the end of the day Friday, reports Nick Clark in Sidenote. He writes, "According to a letter from the U.S. Postal Service, this is a temporary suspension, not a permanent closure—at least for now. However, a postal worker outside the facility noted, 'It’s probably going to be permanent. The building is not in good shape.'" Clark adds that "any move toward discontinuance would involve public notice and an opportunity for local input." Operations have shifted to the Thetford Hill post office.SPONSORED: Attention, early childhood educators! Providing good food for the kids they care for costs early childhood educators time and money, which drives up childcare costs for families. Vital Communities’ Farm to ECE project aims to make it easier and less expensive to offer fresh, highly nutritious food –- including a new mapping tool to help educators find the best food options. ECE providers are invited to preview and critique the tool in a virtual meeting May 7! Attendees will be eligible to receive a $25 compensation. Register at the maroon link. Sponsored by Vital Communities.Norwich cartoonist wins VT Book Award. Emma Hunsinger was among four winners announced at an awards ceremony in Montpelier on Saturday, winning the children's literature award for her graphic novel, How it All Ends. The joint VT Humanities and VT Dept. of Libraries awards also went to Margaret Draft's book of poems, Nowhere Was a Lake; essayist Lucy Ives for her collection An Image of My Name Enters America; and fiction writer GennaRose Nethercott for Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart and Other Stories. In Seven Days, Mary Ann Lickteig takes a look at each of the winning books.SPONSORED: Dash for diabetes education at the Dartmouth Diabetes Dash 5K! Join us Saturday, May 10th on the Life Sciences Center lawn to raise funds for accessible diabetes education at DHMC. The event is free and open to all, with snacks and music included. Timed 5K tickets and t-shirts are available, and proceeds support the Endocrinology Fund. Learn more and purchase tickets and t-shirts at the burgundy link or here. You can also follow @dartmouth.diabeteslink on Instagram. Let’s make affordable diabetes care a reality, together! Sponsored by Dartmouth Diabetes Link and Positive Tracks.Thetford accident claims woman's life. The Saturday afternoon crash occurred on I-91 near Exit 14, shutting down the highway's southbound lanes for a time. According to a VT State Police press release, a car driven by a Plaistow, NH man "failed to maintain its lane" in rainy conditions and was pierced by a guardrail (photo by Eric Francis here). A 27-year-old passenger from MA was pronounced dead on the scene. The driver, later cited for Gross Negligent Operation-Death Resulting, was taken to DHMC with "suspected major injuries." Neither adult was wearing a seat belt; two kids in the back seat, who were wearing seatbelts, were taken to DHMC as a precaution.In Hanover, selectboard veteran faces challenge from Dartmouth sophomore. As Emma Roth-Wells reports in the Valley News, Evan Gerson, 20, and Athos Rassias, 63, will face off in balloting next Tuesday, May 13. Rassias, a physician at DHMC, has been on the selectboard for nearly two decades. Gerson, from Miami, is the Dartmouth student government’s deputy town affairs liaison and vice chair of Hanover's Bike/Walk Committee. “We need young people, it’s our time,” he says. Roth-Wells checks in with both.Dartmouth protesters take down tents after negotiations. Just catching up on last week's events outside Parkhurst Hall: As The Dartmouth's Kelsey Wang and Elizabeth Ray report, "The resolution of this year’s [two-tent] encampment marks a stark contrast" to last May, "when state police responded to the protest and forcibly dismantled the five tents on the Green." College administrators agreed to require a judicial warrant before federal agents can enter private spaces such as dorms; to boost a cap on aid from an immigration legal fund to international students in need; and to present an Israel divestment proposal to an investment advisory committee by May 20.Two hiker rescues in the Whites draw reminder from NH Fish & Game. In particular, the agency warns, "conditions in the mountains remain wintry, with snow, ice, and strong winds," reports WMUR's Imani Fleming. That comes after an "unprepared" Rhode Island man had to be rescued early Thursday morning from the Skookumchuk Trail on Garfield Ridge after taking a wrong turn and encountering all those conditions. Fish & Game says he'll likely be billed. On Saturday, rescuers were able to find a mildly hypothermic Massachusetts hiker in deep snow on the Kilkenny Ridge Trail. Rescue recap here.NH DMV points finger at TSA as REAL ID issues crop up. As you no doubt know, after Wednesday this week airport passengers without a REAL ID-compliant drivers license, a passport, or an enhanced drivers license will be unable to board. But apparently, the TSA's authentication system at airport security is having trouble verifying NH's new license design—and some NH residents have had to get their licenses manually reviewed while trying to board. In a Friday press release, the DMV says the issue is "related to the TSA's identification scanning system" and it's working with TSA to resolve it.
The Monday jigsaw. It's the Lyman Covered Bridge, about which the Norwich Historical Society's Cam Cross writes, "This bridge, connecting West Lebanon and Hartford, replaced Elias Lyman's original 1803 bridge in 1837. It was a vital transportation link until 1897, when it was replaced by a steel through truss bridge. That bridge was severely damaged in the 1936 flood, and was replaced with another. That bridge was replaced by the current bridge in 2017." Here's the original photo, probably taken from the VT side looking east.
The Monday Wordbreak. With a word from Friday's Daybreak.
Heads UpJoint Handel Society and Dartmouth Glee Club open rehearsal. Tomorrow's concert looks to be sold out, but tonight at 8 they're holding an open rehearsal for their all-Mozart program under the baton of Filippo Ciabatti in Rollins Chapel. This is a ticketed event if you're not a Dartmouth student.
Let's ease into the week.With the traditional Irish air "Sí Bheag Sí Mhór", usually attributed to the blind harpist Turlough O'Carolan, performed here by Kevin Lees (fiddle), Rune Barlsund (low whistle), and Sebastian Bloch (guitar).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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