GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Warmer, some good sun once the fog clears. At least for a bit, anyway. We're due patchy showers for the next few days, but they're not expected to show up until tonight. Before then: This fog will clear, then we get mostly clear skies through the middle part of the day, temps into the high 70s. Chance of rain this evening and a slight chance overnight, lows around 60. Winds today from the south.End of summer... You can just feel it in the air:
Here's the view from Patch Orchards in Lebanon, by Janice Fischel;
And from Orford Cemetery, by John Pietkiewicz.
Eleven of them have received orders from the state under a new law, reports Patrick Adrian in the
Valley News
, including Hartford, Hartland, Thetford, Newbury, and Woodstock. The law imposes a new metric that would trigger a reappraisal—and requires one every six years regardless; this puts VT nearly on a par with NH, which requires reappraisals every five years. The challenge, Adrian writes, is that assessors are at a premium. Appraisals are already on the calendar, or have already begun, in Norwich, Sharon, Hartford, and Woodstock.
That would be "Tigertown," the road that runs from the Beaver Meadow section of Norwich to Rt. 14 in West Hartford. And it leads off VT Public's 6th annual exploration of how oddly named roads in the state got those odd names. At the request of Claudia Marieb, who lives on the road and channels her equally bewildered neighbors, Josh Crane digs deep and comes up not with tigers but, thanks to the Norwich Historical Society's Sarah Rooker, an explanation rooted in the area's post-Civil War reputation. Also up: Hateful Hill Road in Rutland County and Gerts Knob Road in Underhill.
Solaflect's Rob Adams puts the problem succinctly to Frances Mize in the
VN
: "People aren’t entering the trades the way they used to. And while we have a slowing of people entering the trades, we have a significant increase in demand for the work.” In fact, spending on clean energy installations is skyrocketing, but as Mize writes, "cash is only paper without boots on the ground." She explores the pipeline, including ReVision Energy's apprenticeship program and HACTC's bid to introduce women to the trades.
Thetford gears up to explore whether it needs a town social worker. Like some other towns in the area, it already has a town service officer, whose job is to help townspeople in need connect with stopgap local assistance. But as Li Shen writes in Sidenote, "It is outside the realm of the Service Officer to work out long-term solutions to complex life issues"—and, often, clients have trouble navigating the complexities of the social service system on their own. So the selectboard is prepping to get citizens' input on a town social worker. Includes a brief history of how towns dealt with the poor as far back as 1793.Woman arrested in case involving catalytic converter thefts in Cornish, Plainfield. As you may remember, those thefts occurred June 9 along the Route 120 corridor, and on Saturday, the Cornish PD announced that after a two-month investigation involving police in Cornish, Plainfield, and Lebanon, they took Shayla Malec of Lebanon into custody on Friday. Arraignment in Sullivan County Superior Court is pending.Meanwhile, VT State Police seek public help:
Sometime between Friday afternoon and midday on Saturday, someone broke into the Vittles Espresso Drive Thru in Bradford and stole several items, including an IPad and a cash register with money inside. The VSP is asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to get in touch with Trooper Rodzel at 802-222-4680 or to leave a tip at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit. And the JO's Alex Nuti-de Biasi reports that early yesterday morning, someone broke into the Bradford Golf Course clubhouse and took several items, including cash, food, and several pairs of dark-colored Puma Ignite golf shoes.
Meanwhile, sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, someone vandalized the 75-foot white fence that runs along the Sharon Trading Post. "A profanity laced message was spray painted on the fence causing an undetermined amount of damage," the VSP says. Anyone with information can call the Royalton Barracks at 802-234-9933.
Inside Hartford High grad's discovery of two exoplanets. Remember that story about Quechee's Jack Duranceau, who as a Dartmouth undergrad did his senior thesis on his discovery of two planets 257 light years away? Well, VTDigger's Max Scheinblum caught up with him and tells the whole story, from Duranceau's discovery of astronomy at a Governor's Institutes of Vermont session to the challenges of sifting through data generated by an exoplanet survey satellite and then pinning down the hints it contained. Why planets? "I live on a planet, so what do other planets look like?” Duranceau says.This is shaping up to be a banner year for rescues in NH's mountains. There was at least one over the weekend—a lost hiker on Kearsarge—and seven last weekend. In a typical year, reports Amanda Gokee in the Globe (paywall), NH Fish & Game might spearhead 180 to 190 rescues. But, says Col. Kevin Jordan, "I can tell you from doing this for 30 years, our numbers are going to be higher this year. Sometimes we get spikes over 200. This year will certainly be over that.” The active season's just getting started, Gokee writes, and this summer's wet weather has created tricky and dangerous conditions.
An intriguing model for saving a general store. In the Monitor, David Brooks takes a look at Canterbury Community Market LLC, the for-profit, community-owned effort that owns and oversees the Canterbury Country Store. It got its start in 2000 by selling shares at $1,000 apiece (370 people are currently shareholders) and recently found new managers and has undertaken renovations—including joining with the town and Community Church to upgrade the septic system serving the town center. This will let the store sell prepared foods and offer a sit-down eating and gathering spot.Can you identify poison ivy leaves? Yeah, sure, there are three of them. But what do the edges look like? And what color(s) are they? How about poison ivy vines? (I got that one wrong, and I break out in a rash if I so much as think about the stuff.) As a seriously vital public service, WBUR in Boston (here via VT Public) has put out a quiz on all things poison ivy, from leaves to vines to what to do if you get it. Excellent photos illustrate their points. Now excuse me, I have to go scream.The Monday Vordle. With a fine word from Friday's Daybreak.
Heads Up
Today at noon, Upper Valley Music Center's "all around guitar player" Tristan Bellerive will give a free concert at the Kilton Library. He'll offer up "a journey through the evolution of guitar melodies," the Kilton writes, from the classics to now.
Also, you might want to know that DHMC has posted its schedule of fall flu-vaccine clinics, which will take place on Level 5M starting Sept. 18. You'll need to register in advance. There'll also be walk-in community-based clinics in October in Meriden, Bradford VT, Enfield, Orford, and Canaan.
And to bring us into the week...
We'll turn to Hudson Valley-based singer and harpist Mikaela Davis, whose new album,
And Southern Star
, works hard to show how the harp—not your typical rock and alt- instrument—can work beautifully on anything from roots rock to alt-country to jam-band. She's backed by Southern Star, the band she's worked with for years on stage (but never, until now, on an album).
off that album.
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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