GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Sunny and pretty darn warm. It's looking like today could be the warmest in the long stretch of days brought to us by the high pressure sitting over the Northeast, with highs getting into the mid 80s. Once the fog's gone—Really! It's happening right now!—there won't be much in the way of clouds until tonight. Not much in the way of winds today, either. Overnight lows in the mid 50s.At rest... And not at rest.
From Miller Pond in Thetford, Diahann Tanke checks in with these painted turtles hanging out.
And over at the Tunbridge Fair, Lisa Lacasse was at the horse pull.
As Dartmouth starts new term, old issues remain. In the Valley News, Frances Mize takes a sweeping look at the concerns that roiled campus before the summer break—and whether the term that starts today will "mark a reset, or...lingering resentment and simmering conflict have only been on standby." Roan Wade, arrested last fall for pitching a tent as part of a Gaza protest, tells her "we plan fully on continuing to mobilize.” President Sian Beilock has been hosting lunches and walks with students. Student unions continue to organize. And, writes Mize, "Campus is abuzz with the sound of construction."
Last Thursday, the administration sent a letter to campus saying that the college “thrives when every member of our community feels empowered to share their perspectives, challenge one another productively, and take part in meaningful dialogue,” In The Atlantic, Beilock expands on her thinking about what it takes to keep the "shared educational space" of a university from being captured by groupthink—and to make it possible for critical thinking to flourish. "It’s the engagement in argument that makes universities great," she writes.
National security establishment drops by Hanover. Guests at the overflow-only Saturday service for former Richmond School principal Susan Finer found the school's auditorium filled with a school community that came out in force to remember and celebrate her—and with security personnel traveling with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, with whom Finer's son, Jon—deputy national security adviser—works. The crowd—along with Blinken and Sullivan—heard from several of Finer's children and a variety of friends. Burgundy link takes you to a video of the service.Ken Cadow's Gather wins New England Booksellers' award; Jason Chin's picture book is finalist. The awards were announced on Thursday at the NEIBA's fall conference in Newton, MA. In his speech, Cadow—principal at Oxbow High—told the assembled booksellers that he wrote Gather "for kids like Ian [the protagonist], who have been breaking my heart in education for twenty years, and I want for us, for all of us, to do better by them." As Alex Nuti-de Biasi notes in the Journal Opinion's newsletter today, Jason Chin, who grew up in Lyme, illustrated picture-book finalist Life After Whale, by Lynn Brunelle.SPONSORED: Plant Medicine for the People—Workshops & Fall Fair. Come celebrate fall with a cup of soup or tea, peruse local vendors, or take a workshop or two! This is a fun event full of beautiful makers and herbalists vending and teaching from 11-5 this Saturday, Sept. 21 at Z Botanicals Apothecary, 328 Quechee Rd. in Hartland. It's free to shop or grab a bite, but classes must be registered for and paid for prior to the event. Full information at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by Z Botanicals.In Sharon, Sharon Connects connects. A town phone book, a monthly newsletter, an annual skills swap, welcome baskets for newcomers to town, 250 ears of corn for runners at the Sprouty... They're all part of the grassroots group's efforts to fill "some of the gaps that are in our communities and society today," Sharon Connects chair Ryan Haac tells Isabel Dreher in the Herald. The effort grew out of a 2022 meeting at which residents noted the need for community gatherings—especially as kids disperse after graduating from Sharon Elementary, and parents head to other towns for work."A soft demeanor with a titanium spine." That's how US Sen. Peter Welch describes Rita McCaffrey, the founder of Dismas of Vermont, writes Jim Kenyon in the VN. McCaffrey, who is 87, was honored at Hartford Dismas House's tenth-anniversary gathering recently, and Kenyon describes the event and traces the near 40-year course of its parent organization's life—starting with McCaffrey's visits to a prison in Rutland and her realization that for people who'd been in prison "to have any chance of succeeding after their release...they need a roof over their heads and community support."SPONSORED: Want to see Noah Kahan's show on Thursday? The Upper Valley Haven is raffling off two tickets to Noah Kahan’s sold-out show Thursday night in Essex Junction! The Haven is proud to be one of the organizations chosen by Noah as part of his Busyhead Project benefit concert, and his team gave the Haven two tickets to raffle! Click the burgundy link for all the details. Sponsored by the Upper Valley Haven. A look ahead to "Veto Day" in Concord. Gov. Chris Sununu has vetoed 15 bills this year, and on October 10, legislators will get their chance to see if they can muster the two-thirds majority in each chamber to override. In NH Bulletin, Claire Sullivan looks ahead to what's coming up, including: a bill allowing both public and private organizations to use "biological sex" in designating bathrooms, athletic events, locker rooms, and more; a measure barring mask mandates in schools; an exemption for certain animal chiropractors from veterinary licensing; limits on phosphorus-containing fertilizers; and more.Curious about VT's changes to Act 250 and what they may mean for small towns? In Sidenote, Li Shen gives a quick history of the 1970 land use law's origins—it was sparked by concern over rapid development of ski complexes and second homes in towns that lacked zoning or planning—and evolution. The legislature this year made some significant changes, most notably shifting Act 250's focus from project size to where a project's located. As the specifics get developed, interim rules are in place for the next two years that, among other things, exempt 50 units of housing from Act 250 review in the ¼-mile zone around village centers. Li includes maps for Thetford.Yep, they did it! Rutland's 1,187-pound whoopie pie takes the record. The city's annual Whoopie Pie Festival was this weekend, and Killington's Dream Maker Bakers, not one to sidestep a diss from Maine (which until Saturday held the record for largest whoopie pie), pulled together—almost literally—the world's largest. VT Public's Nina Keck was there as owner Megan Wagner and her team made it happen—and talked to Wagner beforehand about what went into it, including a 4.5-foot-diameter pan, a pizza oven, 300 eggs, 350 pounds of powdered sugar... WCAX has the festival visuals, includie the pie, here.The Monday jigsaw. "With the current Hopkins Center construction in Hanover, it's interesting to compare what that block looked like sometime in the 1950s before the Hop opened in 1962," writes Norwich Historical Society board member Cam Cross. "The building in the left background is Bissell Hall. Built in 1867 as Dartmouth's gymnasium, it housed the Thayer School of Engineering in the 1920s. It was destroyed to make way for the Hop." Just to its left is what used to be South College Street, which is now a walkway. Here's a 1928 map to help you get your bearings.
Heads UpIn New London, the Center for the Arts hosts Nora Lewis on the Black Heritage Trail of NH. Lewis, the organization's development associate, will talk about the 300+ years of African American history in the Granite State, beginning with the trans-Atlantic slave trade's presence at the docks in Portsmouth, and about how the Heritage Trail "promotes awareness and appreciation of African American history and life" in the state. 5:30 pm in Whipple Hall.
Let's start the week!Lyme children's book author and illustrator John Stadler is out with a new animation—a music video. It brings together Stadler's illustrations, the banjo-playing of Norwich's Willy Kitz, and the bass, lyrics, and vocals of Craig Pinto, co-founder of the Bay Area band The Pencilnecks. Here's "Angeline"—and you're going to want to stick around 'til after the credits.See you tomorrow.
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