Daybreak Thursday, 1/22/26

A few snow showers, partly to mostly sunny. There’s a cold front coming through today, bringing with it a slight chance of snow showers through midday and noticeable wind gusts from late morning on. Even though it’s a cold front, temps will actually be warmer today than yesterday, rising into the mid 30s before settling back into the mid teens overnight.

The gliding scene. On skates and skis…

It’s time for Dear Daybreak! This week’s collection of vignettes, poetry, and more from Upper Valley readers starts off with Jim Block’s stunning photo of the northern lights from Etna on Tuesday night, moves to a bubble recipe for frigid days from Jane Masters, Randy Leavitt’s poem about heading out of town for vacation, and Harriet Dumas’ reflection on rocks, rock art, and kindness. And Dear Daybreak could definitely use some stories from around the region. Got one? Just go here!

At Newport NH selectboard, a tiff over former police chief—and current board member. It’s a little complicated, but last fall, reports Patrick O’Grady in the Valley News, current police chief Stephen Lee wrote to the board chair about allegations that board member James Burroughs—who’d served as chief for a decade—had asked the owner of a local fitness club “to inspect the private memberships card swipe records of police department employees”—violating his authority on the board. At a meeting Monday, Burroughs denied the allegation, insisting he was simply asking whether the town manager could see them. The club’s owner, also a board member, backed him up.

Saskadena Six celebrates its granite anniversary. The S. Pomfret ski area turns 90 this year. As WCAX’s Cat Viglienzoni notes, it opened in 1936, known first as Hill Number Six; “when people saw its steep face, they said it would be ‘suicide’ to try it. The name ‘Suicide Six’ stuck” until four years ago. “We’re a small, very family-oriented community ski hill, and that name didn’t quite represent the experience we provided,” says Matt Closter, director of ski operations for the Woodstock Inn, which owns the mountain. “In the era of mega ski passes, I think people crave an authentic ski experience, and that’s what we provide here. That’s what we do best.”

SPONSORED: Sam Shepard's FOOL FOR LOVE at Shaker Bridge Theatre. Holed up in a stark motel room on the edge of the Mojave Desert, two former lovers unpack the deep secrets and dark desires of their tangled relationship, passionately tearing each other apart. Beaten down by ill-fated love and a ruthless struggle for identity, can they ultimately live with, or without, each other? Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard brings us an explosive intense landmark myth of the new Wild West. Features Sara Killough (Broadway's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Jacob Ware (Boardwalk Empire), Mark Cartier (Kalamazoo) and Nick Sweetland. Sponsored by SBT.

Seven years in the planning, new urgent care clinic in W. Leb expected this summer. ConvenientMD Urgent Care, reports the VN’s Clare Shanahan, “first brought plans to open a clinic in a vacant unit in the building currently occupied by Citizens Bank and AT&T” on 12A to the city in 2019. Now, it’s hiring staff and doing site prep work. When it opens it will become Lebanon’s third non-emergency walk-in clinic, along with APD’s new Express Care and ClearChoice MD’s Urgent Care on the Miracle Mile. The initial hang-up on ConvenientMD’s plans came when the city balked at its request for oversized signage; construction then stalled in 2022, for unclear reasons.

No locals in the James Beard Award mix this year. Last year, WRJ’s Wolf Tree was a finalist, and, of course, in 2022 Nisachon “Rung” Morgan of Randolph’s Saap restaurant won VT’s first award. This year, both VT and NH have semifinalist spots: Once again, Bethlehem NH’s Super Secret Ice Cream is on the list for Outstanding Bakery; Evan Hennessey at Stages in Dover is there, too, for Best Chef Northeast. In VT, there’s Café Monette in St. Albans, three chefs (Tiara Adorno of the Crooked Ram in Manchester, Paul Trombly of Fancy’s in Burlington, and Max Vogel of Ondis in Montpelier), along with Kate Wise, bar manager at Burlington’s Juniper Bar & Restaurant and Burlington-area restaurateur Leslie McRorey Wells.

Of panfish, crappies, and baitfish: New VT fishing regs to know about. For one thing, VT Public’s Jenn Jarecki reports, panfish now have an official definition: bluegill, bullhead, black crappie, white crappie, pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass, and yellow perch—and there’s a new daily bag limit on inland waters (though not the CT River). On the other hand, a new ban on the sale or purchase of crappies does apply to fish caught in the river, in an effort to stem overfishing and the introduction of out-of-state crappies to VT waters. Meanwhile, minnow traps can be larger, Jarecki reports, and anglers can now collect baitfish year-round; wild baitfish need a license endorsement.

Illegal northern border crossings sharply down—but still higher than they were pre-pandemic. That’s just one of many points Lucy Tompkins makes in her deep dive into the issue in Seven Days. Crossings in the Swanton Sector (NY, VT, NH, ME) by undocumented migrants actually began to drop before Donald Trump took office, “but his administration’s aggressive stance on immigration has accelerated the decline.” Tompkins talks to Border Patrol agents about their often “unglamorous” work—like putting boulders in a field to stop smugglers from driving through—and explores smuggling routes, enforcement actions, their impact on VT’s dairy workers and roofing and construction crews, and lots more.

“Should I be better than a burnt sandwich?” When a friend’s father burned the grilled cheese, Jules Guillemette ate it anyway—and then got dressed down by the friend’s mom for doing so. “I felt so much shame in that moment. I've never forgotten it,” Guillemette tells radio producer Erica Heilman for the latest in her VT Public series on “What Class Are You?” Guillemette comes from a classic line of Vermonters: land rich but cash poor. “I work and I work and I save, and I guess I just don't know when it's safe to stop,” Guillemette says. “I don't have benefits, I don't have paid vacation time, and I'm 46 years old. I make money when I'm working, but nothing is safe.”

How to survive extreme conditions. Tardigrades—microscopic creatures also called water bears—squeeze all the water out of themselves and shrink into a little ball, says 1440 in a YouTube short. They then fill themselves up with special proteins that set up a force field around their DNA. Metabolism drops to darn near nothing, and in that bone-dry state, they can survive being boiled, frozen, and crushed … for decades. But when water hits them, schlrrrp! They expand again and carry on as if nothing happened. Scientists are studying whether those proteins can similarly protect human DNA during radiation treatments. 

The Thursday Crossword. Today, it’s ace puzzle constructor Laura Braunstein’s “midi” — slightly longer and harder than her Tuesday minis, but nothing that’ll eat up your morning. And if you’d like to catch up on past puzzles, you can do that here.

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

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HEADS UP
In Dartmouth’s Rollins Chapel, Martin Luther King, Jr. Multifaith Celebration. Keynote by sociology prof Shaonta’ Allen: “Ever Loyal to Liberation: Our Duty, Our Fight, Our Freedom.” The celebration will also feature the Dartmouth Gospel Choir, the Rockapellas, and several student speakers. 5 pm.

At the Hood Museum, “Everybody Sing and Dance: The Pleasures and Perils of Studying Musical Film.” Desiree Garcia, who chairs Dartmouth’s Dept. of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies, will “explore the rich history of the musical, why the genre is both beloved and hated, and what it teaches us about performance as a mode of human expression in societies past and present.” 5 pm.

Derek Burkins + Andy Mueller at Fable Farm’s Rumney Sessions in Barnard. As the F&F folks write, “Derek and Andy draw from a deep repertoire that spans the Americana landscape of the last half century and includes many of Derek’s powerful, locally inspired, and emotionally evocative original songs. They each bring solid musical chops on multiple instruments (guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin) and a nearly effortless vocal blend.” Doors and food at 5:30, music 6-ish.

StoryJam. It’s a monthly story circle “where community members get to know each other through personal stories. Join the circle and share an unrehearsed 5-minute true story from your own life. No competition, no judgment, no lecturing, no ranting… Just share a story about something that happened to you and listen to other people’s stories.” Tonight’s theme: Your first time … for anything! 6 pm at the new Literary Art Bridge in Hanover, behind Talbot's between Lebanon and South Streets.

At the Howe Library, “Spill It All: A Poetry Night with Spilled Ink.” A community-oriented night with Dartmouth’s poetry club and performances from Dartmouth students. Community members and Dartmouth students are all welcome to participate in a guided writing session (or check out poetry packets if they don't wish to write), and then share/perform their results or poems that they’ve brought. 6 pm, in-person only.

Screening and community discussion at Hartford High about Gone Guys. The 45-minute documentary draws on Richard Reeves’ work about the struggles of boys and men to look at how adolescents and young men in rural VT cope with isolation and worrisome national trends in education, careers, and mental health outcomes. Panel discussion follows. Film starts up at 6 pm.

The Woodstock History Center presents “Losers of the American Revolution”, a Zoom lecture. Alexandra Garrett, who specializes in the Revolutionary and early national eras in US history at St. Michael’s College, will talk about the impact of the American Revolution on the Loyalists—”Americans who remained loyal to the British Crown and consequently lost their property, homes, and connections to the colonies.” 6:30 pm.

Fool for Love debuts at Shaker Bridge Theatre. Shaker Bridge opens its run tonight with a “pay what you can” performance of Sam Shepard’s play, “a raw, emotionally charged drama that explores obsession, identity, and the painful gravity of love that refuses to let go.” Its cast of four is a mix of returning performers and newcomers, including Sarah Killough, with time on Broadway both in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Leopoldstadt, and Jacob A. Ware (Law & Order as well as Boardwalk Empire). 7 pm tonight, runs through Feb. 8.

At the Norwich Bookstore, Sasha Hom and Shingai Njeri Kagunda and Sidework. In her new novella, Hom, a central VT goat farmer and mother of four, tells the story of a “homeless Korean adoptee and mother of four. During her busy Sunday shift waiting tables, her customers— rock stars, locals, and the Grim Reaper himself— bring her face to face with larger issues of motherhood, suicide, environmental degradation, death, and belonging.” She’ll talk it all over with Afrosurreal/futurist storyteller Kagunda. 7 pm.

The Hop presents Jason Moran and The Bandwagon. The brilliant and engagingly inventive jazz pianist and composer “is one of the most visionary artists of his generation,” they write. “His longtime trio, The Bandwagon—with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits—is revered for its intuitive and bold interplay, rooted in tradition and fearless in its contemporary exploration of the genre.” 7:30 pm, Spaulding Auditorium, and there are still tickets available.

And anytime, JAM’s got its week’s highlights: spooky shorts from JAM’s annual Halloween-o-thon contest, “ranging from kid vampires, Cinderella, and insectine animation”; the Special Needs Support Center’s planning series, in which experts explain strategies for estate planning and special needs trusts; and a House of Cobra Lily drag show last summer.

And for today...

Two-time Grammy winner Christopher Tin composes both concert and “media” music (soundtracks for film, television, and video games). First performed in 2012, "Waloyo Yamoni" is a setting of a rainmaking prayer of the Lango people of north-central Uganda, commissioned by a parish music guild in California “with the specific brief to write something that fused together classical and non-Western traditions,” Tin later wrote. “The piece was originally composed for vocal ensemble, accompanied by string orchestra and two percussion. After finishing the commission, I decided to compose other pieces of music around the theme of water, which eventually became my song cycle 'The Drop That Contained the Sea'.” Here’s a performance at London’s Cadogan Hall, with Tin conducting. (Thanks, GG!)

See you tomorrow.

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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt      Poetry editor: Michael Lipson    Associate Editors: Jonea Gurwitt, Sam Gurwitt