A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU AGAIN, UPPER VALLEY!
Will you look at that??!! We've actually got two systems to contend with today. Last night's will taper off by early afternoon, but not before leaving 6 to 12 inches of snow on the ground, with the northern parts of the region getting the higher amounts and some spots, including in Windsor County, getting some sleet mixed in—and a chance of widespread freezing drizzle as this storm ends. The next storm follows quickly this evening, this time with some warmer air aloft, bringing a mix of snow, freezing rain, and sleet. Temps in the 20s all day and through the night.The upshot? You've already seen this morning's roads; this evening's could be tricky, too. As for snow totals...
Here are the snow and ice maps for VT and northern NY; you'll notice that there's ice accumulation expected around here tonight, especially south of Route 4 in VT, though there's a chance it could extend northward a bit.
And here are the maps for NH and ME, with little to no ice accumulation expected.
But before all that...
Here's a stunning sunsetover a snow-covered Gile Pond in Sutton, NH in what photographer Rick Stockwell calls a "digital painting";
And Monday's sunset in Hartford, looking west from Jericho Road, by John Pietkiewicz.
What are officially known as the Community Discussion Lists have been around since 2004 (starting in Thetford), and the region-wide Upper Valley List debuted in 2012 to deal with a flood of region-wide notices that were overwhelming the individual town lists. It, too, quickly became overwhelmed. Now, starting March 1, the list managers at Vital Communities have announced, they're going to break the UV List into three: Events, Goods, and "Services." If you're a subscriber, you'll automatically get all three, unless you
by midnight Monday.
The parcel, reports Patrick Adrian in the
Valley News
, is in the Lebanon Airport-Tech Park, and city officials hope the new center will be able to offer infant care and early childhood education for up to 200 kids. It will be managed by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire. Assistant City Manager David Brooks tells Adrian that child care “is one of the issues that keeps people from getting back to work, and it’s an issue that employers are really struggling with."
That question is popping up in at least two towns, Thetford and Norwich, so in
Sidenote
, Li Shen lays out the reasoning. In VT, the town manager's responsibilities are defined by state statute, and they have the effect both of lightening the load on an all-volunteer selectboard and, as Li writes, ensuring "that there is someone dedicated to handling the business of the town on a day-to-day basis. That means things on the big list get done in a timely fashion." Which, she writes, was not happening in Thetford (or in Norwich) when the selectboard bore the full load.
Two quick pieces of news:
In case you've been following along, the partisan divide in the New Hampshire House just got one seat narrower. On Tuesday, incumbent Democrat Chuck Grassie won the special election in Rochester against his neighbor down the street, Republican David Walker—the two had tied after a recount last fall. The GOP now controls the House 201-198. There's still a special election to come in Nashua, but not until May.
And up in Northfield, VT, town manager Jeff Schulz yesterday announced that police chief John Helfant will be stepping down in May. Helfant's public comments on several hot-button issues, including a transgender teen's use of the girls' locker room at Randolph Union High School, had drawn complaints in Northfield. You may remember Seven Days' article on the whole controversy last week; Helfant "declined to comment, calling Seven Days 'fake news,' writes Derek Brouwer in Seven Days.
but Red-winged blackbirds, Brown-headed cowbirds and common grackles would all beg to differ. As Mary Holland writes on her
Naturally Curious
blog, they've been showing up from points south over the past few weeks. Snowstorms like today's make life challenging: Red-winged blackbirds "have a couple of months before nesting begins, during which time they are establishing territories and attracting a mate, both of which demand good nutrition," Holland writes.
Nope, not some irate essay making the online rounds, but the writer Shirley Hazzard's 1982 piece in the
NYT
, subtitled "We Need Silence to Find Out What We Think." It's the title essay in a collection of Hazzard's non-fiction writing, and in this week's Enthusiasm, Bill Craig writes that in the midst of a Hazzard fiction binge, it was an "unexpected delight and challenge." Though the essays range widely, Bill says, the collection "is a meditation on the power and purpose of the written word" and, in the end, of preserving "some inwardness amid the din."
That's part of the legal dispute between artist Sam Kerson and VT Law & Grad School over the school's decision to cover Kerson's 1993 murals, writes Jenna Russell in the
NYT
(gift link, no paywall). Russell dives into the issues the case raises, exploring similar cases elsewhere and VL&GS students' reaction (some "have larger concerns about the school than what is painted on the walls, such as the diversity of faculty and curriculum"). Includes full-color photos of the murals.
(Thanks, CJ!)
It was a battle to get the Lake Morey skating trail open this winter, and with ice thinner than usual, the Lake Morey Inn's Mark Avery turned to lighter equipment, writes Joanna Slater in
The Washington Post
(gift link, no paywall). Slater visited Fairlee to talk Avery and other locals about how climate change is affecting winter traditions in these parts. "In the absence of harsh winters," she wanted to know, "what do you prove yourself against?" With lots of photos of the Lake Morey scene.
(Thanks, AFG!)
Back where it belongs. But with a word from non-Daybreak local news.
Heads Up
Today at 2:30, the Connecticut River Joint Commissions kicks off a series of discussions over the next few months, "Making Room: Planning for Those Who Are Here & Those on Their Way to the Connecticut River Valley." Today's online discussion provides an overview of the big questions. "There’s good reason to believe the CRV will be increasingly attractive to those who want to move away from coastal flooding and storms, wildfires and smoke, and the scarcity of fresh water elsewhere," the CRJC writes, and towns—and the region as a whole—need to prepare, even as they struggle with housing people who already live here.
This evening at 6:30, the Norwich Historical Society continues its series of Zoomed talks with a presentation that will interest people well beyond Norwich, "How to Research the History of Your Property." The VT Historical Society's Alan Berolzheimer and Norwich Historical Society's Sarah Rooker will "walk you through how to trace the history of your property from the present back to some of the earliest owners," with suggestions for useful reading and links.
The Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra is at Rollins Chapel tonight with a program that includes Barber, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky. As happens often these days in the Hop's smaller settings, it may be sold out, but call 603.646.2422 to check on whether anything's opened up.
Anytime today or tomorrow, you can catch Pentangle Arts' and Sustainable Woodstock's online screening of Watson, Lesley Chilcott's 2019 documentary about "eco-vigilante" Capt. Paul Watson, a founder of Greenpeace who left that group to create Sea Shepherd, which among other things looks for illegal fishing on the high seas and seeks to stop ships—sometimes by ramming them—that engage in it. Watson himself will be doing a live Q&A on Saturday at 6 pm.
And anytime, you can check out JAM's highlights for the week, including a recent family contra dance at Norwich's Tracy Hall with the Norwich Community Band providing the tunes; Dr. Lori Alvord's talk at Dartmouth's Dickey Center on the healing properties of Navajo ceremonies; and VT's attorney general, Charity Clark, on "the top 10 scams of 2022."
No music today. Sorry, still getting my legs under me. Back tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Writer/editor: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
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