GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Mostly sunny, even warmer. As high pressure shifts east, we've still got warm air flowing up from the south, helping lift today's highs into the mid 50s under clear skies, at least in the morning. Clouds will increase late as low pressure approaches from off to the west, pushing a warm front. Overnight temps will be in the mid 40s and we're facing a chance of showers throughout the evening and night, rising to a likelihood by morning.A word from the snow. It's almost certainly gone by now, but in Norwich, Cynthia Crawford found this cheery snow-melt pattern on her shed roof the other day. "Nope, I didn't do a thing to it, except take a picture!" she writes.And it's syrup time! This was the heartening scene last night outside the Menge family's sugarhouse at Maple Leaf Farm in Lyme, as the first boil of the season got underway. From Katherine Menge Hurst."Preface anything with this: 'Upper Valley' is a preposterous term." Hey, when Plainfield's Steve Taylor, one of the region's eminent historians, tells you to do something... Taylor figures heavily in Josh Crane's new Brave Little State episode for Vermont Public, which does yeoman's work ferreting out the why and the what of the Upper Valley, thanks to a question from APD's David Watts. The name sprang from a newspaper war between the established Claremont Daily Eagle and the upstart Valley News in the 1950s. But it's now got a life of its own, and Crane explores it all: the history, the map, the UV's connections and divisions and people and state of mind. You'll learn a ton.For all the recent hubbub, one thing's still true about VT's Act 127: Some local towns will be hit hard. That's especially true of Norwich and Thetford, since the legislation's shift in how students get counted (hint: it's not one for one) works against them. In a Daybreak story, Nina Sablan explores why that's the case and what it means for Norwich (and by extension other towns). Which comes down to cutting budgets—though as Norwich's Neil Odell points out, you'd need to cut almost $1 million to keep a school tax increase to 10 percent—or going all out to boost affordable housing and demographic diversity.At town and school district meetings on the VT side, everything from library renovations to union agreements to a noise ordinance. Looking ahead to the March 5 town meetings in Vermont, the Valley News gives a quick roundup of what's on the docket in each town, from Barnard's decision on whether to spend $16,500 to restore 13 original windows at the Danforth library to Dresden's new three-year contract with the teachers union to Tunbridge's consideration of a new noise ordinance. Brief writeups include budget figures, contested races, and when, where, and how to vote.SPONSORED: Dartmouth Health adopts robotic-assisted technology to aid in joint replacement surgery. At DHMC and APD, we have some of the most experienced joint surgeons in the region. Our hip and knee specialists perform thousands of replacements every year and are now using robotic-assisted surgical tools and enabling technologies. These technologies can make joint replacement more customized to each patient, shorten recovery times, and make replacement joints feel more ‘natural’ to the patient. Hit the burgundy link or here to learn more. Sponsored by Dartmouth Health.Trial starts for Dartmouth students in trespassing case; six of eight hunger strikers take food again. As you know, the trial stems from a campus sit-in last October, when freshman Kevin Engel and junior Roan Wade were arrested after refusing to leave a tent they'd pitched in front of an administration building. At yesterday's court hearing, reports John Lippman in the VN, the director of Dartmouth Safety & Security, Keiselim (Keysi) Montás, took the stand to describe what happened and his interactions with the two protesters. Meanwhile, Lippman reports, six students ended their hunger strike "because we have proven that the administration is refusing to engage in good faith with their students,” in the words of one. Wade and another student are continuing.Dartmouth agrees to pay $34 million as part of class-action settlement on financial aid. It's part of a $166 agreement, along with Rice, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt, which in turn is the latest round of settlements in a lawsuit brought against 17 schools that were accused by eight former students in 2022 of calculating financial need "in a way that reduces institutional dollars to students from working- and middle-class families," reports the Washington Post's Danielle Douglas-Gabriel (gift link). All the schools continue to deny the allegations; seven have yet to agree to a settlement.Man pleads guilty to embezzling from ValleyNet. John Van Vught of Northfield had been charged with stealing some $560K over nine years from the broadband nonprofit while working for it as a contract accountant before fleeing after being confronted. He was arrested last year in Georgia, and last Thursday, reports VTDigger's Alan J. Keays, entered a guilty plea under an agreement with federal prosecutors. Under that deal, Keays writes, the feds will waive a money judgment if Van Vught transfers property in Northfield and in Florida to ValleyNet or its agent."The olive oil of the north?" If you happen to be driving along Tucker Hill Road in Thetford, you might see some white plastic tubes in an open area behind a stone wall. Those, writes Li Shen in Sidenote, are protecting yellownut hickory saplings, part of an effort by Miller Ward on his parents' property to develop a grove of what he and others consider a promising source of nut oil that doesn't have the downsides of plant-based oils like canola. Wild trees, Li writes, "can yield the same amount of oil per acre–41 gallons–as sunflowers in the northeast, which is one reason there's much interest in these parts.At Plymouth NH's Tenney Mountain ski area, "a history of on, off, on again, off again, partly on, mostly off, on, off, and finally on." Which is how Lou Botta describes the resort for DCSki, a publication for snowsports enthusiasts. Its history as a ski destination goes back to the 1930s, when skiers used old logging roads—until trails got cut starting in 1959. Starting in the '90s, Botta writes, everything from vandalism to copper theft "made this venerable area a shadow of what it used to be...In 2009 the owners simply walked away with food in the kitchen left to rot." Now, though, it's back, and it "shines as a ski area," Botta reports, with uphilling, headlamp skiing, and a slow, friendly pace.Which is also how you could describe what goes on at Whaleback. On I-89, writes Matt Boxler for New England Ski Journal, drivers headed to better-known terrain "barely will let up on their gas pedals, let alone disengage their cruise controls or, inexplicably, pull off Exit 16 to have a closer look." But Whaleback holds on because of the community that supports it and its focus on serving locals. "We work so hard to make sure Whaleback is here for generations of families to enjoy the outdoors together,” says director Jon Hunt. Boxler describes how Whaleback and its low barriers to entry make that work."The most fun I've had skiing in ages." Not long ago, Happy Vermont's Erica Houskeeper got a chance to try out one of the tractor-powered backyard rope tows run by Pete and Sandy Gebbie on their farm in Greensboro, VT. This is the 90th anniversary of the first rope tow in the US, which opened at Woodstock's Gilbert's Hill in 1934, and it got Houskeeper thinking about why rope tows like that are so appealing. The Gebbies' first tow went in because Pete's dad didn't want to pay for ski area tickets. Houskeeper tried out the "little tow": it ran at 20 mph "and I had to use every muscle in my body to hang on." Speed. It might be inexperience that's led to the spate of accidents and deaths among snowmobilers using rented machines, but what the 24 crashes so far this winter in northern NH have in common—renters and owners alike—says NH Fish & Game's Lieutenant Mark Ober, "all leads back to speed." Talking to the Globe's Amanda Gokee (newsletter, no paywall), he says that sometimes renters confuse the brake and the throttle, but that doesn't account for the majority of crashes involving people who own their own. The state may be on track to match 2020, which had 35 crashes in all.NH will go its own way on highway exits, EV chargers. The Monitor's David Brooks has dug into the state's latest Ten-Year Transportation Plan, and lo and behold, the proposal to bring it in line with the rest of the country (except VT, which "cheats") and number highway exits by mileage rather than sequence has been yanked from the plan. Also not there, he notes: any real plan to install public EV chargers. Sure, there are 20 of them planned for Salem to Franconia along I-93, but construction isn't due to start until 2033.I can’t quite place your accent. Oh, right, it’s thousands-of-miles-from-anywhere! Winters at the tip of Antarctica are long, and the people who sign up for certain isolation through a winter at a research station are brave indeed. For the BBC, Richard Gray writes about what happened when 26 of them from the US, Iceland, Germany, and Britain spent six months together. Every few weeks, they recorded themselves reading the same 29 words. When phonetics researchers analyzed the recordings, they found the accents had morphed, yielding insights into how accents, dialects, and languages diverge. The team also developed a “baffling array” of Antarctic research slang, writes Gray.Oh, and one last thing: Daybreak turns 5 today. I know, right? In the early days I wasn't even sure it would last a month. But it did, thanks in countless ways to you. I'm profoundly grateful to:
Those of you who talk it up to your friends and family and every day serve as dream marketers. It went out to 25 people that first morning. This morning, there are 13,889. That's your doing.
All you photo and idea contributors who've helped make this a community gathering spot and brighten our days with both beauty and diversion;
The incredibly hard-working writers and editors at news organizations and blogs too numerous to mention who do the heavy lifting every day to keep the Upper Valley, Vermont, and New Hampshire informed and who prove, over and over, that there is life and vigor in community news;
You ace Enthusiasms contributors, the team at the UVTA, Spotify archivists extraordinaires Nelson and Sarah Rooker, poetry editor Michael Lipson, fomer item-contributor Tom Haushalter, current contributor Jonea Gurwitt, freelancers Eric Francis, Matt Golec, Bea Burack, Nina Sablan, Ken Davis, and others whose imprint shapes Daybreak each week;
The many sponsors who've trusted Daybreak to help you let the Upper Valley know what you're up to and who keep its readers informed;
And above all, those of you who've become financial contributors (about 1 of every 7 readers, in case you're curious) and have taken it on yourselves to help ensure Daybreak exists. It wouldn't be here without you. It’s that simple.
Oh, and that burgundy link above? That was Daybreak's first issue back in 2019. It was -5 out (with wind chills of -17) that morning. Just sayin'.
Ha, Vordlers! Never fear. Here you go...
Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
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There's that Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, perfect for long nights by the fire. Plus, of course, fleece vests, hoodies, sweatshirts, even a throw blanket. And hats, mugs, and—once you work up a puzzle-piece sweat—tees. Check it all out at the link!
At 5:30 today, Cover to COVER Books—COVER's new(ish) bookstore in WRJ—hosts cartoonist and artist Ricardo Siri, better known as Liniers. He'll be both talking and creating Come experience this incredible performer and artist as he provides a book talk while creating art! His newest book, Macanudo: Optimism is for the Brave, will be on sale.
Also at 5:30, Dartmouth's Asian Societies department and South House are hosting a public screening of Diversity Plaza, Nepalese-Tibetan filmmaker Kesang Tseten's you-are-there look at the large community of Himalayan immigrants who've settled in and around Jackson Heights, Queens. Based in part on the research of Dartmouth anthropology prof Sienna Craig (who co-produced), the film takes its stylistic cues from the work of Frederick Wiseman (Tseten has several documentaries under his belt that trace the lives of people in the Himalayan diaspora) to focus on the hopes, ambitions, and fears of the roughly 75,000 immigrants from that corner of the world who live in Queens. At the Loew.
At 7:30 this evening, the Strafford Conservation Commission hosts two local river scientists for "What Does a Healthy Ompomponoosuc River Look Like and Why Should We Care?" Rudi Rudell, a watershed scientist with the White River Partnership, and Eric Donaldson, a fluvial geomorphologist and member of the Partnership's board, will talk about river ecology, the natural and human history of the Ompompanoosuc (including recent flooding in Strafford), how climate change affects our rivers, and more. At Barrett Hall in S. Strafford.
And the Tuesday poem...
We had ridden long and were still far from the inn;My eyes grew dim; for a moment I fell asleep.Under my right arm the whip still dangled;In my left hand the reins for an instant slackened.Suddenly I woke and turned to question my groom."We have gone a hundred paces since you fell asleep."Body and spirit for a while had changed place;Swift and slow had turned to their contraries.For these few steps that my horse had carried meHad taken in my dream countless aeons of time!True indeed is that saying of Wise Men"A hundred years are but a moment of sleep."
— "Sleeping on Horseback" by
, translated by Arthur Waley.
See you tomorrow.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson Associate Editor: Jonea Gurwitt About Rob About Michael
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