GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Showers continue. Also, maybe a thunderstorm this afternoon. The big concern isn't the weather itself, but what it's doing to rivers—some yesterday reached or neared flood stage, and all are running fast. Today, showers are expected pretty much all day and through the night, highs in the low or mid 50s. Winds from the southeast, low 40s tonight.That's close enough, bub! On the 13th hole of the Newport (NH) Golf Course last week, that was this mom goose's unmistakable message for Dick Bates.Also, yesterday afternoon was choice for double rainbows:
Looking out from New Boston Rd. in Norwich, by Lisa Kable;
And by Andy Torkelson, also in Norwich.
Almost time for outdoor dining in downtown Leb. As of yesterday, the portion of Court Street along Three Tomatoes and the parking area alongside Salt Hill Pub have been closed once again to car traffic by the city. "Residents and the traveling public can anticipate slight delays and minor inconveniences, including slowed traffic in this area as crews work to install tents" and planter boxes that serve as barricades, the city writes.NH inmate in psychiatric unit dies after fight with guards; had ties to Hanover. State officials yesterday said that Jason Rothe, 50, had been "involved in a physical altercation" Saturday with officers at the Secure Psychiatric Unit on the grounds of the state prison in Concord. The Valley News reports that Rothe was the son of Paul Rothe, a former president of the Hanover-based engineering research and development firm Creare who died in February. "A 1996 engagement announcement for a Jason O. Rothe published in the Valley News says he attended Hanover High," the paper writes.With $734,417 grant, Enfield aims to make 4A safer for pedestrians, bike riders. The money comes from the federal Scenic Byways program, and will help the town create a mile-long trail along Route 4A from the Mascoma Lake boat launch parking lot to the La Salette Shrine and the Enfield Shaker Museum. As one Enfield resident tells WCAX's Adam Sullivan, right now, with the road's narrow shoulders and car traffic, “You always feel like you are taking your life in your hands.” The new trail will make it possible to get safely on foot from the Shaker Museum across the lake to the rail trail and downtown Enfield.Leb Airport lands $1.6 million for runway work. The money, the Valley News reports, comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress in 2021 and will go to repair the northern half of the airport apron, installed over three decades ago. Airport Director Carl Gross says the airport will seek bids for the upgrade work later this month, and plans to begin construction either in the fall or next spring.SPONSORED: You can better someone's life right now! Hearts You Hold is a VT-based nonprofit that supports immigrants, migrants, and refugees in a concrete way, by taking the time to ask them what they need. There are many requests waiting to be funded for people who are trying to build their lives: work boots for laborers on VT dairy farms, a camera for a Ukrainian photographer who was forced to sell hers when she fled, help with a car for a Congolese refugee in NH. Hit the burgundy link above or here, pick something to fund, and make a difference now! Sponsored by Hearts You Hold.Windsor County's new sheriff wants to beef up policing; first, towns have to go along. Since he took office earlier this year, Ryan Palmer has gone on a hiring spree—eight new deputies—and added cruisers, body cams, new computers, and more. His goal, John Lippman wrote in the VN over the weekend, is to turn the sheriff's department into what his deputy calls a "police service," serving towns that can't afford their own but that the state police, facing staffing shortages, can't help. In general, Lippman writes, towns have been receptive—but not all are sure they want to boost their contracts.Ramps are out! We're talking the edible kind, of course, identifiable by their red stems, "lily-like light green leaves with parallel veins, and onion scent," writes Northern Woodlands' Elise Tillinghast. "If you nibble on a leaf, it should have an onion taste, and a spicy kick." Harvest thoughtfully, she advises. Also out in the woods this week: hermit thrushes, eastern phoebes, spring beauty wildflowers, and Dutchmen's breeches. So named, Elise points out, because their flowers "apparently reminded some early plant namer of the sartorial choices of gentlemen from the Netherlands."How did Purmort and Montcalm get highway signs if they're not towns? Well, writes Upper Valley historian (among many other things) Steve Taylor in the VN, that's thanks to the members of the Enfield Selectboard, who 63 years ago—asked by the state highway department to name two exits as I-89 was making its way this direction—settled on the names of a prominent old-time family (the Purmorts) and of a tall hill flanking the interstate route. People eventually got used to the names, Taylor writes, "though probably a majority took to referring to the exits by their numbers, Exit 15 and Exit 16." Still do.“This is not a typical business model like having five pizza places on one block.” In the VN's Enterprise, Dave Albright, manager of Bright Side Brewing, in the terminal at Leb Airport, explains to Patrick O’Grady why having more breweries in a region doesn’t necessarily mean more competition. Turns out that clusters of breweries create a destination for beer lovers. And cluster they do. In Vermont, the number of craft brewers has more than tripled in the past decade or so, giving the state the most per capita of any state, according to the Brewers Association. (New Hampshire ranks 8th.)Twenty years after the Old Man of the Mountains fell, Dartmouth grad student's project brings it back to life, digitally. Matthew Maclay's interactive, 3D model (at the burgundy link) doesn't just recreate the NH icon, which fell on May 3, 2003, but tells the geologic story of Cannon Cliff (off which the Old Man jutted) and how weathering affects bedrock. It allows users to travel virtually around Cannon Cliff, folding in historic footage and recent drone surveys to get views you can't get on your own. Here's Amy Olson's article for Dartmouth News on the research and the science underlying the project.As NH House margin narrows, a look at what could change it. The resignation of a GOP rep last week brings it to 200-196, with four seats open, writes Steven Porter in yesterday's Globe newsletter (no paywall). One of those belongs to Democrat David Cote, whose health issues have led him to request being sworn in remotely—which the GOP leadership won't do. Cote has sued, and a federal judge is considering the case. Porter delves into the issues, and fills in details on special elections for the other three seats."The concept of tough love is dangerous. And it can be heartbreaking." That's Susan Stearns, director of NAMI NH, talking about the approach that families and some caregivers often try for people with substance abuse disorder, mental health issues—or, as is the case with about half of those with a serious psychiatric issue, both. In a Union Leader/Seacoast Online look at the common occurrence of both challenges, Howard Altschiller talks to Stearns, DHMC psychiatry chair William Torrey, and former NH Supreme Court Justice John Broderick about why treatment for both issues simultaneously matters.BCBS of Vermont plans to become part of BCBS of Michigan's "family of companies." The two companies say that the move won't change much, writes Kristen Fountain in VTDigger. The VT company will keep its headquarters in Berlin, with the same leadership team and workforce, and all premium dollars will remain in the state "to pay claims, fund operations and maintain reserves." “Through this partnership, we will access advanced technology and capabilities and new program capacity for our members and customers without having to build or purchase them ourselves,” BCBSVT's CEO tells Fountain.“I think there are too many people who are making decisions about design based on very short-sighted visions.” What if, instead of us or them, it’s us and them? In a MOMA film (via Aeon) Joyce Hwang, an architect and associate professor at U Buffalo, talks about her work designing the built world with other species in mind. The abandoned buildings of Buffalo are a natural lab, and Hwang taps that environment in her research. Can we give people a broader option, and design buildings for both humans and non-human species, —by, say, building bat habitat into the exterior walls? You bet, she says.Not quite as scenic as Blueberries for Sal. Not when it's the back parking lot of the Zela Elementary School in Nichols County, WV at 7:16 am yesterday, when a bleary-eyed James Marsh, the school's principal, heads out to open up the dumpster. Which, despite being secured, had a bear inside. Hard to say whether Marsh or the bear was more surprised, as the school's security footage (posted to FB) shows.The Tuesday Vordle. With a word from yesterday's Daybreak.
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There's more for spring/summer on its way, but in the meantime, t-shirts, mugs, long-sleeved tees, and sweatshirts are there for you. Check out what's available and wear it (or drink from it) proudly! Email me ([email protected]) if you've got questions.
Starting today at noon and running into June, DHMC is launching a bi-weekly interactive, web-based series on "Recognizing and Responding to Youth in Distress." Aimed at school staff, coaches, community youth leaders, and other adults who come into contact with young people regularly, it's aimed at offering information and resources to help people in the community address the growing crisis of anxiety, depression, trauma, and other mental-health issues affecting schools, camps, faith communities, and teams. Today's topic is "Recognizing youth in distress."
Today at 1 pm, the Hanover Garden Club and Montshire Museum host public radio podcast host Jennifer Jewell for a talk on "A Garden Culture of Care." Jewell's show, Cultivating Place, is guided by the belief that gardens and gardeners can improve our world by addressing challenges as wide-ranging as climate change, habitat loss, cultural polarization, and individual and communal health and well-being. In-person at the Montshire and online.
At 4:30 today, Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center hosts Harvard Law prof and New Yorker contributor Jeannie Suk Gersen for a talk on the future of affirmative action. The US Supreme Court is due to rule this term on Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and whether it's legally okay to use race as a factor in college admissions. Gersen will look at what happens if the ruling goes against affirmative action—not just to racial diversity on campus, but to legacy admissions, employment, academic freedom, and other issues and practices. In Filene Auditorium and via livestream.
And at 5 pm, Dartmouth's Neukom Institute and Russian Department bring in Nina Jankowicz for "How to (Really) Lose the Information War." Jankowicz, who studies disinformation efforts in central and eastern Europe, was tapped by the Biden administration last year to lead a new intra-departmental coordinating body in disinformation. As the hosts write, "Within hours of the announcement of the Board, partisan domestic disinformation actors labelled it a 'Ministry of Truth', falsely claimed it would censor the American people, and directed lies, hate, harassment, and threats, towards Jankowicz." The administration pulled the plug. She'll talk about her experiences, her research, and ideas for countering disinformation. In Oopik Auditorium.
This evening at 6, online only, CommunityCare of Lyme hosts a discussion on "Getting Good Sleep: Understanding and Managing Sleep Challenges." It will be led by Jose Serrano, a clinical psychologist at the VA in WRJ who specializes in sleep, chronic pain, and living with chronic illness. He'll be talking about sleep's effect on our bodies and minds, common conditions affecting sleep, and practices to improve sleep.
Also at 6 pm (no link), the Strafford Conservation Commission and Upper Valley Trails Alliance co-host a presentation on using TrailFinder and Avenza, two apps that help you find good hikes. Russ Hirschler, the UVTA's executive director, will run attendees through Trail Finder, which catalogs, maps, and describes just about all the trails (and their accepable uses) in the Upper Valley, as well as trails throughout VT and NH. Strafford Conservation Commission members will demonstrate the free app Avenza, which lets you load maps into your smartphone/GPS to take with you. In-person at the Justin Morrill Homestead education building.
At 7 this evening, the VT Center for Ecostudies "Suds and Science" series returns to the front room of the Norwich Inn (with a Zoom option available). VCE's Nathaniel Sharp will host Dartmouth PhD student Kaitlin McDonald for a conversation on the ecology of tick populations—and "how that ecology gets simplified and misrepresented on social media platforms." Among other things, McDonald has been sampling tick population in the Upper Valley, and successfully proposed a project to Facebook to see if "micro-influencers" can inform social media users about ticks and tick-borne illnesses.
If you're in the mood for a drive, there are still a relative handful of seats left for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater up at the Flynn in Burlington. After this, they've got a few more performances in the US (the closest is Boston) before heading overseas.
And the Tuesday poem...
What you don’t trust to stoneand decay, shape out of the air.A moment leaning out of timearrives here and there, guards what time squanders, keepsthe treasure tight in its grasp–eternity itself, heldbetween the future and the past.
As a bather’s thigh is brushedby skimming fish – sothere are times when Godis in you, and you know: half-remembered nowand later, like a dream.And with a taste of eternitythis side of the tomb.
—
by
, translated from the Hungarian by Edwin Morgan.
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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