GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Rain likely. There's a chance all morning and a likelihood this afternoon. Though interestingly, we may also get a little sun. That low pressure system that's been hovering to our west is finally moving in over the region today, bringing with it not just showers but a chance of thunder. Temps around 80 again, winds from the southeast. Low 60s tonight.Hey, Daybreak Nation! Show your colors! There's mustard, of course. But also aqua, burnt orange, watermelon, vintage shocking pink.... Because Daybreak swag is here! T-shirts, tank tops, and—how could there not be?—coffee/tea/cocoa mugs. It's all available now thanks to Strong Rabbit Designs, owned and run by Morgan and Jeremiah Brophy in Sharon, serving the Upper Valley and beyond. Check out what's available and wear it or drink from it (but not both) proudly! Email me ([email protected]) if you've got questions.Union Village covered bridge damaged. The bridge spanning the Ompompanoosuc on Academy Road in Thetford was hit by something like a box truck or RV, reports Darren Marcy in the Valley News. The driver didn't stick around. The vehicle entered the bridge okay, Thetford Police Chief Michael Scruggs tells Marcy, but some way in began hitting cross braces on both sides, destroying one and damaging two others. The bridge was closed for three hours until a structural engineer determined it was safe to open.Leb police bust Mass. man for attacking people with bear spray. The incident took place on 12A on Friday, the department said in a press release yesterday. As 41-year-old John Cahill of Greenfield, MA was exiting I-89, four pedestrians crossed the road in front of him. They were headed toward the 110 Grill; Cahill left his vehicle, followed them, sprayed them—hitting diners on the restaurant patio—then got back in his car, drove into the parking lot, got out, and challenged patrons to a fight. He's now in preventive detention at Grafton County jail. Bear spray is a highly concentrated form of pepper spray.Before you head to the lake at Hartland Dam... You may remember that it was one of the kayak spots highlighted in a GreaterUpperValley.com write-up yesterday on kayaking spots. But a reader reports it's been drained to replace a culvert near the beach and is closed to all water activities. (Thanks, Z!)SPONSORED: It's our birthday! Celebrate with Blake Hill Preserves and all the wonderful businesses at Artisans Park in Windsor on Saturday, August 27th 1-5pm at our Specialty Preserves Shop. Enjoy a vibrant market of makers from around Vermont, kids activities, music and JAM! Grab a goody bag and enter our giveaway as you treat yourself to bottomless shrub mocktails all day. Also, stop by the Specialty Preserves Shop from August 22-26 for daily cheese pairings to accompany your jam flight. Sponsored by Blake Hill Preserves.VT shoreline analyst suggests alternatives to Treasure Island trail development. As you may remember, there's a move to create trails near the popular rec area on Lake Fairlee, giving walkers access to undeveloped shoreline. Recently, writes Li Shen in Sidenote, two state environmental officials walked the proposed routes. In a memo to Thetford's town manager, permit analyst Misha Cetner noted that the proposed trail would pass through protected wetlands, and suggested other possibilities: winter snowshoe walks, using an old existing trail, and using a different stretch of shoreline.NH Supreme Court tries to reduce strain on public defenders. You may remember that the state's system for defending people who can't afford an attorney has been buckling as public defenders leave and pandemic-caused backlogs overtax those who remain. The state has been boosting public defenders' salaries, and earlier this month, reports Ryan Spencer in the Keene Sentinel (here via NHPR), the state Supreme Court made it possible for private attorneys to take on cases and have their continuing legal education requirement waived for that year. Still, public defenders say, it's just a stopgap.Naked man escorted from roof of Zealand Hut. This weekend brought plenty of grim outdoor news from NH—including a hiker who died after falling off a ledge while descending Cannon Mountain. And on Saturday, NH Fish & Game also received reports from the Zealand Hut in Bethlehem that a man had been threatening people there. Officers hiked in and found a 35-year-old from MA atop the hut, "agitated" and with no clothes on. "Officers were eventually able to talk the man from the roof and then escort him back to the Zealand Trailhead parking lot, arriving at 10:00 p.m.," Fish and Game reports.NH sees big boost in tree sales. Whether due to people planting more during the pandemic or a growing awareness of trees’ built-in ability to fight climate change, seedling sales have been soaring, writes Amanda Gokee in NH Bulletin. The state’s forest nursery reports a 50 percent increase in purchases compared to this time last year, and the rate doesn’t appear to be subsiding. To accommodate the demand, the nursery must expand capacity, which includes extending an irrigation system that may encounter its own challenges if drought conditions continue as expected through the coming years.NH boosts monkeypox vaccine for those at higher risk. The state's had 16 confirmed cases, and because of limited supply, it had been restricting the vaccine to those with confirmed infections. Now, writes Annmarie Timmins in NH Bulletin, the state is expanding the supply. Right now it's available at four sites, including Keady Family Practice in Claremont, and soon DH in Lebanon expects to begin administering it.Aiming to retire in VT? Oh, you poor fool. Don't worry, that was tongue in cheek. But the folks at Bankrate.com have just come up with their list of best and worst states for retirement, and they've got VT ranked #45 (ME comes in at #49, AK at #50), based mostly on affordability and weather. Here's the thing: NH, which last I checked has similar weather, ranks five states below VT on that score, but comes in at #23 overall (mostly because it's more affordable). Still, Vermonters are in good company down there at the bottom: Montana and New Mexico also rank lower. Tops? Um, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio.VT GOP recruits candidates for two statewide posts, still needs one for treasurer. You may remember that on primary day, one man—perennial candidate H. Brooke Paige—was nominated for AG, secy of state, auditor, and treasurer. Last week, he withdrew from all those slots except secy of state—he'll face Sarah Copeland Hanzas in November. The deadline for the GOP to name replacements is this Friday, and on Sunday, reports VTDigger's Sarah Mearhoff, it found two: former banker Rick Morton of Brattleboro for auditor and Corinth's Mike Tagliavia for attorney general.Just sayin'... Yesterday Daybreak linked to a VTDigger "Deeper Dig" on the work it takes to get tractor-trailers unstuck from Smugglers Notch. And this morning at 5, the VSP put out a press release saying the Notch "is blocked / impassable in both directions due to a Commercial vehicle blocking the roadway." No news on how long it'll take.Adorable baby seal wanders into house, upsets the cat… And luckily for the Ross family of New Zealand, nothing was defecated on and no one was harmed, writes the Guardian’s Eva Corlett. Returning from an early-morning gym workout, Jenn Ross was greeted by the frightened native fur seal, which “humped its way down the hallway into the spare room” and hung out on the couch for a while, she says. Almost certainly it came in through the pet door. The kids, meanwhile, were asleep, and Jenn’s husband, Phil, a marine biologist, wasn’t even home. "This is really the only family emergency where it would be useful to have a marine biologist in the house,” he sighs.The Tuesday Vordle. Enjoy it!
Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it keep going by hitting the maroon button:
At 5:30 today at Still North Books & Bar, Baltimore-based journalist and playwright Amy L. Bernstein reads from and talks about her new mystery novel, The Potrero Complex, with fellow mystery writer Sarah Stewart Taylor. The book follows journalist Rags Goldner as she flees Baltimore after years of covering a raging pandemic—and discovers that small towns don't really offer a simpler life, either.
And weather permitting, it's time again for the the outdoor Tuesday concerts. At 6 at Grantham Rec Park, the Shana Stack Band takes the stage with current country and original music. The Let's Get Loaded Fries food truck will be on hand, as well.
While at 6:30 on the common in Fairlee, the Will Patton Ensemble offers up gypsy jazz, swing, Brazilian, and other music "that evokes smoky Parisian bistros and balmy tropical landscapes," as the Times Argus once put it.
Also at 6:30 the Thetford Arthouse Cinema continues its summer/fall 2022 run with Marleen Gorris's Oscar-winning Antonia's Line in the Martha Rich Theater at Thetford Academy. The week's films also include Hitchcock's 39 Steps on Friday at 7 and the 1973 version of Charlotte's Web on Saturday at 10 am. Link takes you to the season brochure: Scroll down for film descriptions from organizer Arthur Kahn.
Finally, tonight at 7 pm the EPA is hosting a public hearing on its plans for cleaning up the old Pike Hill copper mine in Corinth. It's been a Superfund site since 2004, but only now is the agency prepping to start the cleanup process. After a series of unofficial gatherings, tonight's hearing is the official start, Corinth Selectboard Chairman Rick Cawley tells the VN's Frances Mize. In-person at the Corinth town offices or online here.
And Tuesday's poetry...
On desperate seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,Thy Naiad airs have brought me home To the glory that was Greece, And the grandeur that was Rome.
— From
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.
Want to catch up on Daybreak music?
Want to catch up on Daybreak itself (or find that item you trashed by mistake the other day)? You can find everything on the Daybreak Facebook page
, or if you're a committed non-FB user,
.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Writer/editor: Tom Haushalter Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Tom About Michael
And if you think one or more of your friends would like Daybreak, too, please forward this newsletter and tell them to hit the blue "Subscribe" button below. And thanks! And hey, if you're that friend? So nice to see you! You can subscribe at:
Thank you!