GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Ugh. Well, all you have to do is glance out the window and you've pretty much got the forecast for the first part of today. Temps started rising overnight, which is why last night's snow is now rain. It's due to become showers for at least the first part of the morning and possibly the afternoon. Highs today in the low 40s before temps start dropping this afternoon, reaching the upper 20s overnight, and everything freezes again. But hey, maybe the base will set up nicely?On the whole, we got off lightly. The real impact of this sprawling storm appears to be to the south and west, in the South, the Mid-Atlantic and the Great Lakes. Around here:
Though streams and rivers will rise over the course of the day, in both VT and NH they'll remain below flood stage; though flood warnings are in effect this am for south-central and southeastern NH, the risks are higher in eastern MA, as well as in RI and CT. Check out river gauges here.
So far, roads appear to be in good shape around the region. There are just a couple of closures due to the storm reported in VT, over to the west; in NH, debris has shut down NH 116 in Haverhill at Pine Mill Road, along with a small handful of closures in other parts of the state.
Some 27,000 households are without power in VT, but most are along or west of the Greens; in NH, there are reported outages in Haverhill and around Canaan, Orange, and Grafton, mostly involving NH Electric Coop customers. Here's WMUR's page of links to outage maps.
Lights in the sky. And no, we're not just talking about yesterday's red-sky-at-morning pre-storm sunrise, though that was pretty magnificent.
In fact, we'll just start with that: The view in Norwich, by Rich Cohen.
But also yesterday morning, if you got up early and had a view of Hanover, you might have seen this white glow in the distance—the new snowmaking effort at Oak Hill in its full glory. Felix Fisher was up looking across the valley and got this pic; his dad was volunteering over there. Friends of Oak Hill's Peter Milliken writes, "It will take some time to make, “cure”, and groom the snow from the new system so although the new snowmaking trails are not yet open, exciting times are soon to come."
And back on New Year's Eve, Peter French was at a neighborhood gathering near the Norwich/Thetford line, complete with fireworks. "I brought along my little Fuji X100T, set it at f16, 5-second exposure, focused on infinity and pointed it at the sky. Whoa!" Yes, indeed.
Wade Cochran, who spent 10 months as the town's chief in 2022-23 after a long career on the Montpelier PD, including five years on VT's drug task force, has been placed on paid leave from his job running the DMV's enforcement and safety division pending the results of an FBI investigation, reports Mike Donoghue in the
Times Argus. N
either the feds nor
U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest would confirm or deny the investigation. It "
stems from an alleged incident before Cochran’s hiring at the DMV last August," Donoghue writes.
Richard Smolenski was charged in 2021 with using fictitious online accounts to stalk a former girlfriend and threaten the release of sexual details. Last week, reports the
Valley News
's John Lippman, NH District Court Judge Michael Garner dismissed a misdemeanor stalking charge, ruling that while Smolenski's emails did induce fear in his alleged victim, the state "could not prove that these communications were ‘true threats’."
Note: While you're there, take a moment to notice the
VN
has a new web design.
SPONSORED: “Boy, do I have a story to tell about not being able to do what I love and how I have been able to get back to being me.” Over the past few years, Kristin Judge had thoughts that she might not ever be able to do what she loved again: hiking, skiing, even walking her dog without pain. Well... “NOT THIS YEAR!” Read how, through laughs, tears, setbacks, frustrations, and accomplishments, Kristin went from the ER back to 4000 feet! Sponsored by Cioffredi & Associates Physical Therapy."Unequivocally the best piece of fiction I read this past year." That's Sam Kaas, co-owner of the Norwich Bookstore—who, it's fair to say, has done some reading—in his rave Enthusiasms review of Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park. The book is a sprawling speculative novel, spanning Korean and American history, popular culture, and lots more: "both staggeringly complex and compulsively readable," Sam writes, comparable to David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From The Goon Squad, Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, but "in a class all its own.""Nothing says post-holiday-letdown or January blahs quite like a once-glorious Christmas angel reduced to a pathetic little blob…" So writes First Church of Lebanon administrator Brian Clancy to accompany his photo of what was left on Dec. 31 of Tony Perham's ice sculpture outside the pre-Christmas concert put together by pianist Elizabeth Borowski and others. It's Brian's follow-on to yesterday's photos of Perham and his work. He adds that not only did the concert draw a packed house, but it raised over $2,000 for the Haven, matched by the Byrne Foundation.And while we're revisiting yesterday's Daybreak, let's get it straight on wakesurfing. "I'd like to ask...that you correct/clarify that water skiers DO NOT ride the 'big waves' created by wake boats," Justin Campfield writes in response to yesterday's item about proposed VT regs on wake boats and their impact on Lake Fairlee. In fact, he writes, water skiers are no fans of the big waves created by wake boats, either—and the two sports, wakesurfing and water skiing, are different. He explains it all in a letter to Daybreak at the link.SPONSORED: Two outdoor enthusiasts paralyzed 50 years apart but connected by their shared resiliency and a refusal to let trauma dictate their lives. Full Circle, directed by Dartmouth alum Josh Berman '00, presents an exhilarating portrait of intrepid sit-skier Trevor Kennison and adventurer Barry Corbet '58, who faced spinal cord injuries with resilience and athleticism. The Hop is screening the documentary on Sunday, January 14 at the Loew auditorium. Stay after the film for a discussion with the director. Tickets at the burgundy link. Sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth. At the Etna Library, it's "love at first glance." For the library itself, that is. For nearly a quarter century, Susan Apel has been driving by, meaning to go in—and last week, she writes in Artful, she finally did. It was actually Hanover's first library, and still has "an original table and chairs and big wooden desk from the library’s inception in 1905. And it has a clock that needs actual winding to keep telling time." But it's also what librarian Jeff Metzler describes as "the way our small size allows us to both be personal and to innovate." Susan explains.And just down the road at the Etna General Store, "Our family is just stupid about working." That's Tyler Dickinson, who with his wife Kayla reopened the store in July, 2022, talking to Ben Hewitt in the Jan/Feb issue of Yankee, about why he thinks they have a chance to make a go of it when others have failed in that location. Hewitt's after what it takes to make a New England village store viable these days. "If you're reading this anytime between the hours of, say, 4:30 am and 8:00 pm, Monday through Saturday, it's a pretty safe bet that at least one of the Dickensons will be on the premises," he writes. (Note: at the link, move the little page slider to pp. 88-9). Thanks, SW!Littleton, NH art, LGBTQ controversy leads town manager to resign. Jim Gleason told the selectboard on Monday that he's stepping down, and cited both a “toxic work environment” and the personal toll the issue has taken on him, reports Amanda Gokee in the Globe (here via MSN). Gleason's son, who died seven years ago of cancer, was gay. Derogatory comments by selectboard member Carrie Gendreau, he explained, "deeply hurt me and my family," as did other comments from the public. “The emotional pain inflicted on my family, particularly regarding my late son, is unbearable," he wrote.Good news for bald eagles in NH: There are more of them. They were taken off the state endangered list in 2017, and have expand their numbers, according to the Concord Monitor: A recent count by the Audubon Society found 109 territorial pairs in the Granite State last year, up 18 percent from 2022. "Looking ahead to the 2024 breeding season, we have more than 100 territorial pairs and expect to surpass the milestone of 1,000 eaglets fledged in NH since recovery began in the 1980s," wrote Audubon's Chris Martin last fall.After Norwich University president steps down, board reveals he was under investigation for violating school policies. In an interview last week, Mark Anarumo, who'd been in the post since 2020, told VTDigger that he was leaving by "mutual" agreement. But yesterday, reports VTDigger's Jimmy Nesbitt, the board issued a statement saying it had been informed in November that Anarumo might have violated unnamed school policies; after preliminary findings from an investigation showed Anarumo had violated "Norwich’s values and policies," he was placed on paid leave, and resigned Jan. 4.VT turns down federal food assistance program due to costs. The summertime electronic benefits transfer (EBT) program would give eligible families $40 per child for buying groceries via a debit card. But, reports VT Public's Peter Hirschfeld, the state's Dept of Children and Families notes that while the feds would pay all of the estimated $3.6 million going to families, the state would be on the hook for half the administrative costs—which could be a lot, since VT lacks the IT system it needs to streamline collection of eligibility information. It hopes to have that system in place in time for summer 2025.Hey, it's just 89 days, 6 hours, 59 minutes, and 12, 11, 10, 9... seconds until the total eclipse. Upper Valley marketing consultant Lynn Luczkowski is all in on the April 8 event—and has been ever since she saw an eclipse in Oregon a few years back, she tells NBC-5's Liz Strzepa. "The change in the temperature, the skies, the way the birds and the nature actually altered in this moment in time was like nothing I ever really expected." So Luczkowski has launched a website (burgundy link)with info about the eclipse, events surrounding it, and, of course, merch to celebrate it. Meanwhile, Seven Days' Dan Bolles just went up with a piece on everything you need to know... including the fact that VT is the second cloudiest state, so fingers crossed.“For a few months, snow falls and then friction gives up its hold on the planet.” Over 18 days and 317 miles, the film 300 Miles Melting tracks competitive skier Torey Lee Brooks as she tackles VT's Catamount Trail from MA north to Canada. Through tough slogs and joyous glides, she travels the longest back-country ski trail in North America. There’s winter in all its beauty, of course, but the film looks much deeper—at the history of the trail, the future of the planet, and the environmental, social, and political aspects of climate change. Eric Wibur, in New England Ski Journal, has the film's back story.The Wednesday Vordle. If you're new to Daybreak, this is the Upper Valley version of Wordle, with a five-letter word chosen from an item in the previous day's Daybreak. Give it a try!Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it keep going by hitting the maroon button:
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There's a new Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, 252 or 520 pieces, just in time for these 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!
Today at 5 pm, Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center hosts two DC-area experts on federal spending for a talk on "Debt and Deficits: Fiscal Challenges Facing the Next Administration." The event, which will be in-person in Hinman Forum and livestreamed online, features Bob Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, which focuses on "the need to protect our children and future generations from excessive government debt"; and Mike Murphy, chief of staff at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
At 7 this evening, the Norwich Bookstore hosts historical novelist Jon Clinch, reading from and talking about his new book, The General and Julia. Centered on the last days of Ulysses S. Grant, as he was dying of throat cancer, it courses over his life—the war, his presidency, his marriage, from which "he has come away with Clinch’s admiration," writes Kirkus, "and, no doubt, by the end of this affecting novel, the reader’s."
Also at 7, online (with two screens, if you want to be a player), the Vermont Historical Society launches this season's three-part (plus a championship round) Vermont trivia series. Tonight: People of Vermont. In coming weeks: Places, and (be still my heart) Weather and Seasons. No charge to participate in the first three, a small charge for the Jan. 31 championship round—but, of course, you're welcome just to watch.
And to take us into the day...
You don't
need
to know the parts of a guitar in order to appreciate Nashville-based, Australian-born guitarist Daniel Champagne, but it wouldn't hurt to keep the soundboard, the bridge, the nut, the fretboard, the headstock, and everything else in mind, because he uses them all. Champagne may have started playing at a young age, but he furthered his musical education the old-fashioned way: by dropping out of school at 18 and hitting the road, mastering not just an intricate and deft style on the strings, but the guitar as a percussive instrument.
but you can see why, over time, the wood would wear away—notice the scratches on the guitar body—and it would be time for a new one.
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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