GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Sunny to start, colder. After a cold start to the day it might get to about 30 today, but we should see virtually clear skies all morning. Clouds start moving in this afternoon accompanying a small disturbance moving through above. Those clouds will keep temps from dropping much overnight, and they'll also bring a slight chance of snow in the wee hours.Really, is there anything better than snow in trees? Well, yeah, ski-able snow on the ground. But even without it, here's why you should look up:
Holt's Ledge the other day. "I took a hike there and discovered that one does not have to climb very high to find a beautiful winter wonderland," Robin Osborne writes.
And in Grantham NH, from Janice Winokur.
Haverhill bridge work will last for months. In a press release yesterday, NHDOT announced that maintenance work began, um, yesterday on the bridge carrying NH Route 116 over Clark Brook, near the intersection of routes 116 and 10. "To complete this work one lane will be closed and motorists will be restricted to a single 13-foot lane over the bridge that will be controlled by temporary traffic signals," they write. Work's expected to last into April, weather permitting. Motorists are "encouraged to seek alternate routes."
Claremont School Board approves new contract with incentive for newer teachers to remain. The contract, reports Patrick O'Grady in the Valley News, was approved unanimously and designed with the goal of making salaries more competitive with neighboring districts for newer teachers. The new contract includes a step increase each year of $1,250 for teachers with 15 years or fewer in the district, with a $3,000 boost after year three. “They get trained, get comfortable with the students and we lose them,” Asst. Supt. Richard Seaman told the board. “Our overwhelming drive was to retain young teachers."SPONSORED: Cindy Pierce is coming to the Briggs! Renowned comic storyteller Cindy Pierce will perform her new solo show, KEEPING IT INN at the Briggs Opera House on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 pm. Cindy takes on the challenge of playing her mother during the final six decades of her life, exploring love, family and what holds in our memories over time. Buy tickets and read more about the show at the burgundy link. Here's a video for a glimpse of how the show developed. Sponsored by Pinzer Productions, LLC."Possibly the funniest book I read last year." The Norwich Bookstore's Emma Nichols is talking about The Hearing Trumpet, Leonora Carrington's 1972 novel, which has just been republished by New York Review Books. In this week's Enthusiasms, Emma writes that the book is "a mind-bending delight of a tale" that's pretty much impossible to describe. It involves, among other things and in no particular order, "poisoned fudge; an orgiastic abbess; a hunger strike; the Holy Grail; an apocalyptic snowstorm; buried treasure"—and, Emma writes, will leave you both confused and "absolutely satisfied."Locals make a strong showing as finalists for 2023 Good Food Awards. The Good Food Foundation has just announced finalists from around the country for this year's awards, and you'll see some familiar names on the list, including Windsor's Blake Hill Preserves (for two shrubs and a jam), Reading's Spring Brook Farm for its Ashbrook cheese, Barnard's Fable Farm Fermentory for two of its ciders, Norwich's My Organic Coco for two of its hot chocolates, Barnard's Monsalvat Farm for its honey, and Claremont's North Country Smokehouse for its Applewood Smoked Uncured Ham Steak. Hungry yet?What's it like to watch a parent with depression as a young child? Enfield writer Andi Diehn's husband struggles with depression and anxiety, and as a result their three sons have grown up with "huge reservoirs of empathy," Diehn tells NHPR's Julie Furukawa. Thinking about their experiences when they were younger, Diehn says, she wanted to write a children's book that portrays love as the foundation of dealing with a parent with mental illness. The result is Mama's Days, which tells the story of a young girl and her mother—and the dragon the girl conjures as a way to understand her mom's changing moods.Grafton County judge clears Strafford man's name years after conviction. In a decision last week, reports the VN, the judge set aside Scott Traudt's 2008 conviction for assaulting a Lebanon police officer, ruling that the Grafton County Attorney's Office or the city's police department had "knowingly withheld evidence" that might have supported Traudt's defense at trial. Traudt was found guilty of assaulting a police officer in 2007 and served a year in prison, but argued in the courts that he'd acted in self-defense. The withheld evidence involved the disciplinary record of one of the officers.Hey, it says "No Dogs" but zilch about pigs! "This is truly a first," the Jackson NH PD posted on Facebook on Monday. "Received a call of a Pig blocking the XC ski trails! Suspect in custody and returned home...Petunia, you're on the list..." As you can imagine, there are plenty of photos of Petunia, who was blocking part of the Windy Hill Trail before the department's animal control officer got her back home—thanks to a leash and his lunch apple.NH House majority leader: "I haven't seen any fights in the hallways yet, and hopefully we can keep it that way." Jason Osborne sat down with NHPR's Rick Ganley to talk over his plans for the current House session. Given the tightly divided chamber, he's asked his GOP colleagues to reach across the aisle to Democrats—if only as bill co-sponsors—and tells Ganley "it looks like most people are doing that." His priorities include cutting energy prices, boosting housing, and trying again on marijuana legalization, which has bipartisan appeal in the House but founders every year in the Senate.VT student test scores reflect lingering impact of pandemic. Preliminary results from 2022 assessments of students in grads 3-9 show no grade scoring above 46 percent proficient in English or 44 percent in math, and demonstrate "the long shadow of COVID-19," state education secretary Dan French said in a statement. However, MyChamplainValley reports, education officials also note that because of staffing shortages, participation rates were lower than in the years before the pandemic; "This makes meaningful comparison to prior years difficult," says Deputy Secretary of Education Heather Bouchey.No snow? Think snow peas! As seed catalogs start to hit mailboxes (real and virtual), you might want to keep it local. In Seven Days, Suzanne Podhaizer introduces three specialized Vermont seed companies that can enrich your garden far beyond the common Big Boy and Early Girl. Solstice Seeds, in Hartland, carries “rare, diverse and resilient seed varieties,” adapted for short growing seasons, and states that all of its seed are open-pollinated and grown without chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides. Podhaizer also checks in on St. J's Le Jardin du Gourmet and Worcester's Earthbeat Seeds.“It’s real. It’s authentic. It’s tactile.” That's Doug Tombaugh, president of the Straight Key Century Club, talking about (dot dot dot) Morse code. The 200-year-old “language” is growing in popularity in the U.S., at least among ham radio operators. That’s unexpected, writes Larry Kahaner in Smithsonian, because the FCC stopped requiring hams to learn Morse for their licenses in the 1990s and it was deep-sixed for maritime and military use soon after. Devotees cite the simplicity, the possible boost to brain power, and the chance to be out in nature. Seems transmission is better from a mountaintop.It's a winter wonderland! Out west, anyway. And not just for people. Last month, the security camera on Timothy Ellis's deck in Everett, WA caught a raccoon out in the yard during a snowfall. Trying to catch snowflakes.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.
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At 5:30 this evening, Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center hosts Hanover Town Manager Alex Torpey for a talk on "Local Government: The Untapped Innovator." Torpey will be in conversation with political scientist Ron Shaiko about the role that local government can play in influencing and reshaping governance in general. In-person in the Rockefeller Center and online.
This evening at 6, Dartmouth's English and Creative Writing Department hosts a reading and conversation focused on The Best American Essays 2022, the popular annual anthology. The collection was edited by Dartmouth prof Alexander Chee, who'll be hosting the event and joined by three contributors to the book: journalist and editor Ryan Bradley (and his essay about his list of lost people, places, and things); fiction writer Naomi Jackson (and her essay about her experience of bipolar disorder); and fiction and non-fiction writer Justin Torres (and his essay about a lost gold cross on a chain and its place in his life). Livestreamed and in-person in Haldeman 041.
And also at 6 — the regular Wednesday acoustic jam sessions led by fiddler Jakob Breitbach have started back up. The jams are laid-back and informal, and run with an eye toward involving newcomers who want to join in—though you're also welcome just to show up and listen.
At 6:30 pm, also in-person and online, the Howe Library hosts Plymouth State professor emeritus and skiing historian John Allen for his talk, "New Hampshire on Skis." He'll be talking about early skiing in the state, the immigrants who introduced it, the Dartmouth Outing Club and its impact, the importance of jumping, the mechanization of skiing, and how New England and New Hampshire fit into the big picture of America's ski culture.
And at 7 pm, it's the second installment of the Vermont Historical Society's four-week "Winter Trivia" series (with a championship round in February). Tonight it's Vermont Nature, next week Vermont Symbols, and then Famous Vermonters. No cost to watch or participate in the initial rounds (though if you're playing, you'll need two screens).
Finally, towns that take poetry seriously are already gearing up for National Poetry Month in April. In particular, Randolph is prepping to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Poemtown Randolph, in which—among many other things—poems from Vermont residents go up in windows around town and along the river trail. They've just opened up for submissions: Poets of any age (though you've got to live in VT), no more than 24 lines, and there's a limit of two poems. Submission details here.
And today's music...
Jasdeep Singh Degun grew up in Leeds, England and has been steeped in North Indian music since childhood — first as a singer, then, since he was 15, as a sitar player. These days, he's carved out a career both as a performer and studio musician
and
as a composer known for bridging both south Asian and Western musical traditions. His debut album last year,
Anomaly
, included 33 musicians, including a 16-member chamber music string ensemble and musicians from the British Asian community.
which pretty much showcases in four minutes why he believes "the premise of East and West is no longer relevant” to him musically, as he told an interviewer.
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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