GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
A reminder: No Daybreak the rest of this week. I'm guessing you, too, could use a break. So it's time for the basics: Pie, friends, family, an extra-good walk (with or without a dog).... "Hiking Close to Home" and the News Quiz are taking a breather until next week. The Vordle will continue each day, as always. Sign up in the Vordle item below if you'd like to get a reminder.Okay. This weather. Such good timing. Last night's snow began mixing with freezing rain this morning—and as temps rise it will transition to all rain. Though plows have been out, that doesn't mean the roads will be in decent shape yet; snow totals were expected to reach up to 4 inches in these parts, with locally higher amounts, and the winter weather advisory doesn't expire until 1 pm. Still, highs today around 40, whatever's left of the rain coming to an end this afternoon or evening, lows tonight around freezing.So what's it all mean for you, especially if you're traveling? Here's a list of resources to help you figure it out:
You'll find road conditions region-wide at New England 511, as always. You can toggle for driving conditions, and there's a full complement of highway cams by state and roadway under the "Traffic" tab up top.
If you're going to be on highways in VT, you can track the progress of VTrans plow trucks here.
Light.
Just to remind us to look up from time to time.
The sky over Sharon the other evening, from JoAnn Webb;
Clouds over Norwich last month, from Amanda DeRoy;
And a striking double rainbow over Mascoma Lake last month, from Jean Marchant.
In a letter to customers yesterday, the Hanover eatery's owner, John Pepper, was unusually blunt for a restaurateur, writing
that Boloco needs "a 'surge' of effort to eradicate the Covid-era habits we've adopted, most of which trend away from excellence and toward mediocrity." Though the dates are uncertain, he wrote, the shutdown will allow for new hiring and training and a chance for a tech upgrade. Pepper, who shuttered most of the chain's Boston outlets in August, also raised the possibility of "new local and active owner/operator partners."
This Saturday and Sunday, 11/25-26, from 11-4 pm. Our organic boutique offers luxe giftables like candles, greeting cards, skin & body care, jewelry, women's apparel, gift certificates for massage, and even something for the men in your life! We also carry a large selection of organic baby and children's apparel made in Ukraine. Shop local, enter our raffle, & sip mulled cider while you browse. Renee Cather is offering sessions for IV Hydration, B12 shots, and Botox for a special discount.
Sponsored by DeLeon Day Spa.
“To be honest, it doesn’t bother me much at all. As long as no one got hurt, I don’t take it personal.” That was a philosophical Will Gilman, owner of Will's Store in Chelsea, talking yesterday to the Valley News's Frances Mize after someone early Monday morning fired three shots into the store and the neighboring WRC Performance Products—then entered through the store window and took some beer and cigarettes. After a break-in a few years ago, Mize writes, Gilman started putting cash and other valuable items away overnight.
In an emergency meeting last night, reports WCAX, townspeople told the selectboard they were worried about increasing crime; the board "took resident suggestions and said they are going to start looking into calling on help from other towns, and potentially create a public safety unit and consider a neighborhood watch."
The town's also losing the sole physician at the Chelsea Health Center. Laura Barber, who's worked at the clinic run by Gifford Health Care since 2015, has been "asked to leave after failing to meet a relatively new benchmark for the number of patients Gifford’s providers are required to see each hour," reports the
VN'
s Nora Doyle-Burr. Gifford officials tell Doyle-Burr that the network's financial challenges require greater efficiency from primary care docs; patients tell her "they like that [Barber] doesn’t rush them out the door."
Dartmouth center launches podcast spotlighting alums who are "putting skin in the game to improve our society." That's Henry Do Rosario talking to Dartmouth News' Charlotte Albright about the Center for Social Impact's new "All the Difference" podcast, which he hosts. The venture debuted this week with episodes featuring Rose Mutiso, who focuses on "energy poverty" in Africa; Haitian-born Alex Bernadotte, whose nonprofit works to help first-gen students succeed both in college and beyond; and Warren Valdmanis, who argues that investors should focus on workers in gauging organizational value.SPONSORED: The Upper Valley Business Alliance introduces the perfect gift for everyone! It's the Local LUV gift certificate, which can be used at 35 Upper Valley businesses—with more being added all the time. No expiration dates, and it's delivered immediately via text or email. This holiday season, support Upper Valley businesses while giving a thoughtful gift to a loved one, friend, colleague, or even yourself! Find more information and a list of participating merchants at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by the Upper Valley Business Alliance.Former Hanover High associate principal steps down as Burlington High principal. You may remember that about a month ago, Debra Beaupre pulled a fire alarm at Burlington High School during a lunchtime fight between students. She was placed on leave five days later, though district officials never revealed why. Yesterday, reports Seven Days' Alison Novak, Beaupre—who'd also served as principal at Cavendish Elementary School and only began working at BHS on July 1—resigned. Beaupre was the school's fourth principal in three years, Novak writes.Former driver's ed teacher and mobile home park caretaker leaves Hinsdale, NH nearly $4 million. Geoffrey Holt "seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn’t want much,” says Ed Smith, his best friend (and the trailer park owner). The AP's Kathy McCormack and Robert F. Bukaty write that Holt, who went to nearby Marlboro College, got around by bike and lawn mower, lived in an unadorned trailer—and spent years investing his savings. The money will go to education, health, recreation, and culture in Hinsdale. "I just feel so sad that he didn’t indulge himself just a little bit,” his sister says."A funky bacterium." You know that mysterious respiratory illness that's been affecting dogs around the country? Researchers at UNH told NBC News yesterday they may have found a culprit: a pathogen that's "smaller than a normal bacterium in its size and in the size of its genome—long story short, it’s a weird bacterium that can be tough to find and sequence," according to UNH's David Needle. The team, reports NBC's Linda Carroll, "is sharing its results prior to publishing a research article" in hopes that vets might be able to use the information as they treat the illness.NH court ruling aftermath: from glee to "overreach". The delight at Rockingham County Superior Court judge David Ruoff's twin decisions finding that the state underfunds education and that the statewide education property tax unconstitutionally favors wealthy towns comes, not surprisingly, from public school advocates, who have long argued that the state doesn't shoulder its share of meeting public schools' needs. Gov. Chris Sununu, meanwhile, called the decisions "overreach" by the courts. As NH Bulletin's Ethan DeWitt writes, boosting state spending to meet Ruoff's floor is "a difficult political lift."After 18 months under state control, Hampstead Hospital still unable to meet need. The contractor running the facility, Wellpath, was supposed to have 65 beds available for young people in crisis by now, reports NHPR's Paul Cuno-Booth. But in recent months, an average of 30 inpatient psychiatric beds were being used, along with another four or five in a new residential facility. Officials cite staffing issues and patients with "more serious and complex mental health issues." Cuno-Booth notes that staff also had to call local police multiple times over the summer to help with difficult behavior.47 days, 12 hours, and 35 minutes. That's how long it took Jenny Hoffman, a 45-year-old Harvard physics professor, to set the Fastest Known Time for a supported run from SF to NYC. She finished earlier this month—after a torn meniscus sidelined a similar attempt in 2019—and in an interview with Outside's Martin Fritz Huber, talks about the difference between western and Midwestern drivers, her scariest moments, and why try for an FKT at all. "I was leaving my family and three kids. I was leaving my job. You can’t do that for too long, so you might as well do it as fast as possible," she says.A word, please. Madeline Kripke built what may well be the largest collection of dictionaries anywhere. After she died in 2020, writes April White in Atlas Obscura, two tractor trailers hauled more than 1,500 boxes from her Manhattan apartment and warehouses to Indiana University's library. Webster’s? Sure (many of them); also a Latin dictionary from 1502, and CBS’s marketing giveaway Dobie Gillis: Teenage Slanguage Dictionary, and The Canting Academy, a 17th-century compendium of jargon used by London’s criminal class. That was part of her "slang wall," with collections on slang used by cowboys, flappers, gamblers, soldiers, circus workers, and thieves.The Wednesday Vordle. Never fear, Vordlers! The Vordle will continue tomorrow and Friday with words from today's Daybreak, as well as over the weekend with words from a news source that may not be Daybreak. If you haven't yet signed up for reminder emails, you can do so here.
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Continuing a longstanding tradition, four Upper Valley congregations—St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, the Norwich Congregational Church, Kol Ha'Emek/The Upper Valley Jewish Community, and the Upper Valley Muslim Society—will host an interfaith gathering focused on “Homes for All People” at 5 pm today. There will be music, readings, blessings, and, of course, togetherness. At the Norwich Congregational Church or via livestream here.
And at 6 this evening, you'll find some of the more playful and intriguing live music in the Upper Valley at the Filling Station in WRJ, when the regular Wednesday Acoustic Jam Session takes over the space. Led tonight by Jakob Breitbach and Jes Raymond. You can show up to play or just to listen; either way, it'll be memorable.
And gosh, how to keep yourself occupied the rest of the week?
Well, for starters, you can get out ahead of your Thanksgiving meal tomorrow morning at 9 am, when the 15th annual Norwich Turkey Trot takes off from the gazebo on the Norwich Green. The 2.2-mile or 4.4-mile walk/trot around town is a fundraiser for the 19 Days of Norwich and the Upper Valley Haven. No fee or registration, but they ask you to bring cash, non-perishables, and winter clothing for donations. A donation of $20 gets you a winter hat, trucker's hat, or sweatshirt. Dogs (on a leash) and strollers welcome.
Or if you don't feel like getting up quite that early, the annual Zack's Place Turkey Trot will start off at 10 am tomorrow at the Woodstock Elementary School and wander for 5K (walk or run) through the village, on towards Billings Farm, around Mountain Avenue, and back around the Woodstock Green before winding up at the school again. It's a fundraiser for Zack's Place, with a $35 entry fee.
On Friday starting at 5 pm, the annual holiday display of a couple hundred thousand lights gets plugged in at the Joseph Smith Birthplace in South Royalton. The lights will be on every night from 5 to 9 through Jan. 1. For other holiday events around VT, Erica Houskeeper's Happy Vermont's got a list going.
At 6 pm Friday, the Main Street Museum in WRJ is offering a chance to entertain your guests in a way they'll never forget (or, maybe, forgive): the Best of Liberace! We'll just let them take it from here: "Liberace cut several rolls for the player piano and we have them all," they write. "He was known for being flamboyant, yes, but man-oh-man could that dude play!" You can sing along, there'll be snacks on the deck and, if the weather's amenable, a fire in the pit.
This is definitely a drive away, but look: How many chances are you going to get to see Dionne Warwick live? The five-time Grammy winner (the first was in 1968 for...
...we'll just pause here while you guess...
...
...
..."Do You Know the Way to San Jose?") will take the stage at the Paramount Theater in Rutland at 7 pm Friday along with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra string ensemble. Heck, you might know every song. There are still tix for the balcony.
At 7:30 pm on Friday, the Anonymous Coffeehouse is back in the First Congregational Church of Lebanon with two acts: Beecharmer (Jes Raymond and Jakob Breitbach) on multiple stringed instruments and a set of everything from bluegrass to old time to songs inflected with jazz and pop; and then, at 8:30, virtuoso jazz vocalist Grace Wallace will take the stage with guitarist Tom Horton Davis and a blend of jazz, swing, and classics from the American songbook.
From 1 to 2 pm on Saturday, the Bradford Public Library and Star Cat Books will host all-things-bizarre-about-Vermont author and folklorist Joe Citro. He'll be signing his more recent books and talking about the abundance of unexplained stories he's unearthed.
And on Saturday at 2 pm, the Chandler in Randolph presents the No Strings Marionette Company and their version of The Hobbit. You don't need a synopsis (but heck, why not: Bilbo, dwarves, Gandalf, goblins, elves, Gollum, ring, Smaug) but you've probably never seen it with marionettes, life-size body puppets, or puppet hybrids. Pay what you can.
And to take us into the day, the holiday, and the weekend...
It's a bit longer than the usual music here, but a fine way to spend a few minutes:
, known most widely as the "Hymn of Thanksgiving"—but labeled by Beethoven himself (in translation) as the "Holy Song of Thanksgiving by a Convalescent to the Divinity, in the Lydian Mode." He wrote it late in life, already fully deaf, in gratitude for having survived a near-fatal illness.
And whatever
you
have to be grateful for, here's hoping you get a little time to reflect on it, as well as a fine and reinvigorating few days. See you Monday for CoffeeBreak.
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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