GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny, quiet, still cold. Air coming in last night from the northwest is keeping things around freezing today, though we should see a decent bit of sun mixed in with the clouds. Winds will be calmer than yesterday, shifting to come from the west; lows tonight in the lower 20s.It's the season for ice patterns! Can snow curls be far behind?
From Thetford, here's a fine, spiral "star" pattern on an iced-over pond, by Margie Cook.
And in Fairlee, writes Dan Chase, there's a natural spring that, come November, gets rerouted from a seasonal camp. It's "propped up by a stake that allows a tight stream of water to arc into the woods. Over the next several weeks the water will freeze and grow to a large mound of ice. Which typically gets to ~100' in length and ~50' in width." He'll keep us posted as it grows.
In latest financial report, DH sees improved picture. It still had an operating loss of $8.2 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, reports Nora Doyle-Burr in the Valley News, but that's compared to over $40 million in the same quarter a year ago. In the filing, CFO Dan Jantzen attributes the improvement in part to higher revenues from growth in patient volumes and the addition of Southwestern VT Healthcare this year, and to cost-cutting efforts that included layoffs and eliminating positions in June. DH's Audra Burns tells Doyle-Burr there are no plans for further layoffs aimed at improving finances.Grafton County Sheriff's Department employees unionize. In all, reports Alex Nuti-de Biasi in the Journal Opinion's newsletter, 24 employees—a mix of deputies, detectives, dispatchers, and administrative assistants—voted to join Teamsters Local 633, which is based in Manchester. "We look forward to a future of having a voice at the table and having the strength and professionalism of Local 633 by our side," the workers were quoted as saying in a Teamsters press release. The sheriff, communications staff, and captain are not part of the bargaining unit.Hanover to consider natural burials, joining Leb, Plainfield. The issue will come to the selectboard next month, reports Patrick Adrian in the VN, in the wake of a proposal by Sustainable Hanover and the town parks department to create a separate section at Pine Knolls Cemetery that would allow for some 300 burials. Graves would be marked by flat stones and be surrounded by a wildflower meadow. “Burial is your last act, and some people would like to have a choice that doesn’t involve concrete vaults or embalming fluids,” Sustainable Hanover co-chair Yolanda Baumgartner tells Adrian. Lebanon allows natural burials in two of its cemeteries; Plainfield is developing policies to allow them.SPONSORED: Participants needed! Researchers at Dartmouth Cancer Center are looking for New Hampshire and Vermont adults who smoke cigarettes to take part in a research study about home radon testing. The study involves a 10-minute survey, a 90-minute discussion group on Zoom, and a final 5-minute survey. If you live in VT or NH, your current home has not been tested for radon, and you currently smoke cigarettes, we want to hear from you. You may receive up to $75. Hit the burgundy link or here to learn more and to complete our interest form. Sponsored by Dartmouth Cancer Center.A "heart-wrenching, compulsively readable tale" that shouldn't work, but does. That's thanks to the sheer writing talent that Gabrielle Zevin plows into Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, writes Thetford Academy's Leo Downey in this week's Enthusiasms. The novel is about young video game designers—who first met and bonded over video games when they were kids—but really, Leo writes, it's about more: love, grief, the shifting tides of friendship and relationships, the gaming industry, and "such in-depth, flawed, and lovable characters that you’ll feel like you know them personally.""Nothing is so satisfying as to see a bad guy learn the error of his ways." And in a nutshell, according to Susan Apel, that's Northern Stage's production of A Christmas Carol, which opened last week. Lead actor Jamie Horton "moves through the character’s arc with convincing portrayals of the irascible, isolated Scrooge and ultimately of a more benevolent and connected one," she writes. In fact, the Rutland Herald's Jim Lowe writes in his review, "While most holiday adaptations are confections that reek of a Hallmark movie, [Northern Stage] has gone to the heart of the beloved 1843 novella with an adaptation by Carol Dunne that pulls no punches."SPONSORED: Buy a calendar, support local trails! The Upper Valley Trails Alliance has collaborated with photographer and trail enthusiast Jay Davis (whose photos you've seen in Daybreak) to create a calendar with exquisite photos of our beloved Upper Valley trails. All proceeds from calendar sales will benefit the Trails Alliance and help keep these beautiful trails in good shape! Calendars arrive in early December and can be picked up at the Trails Alliance office or mailed for an extra fee. Limited quantities available. Hit the burgundy link to reserve your calendar today! Sponsored by the UVTA.On Lake Sunapee, "We’ve had a good understanding that you have to get ahead of the curve, especially with cyanobacteria.” This summer was a bad one for cyanobacteria blooms, especially in NH, but there was a notable exception, writes Frances Mize in the VN: Lake Sunapee. That's thanks in large part to longstanding efforts by the Lake Sunapee Protective Association to keep nutrient-rich stormwater runoff from reaching the lake. Its latest: projects to prevent erosion and "slow, filter and/or catch runoff" in Sunapee and Newbury. In addition, Mize writes, the association works with landowners to "suggest tailored ideas for how to keep runoff from leaving driveways and lawns."Former NH state rep arrested for voting in a town where he didn't live. You may remember that back in September, Troy Merner stepped down from his house seat in Lancaster because, it turned out, he'd been living in Carroll. Yesterday, the NH AG's office charged that Merner didn't just represent Lancaster against House rules—he voted there in a March election even though he wasn't "domiciled there for voting purposes.” InDepthNH's Nancy West also reports that the legislature's COO was notified last year that Merner lived out of his district—but was allowed to vote on bills this year anyway.NH legislative commission studying cannabis legalization issues report with no recommendation—after governor lays down new requirements. The commission had spent months studying how the state could control retail sales of cannabis, but at Monday's final meeting got two more conditions, reports NH Bulletin's Hadley Barndollar: a 15-store cap on franchises that could be overseen by the state liquor commission, and a ban on lobbying and political contributions by any licensee. Commission members pushed back on the latter as raising First Amendment issues, then voted to send a report to the legislature on its activities but without any recommended course of action.“There’s no way on God’s green earth that Bow’s a Zone 6!” Earlier this month, the USDA issued a map of new plant hardiness zones, showing more southerly climes marching steadily north—including into southern NH. That quote's from a Pembroke nursery owner pushing back on what the map shows and arguing to Granite Geek's David Brooks that whatever the new map shows for the southern part of the state, it's safer to garden like it's Zone 4, since unexpected freezes are hardly unusual. You can check out the zones here. VT State Police warn of scam calls purporting to be from troopers. The calls appear to come from the Westminster barracks, the VSP says in a press release, with the scammer telling the recipient that his or her identity has been compromised. "If anyone receives such a call, they should hang up or not call back at the number provided, and instead telephone their local VSP barracks to confirm the authenticity of the message," they add. Here's a list of all barracks, with the numbers to call.At a VT diner older than most Vermonters, food that's "unpretentious and comforting." Odds are good that if you've lived in these parts for any length of time, at some point you found yourself at the Wayside Diner on the Barre-Montpelier road, which opened in 1918. But as Breana Lai Killeen writes in Seven Days, eating there was a new experience for her—though it won't be her last, if only because of "the most incredible pillowy dinner rolls." Maple cream pie, pot roast, turkey dinners, Grape-Nuts custard pudding—heck, even liver and onions: Odds are, she writes, "whatever you're craving" is on the menu.Seeing is believing. This year's Natural Landscape Photography Award winners are out, with a selection on My Modern Met. The competition has been around for just three years, but it’s clearly the one to win, with more than 11,000 entrants this year. That’s notable because the rules prohibit manipulating images, preferring nature as it was meant to be. Photographer of the Year went to Canadian Blake Randall for a portfolio of mostly winter scenes, and Photograph of the Year to Gabriel Stankiewicz’s winter trees, shot while he was out snowshoeing in Norway. Full lineup, with runners up, here.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!
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Swag maestro Jeremiah Brophy has created this great-looking puzzle in 252- and 520-piece sizes, just in time for those long nights by the fire. Plus, of course, fleece vests, hoodies, sweatshirts, even a throw blanket to keep you warm. And hats, mugs, and—once you work up a puzzle-piece sweat—tees. Take a look!
If you're looking outside and thinking, "I've gotta get out in that!" but don't quite know how: Today at 5:30 pm, the Green Mountain Club is presenting an online workshop, "Introduction to Winter Hiking". They'll be talking everything from clothing and layering to socks, footwear, traction, dealing with sweat, handwarmers, navigation, trail-finding, hydration, Leave No Trace, and anything else you need to know to hike safely in winter. No cost, but you'll need to register.
And to get us going for the day...
You may have seen Dallas-based Kings Return when the Hop brought them to Rollins back in February. Or, if not, maybe online, thanks to their viral
a cappella
videos—often filmed in a stairwell. These days they tour the country, have a Grammy nomination, and just released a new album—but they're still recording in that stairwell.
they put up back in June, in honor of Juneteenth and Black Music Appreciation Month. So here we are, five months later and honestly, is there
ever
a wrong month for a medley of Motown hits?
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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