Here are the latest details from Boston.com

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There are lower forms of life everywhere, including here in the Northeast Kingdom.

And from The Caledonian Record:

home : top news : top news Share March 28, 2012 3/28/2012 3:49:00 PM Police: Couple Lure Jenkins To Her Death + click to enlarge Associated Press ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) – A Vermont snow plow driver and his wife lured a popular prep school teacher from her home by pretending their vehicle had broken down, then beat her, strangled her, and stripped her body naked and threw it into the Connecticut River, court documents say. Allen Prue, 30, and Patricia Prue, 33, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in St. Johnsbury to second-degree murder in the death of Melissa Jenkins, whose SUV was found idling along a remote road Sunday with her unharmed 2-year-old inside. The Prues ordered held without bail. Allen Prue and his wife wanted to “get a girl” on Sunday night, although he and his wife “didn’t plan to get one forcefully,” according to court documents. Police gave no further details on a possible motive. “They knew Miss Jenkins and had snow plowed her driveway a couple of years ago,” Vermont State Police Maj. Ed Ledo said at a news conference earlier in the day at which he announced the arrests. After the court appearance, Allen Prue’s mother, Donna Prue, said that her son has never been in trouble with the law before and that she has faith he didn’t commit the crime. “I do not believe he would ever do this, because he didn’t have it in him. I have nothing against her (Patricia); I don’t have nothing bad to say about either one,” Donna Prue said. Police were called Sunday night after Jenkins’ son was found alone in her vehicle on a back road in St. Johnsbury. Jenkins’ former boyfriend told police she said that she had gotten a call from a person who used to plow her driveway and that she was going to help them, the documents say. The ex-boyfriend told police that Allen Prue had once asked Jenkins out on a date, and that she felt uncomfortable around him. Allen Prue later told police he and his wife were driving along the remote road when Patricia Prue called Jenkins and told her they had broken down. The court documents describe the encounter this way: When the 33-year-old Jenkins arrived to help, Allen Prue grabbed her and strangled her. They then put the body in the backseat of their car and drove to their home. At some point Patricia Prue strangled Jenkins as well. Back at their home, they put Jenkins’ body on a tarp, removed her clothes and poured bleach on her body. The Prues also removed their clothes and put them on the tarp They then drove to a boat access at the Connecticut River, which separates Vermont from New Hampshire, and put Jenkins’ body in the water, weighing it down with blocks and concealing it with brush. They took the tarp and the clothes to New Hampshire where they burned it. The death of the well-loved science teacher at the school, once attended by President Calvin Coolidge, shocked people in the town of 6,200 in northeastern Vermont about 40 miles south of the Canadian border.

BREAKING NEWS: At around 8PM last night State Police obtained and were executing search warrant for the residence at 91 Old County Rd in Waterford. The residence is that of Alan and Donna Prue and police say it is related to the murder of Melissa Jenkins.  There will be a 10 AM press conference.

6:35 PM –  At a press conference at St. Johnsbury Academy, Vermont State Police confirm that they have discovered the body of a woman near the Comerford Dam in Barnet, it is believed to be Melissa Jenkins.  An autopsy tomorrow will confirm the identity.  No other details now, anybody with information is urged to call VSP in St. Johnsbury at 802-748-3111.

R.I.P.

The Vernal Equinox arrives early here in the States…at 1:14 AM in the East.  Those of you in Europe and the Far Est can enjoy our musical salute to Spring starting then.  (5:14 AM GMT)   BUT…since most of the U.S. will be asleep, we’ll repeat our Spring selections several times through the day, starting at 7:00 AM.

It already feels like summer throughout much of the Continental U.S.  BUT…the songs of spring can really hang you up the most.  Click on the play button to the left and enjoy.

“Optimists and pessimists die the exact same death, but they live very different lives.” 

  –Shimon Peres

There’s a fascinating article in Friday’s New York Times about what author Eric Weiner calls ‘thin places,’ best defined (in his words) as locations where heaven and earth get close, where transcendent feelings may arise.  The picture above shows one.  It’s a certain corner on a trail called Carriage Road on Burke Mountain.  If you’re a decent skier and have spent time here, you know EXACTLY where this spot is.  There’s another spot on the mountain, at the divide between Upper and Lower Willoughby that can also be described as a thin place.  The panorama that unfolds to the north looks more like a painting than reality…it’s a jaw-dropping view of Willoughby Gap, with Mounts Hor & Pisgah girding the depths of the lake.  Just to the northwest, another fifteen or so miles north is Jay Peak, and beyond, the Eastern Townships of Quebec.  This weekend, with strong March sunshine and temperatures sitting right around the freezing mark, we got in what will probably be the final days of decent skiing.  A big warmup is underway, and this winter of our discontent will soon make way for a very early spring.

Take the few minutes to read the Times article and hey, we’d love to hear about (and see pictures of) YOUR thin places.

p.s.  If you’d like a hi-res large copy of the picture above, drop us an email: vermontmornings@gmail.com

If you have a big monitor and some patience, this is actually a bunch of still photographs.  If you’re of a certain age, spend some time seeing The New York We’ve Lost.

Leslie G. Nichols

June 4, 1927 – February 26, 2006