🌱 Winter Dog Safety Tips + Free-Flow Tolls + Ice Castles Opens

Paula Constance
Updated ·4 min read

Hello, Bedford! It's me, Paula Constance, your host of the Bedford Daily.

First, today's weather:

Cloudy skies early, becoming partly cloudy later in the day. High 38. Winds light and variable. Low: 24.

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Here are the top stories in Bedford today:

  1. Bedford dog owners, keep your dog safe and happy in the winter with tips from the ASPCA. Keep your dog inside if temperatures are below freezing, in the cold rain, sleet, and when it's snowing, as dogs can get frostbite, shiver and get cold, and be impacted by the winter weather. When your dog comes in from a walk, towel dry his fur and gently remove snowballs to prevent chapped or cracked paws. Also gently wash away ice, salt, and chemicals from his paws. Always keep antifreeze spills from cars away from your dog — it's lethal. The ASCPA says to never leave your dog in a car during cold weather where they can freeze and avoid shaving your dog's fur down to the skin in the winter, as they need the extra warmth. Even feeding them a little more can help them have extra energy to stay warm. The ASPCA offers many other helpful tips adding, "if it’s too cold for you, it’s probably too cold for your pet, so keep your animals inside." You can read more here: (ASPCA)

  2. If you are looking for a reason to love the freezing temperatures in January, the Ice Castles exhibit is opening for the season on Friday, Jan. 14 in North Woodstock, New Hampshire. If you visit, you will find changing LED lights that transform the Ice Castles walls into a surreal experience. Ice Castles features "ice-carved slides, tunnels, fountains, crawl spaces, caverns, and ice thrones." There are also activities like snow tubing and horse-drawn sleigh rides. Its website says they are following COVID-19 safety protocols, and that Ice Castles employees will be masked, and guests are recommended to wear them. According to Google Maps, it takes 1 hour, 19 minutes (81.5 miles) to drive from Bedford to North Woodstock on 93 North. You can find out more about this outside winter adventure here: (Ice Castles)

  3. Free-Flow Tolling will soon be available for New Hampshire drivers passing through the Bedford toll booth, and toll booths in Dover and Rochester, according to an announcement by the NH DOT. The DOT selected Kapsch TrafficCom to convert the toll booths into "new free-flow traffic lanes" that capture license plate numbers for vehicles with E-ZPass and will have "video tolling" for vehicles without a toll transponder. With all-electronic toll booths, drivers "no longer need to stop, slow down, or change lanes at any point" in order to pay and drive through the tolls. You can read more here: (Business Wire)

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Today in Bedford:

  • Winter Band Concert — Bedford High School (6:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

  • Bedford N.H. Public Library: "Are you having trouble making it to the library due to health or transportation issues? The Bedford Public Library offers Library-By-Mail service for Bedford residents." (Facebook)

  • Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains: "January's Product of the Month is our Cookie Tablecloth!" (Facebook)

  • Bedford School District: "Walk-in COVID-19 Clinic, Friday, Jan. 14." (Facebook)

  • Bedford Hockey: "Away game tomorrow against Bow at 5:30 p.m. Let’s go Bulldogs!" (Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed. I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow morning with another update!

— Paula Constance

About me: I am a freelance writer, author, and media producer. I am committed to media projects that empower, engage, and help make the world a better place.

This article originally appeared on the Bedford Patch