REMINDER
Pittsfield High School Class of 1984 Reunion
Attention All PHS Class of 1984 members- We are starting to plan for
our 35th High School Reunion!! (next year) Our first meeting
is on Wed., Sept. 19 at 6:30pm at Laurie Deane Vien’s house (132
Ingalls Rd). Please come to the meeting if you’d like to help.
We would like to hear from our classmates with ideas for the
reunion. If you can’t make it to the meeting, feel free to
call Andi Grainger Riel at 435-6346, email at
[email protected]
or find me on Facebook!
Barnstead Parks & Recreation is hosting their first annual fishing
derby on September 23! Stop by from 7am to 12pm for our fishing
derby (ages 13 and up), kids carnival with fun fishing games, and a
cookout starting at 11am! Join us on the rec pond off of Dunbarton
Drive. Please bring your own rod (limited extras available for
kids)! Our cookout will have hotdogs, chips, and drinks, and
donations will go towards Parks & Recreation programs. We hope to
see you there!
September Tri-Town Democratic Meeting
Two
speakers will headline September’s meeting of the Tri-Town
Democrats. Mike Cryans, candidate for District 1 Executive
Council, and Anne Grassie, candidate for District 6 State Senator.
All local Democrats and Independents are invited to attend this
continuing series of meetings focusing on November’s mid-term
elections.
Mike
Cryans has been a teacher, banker, financial consultant, and
executive director of a non-profit that dealt with substance misuse.
He was a County Commissioner for 19 years. His issues of
concerns include the exodus of young people, the opioid crisis,
improvement to the infrastructure including roads and bridges and
internet access, and funding for tourism.
Anne
Grassie has 30 years working in child care, is a longtime school
board member, served 20 years in the NH House of Representatives and
spent 9 years on the NH Children’s Trust Board. She advocates
for access to affordable child care, quality education, and economic
opportunity.
The
guest speakers will be followed by actions items and community
organizing. These monthly meetings give you the opportunity to learn
about local and state political issues and how you can participate
in making a difference. You will share the evening with
like-minded individuals and have the chance to express your opinions
and experiences.
This
meeting of the Tri-Town Democrats will be held on Monday, September
10th at 6:30 pm at the Alton Senior Community Center, 7 Pearson
Road, Alton. Come for socializing and potluck any time between
6:15 pm and 6:30 pm.
This
meeting is open to all residents of Alton, Barnstead, and Gilmanton
who consider themselves moderate, liberal, or progressive Democrats
or like-minded Independents. Potluck items to share are encouraged
but not required. For more information, email
[email protected] or
visit the “Barnstead, Gilmanton, and Alton Democrats” Facebook page.
This
communication does not infer an endorsement or favorability of any
kind to any Democratic candidates actively engaged in competitive
primary contests.
You Are
Invited!
Join us
this Sunday, September 9th, as we kick off a new year at the Center
Barnstead Christian Church with NEW programs for ALL ages! We
will meet at the church at 9:00 AM for the Morning Service where you
will hear about the new programs and times that will be starting the
following week, September 16th. Then we will head up to the
Barnstead Elementary School for a quick snack followed by some fun
games and time together. There will be a kickball game and a
scavenger hunt!!
After
games, lunch will be provided for everyone! This will be a day
of family fun, games, and food. You are invited to join us for
this FREE event. Bring your family and friends, too! If you
have been looking for a church to attend, come this Sunday and see
what we are all about.
For
more information, contact the church at 269-8831 or visit us online
at www.centerbarnsteadcc.org.
The Center Barnstead Christian Church is located on Route 126, next
to the Town Hall.
Central
VNA Offers Grief Arts Workshops and Grief Out Loud! Coffee House
In a
recent Central New Hampshire VNA & Hospice grief support group,
there were tears, laughter, silences, and storytelling – but perhaps
nothing moved our group more than when members brought their own
guitars and offered songs once shared with loved ones. Or in
halting voices, read the poems or letters they had written their
beloveds. Or even shared a list on pages of notebook paper,
each line a few words naming places travelled to together.
Somehow
music, writing, and art can help us reach parts of ourselves that we
may not reach as readily in any other way. And when we truly
see and hear each other, there can be a different type of healing
and connection for which we have no words – but we can feel.
This
fall individuals and families of all ages are invited to tap into
this beautiful creative energy through a series of workshops called
“Arts Music, Nature, and Hope” guided by local artists and a new
“Grief Out Loud! Coffee House” offering an open mic for music,
poetry, stories and more.
Two
Laconia “Arts, Music, Nature, and Hope” workshops will be offered on
Saturdays, September 8 and October 13 from 9:00-11:00am.
Two
Wolfeboro “Arts, Music, Nature, and Hope” workshops will be offered
on Saturdays, September 29 and October 27 from 9:00-11:00am.
These
workshops have welcomed children as young as 5 and people “seasoned”
beyond 80 and are free and open to the public. Activities vary
and are guided by local artists. Past activities have included
scrap-booking, painting ornaments, jewelry-making, writing, pottery,
harp, fly-tying, and more. Take home what you create.
Youth under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Save
the date for the first “Grief Out Loud! Coffee House” which will
take place in Moultonboro on Friday, October 19 from 6:00–8:00p.
All are invited. No experience necessary. Read a loved
one’s favorite children’s book or poem. Play a song.
Tell a loved one’s favorite joke or a story. Or simply come to
listen, support and be inspired by neighbors connected through our
shared loss of a loved one.
For
more details, locations, to register for any of these events, or to
learn more about other forms of bereavement support offered by
Central New Hampshire VNA & Hospice, please call Dan Kusch,
Bereavement Care Coordinator 524-8444 or
[email protected].
Oscar
Foss Memorial Library News
Summer
Reading Finale & Block Party!
We had
a great summer with our “Libraries Rock!” summer reading program at
Oscar Foss Memorial Library this year. The program started with an
exciting kick-off event at the Barnstead Elementary School with
Magic By George! Our weekly Summertime Songs & Stories and Arts &
Crafts programs were well attended and enjoyed by all. Children of
all ages had a great time listening to stories, participating in
lots of music & movement activities, and making various musical
instruments. To end our program this year we had a huge end of
summer block party! Everyone enjoyed the many activities offered,
including contra dancing and our annual book sale. Participants who
completed the reading program received their awards and surprises.
Any participants who were unable to attend our ending program can
stop by the library to pick up ending packets by September 30th.
Congratulations to all for enjoying reading this summer!
The
library would like to thank all of our generous sponsors for helping
to make our 2018 Summer Reading Program such a success. The Jack &
Dorothy Bryne Foundation, CHILIS, Cogswell Benevolent Trust, the NH
State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the
Institute of Museum & Library Services, and the NH State Library for
the KBA grant that assisted with our kick-off event at the Barnstead
Elementary School. The Fischer Cats, Gunstock, Rye Airfield,
Funspot, Red River Theater, The Piesmith, Bead-It, and Atomic Femme
for all of our wonderful raffle prizes. We would also like to thank
Sissy’s Sweets and Ice Cream for donating free ice cream cones for
all our ending packets. Thank you everyone for a wonderful summer,
keep reading and we’ll see you at the library!
Please
call the library (269-3900) or visit our website (oscarfoss.org)
for more information about our programs or events. There is always
something happening at the Oscar Foss Memorial Library! Library
hours are; Tuesday and Wednesday: 10am-6pm, Thursday and Friday:
12pm-8pm, Saturday: 10am-1pm, Sunday and Monday: closed.
Letter
To The Editor
Remember the 2015 shock when Martin Shkreli (Turing
Pharmaceuticals), raised the price of an anti-parasitic drug from
$13.50 a pill to $750 a pill? Although that example was
extreme, skyrocketing US prescription drug prices are a crisis.
Consumer spending on drugs doubled between the 1990’s and 2017 while
drug company revenues also increased. The average annual cost
of a brand name prescription drug to treat a chronic health
condition was $1,800 in 2007, rising to over $5,800 in 2017, with
the 15.5% increase that year being the fourth double digit increase
in a row.
With
prescription drugs making up approximately 20% of total US health
costs, this concerns us all. In 2017 Americans favored transparency
in how drug prices are set (86%), allowing Medicare to negotiate
lower drug prices (82%) limiting the amount drug companies can
charge for high-cost drugs (78%), and allowing us to buy
prescription drugs from Canada (71%).
In New
Hampshire we have the same problem, with our residents spending over
$1 billion in prescription drugs in 2015. Recognizing the problem,
our legislators introduced 13 different bills in 2018 to address it,
but many of the bills in this hodge-podge were very narrow.
One
bill, HB 1418, was more comprehensive, providing for the
establishment of a commission to study greater transparency in
pharmaceutical costs. The commission was to propose “changes
to NH law” to “reduce the rising cost of pharmaceuticals”, with an
ongoing body to gather data and recommend action to control the
price increases.
Passed
in the NH House by a huge majority (312 to 17), it then passed in
the Senate on a voice vote before being signed into law by Governor
Sununu. I would have voted enthusiastically for HB 1418; Rep.
Howard (my opponent in the Belknap District 8 race, Alton, Gilmanton
and Barnstead), voted against it.
Ruth
Larson
Alton
Letter
To The Editor
Kathy
Preston has been my neighbor for many years. The best neighbor you
can ask for. Anytime we needed a hand, we would just have to ask.
She has worked tirelessly on town committees and boards. Kathy is an
amazing woman. An entrepreneur, a business woman, an innovator, a
woman of compassion and care, a promoter of the arts and a loving
mother and grandmother.
Her
projects like the Hampstead Players brought art, and the application
of art, into the classrooms for our children. One of the most
impressive aspects of our dear neighbor’s career is her belief in
the true concepts of freedom. She understands freedom better than
any of us. She was born and lived as a child in the Nazi-controlled
area of Europe. She saw her family die as victims of the Holocaust.
She was hunted. She knows what life is like when all your freedoms
are removed. I am a country boy, living in the country for most of
my eighty-four years, with the exception of three years Combat
Engineering during the Korean War. To me, country is freedom. To me,
Kathy is the freedom candidate of the Live Free or Die State.
Vote
for Kathy Preston, NH State Representative, Barnstead.
Peer
Kraft-Lund
Center
Barnstead
Obituaries
Leigh
H. Welcome
Leigh
H. Welcome, 93, with residences in Center Barnstead, NH and Apollo
Beach, Florida died at Concord Hospital on August 20th. He was
the son of the late William and Leila Welcome.
Leigh
is survived by his loving family; his wife of 70 years, Cora
(Barnard), a daughter, Carol Borg and her husband John, of
Farmington, NH, son-in-law, Allan Brown of Center Barnstead,
daughter-in-law, Teresa Brown of Chichester. Other members of
his family include a sister, Barbara Perry of Pembroke, grandsons,
Kenneth Carter of Bedford, NY, Owen Borg and his wife, Kelly of
Williamsburg, VA, Jaron Borg of Essex, VT, granddaughters, Kristin
Carter of Martinsburg, WV, Katie Bennette and her husband, Ross of
Chichester, Brittany Bullock and her husband, “Chip”, of Chichester,
and his great grandchildren, Isaac and Lexy Dolan, Addisen and
Alyssa Borg, Leigh and John Bennette and Colton Bullock. He also
leaves behind many nieces and nephews. He is pre-deceased by a
daughter, Gail Carter Brown and a son, Leigh Richard Welcome as well
as brothers William, Frederick and Victor Welcome and sisters Norma
Dudley and Harriette Hopkins.
Leigh
was a lifelong resident of Concord and attended Concord High School
until he joined the United States Navy. He served on the USS
Cofer during World War II with action in North Africa and the South
Pacific. Following his naval service, he was employed at John
Swenson Granite Co. for many years, retiring as plant
superintendent. After his retirement he sold and built log
homes and served as Lookout Watchman at Oak Hill Tower for the
NH Division of Forests and Lands.
In his
younger years he was an avid sportsman. He loved fishing and
hunting and snowmobiling. As years went by spending time with his
grandchildren and great grandchildren brought him great joy!
A
celebration of his life was held at a Suncook Lake in Barnstead on
August 25th. His interment will take place on a later date at
the Soucook Cemetery, Concord, NH.
His
family wishes to express gratitude for the wonderful care he
received from the nurses and staff of 5 North at the Concord
Hospital.
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