Epsom Library News
Why is Sherlock Holmes so popular these days? Come to the Epsom
Public Library on Tuesday, October 14, at 7:00 p.m. to hear
Professor Ann McClellan of Plymouth College discuss “(Not So)
Elementary, My Dear Watson.”
The recent spate of Sherlock Holmes movies, television shows, and
literary adaptations indicate the Great Detective is alive and well
in the 21st Century. In fact, Sherlock Holmes, according to
Professor McClellan, is now a multi-million dollar industry.
Ann McClellan’s presentation will explore the origins of Arthur
Conan Doyle’s famous detective and track his incarnations in
literature, film, advertising, and modern media in order to crack
the case of the most popular detective.
This program is presented through a grant from the NH Humanities
Council.
Letter To The Editor
Raise Minimum Wage
If elected State Rep, I will vote “YES” to raise NH minimum wage to
$10.10 over next 3 years. My opponent, Carol McGuire, voted against
raising NH minimum wage. Further, she believes the minimum wage
should be eliminated entirely. Easy enough for her to say.
During the past month, I have made over 500 telephone calls to
Allenstown/Epsom/Pittsfield residents, asking for their votes. Re
raising minimum wage, one lady told me “flipping burgers was never
meant to be a career job...suppose to be supplemental income”.
During my “hay day”, middle class workers earned living wages
shoveling coal into steel smelters, cleaning airplanes and working
in highway construction. Skill levels/education were about the same
as for flipping burgers, running a cash register or carrying hod.
Back then, CEOs were paid 35 times the wage of average employee.
Today fast food CEOs are paid 1300 times the wage of a “burger
flipper”. But our fortunes are changing.
Recently on CNBC, Subway CEO Fred DeLuca said “I’m not concerned
about minimum wage hikes...I personally think that if I were in
charge of the government, I would index the minimum wage to
inflation so that everybody knows what they can count on...”.
Commit to vote. Vote Democrat.
Nancy Heath
(Nancy Heath is candidate for State Rep District 29)
Epsom Food Pantry
Well, Fall is upon us and we are getting ready for the Holidays as
well as keeping up with our everyday business. Before I go on let me
tell you a sweet story.
A little gal in our town had a birthday party and instead of gifts
she had her friends bring a food item for the pantry. I just wish I
knew who she was so I could thank her personally. Now on to
business. As I said last week we are going to need a count on the
Turkeys for Thanksgiving so if you will not be going to the Pantry
call 736-4024 and leave your name or call me at 219-3025 and I will
give your name to Ken or Liz.
Now, to my readers, if you could pick up some desert fixings for our
Thanksgiving baskets, that would be a big help. Items such as
pumpkin pie cans, pecans, apples, or extra cake mixes, nuts, oranges
are some ideas. You use your imagination.
Now it has been brought to my attention that some Epsom folks are
still using other Pantries for their extra help. Now people, please
remember we can see you by appointment, and perhaps put your mind at
ease as to how we operate. Discretion is always used and we are all
considered members both volunteers and the folks who need some extra
help.
Again, let me thank all you folks who brought us the wonderful fresh
veggies. They were such an asset to the Pantry. I had my lesson on
the hens. Eggs will soon be with us again. They just needed a
little R&R.
Until next time,
Priscilla
Letter
To my constituents in Allenstown, Epsom, and Pittsfield,
The state budget has gotten a lot of press lately, because the
midterm numbers are finally available. Actually, it’s just the
spending numbers that are now open; revenue is reported monthly, and
total revenue is within 1% of the plan. The governor complained that
business taxes are down, which is true, but other sources of revenue
are making up for them. New Hampshire is fortunate that its state
revenues are so diverse that a dip in one tax doesn’t necessarily
affect overall revenue: we have the interest & dividends tax, meals
& rooms, tobacco, liquor and others to pay for our government.
This budget spent every penny of the revenue available, plus almost
$30 million in surplus from the 2012/2013 budget. However, before
the legislature ended in June, we knew that Health & Human Services
(HHS) was overspending its budget: partly due to a legal settlement
on mental health, partly due to increased Medicaid caseloads (old
Medicaid, not the expansion, so the state pays half the expenses),
and other areas as well. Despite the hiring and travel freezes
imposed this summer, the state government spent $20M more than
budgeted in 2014, and much of this overspending will continue in the
next year. Since the total, two year budget has no surplus – and the
previous years’ surplus that should have gone into the rainy day
fund was spent instead – something has to give. The governor cannot
raise taxes by herself, and revenues are right on plan, so spending
must be cut. Where, I don’t know, and based on this year’s
experience, nobody outside the executive branch will know until the
end of the year.
Interested readers can email me for my newsletter, with more details
than fit here.
Representative Carol McGuire
[email protected]
782-4918
Valley Artisans Artists Of The Month
Valley Artisans is proud to have three New Hampshire Artisans in the
spotlight this month. Each has generously donated an item for a
drawing.
Joyce Lemay of Chichester has been involved with Valley Artisans
since its beginnings in April of 1981. Over the years her craft of
choice has changed. She has always done folk art ornaments and is
now sewing beautiful seasonal ornaments, wall hangings, table
runners and tea towels, seasonal ornaments, penny rug ornaments and
creating fabric gift tags, cards and bags. During the spring and
summer she sells field dug perennials from her many gardens.
Holly Baum is a fiber artist from Henniker who works with a wide
variety of fabrics, trims and embellishments to create both unique
and functional items. Over the years, her sewing has
focused on clothing, home décor and quilting. Most recently, her
focus has been on creating one-of-a-kind items for women. These
items include handbags, purses, jewelry cases, cosmetic bags, beaded
flower pins, ribbon lace scarves and eReader cases. This
month she has a seasonal selection of woven fabric baskets, unique
decorative pumpkins and festive table runners.
Donna Tracy, Dear Me Suds, from Deerfield makes a line of Gentle
Soaps using Aloe Vera, Olive Oil, Glycerin, Goat’s Milk, Hemp Seed
Oil, Honey, Shea Butter, Natural Herbs and essential oils and
fragrances. In addition, she makes Stress Relieving Dead Sea Bath
Salts, Herbal Tea Bags, hand and body lotions, dream pillows, lip
butters and massage oils. Donna loves making products that are all
natural like her Bug-OFF Spray, Laundry Sachets and recently she has
added decorative Beeswax Ornaments.
Their work is on display at Valley Artisans in Epsom, Wednesday
through Sunday from 10A to 6p. Please stop is and see all the new
Fall Creations and unique New Hampshire made gifts.
Letter To The Editor
Reading Mrs. Heath’s letter entitled “Accomplishments of Democratic
Governor/House Majority, you would think government was the best
thing since sliced bread.
Government, however, is nothing more nor less than the apparatus of
compulsion and coercion.
As George Washington put it, “Government is not reason, it is not
eloquence -it is force!”
The principal function of government today is to use force or
threats of force to take money from those to whom it belongs and
give it to those to whom it does not belong, in either direct
payments or subsidies of one kind or another.
No great “accomplishment” in that . . . even if some of the stolen
loot is spent the way Mrs. Heath touts in her letter.
After all, what is the difference in principal between forcing a man
to pick cotton for the benefit of a plantation owner and forcing a
man to work to provide someone else with a subsidy of some sort?
And if you resist being forced into slavery by the government and
try to protect what property is rightfully yours, i.e., your money .
. . be honest . . . what will the government do?
It will send you a few notices, threaten legal action in its Courts,
send men with guns to arrest you, try to put you in a cage somewhere
out of sight, and if you, the victim, dares threaten or use force in
return, government thugs will kill you. Period.
Think of that the next time some candidate running for office tries
to tell you how wonderful the government is.
Jack Kelleher
Epsom, NH
As for the alleged “services” provided by government with some the
stolen loot, few of the most ardent proponents of government, left
to their own devices, would not voluntarily pay for such services.
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