Jakob Bair of Epsom has
been named to the University of Vermont dean’s list for the Fall
2018 semester.
To be named to the dean’s
list, students must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better and
rank in the top 20 percent of their class in their respective
college or school.
Congratulations, Jakob!
“Crazy Rich Asians” is
the film chosen for Epsom Library’s Wednesday movie matinee on
January 23 at 1:30. Based on Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel,
this film follows New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she
accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding)
to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore and meets Nick’s family
for the first time. It soon becomes clear that the only thing
crazier than love is family. (From the container).
Entertainment Weekly says “Hilarious, Heartfelt, Historic” and the
New York Post says this “is the rom-com we all needed.”
Dean College is pleased
to announce that Erin Burns of Epsom has earned a place on the
Dean’s List for the Fall 2018 semester.
Congratulations, Erin!
Letter To The Editor
Full-day kindergarten is
becoming the norm, not only in this state, but across the country
and for good reasons.
Research shows full-day
kindergarten improves student achievement, prepares children
for first grade and impacts their over all wellbeing. Full-day
kindergarten also supports the needs of the most vulnerable and
at-risk children, resulting in lower grade retention and lower drop
out rates.
For these reasons, among
others, there is growing public support and pressure for towns to
implement full-day kindergarten. Epsom is only one of a handful of
towns in the state without full-day kindergarten.
The position that
half-day kindergarten is a means to save money is short-sighted and
improvident. Research shows an investment in quality early childhood
education has a 3 to 1 return.
Epsom will most likely
eventually implement full-day kindergarten, the question becomes how
many Epsom children will miss out on the benefits of full-day
kindergarten until then?
As parents, community
members, and leaders, it is our social responsibility to provide our
children with the best start in life, so they can become successful,
productive adults. Please support the best interest of Epsom
children by supporting Full-day Kindergarten.
Sarah Ahearn
Epsom Food Pantry
Good Day to one and all.
Well, things are moving along nicely at the Pantry.
Before I go any further,
I want to advise any Federal workers in our town that are affected
by the shutdown and not receiving their pay to know we will gladly
give you a helping hand and that goes for residents who are
enrolled in Federal help programs, such as ones that provide
formula. Let us know and we will help.
I want to thank all the
people who, over the holidays, shared both food and money with us.
From the motorcycle boys, the churches, and the Davis family, thank
you so much.
If you know of any folks
who need help and are shy about coming, let me know. We are
well stocked and ready to be of service to all in the town of
Epsom.
For those who come to the
Pantry, they know the wonderful people who man it. They are
the best. Until next time. Be safe and drive carefully.
Priscilla
Letter To The Editor
I would like to introduce
myself as a candidate running for the position of Road Agent. My
name is Scott Elliott, my family roots go back six generations in
the town of Epsom and have always cared deeply for their home town.
My feelings are the same and that is why I would like to work for
the residents of this town, maintaining and keeping our roads safe.
I am a very frugal person
and with our taxes on the rise, I feel I have the experience to
maintain our roads in an efficient manner without compromising
quality and safety of work. My work experience includes 30
plus years in the area of building and maintaining roads, I
previously worked five years for the highway department in Epsom. In
that time I gained extensive knowledge of our road system and
highway department.
I welcome any questions
or comments. I will be sponsoring a Q&A session at the Epsom Town
Library on Friday, January 18th at 7:00p.m. I would like to hear
your concerns about our town roads. Maybe you would just like to
meet me. [email protected]
Thank you,
Scott Elliott
Epsom
Letter
To my constituents in
Allenstown, Epsom, and Pittsfield,
This week, my committee
started public hearings on 2019 bills. HB 221, renaming Columbus Day
as Indigenous People’s Day, had a 2-hour long hearing with a lot of
people explaining what a bad person Columbus had been, that he never
actually visited the USA and how he didn’t deserve celebration. We
also heard from a number of Native Americans, including the leader
of the Penacook Abenakis; he explained how his ancestors had lived
here and deserved more recognition than they get. Then there were
some Italian-Americans who were insistent that their contributions
deserved recognition... Without defending Columbus as a person, I
believe that he was instrumental in starting the interchange between
hemispheres that made our country and shaped the world we live in.
That’s what deserves recognition and celebration.
I presented my HB 116, on
job classifications for the retirement system; it’s to address the
recurring problem of new positions in the department of corrections
that are classified as Group I even though they meet the standards
for Group II. Since it was our first bill on the retirement system,
and also on the state’s personnel system, the questions took a lot
longer than the testimony. There were a number of good questions,
and I’m working on rewriting the bill to be clearer and more
specific to the problem.
HB 110, requiring the
state to reimburse the retirement system for the cost of analyzing
legislation, was another recycled bill. While the sponsor is correct
that it is a drain on the retirement system, the amounts are minimal
compared to the problems that could be caused by a change adopted
without proper analysis..
Interested people can
email me for my newsletter, with more information than can fit in
The Sun.
Representative Carol
McGuire
[email protected]
782-4918
Letter To The Editor
Upon reading the comments
of Mr. Bennett’s recent letter to the editor (January 2nd) I was
shocked and dismayed that this opinion of kindergarten exists.
I am sure he is not alone in his opinion, but factually speaking,
kindergarten has drastically changed from Mr. Bennett’s experience.
To refer to kindergarten as “finger painting, crayon drawing, and
storytelling amounts to nothing more than a babysitting service for
young families,” is an insult to the teachers and students.
The state of NH has
implemented 21 English/Language Arts standards and 9 mathematical
standards for kindergarten, in order to be ready for first grade. I
reached out and spoke to kindergarten teachers and one response
summed up what today’s kindergarten actually looks like: “In
Kindergarten, children playfully create stories, castles, and
paintings with one another, develop and refine their abilities to
think creatively, and work collaboratively to solve problems. These
are precisely the abilities that are most needed to achieve success
and satisfaction in the 21st century.”
In Epsom we ask our
kindergarten teachers to do this in 2.5 hours a day, while the 92%
of the state school districts that currently offer full day
kindergarten do this about 6 hours a day. This equates to
approximately 435 additional hours of instruction over a school
year. It’s time Epsom gives our students a level playing field
based on facts rather than opinions. I hope that on March 12th Epsom
residents vote to approve Full Day Kindergarten in order to allow
our students the benefit to learn for an entire day from our
outstanding kindergarten teachers.
Graeme Crowther
Suncook Valley Trails Visioning Session on Wednesday,
January 16, 2019
Please join us at the
Epsom Public Library at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, January 16 to begin
discussions about the opportunities surrounding a new,
multi-community Suncook Valley Trails Plan for Pembroke, Allenstown,
Epsom, Chichester and Pittsfield to be developed and coordinated by
the Central NH Regional Planning Commission in spring 2019. The
purpose of this Plan is to tie together the history and culture of
the Suncook area to potential economic development and recreational
opportunities as expressed by local Master Plans. The Suncook Valley
Trails Plan is anticipated to evaluate existing trails and trail
usage along and connecting to the former Suncook Valley Railroad
alignment and to identify potential new trail projects within the
communities.
This initial Visioning
Session seeks to engage interested community members to begin
sharing local Suncook Valley trails information, ascertain interest
in the formation of local Trails Committees and one or more regional
Suncook Valley Trails Committees, and identify knowledgeable trails
groups who should be invited to future meetings.
For more information,
please contact Stephanie Alexander, Central NH Regional Planning
Commission, at 226-6020.
|
