The
movie matinee at the Epsom Library on Wednesday, February 6 is
“First Man.” Ryan Gosling stars as astronaut Neil Armstrong
and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man
to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
Don’t
forget there are opportunities to play/learn the game of bridge on
Monday’s at 2:00 and chess on Saturday’s at 10:00.
Letter
To my
constituents in Allenstown, Epsom, and Pittsfield,
This
week, my committee held more public hearings – we won’t be in
session until January 31. HB 271, on requirements for use of a
licensed land surveyor, was a mixed up bill: it was intended to
protect people from trespassing and bad behavior from out of state
surveyors, but as written, simply forbade professional engineers
from doing some types of surveying. HB 463, on licensing pharmacist
assistants, was better thought out. Right now we have pharmacy
technicians (who require only a high school diploma) and registered
pharmacists, who need a master’s degree; HB 463 was an attempt to
create an intermediate level.
HB
470, on the state accepting cryptocurrencies, gave all of us a
chance to learn about blockchain and bitcoin, but it was really
about the state treasurer coming up with a way to accept them like
the state accepts credit cards. HB 567, on going to Atlantic time,
was a repeat of a bill I put in last year. Again, it was a learning
experience for the committee, but it seemed to be going well.
HB
497, on the state paying a part of retirement contributions for
teachers, police, and fire, had a full crowd of people explaining
the importance of property tax relief. My husband Dan, testifying
for a taxpayer group, came up with a simpler and more direct way to
provide it: cut the statewide education property tax and replace it
with general funds. This is faster and easier to understand, doesn’t
rely on towns and school districts to filter the funding down to
taxpayers, and doesn’t subsidize towns that have more or higher paid
employees, at the expense of thriftier ones. We’ll have to see how
it turns out.
Interested people can email me for my newsletter, with more
information than can fit in The Sun.
Representative Carol McGuire
[email protected]
782-4918
“Walking It Off”
Resolutions
By
Meggin Dail
I
waited until the end of January to make those resolutions we make
every year only to discard them a couple of weeks in. It sounds
counterproductive at first, but I figured if I gave January some
time to tell me what I needed in the new year, maybe I would be more
successful.
My
oldest son tells me resolutions are stupid and why do people put so
much emphasis on a new year anyway? That the calendar year is an
archaic method of distributing time and days. My first resolution is
not to listen to my eldest son’s advice so much.
I
like the calendar. I like fresh starts. I like that in the middle of
winter, there’s hope. I like when hope instead becomes success. I
recently was making plans with a friend of mine while I was out and
about on my cell phone. I told her that I would have to get back to
her as my “paper calendar” was at home and I would need to check
that first. She laughed. She’s 25. I’m 47. I’m pretty sure she
doesn’t even know that calendars are still printed and not just in
your phone. I like to cross off days. I like to see, at a glance,
how full or bare my calendar is. I like putting “I voted” stickers
on it or “snow day” or the temperature or sticky notes with
recurring events on it. Yes, I know I can do all this
electronically. But I like doing it this way, plus it gives me time
to think about making that date so that I don’t have to reschedule
or put too much in a week. My second resolution is not to let others
sway me into doing things differently if I like how I do it and it
works for me.
I
like to make resolutions. I like to make resolutions at which I can
succeed. For instance, one year I resolved to scratch the dog’s
belly more. Boom, done. Instead of saying, “I want to lose 10
pounds,” I say, “I want to eat healthier.” This way I don’t stress
over the scale, instead I have 12 less fries or I use hummus on my
sandwich instead of mayo. By the way, I always resolve to eat
healthier. Because with all kinds of new recipes, new information
and new foods you CAN always eat healthier. Couple that with
scratching the dog’s tummy and I’m burning calories right there. My
third resolution is to eat healthier.
It
seems like most New Year’s resolutions have to do with our bodies.
Whether it’s our weight, our calories, our habits, it seems we’re
always trying to improve our bodies. It makes sense because it’s the
house we live in year round. If this house needs improvements to
keep it safe, happy or healthy (those are the big ones for me), then
it should definitely be a priority. But sometimes one improvement
can lead to another problem. If you decide to lose 10 pounds this
year and by week three you’re off the diet or can’t afford the gym
or can’t make time for either, then that leads to stress. Stress is
not conducive to losing weight. So, I’m not a personal trainer, but
I am thinking instead to “be healthy.” That means listening to what
your body needs. Whether it needs to go outside more or to drink a
glass of water or to walk just a few more steps every day.
Sometimes it needs getting more rest or going to see a doctor to
give your fears a name or saying “no” more often. I picked up a
doo-dad that says, “I have decided to be happy because it is good
for my health.” I like that. So, my fourth resolution is to be
happy/healthy.
For
my final resolution (because I like to do things in fives, I don’t
know why, it’s just the way I am) I want to think about goals
because I feel that’s really what resolutions are; goals. I think
about what I have already accomplished, what I still want to
accomplish, but more importantly, who I want to be. I know who I
don’t want to be, so maybe it’s better to start there. I don’t want
to be stressed. I don’t want to feel like my to-do list is more
have-to’s than want-to’s. I don’t want to be in competition with
everyone else. A lot of my goals have to do with “more.” I want to
read more, cook at home more, be more active, do more of what makes
me happy. I want to be a better person. I want to make improvements,
to me, to my home, to the world around me; in my community, in my
family, and in my life. I want to experience more, to live in the
moment more, to appreciate all that I have and give back whatever I
can. Hmmm, how to wrap that up into one final resolution? Resolution
number five: I’m going to make good choices, for me, to benefit
others and my environment.
The
best part about resolutions, goals, and improvements is that they
can wait or they can start right away, because the thing is, even
though I love the first of the year and that brandy new calendar; I
also love that you can start over anytime. Today, tomorrow, right
now. I think the reason my son doesn’t like to make resolutions is
he’s too young yet and maybe doesn’t feel like he needs any
improvement, but I feel like no matter how awesome you already are,
and I’m sure you are, maybe there’s something missing, something
that can be changed or made even better because there’s always room
for improvement.
Letter To The Editor
My
name is Scott Elliott; I am running for the position of Road Agent
in the town of Epsom. I would like to touch on the
subject of winter road maintenance.
Our
roads are currently being treated with straight rock; rock mixed
with salt. Spreading rock on paved roads can cause an unsafe
situation because of reduced traction. Rocks can also cause
damage to a vehicle’s windshield, paint, and rocks can become stuck
in brake rotors. While plowing, these rocks are pushed onto lawns,
this can be a problem during the mowing season with rocks being
thrown from the lawn mower.
Besides the possible hazards of using rock on our roads, the expense
to the taxpayer is also a concern. The cost of rock is $16 per ton
while sand is $5 per ton. The winter season for 2017-2018, the
highway department bought 1,131.99 tons of rock at a cost of
$18,111.84.Sand would have cost us $5,659.95. That would be over a
$12,000.00 savings.
The
damage from using rock not only affects your vehicle, it also causes
damage to the town-owned equipment as well. In the past three
years, you, the taxpayer, paid $15,000 for repairs to the town
sander, the damage was a direct result of using rock.
The
University of NH offers Road Scholar T2 classes which I have
attended. These classes are designed to teach and give information
in the area of road maintenance. In the winter maintenance
class, rock is not recommended to be used on roads for the reasons
above. We currently use pickup trucks for road plowing. I will use
larger trucks with wing plows to plow and treat roads in a more
efficient, safer and fiscally responsible manner.
I
welcome any questions or comments.
[email protected]
Thank
you,
Scott
Elliott
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