Afternoons or evenings…the choice is yours!  The Northwood/Nottingham Evening Book Discussion Group will meet at the Chesley Memorial Library on Tuesday, April 26th, at 7:00 p.m. to discuss “Broken For You” by Stephanie Kallos. 

The afternoon Book Discussion Group will meet at the Chesley Memorial Library on Thursday, May 5, at 2:00 p.m. to discuss “A Girl Named Zippy” by Haven Kimmel.  New members are welcome in both groups; call 942-5472 for more information.

Chesley Memorial Library News

Mystery Night Whodunnit?  Who killed Mr. Boddy?  Find out in this fun free mystery night at the Chesley Memorial Library.  Team up with your friends to be the first group to solve the mystery and win prizes. Then hang out and have some pizza!

• For ages 11+
• Thursday, April 20, 6:00 pm
Registration is not required, but is extremely helpful.  Register by calling the library at 942-5472 and speaking with Danielle.  You can also email her at [email protected] or

visit her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/chesleylib).

Going Green Gardening Program, Thursday, April 21, 2011, 6:00 pm.

It’s spring and time to Go Green at the Chesley Memorial Library!  The library is inviting teens (aged 11+) to participate in our Library Garden program.  This multi-part program will feature Master Gardener Margaret Walker and will include topics such as organic gardening, vermiculture, native plants and more. 

Throughout the program we will design, build, plant and harvest a library garden as we figure out the best methods for our location.  Teens can earn community service hours for Coe Brown by tending the garden over the summer months. 

Registration is strongly recommended.  Register by calling the library at 942-5472 and speaking with Danielle.  You can also email her at [email protected] or visit her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/chesleylib).

Sticks-n-Strings
Have you ever wanted to learn to knit? If you are a teen, aged 11 and up, this is your chance! The Chesley Memorial Library is offering a free knitting class for teens during April vacation week. Sticks-n-Strings will be held on Wednesday, April 27th from 6:00 to 7:45.

Needles and yarn will be provided for everyone who wants to learn to knit.  Do you crochet instead of knit?  Bring your materials and join us!  Yarn will be provided for those who crochet as well.  Plenty of assistance will be offered during the program as well as snacks.

Teen Book Club Dinner, Thursday, April 28 at 6:30 pm, ages 12+, Registration required.

You are what you eat. Cat smart, sassy, and funny—but thin, she’s not; until her class science project. That’s when she winds up doing an experiment—on herself. Before she knows it, Cat is living—and eating—like the hominids, our earliest human ancestors. True, no chips or TV is a bummer and no car is a pain, but healthy eating and walking everywhere does have its benefits.

Join the Teen Book Club for dinner as we discuss Fat Cat by Robin Brande.  Members are invited to come early (5:30pm) to help prepare our dinner based on Cat’s story.  Registration is required for this program, so call the library at 942-5472.

Aldo Leopold Day a Big Success!

 Attendees Steve and Brenna Roy reading from A Sand County Almanac.

On April 2, 2011, the Northwood Area Land Management Collaborative (NALMC), Bear-Paw Regional Greenways, Northwood Conservation Commission and the Friends of Northwood Meadows State Park hosted the first “Aldo Leopold Day” in New England. 

The event was held at Coe Brown Academy, and attracted over 100 residents of Northwood and surrounding communities.  The day was introduced by Carl Wallman of NALMC, and kicked off by Dr. Tom Lee, UNH Associate Professor of Forest Ecology who gave a fascinating presentation about Aldo Leopold’s work within the context of the American conservation movement.  Local volunteers including Steve Bailey, Harmony Anderson, Richard Moore, Becky Rule, and Steve and Brenna Roy shared readings from Leopold’s seminal work, A Sand County Almanac. 

We then enjoyed a bountiful and delicious potluck supper contributed by many event attendees, more readings from A Sand County Almanac, and a special Leopold cake donated by Hannaford Supermarket.

After dinner, the Aldo Leopold Foundation’s new movie Green Fire - Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic For Our Time about his life and work was debuted in its New England premiere.  Following the movie, Ellen Snyder introduced Karen Bennett of UNH Cooperative Extension who led an animated group discussion on how Leopold’s views on land ethics and conservation can help to sustain communities here in New Hampshire.

“The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.”  - Aldo Leopold.

If you missed this informative and entertaining event, Green Fire will be screened again at the Red River Theatre in Concord. For more information, contact Carl Wallman at 435-5209 or [email protected].

Many thanks to the Aldo Leopold Foundation http://www.aldoleopold.org and to all the volunteers who helped make this event possible.

Exciting Season For Northwood Lake

Jim Vaillancourt, President of the Northwood Lake Watershed Association, recently sent this letter to the membership.

“Hello Everyone:
I awoke this morning and looked down the lake.  The ice is gone overnight.  It had been disappearing, west to east over the past two weeks.  Last night when the sun went down, over half the lake was covered in ice.  This morning, the ice is down by the island and the Boy Scout Camp.  You can water ski in the middle of the lake.  So, if you are keeping track of such things, mark your calendar - ice out the night of April 11, 2011.

With ice out we begin our work on the lake.  Lake Host, water quality testing, Weed Watchers, treatments for the invasive milfoil and phragmites, diving to handpull milfoil, fundraising, and newsletters. 

If you are into landscaping at your special place at the water’s edge of Northwood Lake, we have a special program for you on Saturday, July 16.  Every day in August we will be drawing for our fund raising calendar.  If you, or your business, would like to donate an item for a day, contact Doug Chamberlin at [email protected] soon. The days are going quickly: from a helicopter ride over the lake to an oil change for your car to pampering yourself.

We are in the final negotiations to bring a special Loon Starry Night to the lake on a night in late July or August.  A lecture about the night sky will be held in the MIDDLE of the lake.

 
Membership forms will be in your mail box in early May.  Please join us this year, there is a lot going on here on the lake - ice out just starts the fun.

Jim Vaillancourt

PS: Two loons have returned so far.  The ducks, of all varieties, are stopping off for a rest on their journey north.”

More information?  Contact us at www.northwoodlake.com

Northwood Congregational Church Holy Week Activities

NCC invites all to join in the Holy week activities at the church.  Thursday, April 21st, is Maundy Thursday with Communion and Tenebrae service at 7 pm.  On Good Friday, April 22nd, the sanctuary will be open from 3-7 pm for prayer.  On Easter Sunday, April 24th, there will be a 7:00 am sunrise service, an 8:00 am breakfast, as well as the traditional 9:00 am service. 

The church is located on Route 4 just east of Coe Brown Northwood Academy.  All are welcome; please join us during this Holy week season.

Letter

SB2.  Senate Bill 2 is the bane of some and a wonderful thing to others, I’m one of the others. If you haven’t read “An Obituary for Town Meeting” by Rebecca Rule, you should.  She is a wonderfully fun read when she sticks to her forte.  I remember her once telling me that she was a social liberal but fiscally conservative.  My interpretation, support everybody on your money but leave mine alone.

Really though, SB2 gets rid of libraries, bridges, roads, schools, fighting for freedom, and won’t take care of the poor????? Good grief!  It is amazing when you think about it that the very same group that feel the U.S. Constitution is a living document that their liberal judges can change, at will without an amendment, are so deathly afraid of a law that allows more of you to participate in your future. Think on that. SB2 does not even get rid of Town Meeting but of course facts don’t get in their way.

I cannot change the minds of SB2 haters, nor can they change mine.   But It is the law now in Northwood and far more of us will have the opportunity to vote in the privacy of a booth on the direction of our town. Budgeting, for officials, is simply a matter of management, planning and presentation. The Selectmen understand this as does Mr. Lemire our Administrator and will have no problem. The Northwood School Board, however, will have a far harder time though.  Budgeting, as history shows, is not what they feel is an important part of their job.

Tim Jandebeur
Northwood

Northwood Recreation Update
Kids Fishing Derby – April 30th

Join the Northwood Recreation Department on Saturday, April 30th at Lake Shore Farm (located at 275 Jenness Pond Rd in Northwood) for a spring Fishing Derby.  Kids, bring your fishing pole, your bait, and your family. Then sit back and relax around the banks of Lake Shore Farm’s beautiful pond setting.  The derby will begin promptly at 8:00 am and continue until noon for children 16 years and younger. 

Prizes will be awarded in a variety of categories; including first fish caught and last fish caught.  Register when you arrive.  The cost is $7.00 per resident family and $9.00 per non-resident family.  Light concessions will be available for your convenience. 

Contact the Recreation Department at [email protected] or 942-5586 x209 for more information.

Letter

To all Northwood Residents:

The Northwood School Board has scheduled a Special School District Meeting to be held on Monday, May 9 at 7:00pm in the school library.  The purpose of this special meeting is to consider forming an SAU withdrawal committee.  

As most of you know, the Northwood School is currently part of SAU 44, a three-district SAU that also includes the towns of Strafford and Nottingham.  After careful consideration, the Northwood School Board feels that we should look at the feasibility of becoming a single district SAU.  The process begins with a special school district meeting (and a subsequent ballot vote) to form a withdrawal committee.

At the hearing on May 9, the Board will present its reasons for recommending the formation of this committee.  Citizens will have the opportunity to speak and ask questions.  Since Northwood is now an SB2 town, no vote will be taken on May 9.  The actual ballot vote on the issue will be held on Tuesday, June 7, at the Parish Center at St. Joseph’s Church.  The polls will be open from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm.  

If the town votes to form a withdrawal committee, this committee will research all aspects of withdrawal and will make a final recommendation to the town.  If the committee recommends withdrawal, the committee will then create a withdrawal plan that will be presented to the town and the state for approval.

We strongly encourage residents to come to the hearing on May 9.  The Board’s presentation will explain the financial, educational and administrative reasons that support the formation of an SAU withdrawal committee. 

Thank you.
The Northwood School Board