The
First Baptist Church of Northwood wishes to invite the community to
join us in an evening of praising and singing hymns on March 25th at
6 pm. Special organ music by Michael Orsillo and Donald Ketzler will
also be presented. Come in, sit a spell, join us in song and praise
and have a great time. Light refreshments will be served following
the music.
Preschool Openings!
Now is
the time to think about enrolling your child in preschool! The
Center School in Northwood is accepting registrations for the
2012-2013 school year.
The
Center School is a parent cooperative preschool located next to the
Town Hall in Northwood, which provides a developmental program for
three, four, and five year olds of Northwood and surrounding towns.
There are openings in our two-day (T/Th) program and three-day
(M/W/F) morning programs. Call us soon and come for a visit! For
information, please call director Karen Andersen at the school at
942-7686.
Teen
Reads is back! This month the Teen Reads Book Club will be reading
"The Naming" by Alison Croggon for a discussion at the Chesley
Memorial Library on Thursday, March 29, from 5:30-6:30 pm. Multiple
copies are available at the library; call 942-5472 for more
information.
Holy
Week Services At Northwood Congregational Church
The
Northwood Congregational Church, located on Route 4 just east of Coe
Brown Academy, will be having the following services for Holy Week.
• April
1, Palm Sunday: 9 am service includes children’s processional of the
palms.
• April
5, Maundy Thursday: 7 pm service of Tenebrae and Communion, in the
old vestry downstairs.
• April
6, Good Friday Vigil: Between the hours of 3 pm and 7 pm there will
be an open sanctuary for your individual time of prayer and
reflection. A variety of resources and visuals will be available
throughout the sanctuary.
• April
8, Easter Sunday: 7 am Sunrise Service on the peninsula of Harvey
Lake. (The road down is off the parking lot behind the church.
Please wear comfortable shoes and bring a chair.); 8 am Breakfast; 9
am Family Service of Celebration.
Letter
SB2 – A
Success in Northwood?
I was an
early supporter of SB2 when introduced in Northwood several years
ago, but I did not vote for it last year when it finally passed.
However, given the sequence of events that transpired at the school
district’s deliberative session on February 9th and ending with the
voting on March 13th, I am now an ardent supporter of SB2.
Although
democracy may have been weakened at the deliberative session due to
a couple of misinformed persons, it came roaring back on election
day. The ballot box could not be overruled by any one individual.
All
indications are that SB2 was a huge success in Northwood. Proposed
increases of $2.24 on the tax rate ($1.93 by the school board or 86%
of the increase) were all defeated by voters at the polls. A
record-breaking 795 residents (29% of registered voters) turned out
to vote. Never before have so many residents spoken so loudly with
one voice, including parents, senior citizens and other civic-minded
citizens.
Again
this year when the tax rate is set by the Selectmen in October it
will either remain level or even decrease slightly from last year.
The decrease will be predicated primarily on the amount of
undesignated surplus funds the selectmen choose to use to ‘buy down’
the tax rate. This will then have happened for two consecutive
years. I don’t remember this happening before. Without SB2 this
would not have occurred. The special interests groups cannot
overrule the peoples’ interests.
SB2, in
my mind, has turned out to be a godsend for one of the poorest
communities in Rockingham County in terms of per capita income. I
didn’t wish for SB2, but now that it’s here – let’s embrace it. If
democracy is the end result, it should not be considered a bad
outcome.
Sincerely,
Jim
Hadley
Northwood
Letter
To The Editor
Thank
you. There have been very few times in my life that I wanted
something as much as I wanted three more years on the School Board.
Thank you very much. Most votes, I get it. It is time to put up or
shut up. I am going to work tirelessly to do just that.
Northwood has supported their school with almost unlimited funds for
years and we have not gotten a fair return on our investment. Change
is needed. I am up for the task.
For
those of you who get involved in media like Facebook, you know about
the confusion, hurt and anger out there. What the bleep happened? It
is simple. Last year the voters spanked the School Board, the School
Administration, and especially showed their displeasure in the SAU.
The message was not received.
This
year a 2x4 between the eyes was used. I shutter to think of the
consequences if the message is again ignored. We need to try
transparency, honesty, working with others, listening to the public,
anger management, and getting off our butts.
Thank
you for approving Article #6. It gives the School Board and the
support staff an opportunity to redo their contract. It is important
to do so. We will see if they got your message. If they did, I will
work very hard to convince you to support a new contract that is
fair to all sides.
Lastly,
I know many of you don’t get me. I hope, in the next few weeks, to
set up a meeting where anybody will be able to come and ask me
anything. No holds barred, except leave out my family. I can and
will take the heat. I’ll put myself in the line of fire happily.
Thank
you, thank you, thank you.
Tim
Jandebeur
Letter
Thank
you Northwood:
I would
like to thank the voters of Northwood for re-electing me to the
Board of Selectmen for a second term. It really is a cool job! I
look forward to working on the areas needing attention, while
continuing to improve how we support the residents in town. We are
blessed with terrific employees to help lead the way!
I am
disappointed the Town Budget did not pass. Certainly we can work
with the default budget, but I wonder about the cost of police
vehicle repairs. Will spending additional funds on repairs be a cost
effective solution to purchasing a new vehicle? We shall see.
Everyone involved will need to pay close attention to how we manage
those repairs.
I would
also like to thank Mr. Peterson for his participation in this year’s
race. Participation always creates additional ideas and stimulates
more interest. We can use help on many Town committees. His
experience would be a valuable asset to the Town of Northwood.
I
promise to work hard and listen to your thoughts and concerns. I
understand I was elected to represent you, and I look forward to the
privilege every day!
Thank
you.
Bob
Holden
Selectman
Letter
Town
Meeting
Most
northern New Englanders would probably agree with E.B. White that
"Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the
people are right more than half the time." It’s a kind of hope we
nurture.
That
faith in democracy may be what caused a super majority of Northwood
voters to pass SB2 last year. Now in its first year of operation,
SB2 seems to have been a triumph for direct democracy, expanding the
electorate enormously. In 2011, for example, 216 people voted on the
School District Budget. This year the number was 771. Participation
more than tripled.
Meanwhile, some 170 residents took part in this year’s School
District Deliberative Session, almost as many as were at last year’s
meeting. They exercised their right to discuss, deliberate, modify,
and vote on items to appear on the Town Warrant.
Citizens
then had more than a month to communicate with their neighbors about
the issues facing Northwood voters. This interval gave everyone the
time to consider each item carefully, to ask and answer important
questions, and to clear up any confusion. It also provided the
opportunity to exchange views unhurriedly with family, friends, and
neighbors.
People
previously unable to participate now could. The elderly in nursing
homes, college students, armed forces personnel, the homebound,
workers unable to take time off, and others were given a chance for
democratic expression they had been denied in the past. As a result,
the vote reflected the wishes of the townspeople more accurately
than it ever had before.
The
right to consider and debate the issues remained unchanged, and the
right to have a say in town government was, for the first time, not
limited by disability.
E.B.
White would likely suspect that New England town democracy is
thriving in Northwood.
Michael
Faiella
Letter
Hal has
my vote!
As the
election dust settles we still have one Budget Committee position
open, due to a recent resignation. Hal Kreider placed a close fifth
in a four position race. Until Election Day, Hal served on the
Budget Committee with distinction. He attended most every meeting
and offered refreshing insight on many of our financial discussions.
I
believe Hal would be an excellent choice to fill the vacant seat. I
am publicly asking the Budget Committee to give strong consideration
to electing Mr. Kreider, to round out this important board. If you
look at the recent election results, Hal is clearly the choice of
many voters.
Thank
you,
Bob
Holden
Northwood Election Results
794
ballots were cast in the first SB2 voting for town and school
district warrant articles; there are 2,745 registered voters in
Northwood.
In contested races for town positions incumbent Robert Holden
retained his position as selectman, challenged by Doug Peterson.
Incumbent Jim Wilson retained his position as road agent. Elected to
the budget committee for 3 years are: Bonnie Sears, Thomas Chase,
Dan McNally and James Ryan; for 2 years: James Hadley and Lois
Nichols. Incumbents Robert Strobel and Timothy Jandebeur were
endorsed by voters for their seats on the planning board. Margaret
Walker also retained her position as library trustee.
All of
the zoning amendments recommended by the Planning Board received
voter approval. The town operating budget did not pass and will go
to a default budget which is $44,612 less than the Budget
Committee’s recommended budget. 15 town warrant articles were
approved; 3 did not pass including: the purchase of a new police
cruiser, setting up an expendable trust fund for police special
duty, and adding funds to the Benefit Vested Time Expendable Trust
Fund.
On the school district ballot five people had filed for two open
seats on the school board. Tim Jandebeur was elected with 372 votes
and Scott Bulger with 303. Betsy Colburn was re-elected as treasurer
and Penny Hampl as school district clerk. Hal Kreider was elected to
the position of moderator for both town and school district, filling
the spot held by Robert Robertson, who chose to step down after
serving as moderator for many years.
Voters
were asked to approve 9 school district warrant articles and only
approved one: authorizing the governing body the option to call one
special meeting to address cost items for the Educational Support
Personnel Association. Articles defeated included the operating
budget which was amended at deliberative session from the budget
committee’s original recommended budget. The school district will
operate under the default budget for 2012-2013 school year. Also
rejected by voters were requests for increases in salaries and
benefits for support staff and teachers; the expansion from half day
to full day kindergarten; and a deficit appropriation for funds that
were overspent in the 2010-2011 school year.
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