Susan C. Holden Conference Room Dedication

Last week family, friends and co-workers of Susan Holden gathered for the official dedication ceremony of the Susan C. Holden Conference Room at the Northwood Town Hall.  Last August, in a letter to the board of selectmen, town employees requested to formally dedicate the room in Susan’s name.  The conference room is located near the office where she worked as Northwood Human Services Director. The dedication ceremony, held the night before Susan’s birthday, included the revealing of a photograph of Susan and a framed narrative.  A light buffet was served following the dedication.  

The narrative inscription reads: 

Susan C. Holden was Northwood’s Human Services Director from 2010 to 2014.  After a courageous battle with cancer she was taken from this world on March 26, 2014.  

Susan was a vibrant, talented and compassionate person dedicated to her job and her clients.  She was always concerned with the less fortunate of Northwood, consistently working on their behalf to make their lives a bit better.

Susan was also a trusted and loyal friend to many, including the staff of the Northwood Town Hall, who asked that this room be dedicated in her honor.

The Board of Selectmen voted to dedicate and name this room in her honor on August 26, 2014

CBNA Welcomes Two New Inductees Into Its

Athletic Hall Of Fame

From left to right are CBNA Athletic Director Matt Skidds, inductee Kristal Kostiew ‘00, inductee CBNA Pep Band Director Bruce McCormick and CBNA Headmaster David Smith.

Coe-Brown Northwood Academy (CBNA) inducted two new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, December 20, at the annual CBNA Alumni Basketball Games. CBNA. The induction took place during halftime of the women’s game.

The 2014 inductees are Kristal Kostiew, Class of 2000 and CBNA Pep Band Director Bruce McCormick.

After graduating from CBNA in 2000, Kristal Kostiew went on to pursue a degree at the University of Vermont, where she began competing in hammer throw. While at Vermont she collected 14 America East Championships and was a four-time Vermont team MVP, as well as four-time America East Field Performer of the Year. In 2004 she was the America East Scholar Athlete of the Year and an Academic All American. Kristal was recently one of five new members inducted into her college alma mater’s 2014 Athletics Hall of Fame.

Kristal qualified for her first USA team in 2007 by finishing second at the USA Outdoor Championships. By winning a silver medal at the national championship, Kristal earned the right to represent the United States at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in July 2007, where she took fourth place.

Kristal said in a 2007 interview for Coe-Brown’s Visions magazine, “If anyone had told me when I was in high school that someday I would be one of the best athletes in my sport, I wouldn’t have believed it. I think that a lot of what I took from academics and athletics at Coe Brown was the drive for excellence no matter what the circumstances were.”

Kristal is currently the volleyball coach at Englewood High School in Colorado and she also teaches physical education to children in grades K-6 at Hay Elementary School.

Bruce McCormick came to Coe-Brown in 1995 when the Academy’s music program was in its infancy. A graduate of Lyndon State College with a BA in music education, Bruce McCormick had taught music at a high school in Vermont for 16 years. But, more importantly, he was a veteran musician, having played in a variety of bands over the years.

“My wife once said to me, ‘Teach what you know,’” says Bruce. He took that advice to heart and patterned Coe-Brown’s pep band after a full-time road band. One year after his arrival the pep band grew to 18 members and the Coe-Brown band began to develop a following.

“We consider ourselves part of the home-court advantage,” says Bruce. “We are proud to support Coe-Brown’s athletic program and feel fortunate to perform in a top-notch facility. Along with the athletes and the coaches, we are part of the package.”

In 2010 the New Hampshire Band Directors Association honored Bruce McCormick with its Outstanding Band Director Award.

Coe-Brown Northwood Academy (CBNA), founded in 1867, is a small co-educational public-private secondary school accepting students in grades 9-12 and offering the highest quality curriculum of studies. The academy campus is located on the shores of Harvey Lake in Northwood, New Hampshire. For more information visit www.coebrown.org. 

Letter To The Editor

Budget Business

The Northwood Budget Committee finished its review of the Town and School budgets in what some think was record time, and with little acrimony, polemics or – remarkably – disagreements.  All items passed unanimously or with lopsided majorities, with little question or second-guessing.  There was one exception – below.

Credit for this goes, in part, to those who prepared and presented the budgets.  Not only was the material presented in a complete and well-organized manner, both budgets demonstrated “fiscal restraint,” with only modest and necessary increases.  And both the Selectmen and the School Board opted to put some more costly items before the voters in the form of warrant articles, rather than put them in the main budgets and have those voted down.

The one area in the Town budget that provoked a more prolonged discussion was the Selectmen’s decision to level-fund the line item for road repairs.  As most of you have noticed, many of our town roads are in need of repair.  Not just maintenance, repair, if not rebuilding.  And as one road gets attention, others continue to deteriorate.  This “kick the can down the road” approach will ultimately cost us more in the long run.

In what was described as a “symbolic gesture” to call attention to this under-funded area, a motion was made and seconded to raise the amount by $25,000.  A small token - less than 1% - in a $3+ million budget.  This initially passed the Budget Committee 8-6, but then Selectman Holden noted that this would put the total increase over $100,000.  He argued that this represented a psychological threshold for the voters, who might then vote the whole budget down.  And the original figure was returned.

So if you want better roads, vote for the separate warrant article to raise this money. 

Tom Chase, member

Northwood Budget Committee