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Suncook Valley Sun Historical Archive

(note: we are NOT affiliated with the Suncook Valley Sun Newspaper.

Pittsfield NH News

March 9, 2011

The Suncook Valley Sun News Archive is Maintained by Modern Concepts. We are NOT affliated in any way with the Suncook Valley Sun Newspaper.

Anyone interested in serving on either the Budget Committee or the Housing Standards Agency, please contact the Town Moderator, at 435-8022 or [email protected].

School Lunch Menus
March 14 - 18, 2011

PMHS
Monday - Cheeseburgers, veggies, rolls, fruit, milk.
Tuesday - Chicken nuggets, fries, veggies, fruit, milk.
Wednesday - BBQ pork on a roll, green beans, fruit, milk.
Thursday - Pizza, corn, fruit, milk.
Friday - Grilled cheese, tomato soup, veggies, fruit, milk.

PES
Monday - Baked Chicken, stuffing, veggie, fruit, milk.
Tuesday - Chicken patty on bun, salad, fruit, milk.
Wednesday - Spaghetti, mozzarella sticks, veggie, fruit, milk.
Thursday - Taco salad, lettuce, salsa, fruit, milk.
Friday - Pizza, veggie, fruit, milk.

The Lamb

Children ages 5-12 are invited to attend a five-week Sunday School video series that explains the Gospel message beginning with Creation and ending with Christ.

The Bible’s most important message  is understandable at a very young age.  In some ways, it’s like a puzzle.  If the pieces are fitted together properly, piece by piece, it makes sense.  The key is understanding each piece, and knowing where each piece fits.

• March 13, “God Made It All”                           
• March 20, “A Wrong Choice”
• March 27, “Who to Trust”
• April 3, “The Promised Savior”
• April 10, “Our Perfect Lamb”

Classes go from 9:00 - 9:45 am, at the Park Street Baptist Church, 11 Park St., Pittsfield -- 435-8036.            

 
**Parents are welcome to sit in on the program**

Plymouth State
University Reliability Of Balance Testing In Older Adults

Would you like to help Plymouth State University, and the medical community, establish the reliability of one of the instruments Matscan System® used to measure the balance of older adults?  If so, you can participate in the research at the Pittsfield Area Senior Center during the week of March 28, 2011.

You will be asked to perform a series of balance stances on Matscan System’s floor mat, including: two feet eyes open, two feet eyes closed, right foot eyes open, right foot eyes closed, left foot eyes open, and left foot eyes closed. The research sessions will last for approximately one hour on 3 different days within one week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). You must be able to come to all three testing dates in that week to be eligible for the research study. 

Eligibility is a follows: Age between 65-79 years old, live independently: This may be alone or with a spouse/partner/roommate, able to perform activities of daily living (walking, climbing stairs, cleaning, grocery shopping etc.) without any assistance, use no assistive devices (canes, crutches, walkers, etc.) to walk and must not have fallen in the last 3 months.

Plymouth State will be conducting evaluations at the senior center the week of March 28-April 1, 2011.  If you are interested in participating in the research, please contact Ryan Kempson at Plymouth State University (603) 535- 3345 or by email at [email protected].

This is a great opportunity to help reduce the risk of injuries to New Hampshire’s older adults, so call and sign up!

What I Have Learned At The Pittsfield
Budget Committee Work Sessions-----Part 6
By Carole Richardson

• The final payment for the Pittsfield Middle High School bond will be on January 2020.

• Pittsfield has 571 students pre-school through grade 12.

• The school district has 165 employees.

• The student/employee ratio is 3.46.

• There is a $200,000+ increase in health insurance and a $100,000+ increase in contributions to the NH Retirement System.

• $147,000 in federal funds will be provided by the Education Jobs Fund, which is part of the state’s Adequacy Grant.

• One PES teaching position and one of two school nurse positions will be eliminated, as well as reductions in spending for books, libraries, technology and equipment.

• Other programs that will be eliminated at the PMHS  are the summer school program, the Drake Field program and the middle and high school volleyball program.

• Entitlement and competitive grants provide more than $1,457,000 for tutoring and staff development, as well as this year’s portion of a 3-year $2,064,000 school improvement grant for PMHS.

• The school district is looking into privatizing the school lunch program.

• The state has 72 school districts, 12 of those districts are ranked persistently low performance schools-Pittsfield has that ranking and is ranked 5th from the bottom.

• Administrators stated this ranking will have no affect on the PMHS re-accreditation of the school.

• Pittsfield has 136 students with special needs, which is 24% of the population (the state average is 17%), 12 of these students are placed in private educational programs outside of the district at a cost of approximately $709,914.  The total cost of educating special needs students is $2,386,163.

• The current school district budget is $9,895,820 and the proposed school board budget is $9,844,450.    These figures do not include proposed warrant articles or funds that are received from federal, state and non-tax sources.

VA’s Caregiver Support Program Expanding
Submitted By Merrill A. Vaughan
Vice Commander American Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75
Pittsfield, NH 03263

The Department of Veterans (VA) is expanding support nationally to caregivers of Veterans with Alzheimer’s disease.

A pilot program of the REACH VA (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health in VA) program showed great success in reducing stress on caregivers while improving care outcomes for the Veterans.

“The REACH VA model exemplifies the many different kinds of support VA offers to the caregivers of Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “This program has been proven to provide the right resources, training and a renewed focus on personal health that can make a world of difference to those caregivers and their Veterans.”

“Caregivers step up every day to serve Veterans they love who sacrificed to defend our Nation,” Shinseki added.  “To them, caregiving is a labor of love and devotion, but that alone does not ease the burden and personal stress placed on those who provide daily care for the disabled.”

REACH VA involved 127 caregivers connected to 24 VA medical centers.  The median age for the caregiver was 72 and the majority of the participants were spouses.
Typical issues caregivers face when caring for Veterans with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia include memory problems, behavior problems and the need to provide basic attendance such as grooming assistance.

Caregivers typically reported feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, cut off from family and friends, lonely, prone to bouts of crying and having worse physical health than the year before.

For six months, the REACH VA caregivers were provided 12 individual in-home and telephone counseling sessions; five telephone support group sessions; a caregiver quick guide with 48 behavioral and stress topics; education on safety and  patient behavior management; and training for their individual health and well being. 

Caregivers saw their burden reduced; drops in depressive symptoms and their related daily impacts; fewer frustrations, including those that have clinical potential for abuse; and decreases in dementia-related behaviors from the Veterans they cared for.  Caregivers also reported they were able to spend fewer hours per day devoted to caregiving duties. 

“Dementia caregiving is such an all encompassing task,” said Dr. Linda Nichols from the VA medical center in Memphis, Tenn., and co-author of a recent study on the program.  “The intervention provided time for themselves, which caregivers never have enough of.  REACH VA improved our caregivers’ knowledge to manage care, made them feel more confident and competent as they formed bonds with the VA staff supporting them, and decreased the inevitable feelings of isolation and loneliness that come from a selfless, but very sacrificial duty of care.”

VA will roll out REACH VA on a national basis through home-based primary care programs across the country.  In addition, the program will be modified to assist caregivers of Veterans with other diagnoses like spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.

“Providing support to caregivers who sacrifice so much to allow Veterans to remain at home surrounded by loved ones is the right thing for VA to do,” said Dr. Robert Petzel, VA’s under secretary for health.

An article on the REACH VA program is being published in the Feb. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.  Nichols and Dr. Jennifer Martindale-Adams, also from VA’s Memphis facility, are the lead authors and based the VA pilot on the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute for Nursing Research funded REACH II study.  REACH VA is the first national clinical implementation of a proven behavioral intervention for stressed and burdened dementia caregivers.

Local caregiver support coordinators are available to assist Veterans of all eras and their caregivers in understanding and applying for VA’s many caregiver benefits.  VA also features a website, www.caregiver.va.gov, with general information on REACH VA and other caregiver support programs available through VA and the community.

Lie, Cheat, And Genuflect In Rehearsal By The Pittsfield Players

The Pittsfield Players are setting their sights on splitting our sides with laughter again with another hilarious comedy at The Scenic Theatre.

A full cast is currently rehearsing the outrageously funny “Lie, Cheat, and Genuflect.”  Directed by John Charron, this knee-slapper comedy was written by playwrights William Van Zandt and Jane Milmore, who wrote last year’s comedy at The Scenic, “Hotbed Hotel.”  This year’s offering holds the promise of a new set of zany, slapstick escapades. 

Two very challenging roles are those of the Buckle brothers, Tom and Billy (played by Joe Paredez and Robert DiGregorio, respectively) who are scheming to get some of their late grandfather’s wealth, whether or not they were provided for in his will. 

Making a meager attempt to keep everything legal is Mr. Fryburger (played by Mike Hobson), a skirt-chasing, alcohol-challenged attorney that probably should not be practicing law.  Watching over the Buckle household is Virginia, a ditzy, overly passionate man-hungry maid (played by Bea Pszonowsky) who cannot drain the wine cellar fast enough. 

Audiences will likely cringe at the comedic pratfalls aimed at the infant child and young mother, known as The Girl (played by Vicki Watson).  And an innocent appearing Jane (played by Kate Mara) steps into the Buckle brothers’ scheme and keeps us guessing up to the end. 

If this were all, it would be quite a tale.  But the authors also add a gun-toting mobster named Pizza Face (played by Mark Landry) and his bubble headed moll Miss MacKintosh (played by Elise Hinton) to add yet another dimension of comical escapades.  The laughs just do not stop until final curtain.

Shows will be April 8, 9, 15 and 16 at 8 pm, with a matinee on April 10 at 2 pm.  All shows will be at The Scenic Theatre, 6 Depot Street, Pittsfield, NH.

Trail Dedication

On February 13, 2011, the Suncook Valley Sno-Riders (SVSR) dedicated a portion of their trail system to Ken Piaseczny.  Prior to Ken’s sudden death on March 14, 2009, Ken was Vice President of the SVSR for four years.

The dedication was held at noon with family, friends and club members in attendance.  Those with snowmobiles rode to the dedication site and also used their sleds to shuttle others who arrived by vehicle.

Laura Foss, President of SVSR, opened the dedication by explaining how she became President and Ken the VP.  Ken loved the club and was always there to help out.  He helped with keeping the trails open prior to the snow season and building new bridges.  During trail rides Ken always brought up the rear to make sure everyone had a successful ride.

Dana Elliott spoke, reflecting on how he met Ken while in Pittsfield High School.  Ken, at that time, loved sports and was well received as a new student in his sophomore year.  Dana continued by reflecting on his recent vehicle  accident, where the only thing that remained intact was the spot where he sat and a picture of Ken that was on his dash.  Dana suffered bumps and bruises but the picture didn’t even have a scratch or a broken glass.  Dana felt Ken was there with him to keep him safe.

After Dana spoke, Laura asked if anyone else had anything to say.  I stepped forward, but I was overcome with emotions much like those I felt when Ken passed away almost two years ago.  What I wanted to say at that moment was that Ken couldn’t have been a better son and everything said about him was so true. 

He loved everyone and was noted for his warmth and big heart.  He loved the sports he played while at PHS and that love carried forth through his son Kenny and daughter Katie.  He loved Pittsfield, its people, and the SVSR and that love was returned today at this dedication.

Terry and I want to thank everyone for what transpired at the dedication.  We couldn’t be anymore proud than we are at this moment.

Ken’s Mom & Dad

Julie A Giera

Julie A. Giera, 52,  died February 21st, at  the Elliot Hospital, Manchester, surrounded by her family, following a long courageous battle with breast cancer. She was born in Marlborough, MA. the daughter of William and Margaret Baker. She was a graduate of Pittsfield High School, class of 1976.  Following graduation, she married her high school sweetheart , Peter Giera, who predeceased her.

Julie had a long and varied career working for companies including Chubb Life, Cheeseborough-Ponds and the Amoskeag Bank where she served as chief information officer. In 1998 she joined Giga Information Group as research director. Her expertise in business topics, outsourcing , licensing and contract negotiations were valued by clients including Fortune 500 companies and vendors like EDS, IBM and Microsoft.

When Giga was acquired by Forrester Research in 2003,She remained with the firm.” Julie really shined in service of the client” said Forrester founder and CEO George Colony. She was hardly all work and no play. She balanced her professional career with motherhood. She included her three children in her domestic and international business travel. She loved to decorate her home and work in her garden. She loved the outdoors and went white water rafting, and sky diving. She was an animal enthusiast and took long walks with her three dogs Coco, Bailey and Tucker.

Members of her family include her three children Ryan Giera of Derry , Megan Giera of Salem and Kevin Giera of Bow. Her parents, Bill and Peggy Baker of Pittsfield and a grandson Hunter Giera. Two sisters, Ann Baker and Susan Baker both of Pittsfield.  Several Aunts and Uncles. She was predeceased by a sister Kathleen Baker.

Donations may be made to The NH Food Bank, Dept.-F, PO Box 9510,Manchester, NH 03108-9510 or to Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue, PO Box 808, Hudson, MA 01749. The Manchester Animal Shelter, 490 Dunbarton Road, Manchester, NH 03102, Concord Merrimack County SPCA, 130 Washington St. Concord, NH 03303-1522, or to a local Animal Shelter or food bank. To sign an online guest book, log on to www.perkinsandpollard.com.