REMINDER
The Pittsfield High School Class Of 1966 50th Class Reunion
will be held in the Pittsfield Congregational Church vestry on July
23rd from 3-6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. If you can
attend call Pete Riel at 603-269-8861.
HELP NEEDED
for Pittsfield Old Home Day
Since our theme for Old Home Day is an Olympic one, “Pittsfield Goes
for the Gold”, we would like to organize a TORCH RUN. We need
runners! If anyone is interested in participating in this
event on Sat, July 23, we would like to hear from you. Details
are still being worked out. Please contact ANDI RIEL at
435-6346 or [email protected]
to sign up.
Swim Lesson
Sign-ups
Night lessons
July 11- July 22
Daytime Lessons
August 1- 12
Sign up daily in the
concession stand.
Congratulations to Colby Clark, of
Pittsfield, who has been named to the Spring 2016 Dean’s List at
American International College. Dean’s List students are full-time
students with a grade point average between 3.3 and 4.0.
Pittsfield Old
Home Day - Sat, July 23
Dustin Park and Main
Street
It will be here soon... mark your calendars. The Old Home Day
celebration will start on Friday night, July 22 with an outdoor
movie (The Wizard of Oz) sponsored by the Suncook Valley Rotary Club
at 8:30pm at Drake Field. Movie is free - bring your own
chairs and blankets. Refreshments will be available for
purchase. Please note Main Street will be closed on Sat, July
23 from 8am - 2:30pm.
Start your day with breakfast at Park St. Baptist Church from 7-10am
and then move over to St Stephen’s Church for their Silent Auction
and more great food. The Community Fair will start at 9am in
Dustin Park - there will be kids games and crafts, face painter,
crafters, community organization booths and music. A ribbon
cutting ceremony to “reopen” the renovated BANDSTAND will be held at
9am. Be sure to check out the Pittsfield Historical Society -
opens at 9:30am. Jujubee the Clown, balloon artist will be on
site at 10:30.
Back by popular demand, the CAR SHOW will take place on Main Street
(on Saturday, July 23) from 9-12. No entry fee and the first
60 cars will receive a $5 coupon- good for food purchases at
Jitters, Park St. Baptist Church and St Stephen’s Church.
Bring your car and show it off.
Whoopie Pie Cookoff - sponsored by the Victory Workers 4-H Club -
there is still time to sign up to enter your best batch of whoopie
pies. Bring them to Dustin Park by 9:30am and drop them off at
the 4-H booth. The public will taste and vote for their
favorite and CASH prizes ($75, $50, 25) for the top 3 winners.
Call Andi Riel at 435-6346 to register.
KIDS OLYMPICS - come at 10am and compete in the pie eating
contest, water balloon toss, sack race, hurdles and some other fun
events!!
The FANCY FOOTWORK JUMP ROPE TEAM from Weare, NH will make an
appearance at 11am and show us their jump rope tricks and talent.
They may even let people take a chance jump roping!
....and....UNITED MARTIAL ARTS ACADEMY will be on site with a
Karate Demo.
Attention KIDS - get your bikes, wagons, scooters ready for your
very own KIDS BIKE Parade at 12:15pm on Main Street. Decorate
your bike anyway you want and join the fun. Our own Sgt Walter
will lead the way on the Segway!
The BIG Parade will step off at 1pm sharp. The theme of the
parade is an Olympic one, “Pittsfield Goes For the Gold”. The
possibilities for a float are endless - there’s the Olympic rings;
pick a favorite Olympic sport or athlete to spotlight, parade of
flags, the Olympics are in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Cheer for USA -
Let your imagination run wild and Call Louie Houle at 435-6938 to
enter your float.
After the parade, the F.B. Argue Recreation Area (aka Town Pool)
will be open for swimming and there will be a cookout (burgers and
dogs available for purchase). At Drake Field, the DUCK RACE
will happen around 2:30pm - be sure to purchase a duck ($5/each or 3
for $10) by contacting Jay Darrah at 435-6701 or see any Boys
Basketball team member.
NEW this year - GUNS & HOSES (Police vs Fire) Softball Game at 3pm
at Drake Field. Free admission and concession stand will be
available. Fireworks will end the day at Drake Field at Dusk -
around 9:15pm.
For more information or if you have questions, or if you would like
to help out that day, please contact Louie Houle at 435-6938 or Andi
Riel at 435-6346 or [email protected].
We are always looking for suggestions for themes for next year...
let us know your thoughts!
You may not know her by name but you may have a relative, a friend
or a co-worker tell you about the nurse with the cap at Concord
Hospital. You might have had the pleasure of having her take
care of you. Her name is Paullette Chagnon of Pittsfield, NH.
She was surprised by her co-workers last month in a celebration of
her 40 years of employment and then recognized at the Annual Concord
Hospital Employee Recognition Banquet. She began her career as
a nurse’s aide in 1975 while in her Junior year at the then Concord
Hospital School of Nursing. Since her graduation in 1977, she
has worked as a registered nurse on the same unit and yes, she has
worn her cap the entire time. Paullette is a caregiver at
heart and being at the bedside caring for and comforting patients
and their families is her greatest accomplishment.
Congratulations Paullette!
The U10 and
U12 Suncook Valley All star teams won their district tournament and
moved on to the state tournament.
U10 Coached by Stephen Beaulieu; Mike Goyette; and Ed
Cassacio
U12 Coached by Chip Wagner; Gary Bedell, and John Daniels
VA Conducts Nation’s Largest Analysis of Veteran Suicide
Submitted Via Merrill Vaughan
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) has undertaken the most comprehensive analysis of Veteran
suicide rates in the U.S., examining over 55 million Veteran records
from 1979 to 2014 from every state in the nation. The effort extends
VA’s knowledge from the previous report issued in 2010, which
examined three million Veteran records from 20 states
were available. Based on the data from 2010, VA estimated the
number of Veteran deaths by suicide averaged 22 per day. The
current analysis indicates that in 2014, an average of 20 Veterans a
day died from suicide.
“One Veteran suicide is one too many, and
this collaborative effort provides both updated and comprehensive
data that allows us to make better informed decisions on how to
prevent this national tragedy,” said VA Under Secretary for Health,
Dr. David J. Shulkin. “We as a nation must focus on bringing the
number of Veteran suicides to zero.”
The final report will be publicly released later this month.
Key findings of the analysis will include:
65% of all Veterans who died from suicide
in 2014 were 50 years of age or older.
Veterans accounted for 18% of all deaths
from suicide among U.S. adults. This is a decrease from 22% in 2010.
Since 2001, U.S. adult civilian suicides increased 23%, while
Veteran suicides increased 32% in the same time period. After
controlling for age and gender, this makes the risk of suicide 21%
greater for Veterans.
Since 2001, the rate of suicide among US
Veterans who use VA services increased by 8.8%, while the rate of
suicide among Veterans who do not use VA services increased by
38.6%.
In the same time period, the rate of
suicide among male Veterans who use VA services increased 11%, while
the rate of suicide increased 35% among male Veterans who do not use
VA services.
In the same time period, the rate of
suicide among female Veterans who use VA services increased 4.6%,
while the rate of suicide increased 98% among female Veterans who do
not use VA services.
Please also see our Suicide Prevention Fact Sheet at the following
link:
http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/......
VA is aggressively undertaking a number of
new measures to prevent suicide, including:
Ensuring same-day access for Veterans with urgent mental health
needs at over 1,000 points of care by the end of calendar year 2016.
In fiscal year 2015, more than 1.6 million Veterans received mental
health treatment from VA, including at over 150 medical centers, 820
community-based outpatient clinics and 300 Vet Centers that
provide readjustment counseling. Veterans also enter VA health
care through the Veterans Crisis Line, VA staff on college and
university campuses, or other outreach points.
Using predictive modeling to determine
which Veterans may be at highest risk of suicide, so providers can
intervene early. Veterans in the top 0.1% of risk, who have a
43-fold increased risk of death from suicide within a month, can be
identified before clinical signs of suicide are evident in order to
save lives before a crisis occurs.
Expanding telemental health care by
establishing four new regional telemental health hubs across the VA
healthcare system.
Hiring over 60 new crisis intervention
responders for the Veterans Crisis Line. Each responder receives
intensive training on a wide variety of topics in crisis
intervention, substance use disorders, screening, brief
intervention, and referral to treatment.
Building new collaborations between
Veteran programs in VA and those working in community settings, such
as Give an Hour, Psych Armor Institute, University of Michigan’s
Peer Advisors for Veterans Education Program (PAVE), and the Cohen
Veterans Network.
Creating stronger inter-agency (e.g.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health) and new
public-private partnerships (e.g., Johnson & Johnson Healthcare
System, Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, Walgreen’s, and many more)
focused on preventing suicide among Veterans.
Many of these efforts were catalyzed by
VA’s February 2016 Preventing Veteran Suicide—A Call to Action
summit, which focused on improving mental health care access for
Veterans across the nation and increasing resources for the VA
Suicide Prevention Program.
Suicide is an issue that affects all Americans. Recent Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data reported in April 2016
that from 1999 through 2014 (the most recent year with data
available from CDC), suicide rates increased 24 % in the general
population for both males and females.
VA has implemented comprehensive, broad ranging suicide prevention
initiatives, including a toll-free Veterans Crisis Line, placement
of Suicide Prevention Coordinators at all VA Medical Centers and
large outpatient facilities, and improvements in case management and
tracking. Immediate help is available at
www.VeteransCrisisLine.net or
by calling the Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 (press 1) or texting
838255.
For guidance on safe ways to communicate, please visit
www.ReportingOnSuicide.Org
Letter
The Pittsfield Economic Development
Committee And Board Of Selectmen Would
Like Your Feedback!
At the July 5th Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting the Economic
Development Committee (EDC) recommended to members that the
following goals and objectives be adopted as a community mission
statement, to be used as a general guideline when considering
future enhancement projects to Pittsfield.
1. Tax Rate Stabilization
2. Economic Development
3. Town Image
4. Neighborhood Stabilization
5. In Accordance with the Master Plan,
Town Codes & Regulations After much discussion, it was agreed that
the mission statement be adjusted to state:
Each Project Will Be Weighed on Its Own
Merit in Accordance with the Master Plan, Town Codes & Regulations
The EDC and BOS wants your feedback. If you would like to add your
voice to the discussion please attend this gathering on July 19th,
7pm at the Town Hall.
Thank You,
Ted Mitchell, Chairman
Economic Development Committee
Wild Edibles With Naturalist Russ Cohen
Join published, local wild foods
enthusiast, Russ Cohen, for an educational walk in the woods along
the shore of Wild Goose Pond to learn about and identify wild,
edible plants! The workshop will begin with an introduction that
covers guidelines for safe and environmentally-responsible foraging.
The walk takes place at Graylag Cabins, a beautiful property where
50-70 native medicinal and edible plants flourish! Pending favorable
weather conditions, several species of edible mushrooms may be
encountered as well.
The walk will be held on July 24th 2016,
from 1-4pm at Graylag Cabins, 320 Clough Rd, Pittsfield, NH, 03263.
Statement By Secretary Of Veterans Affairs
Robert A. McDonald On The Commission On Care Report
Submitted Via
Merrill Vaughan
WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Robert A. McDonald released the following statement on the
Commission on Care final report.
The report is available here.
“On behalf of the Nation’s 22 million
Veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs, I thank the members
of the Commission on Care for their hard work over the past year.
The Commission has produced a wide-ranging set of recommendations on
reforming the Veterans Health Administration, and VA looks forward
to reviewing and considering these recommendations as we ensure that
we remain true to our mission to serve and honor the men and women
who are America’s Veterans.
“While we will examine the report closely
over the coming weeks and respond in a more detailed fashion, I am
pleased to see that many of their recommendations are in line with
our MyVA efforts to transform the VA into a Veteran-centric
organization. Necessary transformational progress has been under way
for the past two years, increasing access to health care and
improving the Veteran experience of VA. This past March, VA set a
new record for completed appointments: 5.3 million inside VA,
730,000 more than in March 2014. We also issued twice as many
authorizations for care in the community than in March 2014.
Clinical workload is up 11 percent in the past two years. Nearly 97
percent of appointments are now completed within 30 days of the
Veteran’s preferred date; 22 percent are same-day appointments;
average wait times are five days for primary care, six days for
specialty care, and two days for mental health care. Nearly 90
percent of Veterans surveyed say they are “satisfied or completely
satisfied” with the timeliness of their appointments.
“However, until all Veterans say they are
satisfied, I won’t be satisfied. Nobody at VA will be satisfied. But
our progress so far proves that VA’s current leadership, direction,
and momentum can produce the necessary transformation, as VA has
already demonstrated in reducing the backlog of disability
compensation claims by 90 percent since 2013.
“We know we can’t complete the job without
help from our partners. For that reason, I look forward to
continuing to work with Congress, Veteran advocates, and Veterans
themselves to identify further ways to improve VA.
“There are some things that can be done
right now to help us continue our progress. Congress must act on our
proposals to consolidate our Community Care programs, modernize and
reform the claims appeals process, and pass the bi-partisan Veterans
First Act. The window of opportunity is closing fast, but if
Congress acts before leaving town this month, 2016 will be the year
the nation turned the corner for Veterans.
“In the meantime, as we review the
recommendations of the Commission, we will continue to look for
other ways to build on the progress we’ve made to date and ensure we
are doing everything possible to faithfully serve those who have
served this country.”
Pittsfield’s Old Home Day Bike Parade
Pittsfield’s Old Home Day Bike Parade is scheduled for Saturday,
July 23 at 12:15. All kids are encouraged to take part
in the parade. In honor of this year’s summer Olympics, this
year’s Old Home Day Theme is “Pittsfield Goes for Gold”.
Simply deck out your bike, trike or wagon with an Olympic theme and
join us on Main Street in front of Dustin’s Park. There’s no
cost to enter and you may just end up taking home a prize!
Hope to see you there!!
Josiah Carpenter Library Monthly News ~
July 2016
New Art Exhibit: “Photos by Nina” featuring a variety of
interesting photos by local Ash Street group member Nina M Rados
Josiah Teen Book Worms: Discussing “I am Princess “X” by Cherie
Priest on Thursday, July 7th between 7-8:30 pm at the library SRP
Preschool- 1st grade 10:00- 11:30 am July 7th – Fueling your engine
– PES July 14 – Science & Math of Sports- Dustin Park July 21-
Olympic Games- Dustin Park July 28- Games around the World – Dustin
Park Aug 4- Extreme sports- Dustin Park SRP Parks & Recreation
2nd-6th grade 9:30-10:30 am July 20- Olympic Games July 27-Science
of Sports-balancing August 3- Games around the world
SRP- Pittsfield Youth Workshop 5th- 12th
grade 1-3 pm “Creating stories for the Web”
July 13, 20, 27, Aug 3, 10
July 19th 12:30 pm 1,2,3 Cook “The
Essential breakfast” cooking with quinoa at the Pittsfield Senior
Center ~ a lively presentation on how to cook with the latest
nutritional grain product; a complete protein without the
cholesterol, high fats or guilty conscience! Join us for this new
and fun filled adventure. Lunch is offered prior to the program for
$2.00.
Mini Technology tutorials offered on
Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment. The library has Windows 7
installed on all its public access computers!
Library Board of Trustees Meeting
-Wednesday, July 20th at 7 p.m. Closed session at 6:30 p.m.
Read Meet & Talk Join us for an exciting
book discussion on “Circling the Sun” by Paula McLain The book club
meets at the Pittsfield Senior Community Center Tuesday, July 26th
at 10:30. Stay for a leisurely lunch afterward.
St Stephen’s Silent Auction And Sidewalk
Café
St Stephen’s Silent Auction and Sidewalk Café is part
of Pittsfield’s Old Home Day festivities. Plan on lunch at our
outdoor café featuring pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs and lots of
yummy baked goods. We have an amazing collection of items this year
including antique furniture, jewelry, vintage toys, doll house
furniture, oil painting, quilts, home décor, pottery and so much
more. For example, we have a lovely Governor Winthrop mahogany
secretary desk, a Windsor chair and a wooden shoe rack taken
from a Massachusetts shoe factory over a century ago! There’s
something for everyone, so please stop in and place your bid either
Friday night, July 22, 4-7 PM or Saturday, July 23, 8-2:30.
Check out photos of silent auction items on our website
www.ststephenspittsfieldnh.org.
The Friday Night Kayak Group meet Friday July 1, 2016 with
over a dozen kayaks paddling on the Suncook River and Big River in
Center Barnstead. The group is open to everyone and meets at
different local kayaking sites every Friday at 6 PM during June,
July and August. The paddling trips last just over an hour and are
always in the Northwood to Barnstead area. Simply show up at this
week’s Friday night’s location. Visit our web site at huffnpuff.info
for information and location of the next trip and put yourself on
our email list. You can also call Paul Oman at 435 -7199 for more
information.
Selectman’s Overview
Submitted By Carl Anderson
7 /5/16 Meeting
Department heads gave their monthly
reports, nothing unexpected came up, which I’d say is a good thing.
Certainly appears all deparments are running smoothly.
The Fire Chief has four potential ‘per
diem’ employees that will help his efforts to keep overtime at a
minimum. Two new firefighter volunteers were approved by the BOS. We
strongly encourage anyone interested in volunteering for the Fire
Dept to contact Chief Pszonowsky.
The EDC came to us with a list of goals
and objectives they wanted formalized by the BOS. We suggested an
additional item for the list, and while the goals all seem
admirable, we feel the public should have an opportunity to express
their feelings as well. This will happen in a forum situation.
While at the meeting, the EDC outlined a
concept/project for town owned property on Main St. that they would
like to undertake using funds set aside years ago for this type of
endeavor. Additional funding would come from private individual(s)
and grants.
The proposal sounds like a worthy cause
with the potential for much good for Pittsfield. The BOS is,
however, looking for absolute assurance that project funding will
NOT be borne by the taxpayers. The EDC will confirm expected revenue
and present those assurances to us. We look forward to their getting
the project underway.
We closed on property at 11 Watson St.,
returning over $52,000 to the town coffer and getting the property
back on the tax roll. Speaking of taxes, this year’s lien of unpaid
taxes is DOWN over $131,000 from 2015, due in large part to strict
adherence to the tax deeding process by the Select Board,
Administration, and the Tax Collector.
Except in the most extreme hardships, we
feel the fairest for all taxpayers is to hold all taxpayers
accountable. This is not a particularly pleasant part of our jobs.
The result, however, speaks for itself.
Public statements were made by Gerard,
Carole and Carl with regards to misinformation and false accusations
being circulated relative to the revised Access Policy for the Town
Hall.
First, there has been restricted
admittance to the Selectman’s office (administration) since 2007
when that BOS made it an offense to enter without permission.
Second, it was not this Board that
installed the unwelcoming locked, bullet-proof door; it was in fact,
the previous Board that spent the considerable sum it took to buy
and install it. All we have done is dig out a clipboard and a pen so
that all traffic in and out of the Selectman’s Office can be
documented. This is extremely common practice throughout the private
sector, and whereas we are asking our employees for more output with
less staff, we must run the office more efficiently. It is also
critical that sensitive documents be kept secure.
Lastly, it was also the previous BOS that
approved the purchase of a surveillance system for the police
department that could accommodate the town hall as well. We are
simply putting that investment into actual use.
Most of all, the Board is NOT trying to
intimidate the public and we are confident that your experience at
the Town Hall will be an improvement over the past, despite the need
for these additions.
Suncook Valley Area Lions Club donation of $300.00 presented to Ruth
Strickhart of the Pittsfield Food Pantry by Lions President
Larry Williams and VP Ed Vien. If you would like to donate to the
food Pantry please contact Ruth.
Obituaries
Ralph W Brewster
Ralph W Brewster, 93, passed away on the
evening of June 28, 2016 at Exeter Hospital peacefully of natural
causes. Ralph Brewster was born in Pittsfield NH on August 23 1922,
the fourth son of Ralph and Ruthena Winifred (Cass) Brewster. Ralph
attended local schools and during his senior year of high school was
voted “Best Looking,” “Most Flirtatious,” and “Neatest.”
Ralph graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1940. In November
1949 he enlisted in the New Hampshire National Guard, becoming a
member of the 197th Coast Artillery, the first and oldest anti-air
craft unit in the United States Army. When the 197th was
called into Federal Service on September 16, 1940 he and his two
brothers Carroll and Paul were sent to Camp Hulen in Palacio Texas
for training. His specialty was a radar operator. He later qualified
as a 2nd class gunner.
While in route to the Philippine Islands
his ship, the Anthony Sawgraves, was torpedoed and he and all aboard
were forced to swim 500 yards before being rescued by a British
Freighter. Ralph was later discharged holding the rank of sergeant
at Fort Devens Massachusetts on July 29, 1945. During his term he
was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service
Medal and the Asiatic Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon.
After leaving the Service he attended and
graduated from the New Hampshire School of Accounting and Finance in
Manchester. He was elected treasurer of his class in the fall of
1945. Subsequently he had a number of occupations involving real
estate, sales and tax accounting and retail furniture sales.
On June 25, 1952 he married Joyce Herndon
of Barnstead. The couple had five children; John D., Michael A.,
Carol A., Clinton D., and Christine M.
Ralph had been very interested in politics
throughout his life. He was the town clerk 1948-51 and served as a
member of the town budget committee during 1957-59. In 1961 he was a
representative to the General Court and while there authored a bill
related to eminent domain. That year he was elected to the
Pittsfield School Board and served as its chairperson in 1962.
Ralph took up health studies and spent the
later years working with the political community to shape health
studies and services, consistently working to educate the general
public on health matters and even corresponded with the political
community, including presidents all the way from JFK to the GW Bush
era.
Ralph is survived by his children (listed
above) and his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Services were held at the Pittsfield
Congregational Church on Tuesday, July 12. Graveside services for
family and friends followed at the Floral Park Cemetery in
Pittsfield.
The Waters Funeral Home, David Pollard,
Directors, are assisting the family with arrangements.
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