FALL SOCCER SIGN UPS!
Registration forms are available at
https://www.facebook.com/suncookvalleysoccer/ or at Bell
Brothers.
Form and payment must be mailed to:
SVSC 93 Winant Rd. Pittsfield or dropped
off at Bell Brothers by August 1st.
Victory
Workers booth at Old Home Day
At the Pittsfield Old Home Day on Saturday
July 23, 2016, the Victory Workers 4-H Club will be sponsoring the
Old Home Day Cook Off. The item for the Cook Off this year is
whoopie pies to represent the Olympic rings to go along with the
theme for Old Home Day “Pittsfield Goes for the Gold.” Pay $1 and
test-taste all of the entries, get a bottle of water, and cast your
vote for whichever entry you think is the best whoopie pie in the
area. The Cook Off runs from 9 a.m. to noon.
During the Old Home Day parade at 1 pm,
Victory Workers will have a float entered. Come watch 4-H go for the
gold!
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 the weekend of July 23rd.
Our sidewalk café features pulled pork sandwiches, grilled hot dogs,
cold drinks and yummy baked goods. We have over 100 items in
our silent auction, so please stop in and place your bid either
Friday night, July 22nd from 4-7 PM or Saturday July 23rd 8 AM till
2:30. We will even reward you with door prices for each day. We’ll
be awarding a collection of picture books for the younger children
and story books for older children, just for stopping in to check
out our auction.
If you are an antique buff, there are old trunks, a wooden dowel
shoe rack and a drop front Governor Winthrop mahogany desk. We
have lovely china, glassware, candle sticks, embroidered table
linens, baking dishes, and serving pieces. Enhance your home
with crewel work, prints and paintings or a lighthouse painted
slate. One of our parishioners made a sturdy hall wooden
bench, another donated a lovely new Vera Bradley duffle bag with
assorted cases. We have items from Japan including a Samaria bag,
clothing, rice bowls, ginger jars and serving pieces. For the
gardener we have planters and a saintly statue. If your setting up
household there are lamps, a sewing machine with folding table as
well as a coffee table, a couple rocking chairs, and a collection of
handmade quilts. Others might be interested in our electronics,
quality binoculars, golf equipment, and wireless earphones for
listening to TV. There are children’s items, doll furniture,
baby highchair, and an assortment from Crate and Barrel for your
fall Halloween party. Hannaford supermarket donated a basket of
grilling supplies. Many other area businesses have donated gift
certificates.
Bid on a wide range of items that always sell at bargain prices!
Check out photos of silent auction items on our website
www.ststephenspittsfieldnh.org.
The Friday Night Kayak Group met Friday July 8, 2016 with over
a dozen kayaks paddling the far west end of Northwood Lake - near
the dam and spillway. 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.
Economic Development Update
Submitted by Ted Mitchell, Chairman of the
Economic Development Committee
The following proposal was submitted
to the Pittsfield Board of Selectmen for 33 & 37 Main Street(s) by
the Economic Development Committee. The first public hearing is
scheduled for August 2nd at the Town Hall.
Executive Summary
The Economic Development Committee (EDC)
recommends the following plan for the properties located at 33 & 37
Main Street(s), currently owned by the Town Pittsfield, NH. The
terms and responsibilities of the project are to be assigned to the
SVRDC and to be carried out in accordance with the Pittsfield Master
Plan and all other applicable town codes and regulations:
1. Merge the two properties into one
2. Tear down the barn that is currently
situated on 37 Main Street
3. Grant the Josiah Carpenter Library
Trustees a lot line adjustment in order to provide handicap access
to the rear of the library, within 10’ of building
4. Tear down the
building that is currently situated on 33 Main Street within 12
months
5. Renovate the building that is currently situated on 37
Main Street into a mixed use, to include commercial / retail /
residential (maximum 2 units)
6. Utilize what is currently known as
33 Main Street to create a parking area for 37 Main Street
7. Create
aesthetic landscaping with appropriate set backs
8. Reintroduce the
property back into the local economy as a private enterprise
Marketing Strategy The Economic Development Committee will work
diligently, in conjunction with the Suncook Valley Regional
Development Corporation, Commercial Real Estate Agents and other
local organizations and agencies, in finding end users for the
property. It is our goal to search for end users for the property
given the resources available to us in the timeliest manner
possible.
Financial Summary
The EDC recommends the following in order
to finance the project:
1. Utilize the SVRDC to carry out the
terms of the project
2. Utilize the Property Acquisition and
Redevelopment Expendable Trust fund towards the revitalization in
the form of a low interest to the SVRDC
3. Utilize an interested
outside private investor, incented by tax benefits currently in
place and available
4. Search for outside private and public grants
that may be available
5. Community contributions / volunteerism
6.
Selling, reallocating, reusing materials and products currently
located on site
VA Schedules 2 Million Appointments Using Veterans Choice Program
Improvements made in increasing access to Community Care, but more
work to be done
Submitted Via Merrill Vaughan
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs’
(VA) Veterans Choice Program (VCP) has reached a key milestone in
improving access to health care for Veterans. More than two million
appointments have been scheduled through the program.
“While two million appointments have been scheduled using the Choice
Program and we are making progress, we will not rest until all
Veterans who choose VA to be their healthcare provider are receiving
the care they need, when they need it,” said VA Secretary Robert
McDonald. “We will continue to make strides towards an
integrated care network, and I urge Congress to enact our Plan to
Consolidate Community Care so we can continue to build upon our
progress.”
The Choice Act, which included the VCP,
was passed in August 2014 to help Veterans access timely health care
both within VA and the community. VA was required to implement a
new, national program in just 90 days, with new requirements that
complicated the way VA provides community care. VA recognized many
of these challenges very early in the implementation of the program
and VA and all our stakeholders have been working together to make
needed changes while implementing this new nationwide program.
VA has outlined a path to improve
community care and create a program that is easy to understand,
simple to administer, and meets the needs of Veterans, community
providers, and VA staff. VA submitted this plan to Congress in
October 2015.
Within the Plan are several legislative
proposals that VA and Congress need to work on together to improve
the experiences for Veterans and community providers.
The first proposal would increase
Veterans’ access to community care providers by allowing VA to enter
into agreements with local community providers.
The second would streamline when and how
much VA pays for health care services by having VA be the primary
payer.
The third fix would allow VA to more
accurately account for healthcare purchased in the community.
Finally, the last request is for funding
and funding flexibility to improve access to care, reimburse the
cost of emergency treatment, and create value-based payment models
to best serve Veterans that need community care.
“VA is developing innovative ideas and solutions to enhance the
Veterans experience and strengthen partnerships with community
providers” said Dr. Baligh Yehia, Assistant Deputy Undersecretary
for Health, Community Care. “The Choice Program of today is a
very different program than the one rolled out in November 2014.
Many improvements have been made and we continue to work to deliver
care to Veterans where and when they need it.”
VCP PROGRESS TO DATE
Over 2 million appointments scheduled
using the VCP significantly increases Veterans access to care.
Since the start of VCP we have seen a dramatic increase in
utilization. From October 2015 to March 2016 VCP
authorizations for care have increased 103 percent.
Over the course of the last 12 months, the
Choice Provider Network has grown by 85 percent. The network now has
over 350,000 providers and facilities.
Improved timeliness of payments to
community providers by removing the requirement that VA receive the
Veteran’s entire medical record prior to payment.
Reduced administrative burden for medical
record submission for community providers by streamlining the
documentation required.
To enhance care coordination for Veterans,
we have embedded contractor staff with VA staff at select locations.
Created dedicated teams from across the
county to deliver community care improvements.
VA has also partnered with Congress to
change laws to improve the community care experience by:
Removing the enrollment date requirement
for Choice, allowing more Veterans to receive community care.
Implementing criteria of 40-mile driving
distance from medical facility with primary care physician to
increase number of Veterans accessing the program Implementing the
unusual or excessive burden criteria to increase access for Veterans
that do not meet other eligibility criteria.
Expanding the episode of care
authorization from 60 days to up to one year to reduce the
administrative burdens of Veterans, community providers, and VA
staff.
“VA needs Congress’s continued support to
keep driving progress forward,” added VA Secretary Robert McDonald.
“Several legislative barriers remain which inhibit improvements
outlined in our Plan to Consolidate Community Care Programs.”
Thank You
I would like to thank everyone that helped
my celebrate my 90th birthday (June 13, 2016). A big thank you to
all the people that did all the work to make it possible. A special
thanks to Kurt and Jerry Jude for allowing us to use their house to
keep it a surprise. Many thanks to all that came. It was a nice
surprise to me.
Thank you,
Joe Rogers
Obituaries
William D. Elkins Jr.
Rancho Cordova, CA - William D. Elkins Jr.
age 53, formerly of Pittsfield, NH died at his home in Rancho
Cordova on Monday June 27, 2016. He was born on March 4, 1963 in
Concord NH, living in the area until moving to California over 20
years ago.
He loved working on cars and his Harley-Davidson. He was an avid
biker, and enjoyed the time spent with his friends and fellow Bikers
in his motorcycle club. Hobbies included outdoing
his neighbors exterior decorations and displays for various holidays
and maintaining his garden.
Survivors include his companion Charlotte Marino of Rancho Cordova,
CA, close friend and care-giver Robert O’Neil of Rancho Cordova, CA,
two daughters Stephanie Alfaro of Woodsville, NH, Stephanie
Dansereau of Barnstead, NH; and a son Donald “DJ” Elkins of Eugene,
Oregon; two granddaughters Adriana Robles and Victoria
Nwikina, his father William D. Elkins and stepmother Carol of
Pittsfield, NH, his mother Patricia Bergevin and stepfather Ernest
of Epsom NH; his sister Kelly Elkins of Hillsboro, NH; stepbrothers
Michael, Ronald and Christopher Gagne; and many aunts, uncles and
cousins, nieces and nephews and friends.
Sierra View Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Carmichael, CA handled
arrangements in California. A Memorial Service will be held
Saturday, July 30th at Still Oaks Funeral and Memorial Home, 1217
Suncook Valley Hwy. Epsom NH. Calling hours are 12:00-1:30, service
to follow. All are invited to stay for refreshments after the
service. Interment will be at Floral Park Cemetery in
Pittsfield NH, at a later date.
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