Red Cross Blood drive to be held on March 29, 2012 at Epsom Fire
Station on Rt 4 in Epsom from 1pm - 7pm. If anyone would like to set
up an appointment, they can call: 1-800-733-2767
Letter
Epsom Constituents:
I would like to express my feelings of gratitude to the Epsom voters
for having the confidence in me. In the next year, as in the past 4
years, I will continue to serve my community with integrity and
loyalty. Thank you for your vote.
Lee Bartlett
It’s Time To Think Frogs And Salamanders In New Hampshire
Submitted By Eric Orff, Wildlife Biologist
This is a wood frog. They are the first to head to our wetlands to
lay eggs. Their call is a duck-like quack and can be heard in the
wetlands after dark. They spend their winters frozen solid under the
forest leaf litter. All life ceases for them for months. They are
truly frozen frogicles!
Frogs and salamanders are on the move in New Hampshire every rainy
night. If at all possible avoid driving after dark on rainy
nights. Upwards of 80 percent of the yellow spotted salamanders will
be moving to their breeding wetlands over the next week or two.
Spring peepers and wood frogs are already on the move with
salamanders and toads right on their heels. Get that gallon of milk
on your way home from work and keep off the roads any rainy night
for the next month or more.
If you must drive, focus, focus, focus on the road right in front of
your car. When I leave the state highway on my way home any rainy
night, I slow down, way down, to about 15 to 20 mph. Look for small
moving things in the road, or really any small object on the smooth
wet road surface. Spotted salamanders are black, coal black, but
their skins shine in the dark. You can spot them. In the mile and a
half from the state road to my house, I often can see a dozen or
more frogs in the road. If my wife is driving, I need to point them
out to her. I am a very involved passenger on rainy nights.
Spring peepers tend to hunker down when your headlights hit them.
They are thimble sized creatures but, with care, can be spotted.
Toads are the walking "frogs." If it is not hopping when moving,
it’s a toad. Tree frogs hop a little later, many in May. They have a
square kind of hop. Straight up, sideways and back down. Bull frogs
are leapers, covering a big distance each hop. See, by slowing down
you to can save, and learn your amphibians.
And it is not just avoiding to drive on rainy nights that you can
help our amphibians. Five years ago the Supreme Court ruled that the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must regulate air pollution
impacting our fine web footed friends. Pollution such as mercury,
arsenic, cadmium and carbon are harming our amphibians.
You can help by asking our congress men and women to support the
EPA’s efforts. You can make a big difference on the survival of some
of our smallest and most vulnerable creatures. Frogs are our friends
respect them by making those calls and staying home rainy nights.
Letter
I appreciate the fact that we must think about and be prepared for
many types of disasters for the next fifty years or so. In the mean
time and proven to be so, we have and are facing a very dangerous
and continuous eroding problem referred to as "bombed out roads"
which diminishes the life expectancy of each and every motor
vehicle.
If any readers know how to stir up the Epsom leaders so as to get
something rolling in a positive direction I would love to help.
Would it be in order to have this problem solved via voting ballot?
William ( Jim ) Breagy,
Epsom
Letter
To my constituents in Allenstown, Epsom, and Pittsfield:
You’ll all be pleased to know that the Merrimack County budget
adopted this week will not result in a tax increase, even a small
one. Two weeks ago the executive committee met to review the total
budget, after subcommittees had gone over different sections. The
good news at that meeting was the county’s credit rating had been
restored, and the latest tax anticipation notes had nine competitive
bidders. The final rate was 0.58%, saving over $500,000 in interest
expense over the plan.
It also came out that many expenses had been significantly below
budget, resulting in the fund balance increasing over $100,000
rather than falling by $4 million. In particular, the county nursing
home, which is almost 40% of the county budget, ran almost $580,000
under budget, and the 2012 plan was almost a million less than the
2011 budget. That was a fine job by the nursing home administration,
which heard the battle over last year’s budget and started to trim
expenses throughout the year.
At that meeting, the administration reduced interest expenses, and
also trimmed a few other areas. The revised budget cut spending by
almost 2%, but would result in a 1.6% increase in the amount raised
by taxes, due to lower revenues from other sources. The executive
committee approved this budget, but Dan was concerned that the state
payments for nursing home care were not correct, and I was concerned
about the cooperative extension, whose total efforts and revenue
were not properly reflected in the budget. While investigating these
items, we helped the county identify the proper credit for nursing
home charges.
Interested readers can email me for my newsletter, with more details
than I can fit in a letter.
Representative Carol McGuire
[email protected]
782-4918
Friends of Epsom’s Historic Meetinghouse News
Thank you to everyone who voted for Article 10 at the polls! We are
excited about moving forward toward the goal of occupying the
meetinghouse and making it ready for the public.
The Friends of Epsom’s Historic Meetinghouse will be holding their
next meeting on Tuesday, April 3rd, at the Epsom Library. The
meeting will start at 6:00 pm with an opportunity for volunteers to
go inside and view the proposed work.
Additional volunteers will be needed as we plan for work days. On
Saturday, April 21st, there will be an opportunity for interested
individuals to stop by and receive more information. The time for
this event has not yet been finalized.
For more information, please contact Richard Frambach at 736-9295 or
Penny Graham at 736-9044.
Obituaries
Beulah H. Russell
Beulah H. Russell, 95, died Wednesday, March 21, 2012, at the Epsom
Healthcare Center.
Born in Loudon on October 10, 1916, Beulah was the daughter of Alvah
and Rebecca (Campbell) Hilliard. She spent most of her life in
Pembroke, moving to Epsom in 2000.
Prior to her retirement, she had worked for Catamount Woven Label in
Pittsfield for 18 years. She was also employed by Brezner Tanning in
Penacook and Scott & Williams in Laconia.
Mrs. Russell enjoyed the outdoors, especially hunting, fishing, and
camping. She also liked knitting, playing cards, and time with the
family. She had a sharp wit, enjoyed a good joke and never missed
the church supper circuit.
She was predeceased by her husband, Wallace H. Russell in 2002 after
55 years of marriage. She was also predeceased by sons, Gary and
Wendell Russell, sisters, Winnie True, Frances VanDyne, and Rebecca
Hilliard, and her brother, Everett Hilliard.
Mrs. Russell is survived by her sons, Gene Hilliard and his wife
Rose of Epsom, Wallace Russell and his wife Suzette of Epsom, and
Randall Russell of Concord; seven grandchildren; three great
grandchildren; sisters, Bette Hackman of Boscawen and Ethel Arnold
of Lebanon; and nieces and nephews.
For those who wish, memorial donations may be made to a charity of
one’s choice.
Family and friends may sign an online guestbook by visiting
stilloaks.com.
Thelma G. Harper
Thelma G. Harper, 81, of Epsom died Saturday, March 17, 2012 at
Concord Regional VNA Hospice House.
Thelma was born in Somerville, MA May 1, 1930, the daughter of the
late Joseph Martin and Winifred Ann (Currier) Hauber. She was raised
in Braintree, MA and graduated from Braintree High School, Class of
1948.
She had many interests and was truly fond of reading and spending
time tending to her garden. She loved time spent with her family,
friends and her beloved dog, Spotswood.
Surviving family members include three sons, Michael Harper of
Epsom, Merrill Harper of Pembroke, and John Harper and his wife
Doreen, of Concord; brother-in-law Norman Harper and wife Joan;
sister-in-law Norma Sheehan; sister-in-law Barbara Hauber; four
granddaughters Haley, Kelsey, Melissa and Sarah; and many nieces and
nephews.
Thelma was predeceased in 2009 by her husband of 50 years, Merrill
Harper; and her brother Joseph Martin Hauber.
Services will be private.
The Cremation Society of New Hampshire, Boscawen Office, is
assisting the family with arrangements. To view an online memorial
please go to www.csnh.com.
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