William Watkinson of Northwood was named to the dean’s list for the

Fall 2011 semester at Quinnipiac University.

To be eligible for dean’s list status, a student must earn a grade point average of at least 3.5 with no grade lower than C. Full-time students must complete at least 14 credits in a semester, with at least 12 credits that have been graded on a letter grade basis (A through C) to be eligible. Part-time students must complete at least six credits during a semester.

Granny D Day Celebration Scheduled In NH

On January 1, 1999, an 89 year old New Hampshire grandmother left Pasadena, California, and began a walk across the United States. On February 29, 2000, she arrived in Washington DC. Along the way she spoke with many of her fellow citizens about campaign finance reform and the need for public funding of elections.

Her name was Doris "Granny D" Haddock, and we will be celebrating Granny D Day here in New Hampshire on January 24th, which would have been her 102nd birthday.

The Coalition for Open Democracy, http://www.coalitionforopendemocracy.org, a non-partisan organization dedicated to keeping Granny D’s legacy alive and active, will be sponsoring the showing of the film "Granny D Goes to Washington" in area schools.

This film was made after Granny D had finished her walk across the country at age 90 to promote campaign finance reform. Granny D recognized the problems with big money buying access to our legislators and they have only gotten worse.

Predatory corporations are doing not only serious damage to our environment but unbalancing our economy in extremely unhealthy ways. In other words, Granny D’s message is more important than ever.

Granny D’s message is truly non-partisan and above politics as usual. It is about integrity, honor and respect for truth, qualities we all want instilled in our young people. She proved the "power of one", another idea our young people might begin to take seriously. Her story is inspiring and delightful, full of heart and true caring for her fellow citizens.

We urge all New Hampshire citizens to join us in celebrating Granny D’s legacy and continuing her work. As she said, "Democracy is not something we have, it’s something we do."

Dan and Terri Ferguson of Northwood are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Kristi to Justin Brooks of Epping, NH. Miss Ferguson is a 2006 graduate of Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, and a 2011 graduate of the University of New Hampshire. Mr. Brooks is a 2006 graduate of Epping High School and is employed with Quirk Chevrolet of Manchester. They currently reside in Epping with two month-old daughter Raegan. A May 2013 wedding is planned.

Northwood Girls Open Season With Two Wins

The Northwood Girls Grades 3-4 Basketball Team opened its season with a pair of wins recently.

The Bears edged Deerfield in a thrilling come-from-behind victory, 16-14. Fourth grader Mary Thoms stole the ball and scored the go-ahead bucket with 1:57 remaining in the game. Northwood’s Alex Elliot had just tied the game 14-14 before Thoms’ game-winning basket. Thoms, and teammates Paige Valli and Jennifer Bettencourt led the Bears with 4 points each. Makayla DeButts added two points to complete a balanced scoring attack.

Northwood upped its record to 2-0 with a 20-12 win over Deerfield at the Northwood Gym. Bears fourth grade forward DeButts played terrific and led all scorers with 8 points. Valli added six from her center position. Bettencourt, Elliot, and Thoms each contributed two points. The twin tandem of Morgan and Madison Tatem, and third grader Addison Cox displayed excellent defensive skills in the win.

Letter

To the citizens of Northwood:

Last year, the residents of Northwood voted to adopt the SB2 form of government. As a result, there will no longer be a traditional School District Annual Meeting. Instead there will be a Deliberative Session and a Ballot Session. The Deliberative Session is very similar to the traditional School District Meeting. Participation at this Deliberative Session is important as it will be the Only time Northwood residents and voters will be discussing, debating and amending any of the proposed Warrant Articles, including the Warrant Article for the proposed operating budget for the 2012-2013 school year.

The current 2011-2012 budget is $12,172,079. The School Board proposed a decreased budget for 2012-2013 of $12,038,565 (a decrease of approximately 1.1% or $133,514 from the current year’s budget.) The Budget Committee proposed to further cut this budget by an additional $175,122 for a total of $308,636 or approximately 2.5%.

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the Deliberative Session on Thursday, February 9, 7:00 pm at the Northwood School gymnasium. Both the School Board and Budget Committee will provide information on the proposed budget and other Warrant Articles. Voter input will be critical and could have a direct impact on the proposed budget number that will be on the ballot in March. The final operating budget number will be discussed and approved at Deliberative Session. Once all of the articles have been presented and approved at Deliberative Session, no further discussion or amendments are made.

Look for more information in newspapers and on the Northwood School website at www.northwood.k12.nh.us.

Voters of Northwood, remember, you will have the final say, but first you must attend the Deliberative Session and let your voices be heard.

We look forward to seeing you on February 9th!

Sincerely,

Northwood School Communication Committee

Letter To The Editor

The facts are indisputable, we spend far more and get far less for our money than other similar size school systems. Cost per student and NECAP scoring underscore this sad fact clearly. And while some fault me for pointing this out, I intend to continue to spotlight it until there are real attempts to change direction.

Money is my #1 cause of this situation, not the lack of it but instead how it is spent. It simply does not get to the children, but goes to everyone else. The SAU is the #2 problem. I did not support the move to withdraw from the SAU because it would have doubled our cost as the School Board would have implemented it. But they need to be held accountable for their actions and are not.

I could fill the entire page of this paper with the inefficient, late, wrong, poor and inaccurate legal and financial advice from the SAU. Their work ethic, their attention to detail, their follow through is the most deplorable that I have ever seen. As a troubleshooter for a large corporation I saw bad, this is worse. They make it impossible for the School Board and Budget Committee to do their job correctly.

But what is the real kick in the butt in this story? Your School Board continues to accept, condone and let off the hook this group of high paid but horribly inefficient administrators. That is the problem. Time and again we have been given absolutely incorrect and financially wrong data. That is why, in large part, we are in so much trouble.

Tim Jandebeur

Northwood