The Northwood Democratic Town Committee will hold its caucus to elect officers for 2013-2014 on Wednesday, February 20 at 7:00 pm at the Northwood Community Center, 135 Main St., Northwood Narrows.  All registered Democrats in Northwood are invited to attend.  If you have any questions, please contact Lucy Edwards, the current town chair, at [email protected] or on her cell phone, 603-312-6049. 

Letter To The Editor

On February 27th at 7:00 pm there will be a candidates night at the Northwood Town Hall. This is a great time for all you voters to ask questions you may have for this years candidates.

I am running for School Board. My goal is to do whatever I can to make sure our children get the best education we can give them. I have five grand children; I know how important a good education is. Let’s face it, today’s children are tomorrow’s future.

I’m looking forward to seeing you voters on candidates night to answer any questions you may have.

Bonnie Lee Sears

Candidate for School Board

Letter

Thank You

The Knights of Columbus Council 11606 of Our Lady of Lourdes/St. Joseph Parish is sending out a tremendous thank you to the Pizza Shops who participated and helped with our very successful Pizza Bowl 2013 Fundraiser held on January 27, 2013:  The first two shops are from Candia, Lindy’s Gourmet Deli and Pizzaria at the Candia First Stoppe Country Store, 285 Old Candia Rd.; Candia House of Pizza located at 3 Main Street; Liar’s Paradise Pizza is of 118 Stage Road, Nottingham. These three shops were new to the event this year and we thank them for coming the distance and supporting our fundraiser.

The next two Pizza Competitors were from Northwood:  Chubby’s Pizza at Northwood Country Market and Cooper Hill Pizzeria both on 1st NH Turnpike (Rt. 4); Jack’s Pizza is on 11 Catamount Street, Pittsfield, Pizza Spinners at the Lee Market Place on the Lee Traffic Circle.  The last four competitors competed last year and we appreciate your spirit and willingness to participate again.  Dante’s Oven Pizzeria is located at 1724 Dover Rd. (Rt. 4), Epsom. 

We hope you had a good time competing. Every pizza shop contributed some great pizzas.  We encourage people to support these Pizza Shops in Candia, Nottingham, Northwood, Pittsfield, Lee and Epsom.  Everyone who came to the Pizza Bowl had a great time trying all kinds of pizza. 

The Knights of Columbus Council 11606 is truly grateful to all who participated to make this event so successful to enable us to carry out our mission.

Alec R. Correa

Northwood Recreation Update

On Saturday, February 23rd, the Northwood Recreation will begin holding our Annual Ice Fishing Derby.  The Derby will be held on Harvey Lake from 8:00 am to noon.  Children do not need a fishing license.  Adults are welcome to fish, but must be licensed to fish in the State of New Hampshire.  Prizes will be given to children 16 and under in a categories including first fish, shortest fish, and longest fish.  Please bring your ice fishing gear.  If you are not an avid ice fisherman, the Recreation Department will be providing some tip-ups and bait for those who would like to try something new.  This is a FREE event.  

The Northwood Congregational Church will be opening their doors to offer bathroom facilities and will be selling delicious food.  Food items include a variety of baked goods, soups, hot dogs, coffee, hot chocolate, and juice.  Parking is available at the Northwood Congregational Church.  

Registration in advance is requested, but not required.  The event will be held rain or shine, safe ice permitting. Contact the Northwood Recreation Department at 942-5586 x209 or by e-mail at [email protected] for additional information.

Letter

I suspect something positive is happening at Northwood Elementary School. As many know, the school has not been performing well when compared to other schools in NH, even in our own neighborhood. This has been true for far too many years despite some short range attempts to correct “under performance.” And with taxpayers spending over $17 thousand per student, the results are found wanting. Mind you, there are teachers who try very hard to bring their best efforts to their classes. But something is getting in the way of good education.

This is a big subject for here. Two over-arching  concepts I see missing are consistency combined with a long term mission of successful methods leading to enthusiasm. It seems to me that teachers who see their good efforts multiplied by succeeding efforts can only be more encouraged in the mission of the school - to achieve the best education for all the children with the available resources.  Quality results in education has far more to do with consistency and creativity than simply spending more money. Many, many other schools around the country do it... Why not us?

Good news is in the offing as one of two finalists for SAU 44 administrator is about to be chosen.   I attended the public forum where they introduced themselves to the community last week. Both seem worthy individuals, experienced and enthusiastic for the job. Kudos to the three boards search committee, which made a thorough effort. It’s time for improvement and we are on our way.

I am running for School Board and would appreciate the vote of all who want a cost conscious and excellent school as the goal, achieved by the way, sooner than later. Each grade “under performed” by a child is lost time not to be reclaimed.

Vote Joseph McCaffrey

Finding A Reason To Enjoy Each Season

Submitted By Kristina Folcik

Living in New England we get to experience such a variety of wonderful things that nature has to offer.  With each season comes a new gift. Sometimes it is hard to realize what that gift is but I will share my secret to enjoying the outdoors no matter what is falling out of the sky or what the thermometer reads.

Fortunately, winter has always been my favorite season. Each fall as the winds would whip wildly throughout the night, shredding the trees of their crispy brown leaves I would start dreaming of that first snowstorm of the season.  Thoughts of sledding, making snowmen, eating fresh snow and spending hours in the woods searching for animal prints would start to race through my mind.  When the season ended I found myself feeling sad about the melting snow but always loved watching my mom’s crocuses pop up in the garden through the snow. I took great joy in knowing the tulips and daffodils would be next.

Now I am an adult and I still love the winter. I wish that we had the snowy winters that I remember just a few years ago but I cannot control the weather so I enjoy whatever is thrown my way. 

The key to truly enjoying the gifts that each season brings to you is finding an outdoor hobby suitable for that season. Right now it has been very icy outside and has bounced between being snowy and icy.  I love to run and have taken to the trails even when they are snow covered or full of ice.

When there is deep snow, snowshoeing can be really enjoyable.  There are various kinds of snowshoes that are out on the market and you do not have to be a hard-core athlete or even a weekend warrior to enjoy the benefits of snowshoeing.  If you get a pair that is comfortable and appropriate for your weight you can do nice long hikes on local trails. Some people prefer to use hiking poles while others do not. The benefits of snowshoes are that you don’t sink into the snow (this is called postholing) and twist your legs around. Using snowshoes creates wonderfully smooth trails for everyone to enjoy. By postholing you not only have an unenjoyable experience but you create hazardous trail conditions for other users once the postholes freeze.

If you enjoy running, there are running snowshoes that you can purchase. The advantage to running snowshoes is that they are much lighter and they are intended to be used with sneakers. They are smaller than a traditional snowshoe and they can be used on soft or hard snow.  

This is a great way to get off the cold hard pavement and avoid frightening traffic! Running on snow covered single track, snowmobile trails or rail trails are a great way to stay in shape during the winter months!  There are even snowshoe races throughout the country that allow runners of all disciplines and abilities to get out and have some fun!

When the trails are icy there are several options to create a fun outdoor experience. For people interested in hiking on trails but don’t want to slip and fall on the ice there are various traction devices on the market.  I find, for myself, that either Microspikes or Hillsound spikes work the best with my sneakers and hiking boots. They are also wonderful on glare ice and you can even run with them on your sneakers! They are fairly lightweight and look like a rubber spider web with small metal cleats on the bottom. The spikes are easy to put on and will last you a few years before needing to be replaced.

For icy snow conditions there are special screws that you can place into the treads of your sneakers. I like the La Sportiva Hobnails. They come with a special tool to properly place them into your shoe and they can be removed with the same tool.  What I really like about the hobnails is that they don’t add the extra weight or bulk of the spikes.

When going outdoors in the winter, it is important to wear the appropriate clothing. If you are not dressed correctly you will not have an enjoyable experience. If you are going for a slower hike, you will want to have a warm jacket. On really cold days, a down or synthetic jacket works very well. A warm fleece hat, some mittens, a warm pair of boots and a pair of soft-shell pants will keep you comfortable when paired with a warm base layer. When you are walking, you do not produce as much heat and you need to bring clothing to keep you warm.

When running outdoors, you will feel cold when you start but as you move faster you will become very warm.  I have run in temperatures below zero and wore a warm base layer top, two pair of running tights, a medium weight running jacket, a fleece hat, wool socks, fleece gloves with mittens over them, a BUFF around my neck and face, and my sneakers. On most winter days I am able to run with a very light running jacket, fleece gloves, a fleece hat, wool socks, one pair of running tights and a medium weight running top.  It always amazes me with how quickly the body warms up when exerting a lot of energy.

My last secret to enjoying the outdoors is bringing a friend or a dog along with you. When you are alone and it is cold out, sometimes the hardest part is getting out of the house or even the car and onto the trail. When you have a friend or a dog, you will find that the miles pass by much quicker, you will notice the cold less and you will have fun! When you are finished make sure you have dry clothes to change into immediately as you will become cold very quickly. So go outside and enjoy the animal tracks in the woods, the sound of fresh snowflakes falling on the ground, the trees creaking in the cold or the peaceful silence of winter.

Chef Amie Hurd,  Coe-Brown Alumni, will be appearing February 14th at 10 pm

on The Food Network’s ‘Chef Wanted.’ Be Sure to Watch!

Robert L. Magoon, Sr.

Mr. Robert L. “Rocky” Magoon, Sr., 74, a resident of Northwood for more than 50 years, died Tuesday, February 5, 2013.

Born in Lincoln, Rocky was the son of Merlin and Dorothy (Burbank) Magoon.

At 19 he joined the US Air Force and served until 1963. After his discharge, Rocky worked as a truck driver for Agway in Epsom and R. Bailey and Co. in Northwood.  He spent 15 years with the State of NH, Department of Transportation, working out of 604 Shed in Northwood until his retirement in 2001.

He was an avid outdoorsman and especially enjoyed hunting and fishing.

Members of his family include his wife of 34 years, Glennys (Cass) Magoon of Northwood; 4 children, Robert Magoon, Jr., and wife Tracy of Pittsfield, Leslie Magoon and wife Carol of Penacook, Tammy Merrill and husband Brian of Epsom, and James Magoon and fiancée Denise Boyd of Epsom; 15 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; 5 siblings, John Ingalls and wife Priscilla of No. Woodstock, Kenneth Magoon and wife, Mary Lou of Hill, Bliss Magoon and wife Claire of  Parsonsfield, ME, Marcus Magoon of Pittsfield, and Coral Nieder of Concord; and nieces and nephews.

Urn burial with military honors was February 11th at the NH State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Family and friends may sign an on-line guestbook by visiting stilloaks.com.