Congratulations to Northwood resident Curtis Frye, a
Northeastern University student majoring in Business
Administration. In addition to achieving distinction through the
dean’s list, Frye is a member of the Northeastern University
Honors Program.
To
achieve the dean’s list distinction, students must carry a full
program of at least four courses, have a quality point average
of 3.5 or greater out of a possible 4.0 and carry no single
grade lower than a C- during the course of their college career.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles LaMonica of Center Tuftonboro, New
Hampshire are pleased to announce the engagement of their
daughter Shannon LaMonica, to James Savage, son of Patricia
Savage and the late Mr. John Savage of Northwood, New Hampshire.
Ms. LaMonica, who received a Bachelors Degree from the
University of Arizona in 1999 and a Masters Degree from Southern
New Hampshire University in 2012, is employed as an IT Project
Manager at Liberty Mutual in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.Mr.
Savage, who graduated from Skidmore College in 1998 with a
Bachelors Degree, is a commercial fisherman and the charter
captain of the couple’s boat that fishes out of Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. A July 2019 wedding is planned.
This Weekend’s LRPA After Dark Feature:
1932’s “The Most Dangerous Game”
Join Lakes Region Public Access Television at 10:30 p.m. this
Friday and Saturday night (March 9 & 10) for our “LRPA After
Dark” presentation of 1932’s mystery-adventure “The Most
Dangerous Game,” starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray and Leslie
Banks. Immediately following is an episode of vintage
television: “Medic,” an early medical television show (1955)
starring Richard Boone. This episode is a “what if” scenario –
what happens after a nuclear strike to the city of Los Angeles?
This seldom-seen episode is considered to be way ahead of its
time.
“The Most Dangerous Game” opens aboard a luxury yacht sailing to
South America. One of the passengers is big game hunter, author
and adventurer Bob Rainsford (McCrea). The ship runs aground on
a coral reef in dangerous, shark-infested waters. Several
passengers enter the ocean but only Rainsford survives the shark
attacks, swimming to a remote island. Looking for help, he comes
upon the jungle fortress of Count Zaroff (Banks), an exiled
Russian aristocrat. He also meets other victims of recent
shipwrecks, including Eve Trowbridge (Wray) and her brother
Martin. The Count, himself an avid sportsman who has turned the
island into a private hunting preserve, knows of Rainsford’s
hunting prowess and is delighted to host him as his island’s
newest “guest.” Eve confides to Rainsford that she feels
something is not right on the island – several other survivors
have recently gone missing. Searching the fortress, they come
across a room filled with big game trophies, and one of them is
a man’s head! Rainsford realizes that the Count is a madman who
hunts humans for sport. Rainsford and Eve soon find themselves
as the prey in the most dangerous game! How will they escape
with their lives?
“The Most Dangerous Game” began production at RKO Studios at the
same time as “King Kong.” The films had the same producers, so
to save money, they shared several of the same actors (notably,
Fay Wray) and jungle sets, as well as the same editor,
screenwriter and composer. Fans of “Kong” may feel a similar
style and pace to “The Most Dangerous Game.” The film was very
well received during its time by critics and moviegoers alike.
Although the story has been adapted for film many times
throughout the years, our version is considered to be the
closest to the original story and still the very best. All three
leads give solid performance, particularly Leslie Banks as the
over-the-top Count Zaroff. In his review, Mordaunt Hall of
the New York Times noted, … “Through the imaginative fashion in
which it has been produced … the fantastic theme of ‘The Most
Dangerous Game’ makes a highly satisfactory melodrama.” What are
you waiting for? Grab your popcorn and meet us after dark for
this vintage thriller.
Letter To The Editor
The
Magliozzi Conjecture
Ray
and the late Tom Magliozzi, AKA The Car Guys of NPR’s Car Talk,
used to muse as to whether two heads were always better than
one. Specifically, if the two heads were cognitively challenged
– or “unencumbered by the thought process,” as they used to say
– was the resulting decision better or, in fact, worse.
Worse, they concluded.
This seems to have been the case in the decision to fire Town
Administrator Joe Gunter, with Rick Wolf joining D.J. Hodgdon in
dismissing him.
So
what are we to do in light of the Magliozzi Conjecture?
I’m
going to vote to increase the size of the Select Board from
three to five. This will significantly reduce the probability
that two members will make a dumb decision. Now you will need
three!
I
would also argue that there would then be five members to
monitor and sit in on the meetings of other town committees and
commissions. (Something they didn’t do before deciding to fire
Joe.) Law requires that the Select Board send a representative
to the Budget Committee, but others do not have this
requirement.
For
example, as a multi-year member of the Conservation Commission,
I cannot remember a time when a Select Board member sat in on
our monthly meetings. No wonder that they were so clueless when
we came before them to discuss a conservation easement on
Bennett Island.
So
vote for the increase, and while you’re at, vote for some new
blood – and brains – on the Select Board.
Oh,
and re-elect me to the Budget Committee. After 15 years, I’m
beginning to get the hang of it.
Tom
Chase
Northwood
Letter To The Editor
Tim
Jandebeur is the only reasonable choice for Northwood’s school
board. Tim’s credentials are impeccable: decades as a taxpayer
in Northwood, a parent of Northwood children, a former Selectman
and a current member of our school board. When others are afraid
to ask the tough questions - Tim doesn’t hold back.
Why? Because he firmly believes it his duty is to protect the
students and taxpayers or Northwood. Tim has a big heart and
dedication to Northwood schools, the faculty, staff and students
while providing essential transparency to our community.
Unlike other school board members, Tim doesn’t do back room
deals or political games. He puts us first.
That’s why I hope you’ll vote for Tim [and only Tim] on Election
Day. His opponents simply don’t hold his integrity. Tim’s
opponents will forget the taxpayers and continue to approve big
spending items that don’t help our students.
We
must re-elect Tim. He’s the only candidate who can get our
schools back on track and keep our taxes from rising.
Cheryl Dean
Northwood
Letter To The Editor
To
the Editor,
“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that
will herald the end of the republic.” Benjamin Franklin.
Two horrible statements that I heard from Northwood School Board
members will stay with me forever. One said “It’s not about the
little old lady whose taxes will go up fifteen dollars.” the
other, “democracy has not been very good for me and my family.”
Well, the lady’s taxes went up far more than fifteen dollars
last year and they will be far higher this November. The school
tax alone is slated to go up $1.84 per thousand of your assessed
value.
I
do not support the school budget because it should reflect over
$400 thousand due to saving like $126,519 in health insurance,
$92,002 in transportation, $89,505 in special education, $29,999
in high school other and $80,385 in overstated Coe-Brown
students. Our superintendent said that the Coe-Brown student
count would be adjusted at the deliberative session to reflect
the correct number. Not surprising, it wasn’t. Not to
mention another $200K on two positions that we said no to, over
and over.
The
default budget is overstated by that same $80,385. To me “fake
news” is a fancy way of saying “lied.” Falsifying the default
budget is “managing” it. There was another favorable legal
ruling last week for taxpayers, many more to come.
A
perfect storm is brewing. You have two more rubber stampers
running for school board and a union president running for
selectman. Money, money, money. It could get a lot worse
for that little old lady.
Tim
Jandebeur
Northwood
Letter
To
the Residents of Northwood,
I
wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to the residents
of Northwood and say it was truly a pleasure to have been part
of the community over the last few years. I am very proud of
what we accomplished and I wish the new Administrator every bit
of luck and success during her time in the town. I hear she has
good experience and is expected to do a great job, I hope she
does.
But
to that point, Northwood is changing and the town needs
competent elected officials, which it is currently lacking, to
help its new Administrator succeed. Luckily there are
emerging leaders that care for the town. Leaders like Mike
Smith, Colleen Krochmal, and Brian Winslow honestly care and
want to make the town a nice place to live. These people
can be trusted to not slide back door contracts or tax breaks to
their friends like we have seen selectmen do in 2016 and 2017.
We
have a chance to put some excellent leaders in place during the
March election. Please get out and vote on March 13 vote
and let’s get some honesty back into town government.
Joe
Gunter
FormerTown Administrator
Letter
Earth Day is April 22 this year and the theme is “End Plastic
Pollution.”
Scientists predict that if nothing changes, by 2050 there will
be more plastic than fish in the oceans by weight.
Earth Day is celebrated by 180 countries around the world.
Every year in the US nearly 200 billion beverage containers are
sold, 2/3 are landfilled. Recycling saves 3-5 times the energy
that waste incinerator power plants generate.
These are just a small sample of facts about plastic, many more
are on Google if you care to look. The simple fact is we need to
do better and we all know that we are responsible for our
planet’s pollution to some extent.
I
think it would be great if someone at Coe-Brown organized a
group of students to come and paint an Earth Day mural on our
new storage trailer. If anyone wants to get this started, give
me a call and we’ll start the process.
As
to the new swap shop building, I thought it would be here on
March 2, but it is not arriving until March 9. Then we can get
started on all that needs to be done to get it up and running.
Our Coe-Brown kids need 40 hours of community service to
graduate, maybe some would like to join us. We’d be glad to have
them.
In
the meantime, remember if we all do what we can to recycle, we
can save tax dollars and reduce the amount of trash we
landfill.
Til
Next Time,
Viena Dow
Letter To The Editor
Vote
for 5-Member Selectboard
On
March 13th voters will be asked to vote on whether to expand our
current three-member Selectboard to five. Having served as a
Northwood selectmen (both elected twice and appointed twice), I
am voting in favor of this article for the following reasons:
Better distribution of Selectmen workload – would allow for
greater opportunity to assign executive-level work. More work
can be completed and faster decision-making in a shorter amount
of time.
Better Selectmen accessibility – would allow residents to have
greater success in reaching a Selectman with issues of concern.
Greater Efficiency/Opportunities for offline discussions between
Selectmen – the resolution of many of the executive-level
decisions that Selectmen are asked to make requires significant
analysis and discussion. Allowing some of this analysis and
discussion to be completed and discussed by two Selectmen
between meetings could produce more efficient and effective
decision-making and increase the likelihood of more quickly
achieving consensus.
More Flexibility/Opportunity for Selectmen Subcommittees –
larger number of Selectmen would allow for the organization of
two-person subcommittees. Such subcommittees could work in
between regular Selectmen meetings to organize, delegate and
complete required work.
Ease of Operation on Difficult/Controversial Issues – bringing a
larger number of Selectmen perspectives to bear on difficult or
controversial issues increases the likelihood that at least
three members could agree and successfully address such issues.
Broader Diversity of Views/Skill Sets – increases the likelihood
that there would be a greater number of perspectives on any
given issue.
In
summary, an expanded number of selectmen creates greater
oversight of the town administrator position and broadens
resident representation on the board. The board would have
greater capacity to explore issues by allocating
responsibilities to more members and decisions would be more
thorough because two additional perspectives are present. Please
vote YES on Warrant Article # 21.
Thank you,
Jim
Hadley, MPA, MBA, MS
Letter
I
am a combat veteran, having served active duty in the U.S Army
from 2002-2004. During this time I learned about rank structure,
leadership, and the basics of public safety.
After the military I became an RN, working closely with local
police officers in the ER. I have continued to work closely with
law enforcement, as an AEMT(Advanced Emergency Medical
Technician).
As
a lieutenant for Northwood Fire, I have had the honor of working
directly with Northwood Police Department for the last couple
years. In addition to my own personal experience, my husband was
employed by Northwood Police Department for over five years.
Throughout this time I have learned about many of the strengths
and weaknesses of our police department. I have seen first hand
the hard work that our officers do. I’ve also had the
opportunity to speak to many members of our PD, to hear their
concerns, as well as the concerns of many community members.
This has given me a unique perspective of our police department,
perhaps stronger than our current commission.
One
of my primary concerns for Northwood is retention, or lack
thereof. In the last seven months Northwood Police has had three
officers resign. All of these officers are still police
officers, but chose to leave Northwood.
Currently our town is significantly understaffed, and the safety
of our citizens is certainly in question. I believe it is time
for our police commission to start questioning why so many
officers are leaving Northwood?
My
hope is to gain a better understanding of the Northwood Police
Department by asking more questions. I plan to get to the root
of the issues, to increase retention, and to make accountability
and community safety a priority.
Colleen Krochmal
Letter
To
the Northwood Voters,
Town elections are Tuesday, March 13th, and we have three
candidates running for the two school board seats. No doubt,
readers of The Sun are familiar with the incumbent, Tim
Jandebeur. He has printed in this publication that he
feels his purpose on the board is to inform the taxpayers of the
ways the school is misusing taxpayer money. We have no doubt
that that’s what he believes he’s done, and hope that he was
motivated by doing what he felt was in the best interests of the
community.
We
feel, however, that our community deserves more from its elected
officials, namely, solutions. While we don’t agree and won’t
agree on everything, we know that to improve our school and to
keep our budget lean, we must be able to discuss concerns with
an aim for finding solutions and making improvements. We
understand that writing and speaking negatively about people we
disagree with causes hostility, and that a hostile work
environment is not one where solutions and improvements are
found. In short, a respectful environment is not just nice, it’s
essential for a productive environment.
So
our town has a choice on March 13th. We sincerely hope that you
will come out to vote in favor of ideas and neighborly respect.
Thank you,
Brian Winslow and Amy Hanavan
Letter To The Editor
Northwood deserves better.
A
school board works best when there is a level of trust and
harmony between board members. Cooperation does not
require agreement on issues -- indeed, a diversity of opinions
and viewpoints that leads to vigorous discussions and
deliberations improves the quality and efficiency of the school.
But there does need to be a measure of honesty and respect
present in order for this to achieve the goals that we all want,
such as an improved education and more efficient budgets.
Unfortunately, the past few years, we’ve been saddled with a
board member that routinely violates these cooperative and
ethical principles and continues to try to sabotage the board’s
work while often skipping participation in the relevant
discussions at public board meetings. Instead we see his
negative views showcased in letters-to-the-editor and other
mediums where public discussion is not possible. Such
attempts to torpedo our school and personnel leads to strife
both at the school and in town. These actions lead to situations
where critical staff, such as superintendents and bus drivers,
no longer want to work with the town. This has a huge
negative impact on the school, the kids, and the taxpayers.
A
school board member receives a $2000 annual stipend from the
taxpayers, and it is expected that they will do the job they are
elected for. Our incumbent board member happily takes this money
but fails to deliver on the basic job requirements such as being
prepared for meetings, reviewing and endorsing state financial
forms, pledging to operate ethically, and voting on critical
school policies.
We
deserve better.
Please join me on voting for fresh faces and a new commitment to
cooperation and trust on the school board by voting for Amy
Hanavan and Brian Winslow for school board on March 13th.
Keith McGuigan
Letter To The Editor
It
has been a privilege to serve the citizens of Northwood as a
police commissioner and I appreciate the support that has been
shown to me over the years. I seek your vote on March 13
to continue to serve the community in this position.
I
am a lifelong resident of Northwood, attended Coe-Brown Academy
and NH Technical Institute, and am a Vietnam Veteran. I have
served as chairman of the recreation commission, member and past
president of the Saddleback Mountain Lions Club, and represented
the police commission as a member of the Safety Complex
Committee. Supporting local youth sports, particularly
Little League teams, has been important to me for many years.
If
re-elected to the commission, I will continue to work together
with my fellow commissioners to provide proper equipment and
training for the officers, provide competitive pay and benefits
in order to retain qualified personnel, and continue to update
technology to insure an efficient and cost-effective department
that serves its citizens well. I ask for your vote for Northwood
Police Commissioner on March 13.
Richard Cummings