Suncook Valley Sno-Riders
13th Annual
Ham & Bean Supper
When: Saturday, November 16th from 5 to 7 p.m.
Cost: $8.00 Adult
$4.50 ages 6 to 12
Free ages 5 and under
Where: Barnstead Parade Fire Department
305 Parade Road
Barnstead, NH 03218
Meal: Ham, Variety of Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Cole Slaw, Roll,
Drink & lots of Desserts.
Attending the dinner also gives you the opportunity to win one of
our 3 frozen turkeys that we give away.
REMINDER
The Pittsfield Historical Society invites you to join us for the
annual “Hall of Fame” program at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 14,
at the Historical Society Museum, 13 Elm Street, Pittsfield. This
year’s Hall of Fame inductee is Vaughn Blanchard, a 1907 Pittsfield
High School graduate and participant in the 1912 Summer Olympics in
Sweden.
SAVE THE DATE!!!
Saturday, Dec. 7 is the annual Children’s Store and Christmas Tree
Lighting event (sponsored by the Greater Pittsfield Chamber of
Commerce). The Children’s Store will be held at PES from 9-12 and
the Tree Lighting event will be held at Dustin Park from 4-6pm. More
details to follow!
Donations for the Children’s Store are always needed as well as GIFT
BAGS and tissue paper for wrapping. Drop off locations for
donations will be at Jitters Café, Main Street; Post Office and
Northway Bank. For more information, please call Andi Riel at
435-6346.
Lions Club Invites You
The Suncook Valley Area Lions Club (of Pittsfield/Barnstead) would
like to invite family, friends and COMMUNITY members to join us as
we induct three new members into our Club on Monday, Nov. 18 at 6pm
at Jitters Café on Main Street. We invite you to come to the
meeting; meet the members; find out what Lions do and enjoy some
light refreshments. We’d love to see you!
American Legion Post 88 News
Submitted By
Commander Shawn Jones
Another meeting has come and past. The eleven members present voted
to donate $250.00 to the Loudon Food Pantry for their Thanksgiving
needs. We will be making arrangements in November to present them
with the gift.
Adjutant Joe Piroso reported that our post is ahead of the
Department’s membership goals for the year. He reported we are
currently at 67% membership levels for 2014. He would like to see
everyone renew by December 31st so that we will be at 100%
membership going into 2014. This will save us from having to call
you to remind you to send in your dues for next year. You may also
pay them at one of our meetings. If you have moved please let us
know as well. Please renew ASAP and as always if you have questions
about your membership or what your post can do for you and the
Legion on the whole contact me. Also please think about what you can
do for your post such as volunteering to serve on a committee or as
an officer for 2014.
Members are beginning to bring in their DD-214’s so that we can keep
them on file per new IRS regulations. If you do not have a copy of
your DD-214 you can contact the National Personnel Records Center.
Write to Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis,
Missouri 63132-5100. Their phone number is 314-801-0800 and you can
request a copy by going on line to
http://vetrecs.archives.gov.
In November we will have a guest come from Rise Again Outreach to
tell us more about their organization and how they serve area
homeless vets.
We now have our own web-page. You can access this by
going to www.nhlegion.com. Look for the link to the post websites and click on 88.
If you have any ideas of content for our website let me know what
you would like to see and I will try to get it added to our site.
The NH Department of the American Legion hosts this for free.
We are looking for a new home for our post. If you know of a
suitable piece of real estate in town to either buy and build upon
or move into let us know so that we can look more into it. I would
like to have some volunteers come forward to form an exploratory
building committee.
Our Commander’s Fund Raffle winners for October are: $50- H. Trott,
$25- R. Tasker, $10- P.Dupont, $10- R. Lounsbury and $5- S. Elliott.
We hope to see you at our next meeting on November 20th at 7 PM.
Remember “Everyone is a Recruiter” Just ask a veteran, active duty,
reserve or National Guard if they are a member of the American
Legion. If not sign them up today. I have membership applications if
you need one. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
St. Stephen’s Annual Holiday Fair
Saturday, November 23, put St. Stephen’s Holiday Fair at the top of
your list to visit. The church is right on Main Street in
Pittsfield beside Dustin Park and will be open from 9 AM to 2 PM. As
we enter the peak of the Christmas shopping season why not avoid the
crowds in the big city stores and make the rounds of the great
church fairs instead?
St. Stephen’s is well-known for its outstanding Silent Auction, so
you might want to stop by a couple of times during the day to be
sure you are the high bidder on that perfect item. Some of the
special items in this year’s auction include an E-Zip 1000 watt
electric scooter with charger and two helmets, a collection of
unique new Legos, A Mission style oak desk, antique lamps and a Dell
computer. Time your last visit to be present at 2 PM, so
you can be on hand for the announcement of the auction high bidders
.
You will find a large collection of creative crafts, gifts, and
seasonal decorations when you browse the Christmas Boutique. In the
Bakery, choose among the homemade goodies for your holiday table.
Holiday shopping can indeed be fun and economical when you visit
the local fairs. Your purchases also have the added benefit of
helping to support church outreach programs for those many people
who need a boost in these tough times.
“Meet Our Members” – FF/EMT Ken White
Next up in Pittsfield Fire Department’s “Meet Our Members” series is
FF/EMT Ken White.
Q. How long have you been a firefighter/EMT? How long have you been
with PFD?
A. I started in 2003 as an Explorer at the age of 14. In 2007 I
became a call member and in 2013 I was hired fulltime.
Q. What have you learned and gained in those 10 years?
A. I’ve learned a great deal about firefighting. Most people think
it is as easy as “Put the wet stuff on the hot stuff,” but it’s not.
There is a lot of science involved that interests me. Most
importantly, I’ve gained a bigger family. I consider each member I
work with a brother/sister and, if need be, would lay my life down
to save them.
Q. What is the best training you attended? What did you take away
from it?
A. The best training I’ve attended was the International Association
of Firefighters Fire Ground Survival Class. This course was based
on real-life situations where we lost firefighters during “MAYDAY”
situations. This class helped me feel more confident in my
abilities to survive a MAYDAY situation and helped me feel more
confident in my equipment. It also gave me the mindset to train
harder.
VA Meets President’s Mental Health
Executive Order Hiring Goal
More than 800 Veterans Hired as Mental Health Peer Specialists and
Peer Apprentices
WASHINGTON (Nov. 5, 2013) – The Department of Veterans Affairs has
hired 815 Peer Specialists and Peer Apprentices, exceeding the
hiring goal set in President Obama’s Aug. 31, 2012 Executive Order
aimed at improving access to mental health services for Veterans,
service members and military families.
On June 3, VA announced the department met another goal established
by the Executive Order by hiring 1,600 additional mental health
professionals.
“We have made strong progress to expand Veterans’ access to quality
mental health services, but we must continue to increase access,”
said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “These newly
hired employees, Veterans themselves, are uniquely equipped to guide
fellow Veterans through difficult issues.”
Peer Specialists and Peer Support Apprentices are a unique cadre of
people joining VA’s mental health care teams. They are Veterans who
have successfully dealt with their own mental health recovery for a
minimum of one year. Peer Specialists are trained and certified,
while Peer Support Apprentices are undergoing training and
certification to become Peer Specialists. An additional component
from the Executive Order mandated that all training for these peer
counselors would be complete by the end of the year. VA remains on
track to meet that requirement.
“We are proud to have exceeded the hiring goal established by the
President in his Executive Order,” said Under Secretary for Health,
Dr. Robert A. Petzel. “We are well on the way to have all of these
new hires trained by the end of the calendar year.”
Specialists and apprentices are working at every VA medical center
throughout the country as well as at Community-Based Outpatient
Clinics with over 10,000 enrollees. As the Nation’s largest
integrated health care system, VA cares for more than 6.3 million
Veterans annually, and has seen an increase in the amount of service
men and women who are dealing with mental health issues. VA’s push
to hire Veterans who can provide peer support is a key part of a
greater effort aimed at increasing access to mental health care
services for the nation’s Veterans by hiring thousands of new mental
health professionals.
Earlier this year, VA announced a 50 percent increase in staffing
for the Veterans Crisis Line (1-800-273-8255), which has been
credited with rescuing more than 26,000 actively suicidal Veterans.
This year, VA held Mental Health Summits at 151 VA medical centers
across the country to further engage community partners, Veteran
Service Organizations, health care providers and local governments,
and to address the broad mental health needs of Veterans and their
families.
To learn more about current VA Peer to Peer job
opportunities visit:
http://www.vacareers.va.gov/peer-to-peer/.
Veterans and their families interested in learning more about the
mental health services provided by VA can go to
www.mentalhealth.va.gov.
Pittsfield Fire Department Service News
During the month of October 67 calls for emergency service were
received. Fire and EMS personnel responded to: 42 Medical
emergencies, 2 Structure fires, 2 outside fires, 1 Cooking Fire, 5
Motor Vehicle collisions, 5 Fire Alarm activations, 7 Service calls,
3 Good intent calls. Six of the calls were overlapping calls. Five
Mutual aid responses were provided to other communities and 3 were
received from other communities. Twenty Permits to Kindle a Fire
were written.
Training topics for the month of October were: Carbon Monoxide
poisoning, symptoms and treatment, Rescue systems and patient
packaging and incident response and size-up.
The Members of the department attended the PMHS Homecoming parade
and bonfire, Harvest fest and PTO Trunk or Treat. There were also
several Fire Chief Committee meetings held.
There are several members enrolled into classes at the New Hampshire
Fire Academy. EMS Captain Girard, Lieutenant Pszonowsky and
Firefighter Deane have started Fire Officer II, Lieutenant
Pszonowsky has been enrolled into Inspector I and Firefighter Ward
is keeping up the good work in Firefighter II.
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the Fire
Department or to learn more about the Department, please stop by the
station or call 435-6807.
Safety tip: With daylight savings time ending, please remember to
change the batteries in your smoke detectors and test them.
Fantastic Fair
Come one, come all to the Christmas Fair at the First Congregational
Church, 24 Main Street, Pittsfield, Saturday, November 23, from 9 to
2. Sponsored by The Dorcas Guild, this fair is nothing short of
fantastic.
There are many handcrafted things: kitchen items, aprons, mittens,
hats, artwork, jewelry, toys and special gourmet and baked goods.
Don’t forget the “Unique Boutique” for outstanding values and the
“Silent Auction” for those special gifts.
Come to shop and stay for a low-cost corn chowder and
sandwich lunch. One of New Hampshire’s great fairs, this one is not
to be missed. Parking and wheelchair accessible entrance at rear of
church. More info at 435-7471 or
www.pittsfieldcc.com.
Secret Santa Fund
Although the holidays are a bit away, Santa’s Helpers are already
hard at work preparing to meet the needs of Pittsfield’s residents.
We are accepting applications from those in need of assistance this
holiday season. Applications will only be accepted until December
1st t allow Santa and the Elves time to prepare gifts for everyone.
Children must be 14 years of age or younger to be eligible. The
child’s parent or legal guardian must be the one to apply. Families
applying for assistance must be residents of Pittsfield. Please
contact the Pittsfield Fire Dept. at 435-6807 during regular
business hours for more information or to apply. This program is
operated by volunteers, so if you leave a message it will be
returned as quickly as possible but response may not be immediate.
The Secret Santa Fund relies on the generosity of residents and
local businesses eager to help those less fortunate. Those
interested in making donations may call 435-6807 to discuss
specifics with Santa’s Helpers. Financial donations may be sent
directly to: Pittsfield Secret Santa, PO Box 392, Pittsfield, NH
03263.
Select Board Letter
On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, I would like to extend
heartfelt appreciation to the members of the Fire Chief Hiring
Committee.
Thank you to Pittsfield Deputy Fire Chief Lenny Deane, a true
leader, for organizing and leading the panel of volunteer members to
interview the prospective candidates.
I worked with the panel members: Pittsfield Deputy Fire Chief Lenny
Deane, Pittsfield Emergency Management Director Rob Freese, Epsom
Fire Chief Stewart Yeaton, Pittsfield Police Sargeant Jeffrey Cain,
Pittsfield Fire Lieutenant Peter Pszonowsky, Pittsfield Fire
Department member Christopher Ward, and Pittsfield community member
Dan Schroth. These committee members all dedicated their time and
knowledge to the interview process, which helped make it run
smoothly and professionally.
Many thanks also to the Pittsfield Firefighters Association for
serving the committee refreshments, which were greatly appreciated.
Last, but certainly not least, I extend deep gratitude to Acting
Fire Chief Nick Abell for stepping up to serve as acting fire chief.
Chief Abell has done an excellent job in managing the fire
department this year and his dedication to the department and town
is greatly appreciated by the Board of Selectmen.
Than you all, again, for your dedication to our community.
Lawrence J. Konopka, Chairman
Pittsfield Board of Selectmen
Millie Dillmount (Kali Mara) takes a letter from her
future boss Trevor Graydon (Angelo Gentile) in the Pittsfield
Players’ 45th Anniversary Gala Production of Thoroughly Modern
Millie. The show runs again this weekend at The Scenic Theatre on
Friday and Saturday, November 15 and 16. For tickets, visit the
Players’ website at
www.pittsfieldplayers.com or call
435-8853.
Letter to the Editor
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God
continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his
name” (Hebrews 13:15).
Lord, thank you that I have been justified (saved from the penalty
of sin) through the blood of Jesus Christ. “Therefore, having been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in
which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans
5:1-2).
Thank you that I am being sanctified (saved from the power of sin)
by your Holy Spirit as He changes me into the image of your Son.
“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been
united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also
shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our
old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done
away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has
died has been freed from sin” (Romans 6:4-7).
Thank you that I will be glorified (saved from the presence of sin)
when my salvation is completed. “For I consider that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the
creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
…because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God”
(Romans 8:18-21).
By His grace,
Linda Small
Pittsfield NH
The Friends RSVP
Caregivers Program
The Friends RSVP Caregiver Program is seeking
volunteers who have a couple of hours per week, or even just a few
hours per month, to bring comfort and cheer to homebound senior
citizens; by providing transportation to medical appointments,
grocery shopping and friendly visits. Our program helps to keep the
elderly living independently and shows a lonely person that someone
cares. Volunteers will share conversation, memories and interests
with their match and you will not only be improving their lives but
yours as well. We support the Greater Concord area, including:
Pembroke, Allenstown, Penacook, Bow, Northwood, Chichester, Epsom
and more. We are also taking on new clients. Please contact our
office for more information: Hannah Roberts,
[email protected], 603-228-1193
ext.238
VICTORIAN DOLL HOUSE
It’s here for you to see....the hand-crafted, wooden Doll House is
on display at the Pittsfield Clothes Closet. Donated as a
fund-raiser to benefit the shop, the doll house is a valuable work
in progress and has all the emenities (exterior features, interior
accessories and furniture) to create a finished Victorian replica
suitable for a place of honor in someone’s home.
Raffle tickets are being sold at the shop during open hours (Tues,
Wed, 10:00-4:00; Sat, 10:00-1:00). Upon recommendation, since the
shop is closed Thanksgiving week, ticket sales are extended to
include December with the drawing scheduled for Saturday, December
21st.
Visit us. We would like to sell a lot of tickets.
Loudon Center Freewill Baptist Church on
Operation Christmas Child
Join us on Sat. Nov. 16 at 6 pm for an Operation
Christmas Child packing party at Loudon Center Freewill Baptist
Church on Clough Hill Road in Loudon. Dinner will be provided, a
short video on hope and a free concert to follow. For more
information on Operation Christmas Child email Stephanie at
[email protected]
Caregiver Support Group
If you care for an elderly and/or sick person please join us at the
Loudon Center Freewill Baptist Church on the 2nd and 4th Monday of
the month at 6 pm. Church is located on Clough Hill Road in Loudon.
For more information please contact Rev. Linda Overall at
603.875.5822
Alzheimer’s Presentation
On Monday, November 18th at 6:30 pm there will be a FREE public
presentation on Alzheimer’s Disease at the Loudon Center Freewill
Baptist Church on Clough Hill Road in Loudon. This disease affects
millions, come find out the basics of the disease and resources
available. We will collect a freewill love offering for the
presenter. Please feel free to bring a donation for the Loudon Food
Pantry also. For more information please contact Rev. Linda Overall
at 603.875.5822 or Jean Fiske at 603.300.6616.
“What’s Happening at PYW?”
By: Paula Martel,
Program Director
Left to right: Peyton, Destinee, Jasmine, Tyler, Morgan, Isaiah,
Cody, Charles, Mason, Trenton, Heather, Jamie and George
Not in Picture: Eileen, Hailey, Sean, and Jessica
It has been busy at the Pittsfield Youth Workshop (PYW). PYW 6th
grade participants (on early release days) got to go apple picking
at Meadow Ledge Farm, play Disc Golf at The Woods at Beauty Hill and
have a movie day at PYW. Other trips the youth have enjoyed has been
a trip to the circus, outdoor rock climbing and a trip to Funspot to
go bowling and play arcade games. The youth also spend many hours
hanging out during drop-in hours using the computers, being involved
in outdoor games and activities and/or playing pool. They can be
involved in Cooking Club, or can learn new board games and/or work
on some very cool arts and crafts projects. Fifteen youth got
involved in pumpkin carving and twenty (20) youth spent many
afternoons planning a Haunted House.
Our Haunted House theme, “The Walk-in Dead,” fundraising event was
held on Halloween night. We hope that everyone had a chance to
experience the terrors and chills of our haunted house while
supporting PYW programs at the same time. We want to thank everyone
who dropped off candy for the youth. And we can’t forget to thank
all the youth that helped build the haunted house, and gave up their
night to let others have a good scare. Great Job!
Upcoming Events: PYW will have a High School Only Night (grades 9 -
12), November 22nd, to go see the Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire.
On November 27th PYW youth will be providing a Thanksgiving Dinner
for their families. For the first week of December the youth will
bake, build and decorate Gingerbread Houses to be raffled off at the
Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday, December 7th.
Just a reminder: PYW Drop-in hours are Monday through Friday from
3-6 PM. We will be closed Monday, December 23rd until Monday,
January 6th for Christmas vacation. We also want to wish everyone a
safe and Happy Holiday! Don’t forget to LIKE us on Facebook!
Please feel free to contact Paula Martel or Zach
Powers at
[email protected] with any
questions or to make a donation. Make sure to check out our website
at
www.pittsfieldyouthworkshop.org for our
calendar of events or the latest pictures of what the youth have
been doing!
Front row from left to right: President General Lynn Forney Young,
NH State Regent Phyllis Gagnon, NJ State Regent Connie Olde. Back
row from left to right: NH Honorary State Regent Laura McCrillis
Kessler, NH Honorary State Regent Elaine Sears Coughlin Bean, NH
Honorary State Regent and Past Treasurer General Bea Dalton and NH
Honorary State Regent and Past Treasurer General Sarah Voll
On Saturday October 19, 2013 NH State Regent Phyllis Gagnon hosted
the fall conference at Waterville Valley. Daughters from around the
nation were present with the guest of honor President General Lynn
Forney Young.
Congratulations to the Suncook Valley Soccer Club U12 Boys. The U12
boys came in first place at this years League Tournament on October
26 & 27. This was a great tournament with teams from Pittsfield,
Chichester, Epsom, Northwood and Concord Christian. Most games were
decided by overtime shoot outs and SVSC was able to come in first
place after two exciting games against Epsom both with a close score
of 2-1. Congratulations to all the teams and thank you
to all the wonderful parents and referees that made 2013 a wonderful
season.
Central New Hampshire Regional Plan
Public Outreach Sessions
The Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission (CNHRPC) is
continuing its series of public outreach listening sessions to
invite interested people to discuss challenges and opportunities
facing the Central NH Region. The first session was held on October
30 in Hillsborough with an interactive discussion on community,
transportation, and economic development in the Town and surrounding
area.
What are the region’s strengths and what could be improved? There
are two more sessions left to talk about these important subjects.
Join your fellow Central NH region residents and business associates
for an informative dialogue to answer these questions and more
during either of the two remaining public outreach listening
sessions in November and December.
Feel free to attend either session regardless of where you live in
the region as these are regional discussions of importance. Everyone
is welcome. All sessions run from 6:30 to 8:00 PM:
• Wednesday, November 20 – BOW Town Hall Meeting Room B, 10
Grandview Road
• Wednesday, December 11 – PITTSFIELD Elementary School Cafeteria,
34 Bow Street
For more information, please contact CNHRPC at
226-6020 or [email protected], and visit www.cnhrpc.org/gsf.
Letter To The Editor
In response to Representative Carol McGuire’s letter published in
the November 6th, 2013 edition of The Sun.
Representative McGuire is poorly informed and uneducated on the
issue of health care. Medicaid provides health care for those in
the greatest need so that they do not go to the emergency room. As
everybody knows emergency care is the most expensive health care in
the country and we all pay for this with high health care costs!
Expanding Medicaid in New Hampshire would be the most effective way
to improve health outcomes for the most needy population in our
state.
Please be aware that Representative McGuire is an out of state Tea
Party/Free-stater that has purposefully invaded our state along with
her cronies to take over our state government and shut it down just
as they did with the federal government last month, a shut down that
had a billion dollar impact on our economy!
Representative McGuire’s weekly articles in The Sun are nothing but
Tea Party/Free State propaganda and should not be taken as any kind
of fact.
Representative McGuire does not represent the every day people of
New Hampshire; she represents the radical Free State carpetbaggers
who do not have your best interests in mind.
Thanks.
Owen David
Pittsfield
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