REMINDER
EXIT
Reward Realty is now accepting unwrapped new toys for the Toys for
Tots program. You can drop off your toy at either of the EXIT
Reward Realty locations: 79 High St. in Pittsfield or 1022 Dover
Rd., Unit 6 in Epsom. We will be accepting toys until December 2,
2016. Help a child in need this Holiday Season!
The
Merrimack County Stamp Collectors will hold its monthly meeting at
the Bow Mills United Methodist Church, 505 South St., Bow, on
December 20th beginning at 1 pm. All who are interested
in stamp collecting are welcome to attend Meet other
collectors and learn more about their hobby and varied interests in
Philatelic resources and issues. For more information call Dan Day
at 603-228-1154.
The
next meeting of Pittsfield American Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75
will be held on December 5, 2016 beginning at 7:30 pm. Location of
the meeting will be at the Post Home, located at 3 Loudon Rd.
Ideas for next year will be discussed plus other important matters.
If you are a veteran that served during time of war, and are
looking for a place to come chill and talk to others that have been
through the same problems as you, stop by and check us out. Any
questions can be directed at the Post Adjutant, Merrill Vaughan at
603-344-0264.
Education Funding Forum
Submitted By Carl Anderson
In
response to an invitation received by Pittsfield from the City of
Franklin, in my capacity as Selectman, I attended a forum hosted by
their Mayor, City Manager, and a Northfield Selectman. The purpose
was to prompt discussion and strategize on how to deal with the
State’s phasing out of Education Stabilization Grants.
Presently Pittsfield receives 2.2 million dollars in annual grant
money. Starting in 2017, the annual payments are scheduled to be
reduced by 4% every year until it no longer exists. The forum was
attended by many towns, from Nashua to Berlin and everywhere in
between, that will be adversely affected. The same degree of
desperation that is being felt by many Pittsfield taxpayers was
echoed at the meeting by representatives from other low-valuation
towns.
A
Selectman from Charlestown told of the many properties being taken
for taxes because residents can’t afford them. The School Supt. from
Lisbon said they were on the verge of just ignoring the minimum
standards dictated by the State because of the financial condition
of that town. The Northfield town administrator stated that if they
did away with their entire police department, they still wouldn’t be
able make up the difference.
Over
and over, the same story was repeated, with the looming of the State
cutbacks making local tax burdens unsustainable. A long term
initiative of trying to convince the Legislature to correctly assess
the cost of educating students and to continue that funding will be
headed up by the school board chairman from Derry.
There
is talk, however, of the State actually amending the NH Constitution
so that funding from Concord would not be required at all! A short
term solution also discussed would be to convince law makers to
freeze the reductions immediately until a long term plan can be
implemented. This means every concerned citizen should make it a
priority to contact their NH Senators and House Reps to express
their dismay at yet another nail in our local real estate tax
coffin.
Pittsfield Players Annual Christmas Show
What
exactly IS a Dickens’ Christmas Carol, A Traveling Travesty in Two
Tumultuous Acts? You may ask. Here’s the scoop; “From the author of
Faith County and Faith County II comes the funniest Christmas Carol
ever. The Styckes Upon Thump Repertory Company embarks on their
fifteenth annual tour of the Dickens classic. When the company’s
diva feigns illness, certain the production will be canceled, this
merry troupe of over the hill and upstart actors carry on without
her. Roles are shuffled and the sweet understudy suddenly finds
herself on stage knowing only one line of dialogue. She has written
her part in and on almost everything, including the Christmas
pudding! Midway through the doomed performance, the diva rushes in
to reclaim her role. Total mayhem ensues as the company scrambles to
keep the show going while everything goes hilariously wrong.”
The
Pittsfield Players will still be hosting our annual FREE Christmas
show to the community on Thursday December 8 at 7:30 PM at the
Scenic Theater; we will also be offering more than one chance to see
the show with a ticket price of $12.
The
FREE THURSDAY showing of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, A Traveling
Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts, directed by Marty Williams and
Produced by Meggin Dail will be open seating but the rest of the
shows will be reserved seating on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
December 9, 10 & 11 plus Friday and Saturday, December 16 & 17.
Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30, Sunday at 2PM.
Because
of the amount of time and effort put into this raucously funny
Christmas themed show, the director and actors felt they needed to
give you every opportunity to enjoy the work put into this Dickens
Christmas Carol gone horribly awry.
You’re
reading that right, the Pittsfield Players Christmas show will be
FREE on THURSDAY night Dec. 8 (tickets still needed for this show)
but we will also give you FIVE MORE times to see it for the low cost
of $12. Keep watching The Suncook Valley Sun for more information on
this lift me up, pick me up Christmas show.
Tickets
for the FREE show Thursday, December 8 will be available on a first
come first served basis the night of the show, the rest of the
performances tickets may be reserved by calling 435-8852. Please
leave (and spell) your name and telephone number.
Letter
To The Editor
NO MORE
‘OVERVIEW’
I would
like to take this time to thank The Suncook Valley Sun and its
editor Ross Morse for publishing my ‘Select Board Overview’ nearly
every week since last March. My amateur writing has been accepted
without being critiqued, along with my late revisions and
submissions. The SUN provides those of us who are still living
‘Facebook free’ with a place to share the things that go on in our
small corner of the world. Not once has The SUN ever so much as
hinted at censoring my submissions, although at times it may have
been tempting.
However, because I refuse to avoid some topics that could be
controversial I am choosing to drop the letters entirely. Again,
this in no way reflects any issue with The SUN and I thank them for
their generous time and space.
Carl
Anderson
VA
Lauded By National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable For Screening Rates
Approximately 4,000 Veterans are diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer
each year
Submitted Via Merrill Vaughan
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has received
Hall of Fame recognition by the National Colorectal Cancer
Roundtable (NCCR) for achieving an 82 percent colorectal cancer
screening rate, which exceeds the NCCR goal of 80 percent and the
national average, which is in the 60 percent range. NCCR was
established in 1997 by the American Cancer Society and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention as a national coalition of
public, private and voluntary organizations along with invited
individuals.
“We
know that colon cancer is both common and lethal,” said David J.
Shulkin, VA Under Secretary for Health. “Colon cancer is the second
most common cause of cancer death in the United States; we know that
it can be prevented through screening. Recognition by this
prestigious organization shows that our prevention measures are
saving our Veterans’ lives.”
VA has
been an early leader in fully embracing the value of colorectal
cancer screening and in employing a comprehensive approach to its
screening program by developing policies and guidance about
screening. VA also monitors and reports system-wide screening rates,
increased access to screening, developed systems of care to
facilitate screening using clinical reminders, clinician toolkits,
patient and staff education.
Information about VA’s efforts to prevent and treat colorectal
cancer may be found at
http://www.va.gov/QUALITYOFCARE/initiatives/compare/
Prevention_Colorectal_Cancer_Screening.asp. Information about
VA’s cancer research and achievements may be found at
http://www.research.va.gov/topics/cancer.cfm.
State
Reduction In Education Funding
Understanding The Impact In Pittsfield
Submitted By Dr. John Freeman, Pittsfield School District
Superintendent of Schools
Since
August, the Pittsfield School District School Board, administration,
and faculty have been preparing the district’s 2017-2018 proposed
budget for presentation to the voters of the district in March 2017.
While the balance between the district’s tax rate and the
obligation to provide an education to the children and youth of
Pittsfield creates an annual tension, this year’s budget development
is presenting a greater challenge than usual. This has occurred for
several reasons, and this article is the first of several that will
review this process and challenges for Pittsfield voters.
A
critical aspect of budget planning is consideration of revenue
sources to support the schools. Schools in New Hampshire are funded
from two main sources: (1) the state, through its “adequacy grant”
and (2) the local school district, through an annual district
assessment. This school year – 2016-2017 – the state is estimated
to contribute $4,256,824.22 to the operation of Pittsfield’s
schools, while local Pittsfield taxpayers are estimated to
contribute $3,908,583.00. Lesser amounts of funding are available
from other sources, including federal and competitive grants.
The
state’s contribution has been the subject of much discussion and
several lawsuits claiming that the education of children and youth
is a state responsibility; this issue has been raised in many states
over the past fifty years. The most famous of these lawsuits in New
Hampshire is known as the “Claremont Decision” and centered on the
argument of five towns – including Pittsfield – that the state’s
system of funding was unconstitutional, disadvantaging children and
youth property-poor towns.
The
court ordered the state to change its system of funding. To do so,
the state was required to determine the cost of an “adequate
education” and to provide payments to school districts to cover this
cost. Unrealistically, the state’s estimation of an adequate
education in New Hampshire is about $3,500/year per student, with
additional funds provided for students in certain categories, such
as special need students and students for whom English is not their
native language.
However, the actual average cost per student in New Hampshire (from
2014-2015, the latest data available) was more than $14,000, or four
times the funding that the state provides. When first instituted
several years back, this funding scheme placed an unusual and
inequitable burden on some towns in the state, particularly towns
which would suffer a large drop-off in state funding due to the
change in funding formula. To attempt to remedy this, the state has
been providing “stabilization grants” to a number of towns to
mitigate against a large and sudden drop-off of state funding.
Pittsfield has been receiving more than $2,000,000/year in
stabilization funds.
However, in 2012, the state adjusted its adequacy formula to provide
a change in their stabilization grants. This change dictated that
each district’s stabilization grant would decrease by 4% per year
for twenty-five years beginning in the 2017-2018 school year. This
reduction would eventually completely eliminate these grants to
school districts. For Pittsfield, this means about $86,000
reduction in our state grant next year and an additional $86,000
reduction per year in each of the following twenty-four years.
Using current figures, this amounts to a tax impact of about
$.32/thousand for Pittsfield taxpayers per year for each of these
twenty-five years.
Like a
homeowner who suffers a reduction in income, the district is now
faced with difficult choices: do something to find more income or
cut back on expenses. For the school district, this forces the
district to either secure additional revenues or reduce services and
supports to its students; of course, the district can also do some
of both.
School
Board Chair Mike Wolfe attended an organizational meeting of towns
and school districts negatively impacted by the funding change. The
group, organized by town officials in Franklin, plans to bring the
issue to the legislature in hope of relief. This initiative is
important for the children, youth, and taxpayers of Pittsfield;
we’ll have to wait and see if relief is in the cards. In the
meantime, the district is making hard choices about next steps for
the schools.
A
Healthy Holiday
Submitted By Jennifer Pickard
Rite
Aid Wellness Ambassador
Cold
and flu season is upon us, but the local Rite Aid is prepared to
help you shield yourself and your loved ones this holiday season.
The certified immunizing Rite Aid pharmacists located at 41 Carroll
Street in Pittsfield, stand ready to administer this year’s seasonal
flu shot, available during pharmacy hours; no appointment is
necessary. While the timing of flu season is unpredictable,
outbreaks can happen as early as October, which is why it is
important to get vaccinated as early as possible. If you have
questions or concerns regarding the flu shot, or another vaccine,
talk with your Rite Aid pharmacist or visit
RiteAid.com/VaccineCentral for more information.
Walk-in to Rite Aid and check out the Wellness table located at the
front of the store. Here, customers will find useful resources such
as vaccine questionnaire, coloring pages for children and more!
Wellness Ambassadors are also great resources and serve as a bridge
between the front of the store and the pharmacy. They are there to
help you locate products; provide access to information on
over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements; and help
you interact with our licensed pharmacists on a more personal level.
The
first Wednesday of every month is Wellness Wednesday, where
wellness65+ customers receive 20% off nonprescription purchases in
store or online that day. Rite Aid’s next Wellness Wednesday is on
Wednesday, December 7, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
For
additional deals, be sure to check out the weekly Rite Aid circular
in store or online. It is not too early to start making your list
(and checking it twice) for the upcoming holiday season.
Thank you
for your patronage.
Departments In MO And KY Latest Recipients In 2016 Globe Gear
Giveaway
Globe,
DuPont, and NVFC teamed up to award 52 sets of gear in 2016
Globe,
DuPont Protection Solutions (DuPont), and the National Volunteer
Fire Council (NVFC) are pleased to announce the latest round of
winners in the 2016 Globe Gear Giveaway. This is the fifth year that
Globe has partnered with DuPont and the NVFC to provide volunteer
departments with critically needed sets of turnout gear. The Brindle
Ridge Fire Department in Mount Vernon, KY, and the Eastern Douglas
County Volunteer Fire Department in Drury, MO, will each be
outfitted with four sets of new, state-of-the-art Globe turnout
gear.
“We
appreciate of the opportunity to partner with Globe and DuPont to
help volunteer departments enhance the safety and effectiveness of
their firefighters,” said NVFC Chairman Kevin D. Quinn. “Since the
Globe Gear Giveaway program began four years ago, over 300 sets of
gear have been awarded to departments across the U.S. and Canada.
This program is having an immense impact on the safety and readiness
of boots-on-the-ground volunteer firefighters in North America.”
To be
eligible to apply, departments had to be all-volunteer or
mostly-volunteer, serve a population of 25,000 or less, be legally
organized in the U.S. or Canada, and be a member of the NVFC. To
help departments meet this last requirement, Globe sponsored NVFC
Department Memberships for the first 500 applicants.
The
Brindle Ridge Fire Department (BRFD) serves 1,700 people over 91
square miles in Rockcastle County, KY. Department fundraising
proceeds are used for purchasing equipment and essential tools as
well helping pay for basic utilities. BRFD attempts to replace old
turnout gear on a yearly basis, but with 38 members on the roster
and only eight sets of gear that are National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) compliant, the department has a large number of
members that do not have the gear required to fight fires. This
reduces their ability to provide training to their volunteers, as
the state requires all members to have compliant gear in order to
work in live fire training situations. This gear donation will
provide BRFD members desperately needed protective equipment,
enabling them to better protect their community.
Eastern
Douglas County Volunteer Fire Department (EDCVFD) is a small rural
department providing fire and medical services to approximately
2,200 citizens in Drury, MO. They are a membership-based department,
receiving no tax funding. More than half of their annual budget is
dedicated to insurance coverage. Their 24 volunteers have only 14
sets of gear among them, all of which are more than 10 years old.
Even with this obstacle, EDCVFD is very active in the community;
they were named a national Firewise Community in 2015 and 2016.
“Departments like ours depend on companies like Globe to provide
grant programs to acquire new gear,” said Chief Chris Hammett.
The
final two 2016 Globe Gear Giveaway awards will be announced in
December. Stay tuned to the NVFC web site, Dispatch newsletter, and
page on Facebook, as well as the Globe page on Facebook, for
additional information and announcements regarding the Globe Gear
Giveaway.
Festive
Christmas Concert
Plan to
attend the annual Christmas concert coming Friday, December 9, 7
p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 24 Main St., Pittsfield.
This special concert entitled, “Christmas Joy,” will feature the
church’s Chancel Choir, the JuBellation Handbell Choir as well as
special guest, Bill Parker. Add this fun, festive family event to
your holiday celebrations! Parking and wheelchair accessible entry
located at rear of church at Chestnut Street. For more information,
call the church office at 435-7471.
Thank
You
Catamount Womenaid would like to thank the sponsors and neighbors
that made the 2016 Catamount 5k at the Deerfield Fairgrounds a
triumph. Platinum Sponsor Deerfield Veterinary Clinic provided a
strong financial foundation for the second year in a row. Gold
Sponsors Northeast Delta Dental and Granite State Solar and Silver
Sponsors Northeast Eye Care, Abbey Run Construction and Debbie
Kelley of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services/Verani Realty helped us
achieve a successful fundraiser, raising more than $9,000.
On
November 6, we hosted 115 runners and walkers at the historic
Deerfield Fairgrounds for a sunny and scenic course, with course
direction help from Deerfield Community School 8th graders. After
their run, participants were greeted with a spread of refreshments
donated by Panera of Concord and Dover, apples from Calef’s Country
Store and water donated by Deerfield resident Dwight Barnes. The
crowd was entertained by Deerfield Park & Recreation Director Joe
Manzi, who volunteered his time and expertise as emcee. We are
humbled by the generous support of our community, which allows us to
provide emergency financial assistance to men, women and children in
need.
Sincerely,
The
Board of Catamount Womenaid
Laurie
Bienefeld, Christie Gerasimchik, Lynn Hapke, Deb Horton, Marisa
McCutchen and Fran Miller.
Grace
Capital Celebrates One Year Of Having Its Own Space
Grace
Capital Church is made up of four campuses in Pembroke, Laconia,
Manchester, and Pittsfield. In early 2015, a small group started
meeting on Saturday nights in Pembroke with a vision and heart to
start the Pittsfield campus. Many of the attendees would go out to
share a meal after the service in local area restaurants and
strengthened the friendships that were growing. In September, the
group collaborated with the First Congregational Church on Main
Street so they could start to meet in Pittsfield. Things moved
along quickly and on December 20th, 2015, they were able to move
into their own space at 55 Barnstead Road. Christmas Eve was one of
the first services held in the new space and nearly 200 people were
in attendance.
When
Grace Capital considers starting a new campus, they believe
“presence precedes place”. By starting with people, prayer and a
vision, a firm foundation of camaraderie and cohesiveness is created
upon which the continued growth of the church can be built. Once
that foundation is in place, a space to meet can be located. What
to others may have seemed like quick growth, felt like a slow steady
increase to those in it from the beginning. One man said it as, “We
aren’t a church full of a religious people, but a campus full of
relationships, friendships and love for Jesus.”
The
warehouse space, as opposed to the traditional building with a
steeple, has both benefits and challenges. There was enough space
for the sanctuary, a stage, offices, a greeting and info area, kid’s
rooms and meeting rooms, but how would the space rented be turned
into what the church needed? Almost all work and materials has been
donated by the attendees or people that have become friends of the
church. People gave of their time and energy. Even if they didn’t
know what they were doing, there always seemed to be someone to
teach and others who were willing learn to accomplish the tasks at
hand.
The
invitation of Grace Capital Pittsfield, as taken from their website
at www.gccnh.com/pittsfield, is,
“Come just as you are and allow God to meet you. You don’t have to
dress up. You don’t need any previous church experience. Grace
Capital started as, and continues to be, a place where people from
all backgrounds can connect together in relationship with Jesus
Christ and one another. Love, acceptance, and forgiveness are where
it all begins. From there, we’ll help each other grow to become all
that God intends us to be.”
Lead
Pastor Mark Warren says, “Many people have asked why we opened
another location 30 minutes from our original Pembroke Campus.
I tell them it’s because we love the town of Pittsfield and the
people in this region, it’s that simple. The people of Pittsfield
may never come to church in Pembroke, but they just might come to
church in their own town. When they see how much we care for them
and their families, they just might allow us to come alongside them
and invest in their lives so they can truly believe that tomorrow is
going to be a better day!” The Pittsfield Location Pastors, Mike
and Kathy Mavity, added, “We love connecting with the folks in
Pittsfield and working alongside them to see God work in the
community. We love Pittsfield!”
As I
spoke to the different people involved in the church, a common theme
seemed to emerge. Several people mentioned how it seemed like each
person that comes brings their own gift, talent or skill and is
willing to share it. This isn’t a place where a few are the ones
who are consistently called upon to serve the many. It truly feels
like each person, from the youngest to the oldest, brings something,
whether it be a smile, a hug, encouragement, listening ears, cooking
yummy food, laughter, making music, swinging a hammer, painting,
relating to kids or youth, praying or bringing a relevant message.
The thing that doesn’t seem to be found is judgment or a
“holier-than-thou” attitude. This growing church family is a place
of love and kindness, acceptance and forgiveness, fun and laughter.
The focus is on moving from where we are today, forward. One way
that goal is accomplished is through “LifeGroups”. These are
smaller groups that meet at people’s homes during the week to talk
about life, who we are, struggles, accomplishments, challenges and
wins. When these smaller groups come together on Sunday morning, it
turns into family and a true connectedness.
Have
you been hurt by or felt judged when you came into contact with a
church in the past? Do you have a life or spiritual question that
you might like to discuss? Do you want to feel known? Do you want
to put your hands and heart to work in this community to foster
friendship and outreach to your neighbors? We’d love for you to
come help us celebrate one year in our new space and see what we’re
all about. Come on down to 55 Barnstead Road on Sunday, December
4th. The gathering will start at 9 a.m. with fellowship and coffee,
followed by a service at 9:30 and lunch will be served following the
service. We look forward to you celebrating with us!
Rodney
Lindberg, Sr. celebrating his 100th birthday at the home of Ralph
and Gretchen Lance (his daughter) in Haughton, LA.
School
Board Notes
Submitted By Ralph Odell, School Board Member
The
weekly summaries of Select Board Meetings has been positively
received. I will attempt to provide similar summaries of School
Board activities. The agenda of a routine meeting involves public
input, reports from various administrators plus items requiring
board approval. Often issues are addressed that require setting
policy or long term direction.
The
November 17 meeting started with a question from the public
involving the payment for mowing and upkeep of the girls’ softball
field. We did not have an answer on the funding of this work and an
investigation of the history of the past agreements will be made.
Derek
Hamilton, Dean of Operations reported that a program had been
initiated to increase school attendance and initial results are
positive. Kathy LeMay, Director of Intervention, described efforts
to increase communication between teachers and parents, “A Family
Engagement Team.” Tobi Chassie, District Administrator, mentioned
that several groups recently visited the school to observe “Student
Centered Learning “ in operation. They included individuals from
Western Wayne Schools from Indiana, Nashua North, Nashua NH, and
Salem Schools, Salem NH.
Several
students gave a presentation describing their plans for a
Junior/Senior prom at Steele Hill Resort in Sanbornton and their
fund raising activities. The plan was approved. A request was
presented for personal leave, also approved.
School
Administration and the School Board are actively involved with the
budget process. This past year resulted in a large surplus which
will be returned to the Town. Several unexpected costs have created
a challenge. There is a 17% increase in health insurance costs,
unforeseen special education costs plus a 4% reduction in the State
Education Stabilization Grant Fund.
The
reduction in state support is a legislative action starting in 2017,
continuing for 20 years. This topic was the focus of a meeting on
November 14 in Franklin attended by 75 individuals from various
school districts around the state. It was concluded that a
legislative solution should be pursued. The school board will be
following up with further discussions. The power point presentation
from this meeting describing the impact on Pittsfield and other
communities will be made available on the District website.
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