REMINDER
The
Northwood CrankPullers Snowmobile Club will be hosting a Snowmobile
Safety Course for ages 12-15 at the Lake Shore Farm (275 Jenness
Pond Rd, Northwood) on Saturday, December 2nd from 8 am to 3 pm.
Lunch will be provided. To register, contact Jeremy DeTrude @
603-833-7063 (no charge for course but donations are always
welcome). Space is limited so call early. And as always, we
really appreciate our landowners and are always looking for new
members.
www.northwoodcrankpullers.com
Blue
Christmas
A Blue
Christmas service will be held on Wednesday, December 20th, 7:00 pm
at the Bow Mills United Methodist Church, 505 South St., Bow, NH.
This will be a time of a quiet service of prayer, reflection and
music for those having difficulty during this season due to grief,
illness, depression, stress, family situations or other struggles.
This will be a time to acknowledge our feelings of sadness and
concern, to remember we are not alone and to find encouragement to
live the days ahead. Light refreshments will be served
following the service. For more information, contact (603)
224-0884. All are welcome.
BCEP
Change of Hours
Effective January 1, 2018 B.C.E.P. Solid Waste will have new hours
of operation:
Tuesday
– Saturday 8:00AM – 4:00PM
Scales
close at 3:45PM
Closed
Sundays and Mondays
Peterson-Cram Post 75 News
Submitted By Merrill Vaughan, Adjutant, American Legion
Peterson-Cram Post 75
The
members of Post 75, hope you have had a great Thanksgiving and all
the extra time to eat, shop, watch games, and so forth. This
is going to be a different slant on our activities. First off,
we have selected Ms. Kathy Kelley as our primary singer for our
special activities, singing the National Anthem. She did a
fantastic job on Veterans Day for us, especially with the cold and
colder winds. We are still searching for at least one more
that would fill in for her if need be. Contact Post 75,
Adjutant Vaughan for more information.
To
re-build our financial status, we are conducting a 15-pound Turkey
Basket Raffle, and is open to the public. Tickets are $1.00 a ticket
or $5,00 for six tickets. The deadline for turning in tickets
and money is December 14, 2017. The drawing will be held on December
16, so that the winner will have plenty of time to thaw out the
turkey for a Christmas meal. For tickets or further
information, contact Post 75 Adjutant Merrill Vaughan at 435-5207
(home) or 340-1375 (cell phone).
The
December meeting will be on December 4 at 7:30 pm. We have a
full slate of programs coming up in 2018 and some will be discussed
that night. Any veteran who wants to know about the Legion,
you are welcome to stop by our Post Home that evening. We are
located at 3 Loudon Rd.
Free
Christmas Concert
The
First Congregational Church, 24 Main St., Pittsfield, is pleased to
present a Christmas concert Friday, December 8, 7 p.m. This special
concert entitled, “Christmas Jubilation,” will feature the church’s
Chancel Choir, the JuBellation Handbell Choir along with some other
special musical talent.
Be sure
to include this free delightful concert and carol sing-along for all
ages in your holiday plans. Parking and wheelchair accessible entry
located at rear of church on Chestnut Street. For more information,
call the church office at 435-7471.
Letter
To The Editor
In Dan
Schroth’s letter in the November 15 Sun, Dan said that he was
surprised at the cross section of voters that signed his petition
“to advise and beg the selectmen to remove the position of building
inspector.”
I too
am surprised by some of the names on the petition. The petitioners
should know that the board of selectmen has no authority to abolish
the position of building inspector, or to fire the building
inspector at will, or to issue lawful building permits. The
petitioners should know that if the town meeting (instead of the
board of selectmen) were to abolish the position of building
inspector, then no one could issue building permits and no one could
build anything unless the town asked the state fire marshal to be
the town’s building inspector. (RSA 155-A:7, I.) The state fire
marshal would not be more lenient than the local building inspector.
If Dan
has a valid grievance, then he can petition the selectmen to remove
the building inspector for cause. In such proceedings, Dan can
allege a specific violation of law, and the building inspector can
rebut Dan’s allegations. This is a fair process. Dan has been a
selectman and a planning board member, so he should know about
removal for cause, but instead of citing a specific violation of
law, Dan makes vague, subjective accusations, such as “biggest
problem,” that are just smears.
Because
Dan claims no specific violation of law, his complaint appears to be
with the state law that the building inspector is charged with
enforcing. Maybe Dan should complain about the state law to
Representative Brewster or Senator Reagan. Meanwhile, let’s not
shoot the messenger; doing so would be unfair and might give
Pittsfield a new messenger stricter than the local building
inspector.
Jim
Pritchard
Kentek
employees Mariya Smith and Mark Godzik prepare to deliver 147 pounds
of food donated by Kentek employees to the Pittsfield Food Pantry.
Employees and Kentek also donated $500 in cash.
Globe
Grants Departments In IN And NC Turnout Gear Through 2017 Globe Gear
Giveaway
The
Lewis Township Volunteer Fire Company (Coalmont, IN) and the
Princeville (NC) Volunteer Fire Department are each receiving four
new sets of state-of-the-art turnout gear, compliments of Globe and
DuPont Protection Solutions (DuPont). The National Volunteer Fire
Council (NVFC), Globe, and DuPont have been working together since
2012 to annually outfit volunteer fire departments with much-needed
personal protective clothing through the Globe Gear Giveaway
program. In 2017, a total of 52 sets of turnout gear are being
distributed to 13 departments in need.
The
Lewis Township Volunteer Fire Company (VFC) is located in Coalmont,
IN, and serves a population of 1,600 residents over 42 square miles.
Training has been paramount in order to better protect the
volunteers, and members are certified at the Firefighter II level.
The department has outgrown its 50-year-old station and needs to
upgrade its equipment, vehicles, attack and supply lines,
communications systems, and training props. The department is in
desperate need of new gear as well. Twelve of its 18 members have
gear that is over 10 years old and does not meet national safety
standards.
Despite
these growing needs, the company continues to provide invaluable
services to the community, including public safety scholarships for
graduating seniors, fire prevention and life safety education, smoke
alarm donation and installation programs, and more. This award from
Globe will help offset Lewis Township VFC’s financial needs, improve
the safety of its volunteers, and allow department members to
continue to give back, not only to their community, but also to
surrounding departments who rely on them for critical training.
The
Princeville Volunteer Fire Department is located roughly 60 miles
from the Atlantic Coast in Princeville, NC. In 2016 the department
lost everything – including its fire station and all of the gear
that it owned – after being hit by Hurricane Matthew, a Category 5
storm. Princeville responders performed over 40 water rescues during
the storm, and in the aftermath, the town was flooded from the Tar
River. The department is currently operating out of a tent behind
the remains of the station, which will soon be demolished.
The
department’s 28 volunteers protect 12,000 residents in the town and
surrounding county. While they were able to acquire 20 sets of gear,
all are over 10 years old and noncompliant with NFPA standards.
Before the disaster, the department was very proactive in teaching
fire prevention year-round in the schools, churches, daycares, and
apartment complexes throughout the fire district. Still in recovery
from the hurricane’s destruction, the volunteers remain committed to
their community. “The Princeville Volunteer Fire Department cannot
fail the town,” said Chief James Powell. “Despite losing everything,
we must continue to operate and move forward. This gift of turnout
gear will greatly enhance our recovery.”
The
Pittsfield Players’ Annual Christmas Show Kicks Off The Season
The
Pittsfield Players will present their Annual Christmas Show on
Friday, December 1 at The Scenic Theatre at 7:30 pm. The show is
sponsored by The Sanderson Fund, and is offered free to the public
every year. Doors will open at the theater at 6:30 pm and seats will
be available on a first-come, first-seated basis, until the theater
is full, so get there early to claim your seat.
This
year, the Pittsfield Players are hosting The Road Show Troupe from
the Community Players of Concord who will be performing a variety of
holiday music to help you welcome in the Christmas season and get in
the mood for the Christmas Tree Lighting in Pittsfield the following
evening. The songs are both secular and traditional, including songs
from Rockin’Around the Christmas Tree to Silent Night, and there
will even be a singalong for the audience to lend their voices to
the holiday cheer.
The
Road Show Troupe singers hail from Concord, Andover, Weare, Warner
and other local communities and are directed by Kendra West-Senor,
with musical accompaniment by Geraldine Veroneau and Dave Goulet on
drums. Singers include Kate Jones, Robin Lorraine Hardy-Groce, Sandy
Sully, Laurie Weissbrot, Maryann Lorenz, Karen Braz, Elizabeth June
Hardy and Kendra West-Senor.
Mark
your calendars and join the Players on Friday, December 1, at the
Scenic Theatre and get yourself in the Christmas spirit!
When
The Cattle Don’t Want To Come Home
Submitted By Carole Soule
Alice,
the reluctant Angus cow, who did not want to go home led all the
other cows astray.
Pulling
out the stuck truck.
The
cows didn’t want to come home. We thought with the recent snow and
cold temperatures the eighteen head of cattle at one of our remote
pastures in Gilmanton would be hungry and ready to move to a new
pasture in Canterbury. At first, they followed two cows we led
towards the temporary pen attached to the stock trailer. Sure they
would be hungry we had put hay in the pen hoping they would be
distracted by the hay as we closed the panels behind them. Once
secure in the pen, we could load them in the trailer. The herd
followed the two cows but about twenty yards from the pen, one
particularly flighty purebred Angus cow named “Alice” stopped,
looked around then bolted away. Of course, the rest of the herd
followed.
There
were only three of us and one ATV in a twenty-acre pasture where the
cows had the advantage. The cattle seemed to enjoy the chase with
Bruce, my husband, as he drove the ATV trying to push them back
towards the corral. I’m not sure who had more fun, Bruce on the ATV,
or the cattle trying to outwit the ATV. The cows would look at the
ATV then kick up their heals and circle round until they finally ran
to the back of the pasture, stood in the ankle-deep green grass and
looked at Bruce as if to say, “Look there’s plenty of grass here, we
have lots to eat, go away.” Because of our rotational grazing
practices, the pasture had lots of grass, so we gave in and left
them. Leaving them turned out to be a good thing.
Remember I said there was snow on the ground? Just enough snow to
make the incline where the truck and trailer were parked, slippery.
As we tried to leave we found that the truck’s four-wheel-drive
wasn’t working and the dualies (four tires in the rear) spun in the
mud. Because the trailer was against a fence post we couldn’t back
up to find better traction and without four-wheel drive, going
forwards on that snow slick incline was not an option, even with an
empty trailer. We were stuck. Things were bad but everything
would have been worse with a trailer full of cows.
The
pasture owner, Tom Reed of Early Sunrise Farm, tried to pull us out
with his two-wheel drive backhoe but that just slipped in the mud
too. Luckily a contractor on the farm had a four-wheel drive backhoe
he was using to dig a septic system. The second backhoe did extract
our cow-free rig from the slippery ground and, as usual, I was
frustrated by the failure of equipment to work as expected but
grateful for unexpected help.
Once
the truck’s four-wheel-drive is fixed we’ll bring extra hands to
help with the round-up. A good cow pony or even a herding dog or two
might help but we’ll have to settle for three ATVs and four or five
people to help corral the herd. Anyone interested in a round-up?
Alice and her buddies will make it interesting, for sure.
Carole
Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, NH, where she
raises and sells beef, pork, lamb, eggs and other local products.
She can be reached at [email protected].
Christmas With Rocking Horse Studio Performers Announced
Rocking
Horse Studio is proud to announce the complete performer lineup for
its annual Christmas with Rocking Horse Studio show at the Capitol
Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire, Saturday, December
16th. The lineup includes:
Steve
Blunt, Noelle Boc, Phil Butt from Duty Free, Justin Cohn, Sofia Lee
Davis, Christopher Duffley, Kent Finemore from J Street Extension,
Dusty Gray , The Library Band, Lizzy Marella, Andriana Melania ,
Hank Osborne & Chas Mitchell , Bradley Parker, Pat & the Hats,
Sensitive Men, SPF3, Catherine White, Ryan Williamson, Brooks Young
from the Brooks Young Band.
Rocking
Horse Studio, New Hampshire’s premier music production and recording
facility, presents an evening of traditional and contemporary
Christmas music performed by some of the Granite State’s finest
singers and musicians.
Following the success of the Emmy-nominated “A New Hampshire
Chronicle Christmas at Rocking Horse Studio,” and Spotlight Cafe
shows in 2014 -2016, the Rocking Horse Christmas show moves to the
Capitol Center mainstage in 2017.
A
portion of the proceeds from this show will go to the National
Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) New Hampshire, a grassroots
organization working to improve the quality of life for all by
providing support, education and advocacy for people affected by
mental illness. Comprised of a network of affiliate chapters and
support groups, staff and volunteers, NAMI NH provides information,
education and support to all families and communities affected by
mental illness.
Tickets
are available at:
https://ccanh.com/events/rocking-horse-xmas-2017/
Letter
To The Editor
After
every Board of Selectmen’s meeting I place a letter in the paper
which lets everyone who cares know what we did. Space constraints
don’t allow me to get into details about every discussion, nor
should it. The end result of what we do is what you read in my
letters. Sometimes our or my positions and decisions are unpopular
with some people. I was not elected to be popular- I was elected to
do what I deemed was in the best interests of the Town as I see it.
Last
week’s SUN had a letter from Jim Pritchard regarding the Board of
Selectmen’s decision to assume the role of zoning administration,
and his opinion of that decision. There are two sides to the story,
but my position is the newspaper is not the place to have them
aired. I certainly cannot speak for the BOS, however, if
anyone cares to hear my own take on the matter I’m more than happy
to talk to you one on one which, as a selectman, I would do on
any public topic.
Also
sounding off in the paper last week with his displeasure over my
personal position on dealing with town owned property on Main St.
was Bill Miskoe. I have the same response as stated above. Anyone
who cares to delve into it and hear the whole story is welcomed to
give me a call.
Carl
Anderson
603-608-7570
Louie
Houle and Joe Darrah putting the lights on the town tree in
preparation for the official tree lighting this Saturday, December
2, 4 PM.
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