Thank
you to all those who attended the South Pittsfield Friends Church on
Sunday, August 6th. Thank you to Rev. Harold Muzzey for the
inspiring sermon and special music program.
Services will be held
again on Sunday, August 20th at 1:00 pm with Henry Frost as the
speaker. All are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be
served after the service.
VA
Caregiver Support Program Resumes Full Operations
Submitted Via
Merrill Vaughan
WASHINGTON – Today the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) announced it is resuming full operations of the Program
of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. The resumption
follows an April 17 decision to temporarily suspend certain clinical
revocations from the program to conduct a strategic review aimed at
strengthening the program.
“VA has taken immediate steps to
improve the program’s operations,” said VA Secretary David J.
Shulkin. M.D. “Our top focus during the review has been to listen,
evaluate and act swiftly to make changes that will better meet the
needs of our Veterans and caregivers. This does not mean our work is
done. We will continue to refine and improve this important
program.”
VA’s three-month review indicated a need for better
communication about clinical revocations, improved internal
processes and procedures, and additional staff training.
Following the review, VA issued a new directive outlining staff
responsibilities, Veteran and caregiver eligibility requirements,
available benefits and procedures for revocations from the program.
VA also conducted mandatory staff training on the new directive and
implemented standardized communications and outreach materials to
educate Veterans and caregivers about the program.
Additionally,
the VA will be formalizing additional ways to ensure that the
experience of Veterans’ families, caregivers and
survivors are understood and that, where needed, new, or additional,
assistance is explored. The VA is committed to listening to
the voices of those who care for Veterans of all eras and to
collaborating to improve services, outreach and awareness. The
caregiver program website has also been redesigned, and now includes
a section linking caregivers and Veterans of all ages to resources
and home- and community-based services available through VA’s
Geriatrics and Extended Care programs.
More information on the
program is available at www.caregiver.va.gov.
Veterans Affairs Secretary David J. Shulkin Statement on House
Passage Of S. 114, The VA Choice And Quality Employment Act
Submitted Via Merrill Vaughan
Today, (Friday, July 28, 2017),
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David J. Shulkin released
the below statement following House Passage of S. 114, the VA Choice
and Quality Employment Act.
I thank the leadership of the House
and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs’, Chairman Phil Roe and
Ranking Member Tim Walz and Chairman Johnny Isakson and Ranking
Member Jon Tester, for their great work on this bill,
resulting in a unanimous vote in the House. This will make a
real difference in improving VA’s capacity for delivering care to
our Veterans, particularly by adding much needed funding for the
Veterans Choice Program. I look forward to the Senate
acting on the bill before the August recess.
Pittsfield Players Auditions For Once Upon A Mattress
The
Pittsfield Players will hold auditions for their fall musical, Once
Upon A Mattress at the Scenic Theatre, 6 Depot St., Pittsfield, on
Sunday and Monday, August 20 and 21 at 7 pm each evening. The fall
show will run for two weekends, November 10, 11, 12, 17 and 18, and
will be directed by Marty Williams. Auditioners will be asked to
sing a song (bring your own sheet music if your song is not from the
show), read from the script and do a few dance steps that we’ll
teach you.
The show has principal roles for 3 women and 6 men,
and a singing and dancing ensemble of ladies in waiting, knights,
soldiers, servants and musicians. In other words, there are tons of
good parts for potential cast members. Hope to see you at auditions!
Letter
To The Editor
To the editor;
Pittsfield Select Board Meeting,
8/8/17
We met and heard from Tom Vetras of MSA, the new owners of
Globe. We were glad to hear they plan to stay- and to expand.
Certainly good news!
Department heads reported things going
pretty well. Police had no major disruptions for National Night Out,
Old Home Day, or Balloon Rally- a good time had by all. George
gave us plans to use a little money appropriated last year to repave
the town shed lot. We will hold a public hearing regarding an
additional State highway grant of $99,000 at our next meeting.
Considerable time was spent on a request by a landowner to build on
a Class 6 (not town maintained) road, that already has a number of
homes on it. There was no shortage of boards and departments that
referred to a State Fire Marshall requirement for 24’ wide roads and
that we had no choice but to deny permission. In practice however,
the board felt that there were no town maintained roads that would
pass this standard and the fair thing to do is to grant the request-
whereas it is a road already in use. The vote was unanimous to do
what we felt is the right thing.
Other action items consisted of
routine housekeeping. We were notified of this year’s Annual Block
Grant from the State for highways is $116,169.88. This is in
addition to the above additional State grant.
Balloon Rally
donations from individuals and a refrigerator for the pool were
accepted, with thanks.
The hearing scheduled for September
regarding the disposition of 37 Main St. will go as planned. Mr.
Gamble’s offer to purchase and rehab the property will be part of
those discussions, as well as an Historical Society proposal. Anyone
else who would be interested in that property should contact the
Town Hall immediately so your proposal can get equal billing.
Carl Anderson
Thank
You
Thank you from the Suncook Valley Rotary Club:
To the
townspeople of Pittsfield for welcoming the 36th annual Balloon
Rally into the town once again. To the school district for use of
the field, the police and fire for keeping us safe and to the town
officials who support us in many ways. To the businesses in
town who help us in many ways. To all the sponsors of the
balloons, fireworks and publication; without your support we could
not do it. To all the volunteers who came down and put in
hours and hours of work. To all the balloonists and their
crews who have come year after year.
All in all, we feel it was
a great success, despite the weather trying to put a damper on the
event. We welcome your feedback in order to improve this event
in coming years.
Pittsfield School District Meeting
7:00 p.m., Thursday, August
17, PES Gym
Submitted By John J. Freeman, Supt. of Schools
The
Pittsfield School Board will conduct a School District Meeting at
7:00 p.m., Thursday, August 17, in the PES gym. This meeting
is being called to consider a warrant article regarding a collective
bargaining agreement between the school district and the Education
Association of Pittsfield, which represents teachers and other
professional educators in Pittsfield.
Voters at the annual school
district meeting in March 2017 voted not to accept the terms of a
three-year collective bargaining agreement that had been proposed.
Voters also approved of a second meeting to be held following
renewed negotiations.
The voters of the district also approved a
change in the process of conducting school district business by
approving the official ballot law, commonly known as SB2. This
change requires a two-stage process for district meeting: a
deliberative session for explanation, discussion, debate, and
amendments to warrant articles; and a voting session for casting
ballots to decide on warrant articles.
As noted, the deliberative
session will be held on Thursday, August 17. The ballot voting
will be held at Town Hall during usual voting hours on Tuesday,
September 19. The process does not allow for debate or
discussion of articles on voting day.
The proposed contract is a
one-year agreement that extends the terms of the previous agreement
for the new school year, 2017-2018. In the new agreement, the
pay scale and benefits remain the same as they were last year.
Approval of the proposed agreement will allow for teachers and
other educators to move forward on the pay scale based on an
additional year of service. If the contract is not approved by
the voters, salaries and benefits remain the same.
However, due to increased cost of health insurance and contributions
to the New Hampshire Retirement System, the actual bi-weekly
take-home pay will be cut from what it was last year for teachers
who are continuing service to the school district.
The cost of a
yes vote is estimated to be $66,486 or $.25/thousand on the tax
rate. The Pittsfield School Board unanimously supports the new
agreement; the Pittsfield Budget Committee also supports the new
agreement by a vote of 7-2.
A New
Calf Is Born
Submitted By Carole Soule
The Scottish Highlander
calf showed up Sunday morning about 6 AM. I found her an hour later
on her feet already. Even at 7 AM, it was hot, with flies were
buzzing around the still wet calf. To avoid fly strike we carried
the baby, mother cow following, to the holding pen where it was
cooler and almost fly free. Flies are abundant in the grassy fields
but not so much in dirt paddocks and the holding pen.
Wet babies
are the usual victims of a condition called “Fly Strike”. The larvae
from flies will eat dead skin, creating more dead skin until the
calf is overwhelmed with maggots and dies. Death like this is ugly
and can happen in hours so it is critical keep summer calves fly
free. Calves born in cooler weather are safe.
An AirBNB guest who
was staying with us the day she was born, named the calf, “Ryder.”
The calf had a name and was now safe from fly strike but then my
next fear kicked in; was she nursing? Ryder was skinny, very skinny
and her mother’s teats were huge. Large teats can be hard for
newborns to grab hold of making nursing difficult if not impossible.
The rule is 2/2/2 ¨two hours to be born, two hours to stand and two
hours to nurse. Worried that she hadn’t been nursing, I milked
Laverne and syringe feed that rich sweet colostrum milk to Ryder.
I only had to do that once. Ryder is nursing now and charging around
the pen; a happy, healthy little girl and is just as gentle and
sweet as her three older brothers. Who knows, she might become even
more famous than her oldest brother, Curious Bleu who is the star of
a children’s book, “The Curious Little Calf Named Bleu.” Bleu, now
five-years-old, ran off into the woods when he was just a day old
and lived to share his story with me. Bleu had a short career as a
working steer and is now one of our “riding steers.”
Ryder might
become famous, but for now, she is happy running circles around her
mom, nursing and nuzzling farm visitors. You are welcome to visit
Ryder, Laverne, and Bleu here at Miles Smith Farm. They are a
MOOvelous family.
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].
Thank
You
The Pittsfield Beautification Committee would like to thank
all of you who supported us at our booth on Old Home Day. A very
special thanks to Frank Wolfe, Nick Penney, and Ted Mitchell, who
donated the plants we sold. Congratulations to Clayton
Wood who won the raffle.
If you did not get a chance to
visit us on Old Home Day, we will be holding our annual Mum
Sale on Saturday September 9th from 8-12 at the Aranosian
Garden next door to Jack’s Pizza.
If you would like to make
a cash donation to the Beautification Committee, please send a check
payable to the Pittsfield Beautification Committee, c/o Tine Fife
1394 Upper City Rd, Pittsfield NH 03263.
Pastor’s Corner
Submitted By Mike Mavity, Grace Capital Church
There is a story in the Bible that tells about Jesus meeting a woman
at a well. This woman was a Samaritan, a race of people whom the
Jews despised during Jesus’ day. It was truly scandalous for Jesus
to be speaking to this woman publicly and in the middle of the day.
Jesus had a conversation with her about being thirsty and about
water. He talks about her thirst and how he would give her ‘living
water’ such that she would never be thirsty again. She wanted to
know more and Jesus spent a few minutes sharing life with her.
Toward the end of their conversation, Jesus asked her to go and get
her husband. Her reply was that she was not married. Jesus, of
course, knew that and more. He knew that she had been married many
times and the man she was living with at the time wasn’t her
husband. These facts make Jesus’ interactions with her even more
scandalous.
This story points out the truth, though, that Jesus
cares about everyone and respects everyone’s dignity. This woman was
hated by the Jews (remember Jesus was Jewish) simply by her
ethnicity. In general, women were not valued in this day and time.
Women with a ‘history’ with men were even more outcast. Yet, Jesus
spoke life to her. His words to her changed everything.
Truly,
everyone matters to God. He doesn’t disenfranchise; He doesn’t write
off: He isn’t prejudiced; He simply cares for all of us and wants
His very best for all of us. Since God looks at people this way,
shouldn’t we do the same? Are there people in our community, at our
workplaces, even in our families who we have disenfranchised,
written off, or discounted? As we care for our community, let’s care
for everyone. If God sees everyone as having value, then who am I to
see them otherwise? Everyone matters!
Join
Carse’s Crew – Everyday Heroes for CHaD in the CHaD Hero Half
Marathon and 5K
(Run-Walk-Hike-Bike)
Register on-line at
chadhero.org. Registration price is $50 for an adult and $25 for
anyone 23 and under.
There is a minimum $75 fundraising for each
adult registrant and $50 for each person under 23. Carse’s Crew can
help you with the fundraising requirement!
We have 3 fundraisers
so far:
Thursday August 24th all day at the Concord UNO’s – up to
20% of all sales that Carse’s Crew is mentioned will go to Carse’s
Crew!
Pampered Chef fundraiser on Facebook and at my house in
Pittsfield on Sunday September 17th.
And
Carse’s Crew t-shirts! Free to all who register by September 7th and
will be on sale for others with proceeds going to the Carse’s Crew!
Stay tuned! You can also donate to any of the Carse’s Crew members
at
chadhero.org
Carse’s Crew was started in May 2007 as Steve Carson was fighting
esophageal cancer as a fundraising team for the Payson Center for
Cancer Care in Concord NH. Steve lost his battle in October 2007 and
Carse’s Crew has continued to participate in the Rock’n Race in
Concord each May and has also fundraised for the Gene Gillis Fund at
the Payson Center with a benefit motorcycle ride from 2008-2011
raising more than $5000. This year on the 10th anniversary we have
decided to spread out the charity and add CHaD as a charity to
benefit from Carse’s Crew!
Thanks for your support.
Kathy
Carson Beltrami
(603) 435-6518 or
[email protected]
Obituaries
Donna
Gates
PITTSFIELD – Donna Gates, 65 of Pittsfield passed away on
Sunday, August 7, 2017 at her residence.
Born on January 26, 1952
she was the daughter of the late Donald and Shirley (Pender) Gates.
Donna worked for many years as a personal caregiver. She enjoyed
knitting and crocheting.
Donna is survived by her siblings, Carol
Barrett, Lorraine Rudd, Gladys Gates, Richard Gates, Ronnie Gates,
Darlene Comeau, Reggie Gates, Cindy Merrill, Debbie Tisbert, Billy
Gates, Donnie Gates and Ricky Gates, as well as numerous nieces and
nephews, friends Sybil and Barbara.
At Donna’s request there will
be no services. Donations in her memory may be made to the Pope
Memorial SPCA, 94 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH 03301. The Still Oaks
Funeral Home in Epsom is assisting the family with arrangements. To
share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit
www.stilloaks.com
G.
Scott Sturdee
Pittsfield- G. Scott Sturdee, (known as Scott), age
69, of Clough Road, died at his home August 5th following a brief
illness.
He was born in Camden, ME, the son of Charles R. and
Virginia (Lassonde) Sturdee. He was a retired truck driver having
worked for the Thibeault-Cora Co. He also was an iron worker having
worked on projects throughout New England. He had also tried his
hand at scallop fishing. He was an Army Veteran during the Vietnam
Era and had been awarded a “Purple Heart”
He is survived by his
wife of 22 years, Tracy (Manning) Sturdee of Pittsfield, his mother,
Virginia, of Bow, two daughters; Dani Tarbell and her husband Myles,
Corinne Sturdee, five grandchildren; Chandler, Olivia, Samantha,
Knox and Owen. He also leaves his stepmother; Nancy Sturdee and a
half-brother Rodney Sturdee.
There are no visiting hours. A
Graveside Service with military honors was held on Friday, August
11th in the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, Boscawen. Pastor
Bob Stewart officiated.
In lieu of flowers donations in his
memory may be made to the Pittsfield Firefighters Association, 33
Catamount Rd. Pittsfield NH 03263.
The Waters Funeral Home is
assisting the family with arrangements.
Gladys
E Tibbetts
Gladys
E Tibbetts, 100 years young, of Loudon Road, Pittsfield, died
peacefully August 9th surrounded by her loving family and in the
excellent care of the wonderful caring folks at the Concord Hospice
House.
She was
born in Everett, MA, to Roy and Esther Nickerson. She lived most of
her childhood years on Nantucket Island. In 1934 she married Lester
Tibbetts and moved to Loudon Ridge where they worked long hours on
their farm. In 1958 they moved to Boscawen and worked at the
Merrimack County Home until retirement. She was an avid hunter. In
her early years she shot a black bear and at 90 she was still
hunting and got her last deer. She also loved bird hunting ,
snowmobiling and all outside activities. She spent her summers at
her cottage on Bradley Lake in Andover.
She was
widowed in 1979 and is survived by three daughters, Elaine Perreault
of Mount Dora FL. Roberta Maxfield of Pittsfield, and Gail Rostron
of Barrington, RI; one Son, David Tibbetts of Brownstown, PA; 17
Grandchildren, 21 Great Grandchildren and 6 Great Great
Grandchildren; a brother, Paul Nickerson of Henryetta, OK. She was
predeceased by a daughter Priscilla Paul and a son Neal Tibbetts.
There
are no visiting hours. A Graveside Service will be held on Saturday,
August 19th at 1:00 PM at the Loudon Ridge Cemetery. Loudon Ridge
Road. Jeremy Everson, Pastor of the Park Street Baptist Church in
Pittsfield will officiate. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made
to the Concord Regional Visiting Nurses- Hospice Program, 30
Pillsbury Street, Concord, NH 03301.
The
Waters Funeral Home, David Pollard, Director, is assisting the
family with arrangements.
Lena M.
Griffin
Boscawen NH - Lena M Griffin, 83, of Boscawen, NH, born April 12,
1934, passed on August 5, 2017, from a long illness.
Resided
in Boscawen for the past 30 years, she also lived in Canterbury,
Loudon, and Pittsfield N.H. She was the wife of the late Earl J.
Griffin.
She is
survived by her three children: Earl J. Griffin of Canterbury, N.H.,
Marsha Harford of Boscawen, N.H., and Cindy Vallencourt of Franklin,
N.H.; six grandchildren and many great grandchildren, many nieces
and nephews
There
are no calling hours. Arrangements will be at a later date. Call
family for time and date - Earl 603-491-3052 or Marsha
603-796-2869, after August 20, 2017.
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