REMINDER
Lost
Bicycle at the
Carpenter Library
Are you
missing a bicycle? If yes, call the library at 435-8406!
A lovely blue adult cruiser has been outside the library since about
October 29th. The Pittsfield Police Department does not have any
reports of a missing bike. If unclaimed, the library will work to
find the bicycle a good home.
REMINDER
Wanted
By The Pittsfield Historical Society
A
reasonably new computer. Our main computer has crashed and we are
looking for one to replace it. If anyone can help, please call Larry
Berkson at 798-3984 or e-mail him at
[email protected].
REMINDER
Pittsfield High School Class of 1979 Reunion
A
motivated group from Pittsfield High School's Class of 1979 are
creating plans for the 40th-year reunion. The event is planned
for the evening of August 3rd of next year in Concord, NH, and is
planned to include a buffet dinner, live music, and a cash bar.
The
reunion planners would like to ask members of the Class of 1979 to:
(1)
save the date;
(2)
contact Randy Severance through e-mail at
[email protected] for
details;
(3)
request access to the "Pittsfield High School (NH) Class of 1979
40th Reunion" group page (if you have access to Facebook) where the
most current updates will be posted;
(4)
please help us locate class members for whom we currently do not
have contact information (there are about 20 in the "missing"
category).
Smash A Pumpkin, Feed A Cow
Submitted By Carole Soule
Carving pumpkins at Cole Gardens in Concord.
Cattle munch on smashed pumpkins.
Pigs like pumpkins too.
I
lifted the pumpkin over my head and threw it down to the concrete
floor. The pumpkin split neatly down the center, exposing seeds and
their attendant gooey stuff, while four cows watched. The cows
waited while I picked up the halves and put them within their reach.
These were substantial carving pumpkins given to us by Cole Gardens
in Concord.
As the
name implies, carving pumpkins' primary purpose is to be cut into
Jack-O-Lanterns. Once Halloween is past, they no longer have value –
except to livestock. While cattle might prefer the taste of sugar
pumpkins (also known as pie pumpkins), they aren't picky.
Pigs
love to eat pumpkins, too. My mini-pig, Tazzy, who lives in our
farmhouse, will nose-dive to clean up any seeds missed by the
cattle. I also love pumpkin seeds. When roasted in oil and sprinkled
with salt, they are food fit for gods.
Although cows find all pumpkins delicious, it's not so easy to to
start eating the carving pumpkins. They have thick shells to help
them hold their shape after being sculpted, and cows have trouble
biting through that rind. Cattle only have lower front teeth and
without top teeth they can't make that initial bite into the
pumpkin. So they need 'em smashed.
It took
me awhile to perfect the art of pumpkin-smashing. I've tried tossing
them on the ground, breaking them on a rock, and bowling them down a
hill. But I've discovered that nothing splits a pumpkin more
efficiently than slamming it onto a concrete floor.
Why do
I find smashing pumpkins so satisfying? Maybe it's because as a
child I was told never to smash pumpkins. Each October, anyone naive
enough to leave their jack-o-lanterns out overnight, would find that
young delinquents had smashed them in the street. (They already had
the technique figured out.) I didn't want to be a bad kid, but I
sensed that I was missing out on some fun.
I'm not
alone. When I asked a 10-year-old girl if she wanted to smash a
pumpkin, her face lit up (like a jack-o-lantern), and she had her
grandmother make a video while she splatted a big pumpkin on the
concrete. Inspired, I posted an invitation on Facebook, and dozens
of people showed up at Miles Smith Farm, where they destroyed
pumpkins with a glee that went beyond performing an act of kindness
for hungry cattle.
If only
all our other farm chores came with that forbidden whiff of
vandalism! We could sleep 'til noon while eager volunteers were
mending fences, dispensing hay, trimming hooves, and shoveling
manure.
Carole
Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, N.H. She can be
reached at [email protected].
Central NH VNA Wins Recognition
Central
NH VNA & Hospice has been recognized by HomeCare Elite as one of the
best providers of home health in the country. Says Lisa
Dupuis, Central’s CEO, “Only 25% of agencies make this list, and
Central VNA is proud to be among the nation’s leaders in the
delivery of home healthcare. In the lakes region as well, we
are uniquely honored in Laconia, Meredith and Wolfeboro.”
The
2018 HomeCare Elite is the compilation of the most successful home
care providers in the United States. Now in its 13th year, this
market-leading review creates the list based on performance measures
including quality of care, quality improvement, patient experience,
best practices implementation and financial management. Though
some agencies may shine in one or two of these qualifiers, an agency
must excel in all to win inclusion.
HomeCare Elite uses publicly available data from the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to rank the agencies.
Then agency performance in each of the domains listed above was
compared against the performance of other organizations in the state
and nationwide. The domains were combined into one overall
score, using a weighting methodology that gives greatest importance
to quality of care.
Says
Dupuis, “We knew we delivered excellent care to all our patients –
they tell us so every day. It’s great to be recognized for
doing what we love.”
Decorated Wreath Contest At The Pittsfield Christmas Tree Lighting
Mark
your calendars - Saturday, Dec. 1 from 4:00-6:00pm for the annual
Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration sponsored by the Greater
Pittsfield Chamber of Commerce - Everyone is welcome to attend!
We will
be having a DECORATED WREATH CONTEST again this year. Everyone
is invited to bring a decorated (anyway you'd like) wreath to Dustin
Park. The wreaths will be displayed inside PYW and will be
judged by the public. The winner will be announced at 6pm
after the Tree Lighting and will receive a $50 CASH PRIZE.
Please
drop your wreath off by 3:45pm at Dustin Park (PYW) and please pick
up your wreath by 6:15pm. Any wreaths that are not picked up
will be donated to local groups.
Get in
the HOLIDAY SPIRIT and show off your creativity and bring a wreath.
The contest is open to everyone! For more information, contact
Andi Riel at 435-6346 or email at
[email protected].
Pittsfield Christmas Tree Lighting And Children’s Store Celebration
Save
the Date, Saturday, Dec. 1 – the Greater Pittsfield Chamber of
Commerce will sponsor the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and
Children’s Store Celebration.
The day
begins with the Pittsfield Elementary School PTO sponsored Breakfast
with Santa. Breakfast will be served for $3.00 per person or 2
for $5.00 between 8:00-9:30am in the PES Cafeteria. Photos
with Santa will be available for $1.00 each. This is a
fundraising event for the PTO. Then after a hearty breakfast
kids can shop at the Children’s Store at the PES Gym from 9:00-noon.
The Victory Workers 4-H Club will be hosting a Cookie Walk at PES
during the Children’s Store – parents will have an activity to keep
them busy while the kids shop. Youth Musicians will be on hand for
your listening pleasure.
Volunteer “elves” will assist shoppers up to age 16 in purchasing
gifts for their parents, siblings, teachers or friends. The
Store is open to CHILDREN ONLY – sorry, no adults allowed.
Most of the items are new or nearly new and can be purchased for
$1.00.. Some items are more expensive. There is also
free gift wrapping available.
Anyone
interested in donating items(new or nearly new), Christmas wrapping
paper, GIFT BAGS (the wrappers love gift bags), tags or tape may
drop them off to the various donation boxes at Pittsfield Post
Office, Pittsfield Town Hall, Northway Bank and Epping Well Co.
People always ask what items are needed – the kids like to buy
jewelry, picture frames, gloves, socks, hats, “appropriate” coffee
mugs, knick-knacks of all kinds, unburned candles, small tools,
flashlights, stuffed animals, calendars- those are just some ideas.
We cannot take any clothing or electrical items.
Monetary donations are gladly accepted to help defray some of the
costs associated with the event. Please make checks payable
to: Greater Pittsfield Chamber of Commerce and mail to Greater
Chamber of Commerce, Attn: Children’s Store/Tree Lighting, P.O. Box
234, Pittsfield, NH 03263.
The
celebration continues at DUSTIN PARK from 4-6pm (on Sat., Dec. 1)
The Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration is fun for the whole family
and is a great community event. There will be FREE horse drawn
wagon rides, Holiday music, cookies, cocoa, popcorn, and candycanes
to enjoy. Inside PYW (Pittsfield Youth Workshop) there will be
a Gingerbread House Display and raffle, visit with SANTA (who will
arrive via Firetruck around 4pm), Free pictures with Santa and feel
free to bring your own camera. HOT chili, chowder, and soups
will be available for a donation of a canned or packaged food (or
purchased for a few dollars) to benefit our LOCAL FOOD PANTRY.
HOLIDAY
STORY TIME from 4:30-5:30pm at the Park St. Baptist Church basement
(beside PYW) – on Sat, Dec. 1 – All ages are welcome to come and
enjoy some Holiday stories.
Get in
the Holiday Spirit and DECORATE A WREATH and enter it in the
Decorated Wreath Contest – decorate it anyway you’d like- drop it
off at PYW (Dustin Park) by 3:45pm (on Sat, Dec. 2) and the public
will vote for the best one! Winner will receive a $50 CASH
PRIZE.
A
raffle for a (fresh) Christmas Tree will be held. Free -One
entry per person. The winner will be able to choose their tree
from the selection the Corinithian Lodge Masons will have available.
The
Highlight of the Celebration will be everyone gathering around the
Christmas Tree, singing Holiday songs and counting down to the
Lighting of the TREE.
For
more information, please contact Andi Riel at 435-6346 or email
[email protected]
or visit
www.pittsfieldchamber.org.
You are
invited to participate in Pittsfield’s Farm to School Team Community
Meeting! Wednesday November 28th from 6- 8 pm at Media
Center/Library at the Pittsfield Middle High School. Join to
learn about the Pittsfield, NH Farm to School initiative, review a
proposed action plan, and share your ideas to inform next steps so
we can grow this work over the next year. Students, teachers
and staff, parents and families, and community partners are
encouraged to participate. Experience in the areas of local foods,
nutrition, gardening, composting, education, and program development
a bonus. Hosted by the Pittsfield Farm to School Team,
including: Pittsfield Listens, Pittsfield Youth Workshop, and
Pittsfield School District. Please RSVP at
pittsfieldlistens.org/events.
Dinner and onsite childcare provided. Transportation available upon
request.
Free
Christmas Concert
Plan to
attend the annual Christmas concert coming Friday, December 7, 7
p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 24 Main Street, Pittsfield.
This special concert entitled, “How Great Our Joy,” will be a return
to your favorite lovely Christmas carols. The concert will feature
the church’s Chancel Choir and the JuBellation Handbell Choir. Add
this wonderful family event to your holiday plans! For more
information, call the church office, 435-7471.
Letter
To The Editor
Select
Board Meeting 11/13/18
Chiefs
Collins and Pszonowsky introduced us to potential police and
fire/EMT hires to whom we made conditional offers of employment. It
speaks well of Pittsfield to have a full contingent of first
responders, as well as all town employee positions in this time of a
nationwide hiring crisis.
An
email from Planning Board member James Pritchard to Chairman Allard
was shared. James Pritchard doesn’t like the fact that the BOS chose
not to enforce a provision in the town’s zoning ordinance that town
counsel advised had potential to end up in court with a prospect of
the town more likely losing than winning. James Pritchard went on to
encourage the BOS to take the Zoning Board of Adjustment to court,
at town expense, and then exercise our right to deprive the ZBA of
funds for counsel to defend themselves- all to force a court
decision on the matter, rather than take our attorney’s advice.
We concluded it would be wasting the court’s time and taxpayers'
money and rejected the proposal. We take court action very seriously
and the BOS feel it is imperative that we have enforceable zoning
rules.
A bid
to seal up the library barn was awarded to Pittsfield carpenter
David Harper.
Donations to help cover the costs of the 2018 Parks & Recreation
Harvestfest from the Suncook Valley Lion’s Club and Randall Shuey of
Epsom were accepted with thanks.
The
winter road maintenance policy was put in place, with the most
important point being obstruction of roads. However inconvenient it
may be to find overnight parking after November 15, snow and ice
removal take precedence and vehicles in violation WILL BE TOWED
WITHOUT NOTICE.
Carl
Anderson
Catamount Womenaid’s 5K Is A Great Success
Photo
by Miranda Young
One
hundred seventy-nine registered runners and walkers, along with
their supporters, enjoyed sunny skies at the 2018 Deerfield
Veterinary Clinic Catamount 5K at the Deerfield Fairgrounds on
November 4. Gifts from 46 sponsors and donors covered expenses and
provided prizes and the efforts of 40 volunteers made this event a
great success for Catamount Womenaid.
Teenage
runners led the pack. Aiden Cox, 13, from Northwood hit the finish
line at 16:44, more than one minute ahead of his competitors. John
Murphy, 14, of Deerfield was second at 17:55, and Lars Hogne, 14, of
Strafford came in third at 18:05. Justin Pagnotta of Strafford was
the fastest adult runner at 20:03. The top female racer was
thirteen-year-old Mallory Taylor from Strafford at 20:52. Tom
Milliman of Lee, top racer in the 60 to 69 age group, came in
eleventh at 21:43. All participants in the fun kids’ race won medals
and cookies.
Catamount Womenaid raised approximately $11,000 from this event,
which will be used to provide emergency financial assistance to men,
women and children in Deerfield, Epsom, Northwood, Pittsfield and
Strafford. See www.catamountwomenaid.org for
more information.
Major
sponsors of the race are Deerfield Veterinary Clinic, Northeast
Delta Dental, Debbie Kelley of Verani Berkshire Hathaway Realtors,
East Coast Signals and Northeast Eye Care.
Other
sponsors are Epsom Family Dental Care, Robertson Insurance Company,
Plumbing and Heating Solutions, Northwood Oil Company, Abbey Run
Construction, Candia First Stoppe, MRP Manufacturing, Miriam
Cahill-Yeaton, Suellen Drake of APRN of Advanced NP Services, and
Van Berkum Nursery.
Donors
of materials, services and prizes are: Anytime Fitness of Northwood,
Bead Bush Studio, Raymond Ace/Ben Franklin, Blasty Bough Brewery,
The Butterfly Place, Calef’s, Cavarretta Gardens, Children’s
Museum of NH, Crossroads Chiropractic, Dunkin Donuts, Facials by
Stephanie Patch, Hannaford, Isles of Shoals Steamship Company, His
and Hers Hair Shop, J &B Auto, The Lily Inn and Boutique, Lindt
Chocolate, The Music Hall, Neatline Associates, NH Weightloss &
Wellness, Onni Therapeutic Massage, Panera of Dover, Portsmouth and
Concord, Runner’s Alley, Strawbery Banke, TD Bank, Umami, WS Badger
Company and Zorvini Vineyards.
Pittsfield Players’ Kids' Theater Workshop Auditionso
The
Pittsfield Players will hold auditions for their 2019 Kids' Theater
Workshop production of The Addams Family, Young@Part at The Scenic
Theatre, 6 Depot St. in Pittsfield on Sunday and Monday, December 16
and 17 at 4 pm both days. Those auditioning will be taught a song
from the show and asked to sing in a group and, if they wish, as a
solo. They’ll also learn a few simple dance steps and be asked to
read from the script.
Hundreds of years ago, the Addams family ancestors came from the
old country and settled on a plot of land in what is now New York’s
Central Park. The family flourished for many generations, and
eventually, a huge house was built where a great Spanish oak, the
Addams Family Tree, had been planted to protect the ancestral graves
from such annoyances as sunlight and tourists. As the curtain rises,
the last dead leaf of autumn falls from the Family Tree, and all is
right with the morbid, macabre world of Gomez, Morticia, Fester,
Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and Lurch. They’ve gathered – where
else? – in the family graveyard, to celebrate life and death in a
yearly ritual to connect with their past and ensure their future.
They seem at peace, not just with each other and their inimitable,
unchanging Addams-ness, but with their dead ancestors, too – who
emerge from their graves on this night each year to join in this
celebration of continuity. But, at the end of the ritual, Fester
blocks the ancestors’ return to their graves. Those unchanging
Addams family values are about to be tested. Fester enlists their
help to set things right, just in case a new family secret goes
terribly wrong. What’s the secret? Wednesday Addams, that
irresistible bundle of malice, has grown up and found love. So
what’s the problem? The young man, Lucas Beineke, is from Ohio, and
his parents are coming to dinner to meet the family. Two different
worlds are about to collide. Will love triumph, or will everyone go
home vaguely depressed? The show has 10 major roles and many parts
for the ensemble as a whole. There’s lots of singing and dancing,
and tons of fun to be had in this year’s Kid’s Workshop. If you are
interested in working behind the scenes on the show, please come to
the auditions to sign up for tech crew.
The
Kids' Theater Workshop is a program by kids for kids ages 8 to 18,
and participants not only perform on stage but also work behind the
scenes, learning about set design and construction, set painting,
stage managing, stage lighting and sound and costumes and make-up.
The group rehearses two days a week after school and on Saturdays
and then performs the show at two matinees for local schools and
three evening shows for the general public. This year, the shows
will be performed February 19 through 23, with a set strike and cast
party on Sunday, February 26. For further information, contact
director Maye Hart at [email protected].
Letter
To the
good citizens of Pittsfield,
Voting
day was wet. By 1:30 in the afternoon Henry Murray and I were able
to get 47 signatures (counting ours) on the petition to repeal
zoning. We submitted the petition to Erica, our Town Clerk, a little
wet.
It was
a lot of fun to get people to think about getting our land rights
back and sign the petition. Hey, Martha, you forgot to sign the
petition. Anyway, as usual, the voting officials and Town Hall
worked like clockwork to record our votes and get people on their
way.
We have
a great amount of trust in our system of voting and the important
people who make this happen.
We're
pretty sure that if we did not have our system, and the people who
give themselves to this way of settling our differences, then we
would have to resort to guns, and we don't own one. What we do own
is our freedom, and these people help secure it.
Forever
grateful,
Dan the
Stoneman
Henry
R. Murray, IV
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