Save the Date!
On
December 31, the 2018 New Year’s Eve, Milk & Cookies New Year’s Eve
Concert will be held at the Barnstead Hall from 7:00-9:00. No
Reservations are necessary, but if you would like to reserve tickets
or have any questions, call and leave a message for Chris at
603-776-3616 and she will get back to you.
The old covered Barnstead Bridge as viewed from the
intersection of Tilton Hill Road and Berry Avenue is included in the
Pittsfield Historical Society’s 2019 calendar. Note the railroads
tracks heading to Barnstead. Calendars are available now for $10.
Recycling Changes Coming For 2019
New
guidelines for separation and contamination of recyclables. All
items; bottles, cans, paper and cardboard must be free of food
residue, liquids and grease. Think “Clean in the Recycle
Stream.” We cannot sell product to the marketplace that does
not meet strict guidelines. Rejected loads are very costly to the
District. Dirty recyclables end up in the trash. So please help us
keep costs down and revenue flowing by RINSING AND SORTING AT HOME
FIRST.
Please
be aware, a large separation shift for plastics is taking place at
the facility. Beginning in early 2019, we will no longer be
accepting #1 - #7 plastics all in one bin. The ONLY plastic we
will be processing for recycling is: #1’s and #2’s
#1 PETE
– think bottles like water, juice and soda, or plastic jars like
mayo, peanut butter, or spaghetti sauce –rinsed out and food residue
removed.
NEVER
anything made from black plastic.
#2 HDPE
Natural – think CLEAR store brand jugs that contain milk, cider,
orange juice and water – clear or “translucent” ONLY in this
category – empty of all liquid.
#2 HDPE
Colored – assorted colored bottles such as detergent, plastic coffee
containers, etc.– rinsed and emptied. NEVER anything made from
black plastic.
All
other plastic products belong in the trash.
AS
ALWAYS, containers that held automotive oil, automotive fluids,
pesticides, chemicals, and Medical Waste SHOULD BE DISPOSED OF in
the trash. Bring needles “sharps” into the office.
Look
for our new brochure just posted to the website!
bcepsolidwaste.com
Brochures available at the transfer station and your local town
offices.
Letter
Dear
Pittsfield Residents,
There
are many 'seemingly stray cats in Pittsfield, particularly in the
downtown and Leavitt Road area. With the cold weather, many good
people are feeding and even providing shelter to cats that they are
not sure belong to anyone.
If your
cat goes missing, please check with neighbors and shelters, as the
good people who are caring for them may take them in or help find
them a home.
Sincerely,
Donna
Keeley
An
Extra Season Of Boot-Sucking Mud
Submitted By Carole Soule
The
bobcat stuck in a quagmire of mud.
One of
the author's boots stuck in the mud.
Our
Bobcat (kind of a farm bulldozer) was up to its belly plate in mud,
wheels spinning – digging deeper into the muck with each rotation.
Last week, with husband Bruce at the controls, the Bobcat had
delivered a 1,000-pound round bale of hay to our hungry cattle in
the pasture and was leaving when the mud took charge and would not
let go. With Bruce using the bucket on the front of the Bobcat like
a mechanical arm, the machine was able to push itself free of the
quagmire.
Usually, in the autumn our pastures are dry and the ground solid.
But this year's excessive rain transformed them into fields of
soul-sucking mud. When I plodded through the field we call “Omega,”
I was in constant fear of losing a boot. With each step, I wiggled
my feet and gently lifted my toes until I heard a sucking sound as
that boot pulled free of the mud. I repeated this step by step until
I reached the safety of a concrete pad. Occasionally, on muddy
terrain, despite my best efforts, I'd slip and fall face-first into
the morass which was not spa beauty-treatment mud; it was farm mud,
abundantly enriched by my herd of healthy livestock.
Mud is not good for cattle either. Their feet can get stuck in it,
and it mats down their fur coats, diminishing their insulation
value. Muddy fields make them nervous, too. Cows gingerly pick their
way along, concentrating on staying on all fours. They don't want to
fall any more than I do.
This
week the ground finally froze and now we can deliver hay to our 60
head of cattle without getting stuck; walk without losing our boots;
wear clothes not crusted with mud; and undress indoors, instead of
on the stoop.
Yet
even when frozen, mud still takes a toll. All those ruts and ridges
have become rock-hard, creating treacherous footing. I'll stumble
over a frozen clod or slip off a ridge and fall on my butt – at age
66, I'm not so agile (and I don't bounce like I used to). Falling
into soft mud is embarrassing; falling onto rock-solid earth is
painful.
It's
just barely winter, but I'm already yearning for spring. Not early
spring, as the ground thaws and mud season resumes, but late spring,
when the soil stays put and does what we want it to – provide firm
footing for farmers and cattle while producing fields of nutritious,
sweet grass.
Carole
Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm. She can be reached at
[email protected].
Letter
To the
Good Citizens of Pittsfield,
In
Bruce Shearer's letter to the editor, Suncook Valley Sun, November
14, he talks about how he remembers neighborhood folk who took care
of each other. He asks me what I think of intentional communities
(communes) for old people, where young people help take care of
business.
Thank
you for the question, Bruce. First of all, we are going to have to
learn how to survive in a radically altered environment.
The
difference between rich and poor will grow. According to Alan
Greenspan, the social security benefits need a 25% reduction to stay
solvent. This won't happen for five years, so it will be 30
% (my
figuring). This will not affect the wealthy, but when you add
medical costs and inflation, the poor are going to get poorer. Add
to that, wage stagnation, and you should get the picture. About half
the people will get poorer.
Some
people band together to help each other. As we receive more
environmental refugees, and as our livable land space shrinks in the
world, communes will be necessary for people to make it. People who
count on government support and zoning regulations to save them are
not thinking.
Dan the
Stoneman
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Include
the wonderful Christmas Eve candlelight service this coming Monday
night, Christmas Eve, 7 p.m., at the First Congregational Church, 24
Main St., Pittsfield, in your holiday celebrations. The service
includes beautiful music by the Chancel Choir and the JuBellation
Handbell Choir, scripture lessons, the story of the first Christmas,
the sanctuary sparkling in gleaming, real candlelight and the
singing of “Silent Night.”
Make
this lovely evening service a tradition with family and friends.
Parking and wheelchair accessible entry are available at rear of
church at Chestnut Street. For more information, call the church
office at 435-7471.
Letter
To The Editor
Carl
Anderson’s letter in the November 21 Sun misrepresented my concern
about the Pittsfield board of selectmen (BoS) having declared
unlawful a zoning regulation that the town meeting approved 258 to
115.
In this
case, a former selectman sought a zoning variance to recover
long-abandoned nonconforming land-use rights, and he threatened a
lawsuit if the zoning board of adjustment (ZBA) did not yield.
The ZBA did not yield, but the BoS intervened for the former
selectman. Under cover from the BoS lawyer (aka town
attorney), who opined that a state judge would “more likely than
not” rule that the zoning regulation in question was unlawful, the
BoS, acting without lawful authority, pushed the ZBA aside, declared
the zoning regulation unlawful, and thus effectively granted the
variance.
Carl’s
letter omitted other information embarrassing to the BoS. The town
attorney’s opinion to the BoS relied on an old, off-topic case that
the NH Supreme Court reversed 12 years ago. The zoning
regulation in question is very common in municipal zoning
ordinances, and New Hampshire’s foremost treatise on land use law,
New Hampshire Practice, which the NH Supreme Court often cites in
land use cases, specifically says that such regulations are lawful.
Concord, Manchester, and many other municipalities have the same
regulation. And these municipalities have municipal attorneys
too.
Because
the Pittsfield town meeting approved the zoning regulation that the
BoS declared unlawful, the BoS should have either respected the town
vote or let an impartial state judge decide whether the zoning
regulation is lawful. The BoS routinely tells aggrieved
taxpayers to go to court, so the selectmen’s hypocritical aversion
to court action on their own zoning decision can only be because the
selectmen all know that the BoS would lose.
Jim
Pritchard
On
Saturday, December 8th, the Victory Workers 4-H club went to the
Gift of Lights at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. We donated canned
goods for the local food pantry and would like to thank the Marstons
and Gean Ladd, for the bus and transportation.
TOPS
News
Our
TOPS chapter recently had an annual Christmas party with a delicious
pot luck dinner and Yankee swap. Joyce Pearson was recognized for
her time as chapter leader. In appreciation of her service, the
chapter presented her with a photo of the members and a gift.
Our new
officers for the year are: Jon Martin, leader; April Ellis,
co-leader; Sandy Gilmore, secretary; Herb Johnson, Treasurer; and
Linda Johnson and Suzie Fife as weight recorders. We look
forward to the year ahead in making progress toward reaching our
weight loss goal.
Our
chapter members are always supportive of each member. Programs with
helpful health tips are offered to assist each member also. We would
love to have new members join us. We meet Tuesdays 6:30 at The
Joy Church on 55 Barnstead Rd. Pittsfield. For questions, call
Beth at 435-7397.
Pittsfield Fires And Firefighters: History And Politics
Firefighters working to extinguish the fire at the Washington House
in 1984 as pictured and described in the newly published three
volume history of the Pittsfield Fire Department. These books are
available from the Pittsfield Historical Society for $15 each.
Larry
Berkson has authored a newly published in-depth history of the
Pittsfield, NH Fire Department. His research is so complete
that it took three volumes totaling 760 pages full of descriptions
of firefighting efforts, equipment, firefighters, the development of
the ambulance service, the muster teams, parades, and the annual
Firemen’s Balls from the 1830’s through today to complete the
series. Included are more than 300 photographs and 76 tables
of data.
Among
the accounts of individual fires, the 1984 Washington House Fire and
the Suncook Leathers Tannery Fire are particularly interesting. Did
you know that at one point 15,000 gallons of water a minute was
poured onto the Tannery Fire? It took the efforts of 250
firefighters from 42 towns and 15 million gallons of water over
several days to extinguish that fire.
Berkson’s books are available through the Pittsfield Historical
Society and can be purchased at the Pittsfield Town Hall, the Josiah
Carpenter Library, the Pittsfield Fire Department, and at the
Pittsfield Historical Society’s Headquarters on Elm Street on
Tuesday mornings. Cost is $15 per volume.
Obituaries
Dorothy
A. Perkins
Pittsfield – Dorothy A. Perkins, 60 of Pittsfield, passed away on
Sunday, December 9, 2018 surrounded by her family.
Born on
April 28, 1958 in Beverly, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of
the late Harry C. and Antoinette M. (Vittori) Treem of Deerfield.
Dorothy
earned her Bachelors degree in Plant Biology as well as a Masters'
degree in Animal Sciences from UNH. She was currently working as an
Agricultural Field Specialist in livestock & plants for Merrimack
County UNH Cooperative Extension.When she was not working, she
enjoyed being outdoors, playing in her gardens, or spending every
moment she could with her children, grandchildren, and friends
including all of those she loved as her own over the years.
Besides
her parents, she is predeceased by her husband Ralph K. Perkins Jr.
and her sister, Donna Treem.
She is
survived by her children, Joseph Perkins of Pittsfield, John Perkins
of Epsom and Antoinette Marston and her husband Peter of Pittsfield,
her siblings, Marie Byrne and her husband Bill of
Chichester, Lisa Treem and her wife Dee Day of Albuquerque, NM and
Peter Treem and his wife Kathy of Deerfield, her two favorite and
only grandchildren, Cailey and Wyatt as well as several nieces and
nephews and numerous loved ones that will certainly miss her.
A
Celebration of her life was held on December 16th at the Still Oaks
Funeral and Memorial Home, Epsom. To share a memory or offer a
condolence, please visit www.stilloaks.com
Rosalind Susan Welch
April
07, 1917 - November 12, 2018
Rosalind Susan Welch, of Crocker, was born on April 7, 1917, at
Hooksett, New Hampshire, a daughter of Joseph Franklin and Myrtie
May (Hodgeman) LaValley, and departed this life at 5:47 p.m., on
Monday, November 12, 2018, in the Richland Care Center, Richland,
Missouri. She had attained the age of 101 years, 7 months, and
5 days.
Mrs.
Welch was united in marriage on September 25, 1939, at Sanford,
Maine, to John Edward Welch, Jr., and to this union, three children
were born.
Rose
was a graduate of Concord High School, Concord, New Hampshire, Class
of 1935, and also a graduate of Concord Commercial College. As
a long-time resident of Concord, New Hampshire, and Newport, Rhode
Island, she was a member of Fidelity Rebakah Lodge No. 14 in
Concord; past President of the Concord BPW; charter member of “Women
in Construction”; 1974 “Woman of the Year” in the New Hampshire Good
Roads Association; a member of the Mosaic Club in Newport; served as
a communicate of the St. George’s Episcopal Church in Newport; and
was an avid bowler, belonging to four leagues, while still in Rhode
Island.
Prior
to her retirement in 1980, Rose had worked as a bookkeeper during
her working life and had been employed by the J.C. Penny Company,
Inc., Concord, New Hampshire, and then by the R.S. Audley
Construction Company, Inc., Bow, New Hampshire. After retiring, she
worked as an in home care giver and companion to the sick and
elderly before moving to Richland, Missouri, in 1999.
Those
left to mourn the passing of Mrs. Welch include: Her son,
Henry Welch (Loraine), Pittsfield, New Hampshire; her daughters,
Susan Dodge, Richland; and Mary Chadbourne (Hersel), Crocker;
stepson, William Welch of Chichester, New Hampshire; nine
grandchildren; twenty-five great-grandchildren; eleven
great-great-grandchildren; many nephews and nieces; and other
relatives and friends.
She was
preceded in death by her father, Joseph; her mother, Myrtie; one
son-in-law, Daniel E. Dodge; two brothers, Harold LaValley and
Philip LaValley; and two sisters, Permelia Still and Bessie Bresaw.
Memorials contributions in memory of Mrs. Rosalind S. Welch are
suggested by her family to the American Diabetes Association with
envelopes available at the funeral home or in care of
Birmingham-Martin Funeral Home, P.O. Box EE, Dixon, Missouri
65459.
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