Congratulations to David Croasdale of Center Barnstead, whom has
graduated cum laude from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science
degree from the University’s College of Arts and Sciences. David majored
in Biochemistry.
Free Septic System Health Workshop
On July 18th from 6:30 to 8 pm at the Barnstead Town Hall there will be
a free presentation titled How to Have a Healthy Septic System.
Presentation topics include: how septic systems work, types of systems,
dos and don’ts, maintenance, what to do if you have a failing system,
and information on a system recently installed in the Upper Suncook Lake
area.
Pre-registration by July 16th is suggested. Please call Lisa at 527-5880
for more information or to register.
This program is being offered by the Belknap County Conservation
District; a non-regulatory agency.
Correction:
Zachary Thoroughgood was inadvertently omitted from the Barnstead
Elementary School’s Third Trimester Grade 6 Honor Roll. We apologize for
this omission.
Barnstead Master Plan Makes Progress
The Barnstead Master Plan Committee has taken the first steps toward
creating a public survey for the planned update. At the May meeting,
road agent Chris Carazzo provided extensive information about current
road issues, including concerns about paving and maintenance. With his
help, the committee has begun to consider the wording for questions in
the Transportation/Public Facilities section. Suggestions include
questions such as: "Would you be in favor of a raise in taxes or a bond
measure to improve the condition of local roads?" The exact wording of
all survey questions will be determined with the assistance of
professional consultants.
In addition, Selectman David Kerr forwarded some comments by the Board
of Selectmen regarding the needs of the town. He also talked about
public buildings and services, offering background on the town hall,
fire department resources and other areas.
The committee is still actively seeking information on issues being
addressed by the Master Plan update. Categories are: Vision, Land
Use/Economic Development, and Transportation/Public Facilities. Anyone
who would like to influence the content and wording of survey questions
should contact the committee as soon as possible. Decisions will be made
over the next few months.
More about the Master Plan is available online at
www.barnstead.org under Town
Business. Committee meetings are open to the public, and new members are
welcome. Meetings take place the second Wednesday of each month (7/11,
8/8) at 7:00 pm at the Barnstead Parade Fire Station. For details,
contact:
[email protected] or call the Barnstead Town Hall.
Bel Airs Appearing At Barnstead Summer Concert
The Bel Airs, recently voted "Best Doo Wop and Oldies Group" by NH
Magazine, will be appearing at the Barnstead Summer Concerts on the
Parade Grounds on Saturday, July 7th, from 6 - 8 pm.
During the time of bee hive hairdos, poodle skirts, cars sporting giant
tail fins, new 45 rpm records, and shiny metal diners, this new musical
sound was introduced to America. The Bel Airs original doo wop sound of
using their voices in place of instruments will captivate and entertain
audiences of all ages.
The joy of their music is contagious! Bring a blanket, chair and prepare
to dance, sing along or just chill to the talents of these awesome
artists! Various local non-profits offer refreshments as fundraisers.
Thanks for your support.
Gideons International
The Gideons International, founded in 1899, serves as an extended
missionary arm of the church and is the oldest Christian business and
professional men’s association in the United States of America. It’s
been nearly 100 years since The Gideons International placed the first
Bible in a hotel room in Montana.
Today, The Gideons are organized in more than 180 countries around the
globe and print Scriptures in more than 80 languages. Through God’s
grace and to His Glory, more than 1.3 billion Bibles and New Testaments
have been placed by The Gideons, and the work continues.
This Sunday, a member from the Gideons will be at the Center Barnstead
Christian Church. He will be sharing about his organization and the work
they do during the morning service at 10:00 am. Pastor Brian Gower will
begin a study of the book of Jonah.
Come, join us! The Center Barnstead Christian Church is located on Route
126, next to the Town Hall. For more information please call the church
at 269-8831.
Frank Gaffney, Director Of The Center For Security Policy, To Address
Belknap County Republican Committee
The next meeting of the Belknap County Republican Committee (BCRC) will
be held at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, July 11. Featured this month as guest
speaker is Frank Gaffney, the Founder and President of the Center for
Security Policy in Washington, D.C.
The Center is a not-for-profit, non-partisan national security
organization established in 1988 specializing in identifying policies,
actions, and resource needs that are vital to American security. It
ensures that such issues are the subject of both focused, principled
examination and effective action by recognized policy experts,
appropriate officials, opinion leaders, and the general public. Under
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership, the Center has been nationally and
internationally recognized as a resource for timely, informed and
penetrating analyses of foreign and defense policy matters.
Mr. Gaffney is the publisher and associate author of "Shariah: The
Threat to America" as well as a video course "The Muslim Brotherhood in
America". More information about the Center and Mr. Gaffney can be found
at www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org.
BCRC meetings are open to Republicans and like-minded Independents in
Belknap County. Although the meeting begins at 6:30 pm, if you’re
interested in having dinner (at your option) or want to socialize before
the meeting, plan to arrive as early as 5:00 pm.
The Committee will be meeting at C.J. Avery’s Restaurant, 10 Railroad
Ave., in the Lakeport section of Laconia. For more information, please
check www.BelknapCountyRepublicans.org or send an email to
[email protected].
Finishing The Year Long Trip With Russia,
Finland, and Iceland
Submitted By
Jess Emory
After arriving in Moscow, I walked around like a codfish, in the words
of Mary Poppins. That is, I stared open mouthed as people walked like
city people, the electricity stayed on, water ran from taps and was even
hot at times. I didn’t realize the severity of my culture shock until I
went to Burger King (I know... but it is such a novelty to see ‘whopper’
written in Cyrillic). Order up and my first instinct was to lunge at the
pile of napkins because you just never know when you are going to have
anything like a paper napkin again (and by ‘anything like a paper
napkin’ I mean towel, toilet paper, note paper, tissue, table wobble
stopper, packing material, nose bleed plugger, ear plugs, shoe
padding...). It dawned on me just as I went for the grab that I was in
Europe, and in all likelihood, napkins wouldn’t disappear and toilet
paper was probably something I could bank on. Probably.
If Russia was a culture shock to my system, Finland was a full-on panic
attack. Cars stopped at pedestrian crosswalks, people waved as thanks,
doors were held, eye contact was made, toilet paper existed, houses
consisted of at least four walls and a roof, hot water came out of one
of the faucets and cold out of the other; in short, I was in heaven.
Nora, my best friend who joined me for this part of the trip, happens to
be half Finnish and I had the pleasure of meeting her family while we
were there. Her grandmother continually force-fed us, though it was only
afterward that I found out that the force feeding was in the hopes of me
growing a few inches taller (I was aware of the food-growth connection,
though I always thought it was horizontally inclined). In terms of my
project, these meetings showed me how much people appreciate handiwork.
Items were taken out of closets and explained with reverence (in
rapid-fire Finnish that had be translated as we went). Everyone seemed
to have a sister or a mother or a friend who knit, felted, wove, or
otherwise constructed something for them. This work was appreciated and
shown off to anyone who would listen- it warmed my heart to see such
care.
I ended my trip where it began, in Iceland. On my bus ride back into the
city (Reykjavik), I kept seeing sights I had seen when I landed at
midnight nearly a year ago. I remembered what I had been thinking the
first time I saw them, and I felt like a little girl inside me now,
getting to watch it all unfold again.
Nothing has changed here, or at least that is the way it feels. The
construction crane on the corner between my flat and the grocery store
is still in place and seems just as inactive as it did last summer. You
can still cross the road without looking both ways because there is so
little traffic you can hear a car coming a few blocks away. Artistic
graffiti graces the buildings, people are generally friendly, licorice
chocolate candy is still omnipresent.
So it has been a year. In a few days I am on a plane home. I’ve dreamed
of the immigration officer taking my passport (now supersized after
adding 52 new visa pages having battled the Embassy in Ulaanbaatar for
extensions) and the ‘ca-thunk’ that means welcome home.
Bits and bobs from the trip home: You will be stared at as you mosey
around Moscow. No one, not even the people at Burger King, speak
English. In St. Petersburg, a cannon goes off every day at noon. The
Russian school children will be better dressed than you - even if you
are on your way to prom. These kiddies don’t mess around! Trucks drive
endlessly around the city cleaning the streets. Sunbathing on public
beaches is a clothing (relatively) optional experience; g-strings are
fine, no tops necessary. Cars have ‘tattoos’ or transfers on hoods and
hatch backs ranging from hunting and beer motifs to flowers and cartoon
characters. It is expected that you will walk the streets with a beer in
your hand, regardless of the time of day. Ice cream stands are never
more than ten feet from you at any given moment.
In Helsinki, business people are given lunch vouchers by their employers
and can go for lunch at local restaurants. Many of these restaurants are
buffet-style, and you are expected to use only one plate even if you
make multiple trips up the line. Cars stop at pedestrian cross walks.
Waves of thanks are acknowledged with nods or waves. The amount of food
you eat is assumed to be connected to height (by Finnish grandmothers -
more cheese?).
So I’m off for home. But this is not the end, two more articles to come!
Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Ovide Lamontagne To Address (BARC)
The Barnstead-Alton Republican Committee (BARC) has announced their next
monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 10 at J.J. Goodwin’s
Restaurant, 769 Suncook Valley Highway (Rt 28), in Center Barnstead. The
guest speaker will be Republican Gubernatorial candidate, Ovide
Lamontagne.
Lamontagne will speak to the Committee about his reasons for running,
and his plans for the "corner office" in Concord should he be elected.
In addition, with numerous candidates having signed up for county
positions, as well as for the State House and Senate, plus the recent
Supreme Court healthcare decision, the Committee is sure to have a lot
to discuss.
BARC meetings are open to Republicans and like-minded Independents from
Alton, Barnstead, and any other towns in New Hampshire. Per the usual
meeting format, if you’re interested in having dinner (at your option)
or want to socialize before the meeting, plan to arrive as early as 5:30
pm.
For more information, please send an email to
[email protected] or check out the Committee’s
website at www.BARC-NewHampshire.org
Letter To The Editor
Dear Editor:
It used to be that New Hampshire was a bustle with agricultural
activity. Much of the foods we consumed were grown locally. Every family
had a working knowledge of how to preserve the yearly harvest. What a
family could not grow for themselves was augmented by what the
community’s farms could grow. We were more self-reliant, healthier and
happier.
Many of us lament the passing of our former community spirit. We fondly
remember going with our moms to the local butcher, the local baker, and,
yes, the local candlestick maker. This was a part of who and what we
used to be. Now we drive to some mega store and fight the crowds for
food that is often raised outside of our country. Like so much of what
we consume, it is mass produced and the quality can be inferior.
Part of rebuilding "community" is buying our foods locally. So visit
your local farms and let the work begin!
Don Walker
Barnstead
Local Community Invited To Meet The Candidates
The Barnstead, Alton, and Gilmanton Democrats, a newly-formed group of
local citizens, are hosting a "Meet The Candidate" series at the
Barnstead Town Hall, open to the community. The series offers local
residents a chance to learn about New Hampshire candidates and engage in
the question-answer session of the evening.
In May, local residents met former State Senator Jackie Cilley, a
Democratic candidate running for New Hampshire Governor, and June’s
forum was a community potluck followed by an intimate meeting with Carol
Shea-Porter, Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative from New
Hampshire’s 1st congressional district.
The tri-town group is excited to announce the next meeting in the series
to be held on Monday, July 9. Everyone is invited to the Barnstead Town
Hall to meet former Senate Majority Leader Maggie Hassan, another
Democratic candidate vying to be New Hampshire Governor. She’ll be there
from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm to speak and take questions from the crowd.
Barnstead Historical Society To Visit Sanborn Mills Farm
Barnstead Historical Society members, guests and all others interested
in our agricultural history will meet on July 10th at the Barnstead Town
Hall, at 9:00 am, to carpool to the Sanborn Mills Farm in Loudon, NH.
The tour will begin at 9:30 am.
The Sanborn Mills Farm includes a water powered sawmill and grist mill,
a blacksmith shop, timber framed barns and out buildings and two houses,
all dating from the 1830s. The farm "is dedicated to the teaching of
traditional skills"... Visit their web site at
www.sanbornmills.org
We will meet for lunch, at a nearby restaurant, after the tour.
Please join us. For more information, call Sandy 776-7000 or Jean
269-5441.
Obituaries
Ethel Diane Crary
On May 17th, 2012, Ethel Diane "Swamplady" Crary passed away after a
short illness.
Born in Germany during the early 50s, Diane spent her childhood
traveling the world. She lived in Korea, Alaska, and all over the United
States. She settled in Los Angeles California, where she met her
husband, Jeff Crary.
After one year of courtship, Jeff proposed with a rose and later an
emerald. Diane said yes, and their honeymoon was spent traveling the
country until they ended up in Barnstead, NH.
There, Diane had two children, Kate and Josh. She spent her spare time
making Kate and Josh’s childhood magical, crafting, and being awesome.
Diane worked for many years as a bartender at "The Whistling Post"
restaurant, and became a tax preparer. She served as the Barnstead
Library Treasurer, and was a substitute teacher at Barnstead Elementary.
Tough but fair, she infused her classroom and her home with imagination,
creativity, and humor. A friend to everyone, and a force to be reckoned
with, Diane will be deeply missed. Her husband will miss her green eyes,
her son and daughter will miss her magic, and her grandson will miss his
best friend.
The Crary Family would like to thank Brian White, Rita Kiley, Micky
Pratt, and Jon Crary for their assistance through this difficult time. A
celebration of Diane’s life will be held at the Crary Home on August
25th from 1 pm to 4 pm. Feel free to wear a costume.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Choroideremia Research
Foundation in Diane’s name by visiting
www.choroideremia.org.