REMINDER
Suncook
Valley
Soccer
Club
Registration is now open for the Fall 2018 Season!
Visit
suncookvalleysoccerclub.com or our facebook page to sign up.
Registration ends 8/1.
Messy
Art Day!
F.B.
Argue Town Pool
July
28th 1:00 – 3:00pm
The Josiah Carpenter Library and the Parks and Recreation Committee
have gathered up paint and paper for your artistic delight.
Enjoy creating glitter fireworks, chalk art (the public works
parking area could get very colorful!), balloon burst painting,
paintball smash, and (toy) truck track painting. The rain date
is Sunday July 29th. While you are there relish reading a book
on a story walk. Come have fun and get messy!
TOPS
News
Left:
Sandy Gilmore KOPS for two years, Suzie, on the right, Pat
Smith, KOPS for 16½ years. Meetings are on Tuesdays 6:30 at Joy
Church 55 Barnstead Rd. For information about attending a TOPS
meeting, call Pat- 435-5333 or Beth 435-7397.
Our
TOPS chapter recently celebrated Suzie Fife, upon reaching her
weight goal and attaining KOPS status(Keep Off Pounds
Sensibly). She received a necklace, pin, earrings and other
gifts to remember the occasion. Congratulations, Suzie!
Several other KOPS were in attendance.
Letter
To The Editor
Select
board meeting 7/10/18
I
missed last meeting so no update on it, however Chief Collins
brought a full-time certified officer on, Sargeant Nance, who’s
ready to start patrolling immediately. That’ll go a long way
to alleviating overtime and outside coverage. We’ve got
another full-time applicant who has been made a conditional offer,
and another part-timer. We are rebuilding the PD basically
from the ground up, the only long-serving officer remaining being
Sgt. DiGeorge, who is guiding all our new uncertified hires through
the process as Chief Collins concentrates on daily operations and
reviewing the practices of the department. Things are looking
up every day.
A
sealed bid of nearly $1000 was accepted for 3 vehicles that are no
longer serviceable for the town.
Avitar
came to explain how the tax assessment ratio is determined by the
state. When considering how high our tax rate is, the ratio
must also be taken into account. Tax rate alone is often not a true
comparison to other towns. Regardless, everyone’s tax bill
should remain the same despite fluctuations in the ratio. What
REALLY affects our tax bill is how much money we spend and we
continue to be frugal.
Atlantic Broadband (formerly Metrocast) is currently operating here
without a franchise. We’re trying to find other cable
providers who’d be interested in giving us a bid proposal, although
we understand this may be unlikely due to infrastructure.
There’s
a number of public hearings coming up that residents should try to
attend. The time to have a say in matters is at a hearing, not
a complaint session after the fact. A hearing for the
relocation of the Historical Society to the Washington House lot is
July 24 at 6:15 PM.
Carl
Anderson
Concord
Regional VNA Seeks Hospice Veteran Volunteers
Concord
Regional VNA is seeking veteran volunteers to offer companionship
and support to veterans receiving hospice care. The next eight-week
training program starts on Thursday, September 6 from 5:30 to 7:30
p.m. at Concord Regional VNA Hospice House, 240 Pleasant Street in
Concord.
“Our
veteran volunteers, as part of our We Honor Veterans Program, have
the unique ability to bond with other veterans who are receiving
end-of-life care,” said Lisa Challender, MSW, Volunteer Coordinator.
“For some veterans, it is the first time they have ever talked about
their military experiences and it’s with one of our veteran
volunteers. It can be truly therapeutic for all those involved.”
Veteran
volunteers visit veterans receiving hospice care in their homes,
facilities, and at Hospice House.
In
addition, we are seeking hospice volunteers to assist with:
•
Providing companionship to hospice patients
•
Offering caregiver respite
•
Reading to hospice patients
•
Holding a hand and lending a listening ear
•
Running errands for hospice patients
•
Cooking meals at the Hospice House
•
Providing pet therapy, music therapy, and therapeutic arts
•
Giving Reiki, Massage, or Therapeutic Touch
•
Assisting staff with office work (e.g. filings, mailings)
•
Facilitating grief support groups
Please
call (603) 224-4093 or (800) 924-8620, ext. 2826 or e-mail
[email protected] by
Friday, August 10 to learn more about volunteer opportunities.
From
the Farm: A Sad Day on the Farm
Submitted By Carole Soule
Pigs
waiting for dinner
Carole
with Charlotte, an "ambassador" pig who has a forever
home on
the farm.
Victor
studied the three pigs in the pen and pointed out that the one we
had chosen probably weighed over 300 pounds, much too big for a
“roaster.” He pointed to a different animal and said, “That one
would be a better size.” I got the buyer's OK, and the smaller pig
was dispatched.
It's a
sad day at Miles Smith Farm when we sell a hog to be processed for
meat – a hog we have raised and cared for. In this case, the buyer
had purchased this hog for a pig roast. Then we contracted with Vic
Huse to come to the farm, dispatch the animal, and prepare it for
roasting.
Because
the hog was purchased while alive for roasting, it became the
property of the new owner even though it stayed on our farm for
processing. In all other cases, we are required by law, to bring our
live animals – cows, pigs or lambs – to a USDA-approved facility for
processing. There an inspector watches the animal walk into the
chute. If the animal seems sick, the inspector can reject it, and it
won't be processed.
Once a
healthy animal is humanely killed, the carcass is skinned, gutted
and continually washed -- all subject to USDA inspection. Depending
on the meat (beef, lamb, goat, pork) it hangs in a cooler for a few
days to two weeks, then goes to the meat-cutting room where hanging
sides are cut and Cryovacked into individual packages of steaks or
roasts or ground into hamburger, ready to sell. This meat carries
the seal of the processing plant, which indicates it is
USDA-approved. The processor then delivers boxes of delicious,
humanely processed meat to our farm.
The
plant we chose for processing always treats our animals as we would
– with respect. They are handled carefully in a state-of-the-art
facility. The animals wait calmly in pens until it is time to walk
through the curved chute to be processed. I want no less for the
animals I've lived with for months or years.
Even
so, I prefer that an animal meet its end on the farm, in a familiar
environment. And while I know it is better for the animal, it always
hard for me. I wish I could keep all the animals I raise, but that
is not an economic reality. Just like you, I have a mortgage,
insurance premiums and utility bills to pay. Hay alone costs $30,000
a year. The farm may run on sentiment, but my creditors want money.
Even
more importantly, we started this farm as an alternative to factory
farms where livestock have numbers, not names. I want to know that
our pigs got to express their pigness; that cows could graze on tall
grass; that lambs were raised with kindness.
Within
an hour, Victor was done, and the pig hung in the cooler ready to be
taken to the pig roast. The purpose of raising this pig was to
provide food. His life was good, and the end was quick, without
suffering. I don't regret my decisions, but that doesn't mean I
can't be sad at the same time. On days like this, I can't always
hold back the tears.
NH
School Funding
Submitted By Laurel Bissonnette
Paying
too much in property taxes? Not getting the quality education that
your child deserves? You’re not alone. 74% of adults in NH
live in a town that is at or below the equalized valuation per
pupil.
What is
equalized valuation per pupil (EVP) you ask? Great question! In its
simplest form the EVP is a number that represents a town’s available
tax base to pay for its students. It’s calculated by dividing the
town’s total property values by the number of students in the town.
If your
town’s EVP is high you can afford to have a nice low tax rate and
still have lots of money for education.
If your
town’s EVP is low you must have a high tax rate in order to afford
basic educational costs.
In 2017
the average EVP for the state was about $1 million. The average EVP
for Pittsfield was $470,000. Pittsfield has less than half the state
average! Are your kids worth half as much as a kid who lives in a
property rich community?
It’s
not a school budget problem, it’s a state funding problem.
Left
wing, right wing or stuck in the middle, this is the ONE thing we
can all agree on. We need a solution that equalizes property tax
rates across the state of New Hampshire. We need a solution where
the state contributes funds from wealthy communities to assist
poorer towns. A great education is a right for all NH kids, not just
those fortunate enough to live near a big lake or ski resort.
Property poor communities cannot continue to pay more and more than
our wealthier neighboring communities. The state needs to step up
and own its constitutional responsibilities. Students are the
ultimate victims as their schools continue to decline and taxpayers
are pushed beyond their limits.
In the
Claremont lawsuit, the court concluded that the provision of an
“adequate education” was a state responsibility and under the
constitution must therefore be funded by taxes that are uniform in
their rates. How can we provide an “adequate education” to our
students without breaking the backs of the majority of NH property
owners?
Following the School Funding 101 forum given by Andru Volinsky,
Executive Councilor and John Tobin last month, educators and
concerned citizens are meeting to address the underlying tax issues
and what we can do about it.
Be part
of the solution to this educational funding problem. Please join us
in taking action. Laurel Bissonnette,
[email protected].
Doug
Hall provided the data in regard to property tax.
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