Jessica Palmer, a resident of Chichester, NH, has been named to the Fall
2009 Champlain College, Burlington, Vt., Dean’s List for academic
achievements. Palmer is majoring in Applied Psychology.
Students named to the Dean’s List are full-time students with a semester
grade-point average of 3.5 or more. President’s List honors are for a
grade-point average of 4.0. Trustees Scholar students are students on the
President’s List for two consecutive semesters.
McDonald’s Night!
Support Chichester Cub
Scout Pack 85 and take the night off from cooking!
Here’s how it works:
1. Eat at the Epsom Traffic Circle McDonald’s
on Wednesday, March 3rd between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
2. Put your receipt in
the canister on the counter.
3. Pack 85 will receive 20% of the sale.
This is the only local McDonald’s with a Play Place for the kids — Join
us for the fun!
WOW! Support local scouts and take a night off! It doesn’t get any
better than this:)
Spread the word, tell you friends and family, join the FUN!
Thanks From Cub Scout Pack #85.
Please plan to attend the Grange sponsored Local Candidates
Night on March 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Grange Hall. These candidates,
if elected, are the folks you will be dealing with when you are
transacting business that involves the Town of Chichester. Come and
find out who they are.
Happy Birthday to Abigail McIntosh on February 27.
Chichester Grange will meet on
Wednesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. upstairs in the Grange Hall. The
program will be on Chichester Grange History. Ruth Hammen is in
charge of the lunch.
The Chichester Historical Society will present “More from Our
Archives” on Monday, March 8, at 7 p.m. Members and friends will be
reading selections from letters and diaries connected with
Chichester residents from the past. This program will be held at the
Society’s museum on 49 Main Street. Refreshments will be served. All
Historical Society programs are free, and all are welcome.
Chichester Youth Association would like to thank Todd and
Marlene Hammond, Pam Russell, Mariana Thorne, and Leanne Chapman for
their support in organizing and pulling off the CYA’s 2nd Annual
Valentine’s Day Dance. The proceeds will directly benefit the
programs that the CYA operates. We would also like to thank the band
Mama Kicks, the Concord/Epsom Elks, and all of our sponsors who
helped to make this event another huge success.
The following titles have recently been added to the Youth/Easy
Fiction section of the Chichester Town Library: Caleb’s Story by
Patricia Maclachlan, Spring Pearl the Last Flower by Laurence Yep,
The Monster Mall and Other Spooky Poems by David Steinberg, Ginger
Pye by Eleanor Estes (Newbery Winner), The Snowbird by Patricia
Calvert, The Battlefield Ghost by Margery Cuyler, No Dogs Allowed by
Bill Wallace, Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry, The Maze
Runner by James Dashner, Pick Me Up- Stuff you need to know – by
David Robert, Winnie Dancing on Her Own by Jennifer Jacobson,
Portraits Dancing through Fire by Kathryn Lasker, Among the Enemy,
by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
The Chichester Youth Association is gearing up for the 2010
Baseball and Softball Season. Registration forms were handed out
Feb. 8th to all students at Chichester Central. Additional forms
will be available just outside the school office or you can print a
form from the website @
www.chichesteryouth.com. The deadline for registration
will be March 13th. However, get your forms in early as we will have
open gym time available after March 1st to brush off those cobwebs.
Details will follow about gym schedule.
Here, once again, are the dates for the meetings, which take
place in March each year for Town Governance. The Chichester School
District Meeting will be on Saturday, March 6, at 9 a.m. in the
Multi-Purpose Room at Chichester Central School. Voting Day for Town
and School District Officials and some zoning matters will be
Tuesday, March 9, at the Town/Grange Hall. The polls will open at 10
a.m. and close at 7 p.m. The Chichester Town Meeting will be held on
Saturday, March 13, in the Multi-Purpose Room at the school.
Chichester Historical Society
The Chichester Historical Society will
present the program “More From Our Archives” on Monday, March 8th at 7 p.m.
at the Museum at 49 Main Street. Members and friends of the society will
read interesting and enlightening selections from letters and diaries penned
by Chichester men and women from all walks of life. Programs are free and
all are welcome. Refreshments are served. Parking is available in the
Grange/Town Hall parking lot located across the street from the society’s
museum. For information, call 798-5709.
The Museum is working on several
projects one of which involves old foundations or cellar holes. If you are
aware of any locations please notify a member of the society or contact Dick
Pratt, president at 798-3151.
We are saddened to learn that the General
Blake/Hutchinson house and barn at the corner of Route 4 and Main Street is
in the process of being dismantled. The property was determined to be
eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in the 1980s. Known
for many years as The Hitching Post run by Florence and John Hutchinson, it
served as a “tourist home” for many travelers. It continued as a bed and
breakfast for a period of time after the Hutchinsons’ ownership.
In more
recent years it had fallen into disrepair. The Chichester Historical Society
was able to document the house. Floor plans were drawn by one of our
members. Many photographs were taken so that this historic house will not be
forgotten. For further information, please call 798-5709.
Letter
More Reasons it’s Time for a Change
Dear Chichester Residents,
Here are more decisions made at the Selectmen’s Meetings during the past
year that will be changing the way I vote in March.
In late 2008 the
Building Inspector passed away as a result of an accident. The Selectmen
posted notice for applicants to fill this office. Of the applications
received, I know of one local resident who was not even given the courtesy
of an interview for the position. This person had been a building inspector
previously and was well qualified. Rather than hiring a local resident to
fill the position, as had always been the custom, the selectmen appointed a
person from Meredith. Also, at this time the Selectmen elected to
restructure the position and method of payment for the building inspector,
which will result in a $7,000 increase in this budget in 2010.
Another
issue is the position of Health Officer. Our Health Officer suddenly passed
away in 2009. Although the health officer’s position was not posted, a
local resident offered to fill the post at no cost to the Town. This person
was well qualified for the position, with experience in the health care
profession. The Selectmen said they did not need such qualifications, and
decided to give the job to the Building Inspector who stated that he did not
know a lot about health inspections, but could learn the job. Apparently the
Selectmen do not listen to public input as their minds are already made up
before the meetings. I feel that if we have qualified persons from within
our Town they should be given the first opportunity at filling open
positions.
Our Selectmen need to be responsive to the voices of
the people, something that currently seems to be missing. This is another
reason we need a change, and I am supporting Mike Paveglio for Selectman.
Walter L. Sanborn
Chichester
Out of Your Attic Thrift Shop News
Submitted By Carol Hendee
We
have been relating to you how your donations do good things for people. It
turns out your donations also do good for animals!
A woman came into the
shop and needed many, many sweatshirts and sweaters. The condition did not
matter. It seems a local farm that raises sheep had an earlier than expected
birthing of lambs! She was going to cut the sweaters and sweatshirts to make
leggings and little jackets to keep the little lambs warm! She would be
doing this for the mamas too, as this weather is so cold. She hopes to bring
pictures to the shop so we can see the “styling” lambs!
We are located at
345 Suncook Valley Rd. (aka Rte 28 No.) in Chichester and are open Tues.,
Wed. and Thurs., 8-4 and Sat., 10-4.
Our wish list: booster seat, coffee
grinder(s), bowling balls, cross country ski boots, baby swing, baby
gate(s), high chair - both styles, extra long twin flannel sheets.
Letter
There have been two ex-Fire Chiefs, Mr. Prickett and Mr. Paul
Sanborn, publically denouncing the present Chichester Board of Selectmen on
behalf of a third ex-Fire Chief who is running for Selectman. They have said
the Board is a “great embarrassment”, “less than transparent”,
“obdurate”(?), “unpardonable”, “less than courteous”, “poorly qualified”,
and that the Board has “poor decision making skills” and they “hide
important information”. Who would expect anything less from two
ex-Fire Chiefs on behalf of a third ex-Fire Chief than such a discourse of
criticism. As a Board member I take exception.
Mr. Paul Sanborn said the
Town needs Selectman to “work within a budget to balance the needs with the
wants”. If he really believes the Selectmen should balance needs
with wants then expect your taxes to increase! The Board of Selectmen is
acutely aware that the Town’s operating budget should be built only on the
true needs of the Town departments, needs necessary to provide the best
services to the Townspeople, not a wish list of “wants” as suggested.
And
Mr. Prickett quotes a wise man as saying, “The best predictor of future
performance is past behavior”. That may be true. Let’s look at some
“past behavior” of the Board. Working closely with the Budget Committee, the
Board presented to the Town an operating budget last year 2.5 % below the
previous year, and by exercising close oversight of budget expenditures, and
by using a measured amount of fund balance monies, the Board was able to
reduce the Town’s portion of the Tax Rate by $1.25 per thousand dollars
assessment! The total Chichester Tax Rate was reduced last year by
$1.84, from $21.35 to $19.51.
Welcome tax relief for Chichester residents
during these challenging economic times. Not bad “past behavior” in my
opinion.
Richard DeBold
