The
Chichester Town Pantry would like to thank the Congregational
Church, the Library and the Methodist Church for their donations
this month. We would like to remind everyone that the Pantry only
accepts edible food, paper and cleaning products, and hygiene items.
Please do not leave articles outside the building or in the lobby.
Out of the Attic in Chichester accepts household items or you can
deposit them in the yellow box at the Mobil Station. Thank you
for your cooperation in this matter.
Chichester Grange
will meet on Wednesday, January 19, upstairs in the Grange Hall.
There will be a Soup Supper at 6 p.m. with a business meeting at 7
p.m.
Happy Birthday to David Hammond on January 13,
Carolee Davison on January 15, and Kelly Brudniak on January 19.
Registration forms for the Chichester Ski and Ride
Program at Pat’s Peak are available for pick-up at CCS, or you can
visit www.patspeak.com to
register there as well. The program will be on Fridays,
beginning Feb. 18th, and will offer (5) sessions. There will
be no session the week of Feb. 28th - March 4th.
Again this year
there will be buses leaving CCS on Friday afternoons. Please
visit the website or the school to get your registration as soon as
possible. Feel free to contact Lou Barker at
[email protected]
with any questions or should you like to volunteer to help.
See you on the slopes!
Now is the time to register for
Town Office if you are interested in participating in local
government. Between January 19 and January 28 you can register with
Jamie Pike for the School District Offices of Moderator, Clerk,
Treasurer, or School Board Member. You can register with Evelyn Pike
for the Town Offices of Moderator, Selectman, Library Trustee and
other Trustee positions. The Election is not until March 8, but you
need to register now in order to have your name on the ballot. There
is no filing fee.
If you intend to put an article on
the Town Warrant for the March Town Meeting, now is the time to do
it. Stop in at the Town Offices and find out how to “submit a
warrant article by petition.”
The following titles
have been added to the Youth section of the Chichester Library: The
Hive Detectives – Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe by Laoree
Griffin Burns; Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy;
Hawksmaid by Kathrun Laskey; Keeper by Kathi Appelt; Sparky, the
Life and Art of Charles Schulz by Beverly Gherman; Diary of a Wimpy
Kid – The Ugly Truth- by Jeff Kinney; The Buddy Files – The Case of
the Lost Boy by Dori Hillstad Butler.
Celebrate the
warmth of friendship by joining other active seniors at the
Pittsfield Area Senior Center for their weekly and monthly events.
All seniors are welcome to participate in the activities and have
lunch at noon. (Please call ahead to reserve your lunch at
435-8482). There is a $2.00 suggested donation for lunch.
Daily activities include bingo, games, painting lessons and gentle
yoga. Upcoming special events will include a “Fall Prevention”
luncheon on Thursday, January 13th at noon. Bill York of Live
Free Home Health Care, will share practical suggestions for a safe
and comfortable home.
On Tuesday, January 18th it will be bingo
from 10 am to 11:30 am. At noon, Anita Oelfke, Service Links
Medicare Specialist will be there during lunch. Mark your
calendars!
Chichester Heritage Commission
The Chichester Heritage Commission
will hold its first meeting of the new year on Thursday, January
20th at 7 p.m. at the Chichester town library. Part of the
meeting will be devoted to providing information on the Canterbury
Road Tree Project. Tim Fleury, UNH Cooperative Extension
Educator, Forest Resources, will be available for a question and
answer exchange. Residents of Canterbury Road, or anyone
interested in the fate of the dead or dying old maple trees, are
invited to attend this informational forum.
Members of the
Commission have identified at least twenty-seven trees that are in
peril. These trees have provided a beautiful scenic landscape
for many years. If you would like to express your opinions or
offer suggestions about this project, please attend the Commission
meeting at the town library on January 20th at 7 p.m. For
information, call Lucille Noel at 798-5709 or Bob McAnney at
435-6690.
Valentines To Troops In Afghanistan
The Chichester Town Library
and the Chichester Boy Scouts would like to send Valentines to the
troops in Afganistan. If you know a solider who is serving, please
give us the name and address and we would be happy to send him or
her some cards.
The library will provide the material, but we
need you to come in and make the cards. We will have this card
making event on Saturday morning, January 15th, from 9 to
12:30.
If you can’t make it to the library on Saturday,
you can bring in cards that you have made in your home.
One of
the goals of the library is to turn part of the basement into a
meeting room. We would like to get started on that project
this year and we are looking for people to join our building
committee. If you have skills in the area of planning,
organizing, building or fund raising would you consider helping us
out. Drop in or call the library, 798-5613. The hours of
operation are Mon. and Wed, 2:30 – 8:30, Tues. and Thurs. 9:30 –
2:00, Sat. 9 to 1:00.
Out Of
Your Attic Thrift Shop News Submitted By Carol Hendee
We have received some wonderful donations to start 2011. We
have several large size paintings and pictures with neat
frames; a good selection of adult winter jackets; a Hawaiian ice
crusher; for the person making a New Years resolution to exercise, a
sit-in combination pedal and rower machine (ask at the desk to see
it as it is in the back); a Foot Fixer bath for tired winter toes; a
Spa Therapy Moist massage to combat winter dryness; a brown wicker
settee with cushion and 2 barrel chairs without cushions; a diaper
genie and baby bath tubs; Harlequin romance books-a paper box cover
full for $1.00, great winter reading. We also have a good selection
of board books for young children. At $.25 each, quite the
bargain. Please stop in and see us at 345 Suncook Valley Hwy,
Chichester, Tues. and Thurs. 8-4, Wed. 11-4 and Sat. 10-4.
Also, you might want to stop in and say HI to Ruthie! She’s
back on Tuesday mornings and will be filling in on other days.
Welcome back Ruthie!
Local
Government
Submitted by Representative Brandon Giuda 435-5005
Coming
back from the legislature last Tuesday I stopped by Chichester Town
Office to bother everyone during lunch. While speaking with
Jamie and Evelyn, I was distracted, thinking of the differences
between local and not-so-local government. I believe there is
no better run more efficient government than local government,
because that government answers directly to the citizens it works
for. The more distance between a government and its citizens,
the more it is distracted by outside interests that may not
represent true citizen interests. For that reason, and reasons
enumerated in our Constitution, I strongly believe in local control
and in keeping the State and Federal governments out of our business
as much as possible.
Upon returning home I noticed the article
“GOP Ready to Chop Evergreen,” and immediately thought about the
local control issue. Surprisingly, the article included a
comment by ex-representative Sally Kelly supporting the Evergreen
Law. According to Kelly, the new law is needed “to add a level
of good faith between the parties, at least you’re giving us the
step increase that we were negotiated on.”
I strongly disagree
with Kelly’s synopsis. Simply put, the Evergreen Law takes
away rights from the citizens when they negotiate town contracts
with public employees. Some towns negotiate contracts that
include a clause stating if the contract expires, pay increases will
continue until a new contract is signed. Other towns choose
not to negotiate that clause into their contracts. Rather than
letting free negotiations continue, the Democratic legislature
stepped in, with strong union lobbying behind them, and passed the
Evergreen law that forces all towns to pay increases, even after a
contract expires.
Kelly’s excuse that Evergreen is needed to “add
a level of good faith” between town employees and employers is
off-base. In my experience, towns reflect the citizens’ wishes
and I have never seen a town act in bad faith, unless of course,
Kelly and the unions believe that no pay raises due to a poor
economy is bad faith. Kelly’s statement, “at least you’re
giving us the step increase that we were negotiated on” is
incorrect, because if a town purposely excluded an evergreen clause
from its contracts, then no after-contract step increases were
negotiated. Clearly, Kelly and the old Democratic legislature
believe it’s acceptable for the State to ram public employee pay
increases down the throats of local citizens, even if they vote
against it.
As your representative, I fight every day to adhere
to our Constitution and to reduce State and Federal interference
with local decisions. Local government directly responsible to
the citizens and directly controlled by the citizens is the best we
have – and I will continue to fight to strengthen it.
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