The
Pittsfield Area Senior Center will be holding Bingo, beginning at
10:00 am, on Tuesday, February 22nd. Also, the same day, from
10:00 am to 1:00 pm you can get Free Volunteer Income Tax
Preparation assistance, but you must call the Center at 435-8482 for
an appointment. On Thursday, February 24th, if enough interest is
shown, there will be a trip to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery
Center. For more information call 435-8582 or come to the
Senior Center and look through brochures.
Congratulations to Jordan MacRae who recently graduated from NHTI,
Concord’s Community College with an Associate in Science, a Major in
Accounting.
Letter
Several years ago, Epsom was fortunate enough to be given a “new”
building - the former Epsom Baptist Church. The building was moved
to its new location and placed on a full foundation. There was a lot
of interest at that time, but since than, interest has wavered. Many
people are wondering why we should invest money in yet another town
building that we’re not going to use, as is the case with the
historic Town Hall. There are ideas about the auditorium being used
as meeting space, but the first floor is under debate. What will it
be used for?
It is my opinion that the residents of Epsom
will not vote to invest ANY money in the structure until it becomes
financially beneficial to Epsom residents. The only way I can think
of to make it financially beneficial to Epsom residents is to
incorporate the first floor of the meetinghouse as part of a town
complex, housing some of the town offices. There is plenty of space
on the first floor of the meetinghouse, and what more space is
needed can be found in the Town Hall.
It is also my opinion that
the Selectmen and office workers are against the idea I’ve just
outlined - they’d much rather have a NEW building to call Town
Offices. There is an idea that to utilize the first floor as town
offices would be a waste of money, as it would be outgrown in
very few years, mandating a new structure anyway.
Whether we
need a new structure or not is, at this point, inconsequential. The
issue is money - yours and mine - in the form of taxes. Please
contact the selectmen and tell them that the reason you voted to
accept the gift of the structure was to house the Town Offices, and
that we, the People want the Town Offices split between the Town
Hall and the first floor of the Meetinghouse.
Thank you, Bruce
Graham
Meet
The Candidates Forum Submitted By: Virginia Drew, Vice President
Friends Of The Epsom Library
The Friends of the Epsom Public
Library are hosting a Meet the Candidates Forum on Sunday February
27th. The event will be held at 2 pm at the Epsom Public
Library. This is your chance to meet the people running for office
in our community.
It has always been informative as well as an
opportunity to meet the people you will be choosing on your ballot
in March. The Friends of the Library will be providing
refreshments and hope that you can join us! Please note, in
the event of a snow storm, March 6th will be the snow date.
For further information call the library at 736-9920 or email
[email protected].
The
Friends of the Libray is a small but active group and always
welcoming new members. Consider joining. We meet only
once a month, but we provide support to our library year round.
For more information call the library or email
[email protected].
Letter
To the Voters of Epsom: In the 3˝ years I was Selectman in Epsom,
there were fewer occasions that needed confidentiality, care, and
knowledge more, than those that involved the Welfare Department.
During those times, the Welfare Director must be professional,
compassionate, helpful, and prepared. Confidentiality is a must and
establishes trust with the town and those who oversee the business
of the town. There was never a time when I questioned the
credentials of Lee Bartlett as Welfare Director. As her liaison, I
was updated frequently as to new case needs, trends in town and in
the State of New Hampshire, and budget status.
Lee is a true
professional who has made the effort to attend trainings, has
donated countless hours and dollars of her own to the Town so as not
to use budget funds, and cares deeply about helping those in need.
She is experienced, knowledgeable, and credible. I urge you to vote
to re-elect Lee Bartlett as Director of Welfare for the Town of
Epsom.
Joanne Randall Former Chair, Board of Selectmen
Epsom, NH
Epsom
Central Third Graders Send Wonderful Thank You Notes To Local
Business!! In conjunction with the Dictionary Project and
Chichester Grange No. 132, Granite Image provided every Epsom 3rd
grade student with their own Student’s Dictionary. It was wonderful
to read (in their own words) the way they would use them in the
classroom. We in turn would like to thank Chichester Grange No. 132
for giving us this opportunity. There is nothing more powerful than
the written word! If you would like to know more about the
Dictionary Project, go to
www.thedictionaryproject.org.
Letter
To The Editor
Dear Editor: What a shame more residents of
Epsom do not appreciate the value of a scenic road. Sanborn
Hill Road is rural, with nice scenery and a sense of life from
another era. Far too much of the Town’s history has been lost
to greed and unsupervised growth. We are living with a road
agent (not an engineer) that refuses to do an engineering study
before doing improvements. A less expensive solution is
available.
Scenic road status requires landholder permission for
alterations and tree removal. Despite the residents protest,
destruction continues without permission. I urge residents to
defeat Warrant Article 13.
Sincerely, Sarah Harkness-Nelson
Epsom
Library News
Betsy Bosiak will conduct a basket-making class on
Saturday, March 12, at the Epsom Library from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
The class is limited to six novices or up to eight participants who
have some prior experience. Pre-registration is required, and
anyone interested in attending may sign up at the Circulation Desk.
A fee of $12.00 will be charged for materials. Refreshments
will be served.
The Library’s Adult Winter Program’s showing of
the movie DEATH AT A FUNERAL has passed away twice due to bad
weather. Undaunted, a new date has been set. For those
who like to plan ahead for snow storms, the new date for the movie
is Wednesday, February 23, at 6:30 p.m. Popcorn and soft
drinks will be provided.
The Epsom-Chichester Lions Club will
hold a free vision screening program at the Library during the Story
Hours on Tuesday, February 22, at 2:30 p.m.; Wednesday, February 23,
at 10:00 a.m.; and Thursday, February 24, at 3:30 p.m.
Children up to and including 5 years of age are eligible.
Further information may be obtained by calling Judi or Dick at
736-9942 or by emailing
[email protected].
The Book Club will meet on Wednesday,
March 16, at 7:00 p.m. to discuss Elizabeth Strout’s OLIVE
KITTERIDGE. The book won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize with the
following citation: “. . .a collection of 13 short stories set
in small-town Maine that packs a cumulative emotional wallop, bound
together by polished prose and by Olive the title character, blunt,
flawed and fascinating.” Anyone wishing to join in the
discussion may pick up a copy of the book at the library. New
members are welcome
Epsom
Youth Athletic Association Update
EYAA looks forward to another
fun filled season. This year we will offer Tee Ball, Farm
Ball, Girls Softball (Rookies, Minors & Majors) and Cal Ripken
Baseball (Minors & Majors). Registrations will be held outside
of the ECS gymnasium on the following February dates: Saturday
2/19 @ 9-11am, Tuesday 2/22 @ 6:30-7:30pm & Saturday 2/26 @
11:30am-1:00pm. If you are unable to attend any of these
dates, please visit our NEW website at
http://www.eyaasports.net,
print and complete a registration form, and mail the form along with
payment to: Epsom Youth Athletic Association, Attn: Irene Angelone –
Registration, P.O. Box 387, Epsom, NH 03234. DO NOT MISS OUT!
Please step forward and volunteer. Our local youth need your
help. Coaches, Assistants, Field maintenance workers and many
other volunteer opportunities are available.
Our next monthly
meeting will be held at the Epsom Public Library. The meeting
will commence Wednesday February 23rd at 6:00pm. We hope to
see you there!
Letter
To the voters of Epsom: My name is Dawn Thulin and I am running
for the position of Welfare Director for our Town. I am a 30 year
resident of Epsom, have recently retired and feel I could do a good
job for the people of our community.
I worked for Verizon for 25
years, 16 of which, were spent in directory assistance where I dealt
with the public on a daily basis. Following this I was assigned to
Central Office Design where I was an administrative assistant for 5
years. The remaining 4 years were spent in the accounting office
where I was responsible for the accounts of a number of large
businesses.
Following my retirement from Verizon I bought a craft
shop in Chichester where I was in business for 10 years. My work
experiences at Verizon definitely helped me to be successful as a
small business owner and I enjoyed meeting the public and making new
friends.
As a result of the recent drop in our economy I closed
my business and worked for a short period of time as a WalMart
Demonstrator where I encouraged customers to try out various
products as part of the overall sales strategy of the company.
I
feel my broad and varied experience dealing with the public provides
me with the administrative skills for doing an effective job for the
people of Epsom. If I am elected, you can expect our Welfare
Department to be efficiently managed, accessible to the public and
compassionate in considering the needs of those who have fallen on
hard times. I am a quick learner and will be sure the Town is in
compliance with all Federal, State and local requirements.
I hope
you will consider me for the position of Welfare Director for the
Town of Epsom.
Thank you, Dawn E. Thulin
Letter
To my constituents in Allenstown, Epsom, & Pittsfield: Tuesday,
my committee heard seven bills: that was too many, since I’m still
learning how to schedule hearings. HB380, keeping the
Commission on the Status of Men from sun setting, generated dozens
of fervent emails and letters in support, mostly from out of state
men. Since this commission receives no state funding, I expect we’ll
pass the bill.
Wednesday, the House met in session. Most of the
bills we dealt with were uncontroversial. HB89, requiring the
Attorney General to join the lawsuit against the Federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, sparked heated and wide ranging
debate; the bill passed 267-103.
Finally, the House dealt
with the revenue estimates for the coming biennium, which will be
used to set the budget. The papers have been talking about a 2% cut,
but that’s purely on revenue: because so much one time money was
used in the last budget, about 12% cuts will be necessary. The
revenue estimates allowed for the repeal of some of the new taxes
and fees from the last sessions, and were otherwise fairly
conservative. Democrat leadership spoke out against these estimates,
saying that services would have to be cut; my feeling is that since
we know significant cuts will have to be made in any case, it will
be more efficient and easier to go looking for a 12% cut, and settle
for 10% if the revenues increase, than to look for an 8% cut and
then have to go back for more. Most of the House agreed with me; the
estimates passed 266-95, on party lines.
Anyone interested in
what is going on in the State House is invited to email or call me.
Anyone who wants more information than I can fit into a letter in
the Sun should email me for my newsletter.
Representative Carol
McGuire
[email protected] 782-4918
|