Letter To The Editor
July 14, 2013
The citizens of Gilmanton should know that the School District once
again has a surplus of funds in excess of $500,000.00 By law they
are not allowed to spend this money but must return it to the town.
However, every year they try to encumber these funds even though it
is illegal to do so.
Also it was stated in a recent School Board meeting that they have
not had a clean audit in over two years.
Additionally problems exist with the hiring process in that the
School Board’s actions violate their own written policies. The
school has a high turnover rate and thus is frequently hiring.
Positions are filled by the Superintendent with the School Board
providing merely a rubber stamp when they should be a part of the
interviewing process. Recently an Information Technology person was
hired without even consulting with the School Board which has a
member who is an IT professional. In effect the School Board has
assigned its duties to the Superintendent. The board chair even
stated that there was no need for the Board to participate in the
hiring process.
Parents, citizens and voters need to become more involved by
attending meetings and requiring accountability from their elected
officials. That accountability must begin with following the legally
established format which makes the administration responsible to the
School Board and the School Board responsible to the voters.
Remember it’s your money.
Joanne Gianni
Gilmanton Iron Works
Lindsay And Her Puppet Pals At Gilmanton Old Home Day
The
Gilmanton Old Home Day Association is pleased to present Lindsay and
Her Puppet Pals at Gilmanton Old Home Day on Saturday, August 10th
at 10:30 am.
Lindsay brings a huge collection of lovingly handcrafted, life
sized hand puppets and marionettes to child and family audiences
across New England. Filled with silly humor, crowd participation,
and unique, memorable characters, this series of charming, positive
short stories will delight the young and the young at heart!
Show is an hour long. For more information, please
visit her website at
www.lindsayspuppetpals.com
Gilmanton Old Home Day News
The 115th Gilmanton Old Home Day is scheduled for Saturday August
10, 2013 on the grounds of the Smith Meeting House.
There will be an official opening at 10:00am by the American Legion
Ellis-Geddes-Levitt Post 102 and the festivities continue until
3:00pm.
Activities include an arts and crafts fair, art show, children’s
games and animals in addition to informational booths of local
organizations. This year we will have the first annual Tug-O-War.
There will be two divisions - adults 18 years and older and
children 12 years to 17 years. There will be an antique auto show
and parade, contact Dick Burchell (364-2668) or Dave Russell
(364-7449) if you wish to participate.
After cooking for eleven hours, our famous bean hole beans will be
served with all the fixings at 11:30am and 12:30pm. Music will be
provided by the Parker Hill Road Band and there will be a
demonstration of prize oxen by Kathy Salanitro owner of Ox-K Farm
Discovery Center. We will have Old Home Day tshirts available for
$15.
The proceeds from Old Home Day go towards the restoration of the
five buildings on the grounds of the Smith Meeting House, which is
located on Meeting House Road off Route 140 and approximately 3.5
miles east of Route 107 in Gilmanton. Restoration work has begun on
the School House building, and two monuments between the church and
the school were moved back to provide a larger space for tents and
festivities.
For 115 years the Smith Meeting House and the Gilmanton Old Home Day
Association have hosted Old Home Day activities. In 1899 then New
Hampshire Governor Frank W. Rollins declared the nations first
statewide “Old Home Week” in an effort to lure back native sons who
had traveled west after the Civil War. He asked the various towns
to establish a day of prayer and a week of celebration to showcase
all the wonderful traditions of our state.
For more information go to
www.gilmantonnh.org.
For questions on this news release contact George Roberts at
603-52--267-8151.
Gilmanton Community Church News
Now that summer has arrived, the Gilmanton Community
Church will be worshiping in our Corners sanctuary. The Sunday
morning service begins at 9:30am, with a hymn sing beginning at
9:15am. All are welcome and dress is casual! We have a time of
fellowship and refreshment following the service in the undercroft.
With summertime comes many wonderful activities and functions at
the Gilmanton Community Church as well. The following is a list of
some of those events. For more information we invite you to visit
us on facebook @
www.facebook.com/gilmantoncommunitychurch.
**July 27th the Gilmanton Community Church will be having their
annual Chicken and Rib BBQ at the Iron Works church on Route 140.
There will be excellent BBQ prepared by our “master” grillers and
wonderful sides to go with it. The cost of the BBQ dinner is $12.00
for adults, $10.00 for seniors and children under 12 and starts at
5:30pm and goes until 7:30pm. Come enjoy a wonderful meal with
family and friends. Take out is available.
**August 12 – 16 will be VBC (vacation bible camp). This year the
camp will be held at the church in the corners on RT 107 and will be
from 6:30PM to 8:30PM. Come learn and have fun at VBC at the
Gilmanton Community Church.
** The GCC Food Pantry committee has begun collecting school
supplies for our “Back to School” program. Donations can be dropped
off at the Food Pantry during business hours which are Monday 1pm –
5pm, Wednesday 3pm - 7pm, and Saturday 10am – 2pm.
Again, for more information on our church and the above events
please look us up on facebook or call our church office @ 267-6150.
Gilmanton
Old Home Day
The Gilmanton Old Home Day Association is pleased to announce that
we will continue to hold our annual antique auto show and parade at
the 115th Gilmanton Old Home Day on Saturday August 10, 2013.
You are cordially invited to participate in this event which will
include a display and parade on the Smith Meeting House grounds.
Please call Richard Burchell (364-2668) or Dave Russell (364-7449)
to register. Give them your name, the year, make and model and any
other interesting features of your vehicle.
You should be at the Smith Meeting House grounds by 9:30am on August
10th. Parking is in the shaded parking area below the Carriage
Shed, just follow the signs.
Please help us make this a success.
Letter To The Editor
Belknap County Commissioner Philpot Declares His Unprofessionalism
As an elected official, I am totally dismayed to read Commissioner
Philpot’s latest diatribe against the majority in the Belknap County
Delegation. “These are bad people looking to do bad things…” Wow.
That is quite a value judgment! Speaking for myself, I can tell
you I DO NOT “want to kill government, want government to go away.”
Rather, I want government to be accountable to the people, open and
transparent, and not the bloated abomination it has turned into. I
believe in small, accountable government. Does this make me “bad”?
I don’t think so.
What is “bad” (for lack of a better word) is power-mongering in the
extreme. Arrogance is pretty “bad” as well. Divisiveness is “bad”
on my list, too. And all three of these words are what I think of
when I read Commissioner Philpot’s “bad” statement.
The Belknap County Delegation majority level funded our current
budget. No jobs were cut. The majority is seeking definition of
what NH RSA 24:14 really means so future delegations know how to
proceed with the budget process. The majority in this Delegation
seeks to support the taxpayers of Belknap County whenever spending
seems inappropriate, especially in these difficult times. Everyone
may not agree with these ideals, and that is fine. But, trying to
paint people who do not agree as “bad” is politics of the worse
sort. One only has to wonder why Commissioner Philpot
would resort to it.
Rep. Jane Cormier
Belknap District 8
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