Writing
Great Letters
To The
Editor
Have
you ever wanted to write a letter to the editor about an issue that
really matters to you, but had no idea even how to start? Would you
like to learn how from a newspaperman who has years of experience
writing pieces that will catch the readers’ hearts and minds? Now is
your chance. Join us at the Northwood Community Center on Wednesday,
March 20th, at 7:00 pm for a workshop on writing letters to the
editor run by John R. White of Wolfeboro. This workshop is presented
by the Northwood Democrats and is open to all. Bring pen and paper
(or your tablet or laptop, but no WIFI at the Community Center) and
your issues.
PRESCHOOL
OPENINGS!
Are you
thinking about enrolling your child in preschool for next fall? The
Center School in Northwood is accepting registrations for the
2013-2014 school year. The Center School is a parent cooperative
preschool located next to the town hall in Northwood, which provides
a developmental program for three, four, and five year olds of
Northwood and surrounding towns. There are openings in our two-day
(T/Th) program and three-day (M/W/F) morning programs. Call or email
us soon to get an information packet or to make an appointment to
come for a visit! For information, please email director Karen
Andersen at
[email protected] or call her at the school at
942-7686.
Letter
HCR2
will be coming up for a vote in the NH House soon. This resolution
requests our representatives in Congress to start the process for a
constitutional amendment that says that human beings, not
corporations, are entitled to the constitutional rights that are
granted to “persons.”
Are
corporations “persons?” Is money speech? If corporations are
“persons,” and money equals speech, who decides what speech the
money buys?
The
rationale behind corporate personhood and therefore, the right of
corporations to “speak” in our election campaigns is that
corporations are made up of people. So do all the people who make
up the corporation decide what words the corporation’s money will
buy? Is it just the investors, the shareholders? Is it the
management? Is it the workers? If only one group of people who make
up the corporation get to decide what is said, is the corporation
still a “person?” Or more than one “persons” and do the other
“persons” get to spend money as well as to speak?
Sorry
to be asking so many questions, but I can’t get my head around how a
corporation can be a “person” and get all the constitutional rights
that human beings, who are born and die, love and marry, have
children, and even get executed in Texas (it’s a joke: I’ll believe
corporations are people when Texas executes one). When will
corporations get to vote? Then we can ask the same sort of
questions?
Ask
your representatives to vote Yes on HCR2.
Lucy
Edwards
Northwood
Local
Representation Missing In Northwood
On
March 6th the NH House of Representatives voted on a bill (House
Bill 617) that would increase the road toll by .04 cents a year for
the next few years. The current toll in NH is .18 cents per gallon
of gasoline compared to Maine which is .30 cents. The last increase
was in 1992 under Governor Judd Gregg. Before that it was increased
under Governor Mel Thompson. According to the state DOT, it would
cost the average motorist about .20 cents a day to pay for this
modest increase.
Besides
funding the completion of the Route 93 expansion in Salem, the
revenue would also be used to increase the local highway block grant
to municipalities from DOT between 50% and 70%. During the last
three years Northwood received an average of $98,000/year in block
grants for road improvements.
When
the debate ended on the house floor, the vote was 207 in favor and
163 opposed. Both of our state representatives were present and
voted on this bill. Not surprisingly, Rep. Maureen Mann voted for
Northwood’s best interests and supported the bill. She is a member
of the House Public Works and Highways which is the committee that
recommended ‘ought to pass’ by a vote of 18 to 0.
It was
very disappointing to see that our other Rep. Bruce Hodgdon voted
against Northwood receiving an additional $346,000 in block grants
to improve our roads. A day before the vote, former House Speaker
Bill O’Brien warned Republicans that if they voted for these
increased block grants for their communities they would be targeted
for defeat in the next election.
I voted
for Bruce Hodgdon with the expectation that he would go to Concord
and represent Northwood’s best interest and not the NH Tea Party’s
best interests. Go figure.
Sincerely,
Jim
Hadley
Northwood
Northwood Lady Mavericks AAU Girls Basketball Tryouts
The
Lady Mavericks announce it is holding AAU Girls Grade 4 Basketball
tryouts on Thursday, March 14, from 6-8 p.m. at Northwood School,
located at 511 1st NH Turnpike in Northwood.
Those
eligible for participation include girls in 4th Grade as of October
1, 2012, and can not be older than 11 on August 31, 2013. For an
athlete that is in the 5th Grade as of October 1, 2012 wanting to
play down, that girl can be no older than 10 on August 31, 2013.
Grade 3 Girls are also eligible, but should be comparable to Grade 4
skill level.
The
Mavericks’ organization is a nonprofit instructional program whose
teams travel statewide and throughout New England competing in
tournaments sanctioned by Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). Based out of
Nottingham, the club draws players from surrounding southeast NH
towns.
The
Mavericks’ philosophy is a teaching approach where girls refine
individual skills, learn to believe in their teammates, follow the
discipline of sportsmanship, and compete against some of the finest
teams in NH and New England. Coaches are experienced members of the
AAU.
For
more information regarding 4th grade tryouts, contact Head Coach
Dave Elliot at
[email protected], or call (603) 679-9900. Players
in 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grade interested in the Mavericks
organization should contact Paul Tilton at
[email protected].
Letter
The
Reaper
The
newly elected NH House has decided to impose a regressive tax on
everyone. By a vote of 207-163 the House passed a bill to nearly
double the NH gas tax from 18 cents to 33 cents a gallon.
This
83% tax increase is regressive because it takes the same amount of
money out of the pocket of a poor person as a rich one. In fact, a
poor person with a long commute may pay even more than an affluent
neighbor. Benefitting the most from this huge increase would be
those who don’t need to drive or those with income high enough to
ignore the cost. I hope you’re in one of those categories.
This
scheme is only one of many in the hopper. The legislature wants us
to pay more to fund their ambitious plans. The operating principles
would appear to be that most government programs are underfunded and
NH citizens are undertaxed.
Oh, and
have you heard about the proposed Federal gas tax hike?
Nashua
Representative David Campbell, chief sponsor of the NH increase,
said we can no longer “neglect fixing New Hampshire’s roads and
bridges, with opponents each time declaring that the state and its
taxpayers could not afford to raise the gas tax.” However, an
amendment by former speaker Bill O’Brien to require the gas tax to
be spent only on roads and bridges was immediately defeated 251-120.
Neither
the word “gas” nor “tax” is part of the bill’s title, perhaps
because the current costs of gas and taxes might cause unpleasant
associations in people’s minds. Instead it’s called “Increasing the
Road Toll.” Of course, the danger is that the title could remind
taxpayers of the famous lines, “send not to know for whom the bell
tolls. It tolls for thee.”
Michael
Faiella
Northwood
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