Come and sing, dance and play with Miss Kim! Miss Kim’s Music
Makers is now accepting registrations for a 4 week children’s
music class, DANCE WITH ME, in Pittsfield from April 10-May 1,
2010, from 11:00 a.m.-noon on Saturday mornings. Classes will be
held at the Pittsfield Youth Workshop on Park St. Cost for the 4
weeks is $34.00. Please call 822-2694 or email
jnklach@metrocast.net to
register your child by April 3. Class size is limited to 10
children, so register early to secure a spot.
Celebrating Birthdays are: March 18, Tessie Gadwah, Shane
Clark, Rick Bleckmann.
A Very Happy Birthday To One And All!
Best Wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Briggs who will
celebrate their Wedding Anniversary on March 17th.
The Pittsfield Boys and Girls Basketball Programs would like
to thank The Pittsfield Police Association for their continued
support in sponsoring the Granite State Conference Basketball
Tournament. Without their help and support this tournament might
not be held in Pittsfield. The Association has sponsored this
tournament for 9 years now and has had a big impact on many
Pittsfield Youth in our community. Their support is very much
appreciated.
Lions are everywhere.
Lions have a dynamic history.
Lions give sight.
Lions serve youth.
Lions Club International is the world’s largest service club
organization.
Come learn more about the Pittsfield/Barnstead Lions Club
March 23rd at 5:30 p.m. Meeting to be held at Pittsfield ID, 55
Barnstead Road, Pittsfield. All are welcome.
For more information, call Alice at 435-6767,
www.lionsclubs.org
School Lunch Menus
March 22-26, 2010
CHICHESTER
Monday
-
Homemade cheese or pepperoni pizza, Caesar salad, fresh fruit,
milk.
Tuesday - Shepherd’s pie, green beans, fresh fruit,
milk.
Wednesday - Max cheese sticks, baked fries, corn,
Baker’s choice, milk.
Thursday - Hamburger with roll, smiley
fries, veggie, pears, milk.
Friday - Hot dog with roll,
Doritos, veggies, peaches, milk.
PMHS
Monday
- Tuna, egg
or ham/cheese, lettuce, tomato, bread, fruit, milk.
Tuesday -
Meatball subs, cheese, veggies, fruit, milk.
Wednesday - Mac
& cheese, chopped ham, peas, bread, fruit, milk.
Thursday
-
Chicken patties, roll, lettuce, tomato, fruit, milk.
Friday -
Cheeseburgers, roll, chips, pickle, fruit, milk.
PES
Monday - Chicken sandwich, veggie, fruit, milk.
Tuesday -
Hot dog with bun, veggie, fruit, milk.
Wednesday - Spaghetti
with meatballs, veggie, fruit, milk.
Thursday - Taco salad
with lettuce, tomato, salsa, fruit, milk.
Friday - Pizza,
veggie, fruit, milk.
Dr.
and Mrs. Anthony Fritzler
Liberty Jennifer Elliott, daughter of Robert and Emma Reed
Elliott of Pittsfield, NH, was married to Anthony Thomas
Fritzler, MD, son of Cindy English of Dryden, Michigan and
Thomas Fritzler of Lewiston, Michigan at 5 p.m. on June 28th.
Officiating at the outside double ring ceremony at the Dell-Lea
Country Club in Chichester, NH, was Pastor Carl Tiner, a family
friend from Allen, Texas. While the processional “Canon in D” by
Pachelbel was played by a violin, flute and cello ensemble made
up of family friends, Liberty was given in marriage by both of
her parents. Liberty wore a white wedding gown with a jeweled
bodice and a shoulder length veil carrying a bouquet of red and
pink roses and white and pink peonies. “I Will Be Here” by
Stephen Curtis Chapman was sung by family friends, John and Jean
Barry.
Bridal attendants were Joy Elliott, sister of the
bride, Nicole Hotchkiss, sister of the groom, Jessica King,
cousin of the bride and Shannon Conley Dungan, cousin of the
bride. The Bridesmaids wore pink V-neckline tea length dresses
with side-tie sashes and carried bouquets of pink and red roses
and pink and white peonies.
Groomsmen were Thomas Fritzler,
father of the groom, Jedidiah Elliott, brother of the bride,
Reed Edelman, cousin of the groom, and Ron Hunyady, uncle of the
groom.
Their wedding cake was decorated by family friends,
Shirley Jean of Litchfield and Elaine Cates of Epsom. Sound was
provided by family friends, Henriette and Dennis Schwab of
Pittsfield.
Following the ceremony was a reception at the
country club for 70 guests. With sparklers, the guests sent Dr.
and Mrs. Fritzler on their honeymoon up the coast of Maine.
The bride was homeschooled from K-12 and is a 2005 graduate from
the University of New Hampshire with a BS in Biology and then
completed a one-year MBA degree, also at UNH. She has finished
her third year in medical school at the University of Toledo
College of Medicine and is planning to receive her MD degree in
June of 2011, and then plans to do her residency in psychiatry.
Tony graduated from Dryden High School in Michigan and is a 2003
graduate from the University of Michigan with a BS in
Pharmaceutical Sciences. He then attended Wayne State University
School of Medicine in Detroit, MI, and graduated in 2007 with an
MD degree. HE completed a General Medicine Internship at Henry
Ford Hospital in Detroit and is currently working as an
anesthesiology resident at the University of Vermont. When
finished, in July 2011, he will do a one year fellowship at the
University of Michigan, specializing in pediatric
anesthesiology.
Contacting The Spirit World
On Thursday evening, March 18 at
Pittsfield Historical Society Headquarters on Elm Street, Larry
Berkson will discuss the remarkable story of Pittsfield’s Warren
Chase. Mr. Chase was one of the Nineteenth Century’s most
renowned leaders in the belief that the spirits of our ancestors
exist and can be contacted. He argued that there was
“scientific” evidence to support his belief and spent over 40
years lecturing and teaching the subject.
Come and hear more
about his beliefs and the man who knew personally Abraham
Lincoln, John A. Logan, and Stephen A. Douglas, among other
luminaries of his time, and was a personal friend of Horace
Greeley, the presidential candidate in 1872.
Secretary Seeks Fast Track To Process Claims
Focus On 200,000
Veterans Expected To File Claims Under New Agent Orange
Presumptives Over Next Two Years
Submitted By Merrill A.
Vaughan
Commander, American Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced recently an
aggressive new initiative to solicit private-sector input on a
proposed “fast track” Veterans’ claims process for
service-connected presumptive illnesses due to Agent Orange
exposure during the Vietnam War.
“This will be a new way of
doing business and a major step forward in how we process the
presumptive claims we expect to receive over the next two
years,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said.
“With the latest, fastest, and most reliable technology, VA
hopes to migrate the manual processing of these claims to an
automated process that meets the needs of today’s Veterans in a
more timely manner.”
Over the next two years, about 200,000
Veterans are expected to file disability compensation claims
under an historic expansion of three new presumptive illnesses
announced last year by Secretary Shinseki. They affect Veterans
who have Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and B-cell
leukemias.
In practical terms, Veterans who served in
Vietnam during the war and who have one of the illnesses covered
by the “presumption of service connection” don’t have to prove
an association between their medical problems and military
service. This “presumption” makes it easier for Vietnam Veterans
to access disability compensation benefits. Vietnam Veterans are
encouraged to submit their claims as soon as possible to begin
the important process of compensation.
Along with the
publication of proposed regulations for the three new
presumptives this spring, VA intends to publish a formal request
in Federal Business Opportunities for private-sector
corporations to propose automated solutions for the parts of the
claims process that take the longest amount of time. VA believes
these can be collected in a more streamlined and accurate way.
Development involves determining what additional information
is needed to adjudicate the claim, such as military and private
medical records and the scheduling of medical examinations.
With this new approach, VA expects to shorten the time it takes
to gather evidence, which now takes on average over 90 days.
Once the claim is fully developed and all pertinent information
is gathered, VA will be able to more quickly decide the claim
and process the award, if granted.
The contract is expected
to be awarded in April with proposed solutions offered to VA
within 90 days. Implementation of the solution is expected
within 150 days.
“Veterans whose health was harmed during
their military service are entitled to the best this nation has
to offer,” added Secretary Shinseki. “We are undertaking an
unprecedented modernization of our claims process to ensure
timely and accurate delivery of that commitment.”
Last year,
VA received more than one million claims for disability
compensation and pension. VA provides compensation and pension
benefits to over 3.8 million Veterans and beneficiaries.
Presently, the basic monthly rate of compensation ranges from
$123 to $2,673 to Veterans without any dependents.
Disability
compensation is a non-taxable, monthly monetary benefit paid to
Veterans who are disabled as a result of an injury or illness
that was incurred or aggravated during active military service.
For more information about disability compensation, go to
www.va.gov.
Additional
information about Agent Orange and VA’s services and programs
for Veterans exposed are available at
www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange
Letter
Almost doesn’t count.
Here are two numbers to think
about: 19 and 3.
Nineteen is the percentage of Pittsfield’s
2,746 registered voters who exercised their right to vote in the
town’s March 9th elections.
Three is the number of votes
that decided the second Board of Selectmen position. THREE VOTES
separated the winner from a WRITE-IN CANDIDATE!
Two days
before our election, the people of Iraq risked their lives to
vote in their democratic election. Thirty-six people were killed
in the days leading up to their election. Of the 18 Iraqi
provinces, the province with the lowest turnout still saw a 50%
turnout and one province actually had an 80% turnout. At the end
of that day, 64% of the Iraqi people defied death threats, went
outside, and simply voted.
In Pittsfield, 522 people voted.
I don’t know how many people almost voted.
Three votes
decided a three-year selectman position.
Everyone’s vote
counts. Almost doesn’t count.
God Bless Our Troops,
Rachel
Wood
Pittsfield
What’s Up at PYW?
By Paula Driscoll
This year’s Winterfest has come and gone, leaving all of us at
PYW (Pittsfield Youth Workshop) feeling a little sad. It rained,
the wind blew, we lost power and many of the Winterfest
activities had to be cancelled. We were fortunate that we didn’t
have to cancel any of the PYW trips. The youth are back in
school and we have had more then a week to regroup and
communicate about all the wonderful experiences we had.
On
Monday was Drop-In from 2-6 p.m. with lots of entertaining
activities and movies. Our first trip was held on Tuesday,
February 23rd, with a trip to Hilltop Fun Center for a few games
of laser tag, arcades and a stop at McDonalds. I want to thank
Stephanie Lamere for volunteering on that trip while I was away.
On Wednesday was drop-in from 2-6 p.m. with many fun games
to play. Thursday, we hosted Drop-In from 2-6 p.m. and then as
the wind blew and the power flickered we held a dance at the
PMHS from 7-9:30 p.m. With music provided by Nazzy
Entertainment, the PMHS gymnasium was filled with dancers and
non-dancers alike, all of which appeared to be having loads of
fun. With help from volunteers, the PYW Youth Board Store was
set up outside the gym and provided concessions to all in
attendance. It was a very successful and enjoyable evening.
On Friday, many of us climbed aboard the PYW van while others
followed us in their cars and took a trip to Pats Peak Ski
Resort for a day of snow tubing. It was cloudy and started to
rain but not before we had hours of snow tubing excitement.
The week ended when we loaded up in the HA Marston school bus.
It was full of PYW youth participants, families and friends from
the community. Then we headed to the Verizon Wireless Arena to
watch the Manchester Monarchs Ice Hockey team take on the Albany
River Rats. It was a great game even if we lost (by three).
Thanks, to our bus driver, Tom Marston.
Between the trips
and Drop-Ins the Winterfest week proved to be a week of fun and
enthusiasm. Thank you to the Pittsfield Parks and Recreation
Committee for sponsoring such a successful week for PYW and the
rest of the Pittsfield Community. Thank you also to the many
volunteers who helped at PYW throughout the week. As always,
feel free to visit PYW during our Drop-In hours Monday through
Friday from 3-6 pm.
Keep an eye out for our Spring 2010
newsletter with an updated calendar of trips and special events.
See you all soon!
“I
thought he was with you!” Turtle Beach Hotel is not your typical
vacation getaway. Join The Pittsfield Players as they present
“Hotbed Hotel” March 26 and 27 at 8 PM, March 29 at 2 PM, and
April 2 and 3 at 8 PM. Tickets, $12, are available at the door,
by calling the box office for reservations (603) 435-8852 or
online at
www.pittsfieldplayers.com.
9th
Annual Granite State JV Basketball Tournament
Sponsored By
The Pittsfield Police Association
The Pittsfield Girls and
Boys Junior Varsity Basketball Teams took part in The 9th Annual
Granite State Conference Basketball Tournament sponsored by the
Pittsfield Police Association. This year’s tournament featured
teams from 8 surrounding High Schools.
In the girls
tournament, the Pittsfield JV Girls ran into a tough experienced
Wilton team and captured the runner up trophy. Three Pittsfield
girls were selected to the All-Tournament Team. Sage Anthony was
selected to the second team, while Jen Tyrell and Bekah Adams
were selected to the first team.
The Pittsfield Boys entered
the JV tournament with a 15-1 regular season record. Pittsfield
defeated Sunapee and Derryfield to advance to the finals. In the
Championship, Pittsfield met up with Newmarket. These two teams
split in their first two meetings in the regular season, with
both games being decided by a total of 3 points. The same stayed
true in this exciting championship game with Pittsfield
defeating New Market 45-43 with a game winning shot by Ryan
Perras with just under 5 seconds left in regulation. With the
victory Pittsfield captured the title of 2009-2010 Granite State
Champions. Pittsfield had three players named to the
All-Tournament Team. Ryan Perras, Bobby Lebel, and Domonic
Brooks were named to the 1st team. The MVP of the tournament was
given to sophomore Ryan Perras who lead the Panthers to the
Championship and scored 16 points including the game winner in
the final game.
Letter
I would like to thank all the people who voted for me
in the School District election. I am very excited to start
working with the School Board and serving the people of
Pittsfield in this capacity. I have had the opportunity to get
to know the School Board members by attending the meetings since
January and I’m proud to be part of the team. They are to be
commended for doing a great job with managing the district.
I would also like to thank all the people who ran for public
office. Please accept my congratulations to all who were elected
and my regrets to all who were defeated. If you are willing to
run and serve the town – there can be no losers!
God bless
our country,
Clayton Wood
Letter
At a recent PTO meeting we were joined by a woman 40
minutes into the meeting. I think she was upset with what we
were doing, but I’m not sure why. I believe she has
concerns and questions about what we do. It was hard to address
them because I felt like we were being verbally attacked for how
we do things and because we didn’t grow up here in town.
It
is very disheartening to me to think that some of our community
would think that we are doing any harm. I believe we are a great
group of people who have the best intentions to help the
children in this community.
Some of us may not have been
raised in this town but I believe we all want to do good things
for the children in this town. We have no political agenda
and only want to better the school community.
The PTO is an
organization that raises money for the school community.
We help with school activities, and we organize other events as
well such as the BBQ, Breakfast with Santa and many other great
things.
We hold a meeting once a month in the PES library at
7:00 p.m. We welcome anyone to join us and share their thoughts
and ideas. If you would like to get email updates and be more
informed on what we are doing please feel free to contact me at
[email protected].
Ammy Ramsey
Letter To The Editor
To The people Of Pittsfield,
I wish
to thank those of you who elected me for the Ethics Committee. I
will continue to do my best, to be fair in my actions that the
People of Pittsfield expect from the Ethics Committee.
Again,
thank you for your vote of confidence for me to fill this vital
position of responsibility.
Merrill A. Vaughan
Pittsfield
VA
Targets $39 Million For Homeless Veterans
Women, Tribal
Services Are Special Priorities
Submitted By Merrill A.
Vaughan
Commander,
American Legion Peterson Cram Post
The Department of Veterans Affairs is allocating $39 million
to fund about 2,200 new transitional housing beds through grants
to local providers.
“VA is committed to ending the cycle of
homelessness among Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Eric K. Shinseki. “We will use every tool at our disposal -
health care, education, jobs, safe housing - to ensure our
Veterans are restored to lives with dignity, purpose and
safety.”
The $39 million in funding is broken into two
categories. About $24 million in grants are available to
renovate or rehabilitate space to create about 1,000
transitional housing beds. The grants put a priority upon
housing for homeless women and housing on tribal lands.
A
second group of grants, valued at about $15 million, is expected
to fund about 1,200 new beds for homeless providers who already
have suitable transitional housing. The grants will provide per
diems based upon the number of homeless Veterans being served in
transitional housing.
VA is the largest federal provider of
direct assistance to the homeless, with 14,000 transitional beds
in operation or development. About 107,000 Veterans are homeless
on a typical night. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki has committed the department to ending homelessness
among Veterans within five years.
For more information, visit
VA’s Web page for the grant and per diem program at
www.va.gov/homeless or
contact VA’s program office at 1-877-332-0334, or e-mail VA at
[email protected].
Letter To The Editor
To
the Citizens of Pittsfield:
To my friends, neighbors, and
supporters who took the extra effort to write in to vote for me,
Thank you.
To the candidates who won office, congratulations
and good luck.
To the candidates who did not win office,
better luck next time and thank you for helping make the system
work.
To everyone who voted, thank you for helping to make
democracy work.
Sincerely,
Fred Okrent
Obituaries
James Frank Golden
James Frank “The Carpet Man”
Golden, 77, 5057 Jacksonville Road, Jacksonville, N.Y.,
went to be with the Lord on March 3, 2010.
He was
born in Pittsfield, N. H., on August 20, l932. He was a
member of the American Legion Post 770 and was a veteran
of the Korean War serving in the Navy.
He is
survived by his wife of 55 years, Beverly Anne; their
three children, Pamela (Peter) Umlauf, David (Pamela)
Golden, William (Laura) Golden; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at the American Legion
on Monday, March 8, 2010.
In lieu of flowers, the
family requests that donations be made to either the
Trumansburg Ambulance Service or the Ithaca SPCA.