Celebrating Birthdays are: September 9, Todd Drew, Dennis W.
Chagnon, Ashley Stearns; September 10, Stephen Catalano; September
11, Lisa Fries, Zachary Brian Locke; September 12, Kate Vogt, Anne
Ruth Dunne, Heidi Hillsgrove, Christopher Lee Briggs II; September
13, Ian Pollard, Leon Bly, Loretta Suchomski.
A Very Happy
Birthday To One And All.
Best Wishes to John and Anne Shaver Sr. who will
celebrate their Wedding Anniversary on September 13th.
BNI Granite Referrals meets Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to
9:30 a.m. at the Community Building, Chichester, NH. For
further information, please call 391-1498.
Suncook Valley Sno-Riders First Meeting of the Season
CORRECTION
The Suncook Valley Sno Riders is holding
its first meeting of the season on Wednesday, September
8, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at the Pittsfield Community
Center. Election of officers will be held at this
meeting. Watch our website for details
www.SuncookValleySnoRiders.com
Yoga, with Tom Sherman, will resume at the Pittsfield
Area Senior Center on Friday September 17th at 10:30
a.m.
Jitters Cafe of Pittsfield will be closed for
renovations from September 13 through September 16,
reopening on September 17 at 7 a.m.
School Lunch Menus September 13-17
PES Monday
- Hotdog
with bun, chips, fruit, milk. Tuesday - Chicken fajita, lettuce,
tomato, fruit, milk. Wednesday - Ravioli, veggie, fruit, milk.
Thursday - French toast with syrup, sausage, fruit, milk. Friday -
Pizza, veggie, dessert, milk.
PMHS Monday
- Pizza, corn,
fruit, milk. Tuesday - Chicken nuggets, fries, veggies, fruit
and milk. Wednesday - Pasta, meatsauce, garden salad, baked
dessert or fruit, milk. Thursday - Sliced turkey, potato, gravy,
peas, cranberry, bread, fruit, milk. Friday - Hot dogs, rolls,
beans, pears, cole slaw, milk.
Letter
To The Editor
Editor: I am writing in support of
Representative Tony Soltani’s bid for reelection to the New
Hampshire House of Representatives. I have known Tony for the past
fifteen (15) years as a friend and as an activist in the community
and charitable organizations. Former Representative Soltani did an
exemplary job in representing our town and the New Hampshire
legislature. His efforts and dedication have paid off as he has
obtained a leadership position for the first time in many years. If
is not often that Pittsfield’s voice is heard so loud and clear in
Concord. My friend, Tony Soltani stands by our values, understands
our small town’s needs and has worked tirelessly to help our small
community. He has been responsive to the need of any one of his
constituents who have called upon him for his services. I know that
I will not be mistaken when I wholeheartedly cast my ballot on
September 14, 2010, and ask my fellow voters in Pittsfield to do the
same.
Tony has been out of politics for four years, and the State
Government, taxes, economy and jobs are in shambles. Small
businesses and the middle class are suffering. I have enough trust
in Tony, to say loud and clear, that we need Tony back now.
Sincerely, Gerry Gilman Pittsfield, NH
Pittsfield Digital Classroom Conference Draws Over 60 Parents,
Community Members, and District Staff
On August 26, over 60
parents, community members, teachers, and district staff attended
the Pittsfield Digital Classroom Project Conference at Pittsfield
Elementary School to see – and in many cases, try out – new
technology tools that teachers and students at Pittsfield Elementary
School and Pittsfield Middle High School will be using in classrooms
this year.
After a keynote presentation from Deerfield
kindergarten teacher, Maria Knee, in which she shared her personal
journey using technology with her kindergartners, participants
rotated between presentations from eight PES and PMHS teachers.
Pittsfield teachers presented 20-minute sessions describing
curriculum units and digital projects designed over the summer and
featuring new educational technologies.
Using interactive white
boards, mini laptop computers, digital response tools, and other
devices, teachers demonstrated how students will use technology in
the classroom. For example, participants in one session filmed and
edited a short video using Flip cameras. In another session
participants took a quiz using handheld “clickers” that enabled
responses to be immediately presented on a screen. In another
session participants used Skype to converse with a French speaker
remotely. Teachers shared how blogs, wikis, Skype, animation
software, and other tools will be used by their students to enhance
learning.
In the last two years, Pittsfield Elementary School has
invested in technology tools and training for staff. Most of the
technology and training has come through competitive federal grants
through a Title IID program called Enhancing Education Through
Technology. The Pittsfield Digital Classroom Project is part of this
effort. A cohort of eight teachers –four at each school – received
extensive training last spring and summer. They will implement
classroom projects this school year. An outside evaluator will look
into the effectiveness of using this technology to engage learners
and increase student achievement.
At PES all regular education
classrooms in grades three through six now have interactive white
boards. Two second-grade classrooms and one first-grade classroom
also have the devices. Teachers will be using the white boards to
teach many, if not most, subjects. At PMHS there are six interactive
whiteboards in selected classrooms at all grade levels. The school
has a mobile laptop lab, students response systems, digital cameras,
and other cutting-edge technology tools.
Students are
enthusiastic about using new technologies in their classrooms. So
are many parents. In the future the district hopes to obtain more
interactive whiteboards and other tools to help students become more
engaged in their learning and to connect with learning opportunities
beyond the classroom walls.
Letter
My name is Jon Richardson and I am running to be the State
Representative for the towns of Allenstown, Epsom and Pittsfield. I
was born at Concord Hospital, am a lifelong resident of NH, and like
many of you, am very concerned about our future.
Now more than
ever, I believe decisions we make today will affect our way of life
in the years to come. If I am elected as your State Representative I
will focus on the following three areas: Creating Jobs, Lowering
Taxes and Fees and Improving Education. It is time to take a fresh
look at our spending so we can eliminate the waste, lower the taxes
and fees and cut the unnecessary programs. Creating jobs in New
Hampshire and getting people back to work means not raising taxes on
our local businesses. It also means no sales or income tax now or in
the future. Please visit my website
www.richardsonnh.com for
more information.
My wife and I have been married for seven
amazing years and we were recently blessed with our first child, a
son, who we affectionately nicknamed “little man”. I am committed to
making sure my family grows up in the same state that I was
fortunate to grow up in. A state that is safe, lives up to its “Live
Free or Die” slogan, has no sales or income tax, is committed to
families and that we are all proud to call home.
If you are a
resident of Allenstown, Epsom, or Pittsfield, I ask for your vote on
Primary Day, September 14th. Thank you.
Jon Richardson,
Allenstown, NH
Letter
To The Editor
I know Karen Testerman as a proven Patriot with a
military family who has a reality based understanding of current
security issues and who has been active and supportive in Military
and Veterans’ affairs and related support groups.
Karen Testerman
as with many of the other fine Republican candidates for Governor
understands well, that out of control taxes and deficits are caught
by out of control spending by a state government that has become
wrongly oversized and wastefully bloated.
I have been pleased to
have worked for a number of years with Karen promoting Traditional
Family Values and in the defense of the family and Right to Life
where she has been a well informed front line leader and capable
advocate. It is in that light especially, that I am pleased to offer
my whole hearted endorsement of Karen Testerman for Governor,
trusting that she will repair the damage done by the John Lynch
administration record of anti-family activism and wrongful social
re-engineering. She has worked tirelessly in this very arena and is
well deserving of our support and trust. No other candidate has this
special credential which is so very needful at this time.
I ask
you to please vote with me for Karen Testerman. Please remember that
good intentions do not matter, only votes count!
AL Goodwin
Pittsfield, NH
VA
Publishes Final Regulation To Aid Veterans Exposed To Agent Orange
VA Health Care And Benefits Provided For Many Vietnam Veterans
Washington (August 30, 2010) Veterans exposed to herbicides while
serving in Vietnam and other areas will have an easier path to
access quality health care and qualify for disability compensation
under a final regulation that was published on August 31, 2010, in
the Federal Register by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The
new rule expands the list of health problems VA will presume to be
related to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures to add two new
conditions and expand one existing category of conditions.
“Last
October, based on the requirements of the Agent Orange Act of 1991
and the Institute of Medicine’s 2008 Update on Agent Orange, I
determined that the evidence provided was sufficient to award
presumptions of service connection for these three additional
diseases,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “It
was the right decision, and the President and I are proud to finally
provide this group of Veterans the care and benefits they have long
deserved.”
The final regulation follows Shinseki’s determination
to expand the list of conditions for which service connection for
Vietnam Veterans is presumed. VA is adding Parkinson’s disease and
ischemic heart disease and expanding chronic lymphocytic leukemia to
include all chronic B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia.
In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the
war and who have a “presumed” illness don’t have to prove an
association between their medical problems and their military
service. By helping Veterans overcome evidentiary requirements that
might otherwise present significant challenges, this “presumption”
simplifies and speeds up the application process and ensure that
Veterans receive the benefits they deserve.
The Secretary’s
decision to add these presumptives is based on the latest evidence
provided in a 2008 independent study by the Institute of Medicine
concerning health problems caused by herbicides like Agent Orange.
Veterans who served in Vietnam anytime during the period beginning
January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, are presumed to have
been exposed to herbicides.
More than 150,000 Veterans are
expected to submit Agent Orange claims in the next 12 to 18 months,
many of whom are potentially eligible for retroactive disability
payments based on past claims. Additionally, VA will review
approximately 90,000 previously denied claims by Vietnam Veterans
for service connection for these conditions. All those awarded
service-connection who are not currently eligible for enrollment
into the VA healthcare system will become eligible.
This historic
regulation is subject to provisions of the Congressional Review Act
that require a 60-day Congressional review period before
implementation. After the review period, VA can begin paying
benefits for new claims and may award benefits retroactively for
earlier periods.
For new claims, VA may pay benefits retroactive
to the effective date of the regulation or to one year before the
date VA receives the application, whichever is later. For pending
claims and claims that were previously denied, VA may pay benefits
retroactive to the date it received the claim.
VA encourages
Vietnam Veterans with these three diseases to submit their
applications for access to VA health care and compensation now so
the agency can begin development of their claims.
Individuals
can go to a website at
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/AO/claimherbicide.htm
to get an understanding of how to file a claim for presumptive
conditions related to herbicide exposure, as well as what evidence
is needed by VA to make a decision about disability compensation or
survivors benefits.
Additional information about Agent Orange
and VA’s services for Veterans exposed to the chemical is available
at
www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange.
The regulation is available on the Office of the Federal
Register website at http://www.ofr.gov/.
Letter
Greeting Concerned NH Citizens, As a father, one of my goals was
to make sure my children had more opportunities than I and that is
one of the reasons my wife and I moved to beautiful NH 30
Years ago this week. My son, Jon Richardson, a conservative
candidate for Allenstown/Epsom/Pittsfield- State Representative, is
running to make sure his son, my grandson, has those same
opportunities and more.
As Jon was growing up, he always took an
interest in political matters. It was no surprise to me when Jon
came and told me he wanted to campaign and to fight for NH, for his
family and for your family.
As a father, I am proud to see him
working to make a difference. Jon wants to fight to lower taxes and
fees, cut the red tape that is swallowing up our small businesses
and the jobs they provide, and bring back morals to the Granite
State. Jon will fight for less government control and to restore our
many lost freedoms.
Jon is committed to making sure he is
available and accountable to the voters so that they know where he
stands on the issues and has a website,
www.richardsonnh.com . He also lives in Allenstown (currently
serves on Budget Committee), works as the Manager of a business in
Hooksett, and has been happily married for years to a gal who grew
up in Pittsfield.
If you live in the towns of Epsom, Allenstown
or Pittsfield, please take the time to vote for my son, Jon
Richardson, on Primary Day, September 14th. Thank you from a
concerned dad and grandfather, and Jon’s mom, who has no concerns
but never met her grandson, but is cheering our son Jonathan on from
heaven.
Frank
J. Richardson Weare, NH
Loudon
Maxfield Public Library STORY TIME
Summer may not be quite
over yet, but, with school back in session, the new story time
season is just around the corner. Take your pick from three
gatherings a week, beginning Sept 14. Stop by on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, at 10:30 a.m., or Wednesdays, at 2 p.m. Get to know other
parents and help your children meet new friends as you hear fun,
interactive stories and make a take-home craft. What version of “How
I Spent My Summer Vacation” will your pre-schooler come up with
after hearing Hello Ocean, by Pam Munoz Ryan, and Nothing to Do, by
Douglas Wood? A three or four-year-old’s perspective may surprise
you!
APPLE PICKING Put on your fall coats and join us when
storytime heads to Meadow Ledge Farm for the annual apple picking
field trip on October 5 at 9:30 and October 6 at 1 p.m. There
is a small fee for the children, and adults will pay the regular
price. So get ready to grab some fat, juicy apples. There will be
plenty of them to pick. Please sign up for this event in the
Children’s Room. Please call the library for more details at
798-5153.
LOUDON VILLAGE ARTS
With their fall art show coming up on October 8 and 9, the Loudon
Village Arts is busy making final preparations. Attention artists!
There is still time to apply to be in this juried show. This is a
great way for artists from all over the area to come together, share
ideas, and have artwork reach a larger audience. For details, call
Nancy Hendy at 798-5153.
BOOK DISCUSSION On Thursday, Sept., 16, the book group will
meet at 7 p.m. to discuss Daniel Pink’s Drive, an exploration of
what gets us motivated. Newcomers are always welcome.
LIBRARY
HOURS Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Wednesdays, 1-9
p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
The
Pittsfield Police Association Presents Comedy Night 2010 At The
Dell-Lea Country Club
McGruff
the Crime Dog enjoys spending time at National Night Out this year
as part of a program to keep kids off drugs, sponsored by The
Pittsfield Police Association. Pictured with McGruff is Earnhardt
Dail. The Pittsfield Police Association is sponsoring a Comedy Night
at The Dell-Lea Country Club in Chichester on September 24th.
The
Pittsfield Police Association is sponsoring the second annual 21+
comedy show at the Dell-Lea Country Club in Chichester, NH, Friday,
September 24 at 6 PM.
Perhaps you’ve gotten the phone call or had
the visit to your door; a representative of the Pittsfield Police
Association is asking you to purchase tickets to the second annual
comedy night to benefit The Pittsfield Police Association. It’s for
real. For the second time, the Association is sponsoring a night of
comedians at the Dell-Lea Country Club on Pleasant Street in
Chichester, NH.
Comics Rob Steen from the David Letterman show,
Bob Gautreau (HBO and Comedy Central) and Pat Napoli of the Boston
Comedy Festival will be live to entertain you for an evening of
raucous laughter and a good cause.
The show is rated 21+ because
of the content of the acts and the cash bar that will be available.
Noone will be admitted without an I.D. No one under 21 will be
admitted.
The proceeds of the ticket sales go to The Pittsfield
Police Association, which in turn, benefit the Pittsfield Community
through programs such as the Pittsfield Police Association’s PMHS
Senior Scholarship, National Night Out, Bike Rodeos, sponsorships to
PMHS sports teams and many more.
Tickets, $15, are available by
contacting Officer Jay Darrah of The Pittsfield Police Association.
Limited space is available. Get your tickets now and support a good
cause that supports YOU!
Pittsfield Police Canine Unit
Submitted by The Pittsfield Police Association
During
the last ten years our environment has changed dramatically. When
you think about the terrorism in major cities, narcotic usage in
various counties and unemployment that has affected every single
town, no matter how large or small, our community is also changing.
Officers who have died in the line of duty is up 43 % so far as of
June 30, 2010, 87 officers died in the line of duty Jan. 1-June 30
compared to last year 61 officers.
In Pittsfield we don’t want to
dwell on the past but look forward, to keeping our community safer
in the future. The economic recessions has caused all towns to
either layoff current employees or implement a hiring freeze in the
public sector.
Unfortunately the economic struggles in our area
have caused an increase in various crimes, such as breaking and
entering, narcotic trafficking, DUI and domestic violence to name a
few.
As residences, you rely on a minimal amount of officers per
shift with limited resources, while trying to handle multiple
crimes. Our goal is to become more effective on the street by adding
a canine unit to aid and assist in various crimes, and we need your
help and support.
The goal is to raise money to lessen the
financial burden on the Town of Pittsfield.
The
initial cost of starting a canine unit is approximately $20,000.00
and will cover veterinary, equipment, and training costs. Training
requirements are 16 weeks patrol school and 8 weeks drug school.
Specially trained police dogs can be “Dual Purpose” patrol and
narcotic. Police dogs play an active role in many areas, such as
Officer protection, Criminal apprehension, Building searches,
Evidence recovery, Crowd control, Article/drug searches, Tracking of
wanted/missing people, and Community programs.
The dogs’ keen
sense of smell is vastly superior to that of a human and therefore
is invaluable in conducting searches of vehicles, buildings, storage
facilities, and other environments and locations.
*** Pittsfield
Police Canine Unit Mission Statement ***
The mission of the
Pittsfield Police Canine Unit is to support the patrol and
investigative divisions with trained police service dogs in
tracking, apprehension, narcotic detection, enhance officer safety,
capture suspects and assist in evidence collection.
Please
support your local canine unit and make Pittsfield a safer
community.
Pictured is Curt Sheing holding a water meter contributed by
Pennichuck Water Company to the Pittsfield Athletic Park Renovation
Project. Arrangements for the donation were made by Jim Thyng and
Steve Densberger. Thank all of you for your support. It is most
appreciated.
|