Those Celebrating Birthdays are: November 2, Susan
Morgan, John Genest, Sr., Gerry O’Brien;
November 3, Krista Webber; November 4, John Feeny;
November 5, Rene Drolet, Amanda Boisvert, Sheila Fries; November 6,
Ryan Derby, Ryan Hetu, Tanner Salem, Effie Topouzoglou, Cleon Riel,
Sr., Teresa Webber, Chrissy Locke; November 7, Samantha Payne,
Matthew Payne, Kevin Maxfield, Stephanie Vien; November 8, Albert
Riel, Justin Quigley.
A Very Happy Birthday To One and All!
Albert Riel, a Pittsfield native, and now a resident
of the New Hampshire Veteran’s Home in Tilton, will observe his 90th
birthday on November 8th. I’m sure he would love to hear from
friends here. His address is: NH Veteran’s Home, 39 Winter Street,
Tilton, NH, 03276.
Celebrating Anniversaries are: November 7, John and
Rosemary Kostrzewski, Harland and Judy Mandigo.
Congratulations!
Belated Congratulations to Ed and Bonnie Putnam, who
celebrated their anniversary on October 30th.
Christmas Bazaar
Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s Club in Pittsfield and
the St. Joseph Women’s Club in Northwood will be holding their
annual Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, November 5, 2011, from 9:00 am
to 2:00 pm in the parish hall in Northwood, NH. (On Route 4, next to
the town hall.)
There will be craft items, knitted goods, books,
puzzles, a white elephant table with some brand new items, raffles,
and a bake sale where you can purchase your homemade baked goods for
Thanksgiving. We will again have our ever popular cookie walk with
some new and different varieties. We will have morning muffins and
coffee and will be offering a luncheon with some delicious choices.
Drop by for a visit, you will be glad you did.
The November meeting of the American Legion
Peterson-Cram Post 75 will meet at Post Commander Vaughan’s home, 50
Deer Meadow Rd, Pittsfield, NH on November 7, 2011 at 7:30 pm. For
more information, contact Commander Vaughan at his home phone
435-5207 or his cell phone 344-0264.
11th annual Fez-Tival of Trees by Bektash Shriners
of NH at Shriners Center, 189 Pembroke Rd, Concord, Nov. 19-27, most
days 10am-7pm(closed Thanksgiving). Many fully decorated Christmas
trees, you could even win one; children’s games, visit Santa, crafts
and gifts, silent auction, refreshments. Holiday Magic for all ages.
Admission $5, seniors $4, children under 12 Free. Call 225-5372 or
go to
[email protected].
Pittsfield Rotary
PENNY SALE
Saturday Evening
November 5, 2011 • 7 PM
Pittsfield Elementary School Gymnasium
A great night out for everyone!
Hunters with full freezers are reminded that the New
Hampshire Food Bank is seeking donations of whole or processed deer.
This venison provides a valuable source of meat for food banks
around the state. For more information, call the food bank at
603-669-9725 x240 or visit
http://www.nhfoodbank.org.
The parents of the SVSC U12 girls team would like to
send out a huge CONGRATULATIONS to the girls who won their
tournament on Saturday, October 22. The girls played hard, gave 110%
and did a wonderful job! This was a little team who did big things
and we are very proud of you girls! Thank you for a lot of fun, and
for most of you, we are looking forward to seeing your middle school
games next year!
Draft Gulf War Task Force Report Redefines
How Care
And Services Are Provided To Gulf War Veterans
Submitted By Merrill A. Vaughan Commander
American
Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75
Pittsfield, NH 03263
Today, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki announced that the Department’s Gulf War Veterans’
Illnesses Task Force has completed the draft of a comprehensive
report that will outline how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
addresses the concerns of Veterans who deployed during the Gulf War
in 1990 and 1991.
"This report provides a road map for our continued
enhancements in our care and services we provide to Gulf War
Veterans," said Shinseki. "We will be applying lessons learned from
this report to Veterans of all eras."
Notification of the draft written report is
published in the Federal Register, and the draft written report
addresses seven areas where VA provides services for this group of
Veterans.
Over the past year, the task force has examined,
evaluated, designated and adjusted the initial road map outlined in
last year’s report. VA has designated steps to improve care and
services to Gulf War I Veterans and these improvements are becoming
a part of our culture and operations.
This year’s report focuses on improvements in the
delivery of health care for Gulf War Veterans. One of the most
substantial additions is modifications to clinical care models used
for Gulf War Veterans, which is the most critical point of service
VA provides. There are better linkages between specialty knowledge
and services at the basic point of care. Clinical research and
development is significantly contributing new concepts and methods
to clinical practice and clinical education throughout VA.
Two new positions were established in the Office of
Research and Development for deployment and Desert Shield and Desert
Storm health-related issues. Both positions have been filled and are
enhancing research efforts for Gulf War Veterans and will continue
to do so in the coming years.
VA is also strengthening partnerships and medical
surveillance to address the potential health impacts on Veterans
from the environmental exposures on today’s battlefield.
Additionally, VA continues to use social media to improve
communication with Gulf War Veterans.
The Chairman of the Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses
Task Force is John R. Gingrich, chief of staff at VA, a retired Army
officer who also served in the Gulf War.
"To ensure we are tracking the needs of our
Veterans, we want to get feedback from Gulf War Veterans on this
draft report," said Gingrich. "Their feedback is critical to our
efforts to understand and serve their specific needs. Therefore, we
hope they take advantage of one of the different opportunities to
provide feedback that we have created for them."
As a first step, VA is seeking public comments on
the draft written report before final publication. The public notice
and instructions for how to submit comments electronically and via
postal mail will be posted at
www.regulations.gov, and the draft written report will be open
for comment for 30 days. In addition, VA recognizes that a great
number of Gulf War Veterans use the internet on a daily basis to
share their ideas and concerns, so VA has also created a public
discussion board on the seven recommendations at:
http://vagulfwartaskforce.uservoice.com/. To view the report
without making recommendations, please visit VA’s website at
http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/Draft_2011_GWVI-TF_Report.pdf.
Josiah Carpenter
Library Is Collecting Food For Fines
For the month of November all past due fines are
waived if the overdue items are returned and a food donation of
equal value is placed in a collection box at the library.
Food for Fines to benefit the Food Pantry for the
month of November until Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The dates are
November 1st through 5:00 pm on November 23.
Fine amnesty of any outstanding fines, would be
waived on the condition that the item is returned and the foods
donated equal the value of the fines owed.
Foods must be canned, boxed or bagged,
non-perishable, dry-good staples. Collected items will be donated to
the Food Pantry.
Food Pantry food donations will also be accepted
from generous patrons who do not owe fines.
This fine amnesty applies only to any unpaid fines
(we will not credit patrons for fines already paid off), and the
item that was overdue must be returned first (we are not waiving any
replacement fees).
All items donated will be given to the Pittsfield
Food Pantry. Fines not paid off with food during this amnesty period
will continue to accrue until paid. The overdue fine system will
resume on November 28th.
Federal Rule Change Enhances VA Collaboration And
Preserves Patient Privacy
Submitted By Merrill A. Vaughan Commander
American
Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75
Pittsfield, NH 03263
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has
announced that it is amending an agency rule in the Code of Federal
Register (C.F.R.) to remove an inappropriate restriction on sharing
of information about treatment for certain types of medical
conditions with the Department of Defense (DOD). This update to the
regulation removes the restrictive VA provision and enhances VA’s
collaboration with DOD so Veterans can receive better and more
timely treatment, services and benefits.
"VA and DOD clinicians must have the most accurate
and comprehensive data available to ensure they provide the highest
quality care possible. We have discovered that, particularly in this
age of electronic health records, this regulatory restriction
created an impediment to maximizing this exchange of information,"
said Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
This interim final rule removes a restriction that
is not required by the statute, 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) §
7332, and is inconsistent with the intent and purpose of that
statute. This confidentiality statute was enacted before other
privacy laws were in place to protect against the unauthorized
disclosure of VA medical records relating to treatment for drug
abuse, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, infection with the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and sickle cell anemia.
Because Congress never intended the protection of
such records to interfere with the treatment of Veterans, the
statute contains an exception that permits VA to share the protected
records with DOD. 38 U.S.C. § 7332(e). However, when VA published
the implementing regulation in 1995, 38 C.F.R. § 1.461, the rule
further narrowed the exception to allow the interchange of only a
subset of these records: those pertaining to a period when the
individual was subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
A recent VA review of information sharing processes
with DOD found that this restriction, which is narrower than the
statutory exception, impedes VA’s ability to share important medical
information to coordinate the care and treatment of Veterans. The
updated rule removes this extra restriction and makes the agency
rule consistent with statute. It allows for the appropriate sharing
of this treatment information and continues to preserve Veteran and
patient privacy in accordance with § 7332 and other privacy statutes
and regulations without obstructing the delivery of medical care to
Veterans.
The interim final rule, which may be found at
www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=VA-2011-VHA-0025-0001, is
effective the date posted to the Federal Register. Written comments
may be submitted through
www.regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to the Director,
Regulations Management (02REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810
Vermont Ave., NW, Room 1068, Washington, DC 20240; or fax to (202)
273-9026. Comments should indicate that they are submitted in
response to "RIN 2900-AN95-Sharing Information Between the
Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense."
TOPS News
Submitted By Terrie Azotea
At TOPS this week we had a nice meeting talking
about upcoming events. We heard some smart tips that we could try
this week to have a better weight loss next week.
Some of them are portion control and how much we are
suppose to have. First, we are suppose to only eat as much meat as
the size of our palm. Second, cheese should be the size of our
thumb. Third, a potato should be the size of your fist. So now that
we have this information, let’s see if we can try it. Enjoy and no,
you can’t use both hands for your portions sizes, just one hand.
When dining out split your meal in half and bring
the rest home for another meal. Just a couple of ideas to follow. I,
for one, am going to try them this week to see how it works.
We have a contest going on and the winners will be
picked in a couple of weeks. Good luck and keep up the good work.
It was nice tonight to see our new KOPS stand up
with the other KOPS. Kudos.
Hope everyone did okay with the Halloween candy and
if you have any left over from Monday, get rid of it. Don’t keep it
in the house to give you any temptation that you don’t want.
Well, I hope everyone has a great week and if you
are interested in coming to our meeting please call Laurel Tiede at
269-8721 or Pat Smith at 435-5333. We meet on Tuesday nights at the
St. Stephen’s Church in Pittsfield. Weigh-in is at 5:30, meeting is
at 6:30.
" Take on day at a time and before you know it you
will be at your goal." See you lighter next week!
Behind The Scene At The Pittsfield Players’ Man of
LaMancha:
Don Quixote and Aldonza
Gary Evans will play Don Quixote in the Pittsfield
Players’
production of Man of LaMancha.
Susan Schott as Aldonza in Man of LaMancha.
The Pittsfield Players’ fall production of Man of
LaMancha has been graced with many very talented local community
theater actors who will be bringing this sweeping classic to the
Scenic Theatre on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 11, 12 and
13, and again the following week on Friday and Saturday, November 18
and 19. Tickets, which are $15 per person, are on sale now and can
be reserved by visiting the Players’ website
www.pittsfieldplayers.com and clicking on the TicketLeap button,
or by calling 435-8852.
Two of the leading roles in the show are being
portrayed by Gary Evans, who plays Don Quixote, and Susan Schott,
who plays Aldonza.
Gary Evans has been performing in community theater
in southern NH for many years and likes both musicals and serious
plays. He has appeared at the Majestic Theater in Manchester in Moon
Over Buffalo and has had roles in Lend Me A Tenor, Brigadoon and
Chicago. Gary says that his role in Man of LaMancha is really three
roles – Cervantes, Don Quixote and Alonza Quijana. On stage, Gary
has large blocks of dialogue to memorize and perform – a challenge
even for an experienced actor, and keeping the three distinct
personalities of his characters separate adds an extra degree of
difficulty to this role.
"I have three fantastic songs to perform and I love
the music in this show," said Gary, "and I also get to work with Sue
Schott, who I’ve performed with before, and she is such a talented
singer and is so perfect for her role."
When Gary isn’t performing on stage, he lives on his
small farm in Weare and restores old houses.
Susan Schott was last seen on the Scenic stage in
the role of Marsinah in the Players’ production of Kismet. She has
performed all over NH and New England in productions too numerous to
mention. Her role of Andonza in Man of LaMancha has presented some
additional challenges for the petite soprano.
"Man of LaMancha is one of the most physical roles I
have ever had to play," she said. "Jumping on tables, being hit and
thrown over shoulders are just some of the stunts that I have to do
in this show. My muleteers take care of me, though, and we manage to
make it all look realistic."
When not doing musical theater, Sue can also be seen
fronting the band Myxer. Sue said, "The Pittsfield Players make me
feel so special when I perform here, and this cast in particular is
one of the most caring, talented and hard working actors and crew I
have ever had the pleasure of working with." When not on stage, Sue
can be found behind the counter at Jared, the Galleria of Jewelry.
Gary and Sue are just two of the extremely talented
actors the Pittsfield Players’ have cast in Man of LaMancha, and
they are all preparing to make this fall production a classic
standing ovation performance. Be sure to order your tickets soon to
avoid missing out on this fantastic show.
Next week in Behind the Scene: Director John Charron.
"Going, Going, Gone" Luncheon
You and your friends are invited to a luncheon
sponsored by the Concord Christian Women’s Club and Stonecroft
Ministries on Thursday, November 10th, from 11:30 to 1:30, at The
Red Blazer Restaurant & Pub, 72 Manchester Street, Concord, NH.
The cost of the luncheon is $15.00 inclusive. Do
some early Christmas shopping at our auction with George Foster and
Juanita Oftedahl will be speaking on "Obtaining the Right Stuff."
Reservations are required by November 1st,
cancellations are also required. Call Wendy at 485-7446 or Barbara
at 798-5976.
Stonecroft Ministries is a non-profit ministry. For
more information visit
www.Stonecroft.org.
Pittsfield In The Past, Now And In The Future
Are you concerned about the economic growth of
Pittsfield? Ed Vien, Chairman of the Economic Development Committee
and a member of the Board of Selectmen will present a program at the
Pittsfield Historical Society on November 10th at 7 pm.
Ed will discuss what changes have been in the
economic picture in Pittsfield and what could possibly be seen as
future changes that may take place. We have seen exciting changes
take place in Pittsfield, going from a mill town to one with a
diversified industry base. The public is invited to attend this
program. Cider and donuts/cookies will be available at the meeting.
Letter To The Editor
Dear Fellow Citizen:
As we watch the state of our economy become more and
more uncertain and feel the brunt of it within our own livelihood,
it becomes exceedingly difficult to discern how to better steward
our home. For some of us it means more efficiency in the grocery
store, conserving on our heat, cutting back on discretionary
spending or a combination of all the above. For others however, it’s
a matter of living without any heat at all, wondering where the next
meal will come from, choosing between food and prescriptions, lack
of transportation to employment, medical appointments, etc.
…and then there is the wasteful spending of the
government…
How disappointing to witness such carelessness from
our local authorities. Let me share with you one example: Last
Wednesday (approximately 11:30 am), Fairpoint was doing some work on
Main Street. There were two flagmen directing traffic (I’m assuming
Fairpoint staff). Also present were two Pittsfield cruisers
(approximately 700’ from the police station) parked parallel to one
another with blues flashing and officers sitting in them chatting.
On numerous occasions, at all hours (weekdays and weekends), I have
observed Pittsfield cruisers in Northwood, Epsom, Chichester and on
Route 4 heading towards Concord. Additionally, when I do see
cruisers in town, they are oftentimes doing special detail (from the
driver’s seat of the cruiser) as opposed to patrolling.
Although at a glance this may not seem reckless to
some of you, please take it from someone who has analyzed budgets
for several years, including throughout my four-year tenure on the
Board of Selectmen - this lack of accountability is problematic.
While it has repeatedly been brought to the attention of the Board
of Selectmen, Town Administrator and Police Chief, it has not been
curtailed. Not good stewardship by any stretch of the imagination!
Still serving you,
Linda Small
Letter
To my fellow Granite State voters:
As our Primary Election starts to come into view, I
thought I would write a few thoughts about a candidate I appreciate
and hope more people will support. It is a real privilege to live in
the first primary state and I think we should take seriously who we
will support to be our next president. Once again, we have the
opportunity to support, and possibly for the last time, this true
modern day founding father, Ron Paul.
One reason I support him is because he is serious
about the U.S. Constitution. That is one of the President’s main
jobs, to make sure government is limited to only what’s in the
Constitution. This is not a wacky right-wing agenda, this is an
American agenda - red or blue. There are many candidates running,
and I appreciate them all in some way. But after doing some
research, Ron Paul is the most consistent, honest and committed to
defending the Constitution.
In 2008, America wasn’t afraid to give Barack Obama
an opportunity in the White House. Now we certainly shouldn’t be
afraid to give Mr. Paul this same opportunity. He earned it. Let’s
start with NH, let’s start with Pittsfield.
Sincerely,
Willie Matras
Letter To The Editor
This morning when I settled in for my first cup of
coffee and the Suncook Sun, there it was! The "quip" was back!
That was my first smile of the day. Thank you for
really listening to your reader’s thoughts. There is nothing quite
so wonderful as a small town newspaper that really cares.
Thank you again.
Janet Tower
Pittsfield
Pictured is Bruce Clattenburg "Junior" making foul
poles for the new field at Pittsfield Youth Athletic Park. They are
as nice as the ones at Fenway and will be installed as soon as
weather permits. Thank you Bruce.
Letter
Thank You
On Saturday, October 22nd Suncook Valley Soccer Club
hosted the U12 Boys Tournament. The weather was fantastic and all
the players had a great day. SVSC would like to send out a big thank
you to everyone who helped volunteer on Saturday and the rest of the
season to make the concession stand a success.
Coach Peter Tuttle, Coach Tara Pinto and the entire
varsity girl’s soccer team ran the concession stand on Saturday and
did an outstanding job. A very special thank you to Heidi Knight,
Alisha Smith and Paulette Wolfe for organizing the concession stand
this fall.
SVSC looks forward to another great soccer season
next year, please watch the Sun for sign-ups next summer. Thank you
all for helping make 2011 a great year for SVSC.
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