Those Celebrating Birthdays are: November 9, Herman
Fries; November 11, Harland Mandigo; November 12, Todd Hillsgrove,
Julianne Gadoury; November 15, Cindy DeMeritt.
A Very Happy Birthday To One and All!
Celebrating Anniversaries are: November 11, Paul and
Pauline Fox; November 15, Ed and Kathy Huggins.
Best Wishes!
The Northwood CrankPullers Snowmobile Club will be
hosting a Snowmobile Safety Course for ages 12-15 at Lake Shore
Farm, 275 Jenness Pond Rd, Northwood, NH on Saturday, November 12,
2011 from 8 am to 2 pm. Lunch will be provided. To register, contact
club President, Jeremy DeTrude at 603-942-8478 (H) or 603-425-8791
(C) between the hours of 8:00 am and 7:00 pm. And as always we
really appreciate our landowners and are always looking for new
members.
www.northwoodcrankpullers.com.
Don’t miss out! The Dorcas Guild of the First
Congregational Church, 24 Main St., Pittsfield, is holding their
annual Christmas Fair Saturday, Nov. 19 from 9 am to 2 pm. There are
many hand-fashioned items to choose from, as well as gourmet
products, baked goods, "Unique Boutique" and the fabulous silent
auction. Corn chowder and sandwich lunch with homemade pie is also
available. Plan to be there for this great fair!
The Police Department is reporting a rash of
burglaries in the area. The suspects are taking jewelry and cash
from residences after forcing their way into the houses. Please
report any suspicious activity that you see in your neighborhood to
911 or to the Concord Crimeline at 226-3100.
Final sign-ups for park-rec basketball for grades
K-8 will be at the Pittsfield Middle High School during craft fair,
from 9:00 am-1:00 pm.
Any questions, contact Darrell Wages at 603-435-6397
or 603-340-0459.
Letter To The Editor
Survivors Of Suicide Need Support
I’d like to take a moment to share a great resource
for people who have lost a loved one to suicide. Every year, on the
Saturday before Thanksgiving, survivors of suicide loss all around
the world come together to connect and offer support to each other.
It begins with a Teleconference which is offered at various sites
worldwide where a panel of experts and survivors discuss healing
after suicide loss. Following the teleconference broadcast, each
site has facilitators to help process the teleconference and
attendees can share and offer support to each other.
When I lost my son to suicide 10 years ago, I wish I
had known this resource was available to me. Since I found out about
the Annual Teleconference and have attended, it has been a great
source of support to me. Reaching out during a time of need is not
easy, but if you’ve suffered with your own loss of a loved one
(family member, friend, co-worker) to suicide, please come join one
of these sites and take advantage of this great resource.
This year, the Healing after Suicide Loss
Teleconference is on Saturday, November 19th from 12:30 to 3:30 at
nine different sites in NH:
Concord, Hampstead, Littleton, Merrimack, Manchester
(2 sites), No. Conway, Portsmouth, and Westmoreland. Please see
www.TheConnectProject.org,
www.naminh.org or call 1-800-242-6264 for more details and to
register. The event is free of charge. You don’t have to go through
this alone.
Patty Grondin, Mother of Amos Paul who died on
7/13/01
Jefferson, NH
Larry Berkson, Tony Scopa and Susan Carbon (taking
the picture) worked clearing brush from the southwestern corner of
Pittsfield Youth Athletic Park Saturday morning before the snow
storm. Darrell Wages hauled away some of the brush later in the day.
Eventually a batting cage and possibly a play area for small
children will be erected there. Thank you Larry, Tony, Susan and
Darrell.
Pittsfield In The Past, Now And In The Future
Ed Vien, Chairman of the Economic Development
Committee and a member of the Board of Selectmen will present a
program on the changes that have taken place in Pittsfield and what
we can possibly expect to happen in the future. The program will
take place at the Pittsfield Historical Society, 13 Elm Street, on
November 10, at 7 pm.
Ed will have a power point presentation and Matt
Monahan from Central Planning will be assisting. We will have a
question and answer period at the end of their presentation. You do
not have to be a member of the Society to attend. Cider and donuts
will be available at the meeting.
Lost Wedding Band Gives Small Community A Chance To
Show Caring Spirit
Submitted By
Marla and Perfecto (now wearing his wedding band
again) Salas
On Sunday, October 23rd my husband and I celebrated
our 2nd wedding anniversary by spending the beautifully sunny day at
Drake’s Field with our young son. Before we knew it, the sun was
beginning to set, so we headed home to make dinner. Once we pulled
into the driveway, my husband went to reach for his wedding band
(that he had taken off to play basketball) only to find it was not
in the car, any of his pockets or anywhere close by. Our only
reaction was he must of left it on the ground where he had placed
his jacket when he was playing ball.
My husband was off to Maine for work first thing in
the morning, so I promised once the sun broke through I’d head
straight down to search for his band. I headed down with our son and
searched in the cold frosty morning, under leaves and frozen grass,
until I reluctantly had to give up to head home and get ready for
other things I needed to do that day.
The next evening I kept telling myself his ring must
be down there, so I decided to return to the park to search again.
This time the Pittsfield Panther soccer teams were practicing, and a
few teenagers were hanging out by the swings. (how nice to see the
them outside and socializing!)
A few helped me with my search. I also asked both
coaches, Peter and Derek, to ask their soccer players if they had
seen it. After a few hours I again felt defeated and headed home.
The next evening my husband returned home from
Maine. We briefly discussed the lost ring, but then decided to drop
the subject.
My husband, mother and I were standing and talking
in the kitchen, when suddenly there was a knock at our door. "Come
in," we all shouted, figuring it was someone we must know, and it
was! Our old friend, Lea Adams, entered our kitchen smiling out the
words, "Did I hear someone lost a wedding ring? Well here it is," as
she held up his band in her hand. My husband and I broke out in
smiles of both happiness and disbelief! His ring had returned to us!
This validates that Pittsfield is a small community
with people who truly care. I am so glad I had mentioned something
at the park and the news had gotten back to Lea, who had found his
band. We had figured it was gone and lost forever! I am even more
grateful that she went out of her way to return it to us.
I am proud to be from Pittsfield and to be back here
with my family. I am so grateful to be in a small town with a close
knit community.
Thank you to everyone who helped me search, the
soccer teams, and especially Lea for finding and returning my
husband’s ring.
May God continue to bless our small community.
(Oh and PS: Happy Anniversary Hunny! I love you!)
VA/DoD PTSD Coach App Wins FCC Award
Submitted ByMerrill A. Vaughan, Commander
American
Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75
Pittsfield, NH 03263
The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Coach
smartphone application, jointly developed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), is being
honored today as one of seven recipients of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman’s Awards for Advancements
in Accessibility.
"We are honored to be named as a recipient of this
prestigious communications award," said Under Secretary for Health
Dr. Robert A. Petzel. "The PTSD Coach app has already helped more
than 30,000 users connect with important mental health information
and resources. It is a truly innovative tool which has
revolutionized the way Veterans receive health care."
The goal of the FCC Chairman Awards is to encourage
technological innovation in communication related areas and
recognize annually those outstanding efforts in the public and
private sector as well as public-private partnerships advancing
accessibility. This includes the development of individual
mainstream or assistive technologies introduced into the
marketplace, the development of standard or best practices that
foster accessibility, or the development of a new consumer
clearinghouse of disability-related products and services.
"One of our key goals for the PTSD Coach app all
along has been accessibility. Our team works to get useful tools to
Veterans whenever and wherever they need them. We are thrilled to
have this recognition that we have hit our target," said Julia
Hoffman, Psy.D. mobile applications lead, VA National Center for
PTSD.
The submissions were judged by a panel of seven FCC
executives.
St. Stephen’s Holiday Fair
What better place to do your Christmas shopping than
at the church fair? On Saturday, November 19, put the St. Stephen’s
Holiday Fair on Main Street in Pittsfield at the top of your list
between 9 am and 2 pm. Your dollars will go twice as far: good deals
for you and a benefit for the church’s outreach to those in need.
You will find lots of creative crafts, gifts, and
seasonal decorations when you browse the Christmas Boutique. In the
Bakery, choose among the homemade goodies for your holiday table and
preserves for stocking presents or a favorite teacher.
The Silent Auction has some great offerings this
year. There’s a giant nutcracker to set your Christmas theme, four
tickets to the New Year’s Eve Monarch’s vs. Providence Bruins game,
a beautiful vintage Winthrop desk, and a collection of antique
English ‘Friendly Village’ plates to name just a few of the things
on display. Get your high bids in by 2 pm and go home with that
special item.
Be sure to buy raffle tickets for the holiday food
basket overflowing with everything you’ll need for several meals.
The winners will be announced promptly at 2 pm.
Take a break from your shopping with a cup of coffee
and a bowl of soup or chili, or perhaps a pulled pork sandwich, from
the snack bar. Then make the rounds one more time to make sure you
didn’t miss anything!
Student Led Conferences At Pittsfield Middle High
School
This November, all Pittsfield Middle High School
students in grades 7 through 12 will be hosting their first Student
Led Conferences.
Student Led Conferences are part of the school’s
redesign process and its emphasis on student centered learning. The
purpose of the Student Led Conference is to help students with the
skills to promote themselves in a positive light and be able to
identify their strengths and weaknesses. Student Led Conferences
will replace the traditional parent-teacher conferences, though
parents are still encouraged to contact individual teachers to keep
up to date with their child’s progress or to schedule an individual
appointment.
The students will invite their parents and anyone
else that they would like to share elements of their Student
Portfolios with. A Student Portfolio is a collection of work,
reflections and assorted evidence that represents mastery of their
course competencies. The student’s portfolio contain their Personal
Learning Plans, (A Personal Learning Plan is when each student
develops a learning plan to guide their own personal, social, and
academic growth. A fundamental component of this plan is based on
the student’s personal interests and strengths which leads to goal
setting activities and is constantly revisited and revised. It
becomes a road map, benchmarking and reflection tool that students
use to chart their own progress and identify challenges as they
consider short and long term goals), Competency Based Assessments
(Competency Based Assessments are when students are allowed to show
what they know and can do through means other than just pencil and
paper assessments), and examples of their best work. The students
will take the lead role in the conferences and their advisors will
act as facilitators. The parents/guardians will have the opportunity
to ask the students questions and get feedback from the student’s
advisor.
These conferences will be scheduled in a one or two
week window to offer more flexibility for parents/guardians to be
able to attend the conference. With the flexible schedule, PMHS is
hoping to have 100% parent/guardian participation, but in the case
where a student’s parent/guardian is unable to make the conference,
a faculty member will sit in for the conference.
What’s Up At PYW?
Submitted By:
Paula Martel
PYW Program Director
On Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 4:00 pm Youth
Venture will be at the Pittsfield Youth Workshop to lead a workshop
for students interested in creating youth-led community service
projects.
Youth Venture supports young people ages 12-20 who
want to initiate positive, lasting social change in their
communities. Youth Venture encourages youth to identify a need in
their community, develop a solution by applying their interests and
skills, and then carry out that solution. Students may address a
wide variety of topics and are limited only by their imaginations!
Hundreds of Ventures have been created across the world by young
people wishing to address issues of poverty, homelessness, violence
prevention, education, health, elderly populations, the environment,
the arts, and much more.
Each Venture must be a new club, service, or
organization; provide a positive, lasting community benefit; be
created, run and managed by youth ages 12-20; have clear goals, a
committed team, a realistic budget; and, have a non-controlling
adult mentor. Each team receives up to $1,000 in Venture seed
funding to cover the start-up costs of creating a Venture.
Youth Venture provides an excellent opportunity for
young people to become active members of their communities and
positively address community issues. Students who create Ventures
will also gain important skills and experiences that will serve them
for years to come.
Students interested in creating their own Ventures
should come to the Pittsfield Youth Workshop on Wednesday, November
16, 2011 at 4:00 pm to attend a "Dream It. Do It." workshop led by
Youth Venture staff (Nicole Hayden). This workshop will introduce
students to the basic concept of Youth Venture as well as help them
begin the process of creating a Venture through fun, interactive
activities. We hope to see you there!
Please call PYW at 435-8272 to sign-up or to ask
questions. You can also visit GenV.net!
TOPS News
Submitted By
Terrie Azotea
Well, it sure is that time of year again when the
holidays are upon us. Life gets so busy and before you know it you
have spent a lot of money and eaten all kinds of food that you would
not eat on a daily basis.
Now is the time to try to stay in control, so at
TOPS we are trying to do that. This past week we had Royalty and
those members got rewarded for their weight loss for the last month.
KUDOS to you guys.
Also this past week, we picked a buddy to encourage
and stick beside throughout the holiday months. Something like
sending a card, making a phone call, bringing in a little something
to uplift that person.
A new contest has started with a pumpkin. Each week
you lose, you get added to the pumpkin and in the end the best loser
wins. So come on guys, stick with it and get that pumpkin filled.
I, for one, have started going swimming for the
winter months and it sure felt good. Not that I want to go around in
my bathing suit, but hey, it’s something that helps me. No matter
what you do, just keep up the exercises. That is an important thing
to do this time of the year, especially with all those yummy foods
that are going around at work, home and parties.
If you are stuck on your diet and need some help,
come on out and see what we are all about. We would love to meet you
and help you through the holidays and at the same time you can help
us. We all need support because we know it’s a daily struggle with
the right choices of food. So any help is good and that is what TOPS
is all about.
We meet at the St. Stephens Church on Main Street in
Pittsfield. Weigh in is at 5:30 pm and the meeting is at 6:30. Any
questions call Laurel Tiede at 269-8721 or Pat Smith at 435-5333.
Remember to be happy and why wait, you can make a
change today! Have a great week and see you lighter next week!
Country-Gospel Music Service At New Rye Church
Don Smith, a wonderfully spiritual musician in the
country-gospel tradition, will join New Rye Congregational Church
for its Sunday services at 10 am on November 13th. Don has traveled
the country spreading the message of love and hope in the gospel
through his music. He has ministered through music in venues from
prisons to churches. Don’s music is "hand-clapping" good!
The public is invited to join in this spiritually
enriching worship service. A love offering will be received for Don
so that he can continue his ministry. New Rye Church is located at
289 New Rye Road in Epsom. Our web site is at
www.newryechurch.org.
Sign-up For The Secret Santa Program
Sign-up for the Secret Santa Program is open now
through the 1st of December. To be eligible for the program,
children must be no more than 16 years of age and be residents of
Pittsfield. The child’s parent or guardian must call and/or stop by
the fire station during business hours to fill out an application.
Due to money and time constraints, we cannot accept any applicants
after December 1st.
Cub Scout Pack #84 Fundraiser
The Pittsfield Cub Scout Pack #84 is having a raffle
fundraiser during the month of November. We currently have 24 items
to be raffled. Ticket prices are $1.00 each or six (6) for $5.00.
The raffle is being held on November 29, 2011 at 6:30 pm at the
Pittsfield Community Center. (You do not need to be present to win.)
Your support to the cub scouts in your community is
greatly appreciated. If a cub scout member has not contacted you
please call Mrs. Holland at 435-0244 or Diane Richardson at
435-7924. You may also stop by the Pittsfield Community Center on
November 8th, 15th, 22nd, or 29th between 6:30 and 7:30 pm on the
2nd floor to purchase tickets.
All raffle items are from local businesses. Just to
name a few items; we have 5 toys, 4 pizza gift certificates, 3
restaurant, 3 store, 2 hair salons, 1 lawn cut, 1 case of oil, and 1
campground weekend tent spot.
It’s Time For The Annual Scouting For Food
Pittsfield boy scouts and cub scouts will be having
their annual "Scouting for Food" on Saturday, November 12, 2011. The
scouts will have left door knob tags on each house to remind people
to leave out food.
Scouts and volunteers will pick up food and drop it
off at the Pittsfield Fire Station to be sorted, boxed and
delivered.
If your house is missed and you would like to donate
some items, please bring those items to the Fire Station or Town
Hall.
Thank you for your support.
Kathy Bergeron of the Dorcas Guild hand quilts a
Christmas pillow project for the Guild’s 2011 Christmas Fair taking
place November 19.
Letter
After reading Linda Small’s letter to the Editor, I
wonder why does she keep on picking on the Police Dept? This isn’t
the first time and I know it won’t be the last.
When I go to the town hall, some times I see
different employees talking to each other, so what, we don’t live in
Russia. We do have freedoms, give it a rest.
The too many times that we, Merrill and I, have had
to call 911, the police were there before ambulance and fire. It has
been a comfort to me to have them there. I don’t care what the cost
is. I want my safety. I feel the police, fire and ambulance are my
security blanket in this town.
From listening to the police and fire scanner this
past year (not only Pittsfield), some days and/or nights have been
quiet while others have been unbelievable and you wonder who is out
there to help. We don’t have the people on board that I was used to
when I lived in the city, but I want to make sure those we still
have, are on board, their vehicles get fixed, whether it is tires,
oil change, rotation, dents, new engine, whatever.
No, I don’t like our taxes. It was our mistake not
to have done our homework but we are here. We need to live with it.
What we need is more businesses here in town to help with the taxes.
EDC is supposed to work on that and has been for the past few years.
It is slow going.
If you want to reduce some taxes, make it that any
elected official doesn’t not receive any "pay" or whatever it is
called. It won’t be much, but it will put gas in the town’s
vehicles.
Diane Vaughan
Pittsfield
From The Chief's Desk
I would like to take a minute to educate you about
why a cruiser would be out of town. While conducting the daily work
of policing, we find ourselves dealing with perpetrators of crime
who live and do business outside the town boundaries of our
community.
While we do our best to investigate and prosecute
crimes from within our community, it is becoming more necessary to
travel to other communities to locate property, interview victims
and witnesses and to follow up on court matters. We use our vehicles
to: respond to back up calls for other towns, attend Court hearings
in District, Drug, Family, Superior and a newly forming Mental
Health Court; attend training, attend meetings at the County
Attorney’s office, interview victims of sexual assaults at the child
advocacy center, drop off time sensitive court paperwork,
investigate sex crimes and retrieve evidence from Concord Hospital,
drop and retrieve evidence at the state crime lab, transport
criminals to the jail for holding, attend motor vehicle license
hearings, visit establishments where property has been sold or
pawned, and meet with DCYF concerning endangered children within our
community. These are some of the reasons that we would have a marked
unit outside of town in other communities.
Police details allow us to have a uniformed officer
working with private traffic control to provide the safest
environment for the workers on site and the motoring public. From
time to time officers do talk about department business on these
details.
While the perception may be that the officer is not
doing anything by being present, that is not the case. The use of
blue lights and an authority figure being present assist the traffic
control with compliance to the job they are providing. This service
is paid for by the company hiring the officer; paying for the
cruiser, FICA, Medicare, retirement, and other associated cost.
There is no impact on the Town of Pittsfield for this service. The
expenditures are 100% offset with what is charged to the vender. In
the event that there wasn’t a police detail the officer would be off
and not on patrol.
Respectfully,
Chief Robert E. Wharem
Letter
The NH Legislature is a citizen legislature, not run
by a majority of professional politicians. At $100 per year salary
with the full 28% taken off the top, their six months of full time
service for two consecutive years can hardly equate to a career.
These are our neighbors, friends, and acquaintances and are equal
members of our community.
With the next elections ramping up, I wanted to take
this opportunity to thank my Representatives, Dan and Carol McGuire,
Tony Soltani, Jon Richardson, and Senator Jack Barnes. While no
representative can please all the people on all the issues, these
public servants have done a great job at being readily available and
transparent. Their voting records show what they believe is the best
course of action to stop the accelerated loss of freedoms aided by
the votes from Washington on down. They are working to restore
common sense to our State and are standing by the promises made
during their campaigns. They are representing my values.
My personal angst is the State Dept. of Ed. and Gov.
Lynch implementing the Federal educational Common Core Standards
State Initiative, without legislative vote, precluding the loss of
state and local control of our schools, risking state sovereignty,
and loss of school board representation. Receipt of federal tax
dollars to schools is dependent on their "voluntary" adoption.
In response to someone’s previous letter to the
editor, Everyone has an agenda. Any NH citizen of voting age has the
opportunity to run for NH State Representative, but be prepared to
sacrifice a significant amount of your time and earnings to fulfill
the duties of the office. Thank you, Representatives, for your
service to our State.
Lea Adams
Pittsfield
As usual, Sparky did a wonderful job. No one wanted
this October snow, at least I haven’t talked to anyone who wanted
it. hope it doesn’t snow til Christmas eve.
Letter
To my fellow Granite State voters:
More thoughts about presidential candidate Ron Paul.
Before I even start I would encourage everyone to do some research,
and see for yourself why he should be our next president. If you’re
apolitical or have never voted, I encourage you. This is a great
right and privilege. Let’s do it responsibly and make a difference.
Ron Paul is an advocate of freedom. Freedom should
not be laughed at or forgotten. As one former president once said,
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
Mr. Paul understands how freedoms can be taken away from the
American people. Slowly, one little thing at a time, year after year
and before you know it, it’s too late; just like the frog in the pot
of hot water. That’s why he sticks to the Constitution. Because when
our elected officials abide by the Constitution, freedom won’t be
lost.
This is an important issue that we could easily lose
sight of. Freedom is the reason this great country originated and
God blessed us richly with it. Ron Paul is committed to defending
our freedom. Wouldn’t it be fitting for the Live Free or Die State
to elect Ron Paul in January 2012?
Check him out at
www.RonPaul2012.com.
Respectfully,
Willie Matras
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