Those
Celebrating Birthdays are: February 9, James Bond, Jr.; February 11,
Joshua Rogers, Dale Desrosier, Jennifer Blais; February 12, Daniel
St. Laurent, Richard Frost, Dwight Morse; February 13, Lorrie
Cornell, Jesse Giordano; February 14, Russ Courtemanche, Ogden Boyd,
Jr.; February 15, Lenny Deane, Peggy Chagnon. A Very Happy
Birthday to One and All!
The Pittsfield Area Senior
Center will be offering an AARP Safe Driving Program at the center
on Tuesday, February 15, and Wednesday, February 16th from 9 am to 1
pm. Also on February 15th, (Tuesday) you may come in between
10:00 am and 1:00 pm for Free Volunteer Income Tax Preparation
Assistance. Call the center at 435-8482 for an appointment.
PYBA is pleased to announce that softball and baseball
signups for children aged 4-18 will be held at the Community Center
as follows: Wednesday, March 2 from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm; Saturday,
March 5 from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm; and Wednesday, March 9 from 5:30 pm
- 8:00 pm. Players in the PYBA program for the first time
should bring a copy of their birth certificates. The cost is
$50 per player with a $125 family cap.
Congratulations to Albert and Nellie Riel, who will celebrate their
56th wedding anniversary on February 14th.
VA
Expands Outreach To American Indians, Hawaiians, Alaska Natives
Submitted By Merrill A. Vaughan, Vice Commander
American Legion
Peterson-Cram Post 75 Pittsfield, NH
The Department of Veterans
Affairs has announced the creation of a new Office of Tribal
Government Relations to ensure the more than 200,000 Veterans who
are American Indians, Alaska Natives, Hawaiian Natives or are part
of the Alaska Native Corporations receive the VA benefits they have
earned.
“There is a long, distinguished tradition of military
service among tribal peoples,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Eric K. Shinseki.
“VA is committed to providing these Veterans
with the full range of VA programs, as befits their service to our
nation.”
About 200,000 Veterans are represented by the 800 tribal
governments officially recognized by the United States.
Although VA has long provided benefits to Veterans in tribal lands,
the new office will further strengthen and expand that relationship.
Stephanie Elaine Birdwell, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation
from Oklahoma, has been selected as the office’s first director.
A former social worker, she has spent nearly 15 years working on
tribal issues with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and, most recently,
the Bureau of Indian Education.
She will oversee a six-person
office responsible for “establishing, maintaining and coordinating a
nation-to-nation, federal-tribal relationship,” according to a VA
briefing. The office has a charter that officially extends to
Veterans who are American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians
and Alaska Native Corporations.
School
Lunch Menus February 14 - 18, 2011
PES Monday
- Fish
sticks, fries, fruit, milk. Tuesday - Beef stew, cornbread,
fruit, milk. Wednesday - (Early Release) - Ham & cheese
sandwich, carrots, apple, milk. Thursday - Burger on a bun,
veggie, fruit, milk. Friday - Pizza, veggie, fruit, milk.
PMHS Monday
- Meatball subs, cheese, veggies, fruit, milk.
Tuesday - Pizza, veggies, fruit, milk. Wednesday - Chicken,
noodles, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, baked dessert, fruit,
milk. Thursday - Steak and cheese subs, onions, peppers, fruit,
milk. Friday - Hot dogs, rolls, mac and cheese, veggies, fruit,
milk.
Pittsfield Meet the Candidates Night
The Greater Pittsfield
Chamber of Commerce is hosting the annual “Meet the Candidates
Night” on Monday, February 28 at 7:00 pm at the Pittsfield Middle
High School Lecture Hall.
All registered candidates have (or
will) received a letter from the Chamber asking them to prepare and
submit a one page letter for inclusion in an information packet that
will be handed out that night.
Candidates - if you did not
receive a letter please contact Andi Riel at 435-6346. I must
receive your letter by Feb. 18th at 5 pm to be included in the
packet.
Please note that we will not allow candidates or other
parties to distribute additional handouts or materials to the
audience at the meeting.
Please come meet the Candidates and show
your support. Each candidate will have time to address the
audience and then there will be a question/answer time. The
Chamber does not, as a body, support any individual running for
election. We are only providing a platform for the Candidates
and the Community to meet.
If you have any questions about the
event, please contact Andi Riel at 435-6346 or visit
www.pittsfieldchamber.org.
Letter To The Editor
Recently, legislation has come before
the New Hampshire House of Representatives to redefine an “adequate
education.” To be clear, despite recent news reports, neither I, nor
House Republican leadership, have taken a specific position on House
Bill 39,with regard to the various subjects within the state’s
definition. Additionally, any claim that we do not value subjects
like art, music or foreign languages is completely false. Those
subjects will continue to be taught in our local public schools.
The recently announced House Republican agenda stressed that
our primary educational focus would be on a constitutional amendment
that protects local control, permits targeted aid, and removes the
handcuffs on the legislature’s funding policy authority. We also
made clear our belief in the wisdom of keeping the decision making
process in the hands of the local communities. Ultimately it
should be local parents and schools who decide the content of
students’ curricula, not the state bureaucrats in Concord.
With
regard to adequacy, we support the concept that the adequacy
definition adopted four years ago should be re-examined to ensure
that it relates to contemporary educational needs and is financially
sustainable. There were early signs that the current definition was
imperfect when Gov. Lynch allowed it to become law without his
signature in 2007.
The difficult economic realities that we face
necessarily require that we make difficult spending choices and not
downshift costs onto local municipalities and property taxpayers,
but we will make those choices with the understanding that we must
ensure that our students leave our public school system with a
mastery of the fundamental subjects so they may excel in college and
go on to be productive members of society.
Rep. D.J. Bettencourt
House Majority Leader
From
The Superintendent’s Desk Submitted By John J. Freeman,
Ph.D. Superintendent Of Schools SAU #51
Two winters ago, the
School District held a series of community forums to articulate the
community’s vision for the District and a vision for our PMHS
graduates. The participants provided their thoughts which
resulted in a new mission and vision statement for our schools.
Our District’s mission includes a belief in high academic standards,
personalized learning that is “adjusted to promote growth in each
and every learner,” and the need for our graduates to leave PMHS
with “thoughtful plans for the next phase of their lives.”
Such a
mission calls for a shift from a one-size-fits-all high school
environment with which most of us are familiar, to a high school
that attends to the individual learning needs, interests, and styles
of each young person enrolled in the school. Further, such a
mission views high school graduation not as the end of a journey,
but as an important milepost in a lifelong journey.
As you may
have read in the Suncook Valley Sun, the Pittsfield School District
has received a large planning grant from the Nellie Mae Education
Foundation to fund one year of planning to develop student centered
learning in our Pittsfield Middle High School. This planning
grant will allow the District to develop earnest plans to fulfill
our new mission.
The acceptance of this large grant would
naturally lead to several questions:
• What is the Nellie Mae
Education Foundation? The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is a
large New England public charity formed in 1998 by the Nellie Mae
Corporation, a nonprofit education financing company. In the
past, the Foundation has invested in efforts to improve adult
literacy, provide college preparation, and reduce the achievement
gap.
More recently, the Foundation has shifted its focus to
student-centered learning in our region’s middle and high schools,
believing that such an approach will best prepare New England for
the challenges of the future.
• Why would they give this grant to
Pittsfield? More than 300 high schools in New England were
eligible for this grant; following a rigorous
eight-month process, the Foundation awarded planning
grants to seven schools. In making this award
to Pittsfield, the Foundation demonstrates its
confidence in our community’s ability to
collaboratively design a strategy for implementing a
student centered education system that meets the
needs of all learners in Pittsfield.
• What is student centered learning? Student centered learning
rethinks where, when, and how students learn. It expands
education beyond the school’s physical boundaries and traditional
times while it makes the community and its resources an important
part of the learning process. Project-based learning,
internships, experiential learning, career technical education, peer
learning, and apprenticeships are features of student centered
learning.
• Who is involved in the planning? Our PMHS
Community Advisory Council – which consists of a broad range of
interested parties, including students, parents, non-parent
citizens, civic leaders, business leaders, school board, teachers,
and school administrators – is taking the lead in the planning
process. The plan will be shared with our community in the
fall, and feedback will be sought prior to finalizing the plan for
submission to the Pittsfield School Board and the Nellie Mae
Education Foundation.
• What will the grant pay for? The grant
will provide funds for technical assistance from a range of sources
in developing the plan. Additionally, the grant will also
provide opportunities for planners to visit highly successful
schools – public, charter, and private schools – from which we will
learn about successful strategies to help our own Pittsfield
students.
• What can we expect come from this planning? As
noted above, we can expect a draft plan to be shared with our
community in the fall. Following feedback from interested
citizens, the plan will be finalized and presented to our Pittsfield
School Board and the Foundation. We expect that the plan will
provide a seven-to-ten year roadmap for the development of our
middle high school as the school is transformed to better serve each
and every PMHS learner.
• What comes next after the planning
year? The Foundation plans to award up to six planning grant
recipients with significant multi-year grants to implement our
student centered learning plan.
This planning grant opportunity
arrives at a very good time for PMHS. Building on our new
community-generated mission and vision, PMHS has begun this
important transformation with the support of a three-year federal
School Improvement Grant.
The Nellie Mae planning grant is
helping us to plan beyond this three-year period, strategizing for a
more student centered PMHS in the years ahead.
Letter
In March, the Pittsfield town ballot will contain a proposal to
abolish zoning. I think it’s such a daft idea that it hasn’t a
chance of passing. I’m informed that I could be wrong and
hence this letter.
The individual who initiated this proposal has
a following and worked hard at rallying his supporters. Most of us
don’t want our beloved town to be turned into Dogpatch, U.S.A., so
we must be sure to vote NO and encourage other people of good sense
to do likewise.
John Lenaerts Pittsfield
Josiah“Read-Meet-Talk” Book Club For The Grown-Ups!
It is
not too late to get in on the discussion for the next meeting of
Josiah Carpenter Library’s brand new book club! The first
organizational meeting of the “Read-Meet-Talk” Book Club, was held
January 27th. Members were asked to discuss the following ten
questions. If you missed out, come and share your answers with
us at the next meeting. We will meet on February10, the second
Thursday to discuss the first title, Eat, Pray, Love, by
Elizabeth Gilbert
(The Library Trustees had already rescheduled
their regular meeting to the third Thursday, February 17, this month
only). There are still some extra copies at the Library
if you need to pick one up! On that evening you
can pick up a copy of Nicholas Sparks’ Safe Haven, for discussion at
our March meeting, slated for the fourth Thursday, March 24, at 7:00
pm.
So remember those dates : February 10 discussing
Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, and March 24 discussing Sparks’ Safe
Haven! Call the Library today to reserve your book and a
spot at the table!
The 10 questions members were asked to discuss
are: Why do I want to join a book club and what do I expect to
get out of it? What kinds of books would I like to read? What are
the responsibilities of each member? If I don’t finish the book can
I still come to the meeting? What part does my library membership
play in my Book Group membership? What is proper meeting etiquette?
Who will lead book discussions? The person who recommended the book,
rotating leaders, or a permanent leader? Can the meeting schedule be
altered? How? And for what reasons? What about summer,
holidays and Christmas? How will we select the books we want to
read? Anything missed? Discuss book suggestions brought to the
first organizational meeting and choose.
For more information
call 435-8406 and ask for Rozalind J. “Roza” Benoit, Library
Director.
VA
Automating Educational Benefits Under Post 9/11 GI Bill
Submitted By Merrill A. Vaughan Vice Commander American
Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75 Pittsfield, NH 03263
The
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has successfully deployed a new
automated system that is delivering faster, more accurate payments
to Veterans attending school under the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
“VA is
relying upon the latest technology to provide a high-tech solution
for administering the most generous educational benefits since the
original GI Bill in 1944,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric
K. Shinseki.
The technology relies upon information from
Veterans and specialized rules-based software to streamline the
process for calculating Veterans’ benefits.
“The new GI Bill is
the first example of VA’s use of an agile approach to software
development,” said Roger W. Baker, VA’s assistant secretary for
information and technology. “Our success on this project is already
being leveraged to ensure the success of other large software
projects within VA.”
The new processes and software available to
VA’s claims personnel replace the interim tools in use since August
2009, when the Post 9/11 GI Bill became effective.
VA has
issued more than $8 billion in Post 9/11 GI Bill benefit payments to
nearly 440,000 students and their educational institutions.
The
Post 9/11 GI Bill pays schools directly for the tuition and fees
incurred by eligible Veterans and active-duty personnel. Those
payments are based upon the maximum rate in each state for tuition
and fees at the in-state level for undergraduates. A monthly
housing allowance is also provided.
Also included is a maximum
$1,000 annual stipend for books and supplies, and a one-time payment
of $500 for students who reside in specific rural areas.
Further information about the Post 9/11 GI Bill is available on the
Internet at www.gibill.va.gov.
Letter
To The Editor
To the residents of Pittsfield: The Pittsfield
Ethics Committee is looking to fill three vacant seats for 2011; one
year seat to serve the unexpired term of a former member; two three
year positions to fill the expired terms of two members.
This is
an excellent way to help your community to be professional and a
wonderful place to live and work. The requirements are simple:
willing to attend meetings once a quarter (unless there are cases we
need to work on) and to help remake the Pittsfield Ethics Code so it
works for everyone. The only time we need to meet more than
once a quarter is if we have a case pending and we need to schedule
hearings and perform investigations; but that is rare.
This past
year was quiet for the Committee. We met and went over The
Code, suggested some changes and went over the Rules and Procedures
but they need to be worked over with some new ideas and fresh eyes.
Will you be one of the three new members? If you have any
questions, feel free to contact the Pittsfield Ethics Committee
Chairman, Merrill Vaughan at (603) 344-0264 (cell phone).
Sincerely, Merrill Vaughan, Chairman, Pittsfield Ethics
Committee
Letter
To The Editor
To the good citizens of Pittsfield: In last
week’s Suncook Valley Sun, the Board of Selectman and the Planning
Board member, Ted Mitchell, tried hard to make it a bad idea to
repeal zoning.
Maybe the Planning Board’s proposal will make a
difference. Maybe going back to three selectmen will make a
difference. Maybe increasing the tax rate further will make a
difference.
I’m about ready to puke! Same old stuff!
Here is my plan: • Tuesday, March 8th, 7 am to 7 pm, Town Hall.
Please vote (I’m begging) to repeal zoning. • Thursday, March
10th, 7 pm, Elementary School. Level fund the school budget.
• Saturday, March 13th, 10 am, Elementary School. Level fund
the Town budget.
Please support whatever you can.
Dan Schroth
Piermarocchi Pittsfield
ChildFind SAU #51
In an effort to comply with State and Federal
Laws governing special education, to maintain eligibility for
Federal Funding, to engage in sound long range planning and to
provide evaluation and programming where appropriate, the District
of Pittsfield is making a conscientious effort to identify
individuals with potential disabilities residing within their
jurisdiction.
Parents of children 0-21 years of age who suspect
that a child may be educationally disabled, are invited to contact
their local school special education director. Assessments
will be performed to determine if children qualify for special
education programs and services. Areas to be screened will
include hearing, vision, communication, cognition, and motor
functioning.
For further information, parents would contact their
local school and ask to speak to one of the following: Tobi Chassie,
Director, Pittsfield Elementary School, 435-8432; Lois Stevens,
Coordinator; Pittsfield Middle High School, 435-6701.
Mr. &
Mrs. Steven Siniscal joyously announce the engagement of their
daughter, Bethany Rose, to Jacob Lammott, son of Mr. & Mrs. Raymond
Lammott. Bethany is from Union, NJ and is a graduate of Nyack
College. She is employed at Nute High School. Jake grew up in
Pittsfield, NH and attended New Tribes Bible Institute. He presently
works at Hew’s Truck Body & Equipment. A May 21, 2011 wedding is
planned and will be taking place in Mt. Bethel, PA.
Letter
Citizens of Pittsfield: The Selectboard urges you to VOTE NO on
the repeal of zoning for the Town of Pittsfield.
In the January
24th edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader, Ed Vien is quoted as
saying “Pittsfield would be a dumping ground...” if zoning were
repealed. The logic behind that statement is that when the
surrounding towns have zoning and Pittsfield doesn’t, then all those
things that are not allowed or granted in the surrounding towns will
find a place in Pittsfield. That is not a blueprint for economic
development.
Thank you, Denise Morin Ed Vien Fred Hast
Fred Okrent Art Morse Pittsfield Selectboard
What I
Have Learned At The Pittsfield Budget Committee Work Sessions
Parts 2 & 3 Submitted By Carole Richardson
• Over the past
three years, three of our salaried employees have been paid for a
large number of compensatory/overtime hours that they had
accumulated over various years. It was a decision by the
Board of Selectmen in 2008 to pay these individuals for this time
they had earned previously at their 2008, 2009 and 2010 hourly rate.
The Board also made it a policy from this time forward to stop
paying salaried employees for compensatory time.
• All full-time
town employees are paid a length of service stipend. These
stipends differ for each contract but range from $1,000 per year for
years 7-14, $1,550 for years 15-21, and $1,750 for years 22 and
beyond in the AFT-NH contract to $500 per year for 7-14 years,
$1,000 for years 15-21 and $1,500 for years 22 and beyond in the
Teamsters contract.
• All full-time employees have 11 paid
holidays.
• All full-time employees are eligible for health
insurance. Employees under the AFT contract receive Blue
Cross/Blue Shield and pay 10% of these costs. These rates are
effective from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 which are as
follows: Single Plan Cost: $614.91 per month. 2-Person
Plan Cost: $1,229.94 per month. Family Plan Cost:
$1,660.42 per month.
All full-time employees under the Teamsters
contract have a choice of health insurance plans. They can
choose Blue Cross/Blue Shield as described above and pay 10% of the
plan, or Northern New England Benefit Trust, which is paid at 100%
as follows: Single Family Cost: $601 per month* 2-Person
Plan Cost: $1,294 per month* Family Plan Cost:
$1,584 per month*
*If premiums for the above plan exceed the Blue
Cross/Blue Shield rate, employees pay the difference.
Employees
who have health insurance provided by others including themselves
without cost to the town shall be eligible to receive an annual
payment of $2,500 per year.
• Full-time employees under these
contracts belong to the New Hampshire Retirement System. The
Town and employee each pay a share of this benefit as follows:
Group I Employees: Employee Pays 5% Town Pays 9.16% Group
II Employees: Employee Pays 9.3% Town Pays 14.63%
(Employees under this group do not pay FICA) If police are on a
special detail, the vendor pays the retirement portion.
•
Full-time employees receive sick and annual leave and a $15,000 term
life insurance. • The Pubic Works Director is paid $70 a week for
the use of his personal truck, which amounts to $3,900 a year.
This is a separate line item in the budget.
• Employees working
less than 40 hours a week are considered part-time and receive no
benefits.
• The Town Administrator has an Agreement for
Professional Services for the period September 28, 2008 through
October 5, 2013. His current annual salary is $74,241.
The agreement states the annual salary for each 6 month extension
shall be adjusted by the most recent % increase in Social Security
plus 2%. He receives health insurance as described in the
AFT-NH contract and pays 10% of the cost; vacation time at the rate
of 13.3333 hours per month, 10 hours sick leave per month; any and
all other benefits provided in both town contracts for employees;
and retirement benefits.
• The Fire Chief’s Agreement is
effective December 12, 2009 through December 11, 2012 and includes a
base salary of $57,990. The agreement states the Selectmen
will endeavor to address the matter of his compensation annually.
He receives no retirement contributions, but is provided with life
insurance. He accrues leave time at the rate of 16.67 hours
per month and receives a $300 clothing allowance.
Letter
My name is Fred Okrent and I am a candidate for a position as
Selectman (3 years) for the Town of Pittsfield.
I am currently
an appointed member of the Select Board, filling out part of an
unexpired term, which has given me the opportunity to begin learning
about the responsibilities involved in the position. I am currently
the BOS representative to the Pandemic committee and to the Cable TV
committee.
My IBM career (30 years) taught me much about
planning and project management (including budgeting) while my Fire
Department and military service have taught me much about teamwork
and leadership. I believe that this background, along with a strong
measure of common sense, make me well suited for the position of
Selectman.
I believe in Pittsfield and truly believe it is a
great place to live and work but I also believe it can be even
better than it is now and I would like the chance to be part of
making that happen. I, therefore, ask for your vote on Election Day.
Thank you for your consideration.
Fred Okrent
Letter
Read the Revisions
It has been quoted that 19 towns in New
Hampshire have no ‘ZONING ORDINANCE’. It’s true that 8% of
NH’s 234 towns lack an ‘official’ zoning ordinance. But of
those 19, only 1 has a population similar to Pittsfield of over
4000; 2 have 2000-2900; 6 have 1000-2000;and 10 have less than a
thousand people living in their towns. All of these are in the
‘north country’ except for one town in Sullivan County with a
population of under 1000. These towns are not large
tourist destinations or commercially oriented areas, and the range
of tax rates among these towns varies from over $20/thousand to
under $15/thousand. Additionally, some of these towns have
‘regulations’ and ‘rules’ that, while not calling them a ‘ZONING
ORDINANCE,’ are equally restrictive nonetheless.
The fact
that a total elimination of zoning could possibly become a driving
force in this year’s Pittsfield elections can only demonstrate the
increasing frustration of Pittsfield’s residents. But I, for
one, have not given up on the necessity of zoning in the 21st
century. While I do not agree with 100% of the Zoning
Revisions, I will vote in favor of most of the amendments.
Please take the time and carefully read the Proposed Zoning
Ordinance, which can be located at
www.pittsfield-nh.com.
God Bless Our Troops, Rachel Wood Pittsfield
Letter
Pittsfield Voters: The Planning Board has placed seven Articles
on the Town Warrant for 2011 as the first part of a comprehensive
revision of the Zoning Ordinance.
Article 2 deals with
administration and enforcement, including such things as permits,
certificates, exceptions and variances. The purpose is to
clarify and streamline the processes which the Ordinance requires.
Article 3 is intended to ensure that the Ordinance is in compliance
with State and Federal laws, and to make it user friendly.
Article 4 deals with definitions and is intended to increase
clarity, reduce confusion and conflicts and to rewrite definitions
that act as regulations.
Article 5 is directed at making parking
regulations in certain parts of the downtown more flexible when
dealing with non-residential commercial activities. The
purpose is to encourage more and better business activity.
Article 6 removes a section of the Ordinance dealing with Shoreline
Protection and notes that State statutes supersede any local
ordinance.
Article 7 deals with establishment of a Senior Housing
Ordinance.
Space restrictions do not permit a complete
description of these Articles in a newspaper letter.
The Board
urges all voters to examine the full text either on-line at
www.pittsfield-nh.com or
by reading the copies available at Town Hall.
Pittsfield Planning
Board
These
guys have some snow shoveling to do to clear their roof before the
next storm.
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