God is faithful. His provision is abundant. His promises are true. The women at the Center Barnstead Christian Church will be attending a Ladies’ Retreat this March. They will enjoy a great time of games, food, fun, laughter and fellowship with other women of the church. The theme is Faithful, Abundant, and True: Three Lives Going Deeper Still – a resource from Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore.  

Kay Arthur teaches from basically, the entire book of Hebrews! Hebrews is both an example of God’s faithfulness and a challenge to believers to be faithful in difficult times. 

Priscilla Shirer teaches from  Ephesians 3:20-21 on God’s abundance. A fundamental basis for every believer is the absolute reality that God can do whatever He chooses to do. God’s ability empowers our faithfulness. 

Beth Moore teaches on the topic of discernment. In these difficult days it is absolutely essential that we learn to trust the Holy Spirit to enable us to determine what is true and what is false. While these three women each speak on the distinctive topic the Holy Spirit had lead them to teach, the messages result in a marvelous blend. Kay challenges us to faithfulness in difficult days. Priscilla points to the essential of trust in God’s ability, and Beth teaches on how to discern truth from error in these difficult days. During this two day retreat, the ladies can look forward to a special time of being refreshed and encouraged in God’s Word.  

The Center Barnstead Christian Church is located on Route 126, next to the Town Hall.  For more information please contact the church at 269-8831.

Letter To The Editor

Politics and government in this country and state have a very strong, pungent odor that’s increasing daily. I’m finding it’s filtering to the local level at a fast pace.

Over the past couple of years, certain members of the Budget Committee and Select Board (you know who you are) attempted to degrade the Planning/Zoning Boards and Building Inspector Secretarial position and the individual occupying that position, by exposing the citizens of Barnstead to erroneous and totally out of context information about the workings of that position.

Once again these “public servants” are trying to reduce this position from 30 to 10 hours per week.  They tried this at the Town Meeting last year and failed greatly.

Why are they doing this? To cut the town budget? Not sure, but I think not! I wonder if it’s some personal agenda against the individual occupying that position or perhaps “other” personal reasons.

They have presented a fountain of misinformation and incorrect facts and figures at their Budget meetings, and who knows where else, and have never, to the best of my knowledge, requested a desk audit. This is a very important position to the operation of the Planning/Zoning Boards and part time Building Inspector. I do know what this job entails. This town is fortunate to have an individual so very capable of performing these multiple duties even in 30 hours a week.  

So, before these individuals of committee and “other” positions of power contaminate the minds of our voters anymore, it’s time they know what they are talking about and get their facts correct. Leave your personal agendas home!

Better yet, in the town’s best interest, maybe it’s time to replace some members at the polls.

Clarke Goodrich

Citizen, Tax Payer

Vice Chair, Planning Board

Greg Goddard, General Manager Of Gunstock Mountain Resort, To Address Barnstead/Alton/Gilmanton Republican Committee (BARC’G)

The Barnstead-Alton-Gilmanton Republican Committee (BARC’G) has announced that Greg Goddard, General Manager of the Gunstock Mountain Resort, will be the guest speaker at their next monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. at J.J. Goodwin’s Restaurant, 769 Suncook Valley Highway (Rt. 28), in Center Barnstead.  

Gunstock Mountain Resort is a recreational facility owned by Belknap County for the benefit of the citizens of Belknap County, all of New Hampshire, and New England. Mr. Goddard will address the Committee, sharing information about the history and evolution of Gunstock, recent upgrades, and plans for the future, including the transformation of Gunstock into an all-season recreational facility.

BARC meetings are open to Republicans and like-minded Independents from Alton, Barnstead, and Gilmanton, and any other towns in New Hampshire.  Per the usual meeting format, if you’re interested in having dinner (at your option) or want to socialize before the meeting, plan to arrive as early as 5:30 p.m.

In an effort to help those in the community who are less fortunate, the Committee asks that each attendee bring a non-perishable food item to the meeting for distribution to local food pantries.

For more information, please send an email to [email protected] or check out the Committee’s website at www.BARC-NewHampshire.org

Letter

Dear Barnstead Voters:

I read with interest the recent letter from a prospective candidate for Selectman, holding forth about the current board and how they “micro manage” departments, etc. The backdrop to all selectmen these days has to be the welfare of the whole community, which is under extreme economic pressure and will be in the foreseeable future.

All departments (throughout the country) that are funded by taxpayers’ money always consider that they are in need of expansion and that they are the most vital to society. By all means the Selectmen have to listen to Department heads, but they have to balance this against the ability of the community to pay.

Since 2008, I have been working with 7 surrounding towns, all facing similar fiscal problems, both when I was a Selectman and afterwards with the agreement of the Selectmen. This has resulted in cumulative savings of Barnstead taxpayer dollars of approximately $100,000 for exactly the same services. This cooperation is extremely important for our community.

The Selectmen’s decision become very critical when dealing with unanticipated and mainly weather related emergencies such as tornadoes and flooding, etc. They have to deal with both federal and state agencies and call on our neighboring communities for assistance.

Taking some of the above criteria into account, I would welcome your support on March 12th to become a Selectman representing everyone’s needs in these stressful times.

Yours Sincerely,

Gordon Preston

Letter

To my fellow Barnstead residents, neighbors, friends:

My name is Kevin  Genest, and I am running for School Board and Library Trustee. I moved to Barnstead in 2008 and live with my mom, Phyllis Buatti, who has been a Barnstead resident for over 34 years. I Love Barnstead and think this is a great town to live in!

I worked at Barnstead Elementary School for 5½ years and  know  the  school well; and the politics of the school, which I observed during that time. I love the kids and want to see them get a decent education and succeed in the world! 

I have the highest regard for the teachers at BES who were like family to me!  I am a conservative and don’t believe in unnecessary and wasteful spending! If you vote for me, I will do my best to make sure your kids get the education they deserve, while at the same  time making sure costs are kept down and there is no wasteful or unnecessary spending!

As for the library, I love books and libraries! I think the Oscar Foss Memorial Library is awesome!   It’s a great library! When I moved to Barnstead five years ago, I asked about volunteering at the library, but was told no help was needed! I decided to put my name in for Library Trustee as a way of volunteering and helping the library!

I believe this is a great town with great neighbors like yourselves! I would like to serve our town as a School Board member  and/or a library trustee! I ask for your vote and will do my best to serve you and our great town!

Thank you for your support and your votes!

Sincerely yours,

Kevin Genest

Letter

To Barnstead Voters:

Barnstead has the opportunity to purchase the Pinkham property for our Historical Society. This building and nice piece of land is located on 96 South Barnstead Rd. in the center of town. It includes an 1859 Cape with an attached shed and a large barn and garage on 1.17 acres. Obtaining this property would allow the Barnstead Historical Society to create a museum and history center for our town. This would be a place where residents and visitors could view artifacts from the past and learn about the places, activities and lives of Barnstead’s past. Understanding the past enriches our future. It also creates a deeper sense of place and greater pride in our community.

The purchase of this property will only cost 40 cents a thousand on our taxes for this year only. This will be voted on at Town Meeting, Saturday, March 16: Article 4 will be the purchase of the Pinkham property along with Article 5: Taking $40,000 out of the Historical Society’s building capitol reserve.

Please vote Yes on Articles 4 and 5 in favor of the preservation of Barnstead’s town history.

Teresa Taylor and