Suncook Valley Sno-Riders Poker Run, Saturday, February 25.
Registration at Tilton Hill ball field from 9:00-11:00am.
Parking available for snowmobile trailers.
Letter To The Editor
Neighbors
I can understand why
parents bringing children to an evening deliberative session
would be concerned lest the meeting run late. I can also
understand their impatience with the pace of the proceedings.
Still, I was disheartened that a call for a ballot vote on a
controversial article would be termed a “ploy” that was ”clearly
intended to slow the process down” in order to get parents to
leave the meeting early.
It turns out that what may have
seemed clear to some just wasn’t so. As one of the five people
asking for a ballot vote, I can say that we never had any
conversations about delaying the process to get parents out
early. Not one. Nor did the thought even occur to me.
We wanted a ballot vote so that people could feel free to vote
their conscience without worrying about what their neighbors
might think. For years people have told me they won’t
attend town meetings because they don’t want to antagonize their
neighbors.
For some, it’s hard to vote against a boat ramp
used by the family next door or against upgrading the road where
your child’s teacher lives. A business owner might really have
to think twice about casting a public vote that would alienate
half the town...
The secret ballot is an integral part of our national democratic
system. In fact, it’s required by state constitutions or laws in
all 50 states.
Why does every
state consider the secret ballot essential? Because it helps
ensure integrity in elections by eliminating external influences
on voters. When we see people voting against our wishes or
interests, it can make us angry. We might even question their
motives.
The secret ballot helps neighbors live on friendly
terms. Above all, let’s be good neighbors.
Michael
Faiella
Northwood
This Weekend’s LRPA After Dark Feature: 1928’s “Steamboat Bill,
Jr.”
Join Lakes Region Public Access Television at 10:30 p.m.
this Friday and Saturday night (February 24 & 25) for our “LRPA
After Dark” presentation of 1928’s silent comic masterpiece,
“Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” starring the incomparable Buster Keaton.
Steamboat Bill Canfield is a rough-and-tumble Mississippi
riverboat pilot. His riverboat rival is J.J. King, the
wealthiest man in town. King’s goal is to put Steamboat Bill out
of business. Luckily, Bill’s son, whom he has not seen since
boyhood, is coming for a visit. Bill is sure that his son will
be a chip off the old block: big, burly, and boat-ready. When
Bill meets Willie (Keaton) at the train station, he’s in for a
surprise. Willie is a “typical East Coast college man” – slight
of build, with a mustache and beret, carrying a ukulele and
definitely not ready for action. Bill and his crew take
Willie for a makeover. At the local clothing store, he meets up
with Kitty King, a girl he knows from school back East, who also
happens to be the daughter of Bill’s rival. Much to their
fathers’ chagrin, the two are attracted to one another and start
to date. King decides to make matters worse for Bill by using
his influence to get his boat condemned. There’s only one man
who can come to his father’s rescue, Can Willie turn into Bill
Jr,. save his father’s business and win the heart of fair Kitty?
“Steamboat Bill, Jr.” was Buster Keaton’s final independent
silent feature before signing a contract with MGM – one that
affectively ruined his career. Although he isn’t credited for
the film’s script or direction, he played a great part in both
of those areas, and the film is the better for it. The premise
of the movie is simple, and one that Keaton used in many of his
best roles: the “everyman little guy” steps up to an
overwhelming challenge and goes from zero to hero. This film
includes many examples of athletic prowess, characteristic of
Keaton’s work, and features a deservedly famous climactic scene
involving a perfectly timed collapsing wall. It was such a
dangerous stunt that half of the film’s crew left before it was
filmed, as they didn’t want to be on the set if things didn’t
work out. Years later, Keaton himself remarked, “I was mad at
the time, or I would never have done the thing.” While
“Steamboat Bill, Jr.” opened to mixed reviews – some critics
loved it, others not so much – it is now considered one of his
classic roles, and holds a special place in the history of
silent film. How can you resist? Grab your popcorn and meet us
after dark for this wonder of silent film.
Letter To The Editor
On our March 14 ballot, the townspeople
of Northwood are being asked to bind themselves to a new three
year teachers’ contract. The numbers on the ballot
indicate that the school board estimates that the contract will
cost the townspeople almost $500,000 over just the next three
years.
But the way the information is presented on our school
ballot doesn’t make that clear.
Article 3 tells us that the
first year of the contract is estimated to increase our cost by
$88,000. The increase in the second year is pegged at
$79,000 and in the third year at $78,000 (rounding all to the
nearest thousand).
We must make the leap to understanding
that the $88,000 cost occurs in all three years, the $79,000
cost is added in the second and in the third years, and the
$78,000 cost comes in addition in the third year, for a total of
almost half a million dollars.
At the school budget
deliberative session, the school board’s lawyer said that the
numbers are presented according to Division of Revenue
Administration recommendations. NH law requires that
voters must be informed of the estimated costs of a multi-year
contract if they are to be bound by it. It seems likely
that the DRA and the law would allow the ballot to make the
actual three year $500,000 cost of the contract much clearer,
and that would be the right thing to do.
Mary Faiella
Northwood
Catamount Womenaid To Serve Northwood
Catamount Womenaid is
pleased to announce that it has added Northwood to the towns it
serves. Established in 2011, Catamount Womenaid has provided
emergency financial assistance to men, women, and children in
Deerfield, Epsom, Pittsfield and Strafford.
Requests for
assistance are made through “validators” such as doctors,
counselors, school personnel, clergy, and social workers.
Potential validators in Northwood may learn more by accessing
catamountwomenaid.org. We are currently seeking a board member
and fundraising volunteers from Northwood. Northwood residents
who are interested in serving on the Catamount Womenaid board or
volunteering for a committee can email
[email protected].
We are proud to welcome Northwood into our service area and hope
you will help us spread the news throughout the town. Due to the
success of fundraisers such as the Catamount 5K and the
generosity of local donors, this expansion to Northwood is
possible.
Fund raising events for 2017 include Catamount
Bowling Night at Strikers East in Raymond on April 8, Catamount
Spring Plant Sale on May 20 at Christie’s Antiques & Gifts in
Epsom and the Catamount 5K at the Deerfield Fairgrounds on
November 5. Please visit us at
catamountwomenaid.org and
like us on Facebook @catamountwomenaid.
Letter To The Editor
Legislative Update
In a previous
letter, I suggested that implementation of full-day kindergarten
would be FREE. That is even more likely now with Governor Sununu
including $9 million in his budget for additional assistance to
towns with FDK.
At the same time, there is a bill in the
House - HB155 - that would remove the distinction between
funding for kindergarten and Grades 1-12, resulting in an
additional $1,818.03/student, or $54,540.90 for an estimated 30
kids. That plus the $43,000 saved on the mid-day bus would make
up almost the total cost of implementing FDK.
The Senate Bill
- SB191 - is a little less generous in that it gives
full-funding to districts that have FDK. But if we implement it,
we could qualify for an additional $1,808.03/student.
What
makes this bill noteworthy is the sponsorship. In addition to
the Democrats, our own Senator John Reagan is a sponsor of this
bill. Let us hope that our House representatives - Brian J.
Stone and Yvonne Dean-Bailey - can do right by the town they
represent and get behind the Governor and Senator to support
this legislation.
Meanwhile, we need to go to the polls on
Tuesday, March 14, and vote for the School operating budget and
for the re-election of School Board Chair Keith McGuigan, whose
opponent is opposed to this and other progress.
And if you
need another argument for FDK, I suggest you google Merrimack
County Sheriff Scott Hillard letter in the Laconia Daily Sun.
His point: “The cost of investing in early education now is less
than paying for costly interventions later. This is a smart and
necessary investment.”
Right on, Sheriff.
Tom Chase
Northwood
Obituaries
Philip Vultaggio
Philip Vultaggio from Northwood, NH, formerly of Belmont, MA
passed away, Tuesday, January 24, 2017.
Born in Cambridge, MA, raised in Belmont, moved to Northwood in
1995. Phil was a 1973 graduate of Belmont High School and was
enrolled in the USC film program, and was of 1of 7 selected to
study at Universal Studios. He started his freelance writing and
film career in 1975.
In
his spare time Philip enjoyed doing creative miniature work and
following sports, especially football.
He
is survived by his loving wife Ruth (Hood) Vultaggio, his
step-children Christopher Nawn of New Jersey, and Peter Nawn of
Massachusetts, his loving sister Mari E. Harrison of Wilmington,
MA and his devoted brother Joseph A. Vultaggio and his wife Leta
of Nashua. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
He
was the brother-in-law of the late Frank Harrison.
Expressions of sympathy may be made to the American Kidney Fund
by visiting www.kidneyfund.org.
All rights reserved. This obituary is also archived at
ObitsforLife.com Brasco & Sons Memorial Chapels Waltham, MA.
