Pittsfield Parks-Rec
Basketball Sign-Ups
Grades
K-6th
Sign-ups
will be Nov. 4 & 5 at the Community Center, 8 AM-12 noon.
Any
questions, contact Darrell Wages at 603-812-6741.
The
November meeting of The American Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75 will
be held on Monday, November 6, 2017 starting promptly at 7:30.
There is a lot to go over, to include reporting to the Post of
District 5 visit in October and upcoming activities. Other key
issues will be the status of the Post and where we go from here.
Any
veteran desiring to learn about our post or the American Legion, you
are welcomed to attend the meeting. Come in, talk to those who
have similar experiences and feel welcomed. Questions can be
directed to the Post 75 Adjutant, Merrill Vaughan at his home phone
435-5207 or his cell 340-1375.
The
Women’s Club of OLO/St. Joseph’s will be holding their annual Xmas
Bazaar on Sat., 11/4/17, from 9:00 am-2:00 pm in the Parish Hall in
Northwood, NH (next to Northwood Town Hall). There will be a white
elephant table, craft items, knitted goods and our cookie walk with
some new varieties. We will have a lunch to enjoy while you shop.
Inside Once Upon A Mattress –
King
Sextimus The Silent And Queen Aggravain
The
Pittsfield Players are having a fabulous time putting together their
fall musical Once Upon A Mattress, a show with many comical
characters and a wonderful ensemble cast. Two of the members of that
ensemble include Chad Boutin, who plays King Sextimus the Silent,
and Aimee Baker, who takes on the role of Queen Aggravain.
King
Sextimus the Silent got his name because, well, he’s silent. Doesn’t
say a word. Can’t speak at all. Not necessarily an actor’s dream
role. After all, that’s what actors do, they speak. But not Chad
Boutin as he does a fabulous job of acting out what King Sextimus
means to say, if he only could speak. Chad Boutin has appeared with
the Players in several recent roles, including Ellyot Crummels in A
Dicken’s Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty in Two
Tumultuous Acts, Simon Bright in The Game’s Afoot, and Father Thomas
in Making God Laugh. Chad also performs with other theater groups,
including The Majestic Players in Manchester. By day, Chad is a
nurse and works at New Hampshire Hospital.
Aimee
Baker is appearing in her second production with the Pittsfield
Players, this time as Queen Aggravain, and her name sums up her
character in this play. Let’s just say there’s a reason King
Sextimus is silent... Aimee worked backstage as stage manager in the
Players’ productions of Making God Laugh and Dixie Swim Club,
and last year she appeared as Ms. Bettina Salisbury in A Dicken’s
Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts.
Aimee’s past credits include Over the River and Through the
Woods (Caitlin), An American Millionaire (Debbie), Deadly Image
(Joey Reynolds), and Midlife Dracula (Yvonne). When she’s not busy
with theatre, Aimee spends her time teaching and tutoring at
Straight A Academy in Manchester.
Once
Upon A Mattress will run at The Scenic Theatre Friday, Saturday and
Sunday, November 10, 11 and 12, and again the following Friday and
Saturday, November 17 and 18. All shows are at 7:30 pm, except the
Sunday matinee which is at 2 pm. All tickets are $17 and are on sale
right now. You can purchase tickets by visiting the Players’
website,
www.pittsfieldplayers.com, and clicking on the TicketLeap
button, or you can reserve seats by calling 435-8852 and leaving
your name, phone number and the date you want to come to see the
show and we’ll call you back to confirm your reservation. Please
remember to spell your name when leaving your message. We’ll have
your tickets waiting for you at the door the night of the show, and
remember that we accept cash and checks only at the box office. Get
your tickets now for this absolutely hilarious musical!
St
Stephen’s Annual Holly Fair
Pittsfield is your destination for Holiday Fairs on Saturday,
November 18th. St Stephen’s Annual Holly Fair is a great opportunity
to find festive decorations for your home and unique Christmas gifts
at bargain prices.
Our
parishioners have been busy making handcrafted holiday decorations
including front door and porch arrangements, centerpieces, place
mats, table runners and various sizes of birch log snowmen and
reindeer. Our large reindeer are very popular and sell out every
year!
If you
are making the rounds of fairs, plan to relax for, or pick up, a
delicious lunch of homemade soup and/or a meatball sandwich with a
variety of beverages and delicious desserts at our café. Then take
home something to the family from our Bake Sale.
Again,
this year we have a Silent Auction. Some lovely Vera Bradley items
would make great gifts for the women on your list. You can
preview the auction items on Friday evening from 4-6 PM and return
Saturday 9-2. Bring along your children so each child can take one
chance on a basket of books. Two baskets of age appropriate books
will be awarded.
Also,
put your name in to win one of two door prizes. You can view
pictures of our auction items at our website
ststephenspittsfieldnh.org. Come do your Christmas shopping Friday
evening 4-6 or Saturday morning, November 18th 9 AM to 2 PM. See you
there!
Harvest
Fest 2017 Thank You
The
Pittsfield Parks and Recreation Commission would like to express our
gratitude to the many individuals and groups who made the Harvest
Fest Weekend so much fun for the children of our town.
First
of all, for sponsoring extra activities, we would like to thank the
area Rotary Club for the movie night and the PES PTO for adding
Trunk or Treat on Saturday night. We would also like to thank the
Suncook Valley Area Lions Club for partnering with us on food and
selling their pumpkins at our event.
We
would also like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Stoneboat Farm of
Loudon, Danis Market, Mike’s Meat Shoppe, Apple Ledge Apple Orchard,
Laurie Houle, Duane’s Family Farm, Stand Up Pittsfield, Carpenter
Library, Victory Workers 4H Club, Rite Aid employees, PHS student
volunteers, and spouses and families that helped so much.
We
would also like to thank Paula from PYW and The Suncook Sun with
their help with advertising. And last of all, the family and friends
that turned out to enjoy the day with us. Working together was so
much fun and helped make the weekend a huge success. We look forward
to working with all of you in the future.
Dorcas
Guild Plans Christmas Fair
Mark
your calendar! The Dorcas Guild of the First Congregational Church,
24 Main Street, Pittsfield, is holding its annual Christmas Fair and
Bake Sale Saturday, November 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There
are many handmade items to choose from as well as gourmet products,
baked goods, “Unique Boutique” and the wonderful silent auction.
Corn chowder and sandwich lunch with homemade pies will also be
available. Plan to be there for this handcraft goldmine!
Since
the Dorcas Guild will not be holding an additional Craft Fair, final
silent auction bids are due in by the close of the fair, 2 p.m.,
November 18. The successful bidders will be notified at that time.
Plenty
of free parking is available in the rear of the church (enter on
Chestnut Street), and the church is wheelchair accessible. For more
information, call the church office 435-7471.
Josiah
Carpenter Library November News
During
early November the library’s carpets will be cleaned, the children’s
collection will move upstairs and adult non-fiction will move
downstairs. There will be lots of moving parts – if you need
help finding anything just ask! Due to the carpet cleaning the
library will be closed Monday November 6th or November 13th.
Poinsettias can be ordered from the Friends of Library through
November 3rd. Order forms are available at the library, and on
the library website. Ledgeview Gardens will deliver gorgeous
poinsettias to the library on December 6th.
The
Teen Book Worms will gather on Monday November 6th at 5:00pm; they
will enjoy a light supper and discuss The Wrath and the Dawn by
Renee’ Ahdieh. The Pittsfield Writer’s Circle will meet at the
library on Monday November 13th at 5:00pm. The adult book club
will meet to discuss Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck,
and select books for 2018, at 10:30 am on Tuesday December 5th at
the Pittsfield Senior Center. New members for all
of our ongoing activities are always welcome!
During
November the 10:00am Thursday preschool story hour will explore
scarecrows, how animals prepare for winter and holiday traditions.
The afterschool Cozy Nook Book Adventure Club meets at 3:30pm on
Tuesdays and is currently preparing for a puppet show performance of
The Three Pigs and The Gingerbread Man to be held at 5:00pm on
Tuesday November 7th. Following the performance, the Adventure
Club will be learning about thankfulness, Pilgrims, Native Americans
and holiday traditions. Starting Tuesday November 14th at
10:00am a Stay and Play group for toddlers and their
parents/caregivers will begin weekly sessions of a brief story,
simple activities and time to socialize.
The
Chichester-Epsom-Pittsfield Libraries Memory Café will enjoy music,
food, and simple activities to evoke Memories of Thanksgiving at
2:00pm on Monday November 13th at the Epsom Public Library.
Caregivers and people living with memory loss are invited to come
and savor supportive socialization.
On
Tuesday November 14th the 1,2,3 Living Well group will gather at
12:30pm at the Pittsfield Senior Center. We will plant flower
bulbs in indoor pots so that they will be ready to bloom in early
February! Bulbs and soil will be provided, please bring your
own container. If needed, a space for the cold storage of your
planted bulbs can be provided. Come early to enjoy lunch at
the senior center.
The
library will be closed on Veterans Day, Saturday November 11th.
For the Thanksgiving holiday the library will be closed Thursday and
Friday November 23rd and 24th.
PES
Rises Above “Focus School” Designation
Submitted By John Freeman, Superintendent of Schools
For
several years, Pittsfield Elementary School (PES) has been
identified by the New Hampshire Department of Education as a “focus
school.” This has meant that the Department has calculated
that the “achievement gap” between subgroups of students (such as
“economically disadvantaged” or “students with disabilities”) has
been among the ten percent of schools with the largest gap in the
state when compared with the combined index of all New Hampshire
students.
As a
result of this designation, PES has been required to develop annual
improvement plans and has received additional support for this
important work from the state. Among these supports provided
by the Department of Education have been an improvement coach,
regular professional development, and participation in an annual
summertime educational summit by our teachers and administrators.
The Department has also closely monitored PES’s planning,
implementation, and annual results.
On
October 12, Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut
announced that “Pittsfield Elementary School has reached the
criteria necessary to exit the status of a … Focus School for the
2017-2018 school year.” Needless to say, we were very pleased
to receive this announcement and are very proud of the fine work of
our students, teachers, support staff, and families in supporting
the achievement of all students.
In his
letter to the district, Commissioner Edelblut wrote “Please share
our thanks with your staff for all the hard work and effort to
improve your school and community culture, instructional strategies,
and support for your teachers and the achievement level of your
students. Your diligent work over the past four years is
highly appreciated by all the staff at the New Hampshire Department
of Education. Keep up your good work! Once again,
congratulations!”
Removal
of the designation of “focus school” does not mean that PES will
cease school improvement work; of course, school improvement is a
constant goal. However, it is important to pause at milestones
such as this one to recognize the school’s positive achievement.
Rising above the state’s “focus school” designation is an
achievement in which our entire community of Pittsfield can take
great pride.
Letter
Select
board meeting 10/24/17
Police
patrol grants were accepted totaling $9,767.83.
The
town health insurance is going DOWN 10.8%!
Roland
Carter, chair of the CDC, gave us an overview of the progress
they have made pursuing grants that could fund projects that should
help bring business to town. We appreciate their efforts.
During
public input, Mr. Okrent, chairman of the Aqueduct Purchase
Committee expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the select
board had yet to establish the bounds of a Village Water District
proposed by petition in April. We decided he was right- time to fish
or cut bait.
Having
given this proposal much consideration, the board by a vote of 4-1
established the actual perimeter lines of the entire town as the
village district. The law states we will establish bounds that are
‘suitable’ and ‘convenient.’ Given the fact that there are a number
of issues with this proposed district that have significant effect
on every taxpayer in town, we felt these bounds are the only
ones that could be considered ‘suitable,’ thereby giving every voter
a say.
They
also meet the criteria of being ‘convenient.’ Additionally,
the law requires that we call a meeting of the voters domiciled
within the proposed district. We selected Sat., Dec. 16 at 10 AM. at
the elementary school for that meeting.
We
also voted unanimously to restore the duty of Zoning Administrator
to the select board. This is a job that had been delegated to
the building inspector by a prior BOS.
Finally, we accepted the resignation as a full time
fire/rescue employee Dave Simpson. He will continue as a per diem
employee, filling in as needed.
Carl
Anderson
From
The Farm Blog - The Knife
Submitted By Carole Soule
The two
calves tied in the feed bunker where hopelessly tangled. They
were tied with quick release knots but these silly calves had
twisted their ropes together making the quick release knots
impossible to reach. They were in trouble and needed to be freed
quickly.
All of
our farm workers and 4H members are required to learn how to tie a
quick release knot but in this case another tool was needed; a
knife. A knife can save lives, cattle lives and a farmer’s
life, too. When working on equipment clothing sometimes get caught
in machinery. An accessible knife can cut away clothes and
release a farmer from injury or even death. Of course for some of us
keeping a knife handy is the trick. My cargo pants, with a dozen or
more pockets helps, but I still lose knives as often as I lose my
glasses, and sometimes my phone.
Fortunately there is a solution. Have you had a knife or metal
letter opener in your carry-on luggage at the airport confiscated?
Have you forgotten your belt or water bottle or camera at the TSA
security check at the airport? Wonder where that stuff ends
up? Most of it goes to surplus stores like the one at White’s
Farm on Clinton Street in Concord where there are bins of knives,
belts, cameras and other forgotten or confiscated stuff from
airports.
To help
keep our livestock safe I periodically stock up on TSA confiscated
knives and reading glasses, which are also abundant at the surplus
store. In the case of the stuck calves, I was able to untangle
them without using my knife to cut their halters but if I needed it,
my knife was handy. At other times I’ll use that knife or its
replacement to open packages encased in plastic or slice open a bag.
No need for a fancy knife, I’ll just re-purpose someone’s lost
property and maybe save a life or even open a box.
If you
want to learn how to tie a quick release knot check out this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG6LiX10hlU
Carole
Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, NH, where she
raises and sells beef, pork, lamb, eggs and other local products.
She can be reached at [email protected].
TOPS
News
Members
in photo. Left to Right Pat Smith, Beth Odell, Jon
Martin, Holly Brown, Sandy Gilmore, Suzie Fife. Seated- Pearl
Demyanovich
Our
TOPS chapter recently attended the NH TOPS Fall Rally held in
Concord. Seven of our members were in attendance.
The day
had a 50’s theme of “At the Hop,” with members dressing up in attire
from that era if they wished. Members were recognized for reaching
various milestones primarily during the summer months.
Some
members across the state participated in a walking challenge and
collectively walked over 6000 miles. Members were awarded
recognition by chapter for weight loss during the summer as well.
April
Ellis, from our chapter, lost a total of 10.6 pounds. The fall
rally is an enjoyable day but also provides inspiration from those
who are recognized for their achievements.
Our
chapter meets on Tuesdays 6:30 at Berakah on Fairview Rd. If you
would like to visit a TOPS meeting, please call Pat 435-5333 or Beth
435-7397.
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