REMINDER
Citizen
of the Year
It is
time to make nominations for Pittsfield’s 2018 Citizen of the Year.
Please let us know who you feel deserves this honor for their
actions and activities benefiting our town. A panel of former
Citizens of the Year will decide from the nominations submitted who
will get this honor. Please send your nomination as to who and why
your nominee should be honored to:
Citizen
of the Year
PO Box
173
Pittsfield, NH 03263
Nominations must be received by June 13, 2018. Thank
you.
The
Suncook Valley Area Lions Club (serving Pittsfield and Barnstead) is
collecting gently used items for the Town Wide Yard Sale.
Spots are available (for $10) for other groups or individuals to set
up with the Lions Club at Northeast Earth Mechanics on Barnstead Rd.
If you have any items you’d like to donate or for more information,
please contact Laurie Vien at 435-5052.
Barn Talk II
John
Porter will be back in Part II of his series on Antique Barns,
Wednesday May 9, 7 PM.
In this
second series you can look forward to learning more about
New
Hampshire barns and there will be an illustrated Power Point talk
showing various features of old New Hampshire barns. This will
include many things we take for granted when describing old barns
like: cupolas, cow stables, hay forks, barn bridges, built-in
accessories, scuttle holes, etc.
Hope to
see you all there!
Poetry Reading to Celebrate Maureen Van Horn’s Fly Falls in Milk
Jug: News in Haiku
On
Thursday May 17th at 3:30pm the Josiah Carpenter Library, 41 Main
Street, Pittsfield, NH will host a poetry reading to commemorate the
publication of Maureen Van Horn’s poetry volume Fly Falls in Milk
Jug: News in Haiku. The reading will feature Maureen’s work;
in addition local poets are invited to attend and read their poems.
A
lifelong poet, in 2015 (which was her ninetieth year), Maureen began
submitting commentary about current events in the format of haiku to
the Concord Monitor newspaper. Fly Falls in Milk Jug collects
a portion of the published haikus.
Maureen
served as a respected, and beloved, director of the Josiah Carpenter
Library; she is a lover for the arts and finds small town life to be
very rewarding. Please come and enjoy an afternoon of poetry,
refreshments will be served.
Letter
Dear
Friends and Flower Lovers,
It was
a long winter and I believe we are all quite ready for Spring and
Sunshine. With that said, the folks who are carrying on the hanging
basket tradition, started by John Lenaerts over 15 years ago, have
ordered the flowers and begun preparations so that our town can be
graced with overhead 'flower power' once again this year!
If you
enjoy looking up and seeing the flowers, would you consider making a
donation? Each year our flower angels plant and hang 40+ baskets,
your donation, no matter how much, will help cover the cost of the
flowers, soil, fertilizer and maintenance of the flower power
watering cart!
Speaking of the cart, you will see these lovely flowers being
watered every-day by tireless, devoted volunteers - this undertaking
would not happen without our 'watering angels'.
Donations can be mailed to:
Donna
Keeley
Citizens Bank Hanging Basket Flower Fund
256
True Road
Pittsfield, NH. 03263
Thank
you!
Donna
Keeley
From the Farm: Manure for the Garden or Lawn
Submitted By Carole Soule
A manure producing machine called Kelsie the cow with her
calf.
The
caller spoke with a slight twang, perhaps a Southern accent?
“How much would a truckload of composted cow manure cost? I need it
for my lawn”, he asked. He liked the price I quoted and then asked
where we were located. The caller didn't seem to recognize
Loudon, and when I asked his location he said, “Boulder...Colorado!”
After a few laughs about a 2000-mile delivery charge, we hung up.
Manure
is a recurring consequence on any livestock farm. If handled
responsibly, it's future soil and composted cow manure is gold for
gardeners. Cattle are manure factories; 80% of what they eat
returns to the earth as dung. Managing those cow chips is an
essential factor in farming. Summer management is effortless.
The cows graze, drink water, pee and poo. When using rotational
grazing methods, this natural fertilizer is spread evenly on fields
to nourish the grass the cows eat.
The
management challenge occurs in Winter when the cattle are fed hay
because there is no grass to graze. We provide hay in feeders as
well as on the ground, and in the Feed Bunker. During the
Winter we relocate the hay feeders around the pasture and as the
feeders move, so does the manure. It’s the same with feeding
hay on the ground. If a particular patch of a field needs
extra nutrients, we'll plop a round bale (800 pounds) on the ground,
and the next day the hay will be gone leaving bits of uneaten feed
and manure to fertilize the bare spot.
Managing the Feed Bunker takes more effort. The cattle stand on a
concrete pad outside the bunker and reach in to eat hay. Muck
builds up where they loaf and has to be removed. Fortunately,
several years ago, USDA (United States Dept. of Agriculture) via the
EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program) provided cost-share
funds to build a manure pit behind the Feed Bunker. Periodically, we
use the “Bobcat” or tractor to scrape the accumulated cow plops into
the pit.
In
Spring we provide composted manure for gardens and lawns. Sometimes
folks take it away in their pickup trucks. Sometimes we make
arrangements for dump truck delivery. While we've transported to
Gilmanton and Concord, we have never trekked to Colorado, and I'm
guessing we never will. Thought they had cows in Colorado!
Meanwhile, the six-little-piggy drama continues. Just under a
week after I moved them to the pig house, they stopped eating so I
moved them into what I call “intensive care”; also known as the
farmhouse hallway. The hallway is tiled (for easy cleaning) and
heated so now I can conveniently feed them five or six times a day.
After several feedings of electrolytes, they all recovered and will
live in the house until they are eating solid food. Of course, the
hallway is now a pig pen… literally… so I hope they learn how to eat
pig food soon!
You are
invited to stop by and see these six-little-squigglies as they grow
into three hundred-pound hogs. On Saturday you can visit with the
piglets, currently eight-pounds each, and our nine new calves as
well as Angus The Rabbit, and House Pig Tazzy, who loves
visitors....especially if you feed her carrots.
2018 Yard Sale
Planning a yard sale soon? Would you like the benefits of
having it the same day as many of your neighbors and having it
inexpensively advertised? The Greater Pittsfield Chamber of
Commerce, which includes Barnstead, Chichester, Epsom, Gilmanton,
Loudon, Northwood and Pittsfield, is sponsoring our 21st Annual
Multi-Town Yard Sale. The advertised times will be from 8 a.m.
till 2 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 1rst, 2nd and 3rd.
Participants choose if they participate one, two or all three days.
We do our best to designate this in the Yard Sale listings.
Those
wishing to hold yard sales/barn sales/garage sales at their home or
business on this weekend, may register the address of their sale to
be included in an online map and printable address list. Individual
registration is a modest $5 to help cover advertising costs. Group
or Multifamily locations pay a $10 registration fee, and have an
enhanced listing. As always, the registration fee is waived for non
profits. Donations to the Banner project (in Pittsfield) are always
welcome for those wishing to add a few dollars to their
registration.
Again
this year, there is a community yard sale location at Dustin Park on
Saturday June 2nd, 8am-2pm. You must register to set up in Dustin
Park. The same $5 registration fee applies. Anyone may
register for the Dustin Park location regardless of their hometown.
Set up will begin at 6:30 a.m., and all items must be cleared from
your designated space by 3pm. Restrooms will be available for those
registered.
Any
address in the seven member towns listed above may register their
yard sale. Registration forms are available in The Suncook Valley
Sun and online at
www.pittsfieldchamber.org and mailed to the Chamber at GPCOC, PO
Box 234, Pittsfield, NH 03234.
Questions can be directed to
[email protected]
New
Hampshire Education Funding And Pittsfield’s Students
Sumbitted By John Freeman, Superintendent of Schools
Our
state’s over-reliance on local property taxes to support public
schools disadvantages Pittsfield’s students and other New Hampshire
students who live in towns that are often referred to as
“property-poor” towns, towns with limited ability to support its
students.
In
multiple rulings, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has clearly
affirmed the state’s responsibility to support public education.
But in reality, the state has provided little to no relief for
taxpayers and continued inequity for our children and youth:
the unequal playing field that has been long established continues
to be maintained.
The
well-known Claremont Lawsuit and its successors was expected to
remedy this problem, but in fact has not done so. In fact, the
recent elimination of stabilization grants to property-poor towns
has worsened the inequity.
The
state’s negligence has been well documented in an analysis conducted
by the former New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies
issued in June 2017: http://www.nhpolicy.org/report/
education-finance-in-new-hampshire-headed-to-a-rural-crisis.
The
result of this inequity has resulted in sky-high tax rates for
Pittsfield and other property-poor towns and the limiting of
opportunities for Pittsfield’s students. The Pittsfield School
Board has recently eliminated teaching and support positions at both
schools which increase class sizes and cut out such positions as
foreign language teacher and technology education (shop) teacher.
At its
meeting of April 19, the Pittsfield School Board discussed school
funding with Attorney Andru Volinsky, the lead attorney in the
Claremont Lawsuit. The Board is in the process of evaluating
options regarding this very frustrating situation.
To
assist in this decision-making process, Attorney Volinsky will be
providing a workshop on New Hampshire school funding, to which all
Pittsfield citizens are invited. This workshop will be held at
6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13, at PMHS.
Pittsfield residents are invited and encouraged to enter into this
very important conversation. Please give your participation
your most serious consideration.
Catamount Womenaid Plant Sale Planned For May 19
Home
gardeners will find inspiration at Catamount Womenaid’s 4th annual
Spring Plant Sale on Saturday May 19 from 9 to 3 at the Lily Inn on
Route 4 in Epsom. Hundreds of healthy perennials and annuals in
dozens of varieties —all donated by local gardeners and
nurseries—will be ready for planting into home gardens. All proceeds
benefit Catamount Womenaid , a local nonprofit organization that
provides emergency financial assistance to our neighbors in
Deerfield, Epsom, Northwood, Pittsfield and Strafford. See
catamountwomenaid.org.
Home
gardeners working this spring dividing perennials or propagating
plants are encouraged to donate plants to the sale. Email
[email protected]
to have your plants picked up. The Lily Inn is at 1740 Dover Road
(Route 4), Epsom. This is the purple house on the hill across from
Black Hall Road.
Letter
To the
good Citizens of the State of New Hampshire,
The
future of our school has me worried.
It's
been two years of under funding our school, in a row. Next year the
State will give us less. The voters will vote a default budget. The
taxes will go up and people will still blame the school.
I
wonder how we are going to attract or retains teachers when we don't
give them the budget to do their jobs.
There
is a guy who was in the Concord Monitor talking about how the
schools need to take the State to court to get some relief. But he
can't do it alone from his kitchen table. Well, the school sure
can't pay anything.
I think
people who care about education might contribute to a lawsuit. I
know it's not much, but I could contribute $50.00 per month toward
this effort. Where should I sent it?
I don't
want the school to suffer like what happened to our police
department.
Dan the
Stoneman
Letter
To The Editor
I am
totally incensed our police department has been ORDERED by our
selectmen to close its doors 20 hours per week!!! No money in the
budget? Applesauce! Financial irresponsibility from our selectmen's
office, again?
Our
town needs a full-time police department to protect us and our
interests.
As for
our library, a certain gentleman in town donated this land and barn
for a specific reason to the library. Any money garnered should be
used for that purpose and nothing else. A bigger library - who is
going to protect it those 20 hours per week?
A large
part of our financial woes is due to our pathetic school system and
its out-of-control spending! The school submitted many, many letters
to The Sun as to how well the system is educating our children; and
used subtle references as "scare" tactics to pass their budget.
Where
are those letters now? Too busy spending our money, or what? And who
will be there to protect our "better educated" children when the
police department is closed??? Safety should be our first priority!
One
more thing - I am sick of reading about cows every week, when I
cannot even read about what is really going on in our town,
especially financially. I grew up on a working farm and highly
respect the hard work and dedication it requires to operate one.
These people deserve our praise, but we also deserve more input on
how the "town" is spending OUR money!!!
Respectfully Submitted,
Janet
M. Tower
Pittsfield
Save the date for
Pittsfield Balloon Rally's Frank H. Donovan 5K, Sunday, August 5th
at 9am! Registration is open at
lightboxreg.com.
Obituaries
Sandra M. Kirkpatrick
Sandra
M. Kirkpatrick, age 72, of Stockbridge Corner Road in Alton, died
April 26, 2018 at home, surrounded by her loving family.
Born
May 1, 1945 in Montreal, Canada, the daughter of Francis A. and
Theresa R. (Lizotte) Rees, they moved to the United States of
America when she was 6 years old. Sandy was a graduate of Turners
Falls High School in MA, Class of 1963. She came from
Greenfield, MA and resided in Alton, NH since 1978.
Sandy
worked for 23 years at Globe Manufacturing in Pittsfield, NH as a
stitcher.
She
enjoyed reading, watching HGTV and listening to Jimmy Buffett.
Her
dogs meant the world to her, including Mactavish, Thor, Dugan,
Tailer and Bear, predeceased by them, she leaves Murphy and Hooligan
behind. They will all be together at the “Rainbow Bridge”.
Survived by her husband of 43 years: Douglas Kirkpatrick and 3
children: Randy and wife Jill Foster of Pittsfield, NH, Donna and
husband Mike Grant of Milton, NH and Barry Foster, 5 grandchildren:
Amanda and David Grant, Randy, Nathan Douglas and Brandon and 2
great grandchildren, her brother Ricky and wife Emy Rees and family
Jason, Alice and Max Mersmann. Predeceased by her son David Foster.
To
express condolences, please visit:
peasleefuneralhome.com
Theresa
S. Riel
Theresa
S. Riel peacefully passed away at Concord Regional VNA Hospice House
on Monday April 30th, 2018 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's.
Theresa was born in Pittsfield, NH and was a life-long resident
until 2012 when she and her husband
Paul moved to reside with their daughter Debi and her husband Mick
for several years in Loudon.
She
graduated from Pittsfield High School and took great pride in never
missing a day of school in those 12 years. Throughout her working
career, Theresa was employed at Blue Cross-Blue Shield and the NH Board of Underwriters
in Concord NH. She also worked for Pittsfield Medical Center for 19
years. Her devotion to her co-workers and patients was immeasurable.
She once skated two miles to work
during an ice storm to make sure someone greeted those coming to
work or keeping their appointment.
Theresa
was a member of the Pittsfield Fireman's Auxiliary for 27 years and
enjoyed being on the Pittsfield Beautification and Historical
society. She was always willing to step in as a care-giver to
relatives and friends whenever the need.
She is
survived by her husband of 68 years Paul Riel, their daughter Debi
Mulkhey and her husband Mick of Loudon; their son David Riel and his
wife Jenette of Piedmont NH. She leaves 7 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren,
all of whom loved her as much as she loved them.
Graveside services will be held Friday May 11th at 10am at the
Floral Park Cemetery, 30 Barnstead Road in Pittsfield NH. A
reception will be held immediately following the service at the Snow
Shakers Club House on Clough Pond Road in Loudon NH.
In lieu
of flowers, contributions in Theresa's name can be made to the
Granite Ledges Homestead Unit, attn. Martha McLaughlen 151 Langley
Parkway, Concord NH or Concord Regional VNA attn: Hospice
House 30 Pillsbury St, Concord, NH
03301
or Pittsfield Beautification Committee, attn. Diana Levesque 85 Main
St., Pittsfield NH.
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