December 16, 2011 - Colebrook Chronicle

Transcription

Colebrook’s Largest Circulated Weekly Newspaper
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The Colebrook Chronicle
COVERING THE TOWNS OF THE UPPER CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2011
603-246-8998
VOL. 12, NO. 22
Funds Sought To Conserve Lands Around Balsams
By Donna Jordan
A spokesman for the Society
for the Protection of N.H. Forests says the first week of
fundraising for a conservation
easement on the Balsams land
in Dixville and Colebrook has
been “fabulous.” Some $50,000
has already been donated to(Continued on page 2)
TransCanada, Forest Society
Sign 2,300-Acre Easement
The Forest Society and
TransCanada Hydro Northeast
Inc., finalized a conservation
easement on some 2,300 acres
including 31 miles of frontage
on the First and Second Connecticut Lakes in Pittsburg as
well as seven and a half miles of
frontage on the upper Connecti(Continued on page 2)
Children Of All Ages Are
Remembered In Groveton
The annual Worldwide Candle Lighting ceremony was held
for the first time at ArmstrongCharron Funeral Home in
A performance entitled “My Marvelous Sleigh,” with five scenes including singing and acting by the Groveton, hosted by Terri and
Colebrook second, third, fourth and fifth graders, was a highlight at the Colebrook Elementary School Reggie Charron, on Sunday
Holiday Concert on Thursday of last week. Britni White photo.
evening, Dec. 11, with 80 names
read aloud during the service.
Local Blood Drawing Sets Record
By Britni White
A visit to the American Red
Cross sponsored Blood Drive at
the Monadnock Congregational
Church in Colebrook on
Wednesday revealed a wealth of
donors and volunteers, all working to save lives.
Every eight weeks the Red
Cross members from Burling-
ton, Vt., come to collect blood,
and many volunteers help with
the process. Donors were allowed to set up an appointment
time or walk in to give blood.
The event, which lasted from
12:30-5:30 p.m., was a local record-breaking day for donations. At around 2 p.m., Red
Cross Donor Recruitment Rep-
resentative Jennifer Bergeron
said, “403 donations have come
in already, and we go until
5:30” (in relation to the amount
of blood collected so far this
year). “Until 2011, the most
blood collected in a single year
in Colebrook was 392
(donations) in 2009,” according
(Continued on page 3)
Canada Lynx
Seen Here
Fish and Game biologists
have confirmed the presence of
four Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) in northern New Hamp- Terri Charron lights candles at
shire. The fact that the lynx the Worldwide Candle Lighting
appeared to be kittens is evi- Ceremony last Sunday. Charles
(Continued on page 2) Jordan photo.
Memory Of Celina Lives On As Year Draws To Close
By Donna Jordan
A black granite headstone,
etched with the photograph of
11-year-old Celina Cass of West
Stewartstown, was placed on
Celina’s gravesite just two
weeks ago, a generous donation
from a North Country resident
who felt the little girl should
continue to be remembered for
her sweet smile and beautiful
eyes. Gifts, stuffed animals and
now a Christmas tree decorate
the gravesite. “She got her
Christmas tree,” Louisia Noyes
told the Chronicle. Louisia,
mother of Celina, placed the
tree on the grave shortly before
a candle lighting ceremony she
was attending in Northumber-
land on Sunday evening, Dec.
11. “It’s all lit up,” she said of
the tree which is at the grave
site at the far end of the town
Left photo: A headstone has been donated and placed on the gravesite of Celina Cass in Northumberland. Right photo: Celina’s sister, Kayla, and their mother, Louisia
Noyes, attend a Worldwide Candle Lighting Ceremony in Northumberland on Dec. 11, where children from around the region were remembered. Charles Jordan photos.
Page 2
Balsams
(Continued from page 1)
ward the $850,000 that needs
to be raised by Jan. 15.
“The phone is ringing off the
hook and the website is humming; thank you to everyone for
helping spread the word,” notes
Jack Savage, VP for Communications/Outreach at the Forest
Society.
A blog on the Society’s website indicates that, within minutes of announcing that a campaign had started to conserve
5,800 acres surrounding the
Balsams Resort in Dixville
Notch (and Colebrook), the Society started receiving donations via its website,
www.forestsociety.org.
“People are really jazzed
about this conservation project,” said Susanne KiblerHacker, vice president of development at the Forest Society.
She attributed the interest to
several factors. “Many people
from across New England know
the Balsams landscape and
appreciate it’s unique beauty
because they’ve driven through
the Notch or had the privilege
of staying at the Resort,” Kibler
-Hacker said. “They’ve also
heard that our window of opportunity to conserve the land
surrounding the hotel is
short—we have until Jan. 15 to
raise the $850,000 we need—
and so they are responding
quickly. And for some donors
it’s important that the proposed
conservation restrictions would
eliminate the chance that
Northern Pass towers and
transmission lines could be
built on the land,” she added.
“They are very motivated.”
The announcement was
made last week that Dan
Hebert, Jr., and Dan Dagesse,
two North Country men, had
purchased the Balsams Grand
Resort Hotel, the Wilderness
Ski Area, the Panorama Country Club, and 7,000 acres of
land. Included in that sale is an
agreement to conserve 5,800
acres through the Forest Society. The land that would be
protected surrounds the hotel
site and includes table rock, 30
miles of recreational trails for
skiing and hiking, where a portion of the Cohos Trail passes
through, and more.
Anyone looking to make a
tax deductible contribution can
do so online at www.forest society.org, by calling Susanne
Kibler-Hacker at 224-9945, or
make checks payable to: Forest
Society-Balsams Project, and
mail to Forest Society, 54
Portsmouth St., Concord, NH
03301. The Forest Society is a
501-C non-profit organization.
TransCanada
cut River in Pittsburg and
Clarksville. The land will continue to be owned by TransCanada Hydro and the Forest
Society will hold and monitor
the conservation easement.
A previous owner of TransCanada’s hydroelectric assets,
New England Power Company,
agreed to place a conservation
easement on its lands at the
Friday, December 16, 2011
Connecticut Lakes as part of a
settlement agreement negotiated during the relicensing of
three of its downstream hydroelectric dams. The 1997 settlement agreement, a collaborative effort among the owners of
the dams and many public
agencies, conservation groups,
and others, succeeded in facilitating a timely federal relicensing of the largest hydroelectric stations in the region at
Fifteen Mile Falls. TransCanada Hydro acquired the
hydropower assets in 2005.
“This conservation easement
protects extraordinary resources found nowhere else in
the state,” said Forest Society
Senior Director of Land Conservation Tom Howe. “Second
Lake is the largest entirely undeveloped lake in the North
Country, and First Lake hosts
very limited development. The
views across the lake to the
protected Connecticut Lakes
Headwaters Forest are magnificent.”
“The Connecticut Lakes are
the headwaters of the Connecticut River and in a literal and
symbolic sense constitute the
‘headwater’ of our business,”
said Cleve Kapala of TransCanada. “We are pleased to
have been able to work with the
Forest Society to complete the
conservation of this land. We
look forward to continuing to
welcome recreational users of
the property and to being a
good neighbor and steward in
Pittsburg and Clarksville.”
The TransCanada Hydro
land abuts the 146,000-acre
Connecticut Lakes Headwater
Forest, which was protected in
2003 through a state-held conservation easement. TransCanada Hydro makes its land
accessible for public recreation,
including hunting and fishing,
and provides free public boat
ramp access to both First and
Second Connecticut Lakes. The
lakes are premier cold-water
fisheries managed by the state
and the stream frontage includes the “Trophy Section” of
the Connecticut River, ranked
one of America’s Top 100 Trout
Streams by Trout Unlimited.
Snowmobiling is extensive
on the property as well. The
conservation easement enables
TransCanada Hydro to continue allowing those recreational uses.
Most of the property–97 percent–is ranked as “Tier 1, best
in the state” wildlife habitat by
the N.H. Fish and Game Department’s Wildlife Action
Plan. These lands host exemplary ecological communities,
numerous deer wintering areas,
nest sites for Common Loons, a
Great Blue Heron rookery, and
habitat for a number of other
threatened or endangered species.
The land was originally acquired early in the 20th Century by the predecessors to
TransCanada Hydro in order to
allow dams to be built to raise
the levels of the lakes and keep
them stable enough to provide
reliable flows of water to the
downstream hydroelectric dams
near Littleton.
As mandated by the settlement agreement, the easement
provides that TransCanada
Hydro will be able to continue
its business activities related,
including the ability to install
turbines in either of the dams
on the two lakes should it
choose to do so in the future.
The company also will have the
right to limit public access to
the dam and other facilities for
public safety and security purposes.
For more information about
TransCanada, visit http://
www.transcanada.com/.
Children
Many familiar North Country names were on the list. Not
all on the list faced tragic
deaths, but certainly some did.
These included Danny Ward of
Groveton, who died in a car
accident in North Stratford this
year, Jesse Kennett of Colebrook, who lost his life in the
explosion at the muzzleloader
plant in Colebrook last year,
and Celina Cass, the young girl
who’s body was found in the
Connecticut River near her
home in West Stewartstown,
one week after she disappeared
this past summer (see related
story). Also included on the list
was Logan Chumack, who died
in a car accident, as well as
Mary Claire Crandall, whose
parents live in Clarksville, Paul
Boisselle, who was the oldest on
the list, and Samantha Mulcahy, an infant from Stark.
“One mom told me that she
made a six-hour round trip to
come to the service, and the
rest who attended were fairly
local,” said Terri Charron.
“There was a couple from Lancaster, some from Stratford,
Clarksville and Guildhall, Vt.
My husband and boys counted
about 125 at the service.” She
said that, while there were 80
names read this time, she has
already added several more for
next year’s service, which is
scheduled for the second Sunday in December.
Terri told the Chronicle that
she reviewed files of families
her funeral home had serviced
back to 1989 looking for names
of anyone who was survived by
a parent. She then sent out 70
invitations to those families.
She also promoted the event for
several weeks on Facebook. She
received not only families she
had serviced but other families
who lost children as well. Ages
of those lost spanned from a
stillborn child to 62 years old.
Several members of the local
clergy assisted with the service
in Northumberland, including
Father Daniel Devost of the St.
Francis Xavier Church in
Groveton and Sacred Heart
Parish in Stratford, and Pastor
Aaron Cox of the Groveton
United Methodist Church. Sandra Tetreault Gray of Groveton
brought her first husband’s
father to the service. Her first
husband, Bradley Tetreault,
had passed away in the 1990s.
Sandra read two poems at the
service, and her husband was
among those remembered at
the service. Lancaster Floral
design provided a centerpiece
which the main candle was inside of.
Held on the second Sunday
in December, the Worldwide
Candle Lighting Ceremony was
created in 1997 as an Internet
event to remember all children
who have died so “that their
light may always shine.” It has
since been adopted by funeral
homes, churches, individuals
and organizations who wanted
to hold “live” events where a
real candle would be lit and
names could be read out loud.
“Every time zone around the
world lights a candle at 7 p.m.
and keeps them lit until 8
p.m.,” said Charron. By the
time the last service is held, it
will have been a 24-hour process of remembering those
around the world who have left
behind a parent.
A website for the event can
be found at www. compassionatefriends.org. “Everybody is
welcome,” said Terri. Anyone
who wishes to include a name
for next year’s service can contact her at 636-2744, or send an
email to armstrongcharronfh@ne.rr.com.
Canada Lynx
dence that the wild cats are
breeding in New Hampshire, an
expansion of the population
across the border in Maine.
In November and December
2011, four lynx were seen and
photographed in two locations
in Pittsburg on two different
dates. It is unknown whether
the four individuals were the
same on the two occasions, but
it seems likely based on the
close proximity of the sightings.
“The presence of lynx in New
Hampshire demonstrates the
effectiveness of the wildlife and
habitat work that's been done
in this region over many years.
It's exciting!” said Fish and
Game wildlife biologist Will
Staats. “We expected the population to expand into the state
eventually, and we've been seeing signs for a few years that
they were at least passing
through.” Since 2006, there
have been seven cases where
lynx tracks have been seen and
photographed in New Hampshire's North Country. In
spring of this year, Staats himself witnessed an adult lynx
crossing a rural road up north.
“Until now, we've considered
lynx in New Hampshire to represent animals that were wandering from the larger lynx
population that is present in
Maine as a result of recent declines in snowshoe hare abundance,” said Anthony Tur, biologist with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Lynx are
highly reliant on snowshoe hare
as a food source. There are an
estimated 600 to 1,200 lynx in
Maine, concentrated in the
northern part of the state.
“Fish and Game’s Nongame
and Endangered Wildlife Program recently received funding
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to initiate formal surveys for lynx,” John Kanter,
Nongame Program coordinator,
said. “The sightings add a note
of excitement to our efforts. The
Nongame Program's recent
fundraising appeal centered on
the lynx project, and the timing
of this discovery will hopefully
help to engage more wildlife
enthusiasts as supporters and
donors to the program.”
Lynx are listed as
“endangered” in New Hampshire and as “threatened” under
the federal Endangered Species
Act. They occurred in small
numbers in New Hampshire
through the 1960s; the last
documented lynx in New
Hampshire was a road-killed
animal found in 1993.
At about three feet long and
15-30 pounds, Canada lynx are
at least twice the size of the
average house cat. They have
long, strong legs; short tails;
prominent ear tufts; and long
sideburn-style hair on the sides
of their face. Lynx are often
recognized by their huge, furry
paws, which help them travel
over deep snow. Because of
lynx's reliance on snowshoe
hare, their preferred habitat is
young, regenerating forests
that offer excellent hare habitat. New Hampshire is at the
southern end of the Canada
lynx's natural range. More information on lynx in the United
States may be found at http://
library.fws.gov/Pubs/lynx.pdf.
Chronicle Video
www.colebrookchronicle.com
VIDEO NEWS OF THE
WEEK FOR DEC. 16, 2011
Our video this week begins
with a report of a Worldwide
Candle Lighting vigil held at
the Armstrong-Charron Funeral Home in Groveton last
week. The evening recognized
the losses of children with the
lighting of candles and words of
comfort from local clergy. We
talked to Funeral Home director
Terri Charron about the worldwide event.
Present at the vigil were
family members of Celina Cass,
a local girl who was recently
found murdered in West Stewartstown. We took some time to
speak to her mother about her
thoughts on the event, and the
new headstone that had been
placed for Celina at her burial
site in Northumberland.
We have extensive footage of
school holiday concerts around
the area this week, featuring
Christmas songs from both
Pittsburg and Colebrook
Schools filmed last night. We’ll
have photos from the concerts
in next week’s Chronicle.
The video wraps up with
coverage of “A Celtic Christmas” concert at the Tillotson
Center last Tuesday night. We
spoke with the band before the
show, and include clips of their
cultural holiday performance.
The concert drew a big crowd
and if you we’re there, the video
will give you an idea of what
proved to be a memorable night
of music.
—Thomas Jordan
Video Editor
For local
Weather
updates
and our
Video News
of the
Week,
Visit our website
Celina Cass
cemetery.
Celina’s death this past summer was determined to be a
homicide by the N.H. Attorney
General’s office and no one has
been charged with her murder.
Celina was last seen alive on
July 25 and her body was
found, one week later, in the
Connecticut River, near the
apartment she lived in with her
mother, Louisia, Louisia’s husband Wendell Noyes, Celina’s
sister Kayla, and a family
friend, Kevin Mullaney. Family
and friends continue to be questioned and the investigation
goes on as the search for her
killer continues. Louisia and
Wendell have since separated.
Louisia has moved to Vermont
and Wendell has moved to Colebrook.
The headstone was designed
and donated by Dana Nordberg
of Colebrook. Nordberg sells
monuments and felt that a special marker should be placed on
Celina’s grave. “Dana did a
wonderful, wonderful job,” Louisia told the Chronicle.
The young Stewartstown girl
was among those children remembered during the first annual Worldwide Candle Lighting ceremony hosted by the
Armstrong-Charron Funeral
Home in Northumberland on
Dec. 11 (see related story). Celina’s mother and sister, and
her mother’s former boyfriend,
Mark Mullaney and Louisia’s
sister and a nephew all at-
Town
COLEBROOK
SELECTBOARD
At the first of two monthly
meetings of the Colebrook Selectboard on Wednesday the
15th, members met with Public
Works director Kevin
McKinnon to discuss his matters of business. McKinnon
spoke about meeting with the
Green Group to collaborate on
recycling efforts, especially in
the local schools. The possibility
of allowing Lemington residents to have limited accessibility to the Colebrook transfer
station to drop off recyclables
was also proposed in hopes of
promoting those residents to
recycle more.
Currently, Lemington residents must bring their trash
and recyclables to the Coos
County Transfer Station in
Stewartstown or pay for a private service to pick it up. This
new initiative may make it easier for the neighbors across the
river to recycle locally. The
board will discuss this idea further in their next meeting.
Selectmen Mike Ouellet, Ray
Gorman and Bob Holt all expressed their praise of the infrastructure projects that have
been completed this year. They
want the focus for next year to
be on reducing costs associated
with the Colebrook landfill.
Members discussed work
that needs to be done on the
three-quarter mile of road that
Page 3
tended the candle lighting ceremony. After the ceremony, Louisia told this newspaper that
she continues to mourn for the
loss of her daughter, and that
she has received much comfort
from others who have lost children. “It’s comforting, but it
will never bring my baby back,”
said Louisia, who described her
daughter as “Cheerful, laughing, loved to dress up, very positive and very beautiful.”
(Editor’s note: Our interview
with Louisia Cass can be seen Left photo: Lynda Gaudette, who helps organize the Red Cross Blood Drive in Colebrook, is also a doin the Video News of the Week nor. Right photo: Among those donating at the blood drive this week was Charlie Young of Colebrook.
at www.colebrookchron- Sarah Cummings photos.
icle.com.)
register and fulfill certain
health requirements at check
Blood Drive
in, such as the presence of
healthy iron levels.
Refreshments, including
sandwiches, goodies and
snacks, donated by church
to American Red Cross facts members and the Red Cross,
that were posted on the walls of were offered to donors after
they had blood drawn to give
the church hall.
Bergeron noted that Cole- them a boost of energy. A cake,
brook donor numbers seem to made by Sandy Woodard, was
be increasing while other towns also cut to commemorate the
struggle to recruit people. She record breaking day.
Both Bergeron and Gaudette
thinks this may be due to the
fact that it has become a com- noted that they are in search of
munity event or gathering of a larger facility to hold the
sorts. he also attributes the blood drives. As changes in
higher numbers to the mone- their operating system have
tary factor. “It doesn’t cost any- taken place, they need more
thing, and I think it’s people’s space on a single floor to complete all the necessary
way of giving back,” she said.
Lynda Gaudette, a volunteer tasks. Bergeron would like to
at the blood drive, said that work something out with the
patients “usually donate one Colebrook school to schedule
pint at a time.” She said type time for use of the gymnasium, At the American Red Cross Blood Drive in Colebrook on Wednes“O negative” blood is very rare making sure not interfere with day, Team Supervisor Amela Dulma, RN, took on many tasks, inand they are in need of donors classes that may be held there. cluding putting together collection set bags for donors, as she is
Some interesting local seen doing here. Britni White photo.
with that type. If someone
would like to donate, they must American Red Cross facts
productive units were collected
—Students from Canaan
posted at the event were:
that
day.
who
are 16 can donate in Cole—The first blood drive in
—Not counting this blood brook with parental consent but
Colebrook was held on Nov. 10,
1950. A total of 65 units were drive, Colebrook has donated a they have to be 17 to donate in
total of 11,866 units of Vermont.
collected.
—A donor is usually able to
—The largest blood drive blood. Each donation can save
ever held in Colebrook was on up to three lives. 11,866 X 3 = donate six times a year.
April 2, 1975. A total of 202 35,598.
is Harry’s Way in East Colebrook, and the estimated
budget for the project. This
would make it a town road,
which would increase property
value there, yet also increase
the budget necessary for the
town to plow the road.
An agreement was made in
approval of the sale of a town
cruiser to a Boston, Mass., resident for the amount of
$2,778. This income may be
used to cover the cost of a radar
board that is needed by the
police force.
Several abatements were
presented by Town Manager,
Donna Caron. All were signed
and approved by the
board. Attendees of the meeting
also discussed the higher unemployment figures in the North
Country compared to the state
of New Hampshire’s estimates
as a whole, noting how many
local residents are travelling at
least an hour to jobs that barely
pay enough to make it worth
their while.
Representatives from the
45th Parallel EMS and the Indian Stream Health Center
were in attendance, asking the
board about the status of their
town tax bills, as they are both
non-profit organizations. The
selectmen went into Executive
Session to discuss the matter
behind closed doors.
—Britni White
Police, EMS Reports
45TH PARALLEL EMS
An American Red Cross
CPR/AED for Adult and Child
class was held in Pittsburg for
the staff of the Rainbow Grille.
Blood Pressure and Vial of Life
clinics were held in Pittsburg,
Canaan and at the IGA in Colebrook. The 45th staff is participating in a food drive for local
food pantries and are also participating in the giving tree to
provide Christmas gifts for a
local family. The 45th Parallel
annual Christmas party will be
held on Dec. 17 and will include
a potluck dinner and Yankee
Swap.
The following is the activity
report for Dec. 4-10.
On Dec. 4, at 5:33 a.m., the
department responded to
Clarksville for a medical emergency. The patient was transported to UCVH. At 9:47 p.m.,
the department responded to
Canaan, Vt., for a medical
emergency. The patient was
transported to UCVH.
On Dec. 5, at 1:11 p.m., the
UCVH for a transfer to White
River Junction VA Hospital.6:37 p.m., the department
responded to Colebrook for a
medical emergency. The patient
refused transport. At 11:05
p.m., the department responded
to UCVH for a transfer to
DHMC. At 57 seconds past midnight, the department responded to UCVH for a transfer
to DHMC.
On Dec. 6, at 4:54 p.m., the
department responded to Coos
County Nursing Hospital in
West Stewartstown for a medical emergency. The patient was
transported to UCVH. At 8:55
p.m., the department responded
to UCVH for a transfer to Coos
County Nursing Hospital.
On Dec. 8, at 56 seconds past
midnight, the department responded to Colebrook for a
was transported to UCVH. At
10:18 a.m., the department re-
sponded to UCVH for a transfer
to DHMC. At 4:35 p.m., the department responded to Colebrook for a medical emergency.
UCVH for a transfer to DHMC.
department responded to Stewartstown for a medical emergency. The patient was transported to UCVH. At 8:48 a.m.,
Colebrook for a medical emergency. The patient was transported to UCVH. At 10:38 a.m.,
Stewartstown for a motor vehicle collision. Three patients refused transport. At 11:19 a.m.,
Colebrook for a lift assist. The
patient refused transport. At
9:26 p.m., the department responded to Clarksville for a
was transported to UCVH.
Page 4
View From The
45th Parallel
The Way We Were...
The Northumberland Selectboard
Has The Right Idea
Each month there are all sorts of town and school
meetings being held throughout our wide coverage
area—selectboards, school boards, planning boards
and many more. For a small newspaper, it is virtually
impossible to cover them all every time. We try to keep
an ear to what’s happening in Guildhall, Stark and
Northumberland up to Pittsburg, Canaan and Stewartstown—and all the towns between—but we can’t
always be everywhere.
In view of that, we were very pleased to see that the
Northumberland selectboard has put together a column, the first which you’ll find elsewhere on this page,
which strives to keep the public aware of important
business they are dealing with. It is a welcome addition to any newspaper’s pages whenever elected or appointed officials reach out to their citizens through the
pages of a newspaper. We wish more towns would be
proactive in getting their message out.
For example, each year we struggle with various police and fire departments to receive regular reports.
Except for N.H. State Police and Vt. State Police,
which are very good in supplying reports to local papers, we have to chase our area departments all over
the place to find out what’s going on. We know that
these departments are understaffed and reporting
news to a newspaper doesn’t seem high on their list of
what’s important. But, as we often tell them, when you
come before town voters at Town Meeting next March
requesting a new piece of equipment, how can you expect the public to know how much you really need it
when they haven’t a clue as to what you’ve been doing
for the previous 11 months? The truth is getting reports to the public through the local newspaper is very
important.
So please take a cue from the Northumberland Selectboard, all you town servants. Make a New Year’s
resolution that you will try to get your news into this
and other area newspaper pages on a regular basis.
We will appreciate it—but so will the voters when it
comes time to have your budgets voted on next March.
Charles J. Jordan
The Ruth Walker house on the corner of Main and Pleasant Streets in Colebrook during a past Christmas season. Today it is the home of First Run Home Entertainment. Edie Gwinn of Brunswick, Vt.,
provided the
with this photo.
Chronicle
Letters
Letter to the Editor:
Regarding Rick Tillotson’s
letter in last week’s Chronicle,
yes, the Balsams has a “new
Captain,” and, no, the cruise
ship is “not yet off the rocks.”
However, if one closely examined the track records of it new
owners, one would see that
success has been the benchmark for both individuals.
With new ownership of such
a large entity comes much divergent thinking. This may
require considerable time—
more time than some would
like. However, success is never
hurried or cajoled.
In the end, reality will be
the final arbitrator and the
many smiling faces of North
Country residents will not only
be the proof but vindication mote a positive economic clifrom all the Doubting mate, the present administration has promulgated a number
Thomases.
Richard Hill of regulations like the one
Colebrook above that have a “chilling” and
negative impact on business
owners.
Letter to the Editor:
Our federal debt keeps growHere we go again! The
Obama administration through ing, unemployment levels are
the Labor Dept. is proposing a high, and our economy is in dire
regulation that would require straits. To address these issues,
most companies with federal we need to reduce the size of
contracts to set goals having our federal government by 10
disabled workers make up to 7 percent, suspend agency use of
regulations to control compapercent of their workforce.
This is another example of nies and individuals, and take
the Obama administration immediate action to reduce our
making it difficult for busi- debt, not by raising taxes, but
nesses to function in our coun- by cutting all federal spending
try. Rather than creating op- by 10 percent.
Les Klinefelter
portunities for companies to
Canaan, Vt.
expand, create jobs and pro-
Guest Column
P.O. Box 263 • Colebrook, NH 03576.
Tel. (603) 246-8998 • Fax (603) 246-9918
email: editor@colebrookchronicle.com
web: www.colebrookchronicle.com
Editor: Charles J. Jordan; Publisher: Donna Jordan;
Reporter/Photographer: Britni White;
Sports Reporter/Photographer: Liz Carney;
Sports Photographer: Tina McKenzie;
Canadian Correspondent: Corey Bellam;
Video Editor: Thomas Jordan
(founded 2000) is published by Jordan
Associates, established 1985.
(Editor’s note: The following
column is provided by the
Northumberland Selectboard.)
NORTHUMBERLAND
SELECTMEN’S CORNER
We hope everyone has enjoyed the beginning of the Holiday season. As the Northumberland Selectboard begins the
new budget season, we felt it
important to let the residents
know what has been discussed
recently and what our vision for
2012 and beyond is. To once
again say that residents’ participation is welcomed and encouraged is an understatement:
This is your town and your
voices can and should be heard
other than at the March Town
Meeting when all that has been
crafted is presented and voted
on. Your participation and at-
tendance plays a key role in
brainstorming and the need to
know the desires of all the residents in town.
One of the biggest projects
that is taking shape is the
transformation of the Transfer
Station and the desire to get
into a more revenue driven,
environmentally-friendly, taxreducing, job-forming Transfer
Station. The ideas that are being floated and explored include
closing the old dump and redesigning the current Station area
so that we can provide all services at one location. An aggressive recycling program coupled
by a pay-as-you-throw program
somewhat modeled after the
successful Lancaster system is
being looked at and steps are
being taken to outline specifically how to make it a reality.
The Town has received a
portion of money from FEMA
following the storms events in
May and the aftermath of
Irene. The selectman and entire
Town staff played a key role in
gathering and documenting
information from these events.
In submitting timely and accurate information to FEMA the
Town qualified for approximately $50,000 in reimbursement for the hardest hit areas.
One of those areas was the
Brooklyn Street bridge area
which has been a long standing
issue in town. The current plan
is to extend the existing structure to 16-feet wide and install
steel beams to make a more
permanent and sensible solution for the long haul. Several
water/sewer issues were cor(Continued on page 5)
Guest Column
rected while fixing this problem
that benefited the Town’s Pump
Station and electric usage. A
benefit from this sensible solution that will be brought up in
future meetings and finalized
at Town Meeting will be to use
the excess funds remaining in
the Brooklyn Street Trust to
fund the First Phase in the
Transfer Station relocation/
redesign. More information of
how this plan will be formed
will be being discussed at the
Selectman meetings and the
Transfer Station Committee
meetings.
Another idea in the works is
to create a Part-Time Town
Administrator position. There’s
need for a “go-to” person to
oversee the daily operations for
the Town as Selectman can
only do so much when working
their own jobs in their full-time
lives. The “to do” list for such a
person would include Grant
Writing/Procurement/
Administering,
Personnel
Problem Solving/Goal Setting/
Oversight, Budget and longterm Finance Matters, and a
front person for resident concerns/follow-up and meeting
with businesses and state agencies. The Selectboard feels this
job position will be critical in
following through with plans
set forth as elected officials can
and do change. We need a stable center to provide assistance
to incoming Selectman to administer their new visions and
aspirations as the town moves
forward.
We intend to implement a
Highway Plan that is reasonable and absolute. To structure
a plan around completing projects each year based on priorities and to not be subject to
unanticipated budgetary shortfalls that more often than not
prevent such projects from being completed. This would come
in the form of a warrant article
that would not allow directed
funds to be spent for anything
other than said road repair.
This will involve authorizing
our Selectboard to be able to
expend trust funds throughout
the year just as other North
Country towns already do.
These plans are ambitious
goals that we feel can help the
town remain viable and for the
future infrastructure to remain
an attractive location for both
businesses and residents alike.
The recent meetings with MOP
CEO Wayne King show the
kind of innovations that are
possible here for harnessing
what valuable resources we
have here in town. The prospects for a sustainable Town/
Business venture are real and
will happen. We are not yet out
of these difficult times ahead
but know that by working together and getting everyone
involved all of us can help form
an inclusive and dynamic vision for the Town of Northumberland.
We encourage all town citizens to attend Selectman Meetings, Budget Committee Meetings, Transfer Station Committee, Town Hall Building Committee, Rec, Planning, Conservation, Precinct, and School
Board meetings. It goes without
saying your opinion and
thoughts need to be heard as
we move forward and craft the
future of our town. We may
disagree on approaches at times
but if all come with an open
mind and a willingness to explore different paths—and truly
listen to each other—we can
succeed at restoring local economy that works for all.
Hope everyone has a safe
and happy holiday season.
—submitted by
Northumberland Selectboard
Page 5
Page 6
Lunches
CANAAN
Dec. 19-22
LUNCH: Mon.: Burger, wheat
roll, fries, salad, fruit. Tues.:
Cheesy bread sticks, chicken and
vegetable soup, fruit. Wed.:
Macaroni and cheese, roasted
broccoli, cornbread, fruit. Thurs.:
Shepherd’s pie, parsnips and
carrots, applesauce, oatmeal dinner roll, fruit.
GROVETON
ELEMENTARY
Dec. 19-23
carrots, applesauce, oatmeal dinner roll, fruit. Fri.: Pizza, veggie
sticks, hummus dip, dessert,
fruit.
GROVETON
HIGH SCHOOL
Dec. 19-23
carrots, applesauce, oatmeal dinner roll, fruit. Fri.: Chili with
beef and beans, tortilla x=chips,
veggie sticks, hummus dip, dessert, fruit.
PITTSBURG
Dec. 19-21
LUNCH: Mon: Roast pork, gravy,
garlic mashed potato, roll, broccoli, pudding/topping. Tues.: Beef
taco, shell, salad, fruit, churro.
Wed.: Tomato or chicken noodle
soup, grilled cheese, fruit, sugar
cookie.
STARK
Dec. 19-23
carrots, applesauce, oatmeal dinner roll, fruit. Fri.: Pizza, veggie
sticks, hummus dip, dessert,
fruit.
STRATFORD
Dec. 19-23
LUNCH: Mon.: Burger on wheat
roll, oven baked fries, salad, fruit.
Tues.: Cheesy bread sticks,
chicken and vegetable soup, fruit.
Wed.: Macaroni and cheese,
roasted broccoli, homemade cornbread, fruit. Thurs.: Shepherd’s
pie, parsnips and carrots, applesauce, oatmeal dinner roll, fruit.
Fri.: Pizza, veggie sticks, hummus dip, dessert, fruit.
Business
Loyd W. Dollins
DOLLINS PROMOTED AT
FIRST COLEBROOK BANK
First Colebrook Bank has
announced that Loyd W.
Dollins will become Chief Executive Officer of the bank and
its holding company, First Colebrook Bancorp, Inc., on Jan. 1,
2012. Dollins joined the bank in
1999 as Senior Vice President.
In 2005, he was promoted to
Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer, and
became President in 2010.
Page 7
Education
Getting ready for the Holiday Concert are Groveton Kindergarten students Natia
Hagar, Seth Savage, Kaden Cloutier,and Jolie Lunderville. Vicky Bailey photo.
CALLING YOUNG
WILDLIFE ARTISTS
Young New Hampshire artists from kindergarten through
Grade 12 are invited to submit
original artwork depicting
North American waterfowl to
the 2012 New Hampshire Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.
Entries must be postmarked by
March 15, 2012.
The artist selected as Best-of
-Show will receive a $500 scholarship, made possible by a
grant from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. First place
winners in the contest will be
awarded cash prizes of up to
$75. Entries are judged on both
artistic merit and scientific accuracy with which specific waterfowl species are depicted.
The N.H. Fish and Game
Dept. runs the statewide competition, which is part of the
Federal Junior Duck Stamp
Conservation and Design Contest of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The contest serves
a dual purpose, giving students
a chance to use their artistic
talents at the same time they
learn about wildlife and conservation. The art competition is
open to public, private and
home-schooled New Hampshire
students.
Entries must be postmarked
by March 15, 2012. Competition
guidelines, including dimension
requirements and an entry
form, can be downloaded from
http://www.wildnh.com/
Education/Junior_Duck_Contest.htm, or contact N.H.
Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest
Coordinator Ellen MacNeil at
the N.H. Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301 or call 2712461.
The N.H. Junior Duck
Stamp Art Contest will award
first, second, third and honorable mention ribbons in four
groups: Grades K-3; 4-6; 7-9;
and 10-12. The State Best-ofShow is selected from among
Seventh and eighth graders at Stratford School choose free books
during the visit this week from Duncan McDougal, Coordinator of
the Children's Literacy Foundation. He brought $1,000 of books for
the town library and $1,000 for the school library. All of this is
part of a 3-year grant that Stratford received from Clif and the
Tillotson fund. Photo courtesy Kathy Roth.
Brianna Hill, Ciara Pennock, Katelyn Greene, Jenna Treamer, Emily Auger and
Emily Schafermeyer, second graders at Groveton Elementary School, are all smiles
just before the Holiday Concert. Vicky Bailey photo.
the first-place winning designs.
Winning artwork in all categories will be displayed at N.H
Fish and Game headquarters in
Concord in April 2012.
The Best-of-Show New
Hampshire winner advances to
the National Junior Duck
Stamp Design Contest, in
which the three top winners
receive a cash award and a trip
to the adult Federal Duck
Stamp Contest.
The Federal Junior Duck
Stamp Conservation and Design Program is an integrated
art and science activity developed to teach environmental
science and habitat conservation. Teachers who want to integrate these lessons into their
coursework can find a curriculum guide for teaching conservation through the arts at Skylar Haverstick and Carly Hart were two of the three French
http://www.fws.gov/juniorduck/ Hens at the Holiday Concert presented by the Groveton ElemenEducationProgram.htm.
tary School students under the direction of music teacher, Tabitha
GROVETON ELEMENTARY Paquette. Vicky Bailey photo.
SCHOOL NEWS
On Saturday, Dec. 17, we
finished our eight-week-long
intramurals program. Seventyeight students in Grades 3-6
from Groveton-Stark-Stratford
and Guildhall participated. A
huge thank you goes out to all
the GHS basketball players
who volunteer for this program.
On Friday, Dec. 23, there’s
early release at 12:30 p.m.
Reminder: Starting on Jan.
3, 2012, Groveton Elementary
School will have a new start
time of 7:45 a.m., students
should not arrive at school prior
to 7:30 a.m. Students who are
participating in the breakfast
program may arrive at 7:20
a.m. Please contact Dr. Mat
Forest, Principal at 636-1806 if
you have any questions.
The staff of GES would like
to wish everyone a Merry
Christmas and Happy 2012.
—submitted by Groveton
Elementary School
Page 8
North Country Photo Album
Santa And Kiwanis Visit The County
Photos by Sarah Cummings
Business Directory
Singing Kiwanians: from left, Kiwanis President Jim Lee, Pat Beauregard, Clay Hinds, Sonja Sheldon, Don Dickson and John Forbes, during the Colebrook Kiwanis’ annual party for residents at the
Coos County Nursing Hospital on Tuesday.
Left photo: Pete Lizotte enjoys some cookies. Right photo: Who’s that with Santa Claus? It’s Mary
Keazer.
E-mail:nash99@myfairpoint.net
Left photo: Evelyn Jordan was all smiles. Right photo: So was Leonie Riendeau. During the party,
members of Carolyn’s Friends provided music and Mrs. Claus reportedly also made an appearance.
Page 9
Community News
TUBACHRISTMAS
SET FOR TOMORROW
The sixth annual TubaChristmas event will be held on
Saturday, Dec. 17. The free
concert begins at 1 p.m., at the
Trinity United Methodist
Church on Bridge Street in
Colebrook. Players from all
around the North Country,
and beyond, will again gather
to play familiar Christmas music specially arranged just for
baritones, euphoniums, and
tubas.
Traditionally led by Doug
Nelson of Keene and Colebrook,
this year’s event will be guest
conducted by Andrew Tobin. A
North Country native, Tobin
holds degrees in tuba performance from the Eastman School
of Music and Ithaca College. He’s been involved in
TubaChristmas events since
1986, and has been the band
director for Groveton schools
f
o
r
10 years.
The event is sponsored by
the Great North Woods Committee for the Arts. Freewill
donations are welcomed to help
support this and other programs. For more information,
contact Sharon Pearson, coordinator, at 237-5805 or at
Sharon@jenkinsnewman.com.
CANAAN SENIORS NEWS
Carolyn’s Friends entertained the Canaan Seniors
with their great music and
singing. Guest was Patty
Clark. After a great roast beef
dinner, the seniors played
Bingo. The winners were Rita
Ladd (2), Francoise Bohan,
Ruth Bruce and Maria Dube.
Next week (Dec. 21), they
will be celebrating the December birthdays with a Christmas dinner of ham, mashed
potatoes, vegetables, gravy,
bread, birthday cake and ice
cream will be the dessert. People are asked to bring items for
the Canaan food pantry. There
will not be an exchange of gifts.
No dinner on Dec. 28, but will
resume on Jan. 4 with soup
and sandwiches. Call Louise
Bissonette for your reservations on or before Tuesday
morning.
CLOTHING GIVEAWAY ON
SATURDAY IN CANAAN
There will be a clothing give
away from 9 to 12 noon at Canaan School in the MultiPurpose Room in the elementary building on Saturday, Dec.
17. This is sponsored by ENEA
(Essex North Education Asssociation). There will be clothing
for all ages and sizes and it’s
open to everyone.
COOS COUNTY
NURSING HOSPITAL
Residents enjoyed a visit
from the Canaan students last
week. They painted plaster
Christmas ornaments together. After the painting was
done, warm cookies and hot
cocoa was enjoyed. The kids
were polite and just a delight to
have visit.
Three-South residents made
progress on the nine-patch
Colebrook Elementary School second through fifth graders did a great job singing Christmas songs instructed by their music director
Johanna Schillemat at the Holiday Concert on Dec. 8 in Colebrook. Britni White photo.
quilt they have been working
on and worked on Christmas
crafts. Residents in the Special
Care Unit (SCU) had fun painting, made a paper chain, made
felt stockings and worked a
cupcake wrapper wreath and
an elf entrance.
A group gathered to reminisce about Pearl Harbor. Arti-
cles were read aloud about the tack.
life changing event and resiAnnonciade Marquis was
dents all recalled where they quite lucky at Bingo this
were and what they were doing week. In addition to winning to
when they heard about the at(Continued on page 10)
Page 10
Community News
regular games, she won the
Blackout Bingo game. SCU
residents played word games,
the candy roll game, worked on
puzzles and played unit Bingo.
Ellen Jordan was the top
bowler this week and residents
got together for a fun game of
balloon volleyball.
Ellen Sipe entertained residents with her piano music. She played familiar tunes
and Christmas songs for all to
sing along with. SCU residents
listened to seasonal music.
A Birthday Bash was held to
celebrate the December birthdays. Residents enjoyed fresh
fruit. A pizza party and mint
shakes were enjoyed in the
SCU.
A group of ladies enjoyed
rolling out, cutting, baking and
of course eating Christmas
cookies. The River of Life Youth
Group came and passed out
Christmas ornaments. Some
residents took advantage of the
unseasonal warm weather to go
out for rides to see the Christmas lights and SCU residents
held a Christmas Card Social.
The Resident Council held
its monthly meeting. Residents
reviewed some of the Resident’s
Rights. Residents reviewed the
success of the Christmas Bazaar and discussed the December activities calendar.
COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS
CONCERT ON SUNDAY
The annual Christmas concert hosted by the North Country Cooperating Churches will
be held on Sunday, Dec. 18, at
Trinity United Methodist
Church. The free concert begins
at 7 p.m.
The concert will include performances of beloved and new
choral pieces, by soloists and
ensembles. A highlight will be a
selection from “Amahl and the
Night Visitors,” performed by
vocalists Johanna Schillemat,
with Talan Bryant, Bud Hikel
and Cecil Hikel, and pianist Sharon Pearson. This powerful piece portrays a scene from
the story of the three kings on
their journey seeking a poor
and wonderful child...and their
stop at the home of a poor
mother who mistakenly believes -and hopes—that it is her
child they describe.
The festival choir includes
community members of all
ages, from Pittsburg to Lancaster, who joined together again
in November to prepare for this
event. Under the direction of
Harry “Bud” Hikel and accompanied by pianist Sharon Pearson, the choir will present a
variety of pieces by both classical and contemporary composers.
The Ministerium gratefully
welcomes free will donations to
support this and other community services. Following the
concert, refreshments and fellowship will also be offered.
For more information, contact The Rev. Rick Boyden, at
237-4031 or revb@wildblue.net.
“COOKING MATTERS”
PROGRAM VISITS IGA
“Cooking Matters for
Adults”, sponsored by Walmart,
the ConAgra Foods Foundation,
the N.H. Food Bank and the
UNH Cooperative Extension, is
a course that has been organized in Colebrook with the leadership of Mary Ann Gilbert of
Helping Hands North, Inc. It is
a nationwide program established by “Share Our Strength”,
with training tutorials and
workbooks for volunteer instructors to utilize.
A press release statement
sums up the purpose of the
course: “Through its No Kid
Hungry Campaign—a national
effort to end childhood hunger
in America by 2015—Share Our
Strength ensures children in
need are enrolled in effective
federal nutrition programs,
invests in community organizations fighting hunger, teaches
families how to cook healthy
meals on a budget, builds public-private partnerships to end
hunger, both nationally and at
the state level, and calls upon a
A shopping trip to LaPerle’s IGA on Tuesday served as the Cooking Matters class for the day. Participants completed a scavenger hunt of grocery store items and sought out ingredients to make a $10
meal. Lessons learned included nutritional label reading and how to shop on a budget to make healthy
recipes. Front row, from left, Tanya Kennedy, Kelly Klinch and UNH Cooperative Extension Program
Associate for Nutrition Connections, Heidi Barker. Back row, from left, Child and Family Services
Support Worker/Homevisitor for northern Coos County Ann Marie Smith, Guest Chef Steve Learned,
Helping Hands Coordinator MaryAnn Gilbert, Carol Rainville and Alma Neary. Britni White photo.
broad cross-section of the
American public to make ending childhood hunger a national
priority.” Gilbert spearheaded
the establishment of this program on the local level in hopes
of helping people cook the food
they received from the Helping
Hands store.
Chef Steve Learned, who is
known for his gourmet cooking
at the Balsams Grand Resort
and Hotel, offered to teach the
participants practical, healthy
cooking techniques as part of
the program. Heidi Barker of
the UNH Coop. Extension
brings to the table facts about
nutrition and the benefits of
healthy eating. Ten residents
are taking part in this valuable
life skills class (worth about
$3000 for each student), meet-
Members of Aurora Grange in Pittsburg, Stratford Grange and Mohawk Grange got together on Saturday, Dec. 10, at Mohawk Grange Hall in East Colebrook to have a great feast and visit
time. Everyone brought donations to the local food pantry and excellent snack food to enjoy as we visited, sang some carols under Lynda Gaudette's leadership, and four folks did a little skit. Master Michelle Hyde did some good renderings, too. Ginger Jannenga photo.
ing each Tuesday at the Monadnock Congregational Church
from 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Five
of six classes have been held so
far, and the leaders hope to be
able to offer the course a few
times a year.
This week’s class consisted
of a shopping trip to LaPerle’s
IGA. Here guests paired up to
carry out a scavenger hunt of
grocery store items, noticing
nutritional content on food labels and comparisons of unit
prices. They also bought $10
worth of ingredients, each, in
order to prepare a healthy recipe of their choice. Whoever
checked out with the lowest
receipt total was promised a
prize for making the most cost
effective dish. The participants
seemed to enjoy learning about
healthy eating options and buying on a budget.
Walking with Chef Learned
throughout the grocery store,
he told the Chronicle that he is
really enjoying teaching cooking lessons. In fact, he wished
there were more classes in each
course, as he finds that participants are, “just starting to get
excited and curious about cooking,” when they must end their
lessons. Yet, he explained that
even just igniting that spark is
worthwhile.
He talked about how increases in food prices over the
past few years have made it
difficult for consumers to cope,
when income from jobs doesn’t
increase as well. That’s why the
budgetary lessons they teach
are so important. Chef Learned,
Mary Ann Gilbert and Heidi
Barker showed the class’ students how buying a whole
chicken and fabricating it into
the different cuts is often more
cost efficient than buying the
cuts alone, such as just chicken
breasts. This is true of most
packaged items—in other
words, the simpler the product,
in its whole form, the cheaper it
is.
We also talked about how
fast food, processed and frozen
meals have become the “go-to”
solution, as people are getting
busier and busier and many
don’t know how to cook. The
bad part is that many of these
convenience items are more
pricey and higher in sodium, fat
and sugars than their homemade counterparts. It seems
the times have changed so
much that cooking techniques
are not getting passed down to
the next generation. We agreed
that if only people took an interest in where their food came
from, and the joys of cooking, it
might help them to prioritize
the creation of healthy nutritional meals for their families.
We also discussed how the
present day ease of supermarket shopping has disconnected
consumers from the origins of
their food. Instead of raising
animals to butcher, our meat is
pre-packaged at the store. Chef
Learned said that his children
have had the benefit of being
brought up to understand that
the animals they raise will one
day end up on the dinner table,
and that’s just the cycle of
life. It gives individuals more
appreciation for their food, as
well.
Heidi Barker said, “This is
such an impressive program,
not only based on the power of
the lessons we are doing for
participants but the community
partnerships.” She is happy
that, “The community support
goes on.” “Cooking Matters
makes a difference because our
graduates tell us that they are
cooking more, eating more
fruits and vegetables and mak(Continued on page 11)
Page 11
Community News
per before singing Christmas
songs by candlelight and trying
to recite “'Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Amber Peterson played the part of Santa's
helper during the gift exchange.
Everyone had a marvelous time
visiting with friends and sharing a few laughs when Chip
Evarts and Hank Brimacomb
got a little rowdy.
Recently Aurora Grange
distributed dictionaries to the
third graders at Pittsburg
School with Amber Peterson,
Nicole Varney and Katelyn Kelsea passing out the dictionaries
and sharing information about
what Grange is all about. It is
hoped that dictionaries will
soon be distributed to the third
graders at the Stewartstown
Community School as well.
—submitted by
Ann
M.G. Gray
A surprise birthday party for
Bob Pariseau was held at the
STRATFORD GRANGE
Colebrook Country Club on
On
Dec. 5, two brothers and
Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011. Sarah
five
sisters
met at the Fuller
Cummings photo.
Town Hall for lunch at 11 a.m.
and monthly meeting at noon.
The opening song was
ing healthier choices–even on “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reintheir limited budgets,” accord- deer.” Pat Allin read the mining the New Hampshire pro- utes of the previous meeting.
gram’s project summary. It goes Donations were brought in for
on to state, “Record numbers of the Toys for Tots program.
Americans are at risk of hun- Vicki DeLalla is knitting for the
ger, but healthy and affordable Ship’s Project and taught the
meals are within reach for Lion’s Club 4-Hers how to knit.
those who know how to cook The mitten tree in the post ofand shop on a budget.” Through fice is doing well. Lynda Gauempowerment, transfer of dette said that the next Ameriknowledge, smart affordable can Red Cross blood drive will
choices and instillation of cook- be Dec. 14.
ing confidence in participants,
A letter was read by Master
the volunteer instructors hope Robert Lovering from Richard
to change people’s lives for the Patten, who is our State Combetter.
munity Service Representative.
—Britni White The N.H. Dictionary Project
will be done after the holidays.
AURORA GRANGE NEWS
The meeting dates and proMembers of Aurora Grange grams for 2012 were done.
235 met on Wednesday, Dec. 7
The closing song was “Jingle
at the Grange Hall with 12 Bells.” John Pepau closed the
members and one guest in at- meeting with the following saytendance for the annual Christ- ing: “Today is the oldest you’ve
mas party. The hall was fes- ever been yet the youngest
tively decorated by Holly Gray you’ll ever be, so enjoy this day
and Laurel Amey, and everyone while it lasts.”
shared a delicious potluck supThe next meeting will be at
Lillian Noyes looked very festive at her retirement celebration held in the First Colebrook Bank lobby
on Monday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guests enjoyed cupcakes and punch, wishing Lil well in her future
endeavors. She has been the receptionist at the Bank for 25 years now and will hang up her phone
duties by the end of the month. Britni White photo.
The charter was draped for
11 a.m. on Jan. 9, 2012, at the
Fuller Town Hall. It will be the Ervena Rainville, who was a
dues paying lunch and a gift Mohawk Grange member for 75
years. Robert and Yvonne Burexchange.
rill donated a tree for the
Christmas party on Dec. 10. It
MOHAWK GRANGE
On Dec. 5, five brothers and was voted to give a donation to
nine sisters met for their Helping Hands. MaryAnn
monthly meeting. Nine Christ- Neary read an article titled “A
mas baskets were made for dis- New Christmas Tradition. Maktribution. Ann Woodard read ing Christmas special by giving
the minutes of the previous gift certificates, special services
meeting. Lynda Gaudette re- such as shoveling for a
ported on the blood bank to be neighbor, visiting a shut-in,
held on Dec. 14 and said if a deliver a meal to a friend, etc.”
Granger donates to Toys for Russell and Ann Woodard were
Tots or a food pantry they can on the lunch committee.
The next meeting will be
report it as a community service. MaryAnn Neary reported Jan. 2, 2012. MaryAnn and
on the fundraisers completed Dean are on the supper comfor the trip to Washington, D.C. mittee and Brad Brooks is in
More money is needed to meet charge of starting the fires.
their goal.
RECYCLING IN THE
NORTH COUNTRY
On Wednesday, the Green
Group held a meeting at Howard’s Restaurant to discuss recycling efforts for the area with
interested individuals. Though
it was an open invitation for the
public to get involved, attendees were mainly Green Group
and Colebrook Energy Committee members.
The group brainstormed and
collaborated ideas and information about the various facilities,
services, projects and educational programs that may help
to increase recycling in the
North Country.
In order for citizens to get
excited about recycling and to
actively participate in this
worldly endeavor, they must
know what options are available to them depending on
where they reside. Before options are discussed, a backDr. John Fothergill presented specialized health information to a group of 10 women who attended the ground of recent events must be
Indian Stream Health Center’s “Women’s Health Program” on Thursday of last week. The evening presented.
included talks from Greg Lamm and Fran Bigney as well, touching on ways to reduce stress that may
Since Colebrook officials
be increased for women during the holiday season. Guests received healthy refreshments, knowledge decided to cease their service
about osteoporosis, depression, breast health and general well-being upkeep. Britni White photo.
contract with the Coos County
Recycling Center in October,
which they have held for over
two decades, changes have been
made to the town’s transfer
station. Instead of the County
picking up recyclables from the
Colebrook Transfer Station,
now recyclables are picked up
by Mike Lynch of Stratford. Lynch and Tim LaBerge
have just begun a new recycling
business, working out of the old
mill building in Stratford. Lynch said that he bought
the building, which is in rough
shape, but it is usable for this
endeavor.
Lynch and LaBerge’s new
initiative is a work in progress,
which originated from meetings
with the NRRA, (Northeast
Resource Recovery Association),
and Colebrook public works
director Kevin McKinnon. “The
NRRA provides cooperative
purchasing programs, educational and networking opportunities, technical assistance, and
cooperative marketing programs that have received national recognition for establishing innovative grassroots recyclables marketing cooperatives
with competitive pricing which
enables small, rural and large
urban communities to manage
their own recycling programs,”
according to www.nrra.net.
The duo, which attended the
Green Group meeting on
Wednesday, said they are looking into creating a consolidation
center in Stratford, and the
possibility of opening it to the
public in the spring. They will
not be getting into residential
recycling pick up services. Instead they will be purchasing and processing Colebrook’s recyclables, despite
glass which is pulverized by the
transfer station, until March
when they see how both the
towns and their business esti(Continued on page 12)
Page 12
Community
Several members of the Tillotson Center Board of Directors made the facility look very
nice for the “Celtic Christmas”
concert and Weir Tree Farms
donated the tree. Ginger Jannenga photo.
mates are panning out. Any
interested individuals can contact Mike Lynch at 922-3816 to
discuss his new recycling initiative.
As for other waste,
McKinnon noted at the meeting
that, “In Colebrook 40 percent
of the waste stream is being
recycled, opposed to 30 percent
nationwide.” Yet, since the
Colebrook landfill has been
capped, trash has to be trucked
to landfills in Berlin and Bethlehem to be disposed of. A
press release submitted by
Colebrook Energy Committee
member Julie Moran stated,
“Items put into the ‘hopper’ as
Community News
A large crowd was on hand for Tuesday night’s “A Celtic Christmas” concert at the Tillotson Center in
Colebrook. The show, sponsored by the Great North Woods Committee for the Arts, featured, from the
left, cousins Robbie O’Connell and Aoife Clancy of the famous Clancy family, joined by accordionist
Jimmy Keane. The trio provided an thoroughly enjoyable evening of Celtic songs and stories collected
from the Celtic countries. Highlights of the concert and an interview with the performers can be seen
in the Video News of the Week at www.colebrookchronicle.com. Charles Jordan photo.
‘trash’ cost the town $80 per ton
for every trip they take, so the
fewer items put into that shipment, the less the town has to
pay. That saves the town
money, and could save more, as
more recycling options open up,
and as Transfer Station users
increase their participation in
separating out the recyclables.”
For Colebrook residents, the
Colebrook Transfer Station is
open to drop off trash and recyclables on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and Sun-
days 8 a.m.-4 p.m. In the summer, Tuesdays offer extended
hours, with the facility remaining open until 6 p.m. Only
Colebrook residents are currently allowed to use this facility and they must obtain a
Page 13
Page 14
Community News
sticker from the town hall,
which must be applied to their
vehicle in order to dispose of
items. As recycling is mandatory at the Transfer Station,
the Energy Committee’s press
release has categorized instructions for residents on how to
separate and dispose of all
items here:
—Mixed paper of all kinds:
newspaper, cardstock (like cereal
boxes), magazines, envelopes, junk
mail, and all regular paper go into
the same bins. Newspapers are not
being separated anymore, but
please still do not put in anything
that will not tear easily, such as
Tyvek envelopes.
—Corrugated boxes, including
clean pizza boxes
—Plastic bottles 1-7: Clear plastics (like water bottles and clear
milk jugs) are now separated from
all other colored plastics, or any
containers labeled 2 through 7.
(Please rinse containers.)
—Glass: bottles, jars (rinsed
out), household glass, and no light
bulbs.
—Plastic bottle and jar caps:
please separate and place in bags
next to bottle bins. They can also be
recycled as rigid plastics.
—Rigid plastics: lawn furniture,
plastic toys, rigid plastic packaging
can be left at the operation building
for recycling.
—Aluminum cans: the station
can get $900/ton for these loose in
the bins.
—Steel cans: canned goods–
rinse them.
—Scrap metal: washing machine, dryer, stove, water heater,
dishwasher, furnace, boiler, satellite dishes, and electric wiring, all
are free to dispose of in the metal
area. (Any metals with refrigerant,
propane, or electronics cannot be
put in this dumpster, as those items
contain hazardous waste that is
costly to dispose of.)
—Compost: grass clippings, old
pumpkins, Christmas trees, plant
matter (no wires, decorations, or
animal products of any kind.)
—Used oil and oil filters: the
town garage has a used oil burner
that heats it in the winter. Any
used oil donated defrays the heating cost for that building.
—Ashes: next to the compost
pile.
The committee explained
that updates will be presented
to the public, as changes are
inevitable in the future. Any
questions or comments for Colebrook Transfer Station operations may be directed to Kevin
McKinnon at 237-8199. Please
note that the Coos County Recycling Center will continue to
pick up cardboard, free of
charge, from the 23 Colebrook
businesses that have been coordinated through the Community Programs Officer. Coos
County Dept. of Corrections
Superintendent Craig Hamelin
stated that they will do this as
long as the cardboard market
remains profitable.
At the Green Group meeting,
Melanie Vaillant of Kheops,
added that plastic grocery bags
can be brought to LaPerle’s IGA
to be recycled. She is also working on getting the local schools
to actively recycle everything,
including paper which is currently not. The group discussed
options like providing bins to
the schools and getting the
Building Club and Key Club
involved in fun competitions or
assemblies for students. Ideas
about this area may be presented to Vaillant at 237-8188,
ext. 227.
For residents of other surrounding towns, the recycling
options are different. Despite
the town facilities (including
Colebrook’s), there are also private services such as J.K.
Lynch Disposal, and Early Rubbish and Recycling that individuals have the ability to hire
for roadside pick-ups. If you
are a resident of Stewartstown,
Columbia or Lemington, Vt.,
you may bring your trash to the
Town of Stewartstown Transfer
Station on Back Pond
Road. Here all household trash
is accepted, as well as all recyclables. Coos Corrections Superintendent Hamelin said that
the only restriction on recyclables is that plastic products
stamped with numbers 1 and 2
are the only numbers currently
taken there, but more may be
accepted in the future, if the
money for necessary resources
is raised.
Hamelin explained that, “All
these transfer stations are easily marked,” so visitors should
be able to figure out where
things go. He encourages people to get in the habit of bringing anything they think may be
recyclable, despite the regular
glass, cans, paper and plastic,
and to ask the attendant on
duty where to properly dispose
of it. They are also looking into
the collection of fryer oil, as a
gallon weighs nearly eight
pounds, and if people are putting that into the hopper, it
becomes heavy very fast.
When full, the recyclable
sorting bin is picked up with a
truck from the Coos County
Recycling Station, and replaced
with an empty bin. The same is
done for the transfer stations in
Norton, Canaan, Vt., and Pittsburg (which is used by both
Pittsburg and Clarksville residents). The recyclable items are
then further sorted on site by
six supervised House of Corrections inmates and the Community Programs Officer. Commodities are then baled with a
machine to produce a marketable block of recycled material
that is directed to an appropriate market through the
NRRA. Hamelin states, “The
more we sell—that’s going to
lower taxes.” This is because
towns plan a fee into their tax
budget each year for residents
to be able to use the transfer
stations in each town.
Unincorporated towns without town halls, such as those in
Cambridge, Dix’s Grant, Millsfield, Second College Grant and
Wentworth Location, can use
the Errol Town transfer station
and permits can be obtained at
the town office for use at the
AVRRDD Transfer Station in
Berlin. Direct questions about
this matter to Linda Harris at
246-3321 or visit the town office
at 136 County Farm Road in
Stewartstown. This information
was obtained from
www.avrrdd.org.
—Britni White
Business
“Loyd will now take over the
leadership role as CEO of the
bank and the holding company,” says Jim Tibbetts, who
will continue as a director of
the bank as well as continuing
to serve as President and a director of the holding company.
Tibbetts credits Dollins with
providing valuable insight and
leadership during challenging
economic and regulatory times
in the banking industry. “Loyd
has been instrumental in the
bank’s growth and branch expansion from Colebrook and
Concord into Amherst and
Portsmouth.”
Dollins began his banking
career in Florida. He was a
member of a group that organized a new community bank in
Miami and went on to serve as
its President. When that bank
was sold in 1991, Dollins moved
to New Hampshire and joined
New Dartmouth Bank as Regional Vice President. He later
moved to Granite Bank as a
Vice President Commercial
Lender responsible for the management and origination of
commercial loans throughout
southern New Hampshire.
BERLIN PRISON BEGINS
HIRING PROCESS
After finally receiving the
funding it needs to open, Berlin
Federal Prison is now accepting
applications from local residents for a variety of prison
jobs including correctional officers and registered nurses, announced U.S. Senator Jeanne
Shaheen. Berlin Prison will
employ 329 people, with 201 of
those jobs being local hires.
More than half of the local hires
will be correctional officers.
The positions that have been
posted to date are: unit secretary, cook supervisor, correctional case manager, electrical
foreman, gardener supervisor,
maintenance worker foreman,
materials handler supervisor,
physician assistant, plumbing
worker supervisor, registered
nurses, and correctional officers.
Positions will be updated
often by the Bureau of Prisons.
All positions can be found at
usajobs.gov or in New Hampshire Employment Security's
Job Match System. Applications
for correctional officer positions
may be submitted any time and
applications will be reviewed
beginning in late February or
early March.
To apply for the federal positions an online application
must be completed on usajobs.gov. All applicants must
meet the physical requirements
of the jobs for which they apply.
Veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.
The Northern New Hampshire Talent Team is currently
offering free application workshops to help applicants with
the process of applying for a
federal job. The Talent
Team will also hold information sessions about the different
jobs available at the prison in
Plymouth and Concord, as well
as Bethel, Maine, and Lyndonville, Vt. For more information
about the information sessions,
or the application workshops,
please contact Tamara Allen,
White Mountain Community
College, at 752-1113, ext. 3062
or taallen@ccsnh.edu. For more
information about specific jobs,
contact Diana Nelson, N.H.
Employment Security, at
diana.s.nelson@nhes.nh.gov.
Sports
24th season with Jon Rooney
assisting. There are 13 players
on this year’s roster seven of
which are returning. The Eagles have four seniors Sean
Irving, Tyler Burt, Terry Bedell
and Nate Smith; five juniors,
Ethan Marshall, Chris Helms,
Adam Atkinson, Keith Baker
and Preston Bennett; two
sophomores, Brandon Joy and
Richard Lagaase; two freshmen, Patrick Guay and Keenen
Monahan. The boys lost Ethan
Emerson and Cody Braase to
graduation last season. Emerson will be sorely missed for his
defensive role on the team and
Braase’s size will be difficult to
replace.
Due to an injury to Irving
the Eagles will have to work
hard to adjust on the court
without having his presence as
a starting guard in the game.
He is expected to return in
January 2012. “We hope to
have Irving back in January at
some point,” said Head Coach
Mark Collins, “We have a lot of
work to do. Not having Irving
forces us to have to fit some
kids into different spots to get
them to do things that they are
not quite ready to do yet, but
we have got to do what we have
to.”
Groveton’s major goal is to
make the top eight in the division so that they can host a
home game for post season at
least in the first round. Collins
expects the team to continue to
improve with each game as the
bench develops and contribute
to the game effectively while
waiting for Irving to return to
the game. “I think that once we
get acclimated to what we have
now I think we will be alright,”
said Coach Collins. “Three or
four started last year so we just
need to get the bugs out to get
things going.”
Groveton played their first
game on the road at Littleton
on Dec. 9. Ethan Marshall had
17 points with six rebounds and
Nate Smith had 10 and five
rebounds. Littleton’s Sam
Brammer had 25 and Josh Bougardus had 20. The Eagles shot
60 percent from the line and
the Crusaders were at 53 percent. “Littleton right now is a
tough place to go open up a
Page 15
game,” said Coach Collins,
“They were ready to play and
they put it to us. We need to
handle the ball better,” said
Coach Collins, “We didn’t do
that very well the other night.
Hopefully once we get things
going and we can get the ball
inside a little bit we can score.
We struggled with that as well.
We had a lot of turnovers and
they took it right to us. We got
into foul trouble right off. We
had a lot of problems and they
beat us pretty early because of
it.”
Pittsburg Panthers
This year’s Pittsburg Panthers boys' varsity basketball
team will have a new coach at
the helm with Neil Prehemo
making his debut to varsity
sports for the 2011-12 season. “I
am nervous,” said Head Coach
Prehemo, “this is my first time
being a varsity head coach. I
am trying to be open-minded.”
He will be assisted by Jordan
Larlee and Warren Chase. Prehemo will be replacing longtime
Head Coach Richard Judd so
the boys will be learning an
entirely new system. There are Groveton’s Jena Wheelock goes by Julia Winn for a layup. Tina
only 10 boys on the roster with McKenzie photo.
three seniors, Robby Major,
Christopher Paquette and Kyle
Skidgel; two juniors, Travis
Chase and Matthew Remick;
one sophomore, Tyler Kiley;
and four freshmen, Brennan
Landry, Ian Pfaff, Nick Remick
and Devin Rodrigue.
On top of transitioning to a
new coaching system the Panthers will have to find a way to
replace or fill the shoes of four
seniors that were lost to
graduation Matt Jeralds, Matt
Ormsbee, Logan Chase and
Evan Kelsea considering the
size, shooting and defense they
brought to the game. “We are
rebuilding entirely,” said Coach
Prehemo, “We have only five
guys returning from last year’s
team. A lot of them had very
limited playing time. ”
Experience for Pittsburg will
be a major weakness for this
season. “We are young,” said
Coach Prehemo, “All we can do
is play one game at a time and
go from there to work.” The
teams biggest focus right now is
working on the fundamentals
so that they can improve as a
team and be competitive. The
five newcomers to the team
have had very limited experience before this year so it will
be important for them to get
the basics down so the team can
gel together. “We are working
hard,” said Coach Prehemo,
“The boys are working really
hard in practice, we are young,
but I think we will be able to
win some games if we keep
working.”
—Liz Carney
See Local Sports
Action Every Week In
The Video Of The Week
Page 16
North Country Photo Album
Christmas Abounds At Jingle Bell Fair In Groveton
Photos by Britni White
Left photo: Nyla and Max Shosa enjoyed visiting Santa at the annual Jingle Bell Fair held at the St. Francis Hall in Groveton on Saturday. Right photo: Katherine Bushey
sat atop Santa’s lap and told him her Christmas wishes during his visit to the St. Francis Hall Jingle Bell Fair.
Left photo: The Christmas Club manned a station at the Jingle Bell Fair, where kids could draw tickets in hopes of winning a prize. St. Marguerite d’Youville Parish members explained that usually each child goes home with a toy from this event, which is held to raise money for the church. From left, Ashalyn Chauvette, Nicole McMann and
Meredith Nadeau. Right photo: A mass of people came to experience the fun at the annual Jingle Bell Fair.
Left photo: The “Frosty Toss” was one of many games that kids could play at the Jingle Bell Fair. Konner Shannon gave it a whirl. Right photo: Jacey Benway won a doll for
knocking down all the pins in the “Elves Alley.”
Page 17
Around The Region
Ryan Weeks of Milan, a senior
airman with the 157th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s
Small Air Terminal and currently deployed to Iraq, was
selected as part of the color
guard that “cased the colors”
during the official ceremony
yesterday at Baghdad International Airport marking the end
of the United States military
mission in Iraq. Earlier this
month, Weeks was named the
157th’s Airman of the Year for
2011. Courtesy photo.
SILENT ACTOR COMING
TO BERLIN TOMORROW
World renowned silent actor
Rajmund Klechot returns to the
stage for a one-time performance in Berlin. On Saturday,
Dec. 17, at 7 p.m., Klechot will
present a 40-minute excerpt of
his stage performance in the
undercroft of St. Barnabas
church, at the corner of Main
and High Streets, in Berlin.
In keeping with the spirit of
the holidays, Klechot will be
presenting several pieces that
echo themes of love and spirituality. Many will remember his
successful performance in Berlin two years ago. This new
program will include his highly
acclaimed “The Wanderer,” a
whimsical staging of “The
Champion” and the heartwarming “The Gift.”
A resident of the United
State for over 30 years, Klechot
began his career by obtaining
the coveted title of “Actor” from
the Ministry of Arts and Culture, Warsaw, Poland.
Klechot was also a cocreator/co-founder of the highly
successful Warsaw Mime Theatre of the Warsaw Chamber
World renowned silent actor
Rajmund Klechot returns for a
one-time performance in Berlin
on Saturday, Dec. 17.
On Tuesday December 6 the Baptist Church in Sawyerville, Que.,
its annual Ladies Christmas party. The evening always inOpera, Warsaw, Poland. The held
cludes
singing of Christmas carols and a buffet. Daniel
Warsaw Mime Theatre gave Bousquetthephoto.
performances throughout
Europe and North America.
Now, as a solo performer in
the United States, he creates
extraordinary performances.
This is a unique opportunity to
The Sawyerville Baptist Church Ladies Christmas party included
a cold buffet lunch, special music and a guest speaker. The event is
quite popular and attracts 80-100 ladies each year. Daniel
Bousquet photo.
Joan Cowan of Canaan, Vt., checks out the warm wool socks at the East Hereford Christmas Craft
Fair last month. Corey Bellam photo.
Danielle Boutin of Sawyerville poses with her Christmas handicrafts at the East Herford
Christmas Craft Fair. Corey Bellam photo.
witness up close one of the oldest and enchanting performance arts forms, in a small intimate venue. The performance is
open to all ages, four years and
up. A donation at the door
would be greatly appreciated to
offset the cost of production,
with a portion of the proceeds
to go to the Saint Barnabas
Church general fund.
For more information, con-
tact Performing Arts Impresario USA LLC at 723-3450.
WMRHS HOLIDAY
CONCERT DEC. 20
The Holiday Band Concert
at White Mountains Regional
School District is Tuesday, Dec.
20, at 7 p.m., and will be held in
the WMRHS Auditorium. The
concert is free to the public. The
Marcia Lowry (center) and her girls, Alexandria and Kimberly, pose behind
their table of treats at the Sawyerville Christmas Craft Show last month.
Corey Bellam photo.
Page 18
Around The Region
show will feature the Lancaster/Whitefield Combined Junior High Band, the WMRHS
Band, and the WMRHS Jazzband. The concert will have
selections that are jazz versions of traditional carols, a
swing arrangement from
“Polar Express,” a French
Horn solo, a clarinet feature,
and various hymns. The High
School Band will play arrangements and medleys of various
carols, hymns, and Hanukkah
melodies, and will close with
Christmas Festival, which is
played annually by the Boston
Pops Orchestra.
The concert is under the
direction of Michael Martins.
CHRISTMAS CRAFT SHOW
IN SAWYERVILLE
On Nov. 19, a Christmas
craft show was held at the
Sawyerville Elementary
School. This show gave visitors
a chance to get some Christmas shopping done locally.
The show featured wreaths
and centerpieces, Christmas
crafts and much more, including some baked goods. The
sale was divided into two parts
with vendors in the gymnasium
and the cafeteria. Sales from
the show benefited the school,
raising approximately $1,400.
The school was with activity
buzzing all day long with countless people hustling around
with their new-found treasures.
—Corey Bellam
SANTA CLAUS PARADE
IN SHERBROOKE
All that was lacking was a
few flakes of snow for the 10th
annual Santa Claus parade in
Sherbrooke on Nov. 27. This
annual event is always attended by thousands of people,
both young and old, lining the
whole parade route, standing in
amazement as they watched
the many fully decorated floats,
marching bands, clowns and
much more.
The parade started at 1:30
p.m. on 13th Avenue and continued winding through its
route, ending up at Belvedere
North at around 5 p.m. to a
huge gathering of people waiting to get a look at Santa. The
jolly elf then made his way under escort by the Sherbrooke
The 10th annual Santa parade in Sherbrooke got underway at 1:30 p.m. and ended at 5 p.m. on Nov.
27. Corey Bellamphoto.
A dancing reindeer and marching band make their way through the parade route in Sherbrooke last
month. Corey Bellam photo.
RCMP Officer John Sparks and his helper pass out coloring and activity books to children along the
parade route in Sherbrooke. Corey Bellam photo.
Page 19
Around The Region
LE SALON
METIERS D’ART
During the week of Nov. 2327 there was much action in
Sherbrooke at the Centre De
Foires De Sherbrooke. It was
the 22nd annual Metiers D’Art,
which is a gathering of many
local artists and craftsmen and
women showing and selling
their products.
These crafters offered items
ranging from clothing, pottery,
wooden items, jewelry, wooden
toys, wool and much more. The
show and sale featured 54 artisans. The show hosted thouof visitors over five days
Daniel Crete stands among some of the Christmas items offered sands
and
was
a very nice family outfor sale, including trees, wreaths and Christmas lawn ornaments, ing.
at Plantation Crete, located insde the Marche de la Gare on Belve—Corey Bellam The White Mountains Regional High School JROTC Cadets Acadere St. in Sherbrooke, Que. Corey Bellam photo.
demic team, from the left, Andrew Force, Paul Gesel, Jacinda
GIANT CHRISTMAS TREE
Cinelli, Keelin Lane. (Missing from photo, Coleton Hogan.) LTC
IN SHERBROOKE
(Ret.) Darrel Gearhart photo.
The city of Sherbrooke, Que.,
came alive with the Christmas
spirit on the evening of Nov. 24
at the Marche de la Gare on
Belvedere Street.
It was the night of the lighting of the 60-foot Christmas
tree, decorated with 30,000
lights. This year’s giant Christmas tree was given to the City
of Sherbrooke by the Masson
family of Sainte Edwidge, Que.
The tree is 77 years old and will
stand until Christmas at its
new home.
The evening also featured a
105-foot Ferris wheel, said to be
the highest wheel in Canada.
With the lights from the tree
and the lights from the Ferris
the city was an impresLeft photo: Gervais Tardif shows his hand-carved hawk, made of Wheel,
sive
sight.
Tuplo wood from New Orleans. The bird took 500 hours to comA show by Nadja was also The White Mountains Regional High School JROTC Cadets Leadplete. Right photo: Stephane Margurite of Wallaby Boomerangs of included
during the evening’s ership team, from the left, Joseph Dami, Christopher Cass, JamieMontreal displayed his products at the show in Sherbrooke last events. She
sang many holiday lyn Morris, Garrett Stevens, Cody Brownell. LTC (Ret.) Darrel
month. Corey Bellam photos.
songs in both English and Gearhart photo.
French, which put everyone in
the holly jolly mood. The city of
then
Santa
had
to
return
to
the
JROTC CADETS AT
onstrating the academic abiliPolice Service into the Marche North Pole right away because Sherbrooke really outdid itself
LEADERSHIP BOWL
ties of JROTC students.
de la Gare, where he greeted a it was just a few weeks before this year. The evening also
Junior ROTC Cadets from
After advancing through the
never-ending line of wide-eyed Christmas and he had some big included many vendors selling
and excited children. It was the orders of toys to make for all Christmas items and food for the White Mountains Regional first phase of competition, the
High School Academic and WMRHS JROTC cadets will
perfect setting for Santa to talk the little boys and girls.
everyone to sample.
with the children.
—Corey Bellam Leadership teams recently com- compete in the second phase of
—Corey Bellam
peted in round one of competi- The College Options FoundaThis year’s Santa parade
tive online play against thou- tion’s 2012 JROTC Leadership
was a huge success again. But
sands of JROTC students from and Academic Challenge. If
across the world to win a place successful, the teams will adin the championship and an vance to the final Championopportunity to win a trip to ship round of Leadership and
Washington, DC. During the Academic Bowl which will be
competition, students are tested held in Washington, D.C., June
on standard high school cur- 22-26, 2012.
riculum; Math, Science, EngThe College Options Foundalish, and leadership skills. Only tion is a non-profit organization
24 teams in the nation will ad- dedicated to enriching the acavance to the finals.
demic development of high
The JROTC Leadership and school students and assisting
Academic Bowl is a nationally them in their preparation for
recognized academic competi- higher education. Using acation created exclusively for demic competitions, college
JROTC students. By participat- exam study guides, college ading, cadets learn the values of missions tutorials and personcitizenship, academic competi- alized counseling, College Option, and college opportunity. tions Foundation has assisted
The competition creates tre- the nation’s 1.1 million Departmendous opportunities for ment of Defense-JROTC cadets
JROTC and its cadets by dem- worldwide.
With Nadja on the stage singing Christmas songs, a giant tree with 30,000 lights sits nearby in Sherbrooke. Corey Bellam photo.
Where The North Country
Connects With The World!
Page 20
Obituaries
Clinton Henderson Wise
CLINTON WISE
COLEBROOK—Clinton
Henderson Wise, 57, of Colebrook, died on Nov. 28, 2011 at
the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.
He was born in Houston, Texas,
on Dec. 9, 1953, the son of Carl
D. and Joyce Delano (Porter)
Wise.
He was a graduate of New
Caney High School in New
Caney, Tex. He also attended
Cerritos College in Cerritos,
Calif., achieving a certificate
in health science. Wise was
also the proprietor of Sagmiller Funeral Home in Donna,
Tex., for seven years. He was
employed with Bechtel Engineering as a telecommunications specialist before his retirement in 2006. Clint will be
remembered for his adventurous spirit and passion
for traveling, but most of all
his love and devotion to his
family and friends.
He is survived by his loving
wife of 33 years, Marcia J.
Wise of Colebrook; his daughter and son-in-law, Kerri and
Gerry Woods of Colebrook;
his son, Benjamin “Andy”
Wise of Colebrook;
two granddaughters, Hailey
E. Woods and Hannah M.
Woods of Colebrook; his
mother and stepfather, Joyce
and Andrew Dabbs of Somerville, Tex.; his stepmother
Kathy Sims and her husband
Jim of Casper, Wyo.; his
sister and brother-in-law,
Sherry and David Gibbons of
Houston, Tex.; and his brother
Timothy Wise and Darlene of
Laurel, Neb. Clint leaves behind many nieces and nephews,
cousins and friends, brothersand sisters-in-law, including a
very special sister-in-law, Tracy
M. Simpson of Moreno Valley,
Calif.; his best friends George
Wallace, Mike Gaughan and
Gary Smith; and his canine
friends Maggie and Delilah. He
was predeceased by his father;
by his brother, Randy C. Wise;
and his sisters Carla D. and
Carolyn Kay Wise.
A service of remembrance
will be scheduled at a later
date. Memorial donations may
be made to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box
11454, Alexandria, VA 22312;
or online at www.diabetes.org.
SUELLEN M. WALLACE
STEWARTSTOWN—Suellen
Morgan Wallace, 48, passed
away on Tuesday, Dec. 13,
2011, at the DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center in
Lebanon, with her family by
her side, and after a long, brave
battle with leukemia.
She was born in Pompanusic
Springs, N.J., on November 16,
1963, a daughter to the late
John Clegg, Sr. and Elizabeth
(Portman) Clegg. Suellen attended schools and was raised
in New Jersey. Her family
moved to western New Hampshire in the 1970s.
Following her education,
Suellen worked for The Co-op
food store in Hanover for a period of time before she and her
husband moved to northern
New Hampshire so that she
could enjoy her favorite hobby,
which was snowmobiling. Upon
settling in Stewartstown, she
worked in the purchasing department at the Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital for
many years.
Suellen’s favorite thing to do
was to go snowmobiling, and
she was known to even ride
around the house in the summer months in anticipation of
the approaching winter.
She is survived by her husband, Scott Wallace of Stewartstown; her two sons, Daniel
Wallace of Stewartstown, and
Curtis Wallace of Colebrook; a
brother, John Clegg, Jr., of Epsom; and a sister, Lauren
Steinmetz of Grantham.
Memorial visiting hours will
be held on Saturday, Dec. 17,
2011, from 7-9 p.m. at Jenkins
and Newman Funeral Home in
Colebrook. All other services
are private.
Expressions of sympathy in
Suellen’s memory may be made
to the UCVH, 181 Corliss Lane,
Colebrook, NH 03576. Condolences may be offered to the
family online by going to
www.jenkinsnewman.com.
Funeral arrangements are
under the direction of Jenkins
and Newman Funeral Home,
Colebrook.
dolences may be offered to the
family online by going to
www.jenkinsnewman.com.
Colebrook.
Rosaire Rougeau
ROSAIRE ROUGEAU
PITTSBURG—Rosaire
Rougeau, 83, of Pittsburg
passed away suddenly on Saturday morning, Dec. 10, 2011,
at the Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook after
being stricken in West Stewartstown.
He was born in St. Malo,
Qué., on July 13, 1928, a son to
the late Wilfrid and Roseanna
(Bolduc) Rougeau. He attended
school in Canada and went to
work at a young age.
Since the age of 15, Rosaire
spent his working life as a
truck driver. He loved to drive,
and he worked for many different local trucking companies
and was also self-employed. He
enjoyed cutting great amounts
of wood for his stove, and he
enjoyed spending time with his
friends, family and grandchildren. Rosaire was known for
his joking manner and his wonderful sense of humor.
He leaves behind his wife of
60 years, Therese (Hebert)
Rougeau of Pittsburg; his four
children, Ginette Gagnon and
husband Donald of Canaan,
Vt., Richard Rougeau and wife
Carmen of Canaan, Marcel
Rougeau and wife Marie of Port
St. Lucie, Fla., and Roger
Rougeau and wife Therese of
Port St. Lucie; 12 grandchildren, Brian, Luke and Steve
Gagnon, Kevin, Ryan and Cory
Rougeau, Melissa and Michael
Burulia, Marlana and Michelle
Rougeau, Nathaniel Rougeau,
and Crystal Harding; five great
-grandchildren, Brandon,
Noah, Haeley, Sean and Jordan; four sisters, Estelle Marquis and Adrienne Royer of
Sherbrooke, Que., Jeanne Trudeau of Blainville, Que., and
Yvette Cotnoir of St. Jean
Richelieu, Que.; as well as
many nieces and nephews. Rosaire is preceded in death by
two brothers and two halfsisters.
There will be no public calling hours. A memorial Mass
will be held on Friday, Dec. 16,
2011, at 11 a.m. at St. Albert’s
Catholic Church in West Stewartstown, with The Rev. Craig
Cheney as celebrant. An interment service will be held in the
spring at St. Albert’s Cemetery.
his memory may be made to
the American Heart Association, NH Affiliate, 2 Wall St.,
Manchester, NH, 03101. Con-
MARION C. LANFEST
CANAAN, Vt.—Marion Carr
Lanfest, 90, of Canaan, Vt.,
passed away peacefully on
Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, at the
Coos County Nursing Hospital
in West Stewartstown, with her
loving family by her side.
She was born in Canaan, Vt.,
on Aug. 29, 1921, a daughter to
the late Lewis and Alice (Gray)
Carr. She graduated from Canaan High School and the Lyndon Normal School in Lyndon,
Vt.
She and her husband, Joseph Lanfest, made their home
in Penacook for many years
before returning to Canaan. While living in Penacook
she worked in the Occupational
Therapy Dept. at the N.H.
State Hospital and was a Girl
Scout Leader. For many years
she was a member of the N.H.
League of Arts and Crafts. After returning to Canaan, she
worked in the Activity Dept.
and as a volunteer at CCNH.
Marion was a very independent lady whose happiest years
were spent at her summer
home on Canaan Hill, tending
to her many gardens and pets,
especially her cats. She was a
nature lover who had an extensive knowledge of the outdoors
and herbs. She was a member
of the National Wildlife Society
and the Nature Conservancy. At the time of her death,
she was a charter member of
the Tasha Tudor Museum in
Brattleboro, Vt.
Marion is survived by her
daughter, Cornelia “Connie”
Provencher and husband Jack
of Canaan, Vt.; her brother,
George Carr and wife Virginia
of Averill, Vt.; her very special
long-time friend and companion, Paul Thibeault of Pittsburg; as well as nieces and
nephews. She is preceded in
death by her husband Joseph
Lanfest in 1978, and a brother,
Wilfred Gray.
Per her specific request,
there are no public calling
hours. A memorial service will
be held on Saturday, Dec. 17,
2011, at 2 p.m. at St. Paul’s
Espiscopal Church in Canaan,
Vt., with The Rev. Robert Lee
officiating. An interment service will be in the spring at the
Alice Hunt Cemetery in Canaan.
memory of Marion may be
made to the Tasha Tudor Museum, P.O. Box 2546, Brattleboro, Vt. 05303. Condolences
may be offered to the family
online by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com.
Colebrook.
Business Directory
Page 21
Call 603-246-8998
Bruce Katz, DDS
—DENTIST—
Main Street
Colebrook, NH 03576
Phone 237-8919
DAN′S Glass And Mirror
Daniel Dionne
TRUCKERS/LOGGERS
CALL For A Quote On Your
Trucks/Logging Equipment
and General Liability.
AND
Route 3, Clarksville, NH
Business 246-8996
•Residential and Commercial Glass
•Auto Glass
•Garage Door Sales and Service
•Garage Door Operators
•Screen and Window Repair
Garage Coverage, Homeowners
and Personal Autos.
CASS INSURANCE, INC.
P.O. BOX 406
Michelle
Nanc
NEWPORT, VT 05855
Tel. 802-334-6944
Fax: 802-334-6934
•Mirrors
For local
Weather
updates
and our
Video News
of the
Week,
Visit our website
Solomon’s
Pride Builders
REMODELING AND NEW CONSTRUCTION
Call Haze Smith at (802) 266-3067
Visit our new blog and check back often at:
pridebuildersvt.com
Quality construction emphasizing
comfort, safety, durability and
low energy bills!
GET REBATES
FOR YOUR
ENERGY
EFFICIENT
PURCHASES
Certified
Green
Professional
Supermarket
Main Street
West Stewartstown
246-8822
♦Quality Meats
♦Wine & Beer
♦Full Service Deli
♦Garden Produce
♦Footwear & Clothing
♦N.H. Fishing and
Hunting Licenses
♦Megabucks and
Lotto Tickets
♦ATM Cash Machine
The One Name in
One-Stop Shopping!
Family Owned
And Operated
For 78 Years.
Page 22
Classifieds
For Sale
Central Boiler E-Classic 3200 Outdoor Wood Burning Gasification
boilers. Over 97% efficient. Heats
average house or large apartment
building as well as domestic hot
water. Other models available. Call
1-800-295-8301.
3/30
Used tires bought and sold. Northern Tire N. Main St. Colebrook. 603
-237-8105.
12/31
Buying snowmobiles, ATVs and
motorcycles. Call (603) 538-6963
evenings or 1-800-298-6494 days.
TFN
Balsam Fir Christmas trees, choose
-n-cut, 858 Rte. 114, Canaan, Vt.
$15.00, any size. (802) 266-3424.
Call 603-246-8998
12/16
History of Columbia, N.H., ON
SALE, $37.95 or two for $70.00.
Available at Columbia Town Office,
Creative Natives or the Old Appletree. Or call (603) 237-5255.
12/23
2008 Ski-Doo Summit, XP 800,
146”, 1,900 miles, excellent condition, many extras. $6,500. Can be
seen on 159 E. Colebrook Rd. Call
(603) 237-8974.
12/30
REDUCED PRICE on 2004 Dodge
Stratus, 4 cyl., 4 dr., 62,630 original miles. Like new in and out.
New muffler, ball joints and struts.
$5,250 or best reasonable offer. 246
-7717.
12/30
Services
Allan Dudley electrical appliance
and power tools repair services,
vacuum cleaners, microwaves, etc.
All makes. 1-802-277-4424.
TFN
Wanted
Top dollar paid for junk cars and
trucks. Also, steel, batteries, aluminum cans. Call (603) 636-1667 days
or (603) 636-1304 nights.
2/24
Buying old watches and pocket
watches: working or not. Also old
Masonic and military items, old
knives and pocketknives, old
American and foreign coins, old
unusual items. Cash paid. (603)
747-4000.
12/30
FIREWOOD wanted—up to 10
cords, delivered, split or block. 2378038.
12/16
Farm Fresh
Food for Life, frozen sprouted
bread, local fresh eggs, $2/dz.,
spaguetti, butternut and delicate
squash, onions, potatoes, carrots,
spinach, lettuce, kale, Chinese
cabbage and parsley. Gluten and
dairy free products at the Copper
Leaf Store. Located in the green
building between IGA and the rest
area. 237-5318 for questions.
12/30
Grammy Haynes’ Little Herbal
Shop. Open Thurs., Fri., Sat., 10-5.
Or by appointment. 237-4395.
TFN
Pets
AKC registered golden retriever
puppies. (603) 449-6614.
12/16
For Rent
House in Pittsburg for yearly
rental. Quiet location, furnished or
unfurnished, 1 bdrm., living room,
kitchen, bath, satellite TV, heat
and electricity incl. Security deposit and one month’s rent and ref.
required. Call (603) 538-9961 for
details.
12/30
2 bedroom apt., heat, garbage and
snow removal included. Security
and first month rent. Call 246-3018
or 892-6968.
12/30
Help Wanted
Part-time, Crooked Chimney, 8
Parsons St., is expanding its ours.
Email at thecrookedchimneystoveshoppe@gmail.com or call (508) 854
-4223. No store walk-ins.
12/30
For local
Weather
updates
and our
Video News
of the
Week,
Visit our website
Page 23
Sports
Left photo: Pittsburg’s Robert Major reaches for the rebound in the game against Woodsville last Friday. Middle photo: Pittsburg and Woodsville boys played a rugged
match right up until the end of the fourth quarter, when Woodsville took the win. Right photo: Pittsburg’s Kirby Judd prepares for a block against Woodsville in the girls’
varsity game. Footage of the matchups can be seen in the sports section of this week’s Video News report. Thomas Jordan photos.
UPCOMING VARSITY
GAMES FROM DEC. 16-23
All basketball games will be
played at 5:30 and 7 p.m.
unless otherwise stated in the
schedule. Girls will be identified with a G and the boys with
a B or both will be listed after
the date and time of the game
(s).
Dec. 16, 2011:
Pittsburg at Canaan, G/B
Lin-Wood at Groveton, G/B
Colebrook at Woodsville, G/B
Dec. 19:
Groveton at Woodsville, G/B
Dec. 20:
USA at Canaan, G/B
Colebrook at Littleton, G/B
Pittsburg at Lisbon, G/B,
5/6:30 p.m.
Dec. 21:
Groveton at Profile, G/B
Dec. 22:
Canaan at Colebrook, G/B
BASKETBALL SCORES
FROM DEC. 8-14
Boys, Dec. 9, 2011:
Colebrook 74, Lin-Wood 42
Woodsville 53, Pittsburg 38
Littleton 78, Groveton 43
Girls:
Woodsville, 46, Pittsburg 8
Boys, Dec. 12:
Gorham 61, Pittsburg 41
NORTH COUNTRY GIRLS
VARSITY BASKETBALL
On Dec. 9 the Colebrook Mohawks dominated the Lin-Wood
Lumberjacks for the victory on
the road. Josee Brunault led
the game with 17 points and
Erica Cass had 12. The girls
shot 50 percent from the line
with 11-22. “We ran the floor
well,” said Head Coach Steve
Cass, “but we did not do a good
job in the half-court. Defensively were not active enough to
start, but with a little push in
the right direction we did come
around. We had some different
people step and that is always a
good thing to help. We need to
be able to take care of the ball
when in transition though. We
are getting a better understanding of what other teams
are trying to do and we just
On Dec. 12, the Pittsburg
need to make the right adjustPanthers lost on the road at the
ments.”
Gorham Huskies. Kiya DeWitt
led the team with nine points
On Dec. 9, the Groveton Ea- and Mikayla Nawojczyk and
gles lost on the road to the Taylor Ormsbee both had five.
Littleton Crusaders. Jena The girls shot 55 percent from
Wheelock led the Eagles with the line. Gorham’s Alyssa Careight points and Shauna Ran- lisle led the team with nine
dall had six. The girls shot 58 points and Haley Holmes and
percent from the line. Crusad- Jessica Stewart both had eight.
ers Taylor Glidden led the game The girls shot 58 percent at the
with 20 points and Alyssa Keefe line.
“We played much better ofhad 13. Littleton shot 63 perfensively,” said Head Coach
cent.
The Eagles were up 8-7 after Jordan Larlee, “We moved the
the first quarter. In the second ball a lot better and made more
the Crusaders down by one 14- opportunities, but we just didn’t
13 went on a 9-0 run midway finish the plays with baskets.
through the quarter to nurture We played better defensively as
a 22-14 lead going into the half, well. We had a few stretches
which ultimately Groveton where they got easy fast break
wouldn’t recover from. points off of poor passing and
“Littleton’s second-quarter run boxing out. I believe that we
was a key part of their win,” have turned a corner, and fisaid Head Coach Tim Haskins, nally have a game to build
“Glidden scored a basket with a upon. The girls found in this
second left before the half and game that the system works
drew the foul and converted the and if they work together it will
free throw. This was a tough continue to work for them in
early season game for us where the future.”
—Liz Carney
they probably figured they had
the advantage, this time
VARSITY BASKETBALL
around anyway. We don’t meet
BOYS PREVIEWS
them again until near the end
Colebrook Mohawks
of the season on Feb. 6. We
Colebrook Mohawks boys’
hope to be developed enough as
a team to give them a better varsity basketball team’s Head
game and give ourselves a Coach Buddy Trask will return
for another year with Duane
chance to win.”
Call and Craig Bedard as his
assistants. There are 14 on this
Woodsville 46, Pittsburg 8
On Dec. 9 the Pittsburg Pan- year’s roster with eight returnthers lost at home to the ing to the team. This year’s
Woodsville Engineers. Mikayla 2011/12 basketball team is a
Nawojczyk led the team with little young with only one senthree points and Kiya DeWitt ior, Bryan Griffin; three junand Kirby Judd had two. The iors, Nick Hebert, Jordan Begirls shot 67 percent from the dard and Dylan Leach; four
line. The Engineers’ Corrina sophomores, Parker McKinnon,
Kinder led the game with 16 Nick Bouchard, Taylor Inkell
points and Stephanie McDer- and Justin Siewierski; six
mott had 11. The girls shot 57 freshmen, Jake Scherer, Richard Davis, Bryce Hicks, Creed
percent.
“We struggled offensively for Cooney, Nathan Cass and
an opening in their zone de- Robert Davis.
The boys will have a lot of
fense,” said Head Coach Jordan
Larlee, “Defensively, we played work ahead of them considering
a lot better, but our bad passing the loss of Tyler Griffin, Alex
gave up easy fast break points Hibbard, and Andrew Hicks to
on us. Our offense struggled, graduation which will be diffibut our defense, boxing out and cult to replace. “We were basically a six person team last seaour aggressiveness improved.”
son,” said Coach Buddy Trask,
“and we pretty much lost our
whole front line when we lost
our two forwards and our center. We lost about 60 to 65 percent of our scoring and about 75
percent of our rebounding. We
really don’t have very many
strengths right now because we
have issues in all five areas
that you need to be competitive
like our rebounding and shooting.”
The Mohawks played their
first game on the road at LinWood on Dec. 9. Colebrook’s
Dylan Leach led the game with
19 points and Bryan Griffin had
15. Lin-Wood’s Max Dovhluk
and David Walker both had
nine. The Mohawks were 59
percent at the line and LinWood was 61 percent.
“We may have won our first
game by about 30,” said Coach
Trask, “but we only averaged
30 percent shooting a quarter
and Lin-Wood is in a more difficult place than we are with their
own issues to work on. Our passing and ball handling need to be
a lot better. Defensively we need
to be a lot better. We really need
to improve on all five aspects of
the game. We have issues in
every area right now. We will
find out a lot more as we play
better teams. We need to improve our competitiveness over
anything else. To get to where
our program has been that’s
what we need to do. We did run
the floor very well against LinWood and did some good things
defensively, but when we get
tired we stop playing the game,
but you get that with a young
and inexperienced team.”
Groveton Eagles
The Groveton Eagles boys’
varsity team’s Head Coach Mark
Collins will be returning for his
Page 24
Sports
Left photo: Groveton’s Caroline Hall goes up for a shot during the
Littleton game. Right photo: Groveton’s Nate Smith goes up for a
shot. Tina McKenzie photos.

December 16, 2011 - Colebrook Chronicle

Transcription

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