Author: The Hippo Press

Dedicated to school athletics

Noah Jenkins, a Nashua High School North Class of 2019 graduate, was presented with the 2020 Walter Smith Award last week. According to a press release, Jenkins won the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association award for his involvement in the school’s athletics both as a student and after graduation. He was the manager of the North baseball team when he was a student, and since then he has helped at athletic events, setting up gyms indoors, overseeing invitational meets, and supporting team practice sessions each season, the release said.

Score: +1

Comment: “After a workout started, he threw on catcher’s gear and caught bullpens for two hours,” Zach Harris, North guidance counselor and baseball coach, said in the release. “For those who know baseball, this is not an easy or glorious task.”

TikTok trouble

Schools are dealing with the fallout of a TikTok challenge known as “Devious Licks,” which has students stealing soap dispensers, bathroom mirrors and even toilets and urinals (according to QOL’s own kids as well as teens at several other local school districts). According to a report last week from WMUR, vandalism in Weare, for example, resulted in more than $1,000 worth of damage.

Score: -2

Comment: All the teens that QOL knows said the challenge is just annoying, since bathroom usage is now being closely monitored and some bathrooms are closed altogether. And seriously, how do you steal a urinal, and what would you even do with it?

Slightly lower tax rate for food and lodging

As of Oct. 1 the state’s Meals and Rooms Tax rate will decrease by 0.5 percent, from 9 percent to 8.5 percent, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. The department sent out the release as a reminder to businesses to implement the new rate, to “help ensure transparency with customers who will be expecting this lower rate, and ensure compliance with state law,” Lindsey Stepp, department commissioner, said in the release. The tax is charged to patrons of eateries or any facility with sleeping accommodations, as well as motor vehicle rentals.

Score: +1

Comment: It’s a small bit of good news as prices on seemingly everything — especially food — continue to rise.

Lacking diversity

New Hampshire is the country’s 4th least diverse state, according to a new report from personal-finance website WalletHub. According to a press release, the data gathered was in the categories of socio-economic, cultural, economic, household, religious and political diversity. New Hampshire’s best scores were in Birthplace Diversity (15th place) and Educational-Attainment Diversity (16th) and its worst were Racial and Ethnic Diversity (47th), Household-Type Diversity (46th) and Religious Diversity (46th).

Score: -1

Comment: Probably not surprisingly, Maine and Vermont are both less diverse than the Granite State (ranking 49th and 48th, respectively), but the least diverse state in the country is West Virginia, according to the report.

QOL score: 81

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 80

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

New Hampshire represents!

The Big E might be in Massachusetts, but New Hampshire has its own day and its own building at the 17-day fair, which is going on now and runs through Oct. 3. According to a press release, visitors to this year’s New Hampshire Building will find businesses, products and entertainers that highlight the Granite State’s craftsmanship, food, arts and agriculture. Special exhibits and demonstrations will feature crafts like chair caning, woodcarving, basket making, Russian doll making and more, and eats include blueberry pie and ice cream and butter-dipped New Hampshire corn on the cob.

Score: +1

Comment: Local performers will be on stage during New Hampshire Day, which is Friday, Sept. 24. The lineup includes a magic show by BJ Hickman, folk music by Cormac McCarthy, barbershop music from the Keene Cheshiremen Chorus and jazz by Joan Watson Jones, the release said.

Manchester West Nile virus risk elevated

Another batch of mosquitoes collected in Manchester on Sept. 7 tested positive for West Nile virus, according to a press release from the city’s Health Department. Because this is the second positive batch of mosquitoes to test positive in Manchester this season, the city’s level of risk has been elevated to moderate. According to Manchester Public Health Director Anna Thomas, the risk of infection by mosquito-borne viruses may increase from now until there is a mosquito-killing frost.

Score: -1

Comment:“We are recommending that all residents use an effective mosquito repellent that contains 30 percent DEET, avoid being outdoors at dawn and dusk and remove standing water from around the home … to limit the risks of catching these infections,” Thomas said in the release.

Foliage festival will have to wait another year

The annual Warner Fall Foliage Festival, which was scheduled to take place in person Oct. 8 through Oct. 10, has been canceled. According to a message on the event’s website, the board decided last week to cancel the festival, “with tremendous disappointment, but complete confidence that it’s the right thing to do. … Our people and our community’s health and safety has always been our top priority; it always will be.” Last year’s festival was held virtually, but there are no plans to host any of the annual activities virtually this year. “No one is happy about this situation,” the festival committee wrote in its message. “We sincerely apologize.”

Score: -2

Comment: While there were a few negative comments on the event’s Facebook page in response to the announcement, most people have been supportive of the decision. “We’ve been coming to the Fall Foliage Festival for many years and always look forward to it,” one person posted. “As disappointed as we all are, you absolutely did the right thing!!! See you next year (fingers and toes crossed!!!).”

Saying goodbye to an old school

After 130 years of serving children, Hallsville Elementary School in Manchester will be decommissioned, according to a press release, meaning that the city school, which closed for good in June, will be officially returned to the city. The public is being invited to attend the decommissioning ceremony and open house on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 3 to 5 p.m. “A hundred and 30 years is a long time, and we’ve had many generations — entire families — come through here,” Forrest Ransdell, former Hallsville principal and current network director for the school district, said in the release. “This event will commemorate that educational tradition, and recognize the contributions of those who made this school what it is. We hope to see some of those people at this event.”

Score: -1

Comment: Students who attended Hallsville have been moved to either Jewett Street Elementary or Southside Middle School.

QOL score: 84

Net change: -3

QOL this week: 81

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.