Earlier this week — and for the second time in two weeks — the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services issued a statewide advisory due to high concentrations of fine particle air pollution. Officials called for an Air Quality Action Day on July 26 and July 27 and advised children and older adults, people with lung disease such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, and people who are active outdoors to limit prolonged outdoor exertion. According to a press release, the air pollution is being caused by the wildfires in the western U.S. and central and western Canada. The air quality was expected to improve on Wednesday, with winds pushing smoke plumes out of the area, but as of Tuesday morning the wildfires were still burning, which could mean more Air Quality Action Days for New Hampshire.
Score: -1
Comment:Even healthy individuals are encouraged to limit outdoor activity, as particle pollution exposure may cause chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, the release said.
Mission accomplished
With much fewer Covid-19 cases than at the height of the pandemic, and with strong vaccination rates throughout the state, the Senior Support Team of New Hampshire has ended its operations supporting senior residential facilities. According to a press release, the fully remote, all-volunteer organization was formed in April 2020 to support assisted living facilities and other senior residential facilities in New Hampshire through the pandemic. Covid Response Liaisons were available every day to communicate with senior facilities, providing facility leaders with guidance, and a statewide team advocated for supplies or services to help make outbreaks in senior facilities less likely. About 55 senior residential facilities participated in the Covid Response Liaison program, the release said.
Score: +1
Comment: The rapid organization of this all-volunteer group, and its work throughout the pandemic, is impressive, but the real positive here is the fact that it’s no longer needed.
Beware of Child Tax Credit scams
Advance payments of the Child Tax Credit from the Internal Revenue Service are now being delivered to families, and along with them are new scams that criminals are using to steal money and personal information. According to a press release, any families that are eligible for the credit should be on the lookout for phone, email, text message and social media scams, specifically communication offering assistance to sign up for the Child Tax Credit or to speed up the monthly payments. When receiving unsolicited calls or messages, taxpayers should not provide personal information, click on links or open attachments, the release said.
Score: -1
Comment:If you are eligible for advance payments of the Child Tax Credit, the IRS will use information from your 2020 or 2019 tax return to automatically enroll you for advance payments, and there is nothing further that you need to do, the release said.
Thriving school systems
New Hampshire has the fifth best school system in the country, according to a recent study released by personal finance website WalletHub, which compiled data of 32 key measures of quality and safety. According to the study, New Hampshire ranks No. 1 in Median ACT Scores and in Existence of Digital Learning Plan. Other Top 10 ratings include No. 3 in Pupil-Teacher Ration, No. 4 in Reading Test Scores and No. 6 in Math Test Scores.
Score: +1
Comment: Overall, we ranked fourth for quality and 12th for safety. Massachusetts ranked first overall, snagging the top spot for both quality and safety.
QOL score: 82 Net change: 0 QOL this week: 82
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
With its public health update on July 20, New Hampshire surpassed 100,000 overall cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic last year. As of July 26, there were 364 active cases, 23 hospitalizations and 1,385 overall deaths that have been attributed to the virus.
On July 21, Gov. Chris Sununu responded to the federal government’s extension of the non-essential travel ban between the United States and Canada through at least Aug. 21, calling the decision “absurd” to delay the border opening for another month. “It harms our small businesses and families, and does not follow the science,” Sununu said in a statement.
Also on July 21, the University of New Hampshire announced in a press release that it has obtained a federal grant to perform surveillance for Covid-19 variants in the state. The $757,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, according to a press release, enables UNH to perform testing in its lab in partnership with New Hampshire Public Health Laboratories and the state Department of Health & Human Services.
During a July 22 press conference, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that the state has averaged about 40 new infections of Covid-19 per day over the previous week. “This is a small increase from about a month ago, when we were averaging around 20 or so new infections per day,” he said. “Similarly, the test positivity rate is also showing an increase, [at] around 1.9 percent over the last week.” Overall, however, Chan added that the level of community transmission statewide has remained low. “Despite some of the increases we’ve seen, New Hampshire has one of the lowest rates of Covid-19 currently in the country,” he said.
Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, also provided an update during the press conference on vaccine distributions in the state. “The number of new people getting vaccinated each day has slowed down over time, [but] we still have about 1,000 new people each week,” she said. While New Hampshire is no longer allocated a weekly amount of vaccine doses from the federal government, health care providers can order them on an as-needed basis.
According to a July 23 press release, Sununu signed HB 220, known as the “medical freedom” immunization bill, into law. Under the new law, New Hampshire residents cannot be required to be vaccinated in order to access public facilities, benefits or services. It also allows mandatory immunizations in prisons and jails. The new law does not apply, however, to county nursing homes, the state psychiatric hospital or other medical facilities operated by the state.
Anti-discrimination
Guidance related to the new discriminatory practice prohibitions for public employers and government programs that were passed as part of House Bill 2 was issued last week by Attorney General John M. Formella, Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut and Commission for Human Rights Executive Director Ahni Malachi. Two frequently asked questions documents are now available at doj.nh.gov that further explain the new anti-discrimination laws, one for public employees and government programs and one for K-12 educational programs.
According to the guidance, HB2 was passed on June 25 and includes sections 297 and 298, Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Public Workplaces and Education. “There has been much discussion about this law and what prohibitions it imposes on public employers, government programs, and schools,” the document reads. “The purpose of these FAQs is to provide guidance to public employers, government program administrators, and school systems as they review their compliance with this new law.”
Questions address things like what public employers and government programs are prohibited from training and advocating: “In short, do not train or advocate that a person or a group is inherently oppressive, superior, inferior, racist, or sexist. Train and treat all equally and without discrimination,” the document reads. In the K-12 educational programs FAQ, one question asks whether the law prohibits teachers from teaching U.S. history. “No. Nothing prohibits the teaching of historical subjects including, but not limited to: slavery, treatment of the Native American population, Jim Crow laws, segregation, treatment of women, treatment of LGBTQ+ people, treatment of people with disabilities, treatment of people based on their religion, or the Civil Rights movement. Nor does anything prohibit discussions related to current events including, but not limited to: the Black Lives Matter movement, efforts to promote equality and inclusion, or other contemporary events that impact certain identified groups.”
The documents note that the term “divisive concepts” is not found anywhere in the new law, and that nothing in the new law prohibits these entities from examining issues related to equity, diversity, inclusion, equality and other related topics. They also recognize that such topics may make people uncomfortable, but that does not mean that the training has violated New Hampshire’s anti-discrimination laws and does not give employees or participants the license to refuse to participate in the training without consequence.
Auto insurance
The New Hampshire Insurance Department has issued a reminder to consumers to notify their auto insurance company immediately after getting a new vehicle. “Recent complaint investigations have shown that not all consumers are notifying their carriers when they are purchasing used or new vehicles,” Keith Nyhan, Director of Consumer Services at NHID, said in a press release. “The failure to notify their carrier has created situations where consumers are unknowingly uninsured.” According to the release, people typically have only a short grace period to notify their carrier. If they miss that window and the vehicle is not insured, they could be held financially responsible for injury and property damage caused while driving that vehicle.
Coppal House Farm in Lee is hosting its annual Sunflower Festival from Saturday, July 31, through Sunday, Aug. 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. According to a press release, the 4-acre field of sunflowers is only open during this festival. There will also be live music, food vendors, a wine garden, a craft fair and more. Tickets are available at the farm stand or at nhsunflower.com
On July 22 the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services issued an advisory after observing a cyanobacteria bloom on Governors Lake in Raymond. The previous day it issued a cyanobacteria advisory for Marsh Pond in New Durham. According to a press release, the advisories are intended for people who use the water bodies for recreation, as the blooms can release toxins that can cause acute and chronic health problems. See updated advisories at twitter.com/NHDES_Beaches.
Peter Holland, a longtime race team coach at Pats Peak in Henniker, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award during Ski New Hampshire’s annual business meeting earlier this month. According to a press release, the award was presented posthumously to his wife Roberta Holland. Peter Holland began his ski career at Pats Peak as a ski instructor in 1980 and dedicated decades to teaching and coaching skiers of all ages, the release said.
The Merrimack Fire Department was called to the Merrimack Premium Outlets on July 24 after employees of one store received what they thought was a suspicious package, according to a report from WMUR. The hazardous materials team in Nashua was also called in, and the package was determined to be safe, but all shoppers and employees were evacuated, and the outlets remained closed for the rest of the day, the report said.
The recent loss of Meri Goyette is hard to put into words — but here goes.
For anyone who grew up or lived in Nashua since about the time of the Truman administration, Meri was as much a part of the city as the Main Street Bridge or City Hall or the Nashua High School marching band playing “Our Director” every time the Purple Panthers scored a touchdown.
Meri, who passed away last week at age 95, and her late husband Charlie (who we lost a few years ago) both played a huge role in making Nashua a better place for many, many years. And while it’s important to celebrate their accomplishments, it’s also worth asking: who among us will take their place?
The answer, of course, is no one — not exactly.
I don’t think anyone, for instance, will ever match Charlie’s record of delivering more than 10,000 Nashua area babies (me included!) during his decades as a local ob-gyn practitioner.
And Meri — well, we could devote this whole issue of the Hippo to listing the many projects and initiatives she spearheaded to make Nashua a better place, especially in the arts.
That’s another area I can attest to: My first drawing lessons took place in 1972 at the then-new Arts & Science Center on Court Street, which Meri helped champion and make a reality.
Much later, Meri was a big supporter of the Hippo, and never more so when we published a separate edition for Nashua for a few years early on. She practically adopted one of our writers, Seth Hoy, making it her business to invite him to all the receptions and gatherings she frequently hosted at her home.
For decades, she and Charlie were local ambassadors for making Nashua the best place it could possibly be. In terms of the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life, they both helped Nashua trend more toward Bedford Falls than Pottersville.
And who can take their place? Truly, no one. But with the Goyettes now gone, it’s up to us to try — to channel our inner Meri and Charlie, and make our own efforts to make our own communities the best they can be. Keeping in mind their stellar example, we can all make a difference.
For all their interest in the arts, and in sculpture in particular, I think that’s one monument that the Goyettes would most appreciate.
New Hampshire’s dairy farms play a big part in the making of this cool summer treat. Find out how your favorite local ice cream is made.
Also on the cover, Henniker illustrator, painter and digital artist turns his attention to capturing musicians and abandoned cars on camera, p. 10. Try a fragrant cocktail, p. 28. And local musician Alli Beaudry hosts a musical showcase at the Rex, p. 36.
Shaker Village welcomes resident artists Every summer, Canterbury Shaker Village offers an artist-in-residence program where artists spend two weeks living ...
Covid-19 updateAs of July 12As of July 19Total cases statewide99,77099,966Total current infections statewide197224Total deaths statewide1,3751,382New cases215 (July 3 to July ...
Michael J. Chambers Auctioneer Michael J. Chambers of Chambers Auction Service in Atkinson is a professional auctioneer specializing in automobile, ...
Kayley Bowen of Bedford is the owner of O’Regan Breads (oreganbreads@gmail.com, visit facebook.com/oreganbreads or follow on Instagram @backtothegrindstone), a homestead ...
It’s berry season in New Hampshire, which means it’s time to get some fruit and start baking! Growing up with wild blueberries in my backyard, this fruit was always part of my summer. Blueberry muffins, pancakes and crisps were made regularly this time of year.
You might notice that I didn’t mention blueberry pies. There may have been one or two, but I am not a fan of pie. Call me odd, but I find pie crust to be boring. I would much rather enjoy my blueberries in a different format.
After years of making blueberry crisp, I decided to see if I could transform that recipe from a “serve it in a bowl” dessert to something that might need only a plate or napkin. Thus, I have this recipe for blueberry crisp bars.
These bars have that same sweet and crumbly topping of oats and brown sugar for the base as well. That means you’re getting two layers of oat-y goodness filled with sweet and jammy blueberries.
Two important notes on the ingredients for this recipe. The blueberries need to be fresh. If you use frozen, there will be extra liquid, which will make the bars soggy. Although the blueberries need to be fresh, the lemon juice can come out of the bottle. You need a little tartness but not a ton of flavor, so you can skip buying and juicing lemons.
Michele Pesula Kuegler has been thinking about food her entire life. Since 2007, the New Hampshire native has been sharing these food thoughts and recipes at her blog, Think Tasty. Visit thinktasty.com to find more of her recipes.
Blueberry crisp bars Makes 16
2½ cups fresh blueberries ⅓ cup granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons cornstarch ½ Tablespoon lemon juice 1 cup all-purpose flour ⅔ cup light brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 10 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed 1¼ cups old-fashioned oats
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside. Place the blueberries in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the sugar and cornstarch over the blueberries; toss to coat. Add lemon juice and stir to combine; set aside. Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingers, and cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles small peas. Add oatmeal to the flour mixture, and stir well to combine. Press approximately 1¾ cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the blueberry mixture on top of the crust. Sprinkle remaining crust mixture evenly on top of the blueberries and press lightly. Bake for 45 minutes uncovered. Cover with foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until a knife in the center shows only blueberry juice and no raw dough. Remove from the oven and cool on a baking rack..
Preliminary numbers show that violent crime in Manchester is down 25 percent from April of this year to the end of June. The city usually sees about a 9-percent increase in violent crime heading into the summer months, according to a press release, and the Manchester Police Department is attributing this success in part to the CompStat360 initiative, which promotes collaboration with community members and other city stakeholders to solve community problems, as well as strong collaboration with local, county, state and federal law enforcement and prosecutors. One of the top priorities has been violent crime prevention and reduction, the release said.
Score: +1
Comment: The data also shows that gun crime in Manchester has dropped 40 percent compared to 2020 and is down 20 percent when compared to the five-year average, the release said.
Tuition freeze at community colleges
The Community College System of New Hampshire will once again freeze tuition at $215 per credit, or $6,450 per year, in tuition costs for a full-time course load. According to a press release, the rate has been the same for four years, and New Hampshire’s community colleges continue to be the most affordable college options for residents. In addition, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Foundation for New Hampshire Community Colleges are offering one free, three-credit course in the fall semester to any member of a New Hampshire high school class of ’21.
Score: +1
Comment:Annual full-time tuition at New Hampshire’s seven community colleges costs only $150 more than it did a decade ago when the tuition rate was $210 per credit for the 2011 school year, according to the release.
Hiring challenges mean less amusement
Without enough employees to staff its regular hours, Canobie Lake Park in Salem will now be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and will close early a few days a week, according to a report from WMUR. Park officials told WMUR that while about half of the staff returns each year, new applicants are down 75 percent. The new hours of the park are Wednesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. until 7 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Score: -1
Comment: At least you can still get nauseatingly dizzy on the Turkish Twist five days a week.
Keeping lakes clean
The Lake Host courtesy boat inspection program is celebrating its 20th anniversary as once again its hundreds of lake hosts posted at 100 of the busiest boat ramps in the state are teaching boaters how to clean their boats to prevent the spread of invasive species. According to a press release from NH LAKES, over the past 19 years the Lake Host program has slowed the rate of spread of invasive plants, including milfoil, from lake to lake. The primary way invasive species spread is on boats that have not been thoroughly cleaned, drained and dried between voyages in different bodies of water.
Score: +1
Comment:Approximately 90 of the state’s water bodies contain infestations of invasive species that can clog boat motors and propellers, according to the release, and once they are firmly established they are nearly impossible to get rid of.
QOL score: 80 Net change: +2 QOL this week: 82
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.
