A Fourth full of fireworks

Communities plan Independence Day celebrations

Fourth of July fireworks are looking more promising this year. Concord, Manchester and Nashua are all planning fireworks events, and so are several other communities in southern New Hampshire. All events take place on Sunday, July 4, unless otherwise noted. All events are subject to change or cancellation, so check with the town before heading out.

Bristol

Where: Over Newfound Lake

When: July 3 at dusk; rain date July 4

Canterbury

Where: Canterbury Elementary School (15 Baptist Road)

When: Saturday, July 3, at 9 p.m.

Concord

Where: Memorial Field (70 S. Fruit St.)

When: Approximately 9:15 p.m. The Nevers Band will perform starting at 7:45 p.m. Rain date is July 5.

Derry

Where: Suggested viewing along Tsienneto Road, Hood Commons, Folsom Road and Crystal Avenue

When: Dusk (approximately 9 p.m.)

Dover

Where: Set off at Garrison Hill Park, viewable from around the city

When: 9:15 p.m.

Exeter

Where: Swasey Park (316 Water St.)

When: July 10, after 8 p.m.

Hampton

Where: Hampton Beach (Ocean Boulevard)

When: 9:30 p.m.

Hillsboro

Where: Hillsboro fairgrounds (17 Hilldale Lane)

When: July 10, 10 p.m.

Laconia

Where: Weirs Beach and Opechee Park (915 N. Main St.)

When: July 3 at 11:59 p.m. at Weirs and July 4 at 10 p.m. at Opechee

The second annual Independence Day Boat Parade on Lake Winnipesaukee will take place at Weirs Beach from 1 to 4 p.m.

Manchester

Where: Arms Park (10 Arms St.) and Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (1 Line Drive)

When: At 9:30 p.m. on July 3 at Arms Park and after the Fisher Cats game on July 4

Merrimack

Where: Merrimack High School (38 McElwain St.)

When: 9 p.m.

The town is also hosting its annual Fourth of July Parade, which will feature bands, militia units, clowns, community organizations and more. This year the town is celebrating its 275th anniversary, so the theme for the parade is Celebrate Merrimack’s History – Past, Present and Future. The parade begins at the Commons Shopping Plaza (515 Daniel Webster Hwy.), then travels south down Daniel Webster Highway, onto Baboosic Lake Road, then O’Gara Drive, ending in front of Merrimack High School.

Milford

Where: Keyes Memorial Field (45 Elm St.)

When: July 2, dusk

Nashua

Where: Holman Stadium (67 Amherst St.)

When: 9 p.m.

New Boston

Where: Hillsboro fairgrounds (17 Hilldale Lane)

When: 9:15 p.m.

Portsmouth

Where: Leary Field (Parrott Avenue)

When: July 3, 9 p.m.

Raymond

Where: Town Common

When: July 10, 9:30 p.m.

Salem

Where: Tuscan Village (72 Rockingham Park Boulevard)

When: July 3, 9 p.m.

Sunapee

Where: Sunapee Harbor

When: July 3 at dusk

Weare

Where: Town center

When: July 17 at dusk

Windham

Where: Windham High School (64 London Bridge Road)

When: June 30 at 9:30 p.m.; rain date July 1

In lieu of fireworks…
There won’t be any fireworks in Amherst this year, but the town is hosting a “reverse parade” at Souhegan High School (412 Boston Post Road) from 9 to 10 a.m. Clowns, cheerleaders, bands and more will be standing on the sides of a looped route, allowing people in cars to drive through the loop and wave.

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Travel the World!

Travel the World

Stuck at home this summer? Pick up a good book and let it take you away. Local booksellers and librarians share their top picks for books that can transport you, whether it’s to a tropical beach, a foreign land, a courtroom or a zoo.

Also on the cover, find fireworks to celebrate the Fourth, p. 16. Tammaro’s Cucina is coming to Litchfield, p. 23. And there’s a ton of live music happening during this long holiday weekend, p. 33.

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Quality of Life 21/07/01

Healthy state for kids

The 2021 Kids Count Data Book, released last week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranks New Hampshire second in the United States for overall child well-being. According to a press release from New Futures, a nonprofit that aims to improve the health and wellness of New Hampshire residents, the national report uses data from four domains in each state: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community context. According to the report, New Hampshire ranks first in family and community context, third in overall health, fifth in education and sixth in economic well-being.

Score: +1

Comment: According to the release, New Hampshire moved from second to first in family and community context because the number of children living in single-parent families decreased from 30 percent in 2018 to 28 percent in 2019, and the number of children living in high-poverty areas dropped from 2 percent in 2018 to less than 1 percent in 2019.

Safe state for cats and dogs

For the first time, New Hampshire is a no-kill state, according to the annual pet lifesaving data recently released by Best Friends Animal Society, with no dogs or cats killed in state shelters in 2020. It’s the second state in the country (after Delaware) to reach no-kill status, the release said, with an aggregate shelter pet save rate of 92.62 percent, which factors in the approximately 10 percent of pets who enter shelters and have medical or behavioral issues that warrant humane euthansia. Of the 8,573 dogs and cats that entered New Hampshire shelters in 2020, all were saved, according to the release.

Comment: +1

Score: In 2019, only 76.47 percent of the state’s shelters were no-kill, according to the release.

American pride

The Fourth of July should be a big day in the Granite State — according to a new report from the personal-finance website WalletHub, New Hampshire is the fifth most patriotic state in the nation.

Data compiled included number of military enlistees and veterans, volunteer hours and share of adults who voted in the 2020 presidential election. According to the report, New Hampshire ranked first in civics education requirement, fourth in percentage of adults who voted in the presidential election and sixth in Peace Corps volunteers per capita.

Score: +1

Comment: New Hampshire follows Montana, Alaska, Maryland and Vermont in patriotism, according to the report.

Queen City scams

In the past couple of weeks, Manchester police have dealt with two significant scams. On June 17, they handled a report from an elderly woman who had received calls from a man who said her Social Security number had been used in a drug and money laundering crime in Texas and told her to send $25,000 to a UPS dropoff in Tampa so that they could make sure the money was kept safe, according to a press release. The woman sent the money to the address, but a Manchester detective told the store manager to hold on to the package, and it was ultimately returned to her. On June 22, Manchester police sent out an Amber Alert for a missing mother and her 4-year-old son, who were found safe in the city soon after the alert went out. Detectives believe the incident was a phone scam, where someone calls the victim and says a family member is in trouble, then demands money for the individual’s safe return, according to a press release.

Score: -2

Comment: Both of these scams ended as happily as they could have, but the police remind everyone to be wary of any suspicious calls or requests for money.

QOL score: 77
Net change: +1
QOL this week: 78

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

News & Notes 21/07/01

Covid-19 updateAs of June 21As of June 28
Total cases statewide99,32999,455
Total current infections statewide196155
Total deaths statewide1,3671,371
New cases186 (June 15 to June 21)126 (June 22 to June 28)
Current infections: Hillsborough County5525
Current infections: Merrimack County1311
Current infections: Rockingham County3235
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Covid-19 news

State health officials announced 19 new positive cases of Covid-19 in New Hampshire on June 28. The state averaged 21 new cases per day over the most recent seven-day period (June 22 to June 28), a 10-percent decrease compared to the previous week.

As of June 28, just over 730,000 Granite Staters — roughly 53.9 percent of the state’s population — were fully vaccinated. State-run vaccination sites were set to close on June 30, but vaccine doses are still available at hundreds of locations statewide, including at many hospitals, pharmacies, outpatient offices and community health centers.

The United States Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit filed by the State of New Hampshire against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, according to a June 28 report from WMUR, over income taxes collected from roughly 80,000 Granite Staters working from home for Massachusetts companies during the pandemic.

“This decision will have lasting ramifications for thousands of Granite State residents,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement on June 28 following the ruling.

State budget passed

On June 25, Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB 1 and HB 2 into law and issued the following statement: “Historic tax cuts, property tax relief, and Paid Family Medical Leave delivered all in one sweeping action is a win for every citizen and family in this state.” House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) applauded the actions, saying in a statement that the House passed a “historic budget that is balanced and fiscally responsible,” and that “Republicans delivered on tax cuts, reduced spending, education freedom, much needed mental health services and more without raising taxes or increasing spending.” NH House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) said in a statement that the budget includes more than $170 million in tax cuts and is “a major win for every single taxpayer in this state.” Democrats in the House disagreed. Rep. Mary Jane Wallner (D-Concord), ranking Democrat on the House Finance Committee, said in a statement that the budget does not meet the needs of constituents and that cuts to vital programs and services will hurt the state’s most vulnerable residents. House Democratic Leader Renny Cushing (D-Hampton) said in a statement that the budget “harms our state by cutting education funding, raising property taxes, and forcing right-wing ideology on the people of New Hampshire.”

New Hampshire’s kids

Several state departments have recently announced programs and services designed to promote the quality of life of children and families throughout the state.

Mental health at camp: Community mental health centers in New Hampshire will be offering services at camps throughout the state this summer. According to a press release, the Department of Education and the Community Behavioral Health Association are using Covid-19 response funds to provide mental health training to camp counselors and will be on site offering mental health services at many camps in the state as well. These services are part of the Department of Education’s Rekindling Curiosity: Every Kid Goes to Camp program, which offers camp tuition support in an effort to get more kids outside and participating in normal activities to counteract some of the negative effects of the pandemic, the release said. The 10 community mental health centers in the state will each designate staff members to be on site at camps on a weekly basis, and camp counselors ages 14 and older will receive training to address basic mental health issues as well as any mental health crises that may arise.

Stabilizing child care: The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services will use federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act to launch several new initiatives in the next few weeks, according to a press release, including stabilization grants to child care programs, workforce recruitment and retention efforts, and market rate increases for the NH Child Care Scholarship Program. All of the initiatives are designed to help residents who need access to child care return to work. According to the release, they include child care stabilization grants open to all licensed and enrolled license-exempt child care providers beginning July 12; child care scholarship increases for families enrolled in the NH Child Care Scholarship Program beginning July 12; child care workforce recruitment and retention efforts; a child care virtual job board; a pre-apprenticeship program to provide experience for people interested in a career in child care; and Open Your Home to Child Care, which will help people who are interested in becoming family child care providers and license-exempt home providers navigate the start-up process.

Charter school grants: The 2020-2021 federal charter school grant competition is now underway, with applications being accepted until 4 p.m. on July 22, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Education. The grant funds will be used to start new public charter schools or to replicate and expand existing high-quality public charter schools and are being made available as part of the five-year, $46 million grant award the state received from the U.S. Department of Education in 2019. Over the next four years, the funds will aid in the creation of 20 new public charter schools and strengthen the existing charter school oversight infrastructure. According to the release, many of the state’s chartered public schools currently have long wait lists for student enrollment. Priority funds will be given to schools that target disadvantaged and at-risk student populations or that offer highly innovative models for advancing student achievement in a given field.

On Saturday, July 3, 13 New Hampshire communities will host readings of Frederick Douglass’ famous speech in which he asked, “What to the slave is your Fourth of July?” Hosted by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, the readings will be held most locally in Concord, Hopkinton, Nashua, Manchester and Warner. For exact times and locations, visit blackheritagetrailnh.org or call 570-8469.

There’s a new splash pad and playground in Manchester. According to a press release, on June 25 the water features were turned on for the first time during an opening ceremony at Sheehan-Basquil Park Splash Pad and Playground, located at 297 Maple St.

A mosquito batch collected in Bow last week tested positive for Jamestown Canyon virus, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. It’s the first time JCV has been found in mosquitoes in New Hampshire, though there have been a few cases in humans, including in Bow in 2020. Testing mosquitoes for JCV has not been part of routine surveillance until this year, the release said.

The Nashua Board of Education announced on June 28 that Dr. Garth McKinney will continue to serve as Superintendent of Schools on an extended interim basis. The board sent a message to all district families and staff informing them that McKinney, who has served as interim superintendent since late January while former Superintendent Jahmal Mosley transitioned to a new job in Massachusetts, will continue in his role until June 30, 2022.

Ribs!

Ribs!

Local chefs and butchers talk about why ribs are the star of the barbecue, plus how they make theirs and how to make your own.

Also on the cover, a new festival at Twiggs Gallery features art and animals, p. 12. Make your own refreshing alcoholic beverage on a hot summer day, p. 27. And find live music to that’ll rock your weekend in Music This Week, starting on p. 33.

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Quality of Life 21/06/24

Success in the sand

“empty.” Courtesy photo.

Last week’s Hampton Beach’s Sand Sculpting Classic was a success, held as scheduled (as opposed to being pushed to September, like it was last year) and with beautiful weather. The professional sculptors carved over three days, from June 17 to June 19, and voting took place and awards were given out on Saturday, June 19. According to a press release, the first-place winner was “empty” by Abe Waterman of Prince Edward Island, Canada. His sculpture featured two faces, a double-sided piece that was over 10 feet tall with connecting tears spilling from the eyes, plus a male with his head in his hands on one side and a female laying in a fetal position on the other, representing the feelings of sadness Waterman experienced from a breakup with his wife, the release said. “Nearly every piece was doubled-sided this year, which, although it wasn’t a requirement, points are always given when both sides are completed. So this was a step up,” Lisa Martineau, co-marketing director of the Hampton Beach Village District, said in the release.

Score: +1

Comment: The sculptures will remain on display through Sunday, June 27, and will be lit for night viewing.

Blood shortages at critical levels

Like the rest of New England, New Hampshire is facing a critical blood shortage in its hospitals and health care systems, and the American Red Cross of Northern New England is collaborating with state hospital associations in the region to address the need for all types of blood. According to a joint statement from the hospital associations, donating blood takes only about an hour but is a life-saving gift for someone awaiting a transfusion. “We are experiencing such significant blood shortages that many of our hospitals are down to critical levels,” Steve Ahnen, president of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, said in the statement. “We continue to collaborate with our American Red Cross partners and encourage every Granite Stater who is able to donate blood to do so soon so that we can increase blood supplies across the state.” As part of the effort to get more people to give blood, $5 Amazon gift cards are being offered to those who donate through June 30.

Score: -2

Comment: To make an appointment to donate blood, or to find out how to host a blood drive, visit redcross.org and enter your zip code.

Community healing

Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one is invited to a free community event on Sunday, June 27, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. Organized by Friends of Aine, a nonprofit organization providing bereavement support services to grieving children, teens and families, “Gathering in Remembrance: Sharing Grief. Honoring Love. Inspiring Hope.” is a chance for the community to join together to pay tribute to those they have lost. According to a press release, it will feature a remembrance tribute with inspirational guest speakers, community support, a butterfly release, kids activities and light refreshments, including free hot dog meals for children under 18. The event is free, but registration is encouraged at friendsofaine.com, where all registered participants will have the opportunity to submit the name and photo of their loved one for display on the stadium’s jumbotron and for inclusion in the tribute portion of the event, the release said.

Score: +1

Comment:“Gathering in Remembrance will offer attendees the opportunity to remove the isolation of grief — no matter when or how their loved ones passed away,” Christine Phillips, co-founder of Friends of Aine, said in the release.

QOL score: 77
Net change: 0
QOL this week: 77

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

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