The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
• Army band: The Soldiers’ Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band will present a free show titled “America the Beautiful” on Saturday, July 6, at 7 p.m. at the Nashua Center of the Arts (201 Main St., Nashua), according to a press release. The Soldiers’ Chorus honors the veterans of every generation and recognizes the soldiers standing guard today in more than 140 countries around the world. Visit nashuacenterforthearts.com or call 1-800-657-8774.
• So very: Heathers: The Musicalby Kevin Murphy & Laurence O’Keefe, based on the 1989 film, produced by Ro Gavin Collaborative Theater and presented by Hatbox Theatre (715-2315, hatboxnh.com) and Manchester Community Theatre Players, runs July 12 through July 21 with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at MCTP Theater at the North End Montessori School in Manchester (689 Beech St.). The musical is based on the 1989 film, the darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful, ruthless, shoulder-padded clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. Tickets cost $28 for adults, $25 for students/seniors/members, $22 for senior members. See hatboxnh.com for content details.
INSPIRED BY NATURE Two Villages Art Society presents the exhibit “Nature Wild” showcasing eight New Hampshire artists and their watercolor paintings inspired by nature. It opens on Saturday, July 6, at the Society’s gallery (846 Main St., Contoocook) with a reception from noon to 2 p.m. that is free and open to the public with music provided by Tom Pirozzoli, according to the press release. The exhibiting artists’ styles and techniques vary from impressionistic to illustrative. These artists include Sylvia Brofos, Fred Brewster, Sophia Eastley, Lenore Hall, Eva Kjellberg, Mary Jo McGowan, Carolyn Sherman and Claudia Tufo, according to the press release. Two Villages Art Society’s gallery is open to the public free of charge Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.Visit twovillagesart.org.
• Music in Mason: Bluegrass-rock combo Kitchen Dwellers will perform with Jatoba at The Range Live Music and Concert Venue (96 Old Turnpike Road, Mason, 878-1324, therangemason. com), Friday, July 5, at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $41 in advance, $49 on the day.
• Art Walk: The 8th Annual Art Walk in downtown Peterborough will take place on Saturday, July 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 60 regional artists will showcase their work in person, including jewelry, pottery, watercolor, fabric, wood carving, oil painting and more, according to the press release. Find live music at Depot Park and Putnam Park throughout the event, and there will be a small selection of dynamic female artists inside the Old Brick School House that’s hidden behind the Monadnock Center, through the iron gates, according to the release. This event is free and open to the public with ample free parking downtown. Rain date is Sunday, July 7. Find the Depot Square Facebook page for a map.
Soft serve is more than just ice cream. It’s a memory maker. What exactly is soft serve in a literal, non-metaphorical sense? Well, to start, it’s all down to butterfat and machines.
Kaitlyn Witts started working at Arnie’s Place in Concord around 20 years ago. She was basically hired on the spot when she was 16 and now owns the place.
“I bought it from my old boss and now I’m running it,” Witts said.
Anrie’s has a great soft serve setup.
“We have two soft serve machines and we make over 50 flavors of ice cream right in house here,” Witts said.
So what is the difference between soft serve and other ice cream?
“It’s butterfat. Different places will use different butterfats…. The soft serve can be a 5 percent or a 10 percent butterfat whereas a hard ice cream has a 14 or 16 percent butterfat. … It’s a lower-fat option if you will. Lower — not non-fat, but lower-fat.”
Traditionally, soft serve comes in standard flavors.
“One [machine] has vanilla, chocolate, and vanilla chocolate twist, at all times,” Witts said. “[On] the other machine, we switch between flavors like … black raspberry, coffee, maple … Every week and a half or so we try to put in a new flavor.”
Witts has her own favorites. “I would probably go with just a regular vanilla chocolate twist. The maple is really good, though, if you use a maple syrup in it and that’s really, really good, especially if you put some blueberry on top of it — it kind of reminds you of a blueberry pancake.”
Arnie’s is the last stop for local third-graders from Broken Ground School when they do a little field trip around Concord. “They make three lines…. They get a little kiddie cone of vanilla, chocolate, or vanilla chocolate twist. That’s always a really fun field trip that I look forward to coming here every year,” Witts said.
Arnie’s has stayed pretty much the same since the beginning, she feels: “I wouldn’t say it’s changed too, too much.”
But they also serve flavors that are harder to come by nowadays. “People come for flavors they can’t really get a lot of other places. We get requests for frozen pudding, rum raisin, and butter pecan. Flavors that you just don’t see a lot of times at other restaurants,” Witts said.
The soft serves are very customizable, especially with the flurry option.
“We definitely do a lot of soft serve because people really like it,” Witts said. “We definitely go through a lot of soft serve.”
The largest size, she said, is around seven to nine swirls — “We’re not going for the whole gigantic cone thing here.”
This does not mean that soft serve here is any less fun. In fact it’s the opposite. “We have the ability to play around. We tell everyone all the time what we have on the board are just like suggestions as far as flurries go,” Witts said.
So what type of device makes the soft serve? “There are different kinds of soft serve machines. Some you load the soft serve on the top. That’s a gravity soft serve machine. Some you put the mix on the bottom and that’s a pump system because you have to pump it up and into the machine,” Witts said.
The soft serve machines at Arnie’s have seen a lot of swirls. “They’ve been here as long as I’ve worked here, so they’re over 25 years old,” Witts said. The ice cream machine at Arnie’s has been there over 45 years. “That’s pretty cool, that’s my baby.”
On top of daily maintenance and cleaning, these machines go through a deep clean.
“Regularly, once a week, I clean each machine. It takes about two hours to flush the whole thing, pull the entire, all the pieces and o-rings and stuff apart. Like, an hour and a half I’d say for each machine to clean those each week,” she said.
At Arnie’s they have one of the pump machines. Once the machine is sparkly clean, the fun begins. “Pretty much, you put the mix in on the bottom, right, and when you hit the pump button, it pumps it up. It pumps it up through a tube, into the machine, into the barrels of the machine, and once it’s up in there, that’s where it freezes,” Witts said.
After the freezing comes the churning.
“There are blades in there. There’s a big giant metal piece that has these plastic, they’re now plastic blades. They used to be metal blades but they realized they were way too expensive to make, so now they’ve gone to more plastic blades. That thing spins, and as that thing’s spinning, the blades are scraping the barrel of the machine and pushing out the soft serve into the cone or dish,” Witts said.
This machine of tasty delights is complex, she noted. “If you put one tube in the wrong spot and you go to turn the machine on, all of the sudden you’ll have an explosion of soft serve everywhere. … There’s a lot of moving parts in there.”
The human element of making the twists itself is an art.
“Being able to drop the hand that has the cone or dish in it and swirl it at the same time as putting the right amount of pressure on the handle to get it to come out at the right speed — it definitely takes some practice for sure,” Witts said. “Different people have different ways…. There definitely is a learning curve.”
Witts has fond memories of ice cream and as a kid would head to Tee Off at Mel’s to grab some scoops.
“I used to rollerblade down there on the way to my friend’s house,” she recalls. “I’d get a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of Oreo with rainbow sprinkles on it. That was always my go-to. I actually had somebody order that exact thing the other day and it brought all the memories back.”
Since soft serve ice cream is the darling of summer, there are many locations across the Granite State where you can catch that memorable taste.
Soft serve is definitely a star at Golick’s Dairy Bar in Barrington and Rochester. “That is our speciality,” said Alan Golick, who owns the two shops.
“I loved soft serve as a kid,” Golick said. “When I moved up to Dover in the ’70s I used to go to the Princess Dairy Bar.”
In 1986 Alan bought the Princess Dairy Bar and that shop had three or four soft serve machines. “I’ve always considered soft serve to be my specialty because to do it right is not particularly easy. You have to do a good job of maintaining the machines or what you get isn’t always going to be so good.”
Shops do have a choice when it comes to soft serve machine brands.
Arnie’s Place. Courtesy photo.
“Taylor is a very common machine. I run six soft serve machines between my two shops; most of them are Taylors,” Golick said. He also has an Electro Freeze model at the Barrington location.
On a macro level, a standard soft serve machine has a particular build.
“All my machines are what they call a triple head machine…. Each machine is basically two machines in one. The vanilla and chocolate is made side by side so there are three dispensing heads on the machine. One is just straight vanilla, one is straight chocolate, and the middle one does the twist,” Golick said.
That standard chocolate vanilla swirl is joined by other refreshing swirls at Golick’s.
“I have a product called Princess Twist … which was a twist of black raspberry and vanilla, and I continue that to this day and continue to call it a Princess Twist because that was kind of the original,” Golick said.
An almost endless amount of flavors can be found at Golick’s.
“I have a system that allows me to flavor the vanilla soft serve with one of, I think I carry 50 extracts, so just about every flavor under the sun I can create with this system. There’s a pretty good variety there.”
No matter how it’s scooped or swirled, soft serve and hard ice cream are not enemies. In fact, they’re good buddies. “I sell soft serve and hard ice cream side by side in my shop and I honestly can’t say that one sells better than the other on any kind of particular weather day; I think it’s just dependent on what somebody’s in the mood for, you know.”
If soft serve is your treat of choice, getting a proper cone takes experience.
“It’s an acquired skill. It’s not rocket science, but to make a cone look good it takes some technique that we have to teach. The idea is to stack it up nice and tall. The ice cream has to come out from the machine firm enough for that to happen. That involves making sure the machine is adjusted correctly. The product has to come out at a proper temperature, which is usually 17, 18 degrees … when it comes out of the machine.”
A particular favorite is a dip cone, which involves a coating, like chocolate.
“I remember getting those as a kid,” Golick said, “and that involves tipping the cone upside down, which if you didn’t put the ice cream on the cone right it will fall off, but if you do it right, you dip it and turn it right side up and the coating hardens with the temperature of the ice cream cooling it down and you end up with the ice cream coated with chocolate. That’s kind of a classic thing that people like with soft serve.”
Soft serve
Here are some of the local ice cream spots offering soft serve, with information according to their websites and social media. Call ahead to check out current offerings and flavors. Know of one not mentioned here? Let us know at [email protected] and we’ll publish ice cream scene updates in upcoming Weekly Dish columns.
• Arnie’s Place (164 Loudon Road, Concord, 228-3225, arniesplace.com) offers vanilla, chocolate and twist soft serve, as well as a rotation of other flavors such maple, black raspberry and coffee.
• Axel’s Food and Ice Cream (608 DW Highway, Merrimack, 429-2229, axelsfoodandicecream.com) offers soft serve in cones as well as soft serve sundaes and “The Dirt Dessert,” which features chocolate soft serve mixed with crushed Oreo cookie pieces and gummy worms.
• The Beach Plum (3 Brickyard Square, Epping, 679-3200; 16 Ocean Blvd., North Hampton, 964-7451; 2800 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, 433-3339; thebeachplum.net) offers soft serve in various sizes.
• The Big 1 (185 Concord St., Nashua, thebig1icecream.com) offers vanilla, chocolate and twist soft serve, as well as “Nor’easters,” which feature your choice of any of the three flavors mixed with toppings like M&Ms, Oreo cookie pieces, peanut butter cups, gummy bears, chocolate chips and more.
• The Brick House Drive-In Restaurant (1391 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, 622-8091, bhrestaurant.net) features soft serve as well as hard serve ice cream, sundaes and more.
• Cremeland Drive-In (250 Valley St., Manchester, 669-4430, find them on Facebook) offers soft and hard serve in cones and in sundaes.
• Devriendt Farm Stand and Ice Cream Shoppe, cash only (178 S. Mast St., Goffstown, 497-2793, devriendtfarm.com), offers soft serve — vanilla, chocolate and twist, and as Razzles, blended with your choice of toppings including, when in season, their own strawberries.
• Dudley’s Ice Cream (846 Route 106 N, Loudon, 783-4800, find them on Facebook) offers vanilla and chocolate soft serve, plus a variety of flavor swirls, like “blue goo” (cotton candy) bubble gum, tropical orange, banana and pistachio.
• Findeisen’s Ice Cream (297 Derry Road, Hudson, 886-9422; 125 S. Broadway, Salem, 898-5411; find them on Facebook) has the traditional soft serve offerings of vanilla, chocolate and the twist as well as more than 40 flavors of ice cream, slush and yogurts
• Frekey’s Dairy Freeze (97 Suncook Valley Road, Chichester, 798-5443; 74 Fisherville Road, Concord, 228-5443; frekeysdairyfreeze.com) offers chocolate, vanilla and twist soft serve as well as sundaes and flurries with a variety of mix-ins.
• Frosty Soft Serve Ice Cream Truck (Londonderry, 892-2888, find them on Facebook) offers soft serve ice cream, sundaes, root beer floats and frappes.
• Funway Park Country Ice Cream (454 Charles Bancroft Highway, Litchfield, 424-2292, melsfunwaypark.com) has lots of ice cream options, and patrons can now add flavors to their vanilla soft serve such as mango, bubblegum, black raspberry, strawberry, blue goo (cotton candy), butterscotch, cheesecake and pistachio.
• Goldenrod Restaurant Drive-In (1681 Candia Road, Manchester, 623-9469, goldenrodrestaurant.com) offers chocolate, vanilla and twist soft serve as well as otherhard serve, frappes and desserts.
• Golick’s Dairy Bar (683 Calef Highway, Barrington, 664-9633; 17 Sawyer Ave., Rochester, 330-3244; golicksdairybar.com) offers dozens of unique flavors of soft serve ice cream at both locations, including black raspberry, banana, strawberry, grape, pina colada, pomegranate, red velvet, espresso and more.
• Greaney’s Farm Stand (417 John Stark Highway, Weare, 529-1111, find them on Facebook) offers soft serve ice cream.
• Hawksie’s Ice Cream Fac-Torri (144 Main St., Salem, 890-0471, find them on Facebook) has vanilla, chocolate and twist, as well as 24 flavors of syrups to mix with the vanilla soft serve.
• Hayward’s Ice Cream (7 DW Highway, Nashua, 888-4663; Merrimack 360 Shopping Plaza, DW Highway, Merrimack; haywardsicecream.com) has the traditional vanilla, chocolate or twist, and many other hard ice cream flavors.
• High Tide Takeout (239 Henniker St., Hillsborough, 464-4202, hightidetakeout.com) has soft serve on the menu along with Gifford’s Hard Ice Cream, soft serve, frozen yogurt, sundaes, frappes, banana splits, flavor bursts, fruit smoothies and tidal waves.
• The Inside Scoop (260 Wallace Road, Bedford, 471-7009, theinsidescoopnh.com) serves soft serve options featuring two frequently changing flavors creating twists such as the recent orange and vanilla, and black raspberry and pineapple, according to their Facebook posts, as well as Richardson’s Ice Cream.
• Jay Gee’s Ice Cream (327 S. Broadway, Salem, 458-1167, jaygees.com) has soft serve available in vanilla, chocolate and the twist as well as hard ice cream flavors.
• King Kone (336 DW Highway, Merrimack, 420-8312; kingkonenh.com) boasts “the best soft serve you’ve ever had” on its website and features a chocolate, vanilla and chocolate vanilla twist option as well as a changing line-up of other soft serve flavors including, recently, peanut butter and black raspberry, which could be swirled together as PB& J; orange and vanilla, which could be swirled to create a Creamsicle, and pineapple and coconut, which could be swirled into a piña colada. The menu also features sundaes, Razzles and more.
• Lang’s Ice Cream (510 Pembroke St., Pembroke, 225-7483, langsicecream.com) offers traditional soft serve and many other ice cream flavors and desserts.
• Lix Ice Cream Parlor (55 Charles Bancroft Highway, Litchfield, 438-4797; find them on Facebook) offers Dole Whip soft serve in flavors such as pineapple, strawberry and watermelon.
• Memories Ice Cream (95 Exeter Road, Kingston, 642-3737, memoriesicecream.com) offers chocolate and vanilla as well as rotating vegan flavors, such as raspberry and lemon, which can be swirled.
• Moo’s Place Ice Cream (27 Crystal Ave., Derry, 425-0100; 15 Ermer Road, Salem, 898-0199; moosplace.com) offers a variety of soft serve flavors, like orange, black raspberry, cheesecake, pina colada, peanut butter, root beer and more.
• Pete’s Scoop (187 Rockingham Road, Derry, 434-6366, petesscoop.net) offers chocolate, vanilla and the twist along with soft serve selections from Dole with flavors like watermelon, cherry, lime, pineapple and more.
• Sissy’s Sweets & Ice Cream (1 Suncook Valley Road, Barnstead, find them on Facebook) offers vanilla, chocolate and swirl soft serve and flavor burst options as well as soft serve-based treats such as Sissy’s Flurry, Jumbo Cookie Sandwiches and more.
• Sundae Drive (346 Route 13, Brookline, 721-5209, find them on Facebook) offers a variety of soft serve ice cream flavors in addition to vanilla and chocolate, like strawberry, coconut, cheesecake, bubble gum, pistachio, salted caramel, orange and black raspberry.
• Twin Lanterns Dairy Bar (239 Amesbury Road, Kensington, 394-7021, find them on Facebook) offers coffee, black raspberry and coffee and black raspberry twist soft serve, in addition to vanilla, chocolate and vanilla and chocolate twist.
Concord celebrates Independence Day today at Memorial Field (70 S. Fruit St.) with food, vendors, and music starting at 6 p.m. and fireworks at 9:20 p.m. See concordnh.gov. For more July Fourth celebrations, see the story on page 18 of the June 27 Hippo issue; find the e-edition at hippopress.com.
Saturday, July 6
The Fourth Annual Lions Club Car Show will be held today at The Nick recreation park (10 Trotting Track Road, Wolfeboro) from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. This is a free, fun-filled experience for car enthusiasts of all ages. Unlike traditional car shows, the Lions Club Car Show is a non-judged event with no classes, allowing participants to showcase their vehicles without the pressure of competition.
Saturday, July 6
Release your inner singer at Rockstar Karaoke at the Bank of NH Stage (16 S Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) from 7 to 11 p.m., with George Cox. This is a 21+ event, and free and open to the public. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 6
Roller Disco returns to Manchester at Remix Skate and Event Center (725 Huse Road, Manchester, 912-7661, skateremix.com) from 9 p.m. until midnight. Remix’s adult nights are a crowd favorite. Admission is $20 per person and includes rentals of roller skates or roller blades, if needed. There will be drink specials, games and prizes all evening. Tickets are available online.
Saturday, July 6
Moody Blues guitarist Justin Hayward and 1980s singer-songwriter Christopher Cross will play at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St., Unit 3, Derry, 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com) tonight at 7 p.m. with support from Mike Dawes. Tickets start at $99 and are available through the Music Hall’s website.
Sunday, July 7
The New England Reptile Expo is today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester). The show features more than 200 vendor tables full of reptiles, pet supplies and more. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for kids ages 7 to 12 and free for kids ages 6 and under. Visit reptileexpo.com.
Monday, July 8
Roland Emmerich: King of the Disaster Film? This program at 6:30 p.m. will look at the surprising inspirations for some of Emmerich’s movies. Register for this online event at the Derry Public Library (64 E. Broadway, Derry, 432-6140, derry.org).
Tuesday, July 9
New Hampshire Humanities (117 Pleasant St., Concord, 224-4071, nhhumanities.org) will present “12,000 Years Ago in the Granite State” tonight at the Goffstown Public Library (2 High St., Goffstown, 497-2102, goffstownlibrary.com) at 6:30 p.m. with Franklin Pierce College’s Professor Robert Goodby. The event is free and open to the public.
Save the Date! Friday, July 26 The 15th annual Live Free or Die Tattoo Expo, runs Friday, July 26, through Sunday, July 28, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester). The event features tattoo artists, contests, vendors, live music and performances. Show hours are from 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday, from 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. See livefreeordietattoo.com.
On June 24 the Food and Drug Administration announced a recall on ice cream made by Totally Cool, Inc. of Owings Mills, Maryland. In a press release, the FDA wrote that the company is voluntarily “recalling multiple brands of ice cream products, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.” The recalled products include Friendly’s ice cream cakes, several Hershey’s ice cream cakes and cones, and Cumberland Farms’ ice cream sandwiches. For a full list of recalled products, visit fda.gov/safety.
QOL score: -1
Comment: Consumers who have recalled products in their possession are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact Totally Cool, Inc. at 410-363-7801 or [email protected].
Number of deadly fires is up
WMUR reported in a June 29 online story that deadly fires in New Hampshire have increased significantly from the last two years, and that the number of deaths so far this year has surpassed the total number from last year. Quoting the State Fire Marshal’s Office, WMUR reported “13 deaths from 11 unintentional fires so far this year. In comparison, authorities recorded 12 deaths from 11 unintentional fires in all of 2023 and nine deaths from eight fires in 2022.” So far this year Hillsborough County has had the largest number of fatalities. WMUR reported, “From Feb. 20 to June 17, officials said there were five deadly fires in Hillsborough County.”
QOL score: -3
Comment:Worryingly, the Fire Marshal’s Office confirmed that several deaths occurred in buildings without working smoke alarms.
Kudos to Nashua and Manchester
In a recent ranking by WalletHub.com, an online financial services company, Nashua is the fourth best-run city in the United States. It was ranked No. 4 out of 148 cities included in the study, which focused on factors such as financial stability, education, health, safety and infrastructure. The study ranked Nashua as the safest city in America. Manchester came in at No. 18. See wallethub.com/edu/best-run-cities/22869.
QOL score: +1
Comments: Virginia Beach was the highest-ranking city on the list, and Detroit was the lowest.
Local organizations recognized with grants
In a July 1 press release, the Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation, a philanthropic organization with a mission to aid nonprofit organizations in Manchester and Amherst, announced that it has awarded $178,000 across six local nonprofit organizations. This set of grant recipients includes Families in Transition (fitnh.org), Girls, Inc. of NH (girlsincnewhampshire.org), the Manchester Police Athletic League (manchesterpoliceathleticleague.org), NH Audubon Society (nhaudubon.org), the New Hampshire Historical Society (nhhistory.org) — all located in Manchester — and Opportunity Networks (opportunitynetworks.org), in Amherst.
QOL score: +1
Comments: Visit beanfoundation.org.
QOL score last week: 74
Net change: -2
QOL this week: 72
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?
Ryan Cashin is Chief of the Manchester Fire Department and he spoke about the importance of fire safety. Visit manchesternh.gov/departments/fire for more information on the Fire Department and be sure to check with your local town ordinances and fire departments on specifics for fire pits, fireworks and all things fire-related. (Interview edited to include follow-up questions via email.)
What is the No. 1 thing you can do to keep your home safe from fires?
The No. 1 thing you can do to keep your home safe from fires is to have active, working smoke detectors and to have a fire evacuation plan.
What are the main causes of house or apartment fires?
I don’t think there is one single answer of what would cause those the most. There’s various causes to a house catching on fire and I don’t think any one of them would necessarily be more than the others. I would say one thing that we always want to be cautious of being as careful and thoughtful as possible when discarding smoking materials.
With fire pits, do you need a permit?
You can obtain a fire permit if you have a residential home in the city of Manchester…. It needs to be a contained fire pit, it needs to be a certain distance away from your house. Basically, if you come into the fire department we will go out there and do an inspection and if your single-family house passes the inspection we will give you a fire permit and then you can use that fire permit to have small fires in your backyard. Of course, single-family residence only.
Are fireworks allowed in Manchester?
Fireworks are not allowed within the city of Manchester period. We do regular patrols for fireworks throughout the summer as we get a lot of complaints about them.
Aside from just the noise annoyance, what is the danger of fireworks in Manchester?
Fireworks are a physical danger to people as they can be very dangerous and accidents happen quite often.
Besides fires, what other types of emergencies would a fire department respond to?
Last year we responded to 34,000 separate calls and those would vary from EMS calls to river rescue calls, swift water calls, to hazardous materials to fire alarms to anything that would involve welfare checks, whether that be on someone in a home or possibly a homeless residence. A wide array of calls that we go on.
What are the requirements to become a firefighter?
In order to become a firefighter in the City of Manchester you need to have a couple of certifications. One is your Firefighter I as well as your Firefighter II, which are both state certifications, and [you need to be]a nationally registered EMT…. We give preference here in the City of Manchester to residents that live in the city as well as veterans and also if you have your EMT Advanced.
What is the biggest fire danger in Manchester in the summer?
The biggest fire danger year-round is careless disposal of smoking materials.
According to a press release, Concord Hospital health system recently welcomed 19 students from New England College (NEC) who are pursuing a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN). Five of the students will complete their clinical training at the Laconia campus while the rest will train in Concord.
This partnership benefits both Concord Hospital health system and NEC because the hospital gains a year-round part-time LNA workforce helping to fill staffing gaps while students acquire vital clinical experience and become eligible for full-time employment upon completing their BSN, according to the press release.
The accelerated BSN program integrates classroom instruction with nine months of clinical training where students gain hands-on experience as licensed nursing assistants (LNAs) while learning under the guidance of a preceptor in various clinical settings across Concord Hospital health system, according to the release.
In a statement, Erin Collins, RN, VP of Nursing Professional Practice and Development, said that “this program allows students to earn while they learn, gaining invaluable on-the-job experience that contributes to their studies and introduces them to the nursing profession.”
Students will embark on a 14-week rotation over the summer working alongside a licensed registered nurse preceptor while alternating between classroom learning and hospital work, which allows students to complete their degree in three years, according to the release. As Concord Hospital employees, they will become familiar with hospital policies, experience different departments, and gain a comprehensive understanding of nursing across the health system, according to the same release.
On the highway to health
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced the release of the DHHS Roadmap 2024-2025, which builds on the successes from the DHHS Roadmap 2023 and was informed by extensive input from community partners and DHHS program areas, according to a press release. The Roadmap 2024-2025 identifies initiatives and goals that will serve as a guide for the Department over the next fiscal year and beyond.
In a statement, DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver said that “as we work to support and promote the health and well-being of all New Hampshire residents, it is critical for us to be able to state, share, and track the progress of our priorities and goals. This plan is the culmination of months of work with our partners and the people we serve to create a bold plan of action that will set us on the course to enhance key systems and policies to improve the health of our state.”
The three major commitments of the roadmap will be to invest in people and culture, promote thriving communities, and improve customer service, according to the release.
The plan initiatives include achieving “Mission Zero,” their plan to end emergency department psychiatric boarding; reducing health impacts from harmful exposures to such hazards as lead and PFAS; strengthening school-based services for children enrolled in Medicaid; increasing access to residential behavioral health services for children; and building a system of care for healthy aging, according to the same release.
TikTok lawsuit
According to a press release, Attorney General John M. Formella announced a lawsuit against TikTok, Inc., in Merrimack County Superior Court for violating the State’s consumer protection statute and other laws as part of the latest development in a comprehensive effort by New Hampshire leaders to address the serious harms posed to children by addictive social media platforms.
The lawsuit follows a complaint filed by the State against Meta Platforms, Inc., in October 2023, that alleged similar manipulative design features and deceptive business practices, according to the same release.
The State’s complaint against TikTok alleged that the company engages in unfair and deceptive acts or practices in violation of New Hampshire law by designing an unfair product and misleading New Hampshire consumers about its safety because TikTok’s platform includes addictive features to exploit young users’ naivete and ongoing brain development and maximize the time young users spend on the platform in the interest of profit, according to the release.
It’s alleged that TikTok’s addictive design features make it hard for children to disengage from the platform, leading to a cycle of excessive use, and the complaint alleges that the company knows this cycle of excessive use results in profound harm to its young users, including depression, anxiety, and isolation from friends and family, according to the release.
It is also alleged that as the company deployed these features the company lied to parents about the safety of the platform, downplaying the risks posed while touting supposed safety measures that the company knows are ineffective, according to the same release.
New Boston will hold its 94th annual Fourth of July celebration on Thursday, July 4, with food, games, activities and a parade, culminating in a fireworks display when it gets dark. The parade begins at 10 a.m.; its theme is sci-fi and fantasy. Fairgrounds admission begins at 4 p.m. and is $10 for ages 12 and up, $5 for ages 2 to 11; free for ages 2 and under; family package $40. Parking is free. Visit newboston4thofjuly.org.
There will be fireworks at the Fisher Cats games in Manchester (Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, 1 Line Drive) Thursday, July 4, to Saturday, July 6. Games start at 6:35 p.m. and the Fisher Cats will be playing the Portland Sea Dogs. Visit nhfishercats.com.
July 4 festivities in Nashua start at 11 a.m. at Holman Stadium for a Silver Knights Game where children under 12 and the first 500 adults are free but tickets must be reserved in advance. There will be an expanded kids zone and on-field activities. At 5:30 p.m. there will be a free concert by The Slakas, followed by local acts at 7:30 p.m. Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps performs at 8:30 p.m. and fireworks are at dusk. Visit nashua-silverknights.com for tickets and check out nashuanh.gov/SummerFun.
