Author: The Hippo Press

Dog for Hopkinton

Town elections are coming up and in Hopkinton all the town and school office races are uncontested except one. On March 10 town residents between 0 and 17 years old will be invited to vote for Dog of the Year, for which there will be five candidates, according to a story published on the NHPR website on Feb. 25. Voters will receive “I Voted” stickers designed in recent years by the town’s schoolchildren. The article noted that only one dog per household may run for the office, and candidates must be registered and have up-to-date rabies vaccination records.

QOL score: +1 for civic participation

Comments: The idea came from the new town clerk, the article said; she thought it might help remind people to register their dogs by the April 30 deadline.

A plan for plants

On Feb. 26 Merrimack’s Town Council voted unanimously for a new plan to manage invasive plants. The plan was developed by a committee formed last summer. Merrimack Outdoors, the website for the Town’s Conservation Commission, says, “The term ‘invasive’ is often misused to refer to any aggressive weedy plant. The term actually refers only to plants which are BOTH non-native to the region, AND cause environmental or economic harm, or pose a health risk to humans.” Merrimack’s invasive plant species include Japanese knotweed, kudzu, burning bush, and autumn olive.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Merrimack’s forests, wetlands, and river corridors are vital natural assets that connect the community to its ecological heritage and future,” the plan says. In a phone interview with the Hippo, the Town Manager’s Office said the plan will be available on the town website soon.

Not a lot of zombie homes

According to a Feb. 26 story published on the New Hampshire Public Radio website, New Hampshire “has the lowest ‘zombie’ vacancy rate in the nation.” A “zombie vacancy,” the story said, “is one in which the homeowner abandons the property before a foreclosure is finalized.” New Hampshire also ranked 41st in the nation in foreclosure rate, the story said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “The Granite State also had the lowest overall home vacancy rate in the country, 0.03%, and the lowest vacancy rate for institutional investor-owned properties, 0.08%,” the article said.

QOL score last week: 51

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 54

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Gold, silver, bronze, granite

In Olympic news, as reported by WMUR in a Feb. 19 online article, “Salem’s Caroline Harvey has been named the MVP of the women’s hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics in Milan.” Team USA got the gold medal with a 2-1 win over Canada in overtime. “In the tournament, Harvey was tied for the lead in points with nine and led all players in +/- at +14 and assists with seven.” A post from the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development at visitnh.gov/blog/winter-olympics-from-the-granite-state lists past and current Olympic athletes from New Hampshire and notes that Dartmouth College “has sent more athletes to compete in the winter Olympics than any other Ivy League institution.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: A Feb. 20 Instagram post by UNH (@uofnh) noted that “In 1994, UNH launched one of only three sled hockey teams in the entire country. Today, it’s an international force sending four athletes to the 2026 Paralympics.” Those games begin March 6. See nepassage.org/sled-hockey.

Don’t hit Happy Plowmore!

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has announced the winners of its Second Annual “Name a Plow” Contest. According to the NHDOT website, “After a statewide call for submissions and more than 600 name suggestions with over 1,800 community votes, our judges tallied the results, and the winning names were chosen.” This winter’s winning names are Wicked Plowah, Plowabunga, The Blizzard Lizard, Winniplowsaukee, Sled Zeppelin, Happy Plowmore, and Skarupa Snow Scoopah, named for WMUR meteorologist Kevin Skarupa. “These plow names reflect the humor and spirit of New Hampshire and will be proudly displayed on our snow removal fleet throughout the winter,” the NHDOT website post said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Stay safe this season and remember to give snowplows plenty of room to work!” the NHDOT posted, with the hashtag #DontCrowdThePlow.

Property taxes not the highest

A Feb. 17 announcement by finance website WalletHub revealed that New Hampshire residents do not, in fact, pay the highest rates of property taxes in the country. “The average U.S. household pays $3,119 per year in property taxes on their home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau,” the announcement read. According to a ranking by the website, New Hampshire residents have the fourth highest property tax rate. According to the report, with a tax rate of 1.66 percent, the owner of a home assessed at $402,500 (the state average) owes $6,667 per year. The good news in a misery-loves-company sort of way, is that there are three states where residents pay even more.

QOL score: -1, because 4th is still pretty high

Comment: WalletHub ranked New Jersey’s tax rate the highest at 2.11 percent (an average of $6,667) and Hawaii’s the lowest at 2.7 percent (a yearly average of $2,239). Visit wallethub.com/edu.

Last week’s QOL score: 50

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 51

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.