Milford chef Keith Sarasin of The Farmers Dinner has written three books since 2018 — his latest, available May 18, is a whopping 800 pages filled with recipes using all kinds of meats, from beef, pork and poultry to lamb, goat and several species of wild game.
But more than a traditional recipe book, Meat: The Ultimate Cookbook also contains a variety of easy-to-learn techniques for the home cook, in addition to stories from local chefs and farmers Sarasin has worked with. Signed copies can be pre-ordered now through his website.
Structurally, the book is broken down into sections by protein, totaling more than 300 recipes with accompanying photography. Various guides and descriptions are provided, on everything from how to carve cooked meat to the different types of cuts you might use, as well as the importance of letting meat rest during the cooking process.
“There are some beautiful sections on techniques like braising for some of the tougher cuts, and stuff on how to break down parts of the animal properly,” Sarasin said. “There’s a subsection on burgers with some fun flavors … and then the pork section is massive with a lot of recipes. … There are tons of demis and sauces in there too that elevate so many dishes to another level.”
Sarasin, who has a passion for Indian cuisine, noted the diversity of recipes and concepts throughout the book. Chicken tikka masala and lamb vindaloo are among the featured dishes, as well as a masala braised short rib sandwich with cilantro chutney and Indian spices to give it an extra kick. Others include a rib-eye with salsa verde and porcini mushroom salt, and a rosemary and mustard marinated leg of lamb that’s garnished with parsley.
“There are a lot of nods to many different cuisines, from Korean to Indian to Chinese,” he said.
Sarasin also delves into less commonly consumed meats like venison, pheasant, rabbit and duck.
“It goes into things about how cooking duck breast is different from chicken breast, so woven in are some techniques there,” he said. “Those definitely have some Asian influence, like Peking duck.”
Featured farmers in the book include Noah Bicchieri of Arkhive Farm in Chester, which raises its own wagyu beef, and Carole Soule of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, which offers its own grass-fed beef, locally raised lamb and pastured pork and poultry.
“The publishers … really gave me the freedom to do some creative things, and so I started contacting some farms that I knew I wanted to highlight in the book,” Sarasin said. “Some of these farms are real gems that not a lot of people know about.”
Several other chefs receive mention in the book too. George Bezanson of Earth’s Harvest Kitchen & Juicery in Dover contributed what Sarasin calls his “famous” pork belly, while Justin Dain, former executive chef of Pine at the Hanover Inn, shares a burger recipe.
Masala braised short rib sandwich with cilantro chutney Courtesy of Keith Sarasin, as seen in his new book Meat: The Ultimate Cookbook (serves at least 4)
3 pounds bone-in short ribs Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 1 Tablespoon canola oil 1 large sweet onion, sliced 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon garam masala 1 teaspoon curry powder ½ teaspoon red pepper powder 1 teaspoon cumin powder 1 teaspoon coriander powder Kosher salt 1 16-ounce can tomatoes (or two large fresh tomatoes, chopped) 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 4 cups beef broth 2 cups water 2 tablespoons cilantro chutney
Season the short ribs generously with salt. Heat the canola oil in a heavy-bottomed pot, over medium-high heat. Add the short ribs, working in batches if necessary, and brown on all sides (about 2 to 3 minutes per side). Remove and reserve. Add the onions and saute until beginning to brown (about 3 to 4 minutes). Stir in the garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Cook for about one minute, then add the cumin, curry powder, garam masala, red pepper and coriander powder. Pour in the beef stock to deglaze the pot. Scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the stock has reduced to about half. Add the short ribs back into the pot. Cover, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for two hours or until tender. Once tender, let it rest for 20 minutes. Slice out the bone from the short rib, and assemble the sandwich with a bit of cilantro chutney on top.
Meat: The Ultimate Cookbook, by Keith Sarasin Available May 18 through Amazon, Simon & Schuster, or wherever books are sold. Visit keithsarasin.com to pre-order a signed copy.
Aatma pop-up dinner series Since launching The Farmers Dinner in 2012, Keith Sarasin has hosted nearly 100 farm-to-table events across New England in collaboration with other chefs, raising more than $125,000 collectively for local farms. In tandem with its ninth season, Sarasin is now also hosting a pop-up tasting experience specializing in food from the Indian subcontinent. Aatma, named after the Hindi word meaning “soul,” is a new collaboration between Sarasin and Tarun Bangalore, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and chef of Indian origin. “We’re taking modern plating concepts and techniques and essentially fusing them with regional Indian cuisine,” Sarasin said. “We want to teach people that Indian food is more than butter chicken and samosas. It’s so much more diverse than that.” While Aatma’s debut dinners scheduled for May 16 and May 17 are sold out, more are expected to be announced in the coming weeks and months. Visit thefarmersdinner.com/aatma or follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
Feautred photo: Meat: The Ultimate Cookbook is the third book from Chef Keith Sarasin of Milford, owner of The Farmer’s Dinner farm-to-table pop-up dinner series. Courtesy photo.
Mary Sargent is a certified family mediator based in Bedford.
Explain your job and what it entails.
The conflicts I mediate are largely divorce and parenting [issues]. … I help parties dispute and negotiate toward agreements by facilitating healthy, productive conversation that may or may not [end in] an agreement. I make sure that people are hearing and understanding each other, and that they have all the information they need to make a decision. Then, I help them put [their decision] in whatever form is needed, whether it’s a court order or a contract or a simple agreement.
How long have you had this job?
Twelve years.
What led you to this career field and your current job?
Over the years, I’ve held a lot of different positions within family work — Child Protective Services worker, guardian ad litem, case manager — and at the core of all of those positions is identifying areas of problems, disputes and conflicts. … I was seeing a lot of people in a lot of pain because they were trying so hard to avoid an issue when what they really needed to do was resolve the issue. … I realized that mediation allows an opportunity to address a problem head-on … and really drill down to the heart of it, rather than trying to avoid, deny or work around it.
What kind of education or training did you need?
I have a bachelor’s degree, and I’ve had extensive training through certificate programs. In New Hampshire, you have to go through a certification class and an internship to [become certified].
What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?
Business casual.
How has your job changed over the last year?
Prior to Covid, the very idea of doing [mediation] remotely was controversial, industry-wide … but, ultimately, we were forced into it, and I do the vast majority of my work remotely. I’ve found that it actually solves more problems than it creates. It can be difficult for people who are in conflict with one another to sit at a table in the same room. It’s a little easier for them and mitigates some of the anticipatory anxiety if they can be in the comfort of their own home where they aren’t in close physical proximity to each other.
What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?
How hard it would be and how long it would take to build a practice and make a name for myself. A lot of people didn’t even know what mediation was, so getting them to buy into mediation, and then to find me [was hard].
What do you wish other people knew about your job?
Mediators don’t make decisions. … A lot of times people come to me and say, ‘We need your help in deciding what is fair,’ and I tell them, ‘I have no idea.’ We can guide people … [in having] a productive conversation, but we can’t determine what is or isn’t fair for them. The fair and equitable [outcome] is whatever they agree on as being fair and equitable.
What was the first job you ever had?
Summer camp counselor.
What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?
Be mindful of the present, and assume there’s space for an agreement, even if you don’t know what that looks like yet.
Five favorites Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite movie: The Birdcage Favorite music: Showtunes Favorite food: Pizza Favorite thing about NH: Lake Winnipesaukee
Youth artwork celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month
New Hampshire youth speak out about mental health through art at the Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest Celebration, happening Thursday, May 20, at the Tupelo Drive-In in Derry and virtually via livestream.
Now in its third year, the contest invites middle school and high school students in the state to submit an original work of art — be it a two- or three-dimensional visual art piece, short film, essay, poem or song — that expresses their experience with or observations of mental health. The art work is then featured at a celebratory event in May to honor Mental Health Awareness Month and to highlight the need for improved children’s mental health care in New Hampshire.
“I think being able to see what our kids are experiencing in this very visual way can really help us get a better understanding of what they’re going through,” said Michele Watson, family network coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire Chapter, which co-sponsors the event with the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate and other mental health- and youth-focused organizations throughout the state.
Upon arrival attendees will be guided to distanced parking spaces. For the first hour of the event, from 4 to 5 p.m., they will be able to stroll the parking lot, masked, and visit information booths for around a dozen local organizations involved with youth mental health.
“Part of bringing [mental health] awareness is letting people know where they can go for resources,” Watson said. “We want to make sure that, if they ever need help, or if they have a family member or good friend who might need help, they know where to go.”
Also during that time, all 43 art pieces that were submitted will be displayed on a large screen near the stage. They consist mostly of visual art pieces, Watson said, including drawings, paintings and computer-generated images, with a few short films and poems in the mix.
“The art work just completely impresses us,” she said, “and not just because of the messages that they share but also because of the quality of the art work. A lot of [the artists] are extremely talented.”
Watson said that she and the contest judges noticed “a different tone” in this year’s pieces, with more artists opening up about their personal struggles with mental health.
“In the past a lot of the submissions were focused on awareness,” she said, “but now we’re seeing the [artists] who are experiencing [mental health issues] themselves really expose themselves by sharing their own stories and expressing how they’re feeling.”
The awards ceremony and a series of presentations by guest speakers, which attendees can watch from inside their cars or from their own lawn chairs situated just outside their cars, will begin at 5 p.m. Ten finalists chosen by the judges will be named and will each receive a framed certificate and a $250 cash prize. The audience, including those watching the livestream from home, will then have a chance to vote for their favorite of the 10 finalists to win a People’s Choice Award.
Guest speakers will include mental health awareness advocate and former New Hampshire Chief Justice John Broderick; 10-year-old New Hampshire Kid Governor Charlie Olsen, whose platform is childhood depression; and Dr. Cassie Yackley, a specialist in trauma-informed mental health care, discussing the importance of art in mental health.
The event is often “eye-opening” for the audience, Watson said, as it gives youth an outlet to publicly express thoughts and feelings that they may not have wanted or been able to articulate before.
“Our youth really have a lot to say, and [art] helps them deliver it in a different way,” she said. “Now we just need to listen to them.”
Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest Celebration Where: Tupelo Drive-In, 10 A St., Derry, and virtually via livestream When: Thursday, May 20, 4 to 6:30 p.m. More info/register: Visit sites.google.com/view/magnify-voices and facebook.com/magnifyvoicesexpressivearts
Featured photo: Youth art from a previous Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest. Courtesy photo.
Get all of the flower-filled beauty with none of the work at public gardens
Plenty of people like working in the garden, planting and pruning and watching things grow. But there’s something to be said about relaxing in a luxurious garden where you don’t have to lift a finger to reap its rewards. Public gardens are the perfect opportunity to enjoy stunning displays of nature, from flowers that are bursting with color to vibrant trees, grasses and water features. So take a break from weeding — or from endlessly watching HGTV in the hopes that you’ll be inspired to do some weeding — and check out some of these public gardens.
Fuller Gardens
10 Willow Ave., North Hampton964-5414,fullergardens.org
Colorful history: Fuller Gardens is a public, nonprofit botanical garden that dates back to 1927, when Massachusetts Gov. Alvan Fuller commissioned a landscape architect for his summer estate, known as Runnymede-by-the-Sea. In the ’30s, Fuller — also a successful businessman who started the first auto dealership in Boston — hired another firm to improve those gardens and to create a rose garden to honor his wife, Viola. Since then, the garden has expanded even more, with additions like a Japanese garden and a dahlia display garden.
The brains behind the beauty: Jamie Colen has been the garden director at Fuller since 1999, and there’s a staff of seven that works at the gardens seven days a week.
Standout features: Three acres of gardens featuring annuals and perennials, water features, a koi pond, ornamental statuary and more. Fuller is best known for its roses, Colen said, with about 1,700 rose bushes and approximately 125 varieties.
Growing season: At Fuller Gardens, getting the space ready for its busiest time of year starts in February and March, with work in the greenhouse. There are thousands of pots that have to be replanted, and then the crew gets outside to start the maintenance, like making sure the underground irrigation system is working and undoing all of the winterization that they did back in December, like tying the rose bushes and preserving the statuary and other parts of the garden’s hardscape.
“We basically take care of an outdoor museum,” Colen said.
And yes, there’s raking and pruning and weeding, too. What you won’t see, though, is the crew using bark mulch, a staple gardening supply for many home gardeners.
“Bark mulch is really acidic and you’re putting it on plants that like a neutral pH,” Colen said.
Fuller Gardens is also “virtually pesticide-free,” using potassium bicarbonate to keep the roses pest-free. Colen said they make a point of working with nature, not against it.
“We mow three times a week, no chemicals — there’s no magic here,” he said. “We have some clover. It looks great [and] takes a lot of abuse.”
Your garden experience: Because they do succession planting, there’s never a bad time to see the gardens, Colen said.
“It’s a beautiful design because there’s something in bloom all the time,” he said.
The roses start blooming at the end of June and are often still blooming until November, growing as high as 12 feet tall, Colen said.
“The first bloom is probably the biggest, but it’s not the most spectacular,” he said.
Whenever you choose to go, you can walk through the gardens at your leisure.
The details: Fuller Gardens opened for the season on May 10 and will remain open through mid-October, seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The cost of admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students with an ID, $4 for kids under 12 and no charge for infants who are carried.
Photos courtesy of Fuller Gardens.
The Fells
456 Route 103A, Newbury763-4789, thefells.org
Colorful history: The Fells, which encompasses 83 acres of woodlands and grounds and nearly half a mile of undeveloped Lake Sunapee shoreline, is located in Newbury and is the former summer home of American writer and diplomat John M. Hay (1838-1905), who began acquiring abandoned sheep farms in the late 1800s and ultimately owned nearly 1,000 acres of land. His son Clarence inherited the property when John Hay died in 1905, and he and his wife Alice transformed the rock pasture into extensive formal and informal gardens. In 1960 the Hays deeded 675 acres to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests to protect it from development, and the remainder was deeded to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the ’70s.
The brains behind the beauty: HorticulturistNick Scheu has been the landscape director at The Fells for three seasons and has an assistant and typically two interns in the landscape department.
Standout features: There are eight major gardens at The Fells, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Scheu said The Fells is well known for its rhododendrons, and he particularly likes the heath and the heather, and the “lovely” perennial border that dates back to 1909. There’s also a poetry walk and an ecology trail. On the property this year will be the Art in Nature 2021 Sculpture Exhibit, with pieces that areintegrated into the surrounding landscape and are based on the theme “Stillness & Motion.”
Growing season: Getting the property ready for the spring season starts in mid-March, Scheu said, when they start uncovering winterized plants and pruning the fruit trees and shrubs. Scheu runs pruning workshops throughout the spring, specific to blueberries, apple trees, spring bloomers and more, plus potting workshops that have participants potting seed and planting plugs for both The Fells and their own home gardens.
Your garden experience: Though the landscape will evolve throughout the spring and summer, “We hope we have things in flower pretty much from May to September or November,” Scheu said. Different plants do shine at different times, though, he said, noting that the rhododendron and azaleas are especially nice from mid-May to mid- to late July, while the asters in the fall are on full display and attract hundreds of butterflies.
“Early summer gardens are always a joy to see,” Scheu said. “[They have] really great colors and new growth appearing from Memorial Day to the end of June.”
The Fells offers guided garden tours each day that the Main House is open (see details below), and there’s a free guided hike on the first Thursday of every month. At any time, you can “casually walk the grounds and enjoy whatever is flowering,” Scheu said.
He said there’s often wildlife to see too — he had just left a fox den full of babies, and it’s not unusual to have deer, bear and fisher cats roaming the property.
Scheu suggests that prior to visiting The Fells guests should look at the extensive website, which includes maps of the property, a calendar of events and other useful information that can enhance the experience.
The details: The gardens and trails at The Fells are open daily year-round, and visitors may hike the trails and visit the gardens from dawn until dusk. The Fells’ Main House opens for the season on Saturday, May 29, and will be open on weekends until the summer season begins on June 16, at which point it will be open Wednesdays through Sundays until Sept. 6, when it reverts back to weekends and Monday holidays only, through Columbus Day. The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. When the Main House is open, the cost of admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $4 for kids 6 to 17, free for kids 5 and under, and $25 for families of two adults and two or more children ages 6 or above. When the Main House is closed, admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, $3 for children and $15 for families of two adults and two or more children ages 6 or above. Winter admission, December through March, is $5 per household, payable at the self-serve Welcome Kiosk. Admission is always free for active military members and veterans, and their immediate family.
Forty-minute guided tours of the gardens, included in the cost of admission, are offered Wednesday through Sunday, Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend. Tours begin in Rose Garden at 11 a.m.
Scheu will host the next potting workshop on Saturday, May 22, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The $5 per person fee includes a sample of plant specimens to take home. Reservations are required; call 763-4789, ext. 3. Check the website’s list of events for all kinds of activities scheduled throughout the remainder of the year.
Rose terrace at The Fells. Photo courtesy of thefells.org.
Bedrock Gardens
45 High Road, Lee828-8300, bedrockgardens.org
Colorful history: The original farmhouse at Bedrock Gardens dates back to the 18th century, and the property was a dairy farm from 1845 to 1957. It was sold to the present owner in 1980 on a handshake, the 37 acres having been abandoned for about 40 years. It was first cleared of poison ivy and puckerbrush, and the landscaping project started around 1987, adding access to roads along with garden beds and a wildlife pond. About two-thirds of the property is now gardens.
The brains behind the beauty: Led by Executive DirectorJohn Forti, Bedrock Gardens also has a group of volunteers and a small ground crew. The founders are still very involved: “The two of them are like having a staff of a dozen,” Forti said.
Standout features: One main focus at Bedrock Gardens is showcasing rare and unusual native plants. “Everything looks vaguely familiar, but [for example], you’ve never seen a maple quite like that,” Forti said. There’s the ornamental Grass Acre — “the space was designed to look like an impressionist painting,” Forti said. “It evolves through the whole season.” There’s also a spiral garden, a rock garden, a Japanese Tea House and garden, and a serpentine waterway that Forti particularly likes, with its lotus and water lilies and the sense of motion that it adds to the landscape.
Growing season: “We are a garden that looks at sustainability,” Forti said. “We’re not racing to put out tens of thousands of annuals in the spring. … We really rely on perennials.
Of course there are a few garden cleanup days, plus planting the annuals and improving soil quality, he said, but the garden is laid out on a sort of grid system so that everything is easy to get to and maintain.
Your garden experience: “Unlike a lot of other public gardens, it’s not a single design space — it’s a landscape journey,” Forti said. “Over the course of 37 acres it keeps you moving through room after room, and each space has its own feeling and emotion.”
Forti said there are a number of ways to enjoy the garden, whether you want to take a walk along the mile-plus of walking trails, get a guided tour to learn about the gardens, or just relax. Forti said that one volunteer has said that when she walks through the gardens her blood pressure goes down about 20 points.
“Some people are just going there to quiet their minds … [and] enjoy nature,” he said. “They love to relax into the landscape. … You might be relaxing and reflecting by a pond and then move on … to a different garden.”
He said you can spend a couple hours there or a whole day — and there’s no “best” time of the year to visit.
“It’s so different by the season, and that’s … part of its design,” he said.
The details: Bedrock Gardens opened for the season on May 12 and is open Tuesday through Friday, and the first and third weekends of the month, through Oct. 11. The hours each day are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There’s a suggested donation of $10 per adult; children 12 and under get in free. Daily overview garden tours are offered Tuesday through Friday at 10:15 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 10:15 a.m. and 1 p.m., when open. The guided tours are free with admission. You can also take a self-guided tour and spend as much time as you want on the property; you will be given a map with a suggested route.
Rose terrace at The Fells. Photo courtesy of thefells.org.
Kirkwood Gardens
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, 23 Science Center Road, Holderness, 968-7194, nhnature.org
Colorful history: Kirkwood Gardens is about an acre in size and was created on the grounds of the historic Holderness Inn, in the space of a former parking lot. In trying to figure out what should take the place of the parking lot, a plan put together by internationally known landscape designer — and six-year Science Center trustee — “Sunny” Grace Kirkwood won out. It used plants that are adapted to grow well in New Hampshire and that are attractive to birds, bees and other pollinators, according to resident garden expert Brenda Erler. Erler said Kirkwood was very elderly when she was designing the garden. “Her nurse would actually bring her to the gardens, complete with her oxygen tank, and she would just sit for hours and watch the shadows to see how [the sun would hit the plants],” Erler said. The entire community pitched in to make the design happen, from an anonymous gift to amend the soil to area garden centers and local residents donating plants, garden features and labor. Kirkwood only survived long enough to see the upper garden planted, Erler said; that was completed in August 1996, and Kirkwood died in September. “It was the last garden that she ever donated in the United States,” Erler said.
The brains behind the beauty: According to Marketing Manager Amanda Gillen, Brenda Erler is the “expert on all things Kirkwood Gardens.” Erler has been at the Science Center since before the gardens were designed, and she leads a group of volunteers in maintaining the gardens.
Standout features: A 25- by 60-foot bluestone patio offers scenic views and a place to sit in the summer shade. The upper garden has a variety of ferns, hostas, azaleas, rhododendrons and other shade-loving plants, while the lower garden features sun-loving shrubs, trees and perennials, a sundial and a millstone fountain that attracts birds and butterflies.
Growing season: Erler said that each season she and a group of volunteers do the pruning and cleanup of winter debris as well as improvements and enhancements. “We keep kind of adding things to the fringes and [consider the] things we want to improve the looks of, [like] the exits, the entrances.” She said at the start of the season the volunteers do a walkaround to see how the plants are doing and whether any need to be replaced or moved, and they figure out which annuals to plant.
Your garden experience: “People will see plants that will work well in their yard,” Erler said, noting that the plants have been labeled and a kiosk has information for every plant, including their growing conditions, to help anyone who might want to bring something home for their own garden. “You can spend time learning about the plants or just sitting on one of the benches and enjoying it,” Erler said. “People use the garden in all different ways.” There’s also a list of birds and butterflies to help people ID them.
Erler said that while the bulbs are “going like mad right now,” the gardens always have something to offer.
“Sunny was just a master at designing things, and there’s always something in bloom,” she said. “It changes radically through the seasons.”
One of Erler’s favorites is Joe Pye weed, a native plant that grows in wetlands.
“Most of the year people just ignore it, but when it goes into bloom the butterflies absolutely lose their minds over it,” she said. “There are so many monarchs hanging on it.”
Details: Kirkwood Gardens is open to the public daily, and there is no cost to get in and no need for reservations. However, if you want to spend a day at the Squam Lakes Science Center, admission is $18 for adults and seniors and $13 for ages 3 to 15, and it includes the live animal exhibit trail and all hiking trails. Trail passes must be pre-purchased online before arriving at the Science Center. The live animal exhibit trail and hiking trails are open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last trail admission is 3:30 p.m.).
More public gardens Here are a few other public gardens to check out. If you know of any more beautiful public spaces like these, let us know at [email protected].
Maple Hill Gardens Beaver Brook Association, 117 Ridge Road, 465-7787, beaverbrook.org The 13 theme gardens, wildflower trail and natural play area are open to the public daily. The gardens are maintained by volunteers, and garden tours and presentations are available.
Prescott Park Marcy Street, Portsmouth, 610-7208, cityofportsmouth.com/prescottpark The gardens at Prescott Park are free and open to the public. In 1975, 40 formal garden beds were created on the South Lawn of Prescott Park, designed to study which varieties of ornamental plants performed best in the seacoast environment. Now, the gardens continue to be planted and maintained by the city’s Parks & Greenery department, which IDs the plants and flowers for visitors.
Tarbin Gardens 321 Salisbury Road, Franklin, 934-3518, tarbingardens.com Opening in June, Tarbin Gardens is a hand-built English landscape garden covering five acres, with all kinds of plants, plus greenhouses, ponds and wildlife. The cost of admission (cash only) is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, and $30 for families of two parents and two or more children. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Featured photo: Pollinator on Cosmos. Photo courtesy of Squam Lakes Natural Science Center.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
During the state’s weekly public health update on May 6, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that New Hampshire has averaged between 200 and 250 new infections of Covid-19 per day in the last week, a decrease from the week prior. The number of active infections has also been on a slight decline, while the number of hospitalizations has been steady.
According to Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, more than 1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have now been administered in the state, including to 725,000 people who have received their first dose. Of those, 505,000 people (just over a third of the state’s population) have now been fully vaccinated.
The state’s “Safer at Home” advisory, in place since June 2020, expired at midnight on May 7. In its place as of that date are now “universal best practices” guidance documents for state businesses. They can be viewed online at covidguidance.nh.gov. “There are no further requirements that we are going to be instituting for large gatherings,” Sununu said later during the press conference when asked about the new guidance documents. “[The best practices guidelines are] all-encompassing and just reminding folks of how they can keep themselves, their employees and their customers safe without the actual statewide-driven mandate.”
Also on May 7, Sununu issued Executive Order 2021-8, extending the state of emergency in New Hampshire due to the pandemic for another three weeks through at least May 28. It’s the 20th extension he has issued since declaring a state of emergency in March 2020.
Queen City ARP funds
Last week Mayor Joyce Craig released the results of a survey that asked Manchester residents how they want the city’s American Rescue Plan funds — about $44 million — to be spent. According to a press release, of the 159 residents who responded, nearly 32 percent want to spend the money on improving roads, connecting the rail trail, and promoting a more walkable and livable city. Approximately 28 percent said their top priority was affordable housing and assisting those in Manchester experiencing homelessness. Ten percent want to see education improvements, 10 percent want the money spent on downtown improvements and local businesses, and 7 percent want the funds to go to public health. As part of the survey, most respondents noted the social isolation, anxiety and financial impacts brought on by the pandemic, but nearly 24 percent also talked about the positive impact that the past year has brought: “It has slowed us down in a way where we value our local community and realize the dependencies we have on each other. We’ve learned to love our neighbors more and to support ALL the businesses and people that are working hard each day,” one resident wrote, according to the press release.
“The results of our community feedback survey show that our residents are ready to bounce back from this Covid-19 pandemic and address important issues like infrastructure, housing and education,” Craig said in the release.
Property tax relief
The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration is once again offering low- and moderate-income homeowners the opportunity to apply for property tax relief, according to a press release. The Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief program is now accepting applications through June 30. Eligible applicants are either single with adjusted gross income less than or equal to $20,000 or married or head of New Hampshire household with adjusted gross income less than or equal to $40,000, and have owned and resided in a home that is subject to the State Education Property Tax and resided in as of April 1, 2020. The application is available at revenue.nh.gov or by calling 230-5001. Individual income tax returns must be submitted with the application.
Tax exemptions
On May 5, Mayor Joyce Craig and the Board of Assessors announced a change to tax exemptions that expands the eligibility requirements for elderly and disabled Manchester residents. According to a press release, income limits for this population are increasing from $37,000 to $41,000 for single individuals, and from $50,000 to $55,000 for married individuals. Asset limits are increasing from $90,000 to $100,000 for single individuals and $115,000 to $130,000 for married individuals. Elderly residents must be 65 or older as of April 1, must have been a resident of New Hampshire for three consecutive years on or before April 1, and must be the owner of record of the property in question. Disabled residents must be eligible for payments under Title II or Title XVI of the federal Social Security Act, must have been a New Hampshire resident for at least five years as of April 1, and must be the owner of record as of April 1. Residents who now qualify based on the expanded exemption have until Friday, June 18, to file an application and can call 624-6520 or visit manchesternh.gov.
Education funding
Last week the Oyster River Cooperative and the Grantham school districts announced that they will join the school districts of Claremont, Fall Mountain, Hillsboro-Deering, Mascenic, Monadnock, Newport and Winchester as co-plaintiffs in ConVal School District’s lawsuit against the state over equitable education funding. According to a press release, the plaintiffs argue that the state does not meet its constitutional obligation to provide adequate funding for all students, saying that base adequacy — which provided $3,636 per student in all districts in 2019 — is not sufficient. In March, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire rejected the state’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. The case now goes back to Superior Court Judge David Ruoff, who will hold hearings allowing the plaintiffs to present evidence that the state underfunds education; an evidentiary hearing isn’t expected until the summer of 2022, according to the release.
The Centennial Hotel in Concord has been nominated for the annual Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, according to a press release, along with 30 other hotels and ski resorts in the state, most of which are in the White Mountains. The cities of Manchester and Concord were also nominated and will go up against the best in class for special recognition in the magazine’s November issue, the release said.
The historical Stone House in Hooksett will stay standing, the Hooksett Heritage Commission announced in a press release. RCA Holdings is not moving forward with plans to demolish the building and replace it with a storage facility, and the property is on the market again, for $675,000, the release said.
UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Goffstown is hosting a Community Horse Drive Thru on Saturday, May 15, from 10 to 11 a.m., according to a press release. Meet the nonprofit’s horses and horse handlers, whom you’ll be able to visit with right at your car window. To RSVP visit upreachtec.org or call 497-2343.
Several properties have been added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, including the Morrison House, circa 1760, in Londonderry, one of the oldest standing capes in town and the only surviving building from one of its earliest settled areas, according to a press release. Other properties include the Association Hall in Derry, Andover Town Hall and the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church.
Imagine a world where parents go off to work and then know their kids are well cared for and safe. That’s my world. We’ve been lucky enough to find quality day care and have the means to pay for it. But not everyone is so fortunate.
Child care many times gets shunted aside as an afterthought in trying to build a more competitive country. But it’s critical.
One of the main issues that employers grapple with now is hiring parents who lack good and affordable child care. This is a double whammy. It prevents parents from getting the best jobs they can and prevents companies from hiring them. That’s one of the main problems the economy is facing now. As kids are stuck at home with a parent, that parent can’t go out and work. The labor market needs to expand and for that to happen there needs to be access to good quality childcare.
President Joe Biden’s recently proposed infrastructure plan tackles this child care issue by trying to expand the number of facilities, increasing pay to increase quality and helping parents pay for it with subsidies. Critics of the plan suggest that it should be more targeted to lower-income families and that the market should set the wages for day care providers. They may be right on some of those but at least we’re talking about child care as a key component of our country’s ability to compete internationally and make our economy stronger.
The key to any successful plan will be to use the existing private and nonprofit day care already out there and help them expand and help others enter the market with the necessary licensing. That’s also a key part of easing parents back into the workforce. We should be supporting professional child care providers who can demonstrate that they create a safe environment for our children.
New Hampshire already has a program that provides subsidies to low-income families. The hope is that, if Biden’s plan passes, it can supplement this program and get additional funding out to those who need it most quickly.
Some have complained that Americans aren’t starting enough small businesses. I agree. But it isn’t that people are suddenly not entrepreneurs. Look at all the people who have a side hustle. We’re surrounded by entrepreneurs. The problem is that these people need health insurance and child care and that’s hard to afford when you’re starting a business. Want to increase the number of entrepreneurs? Increase affordable health insurance and child care. That’s the real solution. It doesn’t need to be a hand out. It’s a hand up. And with the cost of health care and child care today, Granite Staters need a hand up to take that chance and be that entrepreneur.
Quality and affordable child care is vital to our national interests.
