Category: Q&A

Health official discusses NH’s mosquito risk

Marco Notarangelo is the Vectorborne Disease Surveillance Coordinator at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in New Hampshire. He spoke to the Hippo about Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV), what it is and what people in the Granite State can do to stay safe. Visit dhhs.nh.gov for more information.

What is EEEV and how did this virus come about?

Triple E, also known as Eastern Equine Encephalitis, is an alpha virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes … primarily found in swamps and certain species of birds. It’s not necessarily native to the Northeast but we know it’s been circulating within the Northeast for a couple hundred years. It’s notorious for causing disease in ‘equine’ and perhaps that can lead to some confusion that the pathogen is maintained in horses but that’s not really the case. This is a very rare disease here in the Northeast. Most years we won’t even have detections. In fact, if you look at the data here in New Hampshire for the last 10 full years, only in 2023 do you have a couple of mosquito detections, really toward the end of the mosquito season,

How concerned should people be about EEEV with the recent news? What’s the probability or likelihood that someone would contract this infection?

Triple E is a very rare disease and you might recall in the United States there’s less than 15 cases that are typically reported nationwide. … [A]nd it’s thought that only 1 in 20 infections are actually going to result in individuals developing symptoms. However, what’s particularly concerning about this pathogen is severity. … it’s really thought that a large portion of infections that result in symptoms will result in individuals developing what is called Central Nervous System infections. Some examples of this are inflammation of the brain or inflammation of the membrane surrounding the spinal cord, which can be very severe. … about 30 percent of the individuals that develop this severe form of illness unfortunately do not make it. That’s not really the end of it, it’s also 50 percent of the survivors that have long-term if not lifelong complications and lifelong debilitation resulting from the illness. Although it’s very rare, it’s something that should be kept in mind because it can be a life-altering condition.

Why is EEEV an issue again now?

There is some uncertainty here, but … the current scientific thought on it is that Triple E is not really a pathogen that remains, or the strains of Triple E, surviving in the Northeast over extended periods of time. They may survive over winters for a couple years and then go locally extinct. It’s through their reintroduction from migratory birds that it comes back into the Northeast and causes novel outbreaks. We tend to see cycles with Triple E.

What areas of New Hampshire are most at risk for EEEV infection?

Historically, based on the last about 20 years’ worth of data we have, which is when Triple E has really resurged within our part of the United States, we see that the eastern part of the state, particularly the southeastern part of the state, is the area that most often has Triple E detections, human cases and equine detections. … We have had detections in other parts of the state. On the western side and then we’ve done surveys of deer populations, collecting their blood during the hunting season, and we’ve detected Triple E even in the far north part of the state, so around Coos County. …

What steps can people take to prevent mosquito bites?

The primary concern also lies when we spend time outside in greater mosquito habitats … So we want individuals to take steps such as wearing repellent, wearing protective clothing that makes it more difficult for mosquitoes to bite us, and being cognizant of where mosquitoes are most likely to be and when they’re most likely to be active. For Triple E we are primarily talking about swamp-dwelling mosquito species and unfortunately New Hampshire is very rich in swamp, especially in the southern part of the state. … it is a pathogen that’s more likely to cause severe illness in younger individuals, particularly those under the age of 15, so it’s very important for residents to consider not only their own personal care but also making sure their children are well aware of what they should do to prevent mosquito bites.

What repellants should people use?

Typically, EPA-registered repellents are the ones we are going to recommend, DEET being one of the more common ones. Oil of lemon eucalyptus and of course picaridin being additional options. … You always want to be reading the labels on the actual repellents to make sure that it works and … and is safe for different age groups….

—Zachary Lewis

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

Bow Garden Club invites you into the garden

Master Gardener Joyce Kimball is the Publicity Chair and former president of the Bow Garden Club and a former president and current executive board member of The New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs. Bow Garden Club maintains 10 “beauty spots,” such as the town gazebo. They generally hold meetings on the second Monday of every month at 6 p.m. starting again on Monday, Sept. 9, with an educational program by Advanced Gardener Ron Trexler from UNH Cooperative Extension, who will speak on preparing gardens for winter. People are encouraged to stop by a meeting to see if they are interested in joining. Kimball spoke about the Bow Garden Club and some end-of-summer garden tips. Visit bowgardenclub.org.

How did the Bow Garden Club get started with the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs?

It’s kind of a nice little story. It was three women from Bow that were just sitting around talking about plants and flowers and they decided to start a garden club. I’m not quite sure, because that was back in 1964, a little before my time, I was alive but I wasn’t part of a club. It was 1964 and it just kind of went from there. They joined the state garden club, which is called New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., which is a consortium of like 18 to 20, I think right now, area garden clubs across the state.

What is the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs?

Every state in the country has a federated garden club and we’re under the umbrella of the national garden club. We have regional and national, so we get out there as far as covering anyone that’s at all interested in plants or anything green. Some people are vegetable gardeners but most are floral gardeners, or both…. We act as ambassadors from the state garden club to go out to the local garden clubs to make them aware of benefits … like learning how to do floral arranging, that kind of thing, things that are available to them through the state organization and sometimes even the national organization. So just a way for people with like minds and interests to get together…

Who can join the Bow Garden Club?

One club may include five or six towns. It all depends on how big they are. Bow, for instance, has 70 members, which is a lot for our size town. Most of them are from Bow. But we also have someone from Manchester, somebody from Derry chose to join us because we’re one of the few that have evening meetings. We have somebody from Pembroke, Concord, and I think that may be it right now. Oh, actually we have one from Australia because our president just went to Australia and she is staying as a member. So we really branch out.

What are a few garden tips for this time of year?

Because [plants have] grown so fast with the heat and the extra water … I would advise people to cut them back. There’s still plenty of time to let them reflower. If they’re looking kind of leggy, as we call them, with long stems, or if the blossoms have gone by you should cut those off anyways to encourage new stems. It’s a little too soon to start cleaning the garden, that shouldn’t happen till October, or as we call it, ‘putting the garden to bed,’ so to speak. That’s when you cut them all down to the ground, but way too early for that. .

What can one expect at a garden club meeting?

Don’t worry about eating because we call it the Food and Garden Club because we can cook as well as we can garden. We have one of our committees, the refreshment committee, people are assigned a certain meeting to come up with a theme and provide the refreshments. I think people come for the food as much as anything else. We don’t meet during July and August, we do other things, we have a ‘Cocktails in the Garden’ we did recently…. We have an educational program at every meeting that starts at 6:30 and usually goes for like an hour.

—Zachary Lewis

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

owner of Glimpse Gallery

Meme Exum is the owner of Glimpse Gallery in Concord, whose mission is to uplift artists in the community. The gallery holds six shows a year with six artists for each show. Curator Christina Landry-Boullion shows her art in each exhibition as well. The current exhibition, which runs until Sept. 9, has its last reception on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Glimpse Gallery asks that those interested in attending RSVP through their website. Visit theglimpsegallery.com.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I own and run a small fine art gallery in downtown Concord, New Hampshire. I scour Concord, and ultimately New Hampshire, [for artists] who are looking to get their name and their artwork out to the public. I’m not a traditional gallery, I don’t have constricting contracts or commission structure. All day I’m constantly on the phone and doing email…. The best part is viewing all this incredible new art.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve had it in tandem with other jobs, whether you equate that to a side hustle or the one I had the longest, for 12 years.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I love art. … I want to be immersed in an arena where I’m constantly seeing cool, new art, and this is the best way to do it. I have a leader personality so I don’t mind doing the admin and the business structure of it….

What kind of education or training did you need?

I have a college degree in political science with a minor in international affairs and ultimately hard-life experience was what taught me everything I know now to run the gallery. Everything from my stint waiting tables to doing administrative work to my marketing career for high-end architecture.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Fabulous dresses and heels. My outfits are my art. …. It’s super fun, energetic, accessible….

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

Keeping up with correspondence, and I try to approach it with humility because I always want to answer and I want to give timely responses and answers to people that are really being vulnerable by presenting me with their art.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

That time is more valuable than money.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

That humility is an important facet…. I am learning every day…

What was your first job?

Working at a consignment shop for women’s clothing in Atlanta, Georgia. On the weekends I also did Baskin-Robbins, so it was a twofer.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

It would go back to the Baskin-Robbins job and Mr. Hauk [the manager] telling me to focus and listen … that’s the best piece of advice.

—Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: Sapiens by Yuval Harari. It is such an incredible book.
Favorite movie: The Fisher King with Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges.
Favorite music: Hans Zimmer. He does those incredible movie scores.
Favorite food: Popcorn cooked in a pan (not microwave popcorn).
Favorite thing about NH: The wildlife. I’m very geared toward nature. I’ll brake for snakes in the road.

Featured photo: Meme Exum. Courtesy photo.

Rose Mountain Rumble ride benefits land conservation

Chirs Wells is the President and Executive Director of the Piscataquog Land Conservancy (PLC). The PLC is a private nonprofit land conservation organization that works to conserve the natural resources and scenic beauty of the Piscataquog, Souhegan and Nashua River valleys of southern New Hampshire. The Rose Mountain Rumble that takes place on Saturday, Aug. 24, is their annual “gravel ride” that helps raise funds for the PLC and awareness about land conservation. Registration is full but there is a waitlist. Visit plcnh.org for more information about the organization and rosemountainrumble.com for information about the gravel ride.

What is the Rose Mountain Rumble?

What people that are into it call a quote ‘gravel ride’ or a ‘gravel grinder.’ It’s in between, essentially, road biking and mountain biking. People are mostly riding bicycles that are a tweaked version of a road bike but they’re a little bit beefier, they’ve got a little bit different gearing, a little bit wider tires, and what they’re really made for, yes, you can ride them on pavement for sure, but their sweet spot is to be riding on dirt woods or woods road kind of environment. It’s turned into a real culture and a real scene. One of our organizers, Kris Henry, always likes to stress that this is not a race, this is a ride. The whole point of it is to get people on the back roads, dirt roads of south central New Hampshire, which is the area that we work in, to get out and experience these lightly traveled dirt roads, beautiful scenery, and be with a community of people.

How did the gravel ride get started?

We got started with this ride back in 2014…. It’s our 10th year since the first one but we missed one from Covid, so this is actually officially the ninth annual, so take your pick, it’s either the ninth or the 10th. The first year we had all of 30 people ride in it. We went from 30 to within a couple years we’re at 150 and have been ever since. We capped it intentionally to have it not be too big. Anyway, back in 2014 our organization was working on a land conservation project to conserve basically the whole top of Rose Mountain. It’s sort of a 2,000-footish small mountain in Lyndeborough and we had this opportunity to acquire the property and had to raise a decent amount of money to do it. At the time, somebody who was a longtime friend of the organization said, ‘Here’s an idea, maybe you could do a bike thing or something, you should talk to these people I know in Lyndeborough.’ Those people turned out to be a guy named Kris Henry who’s basically a custom bike builder … and then a couple, Doug Powers and his wife, Doria Harris, they are both avid cyclists…. We literally got together at Kris Henry’s bike building shop, his backyard of his house in Lyndeborough, and pretty quickly came up with the idea of doing a gravel ride in the area and whatever money we could spin off of it would benefit this land conservation area.

Can you expand on what the PLC does?

The PLC is a private, nonprofit land conservation organization; some people will shorten that to being ‘a land trust.’ We are the local land trust, basically, for greater Manchester, greater Nashua, 26 towns altogether. Just about all of them are in Hillsborough County; we have a couple that are in Merrimack. It’s a really diverse area. We’ve been around since 1970. As of today we hold land for conservation easements on … about 9,600 acres. Basically, what we do, we work on a purely voluntary basis with land owners that are interested in conserving their property or looking to sell their property to whoever but we know it’s of conservation value. Some of the lands and easements are straight up donations, some of them we’re paying full market value based on appraisal, and honestly sort of everything in between. The whole point of it is to conserve the property in an undeveloped state in perpetuity, i.e. forever. Once the land is protected, whether it’s through a conservation easement, which is essentially you’re taking the development rights off of a property but it remains in private or town ownership, or something that we own, either way we are then responsible forevermore to be monitoring that property at least annually to make sure that the boundaries are being respected, nothing bad is going on, and that the natural resource values are being protected on an ongoing basis. On some of the properties we own we have trail systems that we are maintaining and in some cases adding to. We’re trying to make some of our properties, where it’s appropriate, to be local recreational areas for people…. All of our lands are open to the public, that is lands we own outright. All of them are open to some level of recreation. Most of them are open to hunting and fishing to people that are into it. We try to have them open to as many activities as is reasonable and safe.

What’s the best way for someone to support PLC’s mission?

It’s kind of the classic answer from a nonprofit organization. One obvious and good way, and we definitely always need people to help us out, is to be a member. Make a contribution, be a member in the organization, support us financially. And/or, it doesn’t have to be one or the other, volunteer. We definitely need volunteers, especially for our property monitoring. We’ve got 80-plus people in any given year that are volunteer land monitors and they are often the people who are out there annually being our eyes and ears on the ground to check on these properties as we go along.

—Zachary Lewis

Featured image: Rose Mountain Rumble. Photo by Gabriella Nissen.