Honoring forgotten soldiers
The fourth installation for Flags for Forgotten Soldiers in New Hampshire will be placed at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Merrimack on May 1, according to a press release. There will be 660 flags installed, representing the loss of veterans to suicide, of which there are an average of 22 each day in the U.S. The first installations were in Derry, Chester and Danville and were installed for 30 days each — 22 a day multiplied by 30 days. This larger installation will include five flags that represent the first responders lost daily, and a single flag to signify active-duty members, according to the release, and it will be left up all summer.
Score: +1, for bringing attention to a tragic problem
Comment: The public is invited to attend and assist placing the flags on Saturday May 1, at noon at Anheuser-Busch Brewery, 221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack.
Breathing better
New Hampshire’s air quality has improved for both ozone and year-round particle pollution, according to the 2021 State of the Air report from the American Lung Association. According to a press release, New Hampshire has several counties that were ranked among the cleanest in the Boston metro area for short-term particle pollution. All five reporting counties (Belknap, Hillsborough, Rockingham, Cheshire and Grafton) maintained A grades for short-term particle pollution, and all seven of the state’s reporting counties (all of the above, plus Merrimack and Coos) either maintained or improved their grades for ozone.
Score: +1
Comment: In just the counties included in this report, more than 240,000 residents are living with lung diseases like asthma, COPD and lung cancer, as well as heart disease, making them more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution.
Manchester cleans up
The Manchester Urban Ponds Restoration Program is in the midst of its annual spring cleanup. According to a press release, the program has organized 119 cleanups since it started in 2000, and its kept tally of some fun stats: 1071 volunteers have spent approximately 3,632 hours collecting 2,431 bags of trash — which does not include illegally “dumped” items like shopping carts (99), tires (441), car batteries, construction debris and more. The value of volunteer time spent at these cleanups has amounted to over $78,000, the release said.
Score: 0 (+1 for the volunteers, -1 for the absurd number of illegally dumped items found in Manchester’s parks and ponds)
Comment: The next two cleanups are at Stevens Pond and Stevens Pond Park on Saturday, May 1, from 9 to 11 a.m., and at Nutts Pond and Precourt Park on Saturday, May 8, from 9 to 11 a.m. Cleanups will be held rain or shine and anyone is welcome. Latex gloves and plastic trash bags will be provided.
Scam alert
Last week Eversource warned its customers to watch out for scammers who are using new techniques to trick people into thinking they’re legit, including using phony caller IDs that display “Eversource” and reading from scripts that sound like they’re coming from a real company representative who is threatening to disconnect their electric or gas service because of an unpaid bill. According to a press release, Eversource will never ask for an instant payment over the phone, will not ask for prepaid debit cards and will not ask customers to meet at a “payment center” to make the payment. Anyone who thinks they might have received a scam phone call, text or email should contact local police.
Score: -1
Comment: “These scam artists sound sophisticated and are ruthless,” Eversource Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Penni Conner said in the release. “[If you] get a call and the caller’s message doesn’t look or sound right, don’t panic and don’t pay. Remember, we will never threaten to disconnect service or demand instant payment over the phone.”
QOL score: 69
Net change: +1
QOL this week: 70
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].