Category: Quality Of Life

A date with giant balloons

Members of the Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps (spartansdbc.org) learned last week that they will march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York in November. WMUR reported in an online article July 4 that the Spartans “were selected from more than 100 applicants and were one of nine bands that received the invite.” The invitation came with a $10,000 donation from Macy’s to help with fundraising for the Spartans to travel to New York City next year. “What an amazing way to celebrate the Spartans’ 70th anniversary!” the Spartans posted on their website.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The Spartans describe themselves as “a community-based performing arts program in Nashua, NH.”

Laid-back in Nashua

In a recent study by WalletHub (wallethub.com), an online financial management website, Nashua ranked as one of the least stressed cities in America. Out of 182 U.S. cities, Nashua placed 175th. In a July 8 press release, WalletHub described the study. “WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 39 key metrics. The data set ranges from average weekly work hours to the unemployment rate to divorce and suicide rates.” Nashua scored in the 20th percentile or lower in terms of work, financial, family, and health & safety stress.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to this study, Cleveland, Ohio, is the most stressed-out city in America, and Charleston, South Carolina, is the least.

Falling for love

Ninety-year-old Manchester man Bill Rogers sky-dived last Sunday to celebrate his anniversary with his late wife, Natalie. According to a July 7 online story by WMUR, Rogers completed his sixth skydive in Pepperell, Mass., with an eye toward teasing his wife, like he would have if she were still alive. “Every time I jump out of a plane, I can hear her say, ‘Billy, you’re as crazy as ever,’’” WMUR quoted him.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to Guinness World Records (guinnessworldrecords.com) the oldest skydiver on record is 106-year-old Texan Alfred Blanschke, who broke his own record in May of this year.

Goodbye to Bob’s

On July 1, Bob’s Stores announced it would close all its remaining stores, which included one in Salem, New Hampshire. Bob’s Stores began with a single store in Connecticut and eventually expanded throughout the Northeast. Meanwhile, several Eastern Mountain Sports stores, including the one in The Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester, are closing as well. EMS and Bob’s Stores are owned by the same parent company, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection.

QOL score: -1

Comments: The going-out-of-business sale at Bob’s was expected to continue through July 14, according to a story on WMUR.com. EMS still operates its Eastern Mountain Sports School in North Conway and is the official outfitter of the Mount Washington Observatory. (Bob’s Stores, by the way, are NOT affiliated with Bob’s Discount Furniture, a whole separate company that sent out a press release to clear up confusion, according to a July 9 Boston Globe story.)

QOL score: 72

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 74

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Sad ice cream news

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?

Let us know at [email protected].

Ewwww

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Studies said Thursday, June 13, that cyanobacteria blooms had been reported on Lake Winnipesaukee and two warnings were issued on June 12. The specific affected areas were Carry Beach and Brewster Beach in Wolfeboro, and 19-Mile and Tuftonboro Neck in Tuftonboro. The Department advised that any surface scum, no matter the color, should be avoided to prevent toxin exposure. The Manchester Health Department announced on Friday, June 21, that the public beach at Crystal Lake had been re-opened for swimming after analysis of water samples taken the previous day indicated that E. coli levels were once again within acceptable limits.

QOL score: -2

Comments: Gross yourself out/stay informed by checking out the NH Healthy Swimming Mapper at des.nh.gov, which features fecal bacteria advistories and cyanobacteria warnings. For Manchester watering holes, check manchesternh.gov/Departments/Health for news and alerts.

A tornado watch?

New Hampshire cooled down last weekend but Sunday brought extreme thunderstorms across the state, and a tornado watch. According to an online report by WMUR on Sunday, June 23, “A tornado watch was dropped for New Hampshire late Sunday night after multiple storms triggered several severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings during the day.” One storm led to multiple tornado warnings — including near Manchester — and severe thunderstorm warnings before it went out to sea around 7:15 p.m.

QOL score: -1

Comments: According to WMUR on June 24, National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado did touch down in Dublin on Sunday.

Seeing our past

As reported on June 17 by Manchester Ink Link, the fourth in a series of Black History plaques was unveiled at Manchester’s City Hall Plaza on June 14, honoring two early Black residents of Manchester. Caesar Harvey and Caesar Griffin were both free land-owning residents of Derryfield in the 1700s and 1800s. The Ink Link story reported that according to historian Stan Garrity the two men were probably the first Black residents of Manchester; Caesar Harvey, who had been born in Africa, was enslaved, escaped from slavery, and found a new home in Derryfield. According to the plaque, “Caesar Harvey took a risk and was able to gain his freedom for a better life.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the plaque, Caesar Griffin was also formerly enslaved, but eventually gained his freedom and with his son Thomas eventually owned 152 acres of land.

We’ve been eating a lot of takeout

According to a recent survey by cooking website The Cookie Rookie New Hampshire residents eat more takeout meals per capita than anywhere in the U.S. other than Hawaii. According to the survey, which was based on online data, Granite Staters spend $14.22 per day, on average, buying takeout food, and $5,190 per year. According to the same survey, Oklahoma spends the least on takeout, $3,198 per year.

QOL score: -1 for being too busy to cook

Comment: To read a summary of the report, visit thecookierookie.com/the-us-dinner-time-report.

QOL score: 77

Net change: -3

QOL this week: 74

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Streaming now: a not quite empty nest

Whit and Thor, this year’s brood of peregrine falcons from the nest at the top of the Brady-Sullivan building in Manchester, left the next two weeks ago, only to return home. On Sunday, June 9, Whit, the female fledgling, was observed via a live falcon-cam “fludging” — accidentally fledging. As she moved along the edge of the falcons’ nesting box, she slipped and fell. It was not so much a maiden flight as a plummet. She was not seen for several days, and it was feared that she had come to a bad end. Her brother Thor left the nest in a more deliberate manner the next morning. Since then, both fledglings have returned to the nesting box, and last Sunday, June 16, Whit was observed chasing her mother from the nest — all this according to the log for birds kept by regular viewers of the peregrine falcon cams.

QOL score: +1

Comment: See the log of falcon adventures at tinyurl.com/yck2pnka.

Streaming now: Full nest

According to a June 17 press release from the Loon Preservation Committee (loon.org), a pair of loons have laid an egg on a Live Loon Cam run by their organization. Footage from the Loon Cam, shows a family of loons nesting in the Lakes Region. “The first egg was laid on June 17,” the press release read, “and a second egg is expected to be laid between June 19 and 20. Hatch is expected to occur between July 14 and 15.” For the next 24 days, viewers can watch the live video feed, as the loons incubate their eggs and hatch their chicks.

QOL Score: +1

Comment: See the Loon Cam at loon.org/looncam.

Ice cream for dinner week

The National Weather Service, Gray, Maine, issued a Heat Advisory on Monday, June 16, that included the cities of Concord, Nashua and Manchester, effective on Tuesday, June 18. An Excessive Heat Watch was also issued, for Wednesday, June 19, and Thursday, June 20. Extreme heat and humid conditions were forecast with heat indices exceeding 100 degrees. Concord, Manchester and Nashua opened cooling stations. A press release from the Manchester Emergency Operations Center advised residents to wear sunblock and lightweight, loose-fitting clothing, to stay hydrated, and to stay in air-conditioned areas. Eversource also issued a press release June 16 saying, “While high electricity usage during a heat wave can put a strain on the electric system, the energy company is prepared to meet the increased demand and its crews are ready to respond to any outages or issues that may arise.”

QOL Score: –1 but last weekend was so nice!

Comment: Too. Hot.

Slightly better news at the pump

According to the website GasBuddy.com, fuel prices in New Hampshire have dropped. A little. In a press release June 17, the fuel-price-tracking service announced that “average gasoline prices in New Hampshire have fallen 2.0 cents per gallon in the past week. Prices in New Hampshire are 15.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 15.2 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. ”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The lowest price for gas in New Hampshire was $3.02 per gallon, compared to the national average of $3.41.

Last week’s QOL score: 75

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 77

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

Let us know at [email protected].

NH residents spend less on vacations

According to an online story in the Boston Globe on May 30, New Hampshire residents spend less on vacations than residents of other New England states. Citing a recent study by a Canadian online casino, the story reported that New Englanders budget between $1,900 and $2,600 for a holiday away. But not us. As the Globe story stated, “Granite State residents are the thriftiest, with an annual vacation budget of just $450.”

QOL score: -1, because …

Comment: According to the same article, we also take fewer vacations, with people in New Hampshire and Maine only taking one vacation per year, compared to two vacations for residents of other New England residents.

But our trees get around

There is a newly planted tree at Barnstead Elementary School that has gone around the moon. According to a May 25 online story from WMUR, a recently planted American Sycamore tree was grown from a seed that traveled aboard NASA’s Artemis 1 space mission. WMUR reports that “on that mission, the seeds traveled more than 275,000 miles and orbited the moon.” Fourth-grade teacher Brittany Sylvian’s application was chosen from more than 2,000 by NASA to adopt a tree grown from one of the Artemis mission’s seeds.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to WMUR, it is currently the only “moon tree” in New Hampshire.

The secret was popcorn

Merrimack Fire Rescue and police responded to a call last week in the most adorable rescue of the week. According to a Nashua InkLink story from May 28, the rescue team responded to a report of several ducklings caught in a storm drain. The story reported that crews first “used buckets to try to scoop the duckling from the murky water in the drain,” but that ultimately the baby ducks were lured in with popcorn from the nearby Apple Cinemas.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The ducklings were returned to their mother after the hour-long rescue.

A soldier comes home

Northwood Army Sgt. Richard G. Hammond, who was killed in the Second World War, was finally returned to New Hampshire to be laid to rest last week, WMUR reported on May 23. According to the story, Sgt. Hammond “was 24 when he went missing in action on Feb. 17, 1943, after being struck by an enemy tank shell during a battle with German forces near Sbeitla, Tunisia. Officials said the explosion threw Hammond several yards from the blast site.” His remains were exhumed from a U.S. military cemetery in Algeria last September, after they were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Hammond was reinterred in Northwood Ridge Cemetery.

Last week’s QOL score: 69

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 71

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Check is in the mail

In a recent study by WalletHub (wallethub.com), an online financial services website, New Hampshire home-owners were the least likely in the United States to be delinquent (a month or more behind) on their mortgage payments. New Hampshire residents ranked 50th out of 50 states in delinquency; just 5.21 percent of home loans in the state had late payments.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Neighboring state Vermont, on the other hand, the nation’s delinquency leader, has a delinquency rate of 7.1 percent.

Falcons with accessories

Last Thursday, Whit and Thor, the peregrine falcon chick residents of a nestbox at the top of the Brady Sullivan Building in downtown Manchester, were banded. According to the Center for Conservation Biology (ccbbirds.org), raptors like peregrines are fitted with metal leg bands “to provide researchers with data on peregrine survival rates, dispersal distances, and population growth rates.” The chicks got bands on each leg. Typically, one band has a unique nine-digit code to identify the falcon in the future. The second band, on the opposite leg, is a two-color band that is easily read from a distance.

QOL score: +1

Comment: To watch the adorably grumpy chicks being banded, visit YouTube and search for 2024 Peregrine Falcon Banding.

Put the phone down

Data from the State Police show an increase in dangerous driving on New Hampshire’s highways over the past year. According to an online article by WMUR on May 22, state troopers have given out an alarming number of tickets over the past 12 months. According to WMUR’s report, cell phones continue to be one of the largest contributing factors to inattentive driving. Between May 2023 and April 2024, for example, 272 tickets were given out in Bedford alone for hands-free, distracted driving. “State troopers are seeing more egregious violations on the road, especially speeding,” the article said. “Within the past year, state police have issued about 1,600 tickets for driving 25 mph or more over the 65 mph limit, including to one person who was caught going 128 mph.”

QOL score: -2

Comment: In a separate online article last month, WMUR reported that 129 people were killed in car crashes on New Hampshire roads in 2023.

Last week’s QOL score: 69

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 69

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

Let us know at [email protected].