Category: Quality Of Life

Running with goats

Last week, these two adorable goats followed QOL’s dad home from a run in Derry, staying right at his heels for about a mile until he got home, read their tags and called their owner. Alas, Bonnie and Clyde were not allowed inside, but they did enjoy some of the grass and rose bushes in the yard while they were waiting to be picked up.

Score: +1

Comment: QOL’s mom happened to be driving home and took a video capturing part of the run: picture a 6’3” man with these two little guys running to keep up with him, with “Watermelon Sugar” playing on the car radio as a soundtrack. Hilarious.

Back to the movies

Regal Cinemas in Newington and Concord and O’neil Cinemas in Epping are set to reopen this month. According to its website, Regal plans to reopen its Newington location this Friday, May 7, and its Concord location on Friday, May 21. According to the O’neil website, it is scheduled to reopen on Friday, May 7, as well. As of the morning of May 4, movies had not been finalized at O’neil, while Regal is showing movies like Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat. Safety protocols will be in place, with limited capacities and face mask requirements.

Score: +1

Comment: There is no mention of the Hooksett location on Regal’s website, so when and whether it will reopen remains to be seen.

Intown scam

Members of Intown Concord have been targeted by a scammer for the past several weeks, according to a letter that Intown Executive Director Jessica Martin posted to members in a May 3 newsletter. “A man claiming to be Intown Concord’s Event Coordinator has been calling all over town asking for Market Days Sponsorships and verbally assaulting people. He has targeted banks, the fire department, the library, and many other businesses in the area,” Martin wrote. Intown has notified the Concord Police Department and the City, and the nonprofit apologized to any of the businesses that have had to interact with the scammer.

Score: -2

Comment:“Obviously, this is not the way Intown Concord does business,” Martin wrote. “Our all-female staff of two will never ask for cash up front for an event and we will certainly never call you on the phone and rudely demand it.”

QOL score: 70

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 70

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

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 news@hippopress.com.

Scooter from scratch

A student in an engineering class at Milford High School & Applied Technology Center is helping the residents of Crestwood Center in Milford get around. According to a press release, senior Daniel Schongar has spent about a year building a mobility scooter that the school will donate to the residential long-term care facility in May. The school purchased parts for the scooter on Craigslist, and Schongar had to rebuild some of its major systems — a project that was made even more difficult because of the pandemic, which forced him to work at home and meet with his teacher only once a week during remote learning. Schonger said in the release that he was able to 3D print many of the accessories that he needed to build at home.

Score: +1

Comment: Everyone’s a winner here — the residents of Crestwood Center and Schonger, who said in the release that this project has helped prepare him for college, where he wants to study engineering and learn how to build robotic arms.

Safe space

New Hampshire has been the safest state during the pandemic, according to a study from WalletHub, which recently released rankings based on data that was available as of April 14. WalletHub, a personal finance website, compared all states and Washington, D.C., in the rates of Covid-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations, deaths and number of eligible people getting vaccinated. Helping it reach the top spot was the Granite State’s vaccination rate, where it ranked No. 1, and its death rate, which was one of the lowest at No. 8. New Hampshire edged out Hawaii and Alaska, which ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Score: +1

Comment:New England as a whole fared well in this survey; Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts ranked 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th, respectively, and Connecticut ranked 18th.

Watch out for wildfires…

It’s Wildfire Awareness Week in New Hampshire (April 18 to April 24), and the state is trying to raise awareness about the dangers of wildfires, which are more common here in the spring as dry grasses, leaves, pine cones and fallen branches can act as fuel. According to a press release, more than 57 percent of the state is still experiencing moderate drought conditions, and the rest of the state is classified as abnormally dry, which raises the risk of wildfires even more. New Hampshire had an average of 119 wildfires that impacted an average of 276 acres each year from 2016 to 2020, the release said.

Score: -1

Comment: Ninety percent of wildfires in New Hampshire are caused by human behavior, according to the release. Common causes are brush fires and campfires, improper disposal of smoking materials, overheated engines and sparks emitted from machinery.

… and rabid wildlife

The‌ ‌‌Londonderry‌‌ ‌Police‌ ‌Department‌ ‌warned‌ ‌residents‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌press‌ ‌release‌ ‌last‌ ‌week‌ ‌to‌ ‌keep‌ ‌an‌ ‌eye‌ ‌on‌ ‌their‌ ‌pets‌ ‌when‌ ‌they’re‌ ‌outdoors‌ ‌after‌ ‌a‌ ‌dog‌ ‌got‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌fight‌ ‌with‌ ‌a ‌raccoon.‌ ‌The raccoon was euthanized and sent for testing because it showed signs of possible rabies, and testing confirmed that it was rabid.

Score: -1

Comment: The‌ ‌Department‌ ‌encourages‌ ‌pet‌ ‌owners‌ ‌to‌ ‌get‌ ‌their‌ ‌pets‌ ‌vaccinated‌ ‌as‌ ‌soon‌ ‌as‌ ‌possible.‌

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 news@hippopress.com.

Free fishing, hunting and more for military members

The Fallen Outdoors nonprofit is looking for New Hampshire veterans and active duty service members who like hunting, fishing, canoeing, hiking and camping to enjoy the great outdoors with free active excursions. According to a press release, Team New England, which started in 2019, has a big goal this year: to facilitate 14 to 20 fishing trips in lakes, rivers and oceans; 12 to 18 hunting trips; eight canoe trips; five overnight hikes; three snowshoe hikes; and three family barbecues. These excursions are designed to provide veterans and service members with an outlet from life stressors to help prevent veteran suicide, according to the release, and staff are all volunteers who are active or former military service members.

Score: +1

Comment: Anyone who is interested in attending a free outdoor trip can find events on The Fallen Outdoors East Coast community page on Facebook; one upcoming local trip is a day of fishing, leaving from Hampton, on May 20. The trip is limited to 30 veterans; email Jesse.Webber@TheFallenOutdoors.com to reserve a spot.

One man’s trash isn’t always another’s treasure

If you’ve got bags of outgrown clothes or gently used household items that you’re planning to donate, Goodwill will be happy to take them — as long as you’re not just dropping off your trash. According to a recent report from WMUR, Goodwill Northern New England has seen an increase in unusable donations, things like a birdhouse with no roof and a ceiling fan with three blades that is supposed to have six. It costs the organization money to get rid of all that trash, the report said, more than $1 million for each of the last two years, which is money that could otherwise go to the workforce programs that Goodwill funds.

Score: -1

Comment: According to the report, Goodwill welcomes clothes, shoes, books and dishes that are in decent condition.

Speech earns local student a national scholarship

A local student was a top finisher in the national Voice of Democracy scholarship program. According to a press release, Central High School junior Matthew Blair was named the third place national winner and the recipient of the $10,000 scholarship award, which is given out by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Blair was sponsored by the Queen City Memorial VFW Post and entered the oratorical competition.

Score: +1

Comment: “This speech really was inspired by my grandfather, his story and the love for America that he instilled in me,” Blair said in the release. “I am so proud that I could represent Manchester Central High School, the city of Manchester and the state of New Hampshire at this competition.”

First Day of Caring in 2021 a success

Over the course of six hours on April 7, about 20 volunteers packaged 15,000 shelf-stable meals to help stock southern New Hampshire food pantries. The percentage of people who miss a meal in a day has increased by more than 200 percent since the start of the pandemic, according to a press release from the United Way of Greater Nashua, which is why the nonprofit focused on replenishing food supplies for its first Day of Caring event.

Score: +1

Comment: This was the first of five events planned for The United Way of Greater Nashua’s 2021 Days of Caring. The next is the annual Community Baby Shower in July, the release said.

QOL score: 67

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 69

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Read a book, watch some baseball

Students who read five books between now and May 11 will earn two tickets to a New Hampshire Fisher Cats game at Delta Dental Stadium. The Reading Challenge started in 2010, according to a press release, and more than 3 million books have been read as part of the program so far. Students can submit their five books and preferred game date through an online form at NHFisherCats.com. The home opener is scheduled for May 11 against the Somerset Patriots, which will be followed by a fireworks show to kick off the season.

Score: +1

Comment: After a year without Fisher Cats baseball, the Reading Challenge is a great way to help kids and their families get back to the stadium.

Sleeping out to support homeless youth

For the second year, Waypoint’s SleepOut was held remotely, according to a press release, with 179 people from across the state sleeping in their backyards and fundraising online, ultimately raising more than $350,000 to support homeless youth. During the March 26 event, participants came together virtually in a livestream event featuring Gov. Chris Sununu, Congressman Chris Pappas, Congresswoman Annie Kuster, and Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen. Proceeds from the SleepOut event will support Waypoint’s services to youth experiencing homelessness, including street outreach, basic needs relief, crisis care, the Youth Resource Center in Manchester, rapid rehousing, and transitional housing in four towns across the state, the release said. Waypoint is also planning to expand services, including a drop-in center in Rochester and Concord and a youth shelter in Manchester.

Score: +1

Comment: “Especially in the midst of a pandemic, homeless youth are at greater risk than ever,” Borja Alvarez de Toledo, president and CEO of Waypoint, said in the release.

Strong state for women-owned businesses

A new study from advisorsmith.com has ranked New Hampshire as the third best state for female-owned businesses. According to a press release, in New Hampshire, the average female-owned employer business had 9.6 employees, while the national average was 9 employees; female-owned companies had an average payroll of $383,225, compared with the national average payroll of $330,171; and the proportion of female-owned businesses with more than $100,000 in revenue as a percentage of the female working-age population was 1.8 compared to the national average of 1.7.

Score: +1

Comment:Massachusetts and Wisconsin topped New Hampshire, coming in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, while the worst states were West Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia, according to the study.

Steps toward sobriety

The Phoenix, a nonprofit sober active community for individuals recovering from substance use, will expand into New Hampshire, according to a press release. The Phoenix will offer free in-person programs using donated gym space and outdoor sites, and volunteers will provide support and connection to individuals in recovery. Programs will initially be available in the Seacoast, Manchester, Concord and Nashua areas, the release said, with further expansion planned throughout the state. Anyone who is interested in taking classes, volunteering or attending virtual programs can visit thephoenix.org; all classes are free, and the only requirement to participate is 48 hours of continuous sobriety.

Score: +1

Comment: According to an April 2020 CDC report, New Hampshire has the sixth highest opioid overdose rate in the country, the press release said.

QOL score: 63

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 67

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Making a case for the daring jumping spider

A third-grade environmental science class from Hollis Primary School stood before the Senate Executive Departments & Administration Committee last week to push for the passage of HB 318, which would proclaim the daring jumping spider to be the state spider of New Hampshire, according to a press release. Tara Happy, the teacher who taught the spider unit to her class in October, told the Concord Monitor in December that the daring jumping spider won the school-wide election in part because it can jump really far, can withstand New Hampshire winters, isn’t harmful to people and is the size and shape of a button.

Score: +1

Comment: “Not only was their testimony educational and persuasive, it was a pleasure to hear about the ways in which teachers and their students have creatively adapted approaches to education during the pandemic,” Sens. Kevin Cavanaugh (D-Manchester) and Sue Prentiss (D-West Lebanon) wrote in a statement after the session.

Manchester PD takes 30×30 Pledge

The Manchester Police Department has announced a new initiative called the 30×30 Pledge, with the goal of increasing the number of women in recruit classes by 30 percent by 2030, according to a press release. The department will look at low- and no-cost ways to attract and retain female officers, who, according to the release, generally use less excessive force, are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits, are perceived as being more honest and compassionate by communities and see better outcomes for crime victims, especially in sexual assault cases.

Score: +1

Comment:“This pledge means that the Manchester Police Department is actively working to improve gender equity and identify any disparities that there may be,” Chief Allen Aldenberg said in the release. “The goal is to eliminate barriers and advance women in policing.”

Vaccination registration success!

It took until Phase 3, but New Hampshire’s vaccination scheduling system is now running smoothly — and QOL can vouch for that, as it took all of five minutes to sign up through the VINI website on Monday and find an appointment for later this week. According to a press release, almost 37,000 appointments were booked Monday by 5 p.m., as New Hampshire became the first state in New England to expand vaccine eligibility to residents 40 and over.

Score: +1

Comment: QOL felt bad for all of the people who previously struggled with scheduling problems in Phases 1 and 2 and spent hours trying to navigate an overwhelmed system but was relieved to get that appointment with no issues.

QOL score: 60

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 63

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.