Category: Quality Of Life

Former Fisher Cat makes history

Danny Jansen, a catcher who previously played for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, made Major League Baseball history by being the first player to play for both teams in the same game. On June 26 Jansen was at bat for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox, while Sox catcher Reese McGuire was behind the plate, when the game was postponed due to rain and rescheduled to Aug. 26. In the interim, Jansen was traded to the Red Sox, taking McGuire’s slot as catcher. When the game resumed, the Sox put Jansen in McGuire’s spot in the lineup, so he finished out the game as a Red Sox player.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The Blue Jays went on to win the game, 4-1.

Helpful doggos

In an Aug. 27 press release, New Hampshire Emergency Services and Communication (DESC), which operates New Hampshire’s 911 Emergency Number System, announced the start of a new comfort dog program. Winni, a young golden retriever, will be on site to give support to 911 dispatchers. Agent Winni will be available upon request, even during off-shift hours, to provide mental health support to DESC personnel. The press release quoted Robert Quinn, the Commissioner of New Hampshire’s Department of Safety” “Our skilled telecommunicators at New Hampshire 911 professionally handle emergency incidents every day, but we know sometimes the nature of the work takes a toll. I commend all those who worked hard to make this happen, and I look forward to seeing Winni at work.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Winni will be issued an employee ID and 911 agent number.

Challenges of a graying of New Hampshire

In an Aug. 16 report the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (nhfpi.org) said the number of older residents in the state will soon outstrip the number of children. The report, titled “New Hampshire’s Growing Population and Changing Demographics Before and Since the Covid-19 Pandemic,” states that New Hampshire’s population is aging faster than the United States overall. “By 2030, the number of adults over age 65 in the state is expected to be larger than the number of children,” the report read, citing data from the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs. “With more residents reaching traditional retirement ages over the coming decade, many may leave the labor force, possibly contributing to workforce shortages and a smaller labor force,” the report said.

QOL score: -1

Comment: Find the report on the Fiscal Policy Institute’s website.

The Jaguars go global

The Windham High School Jaguars became the first football team from New England to play internationally, Friday, Aug. 23, when they played a Florida team at the Global Ireland Football Tournament in Dublin. As reported by the Boston Globe on Aug. 27, the Jaguars’ first game of the year was overseas. “Usually the first game is a 10-on-10 scrimmage,” the article quoted sixth-year Windham coach Jack Byrne. “Now all of a sudden, it’s the biggest game that we’ve ever played in.” The Jaguars played opposite the Maclay School from Tallahassee, Florida, as the first game in a triple-header.

QOL score: +1 for the global play

Comment: According to the NH Football Report (nhfootballreport.com), the Jaguars lost their game with Maclay, 35-23.

QOL last week: 78

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 80

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

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Love Is Blind recruits

In an Aug. 23 article, New Hampshire Public Radio reported that the producers of Netflix’s Love Is Blind are scouting out New England as a potential location for its reality dating show. NHPR reported that in addition to looking for potential filming locations, producer Donna Driscroll is hoping to cast New England singles in the show, where couples get to know each other through conversation without being able to see or touch each other.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Apply to be on the show at libcasting.com.

Not your typical commute

If all goes according to plan, when you read this Stratham resident Scott Poteet will be closer to the moon than anybody has been since 1972. As reported in an Aug. 20 online story by New Hampshire Public Radio, the SpaceX Polaris Dawn Mission, which was expected to launch Tuesday, Aug. 27, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will travel more than 1,000 km past the orbit of the International Space Station, and Poteet is its pilot. “Over the course of their five days in space, the crew plans to complete the first commercial space walk,” NHPR reported, “test SpaceX’s Starlink communication system, and conduct more than 40 experiments to better understand the effects of space travel on astronauts.” Poteet, who grew up in Durham and graduated from the UNH, has trained for this mission for the past two years, along with fellow astronauts SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, and billionaire Jared Issacman, who paid for the Polaris program and has traveled to space on other self-funded missions.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Poteet told NHPR that this mission’s crew spent a lot of time getting “comfortable in uncomfortable scenarios,” by training on simulators, climbing mountains, and even skydiving.

Tank-treaded chair means more park access

As reported by the Concord Monitor (.concordmonitor.com) on Aug. 21, a new mobility chair recently acquired by Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown has made parts of the park newly accessible to some visitors. The motorized chair, with tank-like treads instead of wheels, is designed to clamber over rocks and branches and through sand and mud, and has opened up new areas to many types of park guests, including some the Park staff hadn’t considered. “We expected it would be people with mobility challenges,” Christina Pacuk, Manager of Bear Brook State Park, told the Monitor, “but we’ve also heard from people on oxygen who are not able to traverse the trails normally. They want to go with their family but can’t. Some elderly people say ‘I haven’t been able to get out like I used to and I want to be able to have that experience again.’”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Users report that the main drawback of the new chair is getting so engrossed in exploring that the battery runs low.

QOL score: 75

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 78

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Tough times for beekeepers

According to New Hampshire beekeepers, bees are feeling the stressof climate change. In an Aug. 9 story reported by New Hampshire Public Radio, local beekeeper Lee Alexander said that warm weather, ample rain and sunshine this year have unexpectedly made conditions difficult for his bees. His bees produced so much honey that they ran out of room to store it, and started filling up the brood chambers, where young bees are supposed to develop. The NHPR story stated that changing weather conditions complicate bees’ lives in many other ways. “Winters can also pose problems,“ the story reported. “Mild winter temperatures can cause bees to leave their hive too soon, only to freeze to death during a cold snap. Extreme rain events can create too much moisture in a hive, leaving bees unable to dry off and at risk for hypothermia. Heavy rainfall or flooding can also wash away pollen, leaving bees without enough food.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: Bee well.

Crabgrass, we hardly knew ye

A recent article in Systematic Biology, “Molecular and Taxonomic Reevaluation of the Digitaria filiformis Complex (Poaceae), Including a Globally Extinct, Single-Site Endemic from New Hampshire, USA, and a New Species from Mexico,” hardly seems like a popular page-turner, but it highlights the role played by an extinct species of New Hampshire crabgrass. “In 1901, several peculiar specimens of crabgrass were discovered on the rocky slopes of Rock Rimmon in Manchester, New Hampshire,” the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture wrote in an Aug. 14 press release. “Initially thought to belong to the species Digitaria filiformis, the slender, wiry plants with small, delicate spikelets were only known from this single location. But by 1931, they were last collected from the area, and the grass has not been observed since. Recently, UNH’s Albion R. Hodgdon Herbarium, which holds three of the last known remaining dried specimens of the grass, played a key role in identifyingthese plantsas their own unique species, Digitaria laeviglumis, commonly known as smooth crabgrass…. ”

QOL score: a belated -1

Comment: According to the press release, this marks the first documented plant extinction in New Hampshire.

Gold medals and belly rubs

In an Aug. 15 press release, the Golden Dog Adventure Co. in Barrington announced the conclusion of the 2024 Summer Doggy Olympics. Golden Dog, which hosted the event, wrote, “Over the course of two weeks, 23 canine athletes and their handlers competed in eighteen events hosted in 14 cities throughout New Hampshire.” Events included Howling, Agility, Pool Toy Retrieval, Ice Cream Licking, Obstacle Course, Nose Work, and Tricks. A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Cody, “ a senior canine athlete who not only competed in the 2021 Summer Doggy Olympics, but at the age of 10, participated in seven competitions at this year’s games.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Watch the closing ceremonies on YouTube. Search for “2024 Doggy Olympics Closing Ceremony.”

Last week’s QOL score: 76

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 75

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Covid is back. Again.

A recent variant of Covid-19 is on the rise in New Hampshire. As reported by WMUR in a July 30 online article, “New Hampshire health officials said emergency department and wastewater data show that there has been a rise in recent infections, and they expect that such seasonal surges will continue.” Despite previous infections and vaccinations, it is possible to be reinfected. As described by the Centers for Disease Control on its website (cdc.gov/covid), “Reinfections with the virus that causes Covid-19 are most often mild, but severe illness can occur. If you are reinfected, you can also spread the virus to others.” According to a WMUR report from Aug. 9, the most common Covid strain right now is KP.3, a descendant of the omicron variant. “Protection against severe Covid-19 illness generally lasts longer than protection against infection. This means even if you get infected again, your immune response should help protect you from severe illness and hospitalization,” read the same CDC advisory.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to WMUR’s Aug. 9 report, the 2024-2025 Covid-19 vaccines, expected to be out this fall, will target the JN.1 strain because it, too, is in the omicron family.

“I’ve got a bridge to sell you.”

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (dot.nh.gov) announced in an Aug. 8 press release that it has a bridge for sale. “The NH Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is accepting proposals for the purchase, relocation and preservation of the Bridge (No. 254/180) that carries Route 127 over the Warner River, in Warner, NH,” the press release read. On its Bridge Sales Website (dot.nh.gov/historic-bridge-dispositions-bridges-sale) the NHDOT stated that bridges on its sales list are, “in general, eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and any sale will be awarded for $1.00 to the entity who develops the most responsive preservation proposal.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The NHDOT describes Bridge No. 254/180 as an example of a steel stringer bridge and says such bridges “rarely feature aesthetic treatments and usually have standard railings or guide rails. Warner 254/180, built in 1937, is the oldest extant example of a continuous I-beam bridge in the inventory.”

Vacationing extraterrestrials?

The website Staker.com has aggregated data from reports of UFO sightings to the National UFO Reporting Center (nuforc.org), which has been compiling reports since 1974. In a ranking of most UFO sightings reported to least, New Hampshire comes in sixth, with 85 reports per 100,000 residents. According to the ranking, Washington State has the highest rate of reported sightings with 100 per 100,000 people, and Washington, D.C., has the lowest rate with 22 per 100.000. Vermont and Maine are both in the top 10, with Vermont fourth (90/100.000), and Maine seventh (85/100,000).

QOL score: +1 probably? Tourism is tourism.

Comment: It has been 53 years since Betty and Barney Hill’s reported alien abduction in Lincoln.

Last week’s QOL score: 74

Net change:+2

QOL this week: 76

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

Let us know at [email protected].

New Hampshire girls and mental health

In an Aug. 2 article, Nashua InkLink, nashua.inklink.news, reported that according to a recent study by the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation, “50% of girls in the state suffer from mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. This rate is the highest in New England and surpasses the national average of 41%.” The article went on to quote data from New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services revealing that girls in the state attempted suicide twice as often as boys between 2011 and 2023. The reasons for the challenges for New Hampshire’s girls remains unclear.

QOL score: -3

Comment: Read the report at nhwomensfoundation.org/status-of-girls-nh.

Problematic liverwurst

Deli meat supplier Boar’s Head (boarshead.com) initiated a recall of its Strassburger Brand Liverwurst on July 25, after learning that it might be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that causes the food poisoning listeria. The company subsequently expanded the recall to include “71 products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names,” according to a July 30 USDA announcement.

QOL score: -1

Comment: For a full list of recalled products, visit fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts or the Boar’s Head website.

We’re smaaahties

As reported by Newsweek (newsweek.com) in an Aug. 1 online article, New Hampshire residents have the second highest IQs in the United States; we average 104.2, with Massachusetts just edging us out with an average score of 104.3. The Intelligence Quotient, or IQ score, assesses a range of cognitive abilities and attempts to reflect these in a two- to three-digit score. As the article points out, human intelligence is too complicated and nuanced to be truly reflected in one number. Nevertheless, it is gratifying to outscore the rest of the country, which has a reported average of 97.43.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Mississippi placed the lowest in the U.S. with an average IQ score of 94.2. The U.S. itself ranked 26th among countries; Japan placed first, with an average IQ score of 106.48.

Hidden treasure

Contractors renovating a barn for Manchester resident Toni Pappas discovered a cache of vintage baseball cards last week, including a Ted Williams rookie card. As reported by WMUR in an Aug. 4 online article, “The collection was hidden in the walls of Pappas’ barn, where she lived with her late husband for many years and where he grew up.” Altogether, workers and friends found 52 baseball cards from the late 1930s and early 1940s.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Billy Pappas was a baseball Hall of Famer at the University of New Hampshire, a player for his Air Force football team,” the article reported. If any of the cards are sold, the proceeds will go to a sports scholarship in his name at the University of New Hampshire.

QOL score: 76

Net change: -2

QOL this week: 74

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Shopping for sparrows?

As reported in an online story by WMUR Saturday, July 27, a police officer rescued a hawk after it flew into the Hudson Market Basket at 212 Lowell Road last Friday. “Hudson police officer Matthew Horton happened to be inside the store and the manager came up to tell him that a hawk had followed a customer inside,” WMUR reported. After attempting to call local animal control, Horton, wearing a pair of mechanic gloves, was able to capture the hawk. The Hudson Police Department confirmed in a telephone interview that Officer Horton turned the juvenile broad winged hawk over to the Millstone Wildlife Center in Windham. “We are a mammal facility,” said Frannie Greenberg, a representative of the Center, “but we were happy to hold the hawk temporarily.” The Millstone Center quickly turned the hawk over to a bird specialist, and confirmed that it has been released back into the wild.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Raw video footage of Officer Horton capturing the hawk is available on WMUR’s website.

Outstanding teachers

The New Hampshire Department of Education announced in a press release on Tuesday, July 23, that the selection committee for New Hampshire’s Teacher of the Year has announced the four finalists for the state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. The teachers are Chelsea Barrett Viera, who teaches grades 2-5 in a self-contained autism classroom at Highland-Goffe’s Falls Elementary School in Manchester; Kristen Dacey, a first-grade teacher at Dr. Lewis F. Soule School in Salem, Candice DeAngelis, a Spanish teacher at Bedford High School, and Brian Gray, who has been a Business Technology and Social Studies teacher at Sanborn Regional High School. “These four teachers are leaders in the field of education, with each of them understanding the need for school improvement, student engagement, bold visions and collective experience,” said Christine Brennan, deputy commissioner and member of the Teacher of the Year Selection Committee. Visit education.nh.gov/news-and-media.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The Teacher of the Year Selection Committee will now schedule visits to observe each of the finalists in their classroom environment. An award winner will be announced in October.

More ways to fly in and out of Manchester

In a recent press release, JetBlue announced that as part of a strategy to add 20 percent more seats to its service to New England, it will “launch service for the first time from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) in Manchester,” adding, “JetBlue flights from Manchester are set to launch in January with service to Florida, including year-round daily flights to Orlando, and winter seasonal service to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers.” In addition, Avelo Airlines (aveloair.com) announced in a July 24 press release that it will add service to Manchester from Central Florida’s Lakeland International Airport (LAL) on Oct. 25, and twice-weekly service to Charlotte, North Carolina’s Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (KJQF) on Nov. 7.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the Airport’s website (flymanchester.com), eight airlines fly in and out of Manchester, with service to more than 250 cities.

Last week’s QOL score: 73

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 76

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

Let us know at [email protected].