Tag: 201126

Fresh air festive

If nothing else, 2020 seems to have inspired a lot of event innovation. Virtual tree-lightings, drive-thru holiday displays and socially distanced performances — New Hampshire is finding ways to celebrate even if those celebrations look a little different this year.
Here’s a look at holiday activities from Thanksgiving through the end of the year (all events are subject to change, of course). Whether it’s enjoying a light display from the comfort of your car (or from your house) or watching a performance in a reduced-capacity venue, find the holiday fun that fits your comfort level.

Holiday fun downtown and outdoors

Celebrate the holidays safely outside (or from your car) with these downtown strolls, light displays, modified parades and other social distance-conscious activities.

• Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth is an ongoing citywide celebration of the holidays featuring a number of shows at The Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., themusichall.org, 436-2400); shopping in Market Square; Candlelight Stroll Under the Stars, happening weekends from Dec. 11 through Dec. 20 at Strawbery Banke Museum (14 Hancock St., 433-1100, strawberybanke.org); Labrie Family Skate at Strawbery Banke’s Puddle Dock Pond; the 30th annual Gingerbread House Contest and Exhibit at the Portsmouth Historical Society (10 Middle St., 436-8433, portsmouthhistory.org) now through Dec. 22, and more throughout the holiday season. Visit vintagechristmasnh.org.

• The Gift of Lights opens on Thanksgiving Day and continues through Jan. 3 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1122 Route 106 North, Loudon). The drive-thru Christmas light park spans 2.5 miles and features 80 holiday scenes and 520 light displays. It’s open Sunday through Thursday from 4:30 to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Purchase tickets online or at the gate. The cost is $25 per car. Visit nhms.com/events/gift-of-lights.

• The Town of Pelham and Pelham Community Spirit are presenting the first annual Festival of Lights on the town’s Village Green, where you can enjoy a spectacle of tree lighting displays from your car to ensure social distancing. The lights will be up from Thanksgiving until after the New Year. Visit pelhamcommunityspirit.org.

• Downtown Nashua hosts Plaid Friday, a shopping event alternative to Black Friday, on Nov. 27. Wear plaid to be eligible for giveaways, discounts and more at participating businesses. Stop at 201 Main St. first to pick up a swag bag with a map, coupons, discounts and offers. Registration is required. Visit downtownnashua.org.

• Great American Downtown is hosting a holiday lights contest for Nashua families and business owners. Now through Dec. 3, photo submissions will be accepted for residential and downtown Nashua businesses with the best festive decorations. Online voting will take place between Dec. 5 and Jan. 3. To enter, email a jpg image of your festive lights, along with your home or business address, to [email protected]. A printable map of the contenders will be available online. Visit downtownnashua.org for details.

• The Celebrate Laconia Lights Festival is an ongoing citywide celebration of the holidays featuring special events throughout the season. It kicks off on Sunday, Nov. 29, with a downtown holiday parade led by Santa starting at 4:30 p.m. The parade will move through Lakeport and Weirs Beach before returning to downtown, where there will be a City on the Lakes Holiday Walk. There will be trees for sale to decorate and display in Rotary and Stewart parks, and Santa will light the trees around 6:30 p.m. The trees will remain up through the end of the year. Also starting on Sunday, Nov. 29, will be the Lights Festival Coloring Contest, with submissions accepted through Friday, Dec. 11, and the Light-Up Laconia Holiday Decorating Competition, which will run through Dec. 18. An online interactive map of Laconia homes and businesses with holiday displays will be available, and the public is invited to vote for their favorites online. Visit celebratelaconia.org.

• Concord’s Midnight Merriment has been reworked this year as a month-long celebration with holiday decorations, special promotions and refreshments at downtown shops and restaurants throughout December. Visit intownconcord.org.

• The Beaver Brook Association (Brown Lane Barn, 52 Brown Lane, Hollis) will host a greens gathering and wreath making event on Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Participants will go on a hike to gather mountain laurel, hemlock and white pine, pine cones and berries, then create a holiday wreath with those materials. The cost is $25, and registration is required. Visit beaverbrook.org.

• Fright Kingdom (12 Simon St., Nashua) presents its holiday event, “The Fright Before Christmas,” on Friday, Dec. 4, from 7 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 6, from 6 to 10 p.m. It features a scary winter wonderland, a creepy Christmas costume contest and food trucks on site. Tickets cost $29 and must be purchased in advance. Visit frightkingdom.com or call 809-1173.

• In place of its holiday parade, Salem is having a “Christmas in Whoville” holiday display competition from Friday, Dec. 4, through Sunday, Dec. 6. All participating homes, schools, community centers and businesses will have their displays illuminated from 4:30 to 11 p.m. A list of addresses will be shared with the public, and residents can vote online for their favorite displays. Visit salemnhparade.org.

• This year’s Salem Night of Lights will be a drive-thru holiday experience happening on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Salem High School (44 Geremonty Drive, Salem). Visit townofsalemnh.org.

• In place of its holiday parade, Exeter will host a Drive-Thru Holiday Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Exeter High School (1 Blue Hawk Drive, Exeter). The school will be decorated with holiday lights, displays, inflatables and scenes, and Santa will greet drivers from a safe distance. Visit exeterholidayparade.org.

• Milford presents “Miracle on Elm Street,” a holiday drive-thru event, on Saturday, Dec. 5, with half-hour time slots from 9 to 10:30 a.m. The drive starts at the Keyes Memorial Park west entrance (127 Elm St.) and will have stops along the way with treats for kids. The cost is $5 per car. Registration is required. Visit milford.nh.gov.

• Santa’s Merrimack Holiday Tour will take place on Sunday, Dec. 6. Santa and Mrs. Claus will ride through town in a Fire Department vehicle, stopping at seven different locations between 2:45 and 3:45 p.m., to greet people at a safe distance. Visit merrimackparksandrec.org/holiday-happenings or call 882-1046.

• Canterbury Shaker Village (228 Shaker Road, Canterbury) will host A Magic Journey through the North Shop Barn from Dec. 11 through Dec. 23, and from Dec. 27 through Dec. 30, daily, from 1 to 5 p.m. The North Shop Barn, which has been transformed into a winter wonderland, will feature art vignettes like a Shaker Christmas, a dollhouse, a skating panorama and snowy forest scenes; a Find-the-Elf treasure hunt; hot cocoa and cider; and shopping at the Village Store. Additionally, there will be a Christkindlmarkt-inspired artisan market of handcrafted holiday gifts on weekends; food trucks with sweet treats on Saturdays, Dec. 12 and Dec. 19, and a live musical performance by Massimo Paparello and his Brass Quartet on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 3 to 4 p.m. Admission costs $10 for adults and is free for youth. Visit shakers.org or call 783-9511.

• The Southern New Hampshire Tour of Lights will run from Dec. 11 through Dec. 27. A list of addresses will soon be released for the public to visit holiday light displays at homes throughout Amherst, Antrim, Fitzwilliam, Jaffrey, Merrimack, Milford, Peterborough and Rindge. Visit merrimackparksandrec.org/holiday-happenings or call 882-1046.

• A modified Hampstead Christmas Parade will take place on Sunday, Dec. 13, starting at 2 p.m. at St. Anne Catholic Church (26 Emerson Ave.). Instead of its traditional march down Main Street, the parade will split into different parts of town, covering 19 miles of road. Visit hampstead.nhlions.org.

• Enjoy a Winter Solstice Luminary Walk at Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road, Hollis) on Sunday, Dec. 20, with time slots from 2 to 4 p.m. There will be a self-guided marked trail with a nature story about the origins of the Winter Solstice and fun facts about New England wildlife and the tradition of the Yule log. The cost is $12. Visit beaverbrook.org.

Featured photo: The Gift of Lights at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 20/11/26

Drought is a disaster

All of New Hampshire is now in a “drought disaster,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week. According to a Nov. 20 report from NHPR, the drought has gotten worse, particularly in southeastern New Hampshire, with about 30 percent of the state now in severe or extreme drought, compared to 23 percent in the previous few weeks. The rest of the state is in moderate drought, according to the release, and the conditions could last until the beginning of 2021.

Score: -2

Comment: At least the declaration from the USDA will make emergency funding available to farmers who have lost crops due to the drought, according to the report.

Happy(ish) holidays

Not being able to celebrate the holidays in our own traditional ways is going to be hard for many of us. Sure, we can appreciate the fact that maybe we don’t need to stress about making a big holiday meal, or eating Aunt Sally’s lumpy mashed potatoes or listening to debates about the recent polarizing election results. But many of us are missing out on the good stuff too: the chance to meet a new member of the family (QOL has yet to meet a nephew who was born in August), the taste of Mom’s amazing green bean casserole and the chance to catch up with friends and family we haven’t seen in months other than, perhaps, via a frustratingly glitchy Zoom session.

Score: -2

Comment:QOL agrees with taking any and all safety precautions during these holidays (check out some hints in our Q&A on p. 6), but there’s no denying that it’s kind of a bummer.

Transforming lives

As part of the launch of its annual fundraiser, the Front Door Agency in Nashua is sharing one of its success stories. Through its Transformational Housing Program for single mothers and their children, single mother Danielle and her young daughter now live in one of Front Door Agency’s affordable apartments, and she has used the program’s supportive services to improve her finances and earning potential, according to a press release. She has also earned her associate’s and bachelor’s degrees and is starting to take classes to earn her master’s. “This is not a place where things get handed to you,” Danielle said in the release. “But, if you’re motivated and truly focused on doing better for yourself and your children, you can do it.”

Score: +1

Comment: Eighty-five percent of the single mothers in Transformational Housing have participated in or graduated from an educational program, and 70 percent saw increases in benefits and income, according to the release. “We hope Danielle’s story inspires individuals, businesses and other organizations to give back in a meaningful way,” Agency CEO Maryse Wirbal said in the release.

No. 1 for economic freedom

Last week, the Fraser Institute (an independent nonpartisan research and educational organization based in Canada, according to its website) released its 2020 Economic Freedom Report, ranking New Hampshire as the No. 1 state for economic freedom, according to a press release from the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy. This is the second year in a row that the Granite State has earned that designation. The Fraser Institute’s report measures “the extent to which … the policies of individual provinces and states were supportive of economic freedom…,” according to the release. “This study reaffirms that New Hampshire remains the best state in the nation to live, work, and raise a family — and we’re just getting started,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement.

Score:+1

Comment: Our New England neighbors ranked as follows: Massachusetts (18), Connecticut (25), Maine (37), Rhode Island (43) and Vermont (46).

QOL score: 67

Net change: -2

QOL this week: 65

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Sports thanks giving

Today is Thanksgiving and we traditionally give thanks to things big, small and less important we sports fans have enjoyed over the year. But during a year of worry, uncertainty and total disruption of the sports calendar we’ll focus this Thanksgiving Day column on some recent stories of greater importance than we usually do.

News Item: Thanks for Cracking That Glass Ceiling

The glass ceiling wasn’t only broken in politics with the election of Kamala Harris to be Vice President of the United States in November. It also happened in baseball, where Kim Ng becamebaseball’s first ever female general manager. Her resume includes being senior VP of baseball operations for MLB and stints as assistant GM for the Dodgers and Yanks, where a professional relationship was developed with current Marlins owner Derek Jeter. And with never-played stat geeks running teams all over baseball, the folks who say she shouldn’t get it because she didn’t play at a high level have no leg to stand on. So thanks for her well-earned progress, because it might help Concord’s Becky Bonner, the Orlando Magic VP of Player Development, get the same chance someday.

News Item: Thanks For No Harden Days and Nights at the Garden

This isn’t a 100-percent thing just yet, so it’s said with crossed fingers. But yeah-hoo news reports of the Celtics trying to trade for disgruntled Houston Rocket James Harden didn’t pan out. Don’t take it to mean I don’t know how talented the beard is. He’s the most effortless scorer I’ve ever seen. But he is also the anti-Larry Bird in that no one gets better playing with him because he only gives it up when all avenues to get his own shot are exhausted, usually with little time left on the shot clock. Plus, we’d be hearing green teamers defending the constant whining for calls, flopping on almost every shot, and that he doesn’t even try on defense by saying look at the stats he puts up. I say look at all the rings those stats have produced. Biggest of all is it would’ve turned me off the Celtics, because it would show Danny Ainge and the brass learned nothing from the Kyrie Irving experience, which showed you don’t win with ball hogs and selfish people. So thanks to the basketball gods for this averted catastrophe.

News Item: Thanks To Mr. Celtic

The late Tommy Heinsohn was an acquired taste for me. My first encounters with him came when this (then) Knicks fan moved behind enemy lines to go to college when he was Celtics coach, during the only time those teams were ever equal competitive rivals. And if you think he was rough on officials broadcasting games, you should have seen him on the sidelines. Also, he did too much cheerleading broadcasting Celtics games for me even after I’d become a fan. But then I kinda sorta worked with him at Fox Sports Net while doing a TV show on the C’s, where I kiddingly told him I sports hated him when he was the Celtics coach. Predictably that didn’t go over too well and I’m not sure why I thought it would. But it started to change while doing a story with him to promote an upcoming showing and sale of his paintings. He explained he did it every day, which was obvious as the pond with the weeping willow tree I saw amazingly morphed into a mirror image on his canvas. But what stuck with me from that day was the story he told about how he became a painter. It happened after his parents gave him a kit while growing up in New Jersey during World War II because no kids would play with him because he was German. The gruff Tommy started to fade as he told his poignant story and a different one emerged. After another story followed, this time on onetime teammate Bill Russell, showed how genuine his love for the Celtics was, my appreciation of him grew. The result was getting a growing kick out of the antics during games to finally missing him on broadcasts as his health held him out in recent years. So thanks to Tommy because after an unbroken 64-year string of devotion as a player, coach, broadcaster and team cheerleader he earned the title of Mr. Celtic. RIP.

News Item: Thanks for the Memories

It seemed like the baseball deaths just kept coming in 2020. With 91 down as I wrote this, there are far too many to name. Among them was all-name teamer Biff Pocoroba and maligned symbol of the Yankees dynasty decline Horace Clarke. There was also non-Famer Yankee Don Larsen, who delivered a Hall-worthy performance by hurling the only World Series perfect game in 1956 vs. Brooklyn. First among the baseball elites migrating to Mt. Olympus was the great Tiger Al Kaline, always a favorite because my first baseball mitt was a Kaline signature model. There was also Tom Seaver, the symbol of the Miracle 1969 Mets and eternal youth for New York baseball fans. Bob Gibson, the fiery competitor who didn’t need closers to finish games because he knew how to battle and win, especially in the World Series. Cardinals teammate Lou Brock – 3,000 hits, all those stolen bases and a World Series spark plug with nine hits vs. the Yanks in 1964 and 12 more against the Sox in ’67. Joe Morgan left us after always playing bigger than his pint-sized build said he should. Lastly was my guy Whitey Ford, the crafty Yankees lefty with the highest winning percentage ever, who passed Babe Ruth’s record for consecutive scoreless World Series innings in 1961 vs. Cincy, two weeks after teammate Roger Maris broke his single-season record of 60 homers – to which he said, “It was a tough year for the Babe.” RIP to all those greats from my youth and thanks for the memories.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Gather together?

Zoom dinners, outdoor meet-ups and more holiday tips

Nicole Chute, Health Promotion and Communication Specialist for the Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services, shares some guidance on how to celebrate the holidays as safely as possible.

How risky is it to be traveling and/or gathering this holiday season? Should people even be considering it?
We’re strongly encouraging folks to just stay home this holiday season, if possible, and celebrate with the people who live in their own household. … With the substantial community spread in the state of New Hampshire and in Hillsborough County, we really don’t want anyone, especially anyone who is older or has underlying conditions, to do any in-person activities this year. … If you can video chat with family members and friends, that’s always safer than getting together with them and spending time [in contact] with them.

Got any fun ideas or tips for virtual gatherings?
Think about the things you would do together and how you would usually celebrate if you were together and try to do a virtual version of it. Cooking meals together over video chat is a great one. Also, I just heard that Zoom is going to be offering free calls without the 40-minute cap for the whole day on Thanksgiving, so that’s one way that people will be able to gather virtually.

If someone is hosting an in-person gathering, what can they do to make it as safe as possible for their guests?
Keep it small, and limit your time together. The more time you spend with people, the greater the risk is of contracting Covid from somebody who has it. Also, stay outdoors. I know it’s going to be cold, but if it’s a nice day on Thanksgiving, try to have people outside. … Make sure you have hand sanitizer available, encourage mask use for anyone coming in, and space out any chairs to allow people to practice social distancing while they’re at your home. … You want to be practicing general food safety and good handwashing while you’re preparing any food. We’re encouraging people to do more of a buffet-style meal with prepared plates that people can grab and go, versus everyone grabbing their food out of the same food dishes and touching the same serving utensils. … Something else I’d recommend to a host of any gathering is to talk to the people who are planning on coming over beforehand and remind them to practice social distancing, mask wearing and handwashing [during the days leading up to the gathering].

If you’re a guest, what additional steps can you take to protect yourself?
First, if you’re sick — and that means any new symptoms, whether it’s just a throat tickle or any little thing — you need to stay home. … Any time you’re spending time with people who don’t live in your house, it’s so important to keep that social distance, wear that face covering and wash your hands often, even if no one has symptoms, because we know that this virus can spread asymptomatically. … Try to stay outside, and keep your time there short.

What’s the safest way to travel?
It’s definitely safer to drive [than to fly] as long as you’re driving with members from your household, but if you’re driving long distances, you’re probably going to need to stop for gas or at a rest area, so just make sure you’re practicing healthy behaviors there, too, like using hand sanitizer after you’re done pumping gas, and washing your hands at the rest stops. If you’re in an airport, make sure you’re washing your hands, wearing your mask, keeping your distance from others and avoiding touching your face.

What’s the safest way to go about lodging?
There isn’t too big of a difference between staying at someone’s house versus staying at a hotel. … I’d recommend bringing some [disinfectant] wipes and wiping down the room when you get there. If you’re staying at a hotel, make sure you’re wearing a mask while checking in, and find out what all of their Covid protocols are.

Should people be quarantining post-gathering/traveling?
In New Hampshire, we tell any travelers, visitors and residents who leave New England that they must quarantine for 14 days upon their return to the state, even if they feel OK. They can end their quarantine early at seven days if, on the seventh day, they get a PCR Covid test that comes back negative.

What’s happening with students? Do you have any special guidance for them?
A lot of school districts are looking at remote learning for at least two weeks after the holidays, just to make sure that kids don’t come back to school and spread anything. I know there are going to be a lot of college kids traveling home, and if they’re traveling from out of state to come home to New Hampshire, they need to quarantine. Just plan on staying home with your family and the people who live in your house.

What about holiday shopping?
Online shopping is the best way to avoid any contact with anybody, so if you can do your shopping online I would definitely recommend that.

Featured photo: Nicole Chute. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 20/11/26

Covid-19 updateAs of November 16As of November 22
Total cases statewide15,02917,598
Total current infections statewide3,3444,199
Total deaths statewide500512
New cases2,330 (Nov. 10 to Nov. 16)2,569 (Nov. 17 to Nov. 22)
Current infections: Hillsborough County1,1681,656
Current infections: Merrimack County320350
Current infections: Rockingham County690889
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Covid-19 news

On Nov. 19, Gov. Chris Sununu issued Emergency Order No. 74, a statewide mask mandate effective Nov. 20 for everyone over the age of 5 in both indoor and outdoor public spaces where social distancing is not possible. The order came on the same day that 529 people in New Hampshire tested positive for Covid-19, the highest single-day total to date. “[This was] obviously a decision that did not come lightly,” Sununu said in a press conference announcing the order. “Many factors were clearly taken into consideration with regards to the data and the impact, and the effect on our citizens and businesses.” The mandate, which will remain in effect through Jan. 15, has a few exceptions, including anyone with a medical condition or disability preventing them from wearing a mask, anyone engaged in strenuous physical activity, or anyone asked to remove a mask or face-covering to verify his or her identity for lawful purposes. Public spaces where masks are required, as recognized by the mandate, include lobbies, waiting areas, outside plazas or patios, restaurants, retail stores, streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches, elevators, restrooms, stairways and parking garages. According to the Associated Press, at least 100 people protested the mask mandate outside Sununu’s home in Newfields on Nov. 23.

On Nov. 20, Sununu issued Executive Order 2020-23, extending the state of emergency in New Hampshire due to the pandemic for another three weeks through at least Dec. 11. It’s the 12th extension he has issued since originally declaring a state of emergency on March 13.

Details of all of Sununu’s Executive Orders, Emergency Orders and other announcements can be found at governor.nh.gov.

The New Hampshire Hospital Association, the New Hampshire Medical Society and the New Hampshire Nurses Association issued a joint statement Nov. 23 in anticipation of the holiday season, asking residents to continue following the public health guidance. “The Governor’s most recent Executive Order requiring Granite State residents to wear a mask when they are unable to maintain social distance is very important and a signal of just how serious this situation is as we seek to slow the spread of Covid-19 and prevent our health care system from being overwhelmed,” the statement read.

Many hospitals have also tightened up their visitor restrictions as case numbers have increased. Catholic Medical Center, for example, announced that as of last week no visitors will be allowed, with the exception of some caregivers in certain circumstances, and it has also put stronger mask requirements in place.

Homeless encampment

On Nov. 20, the state Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice and Safety issued a joint statement regarding the homeless encampment located on state property at the Hillsborough County North Courthouse in Manchester. Signs were posted at the encampment earlier this month ordering everyone to leave by Nov. 16, or they would face penalties. According to the statement, the state had received multiple requests in the past few months from the City, the court system, businesses, legislators and the County Attorney’s Office to remove the encampment. Since then, the statement said, the state has “repeatedly” offered alternative housing and other supportive services to each person living there, including for several days beyond the Nov. 16 deadline. “On Nov. 19, officials from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and local providers approached each one of individuals in the encampment and [offered] housing with accompanying transportation offered by several providers across the state, transportation to stay with family or friends, or relocation to another encampment [as well as] mental health and substance use disorder services,” the statement said. On that day, 27 individuals accepted services and left the encampment; on Nov. 20, individuals were again offered services and were told that if they did not accept, they could either leave the property or would be removed, according to the statement. Six more people accepted services, while three people who chose not to leave were issued summonses for illegal camping. One then left the property while the other two were arrested and charged with criminal trespass, according to the statement. The property has since been cleared and a fence will be put up.

Following these actions, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig issued a statement saying that she had contacted local services, including the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, Families in Transition – New Horizons and the City Welfare Department. “As a result, Families in Transition – New Horizons already filled all of their available beds with people being forcibly removed from the courthouse lawn, and we’re working to find any other options available,” she said in her statement. She said the eviction will disconnect individuals from the services they’ve been receiving for months and noted that “this action from the State is inhumane, causing trauma to individuals with nowhere else to go.”

According to the statement from the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice and Safety, the services offered to people at the encampment on Nov. 19 “were provided by the State of New Hampshire and not the City of Manchester, despite it being the City’s legal obligation under RSA chapter 165 to provide welfare services for those within the City.”

Previously, on Nov. 18, Gov. Chris Sununu sent a letter to New Hampshire’s mayors detailing steps the State has taken to combat homelessness; he also signed an Executive Order to expand the scope and membership of the State’s Interagency Council on Homelessness and renamed it to the Council on Housing Stability, which will update the state’s homelessness plan, with a preliminary report that includes legislative recommendations for the 2021 legislative session due by Dec. 14. “Our focus on homelessness is not new and our philosophy is consistent: housing is not an optional lifestyle commodity, but rather, is an irreplaceable requirement for any form of humane human condition,” Sununu wrote in the letter.

Benefits paybacks

Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes (D-Concord) issued a statement last week after a Union Leader article reported that the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security is seeking to reclaim nearly $25 million from 10,773 people who received unemployment benefits during the pandemic because it says they were overpaid by the state. Feltes said in his statement that the Senate had tried back in March to create legislation to “prevent the clawing back of benefits paid under the emergency orders,” but that legislation was vetoed. “If they are not at fault in causing the overpayment, then they will not be required to repay the benefits,” Rich Lavers, deputy commissioner at Employment Security, told the Union Leader. “However, if they misstated the circumstances of their separation to make themselves eligible or overstated their earnings from self-employment and were paid at a higher benefit amount than is supported by the information in their federal tax return, then they will and should be expected to repay those benefits.”

Mobile classroom

As part of its campaign to promote career and technical education, the New Hampshire Department of Education will be bringing its 35-foot RV, named MAPs (Mobile Access to Possibilities), to the Tanger Outlet in Tilton on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. According to a press release, the mobile classroom will be making stops at shopping areas around the state during the holiday season, offering information about CTE offerings at local high schools and community colleges.

More than a dozen nonprofit organizations in Concord and its surrounding communities received more than 3.5 tons of nonperishable food items from the Capital Region Food Program. According to a press release, the distribution last week included the traditional Year Round Distribution Project foods, plus chickens and turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Manchester’s overnight winter parking ban will go into effect Dec. 1 at 1 a.m., according to a press release. Between 1 and 6 a.m., parking will be allowed only on the odd-numbered side of a street on odd-numbered calendar months and only on the even-numbered side of a street on even-numbered calendar months. There is no on-street parking during snow emergencies; you can be notified of snow emergencies by signing up at manchesternh.gov/snow for automatic email or text.

To kick off the bell-ringing season, a $20,000 donation was made on Nov. 19 to the Salvation Army Holiday Kettle outside the New Hampshire State Liquor & Wine Outlet in Bedford. According to a press release, the check was presented by the Great NH Restaurants charitable trust FEEDNH.org, in partnership with Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Greater Nashua Mental Health is now home to the Nashua area Mobile Crisis Response Team, according to a press release. The MCRT will provide 24/7 emergency services, including going directly to people in need.

Thanksgiving 2020

Ready or not, the holidays are here, with Thanksgiving arriving this week. Thanksgiving has been celebrated in various ways since that very first holiday in 1621 between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans, but it was Abraham Lincoln who declared it a national holiday in 1863 during the midst of the Civil War. According to History.com in its “Thanksgiving 2020” article, Lincoln issued a proclamation imploring all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”

In present time, we are suffering through a worldwide pandemic that has taken more than 250,000 lives in the United States alone. With record high Covid-19 cases, we are being asked to reconsider traditional Thanksgiving gatherings. Local leaders and governors are asking for diligence to stay the course and follow the recommendations from the CDC and health authorities, celebrating in smaller groups or with only household members, celebrating virtually, or even hosting an outside Thanksgiving get-together.

In addition, we have just completed an election that laid bare the division and polarization of our country. Each party is convinced it has the answers to resolving the ongoing “civil strife” of present day, yet there is very little evidence of seeking common ground upon which to develop real solutions. Even post-election, hate and vitriol continue to spread across social media and traditional news outlets.

These events have taken a toll on Americans in 2020. We are weary and yearn for some sense of normalcy. Is it ironic that Lincoln’s words from 1863 ring so true in 2020? As we gather for Thanksgiving, may we remember Lincoln’s proclamation and commit to doing our part to once again heal the wounds of our divided nation. There is continued hope for a vaccine to help contain a virus that has taken so much. In the meantime, we must not politicize a personal responsibility to do our part in slowing the spread. We may not be able to physically gather this Thanksgiving, but we can certainly find ways to come together as a nation. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

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