Tag: 220901

This Week 22/09/01

Big Events September 1, 2022 and beyond

Thursday, Sept. 1

Spend the holiday weekend cheering on the Fisher Cats at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (1 Lane Drive in downtown Manchester; milb.com/new-hampshire), currently in a run of six games against the Portland Sea Dogs. Tonight’s game, which starts at 7:05 p.m. will feature post-game fireworks. The game on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 7:05 p.m. will also feature post-game fireworks and is Wizards and Wands Night, with wizard-themed events throughout the night. Friday’s theme is Margaritaville Night (game time is 7:05 p.m). For the game on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 1:35 p.m., the Fisher Cats become the Gatos Feroces with a jersey giveaway for the first 1,000 fans, according to the website.

Thursday, Sept. 1

The Hopkinton State Fair begins today at 5 p.m. (find free fair parking at 905 Park Ave. in Contoocook) and will run through Monday, Sept. 5. Throughout the long weekend get live music, midway rides, agricultural exhibits, a petting zoo, performances such as juggling and ax handlers, agricultural competitions and more. And, of course, there will be fair eats: turkey legs, sausage with peppers and onions, giant doughnuts, fried dough, cotton candy, apple crisp with ice cream and more, according to the website. Get tickets to an individual day, all five days or a megapass that includes a day’s admission and rides (additional tickets are required for some events, such as the Monster Trucks Show). See hsfair.org.

Friday, Sept. 2

Find some new wines for your long weekend. WineNot Boutique (25 Main St. in Nashua; winenotboutique.com, 204-5569) is hosting a wine tasting today from 1 to 5 p.m. featuring five or six potentially new-to-you wines.

Saturday, Sept. 3

The 21st annual Cruising Downtown Manchester classic car show runs today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Elm Street in the Queen City’s downtown, hosted by the Rotary Club of Manchester. The event will feature classic cars, muscle cars (NH Muscle Car Club will hold a rally on the bridge during the event), live entertainment, food, vendors and more. Awards for participating cars will be handed out around 3 p.m. See cruisingdowntownmanchester.com.

Sunday, Sept. 4

The Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road in Canterbury; shakers.org) is hosting Lori Diamond and Fred Abatelli with special guest Anelise as part of its Music on the Green series today from 4 to 5 p.m. Diamond and Abatelli’s music ranges from blues to pop, with Diamond playing piano and singing complemented by Abatelli on bass and guitar. The concert is free to attend. This is the second-to-last of the scheduled concerts in the series. A special memorial concert with Jan Fuller and Harel Gietheim is slated to close out the series next Sunday, Sept. 11.

Save the Date! Friday, Sept. 16, through Sunday, Sept. 18
This year’s Granite State ComiCon is calling itself the “Giant-Size 20th Anniversary Edition.” Perfect your costume and get your tickets for the Con, which will run Friday, Sept. 16, through Sunday, Sept. 18, with events largely at the DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown (700 Elm St. in downtown Manchester). Get tickets to individual days ($20 for Friday or Sunday, $25 for Saturday) or get a weekend pass ($55 or $125 for a VIP package that comes with a variety of goodies). There will be meet-and-greets with actors, comic book artists from New Hampshire and across the country, a costume contest, a kids costume contest, a Kids Con NE area, gaming and other comic book and pop culture fun. See granitecon.com.

Featured photo. Cruising Downtown Manchester classic car show. Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 22/09/01

“Not today, milfoil!”

Many of New Hampshire’s most popular lakes have been kept safe from invasive species this summer thanks to the efforts of NH LAKES, a statewide, publicly supported nonprofit dedicated to restoring and preserving the health of the state’s lakes. According to a press release, nearly 700 “Lake Hosts” across the state offer free boat inspections and educate boaters on how to properly clean, drain and dry their boats to prevent aquatic invasive plants and animals — such as milfoil, fanwort and the Chinese mystery snail — from being spread between water bodies. Some of the saves made by Lake Hosts this summer include milfoil prevented from entering Crescent Lake in Acworth; brittle/spiny naiad prevented from entering Silver lake in Madison; Chinese mystery snail prevented from departing Lovell Lake in Wakefield; and water chestnut seed prevented from entering Lake Winnisquam in Belmont and Lake Kanasatka in Moultonborough.

QOL score: +1

Comment: There were 1,635 saves made by Lake Hosts at 55 water bodies recorded between 2002 and 2020, according to nhlakes.org/lake-host.

Gardening for good

NHTrust staff recently spent an afternoon volunteering at the NH Food Bank’s Production Garden in Manchester, weeding, clipping and raking to help ensure that the garden continues yielding fresh vegetables through the end of the summer for distribution to NH Food Bank partner agencies throughout the state. “Each year, the garden provides thousands of pounds of fresh produce to our partner agencies throughout the state as well as our Cooking Matters NH program and Culinary Job Training program, which provides approximately 5,000 meals a week to after-school programs and other agencies,” Eileen Liponis, executive director of the NH Food Bank, said in a press release. Additionally, NHTrust made a $500 contribution to the NH Food Bank to support its mission.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The NH Food Bank Production Garden is a seasonal volunteering opportunity open to groups and individuals. Visit nhfoodbank.org/get-involved/volunteer to learn how you can get involved.

Supporting women of color

The New Hampshire Women’s Foundation announced the first three grant recipients of its new Women and Girls of Color Fund, launched earlier this year. The recipients — all New Hampshire-based organizations that are led by and serve New Hampshire women and girls of color — are the Manchester Community Action Coalition, with the grant to support its Women’s BIPOC Health Initiative; New American Scholars, with the grant to support its Ed-Tech program; and Victory Women of Vision, with the grant to support its New American Women support group. According to the Women’s Foundation website, the purpose of the Fund is to “provide low-barrier, faster turnaround grants to projects led by and serving women and girls of color in New Hampshire.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to a press release, the fund will award grants quarterly, with applications for the next grants due Oct. 1. Visit nhwomensfoundation.org.

High student loan debt

A recent WalletHub study ranked New Hampshire at No. 4 out of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia for States with the Most Student Debt. The study looked at the average amount of student debt; proportion of students with debt; student debt as share of income; share of student loans in past-due or default status and share of federal student loan borrowers enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan, as well as grant and student work opportunities. New Hampshire ranked No. 1 for average amount of student debt and No. 2 for proportion of students with debt.

QOL score: -2

Comment: According to the Education Data Initiative, 13.8 percent of the New Hampshire population has student loan debt, with a total of $6.5 billion in debt held by state residents and an average debt of $34,085 per borrower.

QOL score: 84

Net change: 1

QOL this week: 85

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

Summer grinds to an end

It’s been a crappy sports summer, hasn’t it? Even with the Celtics season lasting until June.

That’s because with Boston basically out of it since April 15 and no one doing anything memorable baseball’s been a complete dud.

So I’ve taken note of individuals over teams more than usual. Here are a few who got my attention.

James White: I mentioned when he retired how reliable and clutch he was. But what I didn’t detail was his role in his greatest game, the astonishing comeback win over Atlanta in SB 51. It was 28-3 right before he started the comeback with a short TD reception from TB-12 with 2:06 left in the third quarter. His next TD (after the PAT) tied it with 53 seconds left. Then came the game winner when he fought his way into the end zone for the win in OT. Overall he had 14 catches for 120 yards, 6 runs for 29 more, 3 TD’s and the 2-point conversion that got them to 8 down with 5:50 to play. It is among the five greatest games ever played by a Patriot.

Steph Curry: I knew he was good, but not that good I guess. I hate the way he flops on almost every shot, but he sliced and diced the Celtics so thoroughly in the Finals they should make Marcus Smart give back his Defensive Player of the Year award. I don’t like to overreact to one great series, but four titles in, I’m ready to say he belongs in the NBA’s all-time Top 10, though I’m not sure who to kick out.

Xander Bogaerts: Get your last looks over the final month of 2022. In his continuing zeal to become the 21st century’s answer to Harry Frazee, Chaim Bloom will let the face of the franchise (and its greatest ever shortstop) walk in free agency this winter, a move that should be on Chaim’s baseball tombstone when it’s all said and done.

Jarren Duran: A year ago he was the next big thing, a Top 100 prospect with blazing speed and emerging power ticketed for center field and a spot at the top of the order for years. However, in the 18 months since, he’s struggled to hit .218 over 300 major league at-bats before being demoted to AAA last week. His problems are made worse by his having the worst instincts of a Sox outfielder since Mike Greenwell was a collision waiting to happen on any ball hit into the gap. This puts him at a career crossroads going into spring training and makes him the latest poster boy for why you should never listen to spring training chatter that makes young guys out to be a lot more than they turn out to be.

Curt Schilling: I was almost beginning to feel sorry for the Red Sox alum over the way his final year of Hall of Fame eligibility ended with him just short but going backward in the vote. And then I was reminded last week why it happened. It was his tone-deaf tweet in opposition to the federal government forgiving some student loans. It’s OK to be against it if you have your reasons. Heck, I’m against it, I think. But when his objection came with his usual “I’m smarter than you” snark after he received, and blew, a free $75 million loan guarantee from the State of Rhode Island because of his celebrity status, I said, oh yeah, now I remember. Twitter wasn’t so kind in unleashing an avalanche of response to his utter hypocrisy and tone.

Steve Kerr: After watching him at work in the NBA Finals I think I’ve been under-rating Kerr all these years. And it was not just his decision-making. It was the Golden State defense. While Curry was the straw that stirred the drink, the surprising (to me) GS defense was close behind, especially the way it closed so quickly to the corner to render Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard useless on offense and how it gang tackled its Big 3 on drives to the rim and stifled them in half court O. That along with its usual offensive efficiency made it obvious what a good job Kerr does.

Steve Nash: For once an owner backed his coach over a star player as Nets owner Joe Tsai did during Kevin Durant’s angry summer. Now the question is how do you coach a team after your star has publicly demanded you be fired? We’ll soon find out.

Lenny Dawson: He died last week at 87 after long ago being the epitome of the “AFL players can’t play in today’s NFL” talking point of the 1960s after flunking out with the Steelers and Browns a few years after going one pick before the great Jim Brown in the 1957 NFL draft. But Dawson really just needed the opportunity the upstart AFL gave guys like him. His Dallas Texans (soon to be the KC Chiefs) won the AFL title in 1962 and again in 1966 when they lost in the first Super Bowl. He was back three years later when KC croaked the supposedly invincible 12-2 Vikings 23-7 in SB 4. It was an even more shocking win for NFL fans to swallow than the Jets’ titanic upset of the Colts in SB 3, because one win can be a fluke, but another the next year said something about the AFL’s overall strength. And that was a blow to NFL egos.

I’ll buy that Joe Namath was its most important player. But Joe Willie was not the All-time AFL quarterback as he was voted. Dawson was robbed. He was in the league longer, won more and had far better stats, along with the same SB ring and MVP award Namath won. So I see Dawson’s legacy as being a symbol of where the league started and how it ended up in a draw with the omnipotent NFL 10 years later. RIP Lenny D.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

Rising star

Going to college and getting involved

Plymouth State University student Joshua Chandler of Laconia has been named Stay Work Play NH’s 2022 College Student of the Year. Chandler will receive the award at the 13th annual Rising Stars Awards, to be held at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage (16 S. Main St., Concord) on Friday, Sept. 9, from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Where are you in your college career, and what are you studying?

I’m a non-traditional student. I’m going into my last year, which will be my fifth year, at Plymouth State University, as a dual degree major — a B.S. in cell and molecular biology and a B.A. in psychology. I started out studying exercise science when I first got to Plymouth State. I realized early on that I wanted to be a physical therapist, but then I decided that might not be for me. I liked the more hard-core basic science things. My aspirations switched. They stayed medical, but I started leaning more toward [being an] M.D. or physician’s assistant or something like that. I switched to molecular biology and decided on the physician’s assistant route. Then Covid hit, and I left for basic training with the Air National Guard. My studies got delayed a little bit. Then I got deployed to Kuwait, and I wasn’t able to take any of those biology classes while I was gone, but I took a couple psychology classes and I realized that I could add a psychology degree.

What was your experience in Kuwait like?

I loved it out there. It was a great experience, and I learned a lot. The most impactful part for me was being able to help out and provide medical help for the Afghanistan evacuations. We had about 5,000 Afghani evacuees come to our base. I also received the Army Achievement Medal for my help with that.

How did you balance serving in the National Guard and deployment with your college academics and activities?

While I was in Kuwait I was a full-time student. I was taking 15 credits’ worth of courses, as well as doing my National Guard Air Force upgrade training, getting all the different certifications. I’m a firefighter in the National Guard, so I was working 24-hour shifts. I’d go in the morning, pick up the truck, be on response if there was a fire or emergency, and then leave the next morning. Then I’d have the day off to use the gym, go shopping, get a haircut, relax, talk with my family. Coordinating deadlines for school was interesting because there’s an eight-hour [time] difference. I was also a speaker for the Plymouth State student government, and we would have our Zoom meetings, which would be at 7 o’clock Eastern time, but for me it’d be 3 in the morning, so on those nights I would either have to stay up for those meetings or go to bed and set an alarm to wake up and attend those meetings.

What are your plans for after graduating?

My plan is to switch to the Army National Guard and attend P.A. [physician’s assistant] school through them. Then, once I’m done with that, my goal is to come back to New Hampshire and work as a P.A. … After graduating, I would love to stay connected with Plymouth State University and the alumni department to help mentor and guide students, whether they’re thinking of [going into] medical, military — whatever they’re planning. I think being exposed to various backgrounds and doing a lot of research for my own plans means that I can be a good resource for students. Additionally, I do research at Plymouth State through the IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, and they have a mentorship program for alumni as well.

How do you practice self-care and keep from getting burnt out?

Sometimes I wonder how I don’t get burnt out. A lot of it is having a support system — my parents, family, friends, my girlfriend, co-workers, staff members and faculty at Plymouth State. Physical fitness, I think, is also important — setting aside a certain amount of time each day to either go on a walk or exercise or do yoga, just to make sure I’m staying healthy, and eating healthy. ‘Balance’ is the word that comes to mind.

What advice do you have for other young people looking to get more involved in their communities?

Look for opportunities. All of what I’ve done started from one simple thing: starting at student government as just a general member at first and then expanding on that, or going to talk with a professor about research and then getting involved with research at Dartmouth and now research for the military. It all starts with that first conversation, and then getting to a point where you’re looking for where you can get your foot in the door. The opportunities will follow. … Also, you don’t need to have a master plan. That’s something I struggle with. I try to imagine everything going perfectly, and usually, it’s never the perfect situation that I imagined [that happens], but it always works out in the right ways, so just go with the flow.

Featured photo: Joshua Chandler. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 22/09/01

More defense attorneys

To address the state’s shortage of public defenders, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has issued an order allowing private attorneys who pursue a “Limited Active” status classification through the New Hampshire Bar Association to accept assigned, contract and pro bono cases providing legal counsel and representation for defendants who cannot afford an attorney. According to a press release from the New Hampshire Judicial Branch, the order also waives mandatory continuing legal education and Trust Account Certificate requirements for limited active status attorneys in any year in which they accept at least three eligible cases, and for limited active status attorneys who volunteer to provide pro bono representation through the legal services 603 Legal Aid, NH Legal Assistance and Disabilities Right Center NH. “There is a critical need for defense attorneys,” Sarah Blodgett, executive director of the New Hampshire Judicial Council, said in the release. “Both the Judicial Branch and the State have taken several steps to address this issue, and this order will make a real difference to many New Hampshire residents.”

Lottery website hacked

The New Hampshire Lottery announced on its Facebook page the morning of Friday, Aug. 26, that the third-party hosting provider of its website nhlottery.com had experienced a cyberattack in which banners and pop-ups prompted users to click and download a .zip file. The website was taken offline shortly after the announcement. NH Lottery posted an update on Facebook Friday evening, stating, “We are confident that this attack did not impact any player data nor compromise the integrity of our gaming platforms,” and urging users who clicked a banner or pop-up to delete the .zip file, empty their computer’s trash or recycle bin folder and install and run an antivirus and antimalware scanner. The website was restored on Saturday around 1:30 a.m.

Strengthening child care

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced a new Child Care Strengthening Plan designed to support recruitment and retention of the child care workforce and ensure the long-term stability of the child care sector in the state. In a press release, the Department outlined four short-term initiatives of the plan, including a reinvestment in high school programs and partnerships with the Department of Education to strengthen pipelines for the early learning educators workforce; expanded access to the Teacher Education and Compensation Helps scholarship funds for child care professionals to pursue higher education while working; grants to cover one-time operating costs, such as start-up expenses, facility maintenance and expansion of classrooms and outdoor spaces, allowing more revenue to be allocated for workforce development; and training and education partnerships with New Hampshire Employment Security to encourage employment pathways for professional development, training programs and continuing education. “This plan gives us an opportunity to develop innovative and progressive solutions to support the needs of families and deliver high-quality child care by investing in our child care workforce,” DHHS associate commissioner Christine Santaniello said in the release. Passed as part of the legislation under Senate Bill 446, the plan builds on DHHS’ ongoing efforts to support the child care sector in New Hampshire, funded through the American Rescue Plan Discretionary Funds.

Wage raise

The Manchester Board of School Committee has voted unanimously to implement a $15 minimum wage for all full- and part-time employees of the Manchester School District. According to a press release, the approved proposal, which will also include proportional wage increases based on employees’ labor classifications, will raise the wages of 372 school district staff, including paraprofessionals, food service workers and 21st Century Program personnel. “Every staff member working for our District contributes to our students’ education and deserves to make a living wage,” Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig said in the release. “Now, we’ll be able to attract more high-quality staff to support our kids and retain and motivate the hardworking employees already serving within our schools.” The change carries a fiscal impact of $810,357.

Student mental health

Dartmouth Health continues its year-long monthly webinar series about mental health, “Heads Up: A Year-Long Mental Health Awareness Journey,” with a segment on the unique mental health stressors affecting student athletes. According to a press release, the fourth webinar in the series features graduate student-athlete and member of the Lynn University Women’s Basketball team Meghan Cramb of Merrimack; staff psychologist and director of the Sport Psychology Program at Dartmouth College Health Services Mark Hiatt, Ph.D.; and Dartmouth Health Children’s physician-in-chief and board-certified sports pediatrician Keith J. Loud, M.D. The panelists discuss stressors such as pressure to perform well, balancing athletics with academics, season-ending injuries and transitioning to different grade level or collegiate sports and provide insights, tips and resources for student athletes and the family, friends, coaches and teammates who support them. “Adolescents will rate the discontinuation or the exclusion from sports participation as among the greatest losses they could experience, up there with the loss of a friend or family member to death,” Loud said in the webinar. For more details on the “Heads Up” series, visit dartmouth-health.org/mental-health.

Vehicle charging stations

The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission has approved a proposal from Eversource, the largest energy provider in New England, to invest $2.1 million in electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the state. The proposal, known as the “make-ready plan,” pairs Eversource funds with funds from a 2017 Volkswagen legal settlement, which have been held in an Environmental Mitigation Trust reserved for environmental mitigation projects. The funds will be used to construct electric vehicle charging stations with public access in strategic locations throughout the state and implement an automated billing system at those stations.

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire in Dover was selected to receive an Institute of Museum and Library Services INSPIRE! grant for small museums. According to a press release, the museum plans to launch a series of educational initiatives to implement developmentally appropriate play-based learning activities for children age 5 and younger.

Registration is now open for free in-person classes at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications in Manchester (749 E. Industrial Park Drive). The four-week session will run Sept. 14 through Oct. 5, with classes on Wednesday evenings. Visit loebschool.org or call 627-0005.

The New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center in Auburn (26 Audubon Way) will have a native plant sale on Thursday, Sept. 8, from 3 to 7 p.m. Bagley Pond, an organic native perennial farm in Warner, will be at the Center with a wide selection of native plants and shrubs for purchase. According to a press release, the goal of the event is to provide home gardeners with plants that are safe for and support native pollinators and wildlife. Visit nhaudubon.org.

Lessons from a cathedral

I had breakfast this morning with a fascinating person. She is an architectural historian who has studied Notre Dame cathedral in Paris for many years and is now one of the experts regularly consulted as the 800-year-old building is being restored after the devastating fire of April 2019. For many years earlier, she studied the gradual process by which the cathedral had been built, noting that, over the course of 100 years, its walls had been constructed in stages as the mortar of each course of stone had to dry fully — a process that could take years — before the next layer could be added. In the end, thanks to the patience and skill of the builders, one of the most loved and iconic structures was completed. But it was a very slow process.

As my friend described that process, a comparison was forming in my mind. Our country, too, is a construction in progress, I thought. Yes, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are the “foundation” of the U.S. — we regularly refer to “the founding fathers” — but the rest of the work of realizing the vision of our forebears has been entrusted to subsequent generations. As American historians have shown us, this has been a trial-and-error process. We make laws to clarify or safeguard something only to see how it works out and perhaps repeal or modify it later. It’s a slow process. Just as for Notre Dame, each layer is added slowly, waiting and monitoring and then working on the next layer. My friend described the cathedral as a “building in dialogue with itself,” and perhaps that’s true for us as a country as well.

Today, especially in these times of polarization, many of us are impatient with the give and take of the democratic process, and instead would wish to “build it all” simply, with a change of presidential administration or a shift in Congress from one political majority to another. Our fast-paced world, instantaneous global communication, 24/7 news and compulsive social media all make difficult the more fundamental task of thoughtful conversations with our fellow citizens. It takes patience and courage to talk about such critical issues as immigration, abortion, voting rights or gun control in a way that respects difference of opinion while having that conversation based on a shared commitment to our country. Like Notre Dame, this is a slow process.

The elections this fall offer each of us, individual builders in the construction of this country, the challenge of being informed, of listening to one another, not just those in our echo chamber, and registering and voting intelligently. We may not see the completion of the perfect edifice, but we shall have done our part.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!