Tag: 240321

Quality of Life 24/03/21

Warmest winter

This has been New Hampshire’s warmest winter on record. As reported by New Hampshire Public Radio on March 12, the winter season was 9 degrees warmer than usual on average. According to NHPR’s report, at the National Weather Service’s climate site in Concord the temperature never dropped below 0 degrees, something that has only happened twice since 1868, when weather records started being kept in the state.

QOL score: -1 for the general weirdness of it all

Comments: According to a March 17 story by WMUR, as of Sunday afternoon, March 18, Lake Winnipesaukee is completely ice-free, again setting a new record.

Household bills above average here

According to a recent report, Manchester residents pay $5,547 more per year on their household bills — about 22 percent more — than the national average. According to the 2024 U.S. Household Bill Pay report by Doxo, a bill-paying smartphone app, the average American household spends around $2,126 each month on its most essential household bills, and the average Manchester household pays $2,588, or approximately 42 percent of its household income. These bills run the range from rent or mortgage to cable bills to life insurance. According to the same report, things look better for New Hampshire as a whole.

QOL score: -1

Comments: The average monthly cost of bills statewide was $2,052, about 4 percent lower than the national average, the report said.

Missing something?

According to a March 15 Facebook post, a brewer at To Share Brewing Co. in Manchester found something unexpected as he was processing the grain for a batch of smoked IPA last Wednesday: a wedding ring. Brewery co-owner Aaron Share reports that he found the ring as he was straining out the grain from the beer he was brewing, and was briefly afraid that the ring was his, but his own ring was still on his finger.

QOL score: -1 for some anonymous grain malter

Comments: According to the Brewery’s Facebook post, To Share has reached out to its suppliers to try to track down the ring’s owner, but at this point it is still a mystery.

A dramatic rescue

A worker at a construction site on Canal Street in Manchester was rescued after he became trapped under an excavator last Tuesday, March 12. As reported on March 12 by Manchester Ink Link, Manchester fire companies responded to an accident on the worksite and found an excavator upside down in a trench, with its operator pinned on the underside. According to a March 12 from the Fire Department, Manchester crews performed a technical rescue that involved “stabilizing, lifting, cribbing and shoring up the machine.” The fire companies used hydraulic rams, high-pressure airbags and hand tools to free the worker, who was transported to Elliot Hospital with what the Union Leader’s story about the event described as serious injuries.

QOL score: +1 for the rescue, and hopefully a speedy recovery for the worker

Comments: The department’s press release described the rescue as a “high-risk, low-frequency event” and noted, “A successful extrication under the circumstances requires a well-trained, highly focused, and professional team working in a complex and dynamic environment.”

QOL score: 63

Net change: -2

QOL this week: 61

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Time to dance

The Big Story – The NCAA Basketball Tournament: The overall top seed is defending champion UConn, who begin that defense at the TD Garden in Boston in a regional that oddly has three of last year’s Final Four teams in San Diego State, Florida Atlantic and aforementioned UConn. Overall it’s 68 teams playing at four sites around the country. Let the mayhem begin for what is the best four-day extravaganza American sports has to offer.

Sports 101: From the all-time leader to fifth, who are the top five career scorers in the NCAA Basketball Tournament history?

News Item – Are Pats Preparing to Tank? The new people in charge of Patriots personnel have been underwhelming so far. Which means after re-signing their own free agents from a 4-13 team, they’ll leave free agency with the exact three needs they had when it started: a big play receiver, a left offensive tackle and a real starting QB, not a one-year place filler with a career record as a starter of 18-30.

News Item – Proposed Trade: Given how obvious the Patriots issues are, drawing up the plan doesn’t seem that hard. It’s a two-year rebuild at best, so we’ll let the QB wait till next year and attack it via a trade down from the third overall pick. The following example (not real) illustrates the concept: Pats give up third overall pick to Minnesota and their third-round pick in 2025 for the 11th and 23rd picks this year, Minnesota’s 2025 first-round pick and receiver Jordan Addison. (90 catches for 911 yards and 10 TDs), then use the first-round picks on a O-tackle and big play guy. Then fill the next biggest needs, a guard and run-stopping D-lineman.

News Item – Red Sox Spring Update: You can’t count on spring training records, but the 14-9 start is encouraging. The two most interesting questions so far: (1) Will gifted rookie Ceddanne Rafaela win the CF job or be sent back to AAA? He’s currently tied for the team lead with four homers while hitting .273 with 8 RBI in 43 at-bats; (2) Will they finally put Tanner Houck in a starting role where he belongs? He’s off to a 2-0 start with a 2.40 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 15 innings.

News Item – Rick Pitino: From his days complaining about no fan support at BU to his excuse-filled stint as Celtics coach to his “it wasn’t my fault” major rule violations that led to his being fired at Louisville, little Ricky is still whining after all these years. This time over 20-13 St. John’s not making the NCAA tournament and then petulantly refusing to play in the hometown NIT.

The Numbers

10 – magic number for the Celtics to clinch home court throughout the NBA playoffs.

Thumbs Up – Celtics: True, the Utah Jazz aren’t very good. But considering the obstacles faced, the Celtics’ 123-107 win over Utah last week earns a shoutout, as (a) it was the final of a five-games-in-eight-nights road trip covering 3,400 miles and (b) it came on Game 2 of a back-to-back, (c) after arriving from Portland, Oregon, at 3 a.m. while also losing an hour due to time zone hopping, and most importantly (d) three of their top six players, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jaylen Brown, sat out with injuries. They stayed focused and finished off the road trip with a business-like win.

Sports 101 Answer: With 407 points Duke’s Christian Laettner is the Tournament all-time leading scorer. He’s followed by Elvin Hayes (358), Danny Manning (328), Tyler Hansbrough (325) and Oscar Robertson (324).

Final Thought – A Little History – What a Game! Saturday (March 23) is the 50th anniversary of the most monumental college basketball game in history.

No, not Bird vs. Magic in 1979. That had big TV ratings but the game was boring as Indiana St. was barely in it, Bird played terribly and Gregory Kelser was MVP, not Magic.

This was five years earlier, where UCLA’s never-to-be-matched streak of winning seven straight NCAA titles was ended by NC State in an epic double-OT battle.

With all due respect to Magic and Larry, this game’s stars were better college players, and both played big as UCLA’s Bill Walton went for 29 points and 18 rebounds while David Thompson scored 28 points for NC State. The Bruins let big leads slip away in the final minutes of regulation and the second OT. But after UCLA’s frantic four-shot last gasp, NC State hung in to win 80-77 as the streak finally was ended.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

Future nurses

Nashua HS program offers experience

Lori Chisholm, Program Head of Nashua High School Careers and Technical Education – Health Occupations program, on the donation of eight Stryker Hospital beds through continued partnership with Southern New Hampshire Health.

Can you describe how this partnership changes or enhances the current health educational program at Nashua High School?

Southern and Nashua High have been kind of partnered throughout the years on different levels. Over the last year or so they have actually financially helped us with donations for some of the supplies we use as well as our pinning ceremony at the end of the year. This year they were actually able to donate eight Stryker hospital beds.

We had been replacing our beds one by one with our Perkins grant that we get through the school because they are quite costly. We have two labs, and each lab has five beds in it, so that was a huge help, for the students to actually have beds that work.

Laura Forgione [executive director of inpatient nursing, professional practice, and Magnet Program at Southern New Hampshire Health] … has been coming out every year and speaking to the students as well about their programs. Integrating them into the license nursing assistant part of the hospital as well as medical assisting and then on to nursing if that’s the way they choose to go. So it’s good for them to come into the school as well just to let us know about the programs that they are offering over there.

What is the student response?

One of my students that graduated from this program last year … went on to be accepted into the Rivier School of Nursing. At the beginning of this calendar year he actually asked for a recommendation for an LNA job at Southern. I do know that one of our students is actively working there, to the best of my knowledge. I think it just allows them to have information about different avenues that they can pursue and what the hospitals have to offer. Unfortunately, the State of New Hampshire and all the other states require that all the clinical hours the students get [are] in long-term care facilities. Which is unfortunate because I do think they would gain great experience being able to do that in the hospital as well. It restricts us a little bit in being able to even further the partnership with having students go there for clinicals because it is not approved by the board of nursing by the State of New Hampshire.

How important is hands-on experience for health care professionals?

Hands-on experience is extremely important. We actually start it with our students in the first year of the program, which is their junior year, typically, in our Health Science 1 class. Both the Health Science 1 and Health Science 2 class have full functioning labs that look like, in each room, five different hospital bed areas with curtains and blood pressure cuffs and side tables and overbed tables. We actually work on skills with them for their whole junior year as well as their senior year because in their senior year they actually go out and they take care of real people. They help them get showered, they help them if they can’t go in the shower, you know, get washed up in bed, get them dressed, help them to go to the bathroom, their hair, their teeth. So, they really are hands-on right from the get-go when they go out into the clinical environment. The lab environment is very important because it allows them to practice on each other before they actually touch people that rely on them to be able to help safely transfer them out of bed into a wheelchair.

What is the process of entering the program and how hard is it to get in?

It’s an awesome program. We allow area students to come that don’t have programs like this. We have students from Hollis, Brookline … Milford, Merrimack …. Obviously North and South, even though the actual program is at the South location of the high school. It not only benefits just the Nashua kids but the surrounding towns. So it depends upon the year, to be quite honest. When I had worked part-time in 2007 they had actually added a third teacher, and I was it, because the enrollment was so high. They are approved by the Health Science 1 teacher and the head teacher. If they have any questions they obviously come to me as well. Since Covid, the numbers have been down until this past year. Health Science 1 started with about 65 students. The most we can take in Health Science 2 is 48 because once we get out into the clinical environment I have one other instructor that I work with and we can each only take eight students at a time, and that is per the board of nursing of the State of New Hampshire.

For different reasons people drop out of Health Science 1. It wasn’t what they thought it would be, they aren’t performing as well as they thought they would. Next year I think I’ll have about 40-ish students. They can also do other tracks. Most of our students do the LNA track. I have a few kids that are doing physical therapy. I have two that are on our dental track. We are trying to get Pharmacy. Years ago we were able to let them go out into a clinical environment, into an actual pharmacy and work with a pharmacist and a pharmacy tech to see if that’s something they are interested in, but it is being held up at the pharmacy level because they have to get approval.

Not all of the students come out as LNAs. Some of them in Health Science 1 decide they want to be physician assistants, which, really, going into college they don’t need my program, the Health Science 2 program. They really would benefit from heavy loading on the sciences in their high school journey.

—Zachary Lewis

Featured image: Lori Chisholm. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 24/03/21

Bears are back

The Granite State’s black bears are appearing from their winter dens and starting to search for any available food sources, according to a press release from New Hampshire Fish and Game on March 14. Bears will be attracted to a wide array of human food sources, such as bird feeders

Dan Bailey, Bear Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game, explained in a statement that “bears denned rather late last fall due to a plentiful amount of natural foods and they then remained inactive almost all winter despite fairly mild temperatures. However, spring has arrived a few weeks early, and bears are becoming active in various areas of the state. This is a common sign of spring in New Hampshire and should not be a cause for concern to residents. It simply means that it is time to prepare for foraging bears and remove or secure all backyard food sources.”

In the same press release, state officials asked the New Hampshire public to take down bird feeders no later than April 1 in all areas of the state, or earlier if bears are already present. They mentioned that backyard farmers should protect poultry, livestock and bees with electric fencing, and to remember this when acquiring new chicks this spring. Additionally, the release said residents can help prevent attracting bears by securing dumpsters and garbage cans as well as storing grills, pet food and animal feed indoors.

“Building good bear–human relationships is far more successful when people are proactive, and it is easier to avoid a conflict than resolve one,” Bailey said in the statement. “Bears have an extremely acute sense of smell, long memories, and high intelligence. We really need the help of residents to inhibit emerging bears from returning to locations where they have been previously successful in finding backyard food sources. Largely, the public can control bear behavior and activity by controlling food attractants around their homes. Human responsibility and awareness are the most important tools for preventing conflicts with bears.”

Twenty-five percent of annual bear-human encounters are directly caused by bird feeders, the release said. The same release noted that since food is plentiful for birds in the spring and summer, people should consider bird baths or flowering plants to attract birds instead.

Other top bear attractants include unprotected chickens and other poultry, and unsecured garbage cans and dumpsters, the release said.

“If the public would be willing to address these three common attractants, we could quickly reduce annual bear–human encounters by more than 80%, which would be tremendous,” said Bailey.

For more information, call -888-749-2327 (1-888-SHY-BEAR) , which is coordinated jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department or visit nhfishgame.com

Moose hunt lottery

New Hampshire’s 2024 moose hunt lottery is open, according to a March 13 press release from New Hampshire Fish and Game. There is entrance fee of $15 for New Hampshire residents and $25 for nonresidents, with applications online or available at any Fish and Game license agent, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department headquarters, and Fish and Game regional offices.

The same release said moose hunt lottery applications for 2024 must be postmarked or submitted online by midnight on Friday, May 31, and can also be delivered to the Licensing Office at New Hampshire Fish and Game Department headquarters (11 Hazen Dr. in Concord) before 3:45 p.m. that day. Winners of the 33 permits are selected through a computerized random drawing and will be announced on Friday, June 21.

According to New Hampshire Fish and Game, the current moose population in New Hampshire is around 3,000 animals. This year’s hunt will run from Oct. 19 to Oct. 27. Visit wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/moose-hunting-new-hampshire.

Conservation grants

The New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation is accepting proposals for the 2024 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant, which is funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior – National Park Service to provide financial assistance to local units of government and is administered by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and Division of Parks and Recreation, according to a press release. The LWCF program funds projects to develop, renovate and acquire public outdoor recreational spaces. It was recently approved for funding picnic area constructions, development of the new Canal Street Riverfront Park in Concord, and the replacement of playground facilities, among other projects, according to the same release. The application deadline is Friday, June 7. State Parks will determine eligibility. Visit nhstateparks.org/about-us/community-recreation/land-water-conservation-fund-grant.

Wetland restoration

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services will hold a virtual office hour on Friday, March 22, at 10 a.m. for interested applicants to learn about the more than $5.5 million available for wetland and stream restoration through the Aquatic Resource Mitigation Fund for five watersheds: the Merrimack River, Pemigewasset-Winnipesaukee River, Saco River, Salmon Falls-Piscataqua River and Lower Connecticut River service areas. Pre-proposals are due May 31. Visit des.nh.gov or email [email protected]. Register at atdes.nh.gov/news-and-media/more-55-million-available-wetland-and-stream-restoration.

On Thursday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord (45 S. Main St.) will host #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner as she promotes her new thriller Still See You Everywhere. According to Gibson’s website, Gardner will talk about her latest in the Frankie Elkin series with New Hampshire thriller writer Paula Munier, author of the Mercy Carr mystery series. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com.

On Tuesday, March 26, families can come together to play board games or complete puzzles in the children’s room at Manchester City Library (405 Pine St.) from 5 to 7 p.m. for Family Game Night, according to the library website. Visit manchester.lib.nh.us or call 624-6550, ext. 7628.

Salem Winter Market will be held at Labelle Winery in Derry (14 Route 111) on Sunday, March 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. Visit salemnhfarmersmarket.org.

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