Governor for a Day
On Friday, April 26, Gov. Chris Sununu announced that Andrew Flockton of Milford was selected as the 2024 Governor for a Day competition winner, meaning that Andrew acted as Governor for a Day on Wednesday, May 1, and joined the governor for the entire day at the Statehouse and on the road, according to a press release.
Andrew is a seventh-grader at Milford Middle School, where he is a member of the school’s student council and student newspaper, the Granite Town Tribune. Andrew wrote about his interest in local government, business and tourism. In his submission, he said, “If I were Governor for a day, I would want to learn about the state government and learn more about business and tourism in New Hampshire. I am fascinated with the inner workings of government and being Governor for a day would be a good way to expand my knowledge of government. I would like to represent the next generation of New Hampshire citizens by being Governor for a day.”
The “Governor for a Day” initiative was launched in 2018 to foster civic education and promote youth participation in government. It invited all middle and high school students across the Granite State to submit a 250- to 500-word essay completing the sentence, “If I were Governor for a day, I would…,” according to the release.
In a statement, Sununu said, “Andrew’s submission captured the importance of civic engagement and the Live Free or Die spirit that makes our state so special.”
Hatching news
As of just before noon on Tuesday, April 30, two of the four peregrine falcon eggs at the Brady Sullivan Tower falcon nest in Manchester had hatched. The nest is viewable via livestreaming Peregrine Cam, provided by the New Hampshire Audubon with support of Peregrine Networks and Brady Sullivan Properties, according to nhaudubon.org, where you can find links to the live feeds. According to the daily log, which you can find a link to in the chat of the YouTube feed, the names of the eyasses are Whit (for Walt Whitman) and Thor (for Henry David Thoreau), names voted on by viewers.
Trails grants
The New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation’s Bureau of Trails announced in an April 22 press release that it has opened its Fiscal Year 2025 Recreational Trails Program grant round and that three informational workshops will be taking place in May. Any qualified organization wishing to apply for Recreational Trails Program grant funding must attend at least one workshop session, the release said. Grant applicants are open to nonprofit organizations, private groups or government entities and funds are available for motorized, non-motorized and diversified trails, according to the release. The first two workshops occur on Wednesday, May 8, at 1 and 6 p.m. at the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources at 172 Pembroke Road in Concord, and the third will be on Friday, May 24, at 6 p.m. at the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources at 629 B Main S. in Lancaster. Attendees need to register in advance by contacting RTP Program Coordinator Jay Scarborough via email at jay.a.scarborough@dncr.nh.gov since space is limited, according to the press release.
Applications for Fiscal Year 2025 grants are due on Friday, June 14, by 4 p.m. with selected projects to have funding available in late spring 2025. The Recreational Trail Program is funded by federal gas tax dollars paid on fuel purchases for off-highway recreational vehicles and snowmobiles, according to the release. More information about the Recreational Trails Program is available at bit.ly/3JihN1p and nhstateparks.org or by calling 603-271-3556.
Funds in the sun
According to an April 26 press release, the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED) has disbursed more than $1 million in scholarships for Granite State children to attend camp this summer through a program titled ReKINDling Curiosity.
Frank Edelbult, the state’s Education Commissioner, in a statement said, “our ReKINDling Curiosity program has grown each year, providing hundreds of families that may need financial assistance with the opportunity to enroll their children in an engaging camp program,” These awards totaling about $1.1 million will continue to be distributed until Covid relief funding is exhausted and will allow at least 1,777 students to participate in a summer camp experience at about 170 different camps, according to the press release.
In a statement, Susan Miller Hild, President of the New Hampshire Camp Directors Association, said, “ReKINDling Curiosity has afforded camps an opportunity to bring in a more diverse camp population. It allows camps that may not have an established scholarship program an opportunity to offer a camp experience for more families from New Hampshire.” For more details on the program, or to apply, visit rekindlingcuriosityeducation.nh.gov.
Deadly fires
Last week was an unusually active week for fires across the state, with nine major fires, and fatalities at four of them. “I’ve been in the state fire marshal’s office for the last six years, and I can’t think of a week [that] we’ve had that much tragedy relative to fires in our state,” said State Fire Marshal Sean Toomey, as reported by WMUR in an online story on April 28. According to the New Hampshire Division of Fire Safety (firemarshal.dos.nh.gov), there were fatal fires in Nashua, Concord, and Manchester over the past 10 days. Three individuals died in fires that occurred in residences, such as an apartment or a house, and one individual died in a crash that also involved a fire, according to the report on WMUR. According to statements on the Division of Fire Safety’s website, investigations of all four fatal fires are “active and ongoing.”
The Manchester Urban Ponds Restoration Program holds its final cleanup of the spring at Black Brook / Blodget Park (Front Street and Dunbarton Road) on Saturday May 4, from 9 to 11 a.m. Find the “Most Interesting or Unusual Piece of Trash” and win an award, according to the website. Visit manchesternh.gov/Departments/Environmental-Protection/Pond-Restoration.
The Manchester City Library (405 Pine St.) is screening the original theatrical version of The Empire Strikes Back on Saturday, May 4, at 11:30 a.m. Visit manchester.lib.nh.gov.
The New Hampshire Audubon is holding a beginner bird walk in Epping on Saturday, May 4, starting at 7 a.m. at the kiosk at Gate 3 (just east of 74 Mast Road). The Southeast Land Trust’s Mast Road Natural area in Epping totals 531 acres of wetlands, an active beaver pond, and early succession forest, and the trip is limited to 20 participants, according to Audubon’s website. Children are welcome with an adult, and participants are encouraged to bring binoculars, water, insect repellent and sunscreen. Visit nhaudubon.org/event/bbw-mast-road-natural-area-may-2024.