Quality of Life 26/02/19

Challenge accepted!

The Wildcats of Fall Mountain Regional High School faced the Purple Panthers of Nashua South last Thursday night, Feb. 12, kicking off the 44th season of the quiz show Granite State Challenge on New Hampshire PBS, in which 16 New Hampshire high school teams compete to answer questions across a range of topics, from math to ancient history. A new half-hour episode airs each week until the championship on May 21. Visit nhpbs.org/gsc to view episodes, take online quizzes, and see tournament rules and the season’s full schedule. The matchup airing Thursday, Feb. 19, at 8:30 p.m. will feature Bedford vs. Souhegan.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the GSC website, Merrimack High School took the 2025 title and holds the record for championship titles with five.

Nurses needed

As reported in the Feb. 13 issue of the New Hampshire Business Review, New Hampshire is deep into a nursing shortage. The article references “a New Hampshire Department of Employment Security estimate that, through 2026, there will be more than 900 annual openings for registered nurses and nearly 1,200 openings for nursing assistants…. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects that, by 2030, for a projected supply of 2,280 licensed practical nurses in New Hampshire, 3,640 will still be needed.”

QOL score: -2

Comment: NHBR cited a statement by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing that credited “rising stress levels, compounded by the pandemic, increased job dissatisfaction and burnout” for New Hampshire’s nursing shortage.

Hurry! Hard!

As reported by WMUR in a Feb. 15 online article, this year’s Winter Olympics has spurred a new interest in New Hampshire for the sport of curling. “…[L]ocal clubs in New Hampshire are seeing a surge in interest. Known for its precision and patience, the sport is drawing more curiosity than ever, with many people eager to try it themselves.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Just after the Olympics, the USA National Championships will be held in North Carolina; see usacurling.org/watch-curling for links to the USA Curling YouTube channel and more information. Looking for local curling? See mvcurling.com for the Merrimack Vallley Curling Club based in Nashua.

QOL score: 50

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 50

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News & Notes 26/02/19

Queen City to Music City

Southwest Airlines will offer nonstop flights from Manchester Boston Regional Airport to Nashville International Airport five days a week (Thursday through Monday) starting Oct. 1, according to an airport press release. A nonstop flight between MHT and BNA, Nashville’s airport, takes two hours and 40 minutes, according to southwest.com.

Play for the cause

The Majestic Theatre, 880 Page St. in Manchester, will hold a bingo night on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 6:30 p.m. to benefit the theater. The evening will feature a raffle, door prizes, refreshments and more, according to majestictheatre.net, where you can register in advance.

Manchester movie

The Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester, will show “The Lost Films of Amoskeag” on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 11 a.m. The program includes a black and white film made in the late 1960s during redevelopment of the millyard and a 1978 half-hour program called The Amokseag Transcripts produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, according to manchesterhistoric.org. The event is included with regular admission to the museum; rsvp by calling 622-7531 or emailing history@manchesterhistoric.org, the website said.

Museum days

Some area museums will be open extra days for New Hampshire’s vacation week (Feb. 23-27 for many schools). The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, 27 Navigator Road in Londonderry, aviationmuseumofnh.org, will be open Monday, Feb. 23, and Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in addition to its regular hours Wednesdays through Sundays, with its Elite Flight Simulator operating Feb. 23, Feb. 25 and Feb. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. for ages 13 and up and storytimes on Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., according to a press release. SEE Science Center, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester, will be open Monday, Feb. 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in addition to its regular hours, according to see-sciencecenter.org. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, 2 Institute Drive in Concord, is open daily, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Sunday, March 1, according to starhop.com. The Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St. in Manchester, has a three-day workshop for ages 6 to 13+ running Wednesday, Feb. 25, through Friday, Feb. 27, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to currier.org, where you can find pricing and registration information. The museum’s regular hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Community Players of Concord will hold auditions for the May production of To Kill A Mockingbird on Sunday, March 1, and Monday, March 2, at 6 p.m. for youth and starting at 7 p.m. for adults at the Community Players Studio in Concord. See communityplayersofconcord.org for details.

Kids Coop Theatre will hold auditions for the May production of Newsies for ages 8 to 19 on Sunday, March 1, from 1 to 9 p.m. at KCT Studios in Salem. See kctnh.org for show and membership details and to sign up for a slot.

The Merrimack Parks & Recreation Winter Carnival at Wasserman Park in Merrimack will take place Saturday, Feb. 21, from noon to 3 p.m., and feature a cardboard box sledding contest, ice carving and more, according to merrimackparksandrec.org.

The Hudson Recreation Department will hold a comedy night featuring Corey Rodrigues with Dave Rattigan and Ian Rice on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) at the Community Center, 12 Lions Ave. in Hudson, according to hudsonnh.gov/recreation, where you can purchase tickets.

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