Trailblazing in a tiara
As reported by the Nashua Telegraph in a July 24 online article, New Hampshire organizer, athlete and beauty contestant Christina Hurley “was recently crowned Ms. North America, becoming the first amputee to receive that honor.” Hurley, the founder of Less Leg More Heart, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping amputees, won her title on July 17 in a ceremony in Orlando, Florida.
QOL score: +1
Comment: According to the pageant’s Facebook page, “the Ms. North America pageant is an international division of the North America Beauty Pageant that welcomes women aged 30 and older…”
UNH to take on ticks in a no-holds-barred grudge match
In a July 22 press release, the University of New Hampshire announced that it will launch a “statewide initiative to study ticks, diseases and the environment.” The University has received a “National Science Foundation award of $8 million to support focus on three key tick species,” the announcement read. “Ticks are an issue that touches nearly every community in New Hampshire,” the report quoted Dr. David Needle of UNH’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. “By combining cutting-edge science with statewide collaboration and education, we have an opportunity to build knowledge that benefits both our state and the broader scientific community.”
QOL score: +1
Comment: The initiative will be called EMBEDDEd-NH, the press release reported — Endeavor for Multi-Omics-Based Exploration, Data-Driven Modeling, and Education in New Hampshire. Visit UNH.edu/news.
Fate and drama in a bowling alley
As reported by the Concord Monitor and republished by New Hampshire Public Radio in a July 21 online article, an independent film has wrapped up filming in a Concord candlepin bowling alley. Filmmaker Carson Lund’s The Pinsetter chronicles a New England candlepin joint from 1994 to 2004, the story read. “Per its synopsis, ‘an aging, morally dubious candlepin bowling alley owner, Henry Nash, battles precarious finances, changing tastes in entertainment and a conniving local politician to keep the communal dream of his suburban alley alive at the turn of the 21st century.’” Principal bowling alley content was filmed inside Boutwell’s Bowling Center in Concord.
QOL score: +1
Comment: According to the article, “The aim for the independent film is for a festival premiere next summer … .”
Sourcing local lettuce
As reported in a July 25 online article by NH Public Radio, in the wake of recent cyclospora outbreaks “some people are turning to local farms to get their produce. Now is generally a time of year when people seek out fresh produce anyway, but some customers have confirmed they’re concerned about reports of parasites in produce.” The NHPR story quoted Brandy Deno of Brookford Farm in Canterbury: “Recently, Deno said, customers have been telling her they’re suspicious of lettuce from national chains. ‘They’re not trusting the grocery store lettuce anymore, and [there are] starting to be recalls, and it scares people,’ Deno said.”
QOL score: +1 for local farms, however …
Comment: Meanwhile, the NH Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health reported in a July 23 press release that it confirmed “9 people with cyclosporiasis (Cyclospora infection) who consumed lettuce products served at the Cheshire Medical Center cafeteria in Keene” and suggests that anyone who ate lettuce at the center from early June through July 20 “who develops severe or persistent watery diarrhea should contact their health care provider for evaluation and testing for Cyclospora infection. See dhhs.nh.gov.
QOL score last week: 52
Net change: +4
QOL this week: 56
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?
Let us know at news@hippopress.com.