Northwood

Candidates’ Night

There will be a candidates’ night for all Northwood candidates on Wednesday, March 6 at 7:00 pm.  It will be at the Northwood Town Hall.

All candidates for town and school offices are invited to attend and introduce themselves to the voters.  Robert Robertson will moderate.

The evening is sponsored by the Northwood Women’s Club and the Friends of the Library.

Chesley Memorial Library, Northwood

Vacation Week Program: Color Burst Play Mats

Color Burst Play Mats will make their library debut on Wednesday, February 27!  They will be out all day so you can stop in to play at any time but we will hold “sock hops” at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Wear your favorite socks and make plans to come together and have some fun. What are Color Burst Play Mats? Interactive mats that respond to movement and pressure with bright gel liquid colors that move with every step, skip, jump, hop or hand movement!

Election Day

Is Tuesday, March 12

Northwood voters will have the opportunity to select their local officials for town and school district offices and to cast their vote on both town and school district warrant articles, including the proposed operating budgets. Polls will be open from 7 am to 7 pm and voting is held at St. Joseph’s Parish Center on Rt. 4 next to the Northwood Town Hall. Candidate’s Night will be held at the town hall on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 pm. This will be an opportunity to meet those who are running for for town and school positions. There will be time for questions. The board of selectmen is changing from a three person to five person board this year and both positions-one year and three year- have multiple people interested in getting your vote. Also, there are several openings on budget committee and planning board with no one on the ballot. If you are interested in running as a write-in candidate, you should attend Candidate’s Night and make your position known. 

Annual Town And School District Reports Are In!

The 2018 Annual Town and School District Report is available for pickup at the town hall during regular business hours, Monday-Friday 8-4. Copies will also be available at the polls on Election Day. You may also view a pdf version of the town report on the town’s website: www.northwoodnh.org Be sure to check out the photos, drawings and paintings by Coe-Brown students which are included in the report.

Celebrate The Academy Awards All Month Long On LRPA After Dark!

This Weekend’s Feature: 1952’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”

Throughout February, Lakes Region Public Access Television will celebrate the Academy Awards with a month of Oscar®-nominated films. For our final award weekend (March 1 & 2), we present 1952’s adventurous melodrama “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” starring Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” tells the story of American writer Harry Street (Peck) who is on safari in Africa with his second wife Helen (Hayward). Their marriage suffers from Harry’s drinking, womanizing and world-weary cynicism. A wound on Harry’s leg becomes infected, and as he lays in a feverish delirium, he reflects on his life and past loves. One of his great regrets is losing his beautiful first wife, Cynthia Green (Gardner). Her memory and the way that he lost her haunts his dreams.  As Harry clings to life, Helen nurses him and protects him from the many dangers lurking just outside of the campfire. Will Harry survive the long night, and will he and Helen be able to find love again? Based on the short story by Ernest Hemingway, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” was well received by many critics and movie goers. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. It also received a Directors Guild of America nomination and was named one of the Top Ten Films of 1952 by the National Board of Review. In his New York Times column, critic Bosley Crowther noted “ … They have made a picture that constantly fascinates the eye and stimulates the emotions in small, isolated ways.” It is a beautiful and exotic Technicolor film that exemplifies the often spectacular filmmaking of its generation. Need we say more? Grab your popcorn and join LRPA after dark for this gorgeous, dramatic adventure. 

Letter To The Editor

To the Editor,

I read with interest Chief Drolet’s explanation of why the proposed Safety Complex must cost more than the one Farmington built. The site is an expensive piece of land, that is too narrow to permit using a single story structure, that has structures on it that must be demolished, that will require widening of the highway, that will require over a quarter million dollars in site preparation in addition to well and septic. Others have written that since the location is in the east end of town, the fire station in the Narrows will continue to be used. All these points suggest to me that the selected site may not be an optimal one.

An esteemed budget committee member says we need to borrow now because interest rates are rising, not quite what the Fed has recently hinted. He wants to belittle other community members for wasting money on projects he deems wasted a total amount that is less than the new elevator is going to cost. Not one of the items he cites cost as much as the epoxy finish on the complex’s garage floor. He mentions about one million dollars of new homes being for sale on his road but forgets that the cost of educating the children reasonably expected to live in those homes will cost more annually than those homes will generate in property taxes.

I suggest there needs to be more cost / benefit analysis put into a proposal costing us six million dollars.

Respectfully,

Ronald Thomas, 

Northwood

Letter To The Editor

When reading over the ballot for Northwood’s Board of Selectmen race, my name may stick out like a sore thumb. More precisely, my name may not resonate with many at all, as I am the only candidate in the field to have not already held an elected office in the Town of Northwood. With that said, all public servants begin their career when they see a need to act.

While it sometimes feels like we are living in an irreparably divided community, I have found that we have much more in common than a few letters to the editor, or Facebook fights may suggest. We all care about our children, our tax burden, and the safety and well-being of our neighbors. We all want to be heard. We want to feel like our needs are being considered by our elected officials.

As a professor, my work is focused on information and knowledge. I believe that one needs to gather information and increase knowledge by hearing all sides of an issue before making a decision that will affect others. Unshakable certainty that one is right without an effort to understand alternate viewpoints can create a sense of powerlessness among those with something to say. Making tough decisions is part of the job, and I appreciate the need to take action. But, to truly serve the town, the Board of Selectmen must consider all facts, differences in opinion, and multiple viewpoints before making a decision on a matter.

If elected, I promise to remain fair, civil, and sensible, and I will always strive to hear multiple thoughts on an issue. I look forward to the opportunity to serve our entire town. Please consider voting for me, Matthew S. Frye, for the Board of Selectmen on March 12th. 

Northwood School Quarter 2 Honor Roll 2018-2019

Ms. Jocelyn Young, Principal and Mr. Adrian Alford, Assistant Principal are pleased to announce the honor roll for the second quarter.

Grade 8 High Honor Roll

Megan Adams, Gabri-el Collins, Aiden Cox, Nathaniel Curtis

Grade 8 Honor Roll

Carly Clemmer, Jayden Hartigan, Landon Huntington, Pacey Labelle, Allie McGuigan, Ean Pinard, Tyler Tkaczyk, Katerina Xanthopoulos

Grade 7 High Honor Roll

Kyla Demontigny, Bailee DeTrude, Andrew George, Maxwell Heigis, Michaela Linskey, Somer Loto, Holly Smith, Olivia Swett, Makennah Tatem

Grade 7 Honor Roll

Alyviah Blad, Corbin Carri, Campbell Hartford, Jaida Hurd, Saere McGuinness, Kiley Murphy, Kylie Prusia, Judith Quinney, Hannah Shortt, Elizabeth Wolf

Grade 6 High Honor Roll

Serenity Brown, Eilah Crawn, Amy Demaine, Liam White

Grade 6 Honor Roll

Elizabeth Abernathy, Joseph Allie, Sophia Arroyo, Lillian Biron, Jeremy Bisson, Cameryn Drouin, Caleb Edgecomb, Jorgia Garrow, Lillian Gonzalo, Kailyn Harlow, Aiden McGuigan, Marlee Millette, Cara Nikolaus, Aiden Quaglia, Constance Russo, Emily Sheldon, Emily Valli

Grade 5 High Honor Roll

Carolyn Abernathy, Natalie George, Evelyn Heppler, Emma Mayo

Grade 5 Honor Roll

Kolton Dobson, Kahlan Gilbert, Gabriella Grogan, Zoe Harlow, Maya Jacques, Kaitlyn Linskey, Jackson Miller, Meghan Murphy, Breanne Peters, Emma-Lee Place, Blake Spina, Madysen Sweet, Jake Wolf, Brayden Yeo

Letter To The Editor

If you are considering voting yes on March 12th for a safety complex to house the police and fire departments, please consider the long-term consequences of what has been proposed. The initial cost, nearly $6 million alone, should set us all to thinking: for a town whose population has not yet reached 5000, that’s a lot of increased taxes to be borne by a relatively small number of taxpayers.

Other costs of this enterprise are not being talked about. To borrow as large an amount as $6 million over 20 years as has been proposed will exceed $2 million in interest costs. Think about that!

In addition, the $6 million does not include furnishings. Also, every year we will pay for increased operating costs for this new larger building, including maintenance, utilities, and janitorial costs.

Financially responsible taxpayers will take all of this into consideration.

Joann W. Bailey

Northwood

Letter

To my fellow Northwood citizens,

First an update on my suit. It was heard, the Select Board has admitted violating many NH RSA 91-A  laws. The judge has ordered that both sides have until Friday to submit any additional information. She will  make a final decision quickly. Thanks for your  support this, both financially and intellectually.

I am running for the selectman position for two reasons. One, is the exorbitant cathedral-like proposed safety complex. I painfully read Chief Drolet’s 600 word attack on Farmington’s bigger, better constructed,and far cheaper complex. I would ask you to remember three things. Unlike the committee in 2014, the 2018  committee did not visit any complexes. They met, I believe, three times illegally (admitted in court) over 70 days and came up with this extravaganza, spending money that you told them not to in March 2015. What the committee did not look into is far more enlightening than what was done. 

Two, is the general condition of the towns management. We are on our fourth Town Administrator in the space of 18 months  Many boards and committees are in disarray and in need of members. I’ve lost count on how many building inspectors, three or four, and other town employees that have quit or been fired. It’s a lot. It’s bad.

TC would say I’m negative. Not so. I positively believe that we can build a safety complex in Northwood that meets our needs for under $3 million. I positively believe that the issues at town hall can be remedied with compassion and management. I would never knowingly violate the 91-A laws as our selectmen did. I positively know that I will work hard for you to fix these and many other problems.

Tim Jandebeur

Northwood

CBNA Literary Magazine Receives National Recognition

National Recognition for CBNA’s Literary Magazine Paragon – Volume 22. 

Paragon, Coe-Brown Northwood Academy’s Literary/Arts magazine has received two prestigious national awards for its 2018 edition. The magazine received a Gold Medalist Certificate from The Columbia Scholastic Press Association and a designation of Excellent from the National Council of Teachers of English.  CBNA teachers Anna Hazen and Danielle Muir act as advisors for the club.

Last year’s staff included editors Alicia Baratier, Emily Cunningham and Hannah Halka, with staffers Taeva Ahern, Emily Buehne, Madison Cunningham and Jocelyn Gagnon. Literary works and visual art were submitted by students school wide, then the student staff selected the pieces to be included and designed the pages for the 52 page publication.

Congratulations to all of the talented CBNA students who contributed to Paragon’s success.

Letter To The Editor

Northwood Public Safety Complex 

SMP Architect Firm developed the $6 Million plan and cost estimate including contingencies with Cornerstone Construction Management Company that was presented on February 3, 2019 during the Northwood Deliberative Session. lf the voters approve Article 2 ($5,975,000.00 Bond as the spending limit) then the final design will proceed. Building structure estimates are usually more straight forward and easier to figure out than the below ground surface site work estimate. 

Concerns about the contingency money for the safety complex are a concern for the taxpayers. For example: Sitework- one does not know exactly what is below the ground surface. Contingency money might not be enough to cover unknown items such as possible contaminated soils, poor water quality, low percolation rates, ledge, etc. I am not sure what programs for soil explorations are planned. Other cost items include permits for access and development to meet State of NH DOT and NH DES requirements. No one knows for sure if the contingency money allocated is adequate. 

At this point in time, it would be wise to vote “No” for Article 2. Next, review the proposed plans to eliminate any possible items and research for unknown costs. Do you remember the first meeting for the Safety Complex last Fall? It was stated; no more money would be spent than the $6 Million Bond or cuts would need to be made. 

Respectfully, 

Mark Morrill 

Northwood

Letter To The Editor

Final Thoughts

Four weeks ago, I had the pleasure of joining Police Chief Drolet on a visit to the Farmington Public Safety Complex that has become the point of comparison with the facility we have on the drawing board.

While much of the visit dealt with the physical plant - what they have and what we hope to have to house these two departments, I also had the opportunity to talk with Police Chief Drury about some less tangible aspects of the project.

He had started with the Farmington force some years ago, and when he rose to become chief, began to actively advocate for this project. It took about eight years to convince the Selectmen and the citizens that new facilities were needed.

Fortunately, the Select Board began to set aside money each year that significantly reduced the bond amount - another reason why their bond is lower than what we contemplate.

In the meantime, he said, there were days when he didn’t want to return to work in the run-down old police station.

Apparently, over the years, a number of his officers felt the same way - coming as rookies and leaving when a better job came along.

We have seen this happen in Northwood.

Now, he said, he likes coming to work, and instead of being a “donor department,” he has been able to hire talent from other departments.

On leaving, a framed copy of The Puddledock Press (think Suncook Sun) from March, 2017, caught my eye: “March 3rd Set for the Big Move to the New Safety Building.”  The article concludes, “The new facilities will give us all something to be proud of and help make us all safer.”

Tom Chase

Northwood

Letter To The Editor

Five years ago, I was trying to build youth lacrosse in the community.  I had a parent volunteer to help coach our “Bear Cub” lacrosse program, he introduced himself as Matt Frye and instantly made a positive impact with the kids and parents. This is a group of four- and five-year old kids that don’t have long attention spans.  Matt surveyed the situation, recruited additional parent support and brought everyone together to create a fun and positive experience.

I’ve gotten to know Matt as a person and friend over the last five years and this is exactly how he operates. Matt also volunteers as a Cub Scout pack leader and dedicates time and energy into the Friends of Northwood Recreation and Northwood Recreation Commission, where he is constantly looking for ways to create more opportunities for everyone in our town to come together.

Matt genuinely cares about the community we live in and the people that make it up. He understands that our community is built by a mix of people with different backgrounds and beliefs and that we ultimately want all of our voices heard.  Matt listens, he doesn’t judge or make things political, and he cares. He truly cares about making this community better and that’s why I know he would be a perfect addition to the Board of Selectmen. 

Introduce yourself to Matt the next time you see him, you won’t regret it. Vote for Matthew Frye, Board of Selectmen on March 12th.

Sincerely,

Ryan P. Hanavan

Letter To The Editor

Giving far too much benefit of the doubt, here I make the following observations related to Chief Drolet’s numbers regarding the Farmington safety complex comparability.

Using Drolet’s numbers, the proposed price we are looking at for Northwood is at least 1 to 2 million dollars more than other comparable projects in the area suggest. Farmington has become a comparison because it became apparent to some concerned residents that the six million dollar project being boosted was faulty.

For starters, Drolet and the BOS did not even look at Farmington as an example to learn from.(Actually there are others that offer lessons also). But let’s stick to Farmington. Of course there are differences: land cost, site work, location access requirements, and these do add to the Farmington cost scenario (and just perhaps these are exacerbated by a poor site choice in Northwood). But not $3,000,000 more.

Farmington started with a realistic grasp of what they could afford, not allowing the tail to wag the dog. The dog in this case being the most possibility that was affordable not a design first without hard dollar constraints. Contingency money of some $800,000 should be virtually non-existent. The proposed design/build should have a confident number that the Builder can live with and the taxpayers of Northwood not be hung with.

This was not an upfront, community-visible project from the get go. The police chief, who is sworn to uphold the law, has never expressed his concern with what has become an illegal process, violating numerous RSA’s - the first and foremost concern, though, lay with the BOS’s lack of due diligence.

The reason these RSA’s exist is to enable the best government possible (even when we don’t deserve it…).

We need to start over and do it right.

Joseph McCaffrey,

Northwood