Letter
To all
taxpayers,
Certain
large corporations have made it a business practice to pay their
employees as little as they can by law, the minimum wage, $7.25.
Others pay very close to the minimum, say, $7.50 or $8. These are
typically in retail, fast-food, and other service jobs.
Full-time workers at these wages are typically eligible for Federal
and State benefits. A May 2013 report by the Democratic staff of the
U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce estimated a
taxpayer cost of $3,015 per Walmart employee because of Walmart
workers’ reliance on taxpayer funded programs. That's BILLIONS of
dollars per year.
The
owners of this business are raking in obscene profits. If Sam
Walton’s heirs actually worked for their Walmart dividend checks,
they would be handed $1.5 million every hour. (This calculation is
based on share ownership data from Walmart’s 2014 filings and
Walmart’s declared FY 2015 dividend of $1.92 per share).
In
America, you're supposed to make money if you own a successful
business. However, you're not supposed to rely on government help to
do it.
Call
your legislators! Raise the minimum wage!
Cindy
Perkins,
Pittsfield
Kelsie The Cow Gets A Pedicure
Submitted By Carole Soule
Hoof trimming contraption for cattle without horns
at Split Acres Farm in Epsom.
Trimming hooves in the squeeze chute at Miles Smith Farm.
Kelsie's hoof with nippers.
Kelsie
struggled a bit in the squeeze chute as she settled in for her
yearly pedicure. With a rope attached below her “dew claws,” we
gently lifted her hoof, fastening the line to a bar at the top of
the chute so that we could safely trim her long hooves. Most of our
cattle don't need hoof pedicures, but Kelsie was one of the few in
our herd who needed this treatment.
Cattle
have cloven hoofs with two dew claws above the hooves that help give
the cow traction. Cattle forage for a living and rely on their
feet to carry them to the tastiest grass or, in winter, hay. Just
like humans, cattle don't like to walk if their feet hurt or their
toes overlap. (Each half of a cloven hoof is really a toe that is
mostly toe nail.) Long, untrimmed toes can make walking painful and
inhibit their foraging. The less they eat, the thinner they get, and
nobody wants a skinny cow. Some of our cattle naturally trim their
hooves just by walking. Others, like Kelsie, need some spa time.
Cattle
are terrified of falling, so they don't like to stand on three legs
while we suspend the fourth. To help alleviate this fear, we press
the sides of the squeeze chute against their sides. It's kind of a
cage with adjustable metal sides. You might have seen a squeeze
chute in the 2010 movie “Temple Grandin” in which that brilliant
medical researcher demonstrated the calming effect of pressure.
Squeezing comforts the cow and assures her she won't fall.
Our
squeeze chute has a “headlock” that can gently hold the cow's head
steady so she won't thrash about. But because Scottish Highlander
cattle have long horns, we can't use the headlock, so we hold the
cow steady with a halter.
Cattle
farms often hire a professional hoof trimmer who will arrive at the
farm with a contraption that lifts the cow onto her side for easy
access to her feet. Then they use a tool that looks like a sander to
rasp away the excess hoof. It's a quick, painless way to trim, but
unfortunately the arrangement doesn't work with horned cattle. The
cow has to lie flat on the tilted bed and she can't if she has
horns. It would be like a person trying to lie in bed with a
sombrero on. Without the cow and her hooves secured in a
horizontal position, it's hard to get a good angle and the right
leverage for using the sander. Besides that, the cow would probably
pull her foot away from the vibration. So we use a hoof-cutting
device that resembles a huge pair of pliers.
It only
took about fifteen minutes to trim each of Kelsie's hooves.
Thankfully, out of sixty-two cattle in our herd, just four cows
needed a pedicure this year. Kelsie's hooves look perfect now, ready
to take her all over in pursuit of that nonstop munching with
friends that cattle enjoy so much. Maybe next time she'd like to go
for stunning look-at-me hooves with some red and racy polish from
Chanel.
Carole
Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm. She can be reached at
[email protected].
Pittsfield Listens Welcomes New Team Member
Pittsfield Listens is thrilled to
welcome our newest team member, Amanda Pawlik, as Youth Organizer!
As an
artist and educator, her dedication will take Pittsfield Youth Voice
in it Together (PYViiT) to new heights this year. Amanda brings a
passion for exploring stories from many perspectives and giving
voice to those who need it most. Amanda is excited to meld her
experience in the arts with the work of Pittsfield Listens in
deepening the mission to encourage underrepresented youth, parent,
family, and community voice on issues and policies that directly
affect their educations and lives.
If
you're a high-school aged young person interested in joining PYViiT,
or if you're interested in intergenerational partnership building-
send Amanda an email
[email protected] or swing on by our office
at 74 Main Street in Pittsfield, in the Pittsfield Community
Development Center. Welcome, Amanda!
Letter To The Editor
Select
Board Meeting 1/8/19
PD
veteran Sgt. DiGeorge was recognized for receiving the Silver Star
for Bravery & Life Saving Award from Chief Collins. Last March
Sgt. DiGeorge was first on scene at a fire and heard ammunition
exploding inside. He found two people outside. One attempted to go
back into the burning house but was stopped and literally carried
through deep snow to safety by DiGeorge. Joe Collins took over the
position of Chief long after the event, but when made aware of the
circumstances felt this recognition was deserved and overdue. The
BoS feel our present police force is exemplary and events like this
serve to reinforce that opinion.
Town
Meeting Warrant (approx. an 8 pg ballot printed both sides with 32
questions) was reviewed article by article. This year being the
first since the town elected to adopt SB2, it’ll be the first time
every question will appear on the ballot. There is no “town meeting”
as we’ve known it, rather a “deliberative session” Feb. 4 where
residents can amend articles, but no final vote will be taken. The
BoS is concerned that voters may not have opportunity to familiarize
themselves with every issue on the ballot and encourage every voter
to do as much research in advance as possible.
Planning board and budget committee recommendations will appear at
the end of each question, as appropriate, and the select board
recommendation will be on every article, because we feel voters have
the right to know where their elected officials stand. Remember they
are recommendations only, and everyone should vote their conscience.
The ballot can be reviewed at town hall and on our website
prior to election day and any member of the board of selectmen is
happy to discuss questions voters have- just call.
Carl
Anderson
In loving memory of Craig “Stubby” St. Laurent
March 29, 1969 – January 10, 2018. You will always be in our hearts.
The St.
Laurent Family
Letter
To the
Good Citizens of Pittsfield,
Went to
a planning board public hearing the other night to hear and give
input on the selectmen's zoning proposals and the proposal to repeal
zoning. Thanks to our Board of Selectmen for challenging the steady
drumbeat of more zoning laws. Selectman Carl Anderson did a good job
explaining how some of the past new laws had really gone too far in
removing more of our property rights. He convinced everybody in the
room, except the majority of the planning board, that some of their
laws are not legally defendable.
When it
came my turn to explain my desire to repeal zoning, I hit them with
climate change, and if we wanted to do anything about it, we would
have to reduce our energy burn by as much as 70%.
Homelessness up 10% in two years, statewide. 100,000 Americans dead
in one year because of drugs and suicide. And now we are going to
put Teen Challenge through the zoning board and they did not have a
lawyer the last meeting. I'm worried for them.
On
another note, the planning board seems to think the biggest problem
with Pittsfield is the number of rental units. I seem to think our
biggest problem is the way the state funds our school. When you
control the land, you control the people. If you are not growing,
you are dying.
Dan the
Stoneman
Letter To The Editor
If ever
there was an ideal “New Year’s Resolution” for the believer, it
would be Philippians 3:10, “that I may know Him and the power of His
resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed
to His death.” Paul had been walking with Christ for 30 years, yet
he was “resolved” to know Him better! He didn’t want to know more
about Him. He wanted the most intimate (heartfelt) relationship with
the Lord that he could have.
On his
way to Damascus Paul (Saul) first met the risen Savior, in the power
of His Resurrection! This is where Paul’s hope was! “If Christ is
not risen, [our] faith is futile; and [we] are still in our sins!”
To know the power of His Resurrection is to believe in all He has
done on our behalf, that we may enjoy perfect fellowship with Him
through His renewing, sanctifying power. “If any man be in Christ,
He is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all
things have become new” (I Corinthians 5:17). Paul, because of his
belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ, was sealed with the
Holy Spirit, fully equipped unto every good work. This was the only
qualification necessary to live a life of godliness.
While
we cannot fully realize the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, we
can be partakers of His sufferings for the sake of the gospel, being
conformed unto His death. The Greek word for resurrection means “out
from the dead ones.” Having died to sin, may we rise in virtue of
our new life in Him! “If Christ is in you, the body is dead because
of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans
8:10). What wonder, joy and awe we can have in the hope of His
resurrection!
Always
to His glory,
Linda
Small
Pittsfield
Obituaries
Earl Warren, Jr.
Earl Warren, Jr. born January 13, 1948 passed away on
January 7th, 2019. Formally of Pittsfield, NH, Earl spent the last
few years living in Milford NH. Where he was often visited by his
brother Roy and Roy’s family, reminiscing about their childhood days
over Earl's favorite seafood dinner.
Earl
was predeceased by his father Earl Warren, Sr. and his mother Amy L.
Emerson He was also predeceased by his brother George Emerson.
Surviving family members include brothers Walter and his wife Betty
Warren, James Wesson, Fred Emerson, Roy and his wife Rosanne
Emerson, Thomas Emerson, Daniel and his wife Ruth Emerson. Sisters
Hazel Emerson, Amy and her husband Michael Eastman and many nieces
and nephews.
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