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This online
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FAREWELL,
LUCINDA |
| With gratitude and sadness,
we say our reluctant goodbyes to Lucinda Kerivan,
who has been such an integral part of the
Strafford Community Calendar staff for the
past 22 years, serving as editor for most of
that time. She is only leaving the Calendar,
not Strafford, so following her nature, we know
she will always be a generous contributor to
this and other projects around Strafford that
interest her. And if her life ever slows down at
all, we would be pleased to see her rejoin the
Calendar staff. It has been a supreme
pleasure working with Lucinda. We continue to
call her our friend and collaborator, as we wish
her many happy and peaceful days. |
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-The Calendar
Staff
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P.S. See
“About the Calendar”
for new submission guidelines. |
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ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
The Strafford Women’s Club is offering scholarships to
full-time, graduating high school seniors who are residents
of Strafford. Scholarship Application Forms will be
available after February 15 at Coe-Brown’s Guidance
Department or mailed upon request by calling Lucinda Kerivan
at 664-9200. Deadline for submission of Applications is
April 30. |
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SUPERVISORS OF THE
CHECKLIST
The Supervisors of the Checklist will be sitting on
Saturday, February 27, 2010, from 11 to 11:30 a.m. at Town
Hall for corrections and additions to the checklist. Change
of party will be accepted at this time. No additions or
corrections shall be made to the checklist after this
session until election day, March 9, 2010. If you are not
registered by election day, you will not be eligible to vote
at either School District Meeting or Town Meeting. |
STRAFFORD SCHOOL BOARD NEWS
The Strafford School Board is painfully aware of the
economic difficulties many of our community members are
presently experiencing. In light of the anticipated costs to
address our building needs, the Strafford School Board and
Strafford School Administrators spent many meetings and
hours working diligently to reduce the proposed Strafford
School budget for the 2010-2011 school year. The goal of the
School Board was to reduce the proposed budget to reflect a
“ZERO Percent” increase from last year‘s budget. We
met this goal and even exceeded it by a small amount,
despite a significant rise in health insurance costs and a
4.5% tuition increase for our Coe Brown students.
The Strafford School Board has contracted the
services of Kelly Davis from Davis Goudreau Architects and
Bonnette, Page and Stone Corporation to address the needs of
our school building. Please visit the Strafford School
website to read more about these two firms. Both the
Strafford School Board and the Strafford School Building
Committee have been working on developing the most
cost-effective plan possible to meet our building needs. We
welcome your support, as we work together to bring this plan
to fruition. |
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Important Dates
* BOND HEARING *
To consider incurring indebtedness for additions
and renovations to the Strafford School
Wednesday - February 10, 2010, 7:00 PM
Strafford School Cafeteria
* PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING
*
To begin immediately following the Bond Hearing
To review and approve the 2010-2011 School Budget
* Snow Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010
* SCHOOL DISTRICT
MEETING *
Wednesday - March 10, 2010, 7:00 PM
Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, Gerrish Gym
907 First NH Turnpike, Northwood, NH 03261
Snow Date: Thursday, March 11, 2010 |
TOWN PUBLIC HEARING
A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, February 9,
2010, at 6:30 p.m. at the Strafford Town Hall for review of
the proposed budget and certain warrant articles to be voted
on at the March 13, 2010 Town Meeting. Storm date is
Thursday, February 11, 2010. |
STRAFFORD GARDEN CLUB
Evening Division
CALLING ALL CUPIDS
The evening garden club will be hosting a seminar on
flower arrangements. Heidi Mathews will be demonstrating how
to make a VALENTINES arrangement. Participants will be able
to make their own arrangements and share it with their loved
ones. Please join us on Monday, February 8, at 6:30 p.m. at
the Grange Hall. There will be a materials fee of $15.00,
and we ask that you RSVP by Friday, February 5 to
bstruthers@metrocast.net or 664-9696. All are welcome to
come, and we look forward to seeing you.
Day Division
Some of our members emerged from winter hibernation to
enjoy the excellent food they found at Concord’s Angelina’s
Restaurant at the Club’s January luncheon. Their jovial
companionship finds them already looking forward to the next
luncheon which will be on Tuesday, February 9. Time and
place have not yet been set so be alert for more information
via email or the telephone tree. For those who are still in
a gardening mode, remember to check out those gardening
books we gave to the Library last year. They may help to
shorten these winter months until we can dig again. |
STRAFFORD TOWN DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
Tickets are on sale now for the third annual St.
Patrick’s Day fundraising dinner at the Bow Lake Grange Hall
on Saturday, March 6, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. This festive
event is shaping up to be the hit of the season, featuring a
traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner with all the
trimmings, including home-baked Irish soda bread and
Watergate cake. Vegetarian option available. BYOB. Diners
will be treated to Celtic entertainment. Tickets are $15
each or two for $25, available by calling Representative Bob
Perry at 269-4651, or from any committee member. Advance
ticket purchases are recommended, as space is limited. Come
join us for a fun and inspiring evening with good food, good
conversation, raffles, music and more. The evening’s theme
includes a tip of the hat to famous Democrats and the late
Senator Edward Kennedy.In February,
celebrate Groundhog Day by venturing out of your cabin to go
to the monthly meeting of the Strafford Town Democrats on
Tuesday, February 2, at 7 p.m. at Hill Library – a great way
to find out what’s happening in the local political scene.
Last month, the committee enjoyed a potluck dinner and
social evening at the home of Joe and Kelli Cicirelli. Visit
the Strafford Town Democrats online at
www.strafforddems.org. |
COMMUNITY KITCHEN AT THIRD BAPTIST CHURCH
The Community Kitchen at Third
Baptist Church in Center Strafford (junction of Routes 126
and 202A) welcomes you to a free homemade dinner from 5 to 6:30
p.m. every Wednesday. Come and enjoy this fine meal brought to you by
our wonderful team of volunteers. |
WOMEN'S BREAKFAST
The Bow Lake Church is pleased to extend an invitation
to all community women to come together for a monthly pot
luck breakfast. This gathering is designed for women of all
ages to enjoy the fellowship of one another as well as
giving the opportunity, through the easy channel of food, to
become better acquainted. There is no charge, no homework,
no deadline and no lists, but we do ask that everyone bring
a dish to pass. Each breakfast features a new (and brief)
speaker. Breakfast begins at 9 a.m. on the first Saturday of
every month in the Idlepines Room of the Church. Child care
is provided as well as place settings and beverages.
Welcome! Welcome! Come and enjoy. |
FROM CROWN POINT CHURCH
The month of February has two occasions when we may (and
should) reflect upon two important events. The first is the
anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Born in
Virginia, he rose to become the First President of the
United States. As Commander-in-Chief of the Continental
Army, he led a tremendous struggle ending in victory for the
thirteen Colonies. Later at the Constitutional Convention he
was one of the Founding Fathers in writing a Constitution
and Bill of Rights that established this Great Nation, the
United States of America.The second
occasion is remembering the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.
Among other reasons for thinking of Lincoln as one of our
greatest Presidents are the Proclamation that freed the
slaves and the struggle to keep this same Great Nation from
being divided.
During this month the Pastor will also be
remembering in his Sunday messages some of the Biblical
Fathers of Old. We invite you to come for worship and
fellowship with us Sundays at 9:00 a.m. |
STRAFFORD FIRE & RESCUE
by Lt. Tod C. Rix
As another year and decade have come to a close and a new
one has begun, the members of Strafford Fire & Rescue would
like to thank the community for their continued support.
We’d also like to thank the families and friends of our
dedicated members who support our efforts, often sacrificing
as much time as our members do in an effort to keep
Strafford safe.The past decade
brought some unprecedented incidents for Strafford Fire &
Rescue such as a tornado in neighboring Northwood and
Barnstead, severe flooding, and the ice storm of 2008. The
“Neighbors Helping Neighbors” on the side of all of our
trucks is an everyday philosophy and mission but never more
so during those extreme circumstances. Again, we thank the
citizens of Strafford for their support during those
incidents; the community support for our efforts was
essential.
Moving forward, the focus for Strafford
Fire & Rescue in 2010 and beyond will be training for our
personnel. We are happy to report that 5 members will be
graduating Firefighter Level I (which we have hosted) this
winter, a nationally recognized training program in the
basics of firefighting. It is our plan to host Firefighter
Level II this spring, as well as sending some of our members
to EMT class and EMT-I (Intermediate) for more advanced EMS
skills in 2010.
As a final note for February, Strafford
Fire & Rescue has secured a Federal grant (Fire Act Grant)
through FEMA for personal protective equipment. The grant is
for roughly $34,000.00 and will provide us with new fire
gear, boots, helmets, protective hoods, protective goggles,
gloves, and 2 additional thermal imagining cameras. Thank
you again for your continued support from all of the members
of Strafford Fire & Rescue. |
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BASEBALL/SOFTBALL
REGISTRATION
SAVE THE DATE—DON’T BE LATE!!
Three Days to Sign Up
March 4, 6 and 11, 2010
It’s time to register your
Strafford kids, ages 5 and up, interested in playing
recreational T-Ball, softball or baseball. The first
registration date is Thursday, March 4, at Strafford School
from 6-8pm. You may also sign up at Barrington Middle School
on Saturday, March 6, from 9am-noon and Thursday, March 11,
from 6-8pm. Please register by March 11—we need to determine
the number of teams (based on registered kids) by mid-March,
and late sign-ups can result in overcrowded teams with less
playing time for each child. Thanks for your cooperation!
For kids new to the program,
Strafford plays through the Barrington Youth Association (BYA).
For new players, please make sure to bring your child’s
birth certificate to registration to be reviewed by League
officials. For more information, see BYA’s website at
www.byanh.org.
Fees for the 2010 season are: Instructional (ages 5-6) $50;
Rookie (ages 7-10) $70; Cal Ripken baseball and 12U softball
(10-12) $80; and Babe Ruth baseball and 16U softball (ages
13-16) $85. |
STRAFFORD SWAMP STOMPERS
We hope to finally get enough snow to groom the trails
and get back out riding, assuming we have had the January
thaw. Our second annual Bonfire is scheduled for Saturday,
February 6, at 5:00 p.m. at the home of our Club President,
Shawn Barry. There will be grilled burgers, dogs, chicken,
and all the trimmings, as well as Caryn’s World Famous
Chili. If you snowmobile, this is a great time to talk with
other enthusiasts, get out of cooking and enjoy some family
time. Plan to attend as last year’s proved to be a great
time for all. Please RSVP to any of the members listed on
the website. We will keep you posted on the website for
further info.Our next meeting is
scheduled for Thursday, February 11, at Nippo Lake Golf
Club. We are hoping to have the February social be a “club
ride” if the weather cooperates. Again, check out the
website for continuous updates. It is great to see new faces
at the meetings, and we encourage anyone interested in
participating to attend any of our club functions. You are
always welcome!!
If you are unable to attend the meetings
but would like to know what is happening in the Club, you
can email Shawn Barry at
shawn@straffordswampstompers.org or check out the
website
www.straffordswampstompers.org. Shawn does a great job
on the website. |
CONSERVATION NOTES
There is more good conservation news to report. In the
last weeks of December, Steve and Elaine Pike signed the
documents to permanently protect 38 acres of their property
up on Crown Point Road with a donated conservation easement.
Their well managed forest land runs along 2000 feet of
undeveloped frontage of the Berry River, and foot and paw
prints in the snow give a good indication of the critters
who are enjoying both the woodland and riverfront habitats.
We humans can also continue our scenic enjoyment of 400 feet
of protected frontage along the road. Extinguishing the
development rights on their property is a generous gift, and
we thank Steve and Elaine for helping protect wildlife
habitat, water quality, and the rural atmosphere here in
Strafford! MORE... |
LIBRARY LINES
Free popcorn! Come out for a family movie night (see
below). Weather Advisory: During bad weather, please call
664 2800 to be sure the Library is open.
Preschool and early readers, come on
out for Story Hour every first and third Thursday at 2 p.m.
Preschool through early elementary age children are welcome
to “Read Across America” in a combination
literature/geography class at 2 p.m. every second and fourth
Thursday.
MORE... |
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NEW HOPE
An Evangelical Free Church
“To Know the God of the Bible and to make the God of the
Bible known.”
P.O. Box 60
(545 First New Hampshire Turnpike)
Northwood, NH 03261
942-7729
www.newhopenorthwood.com
Sunday, February 21st,
6pm Study at New Hope—
"The Testing of Your Faith.”
A twelve-part series that
will help answer the questions: “Where is God during
tests, trials and the difficulties of life? Why do bad
things happen to good people? Why do difficulties
happen? If God is a God of love, why does He allow these
things to happen?” This study will consist of both video
and discussion.
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Click
here for News from the Town Clerk |
THE COMMUNITY PANTRY
AT THIRD BAPTIST CHURCH
from Ida Scribner
A very sincere thank you to all of you for donations, both
personal and from clubs, during the Holiday Season. Your
thoughtfulness and generosity is very much appreciated. I
would like to take this opportunity to also thank the
volunteers who are so faithful each week to assist filling
grocery bags and re-stock shelves. God bless each of you. |
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