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Letters
Region
Obituaries
Abstract Paintings & Tribal Masks Exhibition At New Hampshire Antique Co-Op
Now on view through May 31, 2020
Congregational Church Stays Connected
During the suspension of in-person activities in light of the Covid-19 situation, the Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC has a variety of ways for members and others to connect with church programs. This is especially important during April as Holy Week and Easter are on the horizon.
The most up-to-date information about church activities can be found on the church’s website (ccamherst.org) or by calling the church office at 673-3231. Sunday services are broadcast on FacebookLive and recorded for later on-line viewing. Services are followed by a Virtual Fellowship Hour. Links for these and other events can be found on the website.
The church’s Facebook page is another source of information, including updates and video messages from the pastors. Pastors Maureen Frescott and Kate Kennedy are available to provide pastoral care during this time, and the church welcomes community members to connect with this loving, serving, open and affirming community of faith.
Lorraine Alice Hamilton
AMHERST – Lorraine Alice Hamilton of Amherst, New Hampshire, Beach Haven, New Jersey and Rancho Mirage, California died June 14, 2020 from pancreatic cancer at her home in California. She was 73 years old and a participant in the trial of a new cancer drug at NYU Langone in New York City since April 2019. She hoped that results from the trial would improve care for other patients who develop this cancer. She was with her family when she died and was
Donald Richard Haaker
Donald Richard Haaker, 80, born June 2, 1940, son of Carl E Haaker and Jeanne LaRochelle Haaker of Fitchburg, MA, son, brother, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, peacefully passed away on Sunday, June 7, 2020 at Saint Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, MA.
Don, as he was affectionately referred to by friends, and Dad or Grandpa by family, was a proud veteran, avid fisherman, former business owner, collector of “As Seen On TV” gadgets, and
Letters
Amherst School Board
School Board Welcomes Staff, Teachers & Students
To the editor:
Welcome Back
By the time you are reading this, students will be back to school, having completed their first few days! It was a busy and sometimes chaotic summer but thanks to the hard work of our building administrators, facilities team, and volunteers, all our buildings are ready to welcome back students on August 31st. The Re-opening Task Force worked diligently on a plan for the start of our new school year this summer, developing a matrix of local data to help guide our current status level. That matrix can be found on the https://www.sau39.org/ SAU 39 homepage. The Amherst School Board approved the task force’s plan with a few minor modifications. The first modification allows for anyone who begins school remotely through VLACS to take advantage of a designated federally funded liaison position; this liaison will help keep students connected to what is happening at their local school. The second modification will require that both students and staff wear masks when the school is in yellow status (previously it was just students too young to be vaccinated). The elementary and middle school will begin the year in yellow status with masks required for all in the building. Any student who requires a medical exemption from a mask will simply need to provide a doctor’s note.
Joint Facilities Advisory Committee Update
The Amherst School Board, after hearing recommendations from the Joint Facilities Advisory Committee (JFAC), voted to approve a design for the proposed elementary school. Notably, the school will feature a two story building on the existing Wilkins site and maintain the existing multi-purpose room. The JFAC also made recommendations regarding a site and civil engineering firm and a construction management firm. Tighe and Bond has been selected as the site and civil engineer. DEW Construction has been selected as the construction management firm.
Public forums have been scheduled and are on the SAU calendar found at SAU39.org. The first will be held on October 12 at 6:30 (moved from the initially scheduled September 23 date) in the Wilkins Elementary School MPR. We invite you to learn about the proposed project for a new elementary building, as well as the renovation project to the Amherst Middle School. Information regarding the projectcan be found at HYPERLINK “https://jfac.sau39.org/” https://jfac.sau39.org.
Volunteer Policy:
A reminder that our schools now have a new volunteer policy. Any designated volunteer (someone who plans to volunteer more than once during the school year) must complete a simple background check. The PTA, in conjunction with administration, has helped streamline the process. Simply pick up a volunteer packet at the Brick School (1 School Street), fill out the appropriate forms, bring them to the police station, complete fingerprinting, and return all forms to the Brick School with a fee of $21.25. The whole process takes no more than an hour.
Upcoming Meetings/Events:
August 31st: 1st Day of School (early dismissal for middle school students)
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September 3rd: No School Labor Day
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September 6th: No School Labor Day
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September 7th, 6pm: ASB: Souhegan Learning Commons
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September 16th, 6pm: SAU: Souhegan Learning Commons
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September 30th, 6pm: JFAC: Location TBD
Sincerely,
Tom Gauthier, Chair
Elizabeth Kuzsma, Vice Chair
Terri Behm
Josh Conklin
Victoria Parisi
Stop Forcing Urbanism on NH Towns!
To the editor:
It’s like death by 1,000 cuts — bills keep coming before the legislature which eat away, bit by bit, at local control, in hopes voters won’t notice.
Partial bills are being “thrown at the wall to see what sticks” so Sununu and Biden can take zoning and planning decisions from towns and put them squarely in the hands of state and federal governments, as we’ve already seen with Housing Appeals Board. The HAB does not exist to protect you, the homeowner, but to enable predatory developers who don’t care where and how they clutter up your town with high-density construction.
HB 154, one of many similar bills, was passed and signed by Governor, allowing more of your tax dollars to go to developers for high-density housing.
HB 132 is still in committee. If it passes, it will allow developers to more densely pack your town by reducing the required lot size to ½ acre for single-family dwellings on parcels served by town water and sewer. Please email HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us before committee session on 09/08/21.
How to stop creeping new urbanism?
Please contact your state representatives and tell them to say NO to the Biden/Sununu attempt to impose “New Urbanism” upon NH towns and to repeal the Housing Appeals Board (HB 288).
The HAB is tyrannical because it takes away your right to vote at town meeting.
Jane Aitken, Founder
BedfordResidents.com
