Candia News : Kids & Family

Summer rec program cut

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:57:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

Candia officials say it could be the end of the road for the decades-old summer recreation program after rising fuel costs and a lean budget year made selectmen give the program the axe.

Selectmen Chairman Fred Kelley said the program, which had been budgeted at about $20,000, was not included in the final run-through of the budget approved by voters in March.

He said the cut was prompted in part by rising gasoline costs, and at the time, officials were budgeting for fuel with an expected price of about $3 per gallon.

Kelley pointed out that since then, fuel costs have risen even higher. As of June 21, most regular fuel in the Candia area was selling for close to $4 a gallon, while diesel approached $4.70. Kelley said there is no guarantee the program will be re-slated for next year due to the unpredictability of the current market.

“It’s hard to say, and with the economy the way it is, we don’t really know,” he said. “The price of a lot of things has gone out of sight, and no one in Candia has a lot of extra money.”

Former selectman James Brennan, who resigned from the board earlier this year due to a move to Manchester, said the loss of the program could mean a summer of little to do for the dozens of children who had been looking forward to the program.

Brennan said he attended the program himself at age 6, working his way up to a paid counselor position when he was in his teens and later becoming director.

Brennan said the program typically had around 75 children enrolled, but it peaked at about 120 during his years as director. The six-week program, which specialized in team games such as rounders, flag football and capture the flag, was expected to cost $275 this year, he said.

After signs became clear that the program was not going to continue this year, Brennan said he hoped to organize a similar program through the nearby Candia Youth Athletic Association. But he said this option never panned out because of concern over insurance and liability. “I tried my hardest to get the Candia Youth Athletic Association to pick up the ball, but I can’t blame them for not wanting to,” he said. “They were afraid of unseen liability and didn’t want to get sued ... so I can’t be upset with them.”

Ultimately, he said it will probably be up to voters to decide if the program returns or not.

“When the correct budget was not voted in, things had to be cut,” he said. “I can’t say if it will be back next year, but if it is I guarantee it will be like starting all over again.”

Liquid Planet opens to positive reviews

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:32:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

The June 7 free day at the Liquid Planet Water Park drew hundreds of residents to a new attraction that many local families say they’ll be coming back to.

“It’s small enough, it’s clean, and I think we’ll be going for the season pass,” said Rhonda Thyng, Candia School Board member and mother of four.

“It really killed me to see the lifeguards in the splash area with huge life preservers when the water was only, what, 2 feet deep or something like that?” said her husband, Clark. “But I guess it’s better to be too safe. The really good thing is that this is going to bring a lot of people to our town, and they’ll also be buying gas and eating in our restaurants.”

Rhonda and Clark Thyng were among the more than 500 people who turned out for the park’s official “dry run.” The official ribboncutting for the park’s first official opening day for the general public is Saturday, June 14.

On June 4, Candia Planning Board members told building inspector Bill Hallock and park owner Kevin Dumont that the occupancy permit for the park could be issued, and by the time of the June 7 free day, the town’s biggest seasonal attraction was more than 90 percent complete.

Some minor changes were made to the site in comparison with the site plan the Planning Board approved last year, but Hallock said these were due to ledge at the site, a common problem in many Candia construction projects. The position of the park’s two large water slides had to be changed from an east-west to a north-south orientation, and the main entrance building, originally designed straight, was built with a chevron-shape.

While a few landscaping touches still remained on June 7, residents appeared oblivious to the few bare patches of ground and instead focused their attention on the spray ground. Scores of children and adults gathered around the playground-type amusements as water shot in all directions, and numerous lifeguards and staff members could be observed supervising the scene throughout the day.

“Everything so far is great, and the staff is very attentive too,” said local mother Stacy McKissick, who went to the park with her 6-year-old daughter, Sarah. “She can meet up with her friends here, and the size of the crowd is just perfect.”

Nearby, Sarah seemed excited at the prospect of having a water park in her own hometown. “It’s great! I really like the big orange slide,” she said. “But when I went down the tube slide and landed in the pool, it was so cold!”

Local father Joe Vallaincourt agreed. “It’s really nice, very family- oriented,” he said. “So far, it seems very good.”

Nicole Ferron, a Candia mother, said the park’s modest size makes it relatively easy to keep track of her children, age 3 through 8, as they played at the spray ground.

“It’s so small that you really can see everything, and it seems like it is geared toward smaller kids,” she said.

Staff members across the park reported no major incidents that day, with the few issues being some older children who were issued warnings not to run and some disappointed younger children who did not meet the 4- foot minimum for the big slides. Dumont explained that because the splash-down pool itself is 4 feet deep, regulations dictate that the slide riders also have to be at least 4 feet tall.

Dumont said the park’s ribbon- cutting is scheduled for Friday, June 13, with the first official day of public admission to follow on June 14. The park will be open until Sept. 1, he said, and one new attraction might be added every year or two.

Jesse Remington students host Colonial Faire

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:22:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

British Redcoats opened fire on local residents in an incident that many say will mark the beginning of a revolt of epic proportions.

This recreation of the historic Boston Massacre of 1770 was one of many historical events that was recreated in real life by local youth and staff members of Jesse Remington High School. The school’s Colonial Faire was the result of more than a month’s worth of research for dozens of students at the small private Christian school, and May 17th’s warm summertime weather provided the perfect backdrop of comfort for the many area residents who attended the event.

Among those who took part were JRHS student Zachariah Horton, 14, who played the role of famous “midnight rider” Paul Revere. Horton pointed out that although most Americans know Revere helped to raise the alarm against the British during the famous April 1775 ride, few are aware that he didn’t actually make it as far as he was supposed to.

“He was assigned to ride to Lexington and Concord to warn against the British troops, and he was also supposed to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming,” he said. “But between Lexington and Concord, he got captured by the British, and he later had to walk all the way back without his horse.”

Nearby, JRHS senior Jacob Cross took on the guise of frontiersman Daniel Boone and recreated a historic scene from the founding of Fort Watauga, which is in present day Tennessee.

The fort, built in 1775, helped to defend Colonial settlers from raids by Native Americans.

Cross said he had long been an admirer of early American settlers, adding that he had been looking forward to playing the part of his hero.

“When I was growing up, Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone were always my favorite characters,” he said. “I really wish I could have lived back then. It was an amazing time.”

While Colonial Americans figured prominently, other students also took on the role of British Redcoats, who remained loyal to the king, and JRHS professor Ray Cresswell adopted a Tutonic accent and stepped into the shoes of a famous German who played a role in “whipping the patriots into shape.” Cresswell portrayed Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a veteran German military figure who helped train Gen. George Washington’s troops at Valley Forge, Pa.

Cresswell said that without the famous baron, who was legendary for both his skill and his angry outbursts, it may well have taken much longer for the United States to rid itself of the oppressive British.

“Through the help of Benjamin Franklin, he got a position offered to him by Washington to train the troops, and he actually arrived here in New Hampshire, in Portsmouth, in 1777, before making his way to Valley Forge,” Cresswell said. “He whipped the American ‘rabble’ into a fine fighting unit.”

The Colonial Faire is one of a series of four historical re-creations that JRHS students perform annually. Other events in the series, which alternate each year, also focus on the Victorian era, medieval Europe and the American 20th century.

Long-time coach leaves lasting impression

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:55:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Sides is stepping away from the sideline ... again.

The current Henry W. Moore School soccer coach – and former high school and college women’s basketball coach – will again try to retire from both teaching and coaching after an unsuccessful attempt in 2000.

It was then that Julie Cusson, whom Sides mentored on an AAU team and at New England College in the 1980s, pulled him back into the coaching ranks as an assistant for the Southern New Hampshire University women’s basketball team.

“The thing is, he really relates well to the kids and really teaches basic fundamentals,” said Cusson. “He’s fun to play for. He respects you as players, and you respect him as a coach.

And he knows the game. If he tells you to do it and you do it successfully, you win.”

While Sides said championships aren’t as important as the effort of his athletes, he sports four Tri-County soccer crowns – with three boys teams and one girls team – in addition to a state championship while coaching the Central girls basketball team in the mid- 1990s. He earned four more Little Green titles as an assistant coach in the ’70s.

He’s also led dozens of successful youth and AAU teams.

“I’ve had a long and storied career,” he quipped. “But walking away is emotional in that I’ve coached some great kids and worked with some fine athletes and individuals at many levels.”

“I’ve made many friends through people I’ve coached and am still in contact with many of them,” he continued. “And now they’re making other great athletes and people for a whole new generation.”

Departing after leading the Candia girls to a championship, Sides said the timing is perfect. “Every athlete and coach is supposed to go out while they are still at the top of their game, and a lot don’t, but my decision to go now is because I still feel I am at the top of my game,” he said. “I wanted to make sure I am doing the best I’ve ever done the last year I’ve coached.”

Cusson, as a coach herself, said she understands her former coach’s reasoning for wanting to relax after 36 years, but added he will be missed by his past and current players, as well as those who won’t have the opportunity to learn from him.

“He knows how to explain things (to children) and get the most out of them, from college kids all the way down to elementary,” she said.

Along with time served as athletics director (AD) and assistant principal at Candia’s Moore School, Sides has also been physical education teacher since 1972.

Sides started the Candia school’s co-ed soccer program in the late 1970s and contributed various stints as boys and girls basketball, baseball and soccer coach.

Michelle Lavallee, who also coaches and is in her second year as the Moore School AD, said she sees the impact Sides has on children every day he arrives at work.

“Ed is extremely passionate about coaching. He reaches out to all his players and motivates them to become better players and people,” she said. “Ed is very knowledgeable, and … he has been a mentor and a role model (to me as a new coach). Not only does he spend time coaching, but he will take time to attend other sports activities to support the kids.”

The formula for success isn’t difficult to obtain, said Sides. Each year he has one initial message for those at his first practice: “A lot of kids are at home playing video games, but you’re here sweating your rear off. If you can look in the mirror and say you did all you could do, no one is going to ask any more of you.”

Sports, he said, serves as a microcosm of what happens outside the lines as well. “It’s not just soccer skills and basketball skills, but life lessons I want to teach them,” he added. “I wouldn’t have done it (all these) years if I didn’t think that’s true.”

“I’ll miss coaching, there’s no doubt about it, and I’ll miss teaching, too.”