Concord News

Bishop Brady’s fine season stopped in state semis

2008-06-18T21:10:00Z

CONCORD – The call came with two outs and one on in the bottom of the third inning. Bishop Brady pitcher Jill Nemcovich was cruising when she reached down and grabbed some dirt. She rubbed her hand on her pants and gripped the ball.

The umpire ruled the move illegal, and the runner advanced to second. A base hit later, Brady trailed. Then an assistant coach was ejected for arguing with the umpire.

By the end of the frame, the third-seeded Lady Green Giants faced a three-run hole, and their opponent, No. 2 Portsmouth, pulled away for an 8-2 victory on Thursday, June 12.

Shawn Brechtel, Brady’s head coach, acknowledged while his players couldn’t control the officiating, they could control their play.

“Hey, we didn’t string hits together. We had our opportunities, and we didn’t take advantage,” he said.

The frustrating conclusion, however, takes nothing from a season that saw the Lady Green Giants compile a program-best 15-2 record. A 4-3 first-round win against Pembroke and a 1-0 victory over Kennett in the quarterfinals pushed Brady to the Class I state semifinals for the second time in four years.

While the Green Giants lose five seniors, including four starters, Brechtel said the future is promising.

“I only see us getting stronger. They’re going to play better, they’re going to develop, and I think we’ll be successful in the upcoming years,” he said. “It always helps when you have depth in your program, and we have a lot of interchangeable parts. We’re trying to build a well-rounded team, and if the kids stick with it and keep doing their jobs, we’ll be tough for teams to beat.”

Water ban in Contoocook

2008-06-11T22:27:00Z

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

With high temperatures and little rain, Contoocook Village precinct residents and businesses have to limit their water usage as town officials have put an emergency water ban into effect.

Though Steve Clough, assistant director of Public Works, said the town’s water supply is not running short, a lack of rain and a bottleneck in the filtration system led to the ban, which was put into place June 1.

“We have plenty in our source, but we can only filter about 200 gallons a minute,” Clough said. “(The weekend of June 1), we were using a couple gallons a minute at night and during the day as high as 500 a minute. We couldn’t get our storage levels up enough. We have to keep drinking water and fire protection levels up.”

The ban means residents in the area, which includes Hopkinton High School and the town’s commercial area, will not be allowed outside water use until further notice.

“This means there will be no outside watering and no outside usage,” Clough said. “If you have plants you can bring watering cans outside.”

Clough said because of the hot weather, even with the ban the town is having a difficult time getting its tanks filled.

“If we do get our tanks back up and want to move forward, it’ll still be hard,” he said. “If we remove the ban now, it’ll be a short period of time before our tanks are back down again. What we really need is a steady rain, and that just isn’t coming.”

Town officials were scheduled to meet Tuesday, June 10, to decide how long to keep the ban, as well as address short and long-term plans.

Among the options for short-term solutions is the possibility of limited use, including a potential alternate-day usage system. Regardless of the solution for this summer, Clough said officials will also need to think of a long-term answer to the problem.

The water filtration plant used by the town was built in 1993, with increased storage built in 2002. Although the plant is scheduled for another upgrade within a few years, Clough said officials may need to look at moving up the date of the next phase.

“Within the last year or two, it’s been a mini-explosion of sprinkler systems, some of them larger ones,” said Clough. “The combination of all that is straining the system and we can’t keep up with it.”

WWII cadet nurses want recognition as veterans

2008-05-21T19:34:00Z

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Merle Dustin wasn’t on the front lines, but the Contoocook resident now finds herself trying to fight for the rights of some of the unsung heroes from World War II.

In June 1945, President Harry Truman signed an executive order that made the United States Public Health Service a part of the military until the war was over.

Although the nurses, including Dustin, were recognized during the war, they are not recognized by the government as veterans.

“It’s sad because it has taken so long, and yet we are still not recognized,” said Dustin, who served as a cadet nurse during the war.

Dustin was accepted into Salem Hospital Nursing School in Massachusetts, with the agreement that she would serve in the military upon graduation. After training for two weeks at Fort Devens in Ayer, Mass., she began treating soldiers who had been wounded in battle.

“I did my best to make it comfortable for injured soldiers. It touched all of us nurses,” said Dustin. “We were thrust into a tremendous situation. We saw these young people coming back broken, some who may have never been well again.”

Among her duties as a cadet nurse was giving back rubs to injured soldiers to keep them comfortable in their beds. It was this duty that lead Dustin to a ward boy whom she would get to know well.

Several off-duty soldiers came to Dustin’s post at Cushing General Hospital in Framingham, Mass., and challenged some of the nurses to see who gave the best back rub. The losing contestant would have to go to dinner with one of the soldiers.

Unaware at the time, Dustin had been set up by the group and ended up on a date with Eben “Dusty” Dustin, whom she would befriend and eventually marry.

“My favorite memory from my time as a cadet nurse would have to be when I met my husband,” she said. “That wasn’t my intention at all. I was going to be a nurse, and life was going to deal me what it dealt me.”

The two married just days before the war ended, with friends and relatives pooling together enough gas coupons to get the couple off on a honeymoon to Wolfeboro.

With the war over, Merle Dustin took her state board nurses exam and worked for a variety of hospitals in the Boston area, and now recalls making the walk home to the couple’s Boston apartment, often late at night.

After the war ended, the nurses’ connection to the military did as well, and they were not considered veterans.

Dustin recently found out there is a bill before Congress that would grant cadet nurses from World War II veteran status, and has taken up the cause by writing letters to local newspapers searching for her fellow nurses.

“It is sad to find that there are so few of us. We are a fast-disappearing generation,” she said. “There were 124,000 graduates, and how many are living? I have no idea.”

Following her letters about the bill, Dustin has received seven letters from cadet nurses around New England, with each promising to spread the word to anyone they can.

For Dustin, earning veteran status is a matter of respect. “My goal is for us nurses to get our just due,” she said. “What that’ll give us as veterans, I don’t know except the fact that we’re being thanked.”

Artist shows kids world of illustration in Contoocook

2008-05-01T00:08:00Z

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Frustrated at the way his watercolor paintings were turning out, Byron Carr was ready to throw away his paints.

“I started with watercolors and did lousy with it. I essentially gave up and went back to acrylics,” said Carr, of Contoocook.

“I thought I might as well use up the paint, and then it dried and came out great.”

Years before his watercolor discovery, Carr was sitting in his apartment at the Vespar George School of Art in Boston, when he came up with the idea for children’s book that developed around a simple illustration.

He worked on the idea, found financial backers and, in 1988, he published “Doodles,” which took the basic shape of a mushroom and adapted it into illustrations for basic words.

Carr will now be sharing his illustrating experiences with Hopkinton families, as he will be running a “Meet the Author Drawing Class,” hosted by the Recreation Department, on Saturday, May 10, at Columbia Hall.

The class is for children ages 4 through 8, and their parents. Carr’s books will be on sale for $5, with 50 percent of proceeds going to the food pantry. The presentation costs $5 for parent and one child, and $1 for each additional child. All supplies are included. There will be two sessions, 1 to 2 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. Call 746-2915 to register.

During the class, Carr will tell children and their parents how he became interested in creating his children’s book, and help them get started creating their own doodles.

“It’s a lot of fun. You can see (the children’s) brains working, thinking about the problem of creating the illustration. It’s a challenge for them,” said Carr, will run his first class since 1994. “They succeed in their own small way, each and every one of them, and that’s a reward to get people thinking and drawing.”

Part of the theme of the class is getting families drawing together, as Carr requires each child who attends the class to do so with a parent.

“That’s important to have them working with the kids, spending time drawing with them. That’s a big aspect of it,” he said.

Carr said no matter how many years he’s spent as an artist, he still has a hard time being satisfied with the final product.

“Having it come out as good as you want, it never does. You have to say, ‘I want to do better,’ but that’s the best I can do at this point,” Carr said.

One obstacle for young artists is becoming frustrated, said Carr. He hopes to teach children based on his experience that the next painting could be the best.

“Usually the problem is people quit when it gets difficult, and it does get difficult. People get frustrated,” said Carr. “Don’t quit before the magic happens. I almost did one painting before that magic happened.”

Bishop Brady falls in hockey final for second straight season

2008-03-13T00:08:00Z

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The puck from the Division I boys ice hockey championship ended up where it spent a great deal of the game – with Bishop Guertin goalkeeper Dave O’Brien.

O’Brien notched his eighth shutout of the year to lead his team to a 3-0 victory over Bishop Brady, stopping 23 shots as the Cardinals won their second straight title.

After the game on Sunday, March 9, O’Brien stood in the corridors of the Verizon Wireless Arena – the championship plaque clutched in one hand, his glove on the other.

“Here, you kept it out of the net all game,” said a Guertin assistant coach, dropping the puck in his glove. “You deserve it.”

After a scoreless first period, the Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead when Eric Harries received the puck from Kyle Curry and worked it past Bishop Brady goalie Tyler Ingerson.

With 7:35 remaining in the second period, Harries returned the favor, setting Curry up for a goal to put Bishop Guertin ahead by two goals.

That lead was nearly cut in half late in the second period. With 37 seconds remaining in the period and O’Brien out of position, Bishop Brady’s Brooks Herrington had an open shot at the right side of the net, but O’Brien dove across the crease and made the glove save.

“I went down too early and just had to sprawl out for it, and it ended up in my glove,” said O’Brien. “Bishop Brady has a lot of great players up front, and my defense made it really easy for me.”

Bishop Guertin head coach Gary Bishop said he was as shocked as the rest of the raucous crowd in attendance to see the puck land in O’Brien’s glove.

“I saw the light, and then I thought what everyone else was thinking: how did he do that?” he said. “It’s really nothing new.”

Harries added his second goal of the game with 5:54 remaining to cap the scoring.

Bishop Guertin also defeated the Green Giant squad last year to earn the championship.

“Being in the title game back to back years is the upside, although obviously you don’t want to lose two in a row,” said Bishop Brady head coach Clint Edinger. “We’re still searching for that championship, but the future is bright, and we’re going to continue to get better.”

Bishop was at least as specific with his wish list for 2009.

“Another win would be alright,” he said with a smile.

Play shows how to deal with drug and alcohol abuse

2008-02-06T21:38:00Z

By MATT SCHOOLEY

When the curtains close at the Capitol Center for the Arts following the mid-February performance of “Wrecked,” the show is far from over.

The Canadian-produced show coming to Concord on Tuesday, Feb. 12, and Wednesday, Feb. 13, is far more than an entertainment experience, as it aims to teach teenagers and adults how to deal with drug and alcohol abuse.

“We work from an art-first basis, and try to create artful and meaningful work. In this case, we found a piece that was really relevant to teens,” said Tim Jennings, the play’s managing director. “We’re not telling them anything new, but giving them a chance to reflect on the difficulties drugs and alcohol can create.”

Jennings works with the Canadian group Roseneath Theatre, a nonprofit organization, which is Ontario’s largest professional touring theater, he said.

After Ric Waldman of the Capitol Center for the Arts saw a reading of the play at a conference, he knew it would be perfect for New Hampshire.

“We were so moved by the impact of the play that we felt it would be a great value to our community if we could present it,” he said. “We knew right away it would be a challenge to sell tickets. We don’t do a lot of drama presentations because they don’t always sell too well.”

To fill seats for the play, the Capitol Center became involved with other groups around the state, receiving a $10,000 grant from New Futures, the Endowment for Health and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

Thanks to the grant, Waldman didn’t have to worry about selling tickets. The money purchased 600 tickets, which could be given away to schools and families in the area.

Combined with regular ticket sales, the school-time presentation of the play is sold out with a waiting list of about 300, and Waldman expects a large crowd at the second showing as well.

Other organizations have become involved in the play as well, as groups like the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Hampshire will be on hand before the event to give out information.

State legislators will also be attending a reception before the play to discuss different aspects of drugs and alcohol with the sponsors.

“This is a wonderful offering from the Capitol Center in spreading awareness about drug and alcohol issues while reaching a large audience of youth, adults, educators and professionals,” said Nancy Jackson-Reno of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Hampshire. “It offers the chance to open a dialogue between students, their peers, parents and educators.”

The dialogue will continue after the play, as the actors will come out on stage and field questions from the audience.

“The thing it does best is showing about the whole family. What it doesn’t do is talk down to teenagers,” said Waldman. “It’s realistic and the portrayal of things that go down are vivid. We expect teenagers to be moved.”

Jennings said he takes pride in being able to perform a play that benefits the community.

“The ability to take art and perform it in a way that affects peoples’ lives is a 1,000-year-old practice, but it’s very important to create that work,” he said. “Our work is to create the art and put it out there to be seen. Those groups are how it can be put out in the community and really taken to the next level.”

Second-half push sends powerful Salem past winless Concord in Class L Basketball

2008-01-30T21:09:00Z

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

CONCORD – The Concord High School girls basketball team was “hungry” for its first win of the season, but Salem High School wasn’t letting that get in the way of its fast start to the year, cruising to a 63-47 road victory.

Concord kept the contest on Friday, Jan. 25, within shouting distance into the halftime break, but the Blue Devils pulled away to improve to 9-1 on the season.

Amanda Saab turned in a solid game for the visiting Blue Devils, playing especially well in the final quarter to push the Salem lead to as many as 23. Despite playing a winless opponent, Salem head coach Elizabeth Briggs said her team faced a tough task.

“It was a battle tonight. They’re hungry, and I was impressed by how they played that third quarter,” she said. “In the second quarter we sat back and our defensive effort was lacking, and we let them back into it. In the third quarter we were on a mission to come out with intensity and work harder.”

Saab scored six points in the fourth, including a breakaway layup that pushed the Blue Devil lead to its peak.

“(Amanda Saab) really took over the fourth and made a difference,” said Concord head coach *** Pratt. “She’s a nice player. She’s a difference maker, and she really was one in this game.”

Concord’s closest margin of loss this season has been 11 points, leading to the Crimson Tide’s current 0-10 record.

“They were 0-9 coming in, but they were scary as heck,” said Briggs. “We were certainly not overlooking Concord. We maintained the lead with some key subs, and were able to come out with a win.”

Kelsi Record and Sarah Raye came off the bench to play well on both ends of the floor for Salem. Pratt said his team has not been pushing harder than usual in an attempt to come out with its first win.

“Downstairs I told them that the word upset was invented for a reason. We go in there thinking we can win. We made mistakes of an inexperienced team. They are an experienced team, and they converted,” said Pratt.

“Every game is a new game, and our record is immaterial. It doesn’t change anything, and it doesn’t raise our panic level.” The Crimson Tide, following a 67-44 loss at 8-3 Merrimack on Tuesday, Jan. 29, continues the search for victory hosting twowin Spaulding on Friday, Feb. 1.

Fledging Concord team skates to fast start

2008-01-09T21:56:00Z

BY JERRY LIPTAK

If the cliche, “Practice makes perfect,” retains even a bit of truth, foes of Concord High’s girls ice hockey beware.

When CHS took the ice on Tuesday, Jan. 8, it marked the Crimson Tide’s first practice session in roughly one month, said coach Tom Ackerson, who acknowledged persistent snows and consistent scheduling conflicts as roadblocks to the usual Tuesday and Thursday practices at St. Paul’s School.

Yet the Concord girls are 3-1- 0 heading into a matchup with another strong Division I crew – St. Thomas Aquinas of Dover – on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Everett Arena in Concord.

“Their effort,” said Ackerson, “has been awesome, but they don’t have the experience yet.”

Still, Concord produced a 3-1 win over a solid Lebanon team in New Hampshire’s first varsity girls ice hockey match, then followed that Dec. 8 victory with an 8-0 shutout of host Exeter three days later.

The team’s most recent contest, a 5-0 triumph against visiting Bishop Guertin on Jan. 2, showcased the Crimson Tide’s exceptional goaltending and team depth.

Julia Coffin, a senior, turned aside each of the 13 shots she faced in net, and Ackerson said Concord is blessed with a feeder program that should ensure a continued supply of stingy backstops. Meanwhile, five different players scored, and four others earned assists.

Senior Grace Hirshon tallied first, taking a pass from sophomore Melissa Lehtinen 1 minute, 14 seconds into the contest. Senior Erica Simpson extended the lead 5:45 into the second period, depositing a short-handed goal on an assist from sophomore Paige Hansen. Nineteen seconds later, Lehtinen’s short-handed score, assisted by classmate Meridith Foote and junior Hilary Kane, made it 3-0.

Two more tallies in the third – one from sophomore Jackolyn Haydon, off a feed from freshman Brittany Premo, and another from sophomore Ashley Liotti, assisted by Foote – capped the scoring. That’s at least one point from every class – the vast majority from underclassmen.

“I think we can compete (this year),” said Ackerson, who added Hanover, an 8-1 winner over Concord on Dec. 18, has played against and beaten Vermont challengers for years and is clearly the class of New Hampshire’s Division I girls hockey scene. “We want to do well this year, but we’re also looking to set ourselves up for the future.”

Ackerson pointed to those to-date elusive practices as an opportunity to improve in certain areas, including proper positional hockey, consistency and conditioning; though Concord outshot BG in the final period, 11-1, Ackerson said his team suffered too many defensive breakdowns.

“Right now they’re mostly good athletes,” said Ackerson, who expects to witness the program’s transformation from largely a group of fine athletes playing hockey to a group of hockey players who happen to be good athletes.

“Going (to) varsity (status) means so much. It keeps the (middle- school) girls motivated to represent their high school.”

Help celebrate Franklin Pierce’s 203rd birthday

2007-11-21T14:20:00Z

Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, said of his departure to fight in the Mexican War: “I will return with honor or not at all.”

Now the only U.S. president to ever hail from New Hampshire is back as a limited edition bobblehead issued by the New Hampshire Historical Society on the 150th anniversary of Pierce’s presidency.

To celebrate, the Society will throw an unveiling party on Nov. 23, which is Pierce’s 203rd birthday. Stop by the Society’s library, located at 30 Park St. in Concord, anytime between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to enjoy a piece of birthday cake and to be one of the first to get a Franklin Pierce bobblehead going on sale that day. Admission to the event is free.

First available in January 2006, the Society’s series of historical bobbleheads has paid tribute to Revolutionary War hero General John Stark, statesman and orator Daniel Webster, New Hampshire’s Great Stone Face, Sarah Josepha Hale — the “Mother of Thanksgiving,” and Neil Tillotson, the New Hampshire inventor and entrepreneur who cast the first vote in every U.S. presidential election from 1960 to 2000.

Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) served his country during one of the most tumultuous periods of American history. Born in Hillsborough, at the age 48 Franklin Pierce was the youngest man yet elected president of the United States. In an early speech Pierce made clear that, in the face of turmoil, he would not abandon his fervent belief in the Constitution and his desire to preserve the Union, despite the consequences.

“Some men are so constituted that they do not incline to bow before a storm,” Pierce said.

The Pierce bobblehead is available exclusively through the New Hampshire Historical Society. The eight-inch figurine is a replica of a young Franklin Pierce, dressed in black, with an elegant head of hair that was the calling card of the man known as “Handsome Frank.”

The base is inscribed with a quote from the president who sought to hold his nation together: “The Union! Eternal Union!” The Franklin Pierce bobbleheads retail for $15.95 and are available at the Society’s library (30 Park St., Concord) and museum (6 Eagle Square, Concord), as well as online at nhhistory.org.

Release of the Piece bobblehead this year coincides with the publication of the second volume of Peter A. Wallner’s new biography of Pierce, “Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union.”

The biography offers a fresh and in-depth look at Pierce’s life from his first days as president until his death in 1869.

It includes many stories illuminating Pierce’s life in the White House and his relationships with his wife Jane and contemporary personalities including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jefferson Davis, Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Copies of Wallner’s two-volume biography will be available for purchase, and the author will be on hand to sign books.

While at the library, plan to see New Hampshire: A Proven Primary Tradition, a new exhibition of the New Hampshire Historical Society and the New Hampshire Political Library.

The exhibition looks at the impact New Hampshire’s primary has on the national presidential nominating process and examines how the state’s political culture and traditions have shaped its first-in-the-nation role. The colorful retrospective adds to our appreciation for the New Hampshire primary and reinforces the importance of our own participation in the political process.

New Hampshire: A Proven Primary Tradition is sponsored by Rath, Young and Pignatelli, Boston Private Value Investors, the Mount Washington Resort, and BaileyDonovan, with the New Hampshire Union Leader and WMUR-TV as media sponsors. The exhibition is on view through May 24.

Founded in 1823, the New Hampshire Historical Society is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving, preserving and sharing New Hampshire history. The Society serves thousands of children and adults each year through its Museum of New Hampshire History, research library, educational programs, publications, and outreach programs.

The Society is not a statefunded agency. All of its programs and services are made possible by membership dues and contributions. For more information about the Society and the benefits of membership, visit nhhistory.org or call 228- 6688.

Bishop Brady hosts annual holiday craft fair

2007-11-07T21:24:00Z

Bishop Brady High School’s Class of 2009 will be having their third annual Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This is a juried craft fair featuring the finest of crafters and artisans in New Hampshire. New Hampshire Made and New Hampshire League of Craftsmen members will be filling the cafeteria and gymnasium with their products.

There will be New Hampshire maple products, jams, jellies, pickles, wood turnings, gourmet dog biscuits and accessories, hand-crafted jewelry, handmade soaps and body products, quilts, fleece wear, pottery, and much more. Food will also be offered for sale, as will a raffle table. Bring your appetite and shopping lists. There will be something for every budget.

The craft fair will coincide with the Interact Club’s Children’s Fair. Where kids will have the opportunity to shop for their parents assisted by the Bishop Brady “elves.” Cookie decorating and a visit with Santa will make this an unforgettable day for your youngster. While the kids are busy, stroll through our holiday crafters. Many take Visa and Master Card. This is a free event not to miss. For more information, contact Sharon Blais, craft fair chairman, at 435-6741.

Audubon lecture to focus on politics and climate change

2007-10-31T18:10:00Z

Jonathan Lash, an internationally respected leader in pragmatic environmental policy and finance, will share his insights into climate change policy and politics at an open lecture and discussion in Concord on Thursday, Nov. 1.

Lash is the president of the World Resources Institute, a global organization based in Washington, D.C.

His success at bringing business leaders and the environmental community together on climate change policy earned him recognition as “one of the world’s 100 most influential people in finance,” in 2005 by Treasury and Risk Management magazine.

Lash’s appearance will be the concluding event in New Hampshire Audubon’s 2007 Environmental Research Lecture Series, which has focused on climate change and emerging energy technologies.

Other speakers have included Harvard professor James McCarthy, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Dartmouth professor Lee Lynd, a founder of Mascoma Corp., which hopes to commercialize a process for converting wood to ethanol.

The series has been underwritten by Stonyfield Farm, Bob and Sylvia Larsen, and Mike Smith.

Lash will speak from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at New Hampshire Audubon’s McLane Center on Silk Farm Road in Concord. The event is open to the public; a $10 donation is suggested from non-members.

Earlier that day, Lash will be the guest on New Hampshire Public Radio’s public affairs program, The Exchange.

The World Resources Institute is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to provide practical solutions to problems of environment and development. Under Lash’s leadership, WRI has pioneered the use of digital technologies to solve environmental problems, engaged the business community in helping to foster development that is sustainable, and created new mechanisms to empower civil society groups.

From 1993 until 1999, Lash served as co-chairman of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, a group of U.S. government, business, labor, civil rights and environmental leaders that developed visionary recommendations for strategies to promote sustainable development. At various times, he served as a member of advisory groups to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Trade Representative.

He has served on a broad range of national and international groups, including: the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Round Table on Sustainable Development; the Tata Energy and Resources Institute (India); the Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation (Japan); the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development; and the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (Japan). He is a member of the board of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, the Wallace Global Fund, and the Heinz Center.

New Hampshire Audubon is an independent statewide membership organization whose mission is to protect New Hampshire’s natural environment for wildlife and for people. It is also involved in statewide conservation research and wildlife monitoring projects, protects thousands of acres of wildlife habitat, and advocates for sound public policy on conservation issues.

For information on New Hampshire Audubon, including membership, volunteering, programs and publications, call 224-9909, or visit www.nhaudubon.org.

Apply for Chamber of Commerce student leadership program

2007-10-31T18:08:00Z

The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce announces that applications for the 2008 Capital Area Student Leadership (CASL) program are now available.

The CASL program is open to high school sophomores who reside in the Greater Concord area, and attend the following schools: Bishop Brady High School, Bow High School, Concord High School, The Derryfield School, Hopkinton High School, John Stark High School, Merrimack Valley High School, Pembroke Academy, Pittsfield Middle High School and Trinity Baptist High School.

The purpose of the program is to encourage students to become active, effective participants and future leaders in their schools and communities through exposure to the historical, cultural, environmental and civic aspects of the Greater Concord area.

Beginning with an orientation in March, CASL is a series of three session days with each session focusing on an important topic within the community. Utilizing Concord and surrounding towns as its “classroom,” the program is designed to offer first hand knowledge and provide opportunities for dialogue with established leaders.

Through field trips, hands-on experiences and teacher facilitated discussions, the students gain special insight into the functioning of a working community.

CASL seeks sophomores with leadership potential and those who are likely to assume greater community responsibility in the future. A selection committee will review applications and conduct interviews of prospective participants. CASL is generously underwritten by Northeast Delta Dental.

The application deadline is Dec. 7. To download an application, go to www.concordnh chamber.com/casl.pdf, or call 224-2508.

Crew’s control – Concord learns meaning of ‘team-oriented’

2007-10-18T13:51:00Z

BY RYAN O'CONNOR

Though far from a mainstream sport, crew is gaining popularity throughout the country, and it’s showing on a local stage.

The squad at Manchester Central High school has grown from 12 participants to 80 the last five years, and other schools, including Concord High School, are exhibiting better performance along with increased interest.

And Grayson Richey, a former member of the Concord High School crew team who graduated in 2006 and now helps coach the Crimson Tide, said students are discovering the sport is one of the few athletic endeavors that requires almost entire cohesiveness among its participants.

“A lot of other sports claim to be really team-oriented, but when it comes down to it, the individual skill of one or two people can turn the tide,” said Richey. “When it comes to crew, you need really a perfect harmony between all four or eight people. So it’s probably the most team-oriented sport out there.”

On Saturday, Oct. 13, Concord High School displayed its teamwork on the state’s largest stage, the Amoskeag Rowing Club New Hampshire State Championship.

The men’s junior-novice four finished second with a time of 17 minutes, 38 seconds and the women’s junior-novice eight took bronze with a time of 18:04.

In the men’s junior eight, Concord’s A and B squads both finished in the top 10, at fifth and ninth, respectively, with times of 14:53 and 15:07.

The women’s junior-novice four, with a fourth-place finish and a time of 20:36, and the men’s junior-novice eight, which came in seventh at 16:53, also posted top-10 efforts.

But getting to a competitive level isn’t easy.

In addition to the painstaking training and regimen, Derryfield coach Elizabeth Dirth said student-athletes are encouraged to avoid sugar, coffee and other stimulants throughout the season.

Richey added that, much like marathon running, rowers often “carb load” the day of and the day prior to competition.

“It’s to get that energy that will stick longer, but not sit in your stomach as long,” he said.

Few shots short – Concord can’t quite take tournament title

2007-10-10T18:16:00Z

BY SAPNA PATHAK

On the practice green at Canterbury Woods prior to this year’s NHIAA Class L golf tournament, the boys of Concord golf saw eye to eye with their coach. Following the match, the Crimson Tide head coach and his golfers disagreed.

After taking Class L titles in 2005 and 2006, Concord fell short of making it three straight, placing second in this year’s tournament. While head coach Chick Smith and his coaching staff were upbeat, Smith’s starting eight felt differently.

“The kids were very disappointed. They really wanted three in a row,” said Smith. “We knew the competition was much better this year, and realistically, we thought it would be very difficult to win three years straight.

We (the coaches) were happy with second place. They actually had a better score than last season. The kids, though, they weren’t as pleased with second. Winning was very important to them.”

Concord fell five strokes shy of a trifecta, firing a 393 and losing to Bishop Guertin of Nashua. The Crimson Tide edged out third-place finisher Pinkerton Academy by one stroke and placed two shots in front of Manchester West.

The Crimson Tide entered the match on Thursday, Oct. 4, seeded fifth in the Class L standings with a record of 24-8.

The match included the top 20 teams in Class L, with the top-10 teams allowed eight golfers and the top five scores accounting for the final team score. Teams 11 through 20 brought two golfers to compete for the chance to advance to the individual tournament. The top 24 golfers, including ties, moved on to the individual championship on Saturday, Oct. 6.

Senior Matt Levins led Concord with a 73, followed by seniors Kurt Eddins, who shot a 74; Robbie Labrie, who shot an 80; and Brock Harrison, who finished with an 81. Junior Hyun Soo Lim shot an 85; Kyle Tillotson and Matt Mosca each shot an 86; and Jason Varnell carded an 88.

“I was seriously expecting to win. We went out there hoping nothing less than we’d win again,” said senior co-captain Eddins. “It kind of hurts because we just really wanted it. We just lacked that fifth score. It’s just the way golf is. If you have a bad day, that’s it. It just stinks because we really wanted to make it three.”

WJYY raises $31,628 for Children’s Fund

2007-09-26T23:47:00Z

Concord radio station 105.5 JYY recently began a charity, when the station’s morning show host, Nazzy, stepped on the 46-inch by 68-inch platform of a scissor lift, and was raised 25 feet in the air at the State House Plaza in Downtown Concord.

He pledged to stay there until $25,000 was raised for The JYY Children’s Fund.

For the next few days, Nazzy spent day and night on the lift, braving the elements in pursuit of the goal. On Thursday, Sept. 20, at 5 p.m., Nazzy came off the lift. In front of a crowd of spectators, he presented Kristen’s Gift founder John Xiggoris a check for $31,628.27. That money will go directly towards Pediatric Oncology research and technology development at Children’s Hospital At Dartmouth (CHaD).

105.5 JYY thanks everyone who contributed, from the kids who emptied their piggy banks, to the local businesses who donated thousands, and everyone in between; and the entire staff of 105.5 JYY and its sister stations of Nassau Broadcasting, who worked around the clock to ensure the success of the event.

Sponsors included United Rentals, Bonneville and Son, Camping World, Eastern Mountain Sports, Serendipity Day Spa, The Concord Grille, The Common Man, Donatello’s Pizza and Panera Bread.