Grantham on The Forum

There will be no Grantham news next week, but look for one between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I wish you all a safe, happy and peaceful holiday.

Last minute stocking stuffer

Pick up your 2010 transfer station stickers at the Selectmen’s Office and get one for your teenager. Only $10 but a priceless photo op!

There’s still time to help

Provide help to others this holiday season through Listen Community Services Holiday Basket Program, which assists low income, Upper Valley families with children and seniors 65 and older. The program provides warm clothing, wish list items for children and seniors, and a food certificate for each family. Contact Kristin Farquharson, Listen’s program counselor, at 603-448-4553 to participate.

Also, Grantham’s food pantry collection at Town Hall is festively decorated. Drop off some non-perishable food items and take a look.

Eastmanaires Christmas concert

Don’t miss your chance to get into the spirit of the holidays at the annual Eastmanaires Christmas Concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19 or 4 p.m. Dec. 20 at The Center at Eastman. Donations are accepted at the door, and there may be a visit from Mr. & Mrs. Claus. Call 863-6423 for more information.

Food is price of admission

The BCCC (Big Combined Choral Concert) will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Seminary Hill School Auditorium in Lebanon . Featured performers will be the Harmony Night a Cappella Chorus, The Honeymooners, North Country Chordsmen, and Lebanon High School choral groups Showtime, Chorus and Superlatives. (Many of these groups include Grantham residents.) Admission is free, but you are welcome to bring a non-perishable item to contribute to a local food pantry.

Celebrate Christmas Eve at GUMC

Christmas Eve services will be held at Grantham United Methodist Church beginning at 4 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. The early service includes the Christmas pageant performed by the church youth. Everyone is welcome to come to either service.

Grantham Christmas Lights Contest

Judging for Our Town Christmas Lights Contest was held last week. Winners are:

Holiday Spirit Award ( Best Route 10): Billings at 24 Bouldervale Rd. . Judges’ comment: “Festive community spirit invites you as you enter the village.”

First Place : Angelli at 358 Burpee Hill Rd. “We loved all the color and extras. It brings out the kid in you!”

Second Place : Kelley at 442 Olde Farms Rd. “A traditional, classy Christmas display. It's a must see; take a drive.”

Third Place : Field at 8 Sturgis Circle . “Country color everywhere, but the music playing sets it above the rest.”

Honorable Mention: Moran at 403 Burpee Hill Rd. “Another example of a traditional classy Christmas, well done.”

Winners received gift cards to Grantham businesses, sponsored by “Our Town.”

Corrected hours

Evening hours at the Town Clerk/Tax Collector's office have changed to 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I had the wrong nights in last week’s report.

Spend New Year’s Eve close to home

Bistro Nouveau again holds its popular New Year's Eve Bash at The Center at Eastman beginning at 9 p.m. with a dessert buffet, dancing, champagne toast and balloon drop at midnight . Cost is $30/person or $50/couple. Reservations taken; 4 to a table. Seating is limited to 120 people. Tickets must be purchased in advance. More information at 603-863-8000.

Bistro Nouveau will also be serving dinner off their regular menu from 4 to 9 p.m. in both the Tavern and the Hearth Room. Make reservations by calling 603-863-8000.

School meetings set

The Grantham School Board will hold a budget workshop at 5 p.m. Jan. 4 in the Jerry Whitney Room at Grantham Town Hall . The board will follow with a meeting at 7 p.m.

Warm items needed

Charlotte Broughton is collecting warm clothes, rugs, blankets, etc. to be shipped free via Lebanon Fed-Ex to two Indian tribes in Black Hawk, S.D. The North American Heritage Association, a four-star charity, is appealing on behalf of the four poorest counties in the United States . Unemployment on these reservations is 70 percent, and the need for clothes and money to buy small propane stoves for their flimsy huts is great. Last winter, temperatures dropped to 50-below, resulting in a grandmother on the Rosebud Reservation freezing to death.

If you care to donate and share excess clothing (or would like literature on the Indians), call Charlotte to have it picked up, boxed and shipped, 603-863-5453. Charlotte extends her thanks to everyone, including Fed-Ex who makes this possible.

Snowdusters meet

The Blue Mountain Snowdusters ORC, Inc. will meet at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5 in the Grantham Town Hall . For more information on this great outdoor recreation club, visit www.bluemountainsnowdusters.com.

Reminders

• Dec. 31 is the deadline to buy a brick to support the community playground. Forms are available at Grantham Town Hall , Rum Brook Market, and at www.granthamnh.net.

• Grantham United Methodist Church offers Sunday service at 10 a.m. each week.

• Harmony Night a capella chorus begins again Jan. 4.

• There are at least three great internet ways to find information on Grantham: www.granthamnh.net (the town’s official site), www.sunacom.com and http://GranthamVoice.com.

Don’t forget to send your news or events as the body of an email at least two weeks in advance to grantham-news@comcast.net. Let your neighbors know what’s going on.

Grantham on The Forum