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Bob
Odell
State Senator
District 8
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September
28, 2009
Senator Odell is Chairman of
the Ways and
Means Committee, and
member of the Energy, Environment and Economic Development
Committee; Finance Committee; Citizens Trade Policy
Commission; State Park System Advisory Council; and Comprehensive Cancer Plan Oversight
Board.
Senate
District 8 towns: Acworth, Alstead, Charlestown, Claremont,
Gilsum, Goshen, Langdon, Lempster, Marlow, New London, Newbury,
Newport, Roxbury, Stoddard, Sullivan, Sunapee, Sutton, Unity,
Walpole, Washington and Westmoreland.
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The legislative study committee on the closing of district courts,
including the
Claremont
court, has met. And the
committee’s plan is to visit the three court facilities which are slated
to be closed and hold a public hearing in
Claremont
,
Milford
and Colebrook.
Members of the
committee include Representatives Peter Leishman (
Peterborough
) who will chair the committee, Gene Charron (
Chester
) who is the former superintendent of the Rockingham County Department of
Corrections, Anne Grassie (
Dover
) who will act as the committee clerk, Senate Majority Leader Maggie
Hassan (
Exeter
) and me. I will serve as
committee vice chair.
The current state budget has money to operate the three courts only
for the first year of the biennium. So,
Representative Leishman has drafted legislation to fund the three courts
for the fiscal year beginning on
July 1, 2010
. Between the work and
recommendations of the study committee and Representative Leishman’s
appropriation bill, the legislature will have plenty to consider
concerning new court consolidations.
* *
*
“Business After Hours” are regular events sponsored by the
chambers of commerce throughout the area.
Each event is hosted by a different local business or not for
profit organization. The
Newport Chamber recently sponsored events that allowed participants a
chance to catch up on news about two important organizations.
I am at the
Newport
Health
Center
from time to time so I know it is a busy place but I learned much more at
a business after hours event there. The
number of patients at the
Newport
Health
Center
has been going up. And
New London
Hospital
has received a NH Department of Health and Human Services grant to enhance
primary care health services for
Sullivan
County
residents through the
Newport
Health
Center
.
The center is
on top of one of the hot issues in
Washington
… electronic medical records … and will implement an electronic
records system next year. Not
surprisingly, with a growing number of patients and additional services
and providers at the center, plans to expand the clinical space sometime
over the next two years is receiving serious discussion.
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* *
About 20 years
ago, Larry Zullo came through the door at Holiday Travel, which I had just
bought, telling me I needed to contribute so the town could have a new
senior center. That was my
introduction to the
Newport
Senior
Center
. Although I have been there
many times, at another business after hours, a tour through the facility
with the President of the Board of Trustees, Joan Willey, reminded me of
how many services and activities are provided.
There is the trip program, computer training, AARP tax preparation
services, cribbage games, health and physical fitness activities, library
and the list goes on and on.
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Most interesting to me is that the senior center is also the home
of Sullivan County Nutrition Services (SCNS).
Many readers are familiar with one service most of us know as
“meals on wheels.” SCNS
prepares and delivers 400 meals every weekday to people in their own
homes. They also provide
lunches every weekday at the
Newport
center, in
Claremont
and in
Charlestown
. Primarily focused on
nutritional needs of local seniors, anyone can drop in for a meal.
A small contribution is requested of seniors and a slightly
larger amount from those younger. But
no one is turned away for lack of money for a contribution.
The
Newport
Senior
Center
is a wonderful and welcoming place for area seniors … just what Larry
Zullo was saying it would be 20 years ago.
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* *
It was a
beautiful sunny September Saturday.
And it was a great day in Lempster to hike a couple of miles from
the old Wright summer house site to Long Pond and then cross over to
Sand Pond and return. There
were nearly 40 hikers with several from Lempster with others coming from
distant parts of the state.
The hike was
part of the public education and fund-raising for the Society for the
Protection of New Hampshire Forests effort to protect the source of the
Ashuelot
River
. The Society is attempting
to purchase 1,750 acres including three miles of undeveloped shoreline
on Long Pond and Sand Pond as well as the summit of
Silver
Mountain
.
A top goal of
the project is to protect the water quality of the river which empties
into the
Connecticut River
. There are 25 towns in the
Ashuelot
River
watershed and it provides drinking water to the City of
Keene
. In addition to protecting
the water quality, the land tracts will provide an outstanding
recreation area open to the public for hiking, blueberry- picking,
hunting and other outdoor activities.
We saw many signs of wildlife on the hike including bear and
moose. Protecting these land
tracts combined with adjacent Pillsbury and nearby Mount Sunapee State
Parks along with the 11,000 acre
Andorra
Forest
in Stoddard will help sustain healthy and varied species of wildlife.
And economically, the lands will be managed for sustainable
logging.
More than one
person was heard to say “we need to come back here” indicative of
the rare beauty and unique natural characteristics of the landscape.
On the trail between the shorelines of Long Pond and Sand Pond,
there is a huge rock outcropping and cave that got plenty of attention.
Most hikers tried out a walk in cave.
What a pleasant way to spend three hours right in your hometown.
Bob Odell
State Senator
New Hampshire State House
107 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301-4951
Telephone: 603-271-6733
Email: rpojr@aol.com
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