Auburn:  Election Info

Auburn: Election Info

The town of Auburn will have voting day on Tuesday, March 8th.  It will be voting for various officials including selectman, moderator, supervisor of the checklist, library trustee, cemetery trustee, trustee of the trust funds, police commission, planning board and school board.  Several races are contested.  All of these positions are for a three year term, except the supervisor of the checklist, which has a six year term.   The town will also vote to on amendments to the Town Zoning Ordinance as proposed and recommended by the planning board.  Voting will be held at the Auburn Village School from 7 to 7.  We have, of course, included all the links you’ll need to get up to speed before you head to the polls.

MSD:  At least we know they're listening.

MSD: At least we know they’re listening.

Looks like someone in Manchester School District headquarters was listening to our radio show yesterday.  Communications Coordinator Andrea Alley finally sent out the press release advising the public that the Board of School Committee’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, March 7th to take testimony on a proposed Curriculum Management Plan.  The committee first directed district administrators to publish and publicize the document on January 26th.  It did so again at its meeting on February 10th because neither had been done .

Girard:  Publication spurs action

Girard: Publication spurs action

At-Large Committee Member Rich Girard, frustrated with the district’s failure to follow the committee’s directive, published the document on his talk radio show Web site, Girard at Large dot com.  Subsequent to that posting, the district did publish the document on its Web site, however it did not notify the press or parents that it was there until yesterday.  Union Leader Reporter Paul Feely, who reported the plan’s publication this past Sunday, did so because he inquired of the school district about our post, not because the district disseminated the information.  We’ve linked the document at Girard at Large dot com, not to be territorial, but because our Web site will take comments on the proposal, which the committee is interested in, and the district is not providing that opportunity on its site.

Manchester:  Refusals allowed here, there and everywhere!

Manchester: Refusals allowed here, there and everywhere!

Speaking of the Manchester School District, we’ve received inquiries from parents confused about whether or not they can refuse their children’s participation on the S A T, which will be administered as the state’s standardized assessment to high school juniors on March 2nd a.  The answer is unequivocally YES, whether you’re in Manchester or any community.  Manchester confused many parents by forcing their children to register for the S A T in advance, after that pesky Curriculum and Instruction Committee voted to again send letters home advising parents of their right to refuse and develop a policy to comply with the newly passed federal Every Student Succeeds Act.  After administrators were questioned about the forced registrations, they said students didn’t have to take the test.  We plan to discuss.

News from our own backyard continues after this.

Burke:  Coming to NH

Burke: Coming to NH

His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke is on his way to New Hampshire.  The controversial conservative cardinal will headline the annual Courage & Fidelity Dinner held by Northeast Catholic College, formerly known as Magdalen College, in Warner.  Cardinal Burke was demoted by Pope Francis following comments he made in defense of the faith’s traditional teaching of marriage, adultery, chastity and family life.  They seemed to run afoul of the pope’s more politically correct views of things.  Anyway, Cardinal Burke will celebrate Mass at four thirty on April 4th at St. Joseph Cathedral in Manchester, which will be followed by a reception and silent auction at six and the dinner at seven.  The event is at the Center of New Hampshire Radisson in Downtown Manchester.  Ticket and sponsorship information are available at Northeast Catholic College dot edu.  Organizers are asking for R S V Ps by March fourth.

Family Story Seminar announced

Telling Your Family Story Seminar announced

Every family has a story and the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications wants to help you tell yours.

Raconteur Fritz Wetherbee and journalist-authors John Clayton and Meg Heckman lead a who’s who of story-tellers and historians for the annual “Telling Your Family Story” workshop on March 19 from 9-to-3 at the school.  It’s a unique opportunity to hear New Hampshire’s premiere storytellers tell how they prepare and present their tales.

Weatherbee:  Master story finder and teller

Weatherbee: Master story finder and teller

This workshop teaches how to uncover family or community stories, how to present them and how to preserve them for future generations.

The presenters focus on interviewing and listening skills, research and presentation, and how to preserve priceless photos and documents that are part of every family’s, or community’s, history.

Fritz Wetherbee, of WMUR’s Chronicle program, has been finding quirky people and wonderful stories from all over New Hampshire for more than 50 years.

John Clayton spent 25 years as a reporter and columnist for the NH Union Leader, telling the stories of Manchester and its colorful residents. Now he is director of the Manchester Historic Association.

Clayton:  Another master story finder and teller

Clayton: Another master story finder and teller

Now a UNH journalism professor, Meg Heckman told hundreds of stories through the pages of the Concord Monitor, and won acclaim with a poignant series and book she co-authored: “We Went to War,” which brought voice to the stories of World War II veterans.

Archivist Lori Fisher of Bow’s Baker Free Library brings advice on preserving and protecting photos and family papers that often fade away in a box in the attic.

John Gfroerer of the video production company, Accompany, will demonstrate techniques to help put your stories on video.

Registration is $50, including lunch.  Register at loeb school dot org or call 6 2 7 0 0 0 5.

That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next!