To the Editor:

Congratulations to all at Neighborhood News. Winning this award should be no surprise because you all work hard to bring forth good news about people who make up our great towns.

It is very refreshing to sit down and read happy news rather than the same old same bla bla news. Your writers keep us informed at this busy time of our lives, and we can react at the voting polls when needed. It also refreshing to read about our young adults on how they are doing, and the majority are doing fine.

So take care, and keep up the great work.

Ray Cote
Bow

To the Editor:

The Goffstown School Board is pleased to announce the grand opening celebration of the Glen Lake School on Sunday, Oct. 1.

Due to a limited number of parking spaces at the new school site, celebration activities will be staggered over the course of the afternoon. Beginning at 1 p.m., there will be a brief dedication ceremony for invited guests, including school staff and elected officials.

Starting at 2 p.m., kindergarten students and their parents will tour the new school and meet the school staff. Beginning at 3:30 p.m., the community is invited to an open house where the celebration and tours will continue until 5 p.m.

In order to accommodate the large groups of visitors during these three time periods, we have made arrangements for a shuttle bus that will travel from Maple Avenue Elementary School to the Glen Lake School. The shuttle bus will run every 15 minutes from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Additional shuttle bus parking is also available behind the SAU building on School Street; however, the bus will only depart from the Maple Avenue School. (Special thanks to the Goffstown Truck Center for providing this shuttle service free of charge to the community.)

As a gentle reminder, please do not park on Elm Street in front of the school, Upton Lane, or other areas marked as “no parking.” A parking fine could spoil an otherwise wonderful afternoon.

On behalf of the Goffstown School Board, we are very grateful for the community’s support of public kindergarten. We look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday, Oct. 1.

Scott Gross
Goffstown School Board

To the Editor:

In response to Tricia Wynne’s letter last week regarding the “roundabout” in Grasmere Village, I too am shocked and just frustrated that the selectmen and the Department of Public Works are putting this project before the problem areas at Wallace Road and Main and Elm streets.

What are they thinking? This proposed “roundabout” is not going to solve the traffic problem in the mornings and after school. It’s going to be a complete mess with traffic backed up. I live six houses from the center and the traffic is flowing quite nicely.

Yes, maybe for a short period of time, the cars and buses coming up Henry Bridge have a problem getting onto Center Street but a “roundabout” is not the solution.

The Grasmere General Store is going to be especially hard hit with a “roundabout” as I saw the plans last year and it called for a curb running in front of the store with a small space for access to the parking area.

I have not spoken to one person that agrees with the proposal.

After all the problems with the roads this year, you would think that the Department of Public Works would be putting extra money into repairing our existing roads. But they must have this money in the budget for a “roundabout” and plan on using it!

It is sad to know that no matter how many letters we write to express our concerns, the selectmen and the DPW are going to do it anyway.

Diane Rand
Grasmere Village

To the Editor:

The 49th annual Hillsbo-rough County Agricultural Fair had another wonderful weekend, breaking attendance records all three days!

Even the rain we encountered on Saturday evening did not deter our devoted and dedicated visitors from across the state and all of New England. We thank everyone who endured the trek down from the highest parking lot that was full by mid-day both Saturday and Sunday.

For the first time in a long time cars filled the parking lot at the school and were seen lining Route 13. We apologize for any confusion in the parking areas. We initially had plenty of people to help in that matter but were let down 24 hours before the fair by the Goffstown and Weare Police Explorers that were a no-show to help in this matter.

We continue to look for help in the parking lots and hope to look towards the John Stark Regional High School seniors next year. However, the Bennington Fire Explorers and other volunteers once again stepped up to the plate and helped in this enormous task. We apologize for spending so much precious article space on this matter but we believe it is the largest part of the fair that will be scrutinized and consistently has been a battle for us to overcome.

Thank you to Gloria Barss, Jean McCreary, Sylvia Chancey, Pat Hansen and Sandy Walker that sewed the beautiful quilt we raffled again this year. Judy Campbell of New Boston won this remarkable piece of work. Congratulations, Judy!

We would like to thank Alvirne High School Vocational Department for their participation again this year. The Forestry, Horticulture, Veterinary and FFA have been such a welcome addition.

We would also like to thank all the giant pumpkin growers that participated in the giant pumpkin weigh-off and Margaret Hagen from the UNH Cooperative Extension Office for her afternoon of planting and gardening tips and we hope to have her back again next year.

All the people who helped Bill Matheson with the massive task of the truck and tractor pulls need to be thanked so much for their dedication and hardwork. The record-breaking amount of people that came through the gates had many, many trucks and tractors to admire as their capabilities were pushed (and pulled) to the limit.

The new arrival of the youth horse demo on Saturday morning was a great addition and a fun project for both participants and onlookers. Thank you to all involved in the Cowboy Shootout and especially Betsy and Dick Moody.

With 34 participants, our fair had the largest turnout of skilled riders in the Northeast. Congratulations to top scorers Richard Karp, Dick Moody and Aida Schreiber.

We would like to thank everyone that helped with the working steer, horse pulling and oxen pulling contests. Another year that went off without a hitch. (Get it, hitch. ha! ha!)

The 4-H food booths are completely run by volunteers that also need to be thanked for giving up a beautiful weekend to feed our fair-goers from lunch Thursday until dinner Sunday.

A huge thank you goes to the 4-H Youth Foundation for all their help before, during and after the fair. We want to thank all the many volunteers that help set up, work and clean up after the fair.

There are so many people that have helped us with this county fair tradition that it is impossible to individually thank everyone. From the exhibitors to the vendors to the volunteers, superintendents, judges and directors (who could be seen for miles in our safety green shirts!) there were countless man hours put in to cultivate this project.

If you would like to help in any way, please contact us at hcaf@comcast.net or Bill Matheson at 487-5148. To most of us it is a labor of love that our parents or grandparents started and we have taken the legacy and promised to pass it down to our children.

It is a tradition we vow to continue and make stronger every year. Next year, the Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair will be half a century old and bigger and better than ever. We will have commemorative plates, a Farmah’s of Hillsborough County Calendar, blankets and embroidered shirts available in upcoming months.

We have many new sights and attractions awaiting fair-goers, so don’t miss this one. See you at the fair!

The board of directors of the Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair

To the Editor:

Fred Plett’s series of letters to you concerning catching people doing it right are not simply from him.

The entire Solid Waste Commission is behind the effort ­ Fred is simply doing most of the work to make the letters a reality. Fred has given me a turn at writing a letter to emphasize the point that it is the entire commission that is trying to increase recycling.

The Solid Waste Commission’s next candidate for “Doing it Right” with respect to recycling with “Big Blue” are Monique and Drew Fay of Smith Road. Monique says that they are environmentally conscious and their children are in on the effort.

They do fill one 13-gallon bag full of trash per week. Meanwhile, they were overflowing the 65-gallon recycle tote and needed a larger size. They compost food scraps, with a formal compost bin and another area surrounded by chicken wire, where their yard waste also goes.

They used to live in Merrimack, where they did recycle, but they had to bring all trash and recyclables to the transfer station themselves. Goffstown’s program in contrast simply couldn’t be easier, from her perspective. She thinks it is awesome.

She wrote Chairman Fred for a larger recycle tote and she had it within a day or so.

We do get spoiled in Goffstown with a wonderful trash and recycle program that most towns do not have.

Thank you, Monique and Drew Fay for your efforts at keeping Goffstown’s taxes down, and improving the environment at the same time.

Russ Day
Member, Goffstown Solid Waste Commission

To the Editor:

Neighbors Advancing Nonviolence is a small Goffstown gathering that stands on the common every Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 6 p.m. to encourage people and nations to live by the principles of active nonviolence. Please join us in spirit or on the common.

Please let these principles inform your daily life. From your profession, to your family, our churches, schools and to the voting booth consider putting the principles of nonviolence to work.

Principles of active nonviolence

1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.

2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.

3. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people.

4. Self-discipline, control and respect are necessary.

5. The means we use to address conflict must agree with the ends we seek.

6. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.

I believe these guidelines are needed in a time of increasing personal and international violence. This is a path to lasting stability.

Bill Exner
Goffstown

Exner is rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church and a member of Neighbors Advancing Nonviolence.