03/05/2020 Weirs Times by The Weirs Publishing Company

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

VOLUME 29, NO. 10

THE WEIRS, LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, N.H., THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020

COMPLIMENTARY

Fighting Back Against Parkinson’s “Are We Ready?” “Rock, Steady Ready!” This chant can be heard seven times a week at the Downtown Gym in Laconia as members of the Rock Steady Boxing Class go through their paces. It might seem at first that this is just another exercise class getting motivated at the gym, but the participants all have one thing in common – they all have Parkinson’s Disease. “There are over 7,000 people in the state of New Hampshire with Parkinson’s and we have about sixty-five of them here,” said Peter Drouin who works as a certified coach, along with several other coaches, in implementing this life changing class. Drouin himself also has Parkinson’s. “This class helps develop a range of motion which is important to people with Parkinson’s,” said Drouin. “It helps to give that range of motion which extends beyond their daily routine. It gives them back their coordination, their strength and their confidence in their ability to do different things.” Parkinson’s is a degenerative movement disorder which can cause deterioration of motor skills, balance, speech and sensory function. According to Drouin the only method used in years past to deal with the disease was to have a doctor give you a See FIGHT on 27 prescription for medica-

by Brendan Smith Weirs Times Editor

A warm March in 1936 caused what was called at the time “the greatest damage in NH History.” Ice caused much of the damage during the flood. COURTESY OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY, LESLIE JONES COLLECTION.

Raging Rivers Flooded New Hampshire WPA Rushes In To Repair 1936 Damage

by Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr. NH History Writer

According to William P. Fahey, the New Hampshire Administrator for the WPA , “The floods in 1936 caused the greatest damage in New Hampshire’s history.”

The floods came in the month of March and were caused by a combination of warm winter weather causing snow and ice to melt and heavy rain falls of between four to eight inches from March nine to thirteen, and another four to ten inches between

March sixteen to nineteen. The rain fell throughout the state with the amounts varying from place to place. By the 12th of March people were concerned about what was to come because the rivers were See FLOOD on 24

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

Melanie Benton REALTOR®

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Democrat’s Debate To the Editor: The Democrat Presidential “debaters” were amusing, maligning and nasty to each other rather than Republicans for a change, until I remembered that they influence government policies and one might become President. What sane person would trust Democrats again with our healthcare? Their Obamacare promises were lies; Obamacare didn’t reduce but increased premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. A few million people got free or low cost health insurance but the 150 million previously insured Americans were hurt (except the politicians who exempted themselves from Obamacare). Seniors beware, Mayor Bloomberg agrees with Obama and Obamacare’s architect that elderly people with health issues should be given pain killers but denied real treatment. Bernie Sanders complains about the healthcare industry’s $100 billion profit which resulted from investments that improve and extend peoples’ lives. Profits are distributed as taxes, dividends on which people pay taxes, and re-invested to find new treatments to help more people. But the healthcare industry profits are dwarfed by the waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid, which former Attorney General Eric Holder suggests costs taxpayers $60 to $90 billion EACH annually (https://tinyurl.com/ tgllm6r).

Democrats apparently think we haven’t seen how the $15 minimum wage hurts workers (e.g., Seattle); people lose work hours, benefits, and/or jobs. After Bernie Sanders was embarrassed into paying his employees $15 an hour, he cut their work hours! Democrat politicians love illegal aliens, even drunk drivers and felons whom they protect, more than you and your children. They want open borders, millions more people who depress wages, degrade our children’s schools, and get welfare, housing, and free healthcare. Democrats don’t care about the American they hurt or our increased taxes. Democrats condemn, rather than improve, the policy of taking guns from criminals which reduced homicides by 50-80% in NYC, but they demand that SWAT teams raid the homes of, and take legally obtained guns, from people accused of no crimes. These raids won’t reduce the homicide rate, but they might kill more innocent people. Obviously saving lives isn’t what Democrats care about. Democrats criticize the companies, their owners, and their millionaire/billionaire creators that offer wonderful choices of goods and services at affordable prices, e.g., food, energy, drug/healthcare/health insurance, and tech companies. These candidates, with almost 100 years in elected offices in Washington, only stifle those companies and condemn their creators.

Democrat politicians lust for control over you and the fruits of your labor; they’ll promise anything to get that power. But, they have little interest in enabling what most Americans want: to support themselves; live in a safe neighborhood; send their children to good, safe schools; see a better future; and be left alone by government. Don Ewing Meredith, NH

Our Story

This newspaper was first published in 1883 by Mathew H. Calvert as Calvert’s Weirs Times and Tourists’ Gazette and continued until Mr. Calvert’s death in 1902. The new Weirs Times was reestablished in 1992 and strives to maintain the patriotic spirit of its predecessor as well as his devotion to the interests of Lake Winnipesaukee. Our newspaper’s masthead and the map of Lake Winnipesaukee in the center spread are elements in today’s paper which are taken from Calvert’s historic publication. Locally owned for over 20 years, this publication is devoted to printing the stories

of the people and places that make New Hampshire the best place in the world to live. No, none of the daily grind news will be found in these pages, just the good stuff. Published year round on Thursdays, we distribute 30,000 copies of the Weirs Times every week to the Lakes Region/Concord/ Seacoast area and the mountains and have an estimated 66,000 people reading this newspaper. To find out how your business or service can benefit from advertising with us please call 1-888-308-8463.

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experiences, and explaining why the condition is best described as PTS — not PTSD. The only flag officer to publicly acknowledge his own PTS, Bolduc described how his military career was probably cut short by his open advocacy for traumatized veterans. “Acknowledging that you need help is a sign of strength, not of weakness,” Bolduc said to the big banquet hall crowd, which was absolutely quiet. But when the general concluded his heartfelt remarks the attendees stood and gave him a standing ovation. Many of the vets had tears streaming down their faces. The next morning found us at the Staubach Ranch to meet with locals and youngsters, observe static displays of historic military equipment, and do range and skeet shooting. The mixing and mingling created many

opportunities to bond and share experiences — good and bad. And then there was the helicopter hog hunt. As the SI story pointed out, Texas is plagued by millions of wild hogs running amok. They decimate crops, devouring fields of corn, sugarcane, wheat, oats, See MOFFETT on 21

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a perfect invitee for such an event, as the Laconia native made 10 combat deployments to Afghanistan and is a nationallyknown advocate for sufferers of PTS. He honestly addressed his own PTS challenges on a CBS-TV 60 Minutes segment. H4H founder Philip Brooks spoke at the February 21 banquet to attendees who’d come to Texas from all over the country in search of healing and camaraderie. Brooks told of past participants who’d been on the brink h ofO suicide r w e reconnecting before Cwith fellow veterans at H4H to renew their spirits and replace hopelessness with hope. But General Bolduc stole the show. The Granite Stater eschewed the podium and microphone and walked amongst the many tables with his service dog Victor, speaking to scores of vets about his own

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HELICOPTERS, HOG-HUNTING, HEROES, & BOLDUC As a sports writer, I sometimes look to Sports Illustrated for column ideas. So I was struck by a major piece in the January 30 issue of SI on hunting wild hogs—aka feral pigs—in Texas. So is hog hunting a legitimate sports topic? Well, if it was good enough for Sports Illustrated, then it was good enough for me. Hog hunting resonated because I’d actually been invited to participate in a real Texas Helicopter Hog Hunt on February 22—one such as described in the SI story. The unlikely invite came about after General Don Bolduc and I were guests on a local radio show — Cail and Company. A veterans’ organization called “Helicopters for Heroes” (H4H) subsequently invited us to attend its annual weekend retreat in Ennis, Texas. The focus there is on vets with Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and the weekend includes banquets, concerts, special guest speakers and cookouts, as well as shooting and hunting for those who desire such activities. General Bolduc was

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

MARCH

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Wednesday 4th

Kashmir – Led Zeppelin Tribute

Spring Feather Wool Tree Class

League of NH Craftsmen, 279 DW Highway, Meredith. 10am-4pm. Create beautiful feather wool trees for your home in this class with instructor, Jean Reed. These unique and whimsical trees are made from felted wool and wrapped over wire stems. Tuition is $90 per student and pre-registration is required. 279-7920

Friday 6

Comedy Night – Live Comedy Pitman’s Freight Room, 94 New Salem Street, Laconia. 8pm. $20pp. Pitman’s is a BYO venue. www.

PitmansFreightRoom.com

and are introduced to shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing.” www.prescottfarm.

Rochester Opera House, 31 Wakefield Street, Rochester. 8pm.

www.RochesterOperaHouse.com

Learn the Art of Soldering

League of NH Craftsmen, 279 DW Highway, Meredith. 10:30am-4:30pm. Learn the art of soldering with artist Joy Raskin. Hands-on soldering to help you gain confidence in your skills. Great for those who have been taking jewelry classes but want to improve. Tuition is $75 per student with an additional materials fee. Preregistration is required. 279-7920

Book ‘n Puzzles Sale

First Church Congregational, 63 South Main Street, Rochester. 8amnoon. Tables laden with books and puzzles. Pews stacked with DVSs, CDs and VHS tapes. Each item only fifty cents! 332-1121

Mike Girard’s Big Swinging Thing Flying Monkey, 39 South Main Street, Plymouth. www.FlyingMonkeyNH. com or 536-2551

3rd Annual Chili & Beer Tasting Castle in the Cloud’s Carriage House, Moultonborough. 3:30pm-5:30pm. Enjoy two hours of tasting, mingling and music in the first floor of the Carriage House. Relax by the large hearth fireplace or on the lake-view terrace to let that delicious chili and beer settle. Tickets are limited and must be purchased by March 6th at www.castleintheclouds.org $25pp and includes a Castle in the Clouds tasting glass.

Snowshoe Yoga P r e s c o t t Fa r m E nv i r o n m e n t a l E d u c a t i o n C e n t e r, 9 2 8 W h i t e Oaks Road, Laconia. 10an-12pm. Adults immerse themselves in the peacefulness of nature as they practice yoga in snowshoes, are guided through a walking meditation,

www.RochesterOperaHouse.com

or 335-1992

Mother & Son Minute to Win It Game Night

Pitman’s Freight Room, 94 New Salem Street, Laconia. 8pm. $20pp. Pitman’s is a BYO venue. www.

Tapply-Thompson Community Center, Bristol. 6:30-8:30pm. A special night for Mothers & Sons to join in some fun, silly competitions and games. All ages are welcome. The cost is $15 per couple and includes refreshments and prizes. Call 744-2713 to reserve your spot by 3/10.

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The High Kings Flying Monkey, 39 South Main Street, Plymouth. www.FlyingMonkeyNH. com or 536-2551

Free “Learn to Curl” Session

Saturday 7th

Rochester Opera House, 31 Wakefield Street, Rochester. 8pm.

PSU Ice Arena, Plymouth. 4pm-6pm. This free session will focus on the fundamentals of curling; participants will learn how to deliver a stone and how to sweep. All equipment will be provided. Donations are gratefully accepted. Questions can be answered at psu-icearena@plymouth.edu

Tuesday 10th Center Harbor Soup Kitchen – Free Community Meal

William Shakespeare’s “Winter’s Tale” – Live Performance S a n d w i c h Tow n H a l l T h e a t r e, Sandwich. Advice to the Players, S a n d w i c h ’s ow n S h a ke s p e a r e company, is proud to present their Spring Education Tour Production of “Winter’s Tale”. Tickets are available at www.AdvicetothePlayers.org or by calling 284-7115

The Garrison Players Present “Little Women” Garrison Players Arts Center, Route 4, Rollinsford. Little Women is Louisa May Alcott’s autobiographical account of her life with her three sisters in Concord, Massachusetts in the 1860s. With their father fighting in the American Civil War, sisters Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth are at home with their mother. The story tells of how the sisters grow up, find love and their places in the world. www. GarrisonPlayers.org or 603-7504ART

GriefShare First Baptist Church, 89 Main Street, Meredith. 6:30pm-8:30pm. GriefShare is a faith-based program offering help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend. Group will meet most Tuesdays through June 9th. For more information call 279-8108 or email fbcmeredith@gmail.com

Thursday 12th Blood Sweat & Tears Flying Monkey, 39 South Main Street, Plymouth. www.FlyingMonkeyNH. com or 536-2551

Friday 13th Pink Talking Fish Flying Monkey, 39 South Main Street, Plymouth. www.FlyingMonkeyNH. com or 536-2551

The Spirit of Johnny Cash

Saturday 14th Glen Phillips & Chris Barron Flying Monkey, 39 South Main Street, Plymouth. www.FlyingMonkeyNH. com or 536-2551

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Rosemary’s Baby Blues Pitman’s Freight Room, 94 New Salem Street, Laconia. 8pm. $20pp. Pitman’s is a BYO venue. www.

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See EVENTS on 14

Gen. Don Bolduc To Address Belknap County Republicans The Belknap County Republican Committee (BCRC) has scheduled their next monthly meeting to be held on Wednesday, March 11th, at 6:30pm. The meeting will be held at the Laconia VFW Post 1670, 143 Court St, Laconia, NH. This month’s guest speaker will be US Senate candidate, Brigadier General Don Bolduc. General Bolduc served in the US Army for 36 years and led one of the first groups in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, riding on horseback to take control of the southern Afghan region from the Taliban. He was one of the few survivors of both a helicopter crash and a 2,000-pound bomb that inadvertently targeted on his position by friendly fire. His services included assignments as Commander, Combined Joint Special Operations Component Commander in Afghanistan, as Deputy Director for US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and as Special Operations Command-Africa (COMSOCAFRICA). General Bolduc was raised on the Bolduc Family Farm in Laconia, where his father served as a long time city councilor and Mayor. General Bolduc has 3 children and 3 grandchildren, and lives in Stratham, NH with his wife Sharon and his service dog, Victor. General Bolduc will share his reasons for running for US Senate, and his goals, if he wins the US Senate primary in September and then goes on to defeat the current Democrat US Senator, Jeanne Shaheen, in the November election. He will also take questions after addressing the Committee. Belknap County GOP meetings are open to ALL Republicans and like-minded Independents. Once again, the Committee strongly encourages its members to continue to bring non-perishable food items for donation to local food pantries. For more information about the Committee, please check the Committee’s website at www.BelknapCountyGOP.org or send an email to alan.glassman@gmail.com.

Program On Civil War Surgeon At Rochester Historical Museum On Thursday, March 12th at 7pm at the Rochester Historical Society Museum located on Hanson Street, Rochester, there will be a presentation by Linda Sargent and Virginia Rutledge of excerpts from the Journal of Civil War Assistant Surgeon Ezra Pray of the Union Navy. Surgeon Pray’s journal follows his service in the Union Navy from September 1861 through April 1862 where he served onboard the sailing bark (ship) US Fernandina stationed off the treacherous coast of Cape Fear, North Carolina. In the 1820’s Surgeon Pray’s father, Ezra H. Pray, had established a homestead farm on lower Salmon Falls Road. His sons and daughters were well educated and prolific letter writers. Many of these letters, as well as Surgeon Pray’s Journal, have been preserved. Linda Sargent and Virginia Rutledge have conducted extensive research on Rochester, NH, especially the history of lower Salmon Falls Road. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information please call 603 330-3099 or e-mail rochesterhistorical@metrocast.net.

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

F O O L NEW HAMPSHIRE A

in brendan@weirs.com

Now In 4th Printing!

The Flatlander Chronicles Live Free or Die.

*A FLATLANDER’S OBSERVATIONS ON LIFE

What A Difference A Day Makes I never used to care much about Leap Years when I was a younger man. Just adding an extra day onto the year didn’t by Brendan Smith mean much to Weirs Times Editor me at all. But now that I am older, and especially since I will be turning 65 later this year, I appreciate this year’s Leap much more that you could imagine. I never even knew why Leap Year existed, but I found out recently with a thorough fiveminute search on the Internet. It seems it all came about because of Julius Caesar who, one night after a really rough party on February 27th, slept through the next day and was pretty upset that it was now March 1st instead of February 28th and knew he had to spend the day signing Social Security checks for the Roman seniors, which he couldn’t do with a hangover. So, Caesar proclaimed that it was actually February 29th so he could get his head together. (Apparently, Caesar did the same thing four years later and, thus, tradition took over.) Some others say that Leap Year has to do with the rotation of the earth and others claim it was created to give politicians running for president one extra day to try and bamboozle people into voting for them (as well as an extra day of political ad revenues for TV and radio stations). But it is the Internet, so I can choose which story I’d like to believe, so I’m sticking with the Caesar one. Still, in the end, it doesn’t really matter why. Having an extra day, an extra 24 hours an extra 1.440 minutes, an extra 86,400 seconds every four years is something I certainly am not taking for granted any longer.

So, I have been thinking about how I will embrace this extra day and not waste it away on frivolous activity. I see those much younger than me going about their daily lives, the grim looks on their early morning face as they trudge off to work, not even a thought that they have been gifted with an extra precious day. If you are one of them, I ask you to join in with me and change your thinking. You can use some of the suggestions I have here on how to make the best of this time, or, you can come up with your own. It makes no difference, just as long as you take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Take that extra day to just reflect. Sit down, take a deep breath, slow your thinking and just take in where you are in the now. Look at what’s around you. Your home, your belongings, that door handle to the closet you’ve been meaning to fix for a year, that spot in the corner of the kitchen counter that needs cleaning. “What the heck is that thing crawling across the carpet? Is that a bug?” Okay, maybe not. How about… Start That Novel You’ve Been Meaning To Read – All your friends have been talking about it, now it is your time to crack that book, put up your feet and dig in. Wow, this plot is really involved, so many twists and turns, I can’t wait to see how it ends. Gee, this character reminds me of Jim, I haven’t talked to him in years… that SOB still owes me money. I knew I never should have trusted that guy. Okay, let’s try something else… Take A Walk Around Your Neighborhood – Take a leisurely stroll and really take in the surroundings. Try to notice things you haven’t really noticed

before. The different trees, the sounds of the birds. How the heck can he afford that new Lexus? Are they ever going to clean up their yard? Is that a shingle falling off my roof? Oh man, how much is that going to cost to replace? Hmmm..well, there’s always.. Learn How To Make A New Recipe – There is nothing like the satisfaction of creating a wonderful meal from scratch. We don’t often have time to do that with our busy schedules. Put on that apron and get started. Hmm... we don’t have any garlic. Can you still use spice that is seven years old? I thought we had more flour than this. What in the heck is a spiralizer? Guess I’ll have to make a trip to the store and get some heavy cream..Arrghh!! Well, forget that maybe just… Catch Up On Current EventsYou’ve been taking at face value what others have been telling you about politics, etc. Now is the perfect time to read up on things and make your own opinions on what is going on in politics. Well, on second thought… There’s always… Take A Nap – Nothing like do nothing in the middle of the day, closing your eyes and drifting off and forgetting about the day’s events. Shoot, I forgot to pay the electric bill it was due yesterday. What’s that lump on my leg, that wasn’t there yesterday I don’t think. What the heck is that noise outside? Oh well, at least we put the clocks ahead this weekend so I’ll have one less hour to worry about all this stuff. Thanks for nothing Julius.

Weirs Times F.O.O.L columnist, Brendan Smith’s first book with over 30 of the best of his original Flatlander Columns. From learning to Rake The Roof to Going To The Dump to Buying Firewood for the first time and everything in between, Brendan recounts the humorous tales of his learning to fit into New Hampshire life as a Flatlander from New York.

Order your autographed copy today for $13.99 plus $3 for shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like the author to personalize your copy with.) Make out checks or money orders for $16.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: The Flatlander Chronicles, c/o The Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247. Order online at www.BrendanTSmith.com (Pickup autographed copies at the Weirs Times)

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

There Is No American Worker Shortage “We’re full, our system’s full, our country’s full!” That was President Donald Trump last year at our southern border. “Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families.” That was Trump in January 2017 at his inaugural address. “The influx of foreign workers holds by Michelle Malkin down salaries, keeps unemployment Syndicated Columnist high, and makes it difficult... to earn a middle class wage.” That was presidential candidate Trump in 2016. Contrast those clarion “America First” statements with the apparent hysteria of Trump’s current acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, who was caught on tape telling a private audience of elites in England last week: “We are desperate -- desperate -- for more people. We are running out of people to fuel the economic growth that we’ve had in our nation over the last four years. We need more immigrants.” Mulvaney reportedly went on to push for “expanding” merit- and employment-based immigration to fill all the high-skilled jobs that Americans purportedly aren’t capable of filling. By how much, for how long, in which visa categories and under what conditions this “expansion” should happen, Mulvaney is not reported to have detailed. (He will be featured at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday morning. It would be nice if someone asked him to elaborate, wouldn’t it?) “Running out of people” is typical Beltway swamp talk from a big business lobbyist trafficking in open borders “Chicken Little” alarmism. Has Mulvaney opened a newspaper or browsed the internet in the last 10 years? How about the last week? Over a 48-hour period, I compiled a Twitter thread of more than 50 stories of tens of thousands of recent U.S. worker layoffs in tech and other high-skilled industries. Among the U.S. corporations and institutions responsible for laying off, replacing, offshoring, and outsourcing tens of thousands of American jobs: Wayfair, TripAdvisor, LogMeIn, Inc., Zume Pizza, VMWare, Shutterfly, Intel, Comcast, Xilinx, 23andMe, NortonLifeLock, AT&T, Macy’s, Walgreens, Uber, Lyft, UCSF Medical Center, Baptist Health, Sysco, WeWork, American Family Insurance, TennesSee MALKIN on 28

The Worship of Dictators This week, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the socialist Democratic presidential front-runner, made waves when he merely reiterated his lifelong warmth toward the viciously evil Cuban communist regime. Brushing off the human by Ben Shapiro rights violations of Fidel Syndicated Columnist Castro -- a man whose revolution ended with the murder or imprisonment of tens of thousands of his countrymen, and decades of impoverishment and repression for millions -- Sanders explained: “We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but you know, it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad. ... When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing, even though Fidel Castro did it?” But, of course, Sanders hasn’t merely praised Castro’s literacy programs (which, by the way, were propagandistic exploits. Cuba had an 80% literacy rate before Castro’s coup). Back in the 1980s, Sanders explained that he was “physically nauseated” by former President John F. Kennedy’s “hatred for the Cuban revolution.” In 1989, Sanders stated after visiting Cuba: “I did not see a hungry child. I did not see any homeless people.” He said that the Cuban people “had an almost religious affection” for Castro. As it turns out, there is hardly a single communist regime of the past half-century for which Sanders has not expressed some level of moral support. This week, Sanders went out of his way to praise China, explaining: “It’s is an authoritarian country. ... But can anyone deny -- I mean, the facts are clear -- that they have taken more people out of extreme poverty than any country in history?” Naturally, Sanders neglects to mention that China’s embrace of free trade and profit margin in the 1990s was responsible for that rise from poverty. That would cut against his socialist worldview. Then there’s the Nicaraguan communist

regime of Daniel Ortega, which murdered thousands. Sanders celebrated the Sandinista revolution in the 1980s (he attended a rally at which protesters chanted, “the Yankee will die”), visited Nicaragua and returned to tut-tut Ortega’s human rights abuses by citing Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus. It’s no wonder Ortega has endorsed Sanders for the presidency. Or how about the Venezuelan regime? Sanders refused to call socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro a dictator as late as last year, and refused to call opposition Juan Guaido the legitimate leader of the country. The Sanders Senate website carried an editorial for years that favorably compared the regime of Hugo Chavez with the poverty record of the United States. And, of course, there’s Sanders’ long record of propagandizing on behalf of the Soviet regime. Not only did Sanders visit the Soviet Union for a honeymoon/business trip with his new wife in 1988; he returned and declared that Moscow had “the most effective mass transit system” he had ever seen. He then celebrated that the Soviets were moving “forward into some of the early visions of their revolution, what their revolution was about in 1917.” Sanders isn’t a European social democrat, warm toward Denmark and Norway. He’s a lifelong communist -- a man who declared himself fully on board with the nationalization of nearly every major American industry in the 1970s -- and an advocate for anti-Americanism abroad. The fact that it has taken until the verge of his nomination as the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee for members of the media and fellow Democrats to take note of this rather important truth demonstrates that the left’s gatekeeping function has been irrevocably broken. Ben Shapiro, 36, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com. He is the author of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller “The Right Side of History.”

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

Bloomberg the Nanny Good for Mike Bloomberg. During his first debate, he slammed Bernie Sanders by saying: “We’re not going to throw out capitalism. by John Stossel We tried that. Syndicated Columnist O t h e r c o u n t r i e s tried that. It was called communism, and it just didn’t work!” Exactly right. It’s safe to say Bloomberg is not a communist. I wonder if that means there’s still room for him in the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, Bloomberg is no

principled, limited-government capitalist, either. Like his fellow New York billionaire Donald Trump, he’s used to getting his own way at his own company. Unfortunately, he assumes government should function in a similar fashion. Instead of a predictable governing philosophy, Bloomberg has whims -- lots of them. The Media Research Center’s Craig Bannister tallied “32 Bloomberg Bans” (some were overturned). While he was mayor of New York City, Bloomberg targeted smoking, flavored tobacco products, fattening sodas, cars on certain Man-

hattan streets, loud music, grass clippings, cellphones in schools, salt, guns, Styrofoam, restaurant menus without calorie counts and restaurants without extra bathrooms for women. When challenged about how his ban on big soft drinks inconvenienced consumers, Bloomberg contemptuously replied that you could always buy two smaller containers. “Could be that it’s a little less convenient to have to carry two 16-ounce drinks to your seat, but I don’t think you can make the case that we’re taking things away.” But he was taking something away -- freedom of choice. It’s hard

to do what we choose if nannies like Bloomberg control parts of our private lives. During his tenure as mayor, police expanded crowd-control cordons at public events like parades and marathons. Now, it’s harder to see the parade. And sometimes, to cross one street, you have to walk a long way. If Bloomberg ends up in the White House, he’d bring his nanny approach to the whole planet. Still, in my state’s primary, I’ll vote for him over Bernie Sanders. He knows how to manage people. He was a pretty good mayor of my See STOSSEL on 29

Trump’s Tale Of India UNITED NATIONS The imagery and optics presented a publicist’s dream; an American President being feted by a cast of millions on foreign by John J. Metzler soil with exotic Syndicated Columnist backdrops ranging from the enchanting Taj Mahal to a rousing Namaste Trump rally at the Motera Cricket stadium with 110,000 cheering onlookers amid a program of song, dance and passionate rhetoric. For those of a certain age this extravaganza was worthy of Cecil B. De Mille spectacle.

As the President extolled, “America loves India, America respects India, and America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people.” Though many pundits smirkingly dismissed Donald Trump’s whirlwind trip to India as simply style over substance, the clear message was that the United States was reaffirming its close commitment to political and commercial ties to India, the world’s largest democracy. But beyond the pomp and pageantry between two populist presidents, the themes of Engagement and Enterprise were the underlying mantras. So was a less than subtle appeal to the well educated

and prosperous Indian American community who largely supports the President. Months ago India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi was greeted in Houston, Texas by a rollicking “Howdy, Modi” rally! Since the end of the Cold War, India has exhibited a dramatic sea change in foreign policy and a tectonic shift in economic policy. The moribund democratic socialist economic policies of the Nehru and Gandhi eras have been gradually replaced by free enterprise. This has not happened overnight; India’s statist system was smugly content to support the Hindu Rate of Growth, a lackluster economic expansion metric which simply did not support a country of now over

a billion people. Growth rates are now 6.7%. Over the past twenty years Indian governments have tried to unleash India’s entrepreneurial genius to create a middle class. It’s now happening. President Trump stated, “India’s rise as a prosperous and independent nation is an example to every nation in the world and one of the most outstanding achievements of our century…It’s all the more inspiring because you have done it as a democratic country.” India remains a largely Hindu country with large religious minorities, mostly Muslim, Sikhs and Christians. T h o u g h See METZLER on 10

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Adventure Saturday Bridal Veil Falls and Rope Tows Becca and I made a date for a skinning adventure and we didn’t decide where to go until the last minute. We had kept our eye on the higher summit forecast that called for high winds and clouds and since it looked like it wouldn’t improve we decided to stay low and in the trees by adventuring to Bridal Veil Falls. Skinning is going uphill using “skins” attached to the bottom of your skis or splitboard. The skins allow the ski to slide forward on the snow but not backward. Today the skins are made of nylon but they are still called skins because the first ones were made from sealskin. A splitboard is a snowboard that can be broken down into two ski-like planks and the bindings are re-fixed to allow the boot’s heels to rise for climbing--I’m sure it’s a magic trick. It looks complicated but Becca can take apart or reassemble her board quickly. We headed up the Coppermine Trail in Franconia. The trail is popular and the snow was well packed by snowshoers and a few skiers. The Trail is 2.5 miles long and climbs over a thousand feet to reach Bridal Veil Falls. About a mile up the trail on the left we could see recent ski tracks coming down from the

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Becca at the base of the frozen Bridal Veil Falls, the falls can be reached by skiing or snowshoeing 2.5 miles up the Coppermine Trail. A pair of ice climbers can be seen on the left side of the photo, a man on top and another next to their skis at the bottom. old Hardwood Heaven cross country ski trail. It hasn’t been groomed or maintained for years but people still ski it. The snow conditions were wonderful and it made me think that maybe it would be possible to make a big loop and end up coming back on those tracks. We were able to skin up all the way, even the rocky sections along the Coppermine Brook were covered with more than a foot of packed snow. We worked our way around the Coppermine Shelter and inspected the heavily graffiti marked old shelter. I learned this past fall that this is one of the just two remaining shelters built in the

mid 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corp. in the White Mountain National Forest. Sadly the other shelter, the Mount Landgon shelter is slated to be destroyed. I read in a news story that the Bartlett Selectmen are opposed to the removal, but I have not heard if a plan has been made to save that historic CCC log Adirondack-style leanto hiking shelter. The good news in the story was that they planned to preserve and maintain the Coppermine Shelter. We skinned right up to the base of the frozen falls. At first we heard voices and a loud cry, “Off Belay.” Two men were ice climbing the falls’ icy wall. We saw their skis stuck in the

snow nearby; they had skinned up too. From the base of See PATENAUDE on 22

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

METZLER from 7 Modi and his ruling BJP political party remain hardline Hindu nationalists, the traditional vision of India as a secular state has been blurred in recent years amid sectarian tensions. Trump was not the first American president to visit India, Dwight Eisenhower visited back in 1959 to be followed by Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama. Indeed there has been clear bipartisan support in the USA especially since the Clinton Administration’s tilt towards India. Narenda Modi stated warmly, that current American ties are “no longer just another partnership, it is a far greater and closer relationship.” Two major events presaged this; the fall of the former Soviet Union long the po-

litical ally and weapons supplier of “nonaligned” India in the 1970’s and 1980’s and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America. In the first instance India lost its principal ally in Moscow. In the second, both India and the USA faced the common enemy of Islamic jihadi terrorism, some of which was rooted in neighboring Pakistan and nearby Afghanistan. During the Trump visit, the U.S. sold India $3 billion in new military helicopters; U.S. arms sales to India since 2007 have reached $17 billion. Clearly the USA/ India relationship poses a clear counter to China’s growing military might. Yet the Pentagon’s desire for some sort of military alliance with India remains unlikely given India’s strong non-

aligned traditions. Nonetheless the U.S., Australia and Japan view India as a counterweight to China, and thus part of a free and open Indo/Pacific region. Though Donald Trump laid the groundwork for a much anticipated trade deal with India, the formalities have yet to pass. Currently U.S. two way trade with India stands at $92 billion in 2019; just a decade ago that commerce was $37 billion. India ranked No. 9 among the top U.S. top trade partners. Another overlooked issue has been Washington’s quiet support for India’s quest for permanent membership on the UN Security Council. India along with Brazil, Japan, Germany and African

contenders have long pressed for Council expansion from the current fifteen members. India is hoping to win a two year seat in June when the UN elects five new nonpermanent members. As India’s Hindustan Times editorialized, “The India-US relationship has proved resilient amid the immense changes underway in international politics.” May I add, that’s what friends are for. John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China.

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WHAT’S ON TAP IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?? A listing of some of the area’s beercentric watering holes where you can find old favorites on tap as well as some cutting edge seasonals.

ACKERLY’S JOHNSON’S GRILL & GALLEY TAPHOUSE 83 Main Street, Alton 603.875.3383 Akerlysgrillandgalleyrestaurant.com Burnt Timber - Father Juan IPA Tuckerman - Pale Ale Smuttynose - Myst. Haze Moat Mountain - Square Tail Stoneface - IPA

COPPER KETTLE TAVERN

At Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant 233 D.W. Hwy, Meredith 603.279.6212 hartsturkeyfarm.com Allagash White Tuckerman - Pale Ale 603 Winni Amber Stoneface IPA Moat - Miss Vs Blueberry Henniker - Working/Porter ...+6 More On Tap

D.A. LONG TAVERN

We Buy CATALYTIC CONVERTERS - See Nick for Pricing BUSINESS HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 7am to 3pm Closed Sat. & Sun.

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Office: (603) 744-3453 Fax: (603) 744-6034

201 Abel Road, Bristol, NH 03222

**IF USING GPS, TAKE RIVER RD TO ABEL RD. (DO NOT TAKE PEAKED HILL RD.)

At Funspot Family Entertainment Ctr. 579 Endicott St N., Weirs 603.366.4377 funspotnh.com Clown Shoes - Snow on the Maple Tree Rockingham - Silence of the Hams Marsh Island - Pulp Truck CT Valley - Star Gazer Founders- Frangelic Mtn Brwn Nightshift - Whirlpool ...+6 More On Tap

At Johnson’s Seafood & Steak 69 Rt 11, New Durham 603.859.7500 eatatjohnsons.com/ newdurham Dogfish Head- Flesh & Blood Foundation- Epiphany Northwoods- Mac & Margie Throwback- Cheek Squeezer Concord Craft- Pond Hockey Pils Hobbs- Ground Level Coffee Milk Stout ...+30 More On Tap

PATRICK’S PUB

18 Weirs Rd., Gilford 603.293.0841 Patrickspub.com 603 - Winni Amber Ale Woodstock - Frosty Goggles Tuckerman - Pale Ale Sam Adams - NE IPA Patrick’s Slainte’ Ale Switchback Ale ...+8 More On Tap

THE UNION DINER

1331 Union Ave., Laconia 603.524.6744 theuniondiner.com Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale Stark - Irish Red Ale Hobbs - Rt. 16 Pale Ale Litherman’s - Misguided Angel Concord Craft - When Rhinos Fly Moat Mountain - Helles

** Tap listings subject to change! RESTAURANT OR BAR OWNER?

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

Wicked BREW Review

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Beer Traveler: Hobbs Tavern and Brewery

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This is our last week of looking for a new place to get great, locally made craft beer. It’s been a wild month of finding new brews and superb food. If you missed the past issues, we covered: ~Bristol (Shacketts Brewery, Kathleen’s Cottage and Woodman’s Brewery)

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Hobbs Tavern is located at 2415 White Mountain Hwy, West Ossipee.

D.A. LONG TAVERN Always Lots Of Fun On Tap!

Relax by the fireplace at the Upstairs Bar at Hobbs Tavern. ~Ashland (Common Man Tavern, White Mountain Brewing) ~Wolfeboro (Beveridge Craft Beer and Soap Co, Lone Wolfe Brewing and Burnt Timber Brewery and

Tavern) We should all make it a point to get out and patronize these establishments. Now, let’s set our sites on Hobbs Tavern and Brewery in West Os-

Enjoy a flight while munching on delicious food selections. sipee. As you enter this well furnished building, you will notice how the ceiling’s rough sawn boards with their slightly burned accents help to make

you feel right at home. Many of the wood elements are from local providers. A massive stone fireplace beckons you to come and warm yourself. See BREW on 26

Located in a quiet corner Exceptional Craft Beer List Specialty Cocktails of Funspot, steps away Made to Order Pizza from lots of fun stuff... Pool • Darts 20 bowling lanes, 18-hole mini-golf and the largest arcade in the world including a huge collection of classic video & Keep Up To Date pinball With Our Rotating games! Selection of Craft TAVERN HOURS

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Located Inside Funspot, Rte. 3, One Mile North Of The Weirs Beach Sign 579 Endicott Street N. • Weirs • NH • 603-366-4377 • funspotnh.com

Animal Crackers

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

Sponsored by

What’s Going On Meow? Franklin Animal Shelter wants you to know: Shop and Donate on Amazon Did you know Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice? The Franklin Animal Shelter is part of the AmazonSmile family! Happy shopping and thank you! The Franklin Animal Shelter Wish List is posted on Amazon to help you fill your shopping cart!

Donation Collections From Local Area Circle K/Ir ving Stations Special thanks to the Irving Stations, stores in Belmont and the Laconia and Meredith Stores for placing canisters on the counters to collect donations for Funds4Paws. If you’d like to help out animals in NH, please look for the canisters when you visit the Circle K/Irving locations at 535 Union Ave in Laconia; at 81 Route 25 in Meredith, and at 9 Plummer Hill Road and 944 Laconia Road (Route 106) in Belmont.

LOOKING FOR THEIR FOREVER HOMES Cutie Captain Hopes for a Forever Home...

Cute little Captain came to us as a stray from Captain’s Way in Effingham in Nov. of 2019. We have been working hard to coax her out of her thick shell and so now she will sometimes let us touch her. She is bolder in the company of other cats. We are seeking a special kind of adopter for Captain, one that is patient, calm and has social cats already living in the home. Fast movements and loud noises will make Captain hide so we don’t recommend a home with children for this particular kitty. Captain is current on vaccines, spayed, microchipped and ready for a home to call her own.

LAKES REGION HUMANE SOCIETY 11 Old Rt. 28, Ossipee, NH (603) 539-1077 • www.lrhs.net

CAPTAIN

You’ll fall in love with Meat Loaf !!

MEAT LOAF

MEAT LOAF, age 1, is a very handsome guy with a coat full of whorls and swirls and green/gold eyes. He’s one of our “shy” guys and has not had much contact with people, so we are working on his socialization skills. He grew up outside, and was trapped in Milan, NH. A slow, quiet, gentle approach is appreciated. Too much movement or noise will send him scurrying. He does enjoy conversation and he will listen intently. His other buddies are also helping him get used to his new environment. Play is one of the things that will help engage him, but let him make the first move. Meatloaf LOVES to bake and tap his adorable little feet where ever he goes! It is rewarding to see the progress, albeit it slowly, so patience and understanding are key. https://www.conwayshelter.org/adopt-a-cat CONWAY AREA HUMANE SOCIETY 223 East Main Street, Conway, NH 603-447-5955 • www.conwayshelter.org

Hope Waits For Her Forever Home...

Hope is a 1-year-old, 54lb, mixed breed who is looking for a foster home that will get her out of the shelter while she waits to find her forever family. Are you a go-getter? A put-your-nose-to-the-grindstone-get-things-done kind of person? So is Hope. Hope is motivated, willing, energetic, and a self-starter. As a strong independent woman, Hope doesn’t take sass. She likes things straight forward, routine, and consistent. Here’s the thing though, those are all things a shelter is not. As a Shepherd mix, Hope is a working dog. As a truly high energy dog she needs a job to act as an outlet for this energy. She needs a coach to get her there. Someone who’s going to be as motivated as she is, and help her see the light at the end of this stressful tunnel. We’re looking for a foster home to be this coach for Hope. Can you take on this project? Can you tack on one more new year’s resolution? Help Hope to be her best self! Here are the details: Foster home must be adult only. No children, please. Hope must be the only pet in the home as she doesn’t get along well with dogs. Must be a house, no apartments or condos, please. Contact Pope Memorial Cocheco Valley Humane in Dover NH: ndalessandro@popememorialcvhs.org.

HOPE

POPE MEMORIAL HUMANE SOCIETY 221 County Farm Road, Dover, NH (603) 749-5322 • www.cvhsonline.org

is a foundation to support organizations or individuals involved in the humane treatment of animals, including those in dire situations. For more information visit funds4paws.org or find them on Facebook.

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against me enough to prevent me from getting them. But I kept an eye open as I have seen them briefly in the trees in my backyard before, mostly in winter. It had been a few years though. My alertness has been higher as of late, however, as so many people have written in this winter to tell me about the bluebirds they have been seeing at their feeders. Now I can officially, in my very unofficial capacity, call it the Winter of the Bluebird. It joins past “Winter of” birds such as snowy owl, barred owl, American robin, and dark-eyed junco. After seeing the bluebird flee, I rushed to sprinkle some mealworms on the railing of the deck. Within 15 minutes, a bright blue male bluebird landed on the deck and started

helping himself. His stay was brief, maybe two minutes, but a female took his place and remained much longer. They dined together that day only once and for a very brief time. They visited periodically throughout the day and I wondered if they would return the next day. My question was answered immediately as I woke up the next morning to four bluebirds, two female and two male, on my deck railing. I was so tempted to wake up my 16-year-old son, who had missed the previous day’s visit. He’s a bear to wake up for important matters, let alone to see a few bluebirds. I mean, bluebirds at the feeder is a big deal to me and he would find it interesting, but not nearly

as cool as I found it. I let him sleep and hoped the bluebirds would still be around when he woke up. They were and he found it interesting, but as expected, not as See BOSAK on 28 241 UNION AVE LACONIA, NH 03246 241 603-524-0951 UNION AVE LACONIA, NH 03246 603-524-0951

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An eastern bluebird eats mealworms from a backyard in New England this winter. CHRIS BOSAK PHOTO

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Sorry, but I have to go back to writing about bluebirds. After several weeks of writing about bluebirds that other people had in their yards, I finally got some of my own. I would imagine no apology is necessary, however, as who doesn’t like to hear, read and talk about bluebirds? I walked into my sunroom and saw through the window just a flash of a bird out of the corner of my eye. The bird had been perched on one of the arms of the feeder pole system and disappeared into woods behind my house. That was a bluebird, I know it, I told myself, even though I got only the shortest of looks in my peripheral vision. I’ve heard of bluebirds dining on suet, but I didn’t think this one was eating the suet. I think it was checking out the feeding station to see if there were mealworms being offered. At the time, there wasn’t. I had a bag of mealworms stashed away in my seed container but they weren’t being offered outside because I had never had any luck attracting bluebirds. I had long given up on them, to be honest. Other birds, particularly titmice, enjoyed mealworms when I had previously offered them, but no bluebird takers. I figured my wooded location was working

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

OUT on the TOWN Great Food, Libations & Good Times!

EVENTS from 4

Regional Greenways holds it’s annual meeting and 20th Anniversary celebration. There will be photos and stories of MMRG’s first 20 years, along with live music, cocktail/social hour, silent auction, beffet dinner, recognitions and a brief business meeting. The public is welcome. Cost is $50pp. Cash bar available. Reservations are required at www.MMRG.info or 978-7125

Sunday 15th

Melted Glass Workshop – Glass Landscape

MAN’S T I P FREIGHT ROOM

ALL SHOWS B.Y.O.B.

DANCE NIGHT: CAROLYN RAMSEY BAND FRI 2/21 CRB’s performs an eclectic variety of styles ranging 8:00PM from folk to rock, country and jazz standards and

TICKETS- $20 features rich vocal harmonies.

SAT 2/22 SWING DANCE: W/ THE TALL GRANITE

BIG BAND Carrying on a Swing tradition 7:00PM Texas Style! Free dance lesson before the show,

TICKETS- $20 7-8pm.

League of NH Craftsmen, 279 DW Highway, Meredith. 12:30pm-4:30pm. Create an original work using a full range of glass colors in sheet, various sizes of frit, strangers and a variety of kiln techniques to create depth in your image. Many fused glass landscape examples will be on display. Come prepared to work hard and have fun! Tuition is $140pp with no additional materials fee. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. 279-7920

FRI 2/28 JOE MOSS - BLUES PERFORMER based guitarist/bandleader Joe Moss 8:00PM Chicago is a consistent and entertaining performer with

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94 New Salem Street, Laconia • 603-527-0043 www.PitmansFreightRoom.com

Center Harbor Soup Kitchen – Free Community Meal

Monday 16th MMRG’s Annual Meeting and 20th Anniversary Celebration

TICKETS- $25 a monster groove.

Tuesday 17

“THE FINEST SZECHUAN & MANDARIN CUISINE IN THE LAKES REGION”

GriefShare First Baptist Church, 89 Main Street, Meredith. 6:30pm8:30pm. GriefShare is a faithbased program offering help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend. Group will meet most Tuesdays through June 9th. For more information call 279-8108 or email

fbcmeredith@gmail.com

Thursday 19th At the Table – A Spring Equinox Dinner T h e Fa r m h o u s e a t T h e Preserve of Chocorua, 88 Philbrick Neighborhood Road, Tamworth. Join Boston based Chef Daniel Gursha for an intimate dining experience at The Preserve with a dazzling celebration of seasonal local cuisine perfectly paired with a variety of wines. Seats are very limited, so reserve your spot today. $125pp. www.

reservethepreserve.com

Friday 20th

Tapestry – The Carole King Songbook Flying Monkey, 39 South Main Street, Plymouth. www. FlyingMonkeyNH.com or 536-2551

Lunch & Breakfast Daily • Dinner Thu-Fri-Sat DINNER SPECIALS THURSDAY NIGHT Yankee Pot Roast Shepherds Pie

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SATURDAY NIGHT PASTA SPECIALS •butternut squash ravioli w/maple cream sauce •Chicken, spinach tomato alfredo • Chicken, broccoli alfredo ... & more!

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8th Annual “Soup ‘N Sweets” – Moultonborough Library Gives Thanks for YOU!

Moultonborough Public Librar y, 4 Holland Street, Moultonborough. 11:30am1pm. This annual event is the Library’s way of saying “Thank You” to their patrons and extended community of friends! Come hungr y, as

603.527.8144 myrnascc.com

yrna’s Classic Cuisine Italian & American Comfort Food

this savory lunch buffet will include a variety of soups, chili, chowders and stews, followed by a tempting buffet of homemade sweets and desser ts, all prepared by The Friends of the Library, Library staff and Trustees of the Library. Beverages will be included as well. There are no reservations or tickets needed, just show up!

Saturday 21st Judy Collins Flying Monkey, 39 South Main Street, Plymouth. www. FlyingMonkeyNH.com or 536-2551

Snow Candy/Pancake Breakfast T h e Fa r m h o u s e a t T h e Preserve of Chocorua, 88 Philbrick Neighborhood Road, Tamwor th. Celebrate NH Maple Sugar Weekend at the Preserve as they host their annual pancake breakfast. Delicious pancakes and their own maple syr up will be available for $5pp, or $20 per family of four or more. After breakfast, try your hand at making the nostalgic maple treat-sugar on snow. www.

reservethepreserve.com

Kids can Cook: With Maple Syrup Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center, 928 White Oaks Road, Laconia. 2pm3:30pm. Children and adults explore different ways to add the taste of maple syrup to their plate! www.prescottfarm.org

Bisquit Miller & The Mix Pitman’s Freight Room, 94 New Salem Street, Laconia. 8 p m . $ 2 0 p p. P i t m a n ’s i s a B YO ve n u e . w w w.

PitmansFreightRoom.com

Sat. 21st & Sun. 22nd New Hampshire Old House & Barn Expo

Formerly known as Nadia’s D o u b l e Tr e e b y H i l t o n Trattoria, voted one of the SMALL PLATE SPECIALS Manchester Downtown Hotel, top ten restaurants in NH by Tuesday - Thursday from 3-5pm 700 Elm Street, Manchester. Boston Magazine. Veal Francese and Eggplant Sat. 9:30am-5:30pm, Sun. Offering discount drafts Rollatini Hours: Tues. & Thur Over 100 & select — Wed. Join us3-9pm Tue-Thurs from 3-5 house p.m.wines for Small Plate Specials 9:30am-4:30pm. — Fri. & Sat. 3-9:30pm exhibitors and presenters.

THIS WEEKEND SPECIALS

Located under the canopy at 131 LakeatStreet At Paugus Bay Plaza,Bay Laconia Located under the canopy 131 Lake Street at Paugus Plaza Hours: Tues. Wed. & Thurs. 3-9pm; Fri. & Sat. 3-9:30pm

(603)527-8144

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See EVENTSon 15

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

OUT on the TOWN Great Food, Libations & Good Times!

EVENTS from 14

Demonstrations for this year have also been expanded. Tips for barn repair, researching house histor y, insurance and financing, stone wall bu i l d i n g , t i m b e r f ra m i n g and woodworking. Got old house questions? Come ask the experts! $12/adults, $7/ students and seniors. www.

NHPreservation.org

Tuesday 24th Center Harbor Soup Kitchen – Free Community Meal

fbcmeredith@gmail.com

Thursday 26

Stephen Marley Flying Monkey, 39 South Main Street, Plymouth. www. FlyingMonkeyNH.com or 536-2551

Friday 27th Cheryl Arena Blues Band Pitman’s Freight Room, 94 New Salem Street, Laconia. 8 p m . $ 2 0 p p. P i t m a n ’s i s a B YO ve n u e . w w w.

PitmansFreightRoom.com

Saturday 28th Farm to Table Cooking: Maple Syrup at Every Meal Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center, 928 White Oaks Road, Laconia. 2pm3:30pm. Adults will get inspired and learn how to add this

New Hampshire staple to a variety of recipes! www.

prescottfarm.org

Tuesday 31st Center Harbor Soup Kitchen – Free Community Meal

fbcmeredith@gmail.com

APRIL

cost.

fbcmeredith@gmail.com

Tuesday 14th Center Harbor Soup Kitchen – Free Community Meal

GriefShare First Baptist Church, 89 Main Street, Meredith. 6:30pm8:30pm. GriefShare is a faithbased program offering help

and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend. Group will meet most Tuesdays through June 9th. For more information call 279-8108 or email

fbcmeredith@gmail.com

Tuesday 21st Center Harbor Soup Kitchen – Free Community Meal

Center Harbor Congregational Church, 52 Main Street, Center Harbor. 5pm – 6pm. Join every Tuesday night for an opportunity to meet new friends and families and enjoy a good meal together at no cost. First Baptist Church, 89 Main Street, Meredith. 6:30pm8:30pm. GriefShare is a faithbased program offering help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend. Group will meet most Tuesdays through June 9th. For more information call 279-8108 or email

fbcmeredith@gmail.com

603-524-1700

Center Harbor Soup Kitchen – Free Community Meal

Center Harbor Congregational Church, 52 Main Street, Center Harbor. 5pm – 6pm. Join every Tuesday night for an opportunity to meet new friends and families and enjoy a good meal together at no

an!

—Friend of the working m

35 Center Street • Wolfeboro • 515-1976

FOOD, FUN & ENTERTAINMENT

GriefShare

603-524-1700

Tuesday 7

BARBECUE, BURGERS & BREW GRAB & GO!

JEWELERS JEWELERS

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

HAPPY JACK’S

Cigar, Pipe & Tobacco Shop WEDDING CIGARS! • Great selection for your cigar bar reception tent • Groomsmans Gifts • Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties 71 Church St., Downtown Laconia Open Mon - Sat 9am - 5:30pm

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Weddings dot the social calendars of millions of people across the globe. The Association for Wedding Professionals International says every year an average of 2.4 million weddings are performed in the United States and approximately 150,000 per year are performed in Canada. Evenings are the most common time of the day to host a wedding, but that does not mean a daytime wedding cannot be a beautiful event and make for a party to remember. Couples are increasingly customizing their weddings to be a reflection of their personal styles. One of the ways couples are customizing their festivities is by moving the wedding to various hours of the day that meet the couple’s needs. A wedding that takes place in the late morning or afternoon may be the perfect fit for some couples. Here’s how to navigate the specifics of a daytime wedding. Secure Accommodations An early wedding means guests may have to travel from afar the evening before to be able to attend the festivities. Daytime weddings can be complemented by working with a hotel or bed and breakfast to ensure guests will have a place to stay and get ready to arrive at the

A Guide To Hosting A Daytime Wedding

Employ Color To Add Dimension During evening weddings, lighting or candles help set the mood. Those same elements will be ineffective in daylight. Choose bright colors for your decor and flowers to brighten up spaces. Choose Alternative Entertainment Chances are guests are not going to feel as comfortable dancing during daylight hours. Consider other entertainment, such as lawn games, karaoke, or a comedian. A guitarist or pianist may be a nice musical touch.

early wedding in time. Don’t Be Afraid To Negotiate Prices The wedding resource Bridal Guide says that vendors are typically more amenable to price discounts or offering greater value for daytime weddings. That’s because demand for their services is reduced during the day. Similarly, venues may have more availability during the day than at night, and, as a result, they’re more flexible on prices, especially since brunch foods generally

cost less than dinner entrees. Hire The Right Photographer Be sure to contract with a photographer who is a pro at handling photos in daylight and natural light. While many photographers are skilled in any light, many are used to shooting in churches and venues with low lighting. Be sure to see picture samples taken during the daytime to gauge a photographer’s daytime experience and skill level.

Plan Food Accordingly Just because the wedding is early does not mean the food should be. Guests still will need to eat. If you are only opting for light appetizers and cocktails, be sure to mention this on the invitation so guests can plan ahead and won’t go hungry. Daytime weddings can be successful with a little tweaking of traditional evening wedding planning.

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

(Family Features) First comes the proposal then comes the wedding planning. There are dozens of decisions that need to be made before it’s time to walk down the aisle, which can be overwhelming for brides and grooms. To help make it less stressful, these tips from Macy’s can help couples through the entire wedding-planning process, from on-trend apparel and accessories for the entire wedding party to all the essentials to create a perfect registry. Dressing the Ladies When it comes to bridesmaid dresses, the mix-and-match approach is trending in popularity. Start by deciding on a color palette, such as lilac, champagne and petal pink. Then have each bridesmaid choose her favorite style within that range of hues. Bring it all together by choosing a uniform look for makeup, shoes and accessories. There is no better time to thank the ladies than the morning of the big day. A few thoughtful gifts can go a long way, such as matching robes, tumblers to stay hydrated throughout the day and cosmetic cases to stow makeup essentials. Dressing the Gents Similar to bridesmaid dresses, groomsmen attire can be dependent on the venue and overall event aesthetic. While a suit can fit the bill for a country club wedding, a city affair may call for

Wedding Planner 101 guidance, couples can speak to advisors who can help with the full registry building process at Macy’s stores.

For more wedding ideas and inspiration, and to find the right attire and gifts for your wedding planning, visit macys.com.

We’re Always Buying & Selling.. Stop by To See What’s New!

the sleek finishes of a tux. Tuxedo accessories, such as cuff links or bow ties, make great groomsmen gifts and are classic pieces they can use time and time again. Creating the Perfect Registry When building a reg-

istry, it’s never too early to start. People want to give gifts as soon as they know a couple is engaged. Start by taking inventory of what you already have, what you need and what you want to upgrade. It’s also recommended to update the registry regularly so

there are enough gifts to choose from, especially if there is an engagement party and bridal shower coming up. To get started, some popular registry items include stand mixers, craft beer glasses, Dutch ovens, bath towels and vacuums. For extra

Pitman’s Freight Room offers a 3,800 sq ft open area including the 750 sq ft dance floor. It will accommodate 175 banquet seated guests. A fully equipped residential kitchen is available. The facility can be set up in various floor plans using formal settings or more casual antique furniture or a combination. There is plenty of on-premise and street parking.

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

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Second Marriage Guide Taking a chance on love and marriage for the second (or third) time is certainly worthy of celebration. The Pew Research Center reports that at least four in 10 new marriages now include at least one partner who has been married before, a trend that is on the rise.

hold basics already in place, but registries can include fun or entertaining gifts that speak to couplesÕ interests. These may include home theater systems, fancy cookware, athletic equipment, or even funds for travel.

Planning a second wedding can be challenging, as individuals may be worried about proper etiquette, superstitions or meeting the expectations of others. But there are no hard rules governing second weddings. Now that couples are older and a bit more experienced, wedding planning may be met with greater enthusiasm and patience. These tips can help the process along.

Almagra Barn At Waukewan Golf Club Located in the heart of the Lakes Region, this 1800’s farm offers everything you are looking for in a charming New England setting. The Property had operated as the Almagra Farm before it became a golf club. “Almagra” translates to “Red” in native languages. The function facility is an elegant post & beam barn, with a beautiful fieldstone fireplace and large dance floor. We are surrounded by majestic mountain views. It is a perfect place for weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, business meetings and conferences or special occasions. Please contact Kim Hale at 603-677-2649 or email: khwaukewan@metrocast.net for more information. 166 Waukewan Road

Center Harbor, NH

603-279-6661

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want to set this new occasion apart from their previous weddings. Brides magazine experts suggest discussing previous celebrations and what can be done differently this time around. Couples can use this opportunity to get to know each other more intimately by personalizing their festivities.

Dress it up. Brides need not eschew white if they prefer to wear it for their second weddings. White, cream, ivory, or other shades are perfectly acceptable. Also, brides can make their gowns as lavish or as simplistic as they desire. The length and style of the dress should reflect the formality and scope of the event.

Don’t feel beholden to intimate affairs. Second weddings tend to be more intimate, as guest lists tend to be smaller and couples tying the knot again may prefer more intimacy and less hustle and bustle. But couples should not avoid inviting people simply because second weddings are typically small affairs. Invite as many friends and family as you want and as your budget allows.

Make it unique. Couples who have been married before may

Set up a registry. Established couples may have the house-

Involve the child r e n . Couples who have children can make them a special part of their second wedding celebrations. Kids can play any role in the ceremony, depending on their age. If the second marriage comes after an amicable divorce, couples can invite their former spouses to provide support to their children so they can feel comfortable in the wedding. Be prepared. The marriage application process is similar the second time around, but additional documents, such as a divorce decree or death certificate, may be necessary. These legal documents also will be needed for men and women who intend to change their last names after getting married. A second marriage deserves as much celebration as the first and gives couples an opportunity to express their love for each other and their appreciation to their friends and families

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 — MOFFET from 3 melons, pumpkins and whatever else they find appetizing, typically leaving farmland too ravaged to harvest. The feds estimate the total annual damage done by wild pigs is $1.5 billion. A USDA researcher called them “the worst invasive species we’ll ever see.” Feral pigs disrupt entire ecosystems by competing with local wildlife for vegetation and by rooting out seedlings. So there’s a perpetual open season on hogs in the Lone Star State. And as part of the H4H Weekend, they had seven helicopters flying veterans with rifles over the Texas tundra to take out the marauding pigs. Experience has shown that for many vets, getting back on a chopper — rifle in hand — to go on missions with trusted comrades is effective and cathartic therapy to deal with painful memories. But it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I’m not a hunter and I hate flying. Even slight turbulence causes panic, white knuckles, and the occasional involuntary and embarrassing “Whoa!” that unsettles everyone within earshot. It probably goes back to some bad helo experiences in the Marine Corps, and memories of carrying bodies of fellow Marines down from a horrific mountaintop CH-53 crash in Korea. Of course, the vets in Texas wanted to see the General fly out to challenge the hogs. But I knew Bolduc himself had survived a terrible helo crash in Afghanistan and perhaps — like me — was averse to flying.

included camaraderie, bonding, healing, politics, flying, and hunting. Could I make a sports column out of hog hunting? Yes. If it was good enough for Sports Illustrated, then it was good enough for me! Sports Quiz Can you hunt wild hogs in New Hampshire?

UH-1 “Huey.” similar to the one used at the H$H weekend. Bolduc is also a U.S. Senate candidate, and I pointed out that some might exploit the imagery and optics of the helo hunt to his detriment while reinforcing negative stereotypes of veterans. “I don’t care about any of that,” said Bolduc. “I am who I am. Let’s go!” Inspired by the General’s authenticity, I accompanied him and two other shooters to a Vietnam era UH-1 (Huey) chopper. “Live free or die, General!” yelled a vet with a southern accent—New Hampshire’s state motto being well-known and respected throughout the military. We were handed AR-15 rifles and three full magazines. They tied us in — two on each side — and up we went. As we ascended, I was surprisingly euphoric. Flying over the Texas landscape I suddenly understood the appeal of the Wild West to adventurous spirits. And I marveled at how we were just handed weapons and ammo to fly and hunt, and I felt bad for the 99% of Americans who’d never experi-

ence such freedom in our age of over-regulation, over-protection, and litigation that brave pioneers never had to contend with. We returned a half hour later, having done our part to reduce the number of rampaging razorbacks ravishing the landscape. At the evening banquet, it seemed like everyone was in a great mood as H4H accomplished its mission of bringing folks together to benefit from therapeutic bonding. On Sunday after-

noon I departed Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on an American Airlines flight that soon encountered turbulence. It didn’t bother me a bit. Thank you General Bolduc. And I pondered as how to write about a H4H weekend that

Born Today ... That is to say sports standouts born on March 5 include Boston Bruin legend and WWII veteran Milt Schmidt (1918) and Pittsburgh Steeler running back and Vietnam veteran Rocky Bleier (1946). Sports Quote “Hunting for scapegoats is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.”― Dwight D. Eisenhower

Sports Quiz Answer Yes. While feral swine have no legal game status in New Hampshire, they are considered escaped private property and may be hunted with permission of property owners. Mike Moffett was a Professor of Sports Management for Plymouth State University and NHTI-Concord. He co-authored the critically-acclaimed and award-winning “FAHIM SPEAKS: A Warrior-Actor’s Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood and Back” which is available through Amazon.com. His e-mail address is mimoffett@comcast. net.

Grammy® Award Winners: LOS LOBOS - Friday, March 6 (8pm)

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KASHMIR (LED ZEPPELIN TRIBUTE) - Saturday, March 7 (8pm)

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 — PATENAUDE from 9

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the Falls we skied a few minutes straight down because the skins dragged and slowed us. We climbed straight up out of the brook’s drainage and attempted to follow the route of the old CCC ski trail to connect high up on the Tucker Brook Trail. The snow was deep and powdery and breaking through the snow wasn’t easy. Becca and I traveled in this area many times and in all seasons. We had a good idea where we were and in our backpacks we carried the essentials for going out on an adventure. After a couple hours of hard work and fun we popped out on the trail. Right there we met a couple that had skinned up Tuckerbrook and all of us removed our skins. Becca reassembled her snowboard and we took a break while the other two skied off. The ski down the wide Tuckerbrook trail on the soft power was fun. We weren’t making all the first tracks but there was plenty of good snow to enjoy. After the very last steep drop we glided fast to the top of a small uphill. We stopped, Becca split her board and we put on our skins. I took out my compass and set the bearing to intersect the old Hardwood Heaven XC ski trail. Yes it was truly hardwood heaven as we traversed through the forest of Beech trees. At the height of the land we took off our skins and zoomed down the hill and back to the Coppermine Trail. We were able to glide all the way back to the trailhead at the road. Since it was only early afternoon we jumped into Becca’s car and drove to Lancaster’s Mount Prospect Ski

Yours truly in front of the Coppermine Shelter located just below Bridal Veil Falls. This shelter was built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corp and it is one of the just two historic CCC shelters remaining in the White Mountain National Forest. The CCC cut the Tucker Brook and Coppermine Trails. The first trail in the area cut by the CCC was the Taft Slalom Trail in 1932 long before the first Tramway was built in 1938. Tow. The rope tow and groomed slopes are located on the hillside of NH’s Weeks State Park. The small ski area is run by volunteers while the Town of Lancaster provides the funds to cover liability insurance. The ski tow operates on Saturdays from 1 to 4pm when snow conditions permit. This was our first time here when it was open. Donations are accepted (we donated five dollars each) and off we went. We were

pulled along up almost 300 vertical feet and we made half a dozen rides in a row. Our arms got so tired doing this without a good rest between tows. The children were impressive, the ones that couldn’t make it to the top held on as long as they could before they let go. The Granite Backcountry Alliance has cut glades from the top of the State Park that drop 700 vertical feet but we didn’t have enough in the tank to skin anySee PATENAUDE on 23

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 — switch and it took a bit of time for the lift person to fix! We enjoyed a couple runs before the clock read 4pm. The mountain views from its slope are wide and far and include Mount Washington and the Presidential Range. Mt. Eustis volunteers have built a terrain park too! On our way home we stopped by the Iron Furnace Brewing for a celebratory IPA in honor of Becca’s completion of the New Hampshire Small Ski Area Challenge list.(Smallskiareas.com). Have Fun!

Becca snowboarding down Mt. Eustis Ski Hill in Littleton. From its slopes there are big views of White Mountains including Mount Washington. Make a donation and be sure to wear your leather work gloves to ride the rope tow! Visit their website at: MtEustis.org. PATENAUDE from 22 more that day. But we did cross through the woods from the top of the rope tow to hit the bottom of a couple of the glades. On the way out we thanked the volunteers and said no thank you to their offer of joining their hotdog cookout. We would have liked to have stayed but we had one more place to visit. Back in the car we drove straight to Littleton’s Mt. Eustis Ski Hill. They’re open Wednesday’s 3-7pm under the lights and on weekends 12-4pm-snow conditions permitting. We made it for the last half an hour, we donated $5 each and signed a waiver before we grabbed onto their rope with already worn out arms. Becca went up first and then a kid jumped on between us. When I got halfway up the slope the rope stopped. I let go and went back

Lancaster’s Mount Prospect Ski Tow is making a lot of children happy this winter! And those kids are all going to have strong arms by springtime. All are welcome and the volunteers accept donations. The rope tow runs Saturdays 1 to 4 pm, snow conditions permitting. Small ski areas are a lot of fun. Visit their website at: MountProspectskitow.com. to the bottom. Becca was on top and it was a few minutes before the rope got going again. When I finally met her on top she asked me

if I knew why the lift stopped--I didn’t but she told me why. She held on too long to the rope and went through the emergency stop

The

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 — FLOOD from 1 experiencing rising waters as the rain fell and ice that still covered them began to break up causing huge chunks to begin moving downstream. By the 19th of the month the rivers and smaller streams, as well as the lakes were overflowing and there was serious flooding throughout the state. The October 1936 WPA report called Raging Rivers described the situation as follows: “Not a single main highway in any section of the State was open. Not a single railroad train moved from Nashua to Canada. Parts of the State resembled a lake and only the Ark and Noah himself were lacking. Motor boats, canoes, flat-bottomed

New Hampshire Marine Patrol

Get your New Hampshire Safe Boater Education Certificate! New Hampshire has a mandatory boating education law. Everyone 16 years of age and older who operates a motorboat over 25 horsepower on New Hampshire waters must have a boating education certificate. The New Hampshire boater education course covers a range of topics from safety instructions to boat handling to reading the weather and prepares you for a variety of situations you could find yourself in while on the water. To search/register for a Boating Education Class visit our website at www.boatingeducation.nh.gov or for information regarding boating laws and regulations visit www.marinepatrol.nh.gov

Remember to wear your life jacket!

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Water rushes under Amoskeag Bridge in Manchester during the flood of 1936. boats and rafts were pressed into service everywhere. Hundreds of families were rendered homeless. Most of the mills and factories were closed. Bridges both modern and old were going out or were being weighed down with sand-bags and iron to save them. Gas, telephone, and electric service were cut off. Sections were isolated and frantic relatives waited in desperation to hear from their loved ones in cities and country towns.” Today WPA to some means Wi-Fi Protected Access, but from 1935 to 1943 it was the initials of the Works Progress Administration. The WPA was a government program which was part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression. Many of the projects undertaken by the WPA involved work on the infrastructure of the country. Much of the work was done by unskilled workers. When the flood waters threatened destruction in the State of New Hampshire in 1936, WPA engineers

and workers were immediately called upon to help and they worked during the flood in an effort to minimize the damage and after the flood to restore damaged areas. Much of the State was affected by the devastation with Nashua having said to suffer the greatest flood damage in its history with 2300 homeless people and a million dollars of industrial loss. Concord was said to have been completely isolated for three days and three nights. In the central part of the State Franklin was reported to have been hit the hardest by the flooding. The overflowing waters from the Winnipesaukee River covered Central Street to a depth of four feet. The north country wasn’t spared as Coos County experienced the highest flood waters on record. The Androscoggin and Ammonoosuc Rivers overflowed. The large rivers like the Connecticut, Merrimack, and Pemigewasset were assisted by smaller rivers like the Baker, Contoocook, Sugar, Mas-

coma, and Ashuelot in causing destruction throughout the State. In Plymouth, passengers on the Montreal Express train, which was stranded a mile south of the railroad station, were taken in rowboats to safety at a hotel. The Smith Bridge road was washed out and the residents in homes in the flooded Intervale in Holderness escaped by boat into Plymouth. Three major bridges were destroyed in Manchester and others over streams throughout the State were damaged or lost. Some structures that were in danger of being destroyed by the raging waters were saved through the efforts of workmen sent out to limit the damage by the use of sandbags,etc. The report of the WPA indicated that by March 18th it had been “placed at the disposal of the State.” Other agencies also contributed to relief efforts, including the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Legion Posts. Besides the men working under the WPA there See FLOOD on 25

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

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WWW.FITFOCUSGYMS.COM Aftermath of the 1936 Flood in Colebrook, NH. COURTESY OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY, LESLIE JONES COLLECTION.

FLOOD from 24 were women WPA workers involved in the relief work, 413 of whom were given assignments to aid the Red Cross. After the flood waters subsided the work of WPA crews continued with “mopping up” projects and repairing damaged property, particularly roads and bridges. Eight hundred men were assigned to the Manchester area to remove sand and silt and other debris from the streets, etc. Six hundred more were given the task of solely cleaning out catch basins so they could take care of the water which had to be pumped out of basements. WPA workers were assigned to work in towns throughout the State in response to the requests received from town officials, mainly the selectmen. On September 15, 1936, the work in some towns had been completed, but there were still 2,772 WPA workers on flood repair damage in 132 New Hampshire

cities and towns. In the Lakes Region, for example, Laconia had 14 workers, Belmont had 8, Meredith had 12, New Hampton had 27, Holderness had 22 as did Plymouth, Bristol had 32, Alton had 25, Barnstead had 20, Center Harbor had 7, and Franklin, the hardest hit in the area, still had 104 WPA workers employed at several projects. On March 25, 1936, then Governor Styles Bridges wrote a thank you note to WPA Administrator William Fahey to express thanks for the agency’s help with flood damage repairs and spoke of the flood reconstruction council that was established by the Governor and Council to oversee and “coordinate all agencies within the State in uniting to carry out a successful program of rehabilitation.” The 1936 flood damage was estimated to amount to $25 million in 1936 dollars. It should be noted that

the work of the WPA involved public property repairs and not privately owned property. This was one of the projects paid for by the government to give jobs to the many unemployed during the Great Depression. The WPA also constructed the Gunstock Mountain Resort (then called the Belknap Recreation Area) which was finished in 1937 and the Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett which was finished in 1938. The agency even provided jobs for writers, one result which was a New Hampshire Guide Book, written by workers of the Federal Writers Project. But I wonder if there are any readers who have recollections of the 1936 flood and the connection to the WPA. Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr., welcomes your comments at danahillsmiths@yahoo. com.

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

BREW from 11 Table and bar seating are available and also porch seating in summer months. One of my favorite things to try at a place like this is a ‘flight’ of beer tasters; we were served 6 samples of the 10 beers available. I was impressed with all but the Wee Heavy Scotch Ale at 9.2% really got my attention. The Bright Horizon New England IPA was just delicious with its smooth drinkability and tropical feel. But the Ground Level Coffee Milk Stout was beyond yummy. After a tasty meal and the beer samples, we ventured upstairs to their gorgeously appointed function room. Another creatively designed fireplace with

The upstairs bar at Hobbs Tavern.

his and hers chairs arranged before it, says that this space would be great for a wedding reception. Another bar and food service area certainly help visitors feel welcome. Marketing and Sales Rep Ryan Frechette who toured us through the building said that they do more than 30 wedding receptions and functions a year in the beautiful space. He led us down to the brewery area where they brew at least 1-2 times a week to try and stay ahead of demand. Both growlers and 6 pack cans of take-away beer are available for purchase. Responsible for

Lucky Leprechaun

their beer are brewers Mike Frothingham and Anthony Swanick. Hobbs self-distributes their beer in cans and restaurant kegs throughout NH. A new brew space is about to open south on Rt 16 less than 10 miles away. This new brewing capacity will greatly aid in helping them keep up with demand for their great beer. Look at their website for more info at HobbsTavern.com

2 Sessio

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 — FIGHT from 1 tion and nothing beyond that. Rock Steady Boxing, the first boxing program of its kind in the country, was founded in 2006 by former Marion County, Indiana Prosecutor, Scott C. Newman, who is living with Parkinson’s. It is based on recent studies that focus on the concept of intense forced exercise and how certain types of these exercises may be neuro-protective, actually slowing the disease’s progression. “This program has helped me tremendously,” said Drouin. “I don’t know where I would be today without it. My meds have dropped since I started this program and I only go to the doctor once a year now.” Even though the Rock Steady Boxing Program now has classes around the world in twelve countries, there are still many who deal with the disease, as well as caregivers and others in the medical profession, who don’t know of its existence and benefits. In fact, this program, which is changing lives everyday, is not covered under insurance or Medicare plans. That is pretty amazing when you consider that there are an estimated one million people in the U.S with Parkinson’s with more than 60,000 diagnosed every year and these numbers will only be multiplying in the decades to come. So how did the Downtown Gym in Laconia end up being only one of two places in New Hampshire as well as one of 871 places around the world with a Rock Steady Boxing program that can provide those with Parkinson’s with a better quality of life? “I live locally but I used to go to Concord for this program about four years ago,” said Drouin. “When they changed the

Rock Steady Boxers condition for optimal agility, speed, muscular endurance, accuracy, hand-eye Some of the Rock Steady Fighters at the Downtown Gym in Laconia. COURTESY PHOTOS coordination, footwork and overall strength. schedule and I could no longer attend, I asked J.P. (Janine Page the owner of the Downtown Gym) if she would start a program here. She said she would, but if she was going to do it, then I was going to do it with her.” This led to Pete and J.P attending a two-day course in Indianapolis to be certified as Rock Steady Boxing Coaches and Instructors. (There are now 7 certified Rock Steady Boxing Coaches at the Downtown Gym.) Certified coaches are responsible for developing the class based on suggestions from the home base in Indianapolis, but then designed to fit each sites specific “Fighters’ - which are what the programs participants are called. In fact, each fighter gets his or her own fighter name to be used during the program. “Pistol Pete” is Drouin’s fighter name. The Rock Steady website program’s website best describes the program: “….exercises are largely adapted from boxing drills. Boxers condition for optimal agility, speed, muscular endurance, accuracy, hand-eye coordination, footwork and

overall strength to defend against and overcome opponents. At RSB, Parkinson’s disease is the opponent. Exercises vary in purpose and form but share one common trait: they are rigorous and intended to extend the perceived capabilities of the participant.” Each class starts with minute and a half exercises which focus on balance and strength and cognitive skills followed by a few rounds of punching bags and heavy bags using real boxing gloves. In the future the Downtown Gym will be adding an actual boxing ring which will add a new dimension to the program. “One of our major focusses we do once a month is how to fall down and get up,” said Drouin. “It’s very important for those with Parkinson’s. We use mats now, but with a boxing ring it will make it much easier.” Besides being a coach, Drouin is also one of the ambassadors of the program. “The Ambassador program is me and two other guys,” said Drouin, “We have been to Plymouth State and UNH among

other places, giving presentations to some doctorate classes in physical therapy and nursing programs and alike, teaching them about the program. We also reach out to other groups to try and get more volunteers.” And the volunteers are crucial to the program. Some are sponsors of fighters, some family members as well as others with Parkinson’s. As mentioned before, the Rock Steady Boxing program is not covered by insurance, but J.P and others at the Downtown Gym won’t turn anyone away from the program, so they have developed the Adopt A Boxer program where

100% of all donations made go directly to the program which provides financial assistance to a fighter who may not be able to afford the program otherwise. “We are planning on adding more classes to meet specific needs and are also working to get another program started on the other side of the lake,” said Janine Page. “We are also meeting with a group from Vermont to help them get up and running.” The boisterous and spirited enthusiasm by all participants from fighters to coaches to volunteers is apparent from the first “Rock Steady Ready” yell to the last. Everyone is having

a great time and all are benefitting in their own way. “One of my favorite stories is of on fighter who came to class, all hunched over and using a walking stick,” said Drouin. “Now he comes in walking straight up and boxing like Muhammed Ali and we haven’t seen that walking stick in maybe two years.” To learn more about Rock Steady Boxing visit Rocksteadyboxing.org. To learn more about the Downtown Gym, to Adopt A Boxer or to sign up for the Second Annual 5K walk/run to benefit the program visit downtowngymlaconia. com

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

BOSAK from 13 significant as I did. Oh well, I was happy to get a least a little response out of him. Will, my 13-year-old, had the next day off from school. I had to go to work, unfortunately. I left him with the camera and instructions to get some photos if any bluebirds showed up. Not blue jays, I told him, bluebirds. I made sure he knew there was a difference. He said he did and was as annoyed as you’d expect a 13-yearold to be when told something he already knows. Since bluebirds and titmice have somewhat similar colors and I get tons of titmice at the feeders, I felt it was necessary to explain the differences between the birds. He disagreed. I got it, Dad, he said, this time a bit more annoyed. “OK, OK, I’m going to work.,” I said. To my pleasant sur-

prise, Will called me at work a few hours later and had a tinge of excitement in his voice. “Dad, your birds were here. I got some photos.” I got home later still half expecting to see photos of tufted titmice. Again, to my pleasant surprise, there were several nice shots of eastern bluebirds. I should have trusted him from the beginning. He also got some nice photos of other birds too. That’s my boy. After all your wonderful sightings and reports I finally got some of my own. I appreciate your input on this Winter of the Bluebird. You kept up my hopes through the years and months of not seeing them. I appreciate it. Chris Bosak may be reached at chrisbosak26@gmail.com or through his website www.birdsofnewengland.com

MALKIN from 6 see Valley Authority, Amway, UPS subsidiary Coyote Logistics, Comcast, Lime, Bird, Unicorn, Getaround, Cerner, Oracle, Samsung US, Edmunds. com, Textron Aviation, Morgan Stanley, Spirit AeroSystems, Mozilla, UiPath, Plexus, Cisco, Ancestry. com, Clover Health, State Street Corporation, Anthem, Transamerica, Verizon, MassMutual, Disney, Carnival, Abbott Labs, EmblemHealth, Harley Davidson, Cargill, Eversource Energy, Best Buy, Southern California Edison and Qualcomm. The most recent entry in my U.S. worker layoffs thread came in Monday from Expedia, which announced it is laying off 12% of its information technology workforce (roughly 3,000), including 500 employees at its

Seattle headquarters. Tip of the iceberg. As leading American workers’ employment attorney and Protect US Workers advocate Sara Blackwell points out, “so many companies are able to conduct this awful business model under the radar.” And they get away with it because it’s legal, workers are silenced, and most Americans “just do not care because it does not yet touch them personally.” Do we “need more immigrants,” as Mulvaney claims? Marie Larson, an American mom who founded the American Workers Coalition with Barbara Birch and Hilarie Gamm, told me: “I talk to Americans almost daily who are being discriminated against, who keep getting laid off by Indian managers, who have to train their foreign

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replacements to get the much-needed severance packages, who have to pull kids out of college because they can’t afford it, even having to sell their houses. These are STEM workers, who got the ‘right’ degrees and did everything they were supposed to do, only to have our government turn their back and sell out to big businesses push for even more H-1Bs.” Tech firms cut 64,166 American jobs in 2019, up 351% from 14,230 in 2018. Are we so “desperate” for more bodies to “fuel economic growth?” Let’s recap the demographic math: We live in a nation of 330 million, 44 million of whom are foreign-born. Upward of 30 million immigrants are currently living, working and going to school here illegally. One million new legal immigrants are granted green cards every year. An estimated 600,000 temporary worker visas are issued annually, including the H-1B, H-2A, H-2B and H-4 programs. That doesn’t include spousal visas or the more than half a million foreign “students” now working through the stealth guest worker plan known as the Optional Practical Training program, which allows foreign students to work with little monitoring, no wage protections, no payment of Social Security payroll taxes and no requirement for employers to demonstrate labor market shortages. “We” ordinary Americans don’t need more immigrants. Corporations (and their trusty house organ, the Wall Street Journal) want higher prof-

its, lower wages, and endless pipelines of cheap foreign labor. They’ve been cooking up manufactured worker shortage crises since World War II and crying apocalypse since the 1980s, when the National Science Foundation’s Erich Bloch hyped a STEM shortage based on groundless projections to crusade for agency budget increases. Remember: The only persistent tech worker shortage in America is a shortage of workers at the wage employers want to pay. Beltway swampers gnashing their teeth over barren American worker recruitment pools are full of it. Michelle Malkin’s email address is MichelleMalkinInvestigates@protonmail. com. To find out more about Michelle Malkin and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators. com.

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 — STOSSEL from 7

Democrat, he says “the free market is not always perfect,” and he wants paid family leave, a higher minimum wage and higher taxes. Although he criticized the “Green New Deal” as “pie in the sky,” now Bloomberg has his own expensive “solutions.” He would cut greenhouse gases by half by doing things like banning new natural gas plants. There’s no way to do that without making it much harder for people to heat their homes and buy gasoline.

city, much better than the political hack we have now. He sometimes even cut spending to pull the city out of debt. He criticizes some of the Democrats’ ruinously expensive proposals, saying “Medicare for All” “would bankrupt us!” He recognizes the value of work. “In America, we want people to work... to set the alarm clock and punch the time clock. That’s what America’s all about.” Unfortunately, now that Bloomberg’s a

He spends millions pushing more gun control while issuing groveling apologies for tough-on-crime programs he once believed in. Five years ago, he bragged about putting “a lot of cops... where the crime is, which means in the minority neighborhoods.” Now he apologizes “for the pain that (statement) caused.” But it was accurate, and most of his policies made life better for people in minority neighborhoods. Bloomberg thinks he can have it both ways,

being a Republican or a Democrat depending on which is most convenient for his ambition -- and his autocratic tendencies. That leads him to admire places like China, where dissent is not allowed. As CEO, he was quick to cooperate with the Chinese government. Sociologist Leta Hong Fincher writes how Bloomberg’s company tried to ruin her financially when she tweeted about corruption in Beijing. Her husband had a nondisclosure agreement with Bloomberg. That

meant the company could stop him -- not her -- from saying anything that might upset Chinese Communist authorities. Bloomberg’s love of power even led him to get a special exception to New York City’s term limits on mayors. He got the city council to let him run for a third term -- not all future mayors, just Bloomberg. Trump jokes about running for a third term, but Mike actually did it. Bloomberg, unfortunately, is yet another unprincipled power-

hungry political egomaniac. I think Nanny Bloomberg has given enough orders for one lifetime. John Stossel is author of “No They Can’t! Why Government Fails -- But Individuals Succeed.” For other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators. com.

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

Super Crossword

PUZZLE CLUE: MULTIPLE LISTING

B.C.

by Parker & Hart

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —

Sudoku

Magic Maze THEME THIS WEEK: MISSING -

Caption Contest OUR PICK FOR BEST CAPTION

Runners Up : “Now don’t forget,this is a paws free state”. Dave Merrill, Union, NH “It was sheer animal magnetism that had Ruth agree to go for a ride with Max that day.” - Mark Dinorsce, Ormond Beach, Fl.

PHOTO #791

Greyhound Bus Company actually started as a chauffeur service! -David Doyon, Moultonboro, NH.

Do we really have to listen to ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’? -Robert Patrick, Moultonborough, NH.

CAPTION THIS PHOTO!!

The Winklman Aeffect

PHOTO #794 Send your best caption to us with your name and location within 2 weeks of publication date... Caption Contest, The Weirs Times, P.O. Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247 email to contest@weirs.com

by John Whitlock

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 5, 2020 —