03/30/2023 Weirs Times

Harbingers Of spring

by Chris Bosak Contributing Writer

The American robin has long been known as a harbinger of spring. In fact, of all the “signs of spring” that we see each March, the robin is perhaps the most popular. I certainly have no problem with anyone getting excited about seeing a robin in early spring. Anything that offers hope and optimism is a good thing.

Many robins, however, have been around all winter in New

England. They just haven’t been as visible as they are in the spring and summer. In winter, many robins travel in large flocks throughout the woods looking for leftover berries, and other morsels.

To me anyway, the eastern phoebe would be the perfect harbinger of spring bird.

Unlike robins, phoebes do not winter in New England and return only in the spring. In fact, eastern phoebes show up in New England pretty much on the dot of spring.

See BOSAK on 29

U.S. Constitution Study Course

Camp Constitution will host a 12-week U.S. Constitution study course beginning Monday April 3rd, 7pm at 129 Main St Alton.

The study course is titled Constitution 101 The Meaning and History of the Constitution produced Hillsdale College.

The United States Constitution was designed to secure the natural rights proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. Signed by Constitutional Convention delegates on September 17, 1787—Constitution Day—it was ratified by the American people and remains the most enduring and successful constitution in history.

In this twelve-lecture course,

attendees will examine the political theory of the American Founding and subsequent challenges to that theory throughout American history.

Topics covered in this course include: the natural rights theory of the Founding, the meaning of the Declaration and the Constitution, the crisis of the Civil War, the Progressive rejection of the Founding, and the nature and form of modern liberalism The course will be free. Donations accepted. All attendees will receive a free pocket of the U.S. Constitution. RSVPs to campconstitution1@gmail.com.

Class

THE WEIRS, LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, N.H., THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2023 VOLUME

Photo taken at Windswept Maple Farm on Loudon Ridge Road in Loudon, NH. Our thanks to Rob Clifford for sharing. Cliffordphotographynh.com

1 “The Theory of the Declaration and the Constitution.”

—Dover Jewelers—

The Game Of Clue

To The Editor:

All ages have played the great game of “CLUE”! Our grandchildren benefit from the lessons in Holmesian deduction and intuition. Unfortunately, diabolically intentioned elected Federal officials have used the same strategy as members of the Deep State to ferret out the smallest fish to fry with the fickle finger of blame. I learned this lesson as a young Laconia City Councilman. Highly paid bureaucrats will finger the lowest person on the “Totem Pole” as responsible for an indiscretion.

In the headlines today, human nature continues its march backwards. On February 3, 2013, a Norfolk- Southern train derails in East Palestine, Ohio. Mush-forBrains makes an idiotic decision to release highly poisonous and explosive chemicals into the atmosphere over Palestine, Ohio. Astoundingly, Mush-for-Brains either overlooks or does not care it has released poisonous chemicals that will not only destroy East Palestine but will infiltrate our rivers, water systems and the air we breathe wherever the wind may blow.

And so, the game of Clue begins. Who are the suspects who unleashed Chernobyl 2 on US ? Let’s name the suspects from most likely to least likely ,based on common sense:

Bumbles Biden, the EPA director, the CEO of Norfolk-Southern, the Governor of Pennsylvania and/ or Michigan or the East Palestine Fire Chief. In the first roll of the dice, Michigan’s Governor, Mr. Milqetoast , took the podium,

sort of admitted he made the decision and advised ‘ just drink bottled water’. Next roll of the dice, the Governor of Pennsylvania thought he may have made the Decision. It is becoming more difficult to use the Holmesian deduction method as there are now two-semi confessions. However, as the Palestine debacle deteriorates, both Governors regret and recant their confessions. After all they are politicians. Then the CEO comes to town, speaks privately to an unknown audience, which certainly did not include the severely threatened and injured residents of Palestine, and departs as secretly as he arrived. One CLUE player picks up a clue that reveals Bumbles Biden is in Ukraine, probably collecting his 10% of the $150 billion donated to his fellow grifter buddy, Zelensky.

A second CLUE card reveals that the EPA director is busy planning a junket to Africa with his hard rock buddies to a climate change conference and a magical mystery tour. So, clearly Bumbles and Mr. EPA were otherwise occupied and unavailable to make this idiotic decision even though federal law requires Bumbles and Mr. EPA to make the Decision.

After passing the buck from February 3 to 21, these outstanding public servants announce that the case has been solved. The culprit is the Fire Chief of Palestine. The CLUE players are now totally confused, confounded and bewildered.

BUMBLES BIDEN still has not visited East Palestine, but he made a trip to California to visit his banking buddies and ,probably, collect Pop’s share of the

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 30 years, this publication is devoted to printing the stories of the people

Billion Dollar Bailout, as Hunter says.

Charles Bradley Laconia, NH.

HB10

Open Letter to NH Representatives Dan Wolf, Mike Borde, Travis O’Hara & Mark Proulx: Karl Marx Would Be Pleased With Your Vote

By voting for HB 10 you have not only betrayed the Republican Party, you have betrayed a basic tenet of Americanism. By joining with the Democrats to defeat the Parent Bill of Rights bill, you have joined with the Marxist who seek to destroy everything decent about our nation. For you are promoting more and more government that always takes away freedom and spends the taxpayers money to create more controls.

Have you ever taken the time to read the NH or the US Constitution that you are all sworn to obey? By the way you vote on this bill, one would never know that you have. Check out the Constitutions of NH’s, Bill of Rights, Art.] 2-b. [Right of Privacy.] An individual’s right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent,” December 5, 2018.

Both State and Federal Constitutions limit the government not the people. Compare your vote with our American birthing documents and then with these words from section II of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto written in

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 24,000 copies of the Weirs Times every week to the Lakes Region/Concord/ Seacoast area and the mountains and have an estimated 60,000 people reading this newspaper.

To find out how your business or service can benefit from advertising with us please call 603-366-8463.

Not So LoNg Ago ...

Exploring ThE lEgEnd & lorE of our graniTE STaTE

remembering THe sisTer acT fOur Of a Kind basKeTball

by Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr. Contributing Writer

“Con-Val looked like a team that had played together for a long time.”

“ They were all over the court...”

And, “ It was all Jutras.”

Those were comments made after the ConVal girls high school basketball won the NHIAA Class I basketball championship for the 1993-1994 season. The Con-Val players for the Peterborough, New Hampshire based school looked like a team that had played together for a long time because the starting lineup had actually played together for years before even entering high school. They were a team probably like none other in the history of New Hampshire basketball because four members of the starting five for Con-Val in 1993-4 were sisters, and the fifth, Cathy Brennan, had played with them long enough to be con-

sidered like an honorary sister by the others.

The Jutras sisters are Christine, Michelle, Natalie, and Veronica. Christine and Michelle are twins and were seniors during that high school championship year, Natalie was a junior, and Veronica was a sophomore.

The girls, who were born within two and one-half years of each other, had started playing basketball together when the oldest were in the third grade and had played with each other in pickup games and at the recreational, junior high, and AAU levels before entering high school.

While in elementary school the four sisters were on the Peterborough Cardinals team that won a prestigious tournament in Nashua. The starting lineup the previous year of the improving high school team included three Jutras girls, but the team at the beginning of the 1993-4 season had their minds set on competing for and winning the state championship.

Their high school coach, John Reitnauer, said of the sisters, “They complement one another very well. Their common characteristic as players is that they all work very, very hard.”

In reading contemporary accounts of the

very unusual situation of having four sisters playing as start -

The Jutras sisters (Veronica, Christine, Natalie and Michelle with and Cathy Brennan # 12.

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

Meredith Historical Society To Kick-Off 2023 Speaker Series

The Meredith Historical Society invites the public to the upcoming inaugural program of its 2023 Speaker Series. On Tuesday, April 4th Robin Sherman will present: “The Land of Lucknow: From Ossipee Mountain Park to Castle in the Clouds”.

Robin Sherman is the Curator & Director of Preservation for Castle in the Clouds. In addition to overseeing the Castle’s historic collections and ongoing restoration, Robin is passionate about sharing the property’s long history with visitors. She’s been with the Castle since 2016. Join Robin for a look at the long history of the Castle in the Clouds property. She’ll explore the evolution of this land from its earliest occupants, through the era of Thomas Plant, and into the present day. This presentation will be held at the Meredith Community Center, 1 Circle Drive. Doors open at 6:30 PM for light refreshments. The program begins at 7:00 PM. All programs of the Society are free and all are welcome!

Karen Thorndike, President of the Historical Society noted, “We have a great line-up again this year beginning with this program on a regional treasure.” For a complete schedule of the 2023 Speaker Series visit us on Facebook or our web site at www.meredithhistoricalsocietynh.org

Annual Ice-Out Event Returns At New Hampshire Boat Museum

After a multi-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the New Hampshire Boat Museum’s Annual Ice-Out Celebration returns in-person on Friday, April 14 at The Barn at Inn on Main in Wolfeboro.

This year’s event theme is “Charting Our Course.”

In 2022, New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM) announced its expansion to a new location at 130 Whittier Highway in Moultonborough, NH.

According to NHBM Executive Director Martha Cummings, the new location features an existing facility that provides significantly more space for exhibitions and educational programming, greater visibility, and climate-controlled collections space. “We are excited for the expansion while still maintaining a strong presence here in Wolfeboro” she said, “We’re looking forward to a great 2023 season in Wolfeboro, while we continue to work on our site and exhibit planning and design in Moultonborough.”

Regarding what people can expect at NHBM’s Ice-Out Celebration, Cummings cited a “wonderful dinner and fun silent and live auction.”“We have small and big ticket items from vendors all over the Lakes Region,” she said. “This is a lively social event fundraiser that helps support NHBM’s educational programs for people of all ages, too.”

Hosted by The Barn at Inn on Main in Wolfeboro, NHBM’s Annual Ice-Out Celebration begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 14. Ticket prices are $80 for museum members and $85 for not-yetmembers.

NHBM’s Annual Ice-Out Celebration is presented by Lake Life Realty with additional support provided by Stephens Landscaping, F.L.Putnam, and Eldridge and Gillespie, CPA.

To purchase tickets, or learn more about upcoming NHBM events and programs, visit nhbm.org.

Tuftonboro Country, Bluegrass And Gospel Jam

It is Spring and now is the time to come out and enjoy an old-fashioned jam session. The Tuftonboro Country, Bluegrass and Gospel Jam session now continues weekly year-round at the historic Old White Church of Center Tuftonboro. Everyone is invited to attend; the jam is free and open to the public.

Musicians and listeners alike gather here Tuesday evenings at 6:30 to sing, play their instruments, learn some new songs, and share their musical skills with others. The jam sessions are open to singers, instrumentalists and fans of country, bluegrass, and gospel music. If you play a guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, dobro, harmonica, or other appropriate instrument come and join the jam. Dig out your instruments and come to play and sing along or just come to listen. There is no admission charge, but donations are greatly appreciated and help support the jam session and the historic structure of The Old White Church. The Church is located on Route 109A, just across from the Tuftonboro General Store & Post Office.

Everyone is invited to attend the jam session every Tuesday, evening at 6:30. Come on out and enjoy the fun!

Program On African-American Soldiers’ Service During Revolutionary War

On Tuesday, April 11, 7:00 p.m., at Folsom Tavern in Exeter, independent scholar and author Glenn A. Knoblock will examine the history of African-American soldiers’ service during the Revolutionary War. Made possible by a grant from New Hampshire Humanities, the event is part of the American Independence Museum’s ongoing Tavern Talk series, which is designed “to inspire a deeper understanding of America’s diverse history.” Tavern Talks are part of the museum’s recently launched We Are One initiative, whose primary message is that “all voices and all perspectives matter.”

At this Tavern Talk, entitled “African American Soldiers and Sailors of New Hampshire During the American Revolution,” Knoblock will explore various topics, including how and why they enlisted and their interaction with white soldiers. Other topics will range from service on the battlefields, how African Americans were perceived by the enemy and the officers under whom they served, and their treatment after the war.

“Tavern Talks are open-dialogue, moderated discussions facilitated by experts and practitioners from diverse backgrounds,” said Carr. “These are wonderful community events that we feel can inspire and enlighten people of all ages.”

African American Soldiers and Sailors of New Hampshire During the American Revolution,” takes place on Tuesday, April 11, 7:00 p.m., at Folsom Tavern, 164 Water St., Exeter, NH. The event is free, although pre-registration is encouraged.

prOOf Of life

The famous philosopher Descartes once said “I think therefore I am” in order to help us understand the complicated thoughts about our own existence. Today we just take selfies.

gone forever.

Today there is no need to lug a camera along on a trip, today we bring along our phones which have not only a great camera to take photos with, but also provide an instant source of communication with the rest of the world in case something should go wrong.

by Brendan Smith

At first the original concept of selfies made perfect sense (though they were never called “selfies” at the time). If you were on vacation somewhere you had never been before and were in front of a beautiful setting, but no one around to give your camera to in order to document the occasion, you turned the camera around and did your best to take a photo of your surroundings with yourself in the photograph.

Of course, in the old days (Pre-2002) when you had to carry around a clunky camera, the odds of taking a good photo of yourself were small since you couldn’t see exactly what the framing of the picture looked like. You often you ended up with a great picture of the grand canyon behind you, but only your left earlobe and eyeball.

Still, film used to cost good money as did developing the photographs, so you added this keepsake to your collection of photographs despite the giant earlobe and eyeball.

The idea in keeping these photos were that when you were old and grey and your grandchildren would come to visit you would take out your battered box of photographs and share them while sitting around the dining room table.

“Is that you at the Grand Canyon grandma? It looks like your eyeball.”

These are the kinds of memories that are, I am sad to say,

They also provide a sense of amusement in case any part of our trip should get a little tedious.

No longer do we have to be bored by the unending rows of the same looking vineyards as we take a tour of California’s wine country. Today we can now cut through the monotony by using our phones to connect to Facebook to see what our “friends” are eating for breakfast back on the East Coast. Maybe, if it is an exceptionally good day, someone will post a video of their cat falling off a chair while sleeping which we can share with anyone else on the bus under the age of forty (Those over forty will roll their eyes over this intrusion of technology during such a beautiful tour, but they will still try and sneak a peek of the video over your shoulder while you aren’t paying attention which, of course, since you have a smartphone, you rarely ever are.)

The best part of today’s smartphones are the built in cameras for they give us the opportunity to memorialize our trip with a photo of our giant smiling head in front of each landmark (which will be barely visible in the background).

They also give us the opportunity to see the photo immediately after it is taken and if we don’t like it, we can quickly erase it and take another and another and another until we catch the impromptu moment perfectly. (This can often take hours.)

Better still, we can instantly send the photo to Facebook or

Instagram any other number of social media sites for all of our friends to see and be jealous of our journey. We will then spend a great deal of the rest of our vacation time checking the various social media sites to see if our friends commented on just exactly how jealous they are. (They’s better be, otherwise what is the purpose of the trip?)

One of the benefits of being able to take a “selfie” over and over again until you get exactly the look you want is that you will be preserving for your children and grandchildren a series of perfect photographs for them to enjoy for generations.

“Gee grandma you really look great in this photograph, just like you do in every photograph. Is that the Eiffel Tower behind you?”

“Eiffel Tower? I don’t remember seeing that. But it is a great photo of me giving a double thumbs up. Don’t you think?”

The age of the selfie is most likely here to stay and is even evolving.

Today people can buy drones that can be programmed to hover around them all day and film their every move which can then be posted online.

Supposedly the actual purpose of these drones are so people can use them to promote their business or skill without the cost of a big production, but I think the creators of these devices really knew what most people would use them for.

As Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard famously said: “I’m ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille.”

And if Descartes were around today he might have said, “I click therefore I am.” But then again, he might not have had the time since he would be endlessly checking his phone for funny cat videos.

Order your autographed copy today for $16.99 plus $3 shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like.) Make out checks or money orders for $19.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: Socks Book c/o Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247 Or order online at BrendanTSmith.com (Autographed copies also avail. at the Weirs Times)

Order your autographed copy today for $16.99 plus $3 shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like.) Make out checks or money orders for $19.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: Socks Book c/o Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247 Or order online at BrendanTSmith.com (Autographed copies also avail. at the Weirs Times)

Weirs Times Editor

biden’s JOb is running u.s., nOT israel

by Star Parker Syndicated Columnist

THe Trump-desanTis primary figHT begins

Widely reported in the press is that President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his concern about judicial reforms that are currently being considered in Israel. We must wonder why Biden, who demonstrably cannot run our own country, feels behooved to tell others, particularly one as successful as Israel, how to run theirs.

Looking into Biden’s own backyard, per latest Gallup polling, a paltry 20% of Americans say they are satisfied with the direction of their country.

The White House reported that Biden told the Israeli prime minister that “democratic values” are “a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship, that democratic societies are strengthened by genuine checks and balances, and that fundamental changes should be pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support.”

But Israel is governed under a parliamentary system that ties the government, on a day-to-day basis, to popular sentiment more closely than our own system.

On any given day, in Israel’s parliamentary system, a vote of no-confidence can bring down the government.

And, indeed, as a result of a deeply divided electorate, Israel has had five elections within four years. As the only democracy in their part of the world, it doesn’t seem like democracy and elections are subjects on which Israel needs tutorials from Biden.

Really what is going on is not a problem with democracy but a problem with those who are unhappy with the results that democracy produces. It happens that Israelis, in their last election, returned to power Netanyahu, who has put together a right-of-center government that does not please Israel’s left or America’s left-wing president, who has been recruited to put in his two cents.

Biden touting the importance of democracy and checks and balances is more than a little ironic as he waits for the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of his unilateral move to wipe out $400 billion of student loans. Most assessments point to the likelihood that Biden’s move will be found unconstitutional.

Regarding the importance

by Ben Shapiro Syndicated Columnist

This week, as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg considered indicting former President Donald Trump on a flimsy felony charge over a seven-year-old hush-money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels, Trump placed his focus on the man he perceives as the truest threat to his political dominance: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump backers demanded that DeSantis sound off on the looming indictment; after a few days, DeSantis did, but not in ways that pleased Trump’s base. “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,” DeSantis said. “But what I can speak to is if you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction and he chooses to go back many, many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush money payments, that’s an example of pursuing a political agenda.”

DeSantis’ harsh words for Bragg were insufficient, according to Trump, because he mentioned the rationale for Trump’s legal difficulties: his unfortunate penchant for sexual profligacy. This prompted Trump to take to Truth Social to accuse DeSantis of grooming underage girls and/ or boys: “Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known, when he’s unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are ‘underage’ (or possibly a man!).”

This was only the beginning. On Tuesday evening, excerpts broke from a DeSantis interview with Piers Morgan, in which DeSantis criticized Trump’s choices as president. “(T)he way we run the gov-

ernment I think is no daily drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board and I think that’s something that’s very important,” DeSantis said. He added that he “would have fired” Dr. Anthony Fauci, contra Trump, who made Fauci into the face of the federal government’s pandemic response.

So, the fight is on.

Right now, the advantage lies with Trump. He’s the center of gravity for all of politics. DeSantis led Trump 39% to 26% in the Monmouth poll in December 2022 -- shortly after Trump’s candidates in Senate races lost across the board, while DeSantis cleaned up in Florida -- but now trails Trump by a margin of 27% to 41% in the same poll.

Dealing with Trump will be difficult for any Republican candidate, for two specific reasons. First, many Republican voters have bought into the myth that Trump is not subject to political gravity: In the aftermath of the 2012 Obama reelection, widespread political sentiment held that Democrats would never lose another presidential election, and yet Trump somehow beat Hillary Clinton while saying anything and everything on his mind. Many Republicans still think of Trump as a winner, even after his losses in the 2018 midterm election, 2020 presidential election, 2021 Georgia Senate races and 2022 midterms. When they don’t, he drops in the polls, as in December 2022.

Second, Republicans rally to Trump whenever he is attacked by the Left. That’s right and proper when it comes to unjust prosecutions by rogue DAs. But many Republican voters have generalized to the extent that Trump is now considered offlimits to attack even by other Republicans, since the Left might use such attacks as a rationale to attack Trump, too. This is a nearly impossible needle to thread. How do you critique Trump without the base feeling

diversiTy Training disasTer

All big American companies now require DEI training: diversity, equity and inclusion.

All big companies!

Really.

from “the Sammamish, the Duwamish, Snoqualmie, Suquamish, Muckleshoot” and more.

I guess it’s a nice gesture. But they aren’t giving the land back!

Companies go through the motions.

Or worse. “It makes people less likely to interact with people unlike them,” he says. “It’s a minefield now.”

At diversity trainings, employees learn about “microaggressions,” speech that’s subtly biased.

“That is by no means a white thing,” says Smith. “The point is to demonize the other side.”

by John Stossel Syndicated Columnist

It sounds responsible. But it turns out DEI courses are often useless and sometimes racist.

First comes groveling.

My new video about DEI shows a conference that begins with a “land acknowledgement.” A Microsoft employee apologizes for taking land

“They feel like they have to,” says York College professor Erec Smith. “They have to signal to the world that they’re doing something.”

They hope it will protect them from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and lawsuits.

Smith was once a diversity officer. He left the position because he thought it was “useless.”

“If you ask somebody what they do for a living, somehow that’s racist,” says Smith. “If you learn that, then why would you take a chance? ... ‘I’m going to silence myself’ ... not talk to Black people.”

A Coca-Cola diversity training tells employees, “Be less white.” “Being white” includes being “oppressive, arrogant, defensive, ignorant.”

Worst of all, despite the $3 billion spent on DEI training by American companies today, DEI trainings don’t do what they’re supposed to do.

A Harvard professor analyzed studies of them and says, “Sadly enough, I did not find one single study which found that diversity training leads to more diversity.”

A different Harvard Business Review study analyzed data from 800 companies and found that five years after diversity training, the

fOreign pOlicy WeaTHervane nOW a spinning WHirligig

ers would scoff saying, “It’s too far fetched!”

by John J. Metzler Syndicated Columnist

As they say, you can’t make this up. In the course of just over a week, China and Russia reaffirmed their friendship and military ties, the Iranian regime proxies lashed out with rockets at U.S. forces in neighboring Syria, North Korea shot off a few more missiles, France was rocked by serious rioting, all to the backdrop of what could well be a global banking crisis sending financial shockwaves from Silicon Valley to Switzerland.

If this was part of an author’s pitch for a thriller novel, most publish-

Let’s lead with the geopolitically tectonic Chinese/Russian rapprochement. China’s President Xi Jinping visited Moscow and met with the increasingly isolated Vladimir Putin during a Kremlin summit making his ninth visit to Russia since he became president in 2013. Traditionally one of the key objectives of U.S. foreign policy was keeping to the two Eurasian continental giants from getting too close. Yet for a few years now, both Beijing and Moscow have been emboldened and exploiting the perceived power vacuum of the Biden Administration’s policies.

Xi’s words when leaving Moscow should be set to orchestration of melo-

dramatic music; “Right now there are changes, the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years. And we are the ones driving these changes together.” Putin offered a forced icy smile. Moscow and Beijing share common political interests; controlling the UN Security Council logjam on resolving key crises; the Ukraine war, North Korea, Burma or Syria. The Chinese government described Xi’s trip as a “peace mission” to try to sell Beijing’s twelve point peace plan for ending the Ukraine war.

Some say Xi’s ties to the Russians are a marriage of convenience, but I beg to differ. It’s more a marriage of connivance. Historically China never really trusted Russia and visa versa. But both wish to isolate the United

States and are generally opposed to what the West likes to tout as a “rules based international order,” unless of course they were running it. China’s massive trade with the world over the past generation non withstanding, the Chinese Communist Party regime holds a clear political objective which envisages the Middle Kingdom as a central global player politically, economically and militarily. Massive trade deficits favoring Beijing have helped sustain the “China Dream,” as Chairman Xi likes to call it.

Xi Jinping declared an “enduring economic partnership,” with Russia. Last year, two-way trade reached a record high of $190 billion. But in 2022 the bilateral China/U.S. trade

nOT yOurs TO give

My Little Sewing Room

by Hal Shurtleff Director, Camp Constitution Alton, NH

Recently, U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen flew to Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky where she pledged unlimited financial support from the U.S. taxpayers who have already given Ukraine billions of dollars over the past year. While I haven’t looked at the official job description for the office of the U.S. Treasurer, I am certain that pledging money to a corrupt foreign leader who has closed churches, arrested priests, and shut down all media outlets isn’t part of her job description.

Prior Years Unfiled Returns Our Specialty!!!

How self-employed individuals can repay deferred Social Security tax

How can low-income families register for monthly Child Tax Credit payments

Focus on fraud: Romance and Remarriage in later years

Late Filer? No Problem

Statutes of Limitation for Tax Collection

Protect Your Tax Returns from Past Years

Why You Should Always File Returns for Past Years, Even if You Haven’t Filed In Years

Time Limits for Refunds and Audits

Remedies for Missing Tax Documents

Are My Social Security Benefits Taxable? Records You Need to Keep

But Yellin is not alone in promoting or supporting unconstitutional spending. New Hampshire’s entire congressional delegation seldom vote according to the enumerated powers granted to them. I just visited the Freedom Index which is published by “The New American” magazine. https://thenewamerican.com/freedom-index/

Congressman Chris Pappas has an accumulated record of “6” which means he voted for unconstitutional measures 94 percent of the time. Here are just a few of the blatantly unconstitutional bills which he supported:

HR 4346: Semiconductor Incentives (Passed 243 to $425 Yes 187 on 7/28/2022, Roll Call 404). Spends $54.2 billion on mul -

tiple unconstitutional research, development, and manufacturing programs, and authorizes an additional $168.7 billion in spending.

HR 5376: Inflation Reduction Act (Passed 220 to 207 $4,014 Yes on 8/12/2022, Roll Call 420). Spends at least $512 billion on multiple unconstitutional and left-wing programs and initiatives.

HR 2617: Omnibus 2023 Spending (Passed 225 to $13,328 Yes 201 on 12/23/2022, Roll Call 549). Spends $1.7 trillion on multiple unconstitutional.

It isn’t that Mr. Pappas tells us that he is a champion of the taxpayer. The voters knew that he is a far-leftist who votes almost entirely with the Deep State elite who run his party. Voters had the opportunity to fire him but far too many like big government and more taxes. Some paid attention to the idiotic attack ads paid for by out-of-state Political Action Committees claiming that

his opponent Karoline Leavitt will take away their twinkies and government benefits if she is elected.

The Davy Crockett Story

There is a free market classic title d Sockdolager! A Tale of Davy Crockett in Which the Old Tennessee bear hunter meets up with the Constitution of the United States. Some historians claim that some of the events were historical license. Nevertheless, it is an excellent tale.

The story begins with Congressman Crockett speaking out against a vote which would give the widow of Naval hero Stephen Decatur a pension. Crockett explains that the U.S Constitution gives no authority to give Mrs. Decatur a pension. He rightfully argued that if Mrs. Decatur was entitled to a pension, all the widows of veterans from the War of 1812 deserved pensions. As one of the poorest member of

Congress, he offered to give her a week’s salary. When a friend asked for an explanation as to why he voted against the pension, he explained how he learned a valuable lesson on the Constitution from a constituent, a Mr. Horatio Bunce whom Crockett encountered on his reelection campaign. Bunce, a well respected farmer, explained to Crockett that he voted for him once but will not again because he voted to give the victims of a fire in Georgetown $20,000. Bunce believed that Crockett was an honest man, but had no understanding of the Constitution. He told Crockett that the U.S. Constitution did not grant him any power to give charity using the funds in the U.S. Treasury-it was not his to give. Crockett acknowledged the error of his ways and a week later, attended a barbecue hosted by Bunce, where he confessed his unconstitutional vote, and pledged not to do it again. Crockett and Bunce became close friends. I don’t expect our Congressional delegation to ever acknowledge the error of their ways, but I will gladly host a barbecue for Mr. Pappas if he would acknowledge his unconstitutional votes and pledge adhere to his oath.

Until the majority of voters in this district and others demand that their elected officials obey their oath of office or vote them out, we will see more unconstitutional spending, an expanding government at all levels and an erosion of freedoms. But there is much that we can do. My first recommendation is that readers

Brenda MacKay Established 1971

Letters From God Letters From God

This series of Letters From God is an attempt to put the thoughts of God as revealed in the Scriptures as they relate to individuals and the nation of the USA.

QUESTION: What Is So Special About

Easter?

Your question is an important one and let me begin to answer it by asking you a question?

Where will you be the moment you die? Do you have any hope? Since I am your creator, you would do well to discover what I have done for you to give you life. When I created you, I created you with two distinct components, a physical body and a nonphysical spirit, who is the person living in your body.

When I first created the first man and woman, I gave them the option to live forever in a perfect environment I created for them, in bodies that were perfect. The only requirement was that they obey me and rely on me, the source of life. Obedience was essential since I have never known evil or sin and I can’t have a relationship with those who have even one sin (Isaiah 59:2).

If they chose to sin against me however, they would be cut off from me, their life source, and would begin to die. It would lead to physical death and then at that time, the person or spirit would leave the body and be cast away from

me and life forever in hell. The fact that all of you are dying is evidence that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). My glory is that I am without sin but each of you have sinned against me by being disobedient.

So, what does this have to do with Easter?

Easter celebrates the fact that one person who lived and then died, came back to life and lives in my presence enjoying nothing but life, no death, for eternity. It was my son, Jesus, your Messiah. I promise, in the Old Covenant of my book, the Bible, that he would come to save you from your inevitable death. He fulfilled over 300 prophecies of his coming that I revealed.

Why did he die, you may ask?

It was because he was taking your penalty of sin so that if you accepted Him as your savior it would remove any debt of sin that separated you from me, the source of life. My prophet Isaiah profoundly spoke of him and his work for you when he said, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was

pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer… (Isaiah 53:3–10a).

My son, Jesus, who was God and therefore both sinless and eternal, died to pay your penalty. He did this so that if you ask Him and trust Him to pay your penalty, I would accept His payment for your sins, and you would have no record of wrong in my eyes. In this condition you could be restored to me, the source of life, and live forever with me in my kingdom in which there is no death. But Isaiah didn’t finish with his death.

In the last verse he continues and says, “…and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.” (53:10b).

This was one of a number of predictions of his resurrection from the grave.

Why is Easter so special? It is because when he rose from the grave and conquered death, it meant he was God who alone could pay your penalty, your sins will be forgiven if you trust him, you will be restored to me and you will live forever. It is your only hope. Don’t you think it is time to be reconciled to me through my Son’s sacrificial work for you?

He is alive, so ask him to save you with his death and resurrection for you and your sins.

Come then and bow in worship this Easter to thank him and start preparing to live forever.

I love you God

These letters are written by Rev. Dr. Samuel Hollo, pastor at the Community Church of Alton, NH.

NO PRESSURE, NO GIMMICKS, NO KIDDING!

159 D.W. Hwy, Belmont, NH • 603-524-8821

St. André Bessette

HOLY WEEK SERVICES 2023

Holy Thursday April 6: 8:00 A.M. - Tenebrae

(Office of Readings & Morning Prayer)

7:00 P.M. - Mass of the Lord's Supper

Good Friday April 7:

8:00 A.M. - Tenebrae - Sacred Heart

3:00 & 7:00 P.M. - Veneration of the Cross

Holy Saturday April 8:

8:00 A.M. - Tenebrae

8:00 P.M. - Easter Vigil

PLEASE NOTE: NO 4pm SATURDAY MASS

Sacred Heart Church 291 Union Ave Laconia, NH 524-9609

Easter Sunday April 9: 7:00, 8:30, 10:30 A.M.

St. André Bessette Masses now open to the at Sacred Heart Church

Saturdays: 4pm; Sundays: 7:00, 8:30

SACRED HEART CHURCH 291 Union Ave., Laconia

HOLY WEEK SERVICES

Holy Thursday April 6:

St. Joseph Church 30 Church St. Laconia, NH 524-9609

Livestreamed Mass: Sunday 8:30am Daily Masses: Monday & Thursday: Tuesday: 5:00pm, Wednesday: Both churches are open daily for private We will be following the Governor’s guidelines 40% seating capacity, social distancing, sanitizer required. www.standrebessette.org

7:00 P.M. - Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Very Reverend Marc B. Drouin, V.F., Pastor

Good Friday April 7:

7:00 P.M. - Veneration of the Cross

Holy Saturday April 8:

7:30 P.M. - Easter Vigil

PLEASE NOTE: NO 4:30 pm SATURDAY MASS

Easter Sunday April 9: 9:30 A.M. - Easter Mass

SERVICES WILL BE HELD AT ST. JOSEPH PARISH 96 MAIN ST., BELMONT, NH

New BusiNess Profile: life cOacHing by ancHOr THe JOy

Joie Lacourse imagined owning her very own B&B one day and fell in love with hotel management. Working for hotels in the Lakes Region and in Tampa, Florida, she was a rising star in the industry. “I got burnt out. I started to realize that I was becoming a person that I didn’t like. So I left hospitality all together and started looking inward to find my passion again. To find what really lit me up.” Five years later, Joie is now a certified Life and Health coach serving the Lakes Region in person, and the nation virtually.

“I just wasn’t in a good place emotionally for a very long time. I realized that all of the problems I was having had one common denominator; me. I started taking responsibility for my part in the

situations I was finding myself in.”

Born and raised in Laconia, Joie has experienced everything from grieving loss to domestic violence to addiction, making her expertise very broad in the realm of personal development and mental health.

Coaching is an interactive and holistic experience where you discover your goals and your passions and use them to help you travel down a path to the life you want. Programs through Anchor the Joy are based on a habit change coaching method. They do this through 3 months of 1:1 private coaching where they work on rewiring your habits so you can change your beliefs and create a new identity for yourself.

Anchor the Joy also offers group coaching

for those that don’t want to go through this growth experience alone. “Everyone is different. Some people literally cannot do it alone. They need a sense of community and other like minded individuals going on the same journey, to keep them accountable.”

Joie is also now a certified CIJ Clarity Catalyst trainer. The Clarity Catalyst program is an 8 week course from Stanford University designed to teach mindfulness and emotional intelligence.

Dr. Michael Ray developed this course for his business majors at Stanford to help them identify who and what they wanted to be. The course was gifted to

400 women who lost their spouses in the 9/11 tragedy, and because the results were extraordinary, Stanford decided to have coaches trained to teach the course so they could reach more people.

“This is my proudest accomplishment,” said Joie. “This course, which I have taken personally, has changed my outlook on life entirely. I do like to start any new clients with this course so they can first get in alignment with their values and identity. From there, we dive into a specific area of their life that they want to see the biggest shift in with a customized 90 days to Unstoppable Confidence program.”

liar, liar, panTs On fire

by Leslie Gray, LCMHC Gray Matters Counseling & Wellness

This is a hot topic in my field… pun completely intended. Many folks report feeling intense emotional responses to being accused of lying when they are actually telling the truth. The sociologist in me is super curious about how often this seems to happen, so I thought I’d share what I know.

In addition to be it being an attack on a person’s moral character, it’s just plain hurtful.

To the first point, humans are social creatures, and it’s important for our overall survival to be accepted into our tribe. That tribe might be your nuclear family, your friend group, or even your co-workers. To be seen as morally corrupt by your tribe is a threat to your survival. Plain and simple.

To the second point, it really hurts to have people you care about wrongfully distrust you. It might even remind you of times in childhood when your caretakers didn’t believe you, bringing out your inner child with responses like, “I know you are but what am

I!?” Or even more satisfying, “I’m rubber, you’re glue! Everything you say bounces off me and sticks to you!” I didn’t realize until I was an adult that these childhood phrases actually describe a common defense mechanism known as projection. Projection is when a person accuses others of doing what they do. They navigate from a deviant moral compass and assume others do, too. And since they know that they are not trustworthy, there is no convincing them that you are. It’s a narrow view, I get it. But these people view the world as nothing more than a reflection of themselves. Mirror, mirror on the wall… But don’t forget, when you point the finger at someone, there are three more pointing right back at you. Being called a liar may feel like an extreme accusation but it might not be far from the truth at times. Wait, what? Ok,

let me explain. Some people are simply not safe to get close to. You know the scene: you share some personal information with someone who seems unassuming, then you learn that they shared it with others as gossip or judgment. Or they use it against you in some way. You give them another chance only to have it happen again. So, naturally you stop sharing. You put up boundaries. You take a big step back from the relationship, the person, and any opportunity to be mistreated again. They invite you out with the group after work and you decline stating, “Sorry, I already have plans.” It’s really none of their business if you didn’t have concrete plans but when they drive by your house and see your car in the driveway later on, they accuse you of having lied. The truth is you did make a plan to not be involved with that person again; you just didn’t

tell them because you wanted to avoid their wicked wrath. But they are so convinced that you can’t be trusted that they will use anything they can find to support their narrative. But the truth is that they may not be a big enough (or self-aware enough) person to take ownership of what they did that led to you setting boundaries with them.

It’s a big game of hot potato (yet another childhood game that portrays a negative coping mechanism: passing the buck). If you defend yourself and ac-

See GRAY on 30

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Hearing enHancemenT cenTers Offers audibel’s all-neW,

Hearing TecHnOlOgy

GILFORD - Hearing Enhancement Centers is proud to offer Audibel’s industry-best hearing technology, Intrigue AI, a new, unprecedented experience for both patients and hearing professionals. Completely reimagined from the inside out, it’s the only hearing technology system to feature an all-new processor, all-new sound, allnew industrial design, all-new fitting software, and all-new patient experience.

“Hearing Enhancement Centers understands the significant role in our emptional well-being and physical health. Intrigue AI is the best sounding, best performing hearing aid available, offering infinite benefits to patients,” said Al Langley, owner of Hearing Enhancement Centers.

“We’re here to help our patients every step of the way. Through our partnership with Audibel, we aim to better serve our patients, helping them stay connected to the world around them so they can hear better and live better.”

The all-new Neuro Processor features the industry’s most advanced processor technology which mimics the function of the central auditory system through a Deep Neural Network (DNN) on-chip

accelerator and automatic functions. Allnew Intrigue AI hearing aids mimic the cerebral cortex of the brain to more quickly and accurately “fill in” the gaps when patients’ hearing is impaired.

Packed with the industry’s most sophisticated technology, they make over 80 million personalized adjustments every hour — all designed to help wearers:

•Distinguish words and speech more intuitively and naturally

•Hear soft sounds without distracting noise

•Reduce the effort it takes to listen and hear

The AI inside delivers more true-to-life sound quality than ever before!

Audibel’s new Neuro Sound Technology provides the best hearing

the neuroscience of the ear-brain connection and information processing to create better sound quality, pushing artificial intelligence to its limits. Intrigue AI’s improved performance levels are unlike anything else in the industry.”

experience for patients in all situations. The additive compression system synthesizes the signals from slow and fast compression systems for optimized perceptual outcomes, like the neural fibers that code different information for the brain.

“By spending countless hours with hearing professionals and patients, researching and analyzing every element of the hearing journey, we relentlessly pursued how to bring the best hearing innovation to professionals and patients in a simple and intuitive way,” said Achin Bhowmik, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Engineering at Audibel. “Our all-new, powerful processor was designed to work like the human brain, leveraging

Intrigue AI features an all-new sleek, discreet and stylish aesthetic product design that’s durable and comfortable for all-day wear, and which helps break barriers and reduce the stigma of what is hearing care technology today.

•Intrigue AI includes RIC RT, the industry’s longest-lasting RIC rechargeable hearing aid on the market. The battery holds up to 50 hours on a single charge.

•The new mRIC R has the second longestlasting RIC rechargeable battery life with up to 40 hours on a single charge.

•Industry-first custom rechargeable product has the highest custom battery life in the industry with up to 36 hours on a single charge.

The new My Audibel App gives patients full control over their hearing aids, plus the ability to get helpful tips, track their health, and access intelligent features designed to

Complete exam with x-rays if necessary for only $49 this month!

CHIROPRACTIC... BECAUSE THE BODY HEALS ITSELF.

THe pOWer Of cOnnecTiOn

by Kelly Chapman Meredith Whole Living Center

I’m often amazed by how the simplest and most fundamental aspects of how we live can impact our health, sense of wellbeing, and longevity to such a strong degree. With so many options in the wellness space offering solutions, time and again research supports basic lifestyle choices such as eating a healthy diet, getting proper rest, and moving our bodies daily as some of the most powerful tools for positive health outcomes. While this includes an understanding that social connection and positive relationships with loved ones are foundational to a happy, healthy life, recent research has emerged that underscores just how important a sense of connectedness is to our quality of life and longevity.

Rather than viewing community as simply life-enhancing, lacking a feeling of connectedness can increase our chances of premature death by up to 50%. For context, this is rough -

ly the same risk increase as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and greater than the risk associated with other known factors, such as high blood pressure, obesity, and physical inactivity. Research by Dr. Steve Cole has also shown loneliness to affect genes responsible for regulating immune function and inflammation. HIgh quality relationships and an internal sense of connectedness also lower harmful levels of stress, protect against depression and anxiety, and promote the type of pro-social characteristics such as trust and empathy that allow us to create and strengthen social ties more readily.

If you’re one of the growing number of adults experiencing loneliness and a lack of feeling of connectedness, this article is not intended to cause you additional concern, but rather to validate that not only are you fully normal if feelings of isolation and loneliness feel like they’re affecting your physical and emotional well-being, but also to share that relief from these symptoms is well within your ability to influence in profound ways. One of the most interesting pieces of information in emerging research is that the feelings of connection we need to thrive are inter -

nally subjective. That means that someone with a large circle of family and friends can still feel disconnected, and also that we can increase our feelings of connection even without access to a local circle. While that doesn’t discount the importance of building and maintaining healthy relationships with others, it does empower us to start benefiting from increased connection quite rapidly.

Guided loving-kindness and similar meditations can be easily accessed through sources like YouTube, and have been shown to increase feelings of connectedness in as little as one session. That’s significant as we understand that once we begin increasing these feelings, other prosocial behaviors evolve naturally, increasing our ability to engage positively with those around us. Other ways we can enhance these feelings include spending time in nature, volunteering, and prioritizing opportunities for connection the way we would for any other health-promoting activity such as a doctor’s appointment or gym session. The sooner we begin, the more time we’ll have to explore a variety of ways to foster our own unique sense of connection, which has the additional ben -

efits over a lifespan. In fact a large Swedish study of adults over 75 revealed that those with the most varied network of satisfying connections had the lowest risk of dementia and cognitive decline over time. Regardless of where you are in your life or how long it’s been since you’ve felt connected and supported, intentional changes you can make today can have an outsized impact on your health, See CHAPMAN on 15

Hearing Loss Leads to Lost Cognitive Function

Austin wants to tell you about a very important finding in medical research. Any decline in hearing results in declines in cognitive performance and brain function.

Audiology Specialists provides cognitive screening that can measure some aspects of cognitive performance. This is an in-office, computerized screening. This is not an IQ test or list of questions. It is a simple, automated assessment that takes about ten minutes to complete.

The results of this screening are not affected by hearing loss. The results help your audiologist determine which hearing aid is most appropriate and ensures your hearing solutions are right for you. The screening can be repeated at any time in the future to identify changes in cognitive performance.

Please call for more information or to schedule an appointment at 603-528-7700.

simplify their lives.

Audibel leads the hearing industry as it relates to incorporating health and wellness features into hearing aids, including being the first to integrate 3D sensors; the first to enable counting steps; the first to track and encourage social engagement; and the first to provide benefits that went beyond just better hearing. Audibel was also the first hearing manufacturer — and still the only — to make hearing aids that can detect falls and send alerts.

Intrigue AI’s improved streaming capabilities utilize binaural phone steaming, sharing information to both ears directly and simultaneously. This supports two-way, hands-free calling through compatible Apple and Android devices and makes it easier for patients to enjoy their favorite music with more natural results.

Hearing Enhancement Centers has received an “A+” accredited rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the organization’s highest rating for 28 consecutive years. Since 1986 the company continuously achieves the highest level of patient satisfaction through a world-class customer service network. With locations in Gilford, Rochester, and Concord, Hearing Enhancement Centers provides patients with a number of convenient options to find out more about their hearing health including hearing exams, hearing aids, tinnitus relief, and

assistive listening devices. Their complete hearing care division also provides hearing care to healthcare facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living communities throughout the state of NH. They are offering generous upgrade credits to all hearing aid users who wish to learn about this amazing advancement in hearing clarity. For more information or to set up an appointment, please call (800) 7556460 or visit www. hearclearnow.com.

The Clarity Catalyst course can also be taught to children and teens as well as corporations. “There are different modules for adults, kids, and corporations; and I can teach all 3, which is exciting,” said Joie. “My next goal though, is to get the module called Insight for Life, into the school system to provide kids and teens with practical, easy to use life skills to help foster and develop the powerful potential within them.”

To get in touch with Joie at Anchor the Joy visit www.anchorthejoy.com or email anchorthejoy@gmail.com.

happiness, and longevity. As always, if you’re overwhelmed with your struggles, please reach out to a mental health professional for help.

Kelly Chapman is the owner of Meredith Whole Living Center.

JOY from 10

HEARING from 12

CHAPMAN from 13

A-1 Firewood

by Mike Moffett Contributing Writer

While looking at some of the scores from the recent NHIAA winter tournaments I noticed a girls hockey team representing Bishop BradyTrinity-Londonderry. Yes, I care about girls’ hockey, as New Hampshire’s developed a nice tradition in that sport.

Concord ice standout Tara Mounsey starred at Brown University and won Olympic gold representing America. Although it should be pointed out that she captained the boys’ ice hockey team at Concord High School back in the 1990s—before there were girls teams.

Anyway, I did think that a high school team representing Bishop Brady-Trinity-Londonderry was a bit odd. I could see Bishop BradyTrinity, those both being Catholic schools not that far apart. But how did Londonderry get into that mix?

Numbers.

Combining schools to find enough hockey players through coops is nothing new. Belmont-Gilford have combined for a boys hockey team for years now. Likewise for Laconia-Winnisquam-InterLakes. But what really got my attention was a “Manchester” team drawing players from Central, Memorial, and West High Schools.

What?

Those schools were Di-

running OuT Of spOrTs Kids

the baby bust challenge somewhat, thankfully. But how low will the numbers go?

How can a school like Newfound High continue to field both football and boys soccer teams each fall? Consider that Franklin High School’s student population of 266 students reflects a 22% decline in just five years—as opposed to 20!

vision I material, formerly Class L (for “Large). Not exactly BelmontGilford. Where did all the Queen City hockey players go?

Demographics.

There just aren’t as many youngsters as there used to be—although there are also cultural and socio-economic factors as well.

Consider that in 2003 there were 207,684 kids going to Granite State schools. That number is now 161,755, give or take a student or two. A huge 22% drop.

This school population decrease has all kinds of implications. Some understandably wonder why school costs continue to increase far beyond inflation rates while school numbers significantly decrease. Good question. Part of the answer lies in how the education commu-

nity gets its peeps to turn out and vote at annual school meetings. But that’s another story.

As much as any other state, New Hampshire is aging. With a sports infrastructure in place to support many more young athletes than are currently out there, one wonders about our sports future. It’s painful to see so many Little Leagues contracting or closing down.

On the plus side, not as many players have to deal with the trauma of getting cut from teams. The flip side of that coin involves a degradation in the quality of play. Numbers and depth matter.

Every community is different. Some are affected far more than others by the baby bust. The growth of girls sports over the last quarter century has tempered

Another baby boom would help, says this baby boomer. But kids are so darn expensive nowadays. Not sure how to fix that. But until we get more youngsters, we’ll see more and more co-op teams. Perhaps someday we’ll have a Belmont-Gilford-Laconia-Winnisquam-InterLakes ice hockey team. Go BGLWIL!

Sports Quiz

What team won the first ever NHIAA Girls Ice Hockey title? (Answer follows)

Born Today

That is to say, sports standouts born on March 30 include basketball great Jerry Lucas (1940) and super horse Triple Crown winner Secretariat (1970).

Sports Quote

“Cinderella is proof that a new pair of skates can change your life.” –girls ice hockey poster

Sports Quiz Answer Hanover beat Concord 5-3 in 2008 to win the inaugural N.H. state high school girls hockey championship.

Tara Mounsey.

WinTer peaK bagging neW HampsHire HigHesT 200

*Flatlander’s Observations On Life

With over 40 of the best of Brendan’s weekly columns he covers everything from politics to health to technology to shopping and more. This is the perfect sampling of his unique humor which has been entertaining readers of The Weirs Times and Cocheco Times for twenty years.

Order your autographed copy today for $13.99 plus $3 for shipping. (Also available on Amazon andlocal bookstores

Send checks or money orders for $16.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: Best of a F.O.O.L., c/o The Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247.

Order online at www.BrendanTSmith.com

Newest Release By Brendan Smith

“The Best of a F.O.O.L.*

*Flatlander’s Observations On Life

Yours truly and Bryan Cuddihee on Mount Whitcomb’s South Peak. There’s nothing like using up the last hours of calendar Winter to complete the New Hampshire Highest 200 Winter list. The 200 list peak’s elevations range between 2900 feet to just under 3500 feet. Many have no trails and the approach distances are often many miles. Winter peak bagging requires carrying a heavy backpack filled with all the things needed to spend a long time outside in the cold. Snowshoes, skis and micro-spikes coupled with winter boots and lots of extra clothing are necessary.

There are a lot of hiking lists in New Hampshire. The most famous list is the 48 peaks that make up the New Hampshire 4,000 Footers list recognized by the Appalachian Mountain Club.

The AMC offers the challenge of doing all the 4,000 footers in Winter. We can double the fun of any list by

completing it in Winter.

To check off a peak on the Winter list each mountain must be hiked completely between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. This time period is known as calendar winter. This year’s calendar winter ended the moment spring began on March 20, 2023 at 5:24pm.

I finished the 4,000 footer and the New Hampshire Highest 100 list in February of 2018 for a double list finish on Mount Moriah. The only excuse I had for waiting so long to complete these winter lists is that I’d rather go skiing than snowshoeing.

I have been pecking away at the Winter NH See PATENAUDE on 34

With over 40 of the best of Brendan’s weekly columns he covers everything from politics to health to technology to shopping and more. This is the perfect sampling of his unique humor which has been entertaining readers of The Weirs Times and Cocheco Times for twenty years.

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.)

Send checks or money orders for $16.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: Best of a F.O.O.L., c/o The Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247.

Order online at www.BrendanTSmith.com

(Pickup autographed copies at the Weirs Times)

Newest Release By Brendan Smith

The Simple Feast

pie dOugH apple TurnOvers

by Eric N Gibson Contributing Writer

Pie Dough Apple Turnovers?

The Simple Feast Simple The Simple

The thought came to me while cleaning out the fridge the other day, getting rid of leftovers and making room for our prolific layers. (We’re up to 17 eggs a day!) While shuffling and tossing, I stumbled upon a box of unopened pie dough that I had bought a few weeks ago for a blueberry pie. Moving a few more items, I found a half a jar of applesauce. My wheels began to turn. Pie dough, applesauce, some butter, sugar, and some spices… Let’s try it!

The results were not too bad for something baked and created “off the cuff.” Will it win the “Betty Challenge” or make it into the pages of your favorite monthly cooking magazine? Perhaps not but, we´re not going for award winning. This is a quick and simple treat that you can make. Even with limited skill or confidence in the kitchen you can still impress your friends the next time they come over for coffee.

So, as I sat waiting for the turnovers to cook I started to think about the best turnovers I have ever had.

Have you ever had a hot apple turnover right

from the fryer? I will have to say, hands down, that fried turnovers are the best! Not the healthiest, but they do taste great. And two, without question, of the best Apple Turnovers I have ever had come immediately to my mind. One was from that popular fast food restaurant back when they offered what they called an Apple Pie. Back before everyone went healthy and litigation conscious this place fried a pastry dough to a deliciously crispy bubbly golden brown. With each bite you were rewarded with an unmistakably delicious CRUNCH! It was as though you were biting into something delicate that was about to shatter into a million pieces. This flakey fried pastry dough was wrapped around a screaming hot apple pie filling that was dotted with little freckles of cinnamon in the “mol-

ten apple goo.” Many of you probably can still remember burning the corners of your mouth and upper palate as the hot filling leached out upon biting into these scrumptious fried treats and know which place I’m writing about. For the rest, you too know the place but may never have been fortunate enough to enjoy these pies fried. That restaurant is the one with the big yellow “M” on a sign boasting of a bazillion burgers sold. I wish they still made fried apple pies, after all, I’m not going there for the health benefits.

The other apple turnover that stands out in my mind was an experience many years ago. I remember having to travel down to Duke University in North Carolina for a work related conference. Coincidentally, my brother-inlaw was traveling down

HOW Well dO yOu KnOW yOur HOme’s Hvac sysTem?

(BPT) - How well do you know your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, or HVAC, system? Like any product, you want to keep it in working order, and being HVAC savvy will help you keep this vital equipment working more efficiently regardless of the temperatures outside.

Here are some important aspects of your HVAC system you should know:

The Average Lifespan Of HVAC

Generally, with proper maintenance most residential HVAC systems have a typical lifespan between 10 to 20 years. For instance, an increase in dust on surfaces in your home could be a signal to replace the furnace filter, which should be done monthly for optimal performance. Loud noises from the HVAC or inconsistent room temperature can also indicate the need for maintenance or an upgrade.

Although an HVAC may continue to provide comfort during this timeframe, the average homeowner may still seek to replace an HVAC system during this period for a variety of reasons, such as rising energy bills which could also be a signal that the HVAC is not operating

as efficiently as newer models.

State-Of-The-Art HVAC Technology

While most people are familiar with central HVAC systems, some homeowners might not know about “mini-split” systems. A “mini-split” system, typically ductless, both heats and cools. There is an indoor and outdoor unit; the outdoor unit does most of the work while the indoor unit distributes the heating or cooling.

Mini-Split HVAC units with inverter technology, like those from LG Electronics, provide zoned heating or cooling where you need it, all while providing you with an opportunity to reduce your reliance on fossil fuel. This ductless system allows you to select comfort settings for each zone or room

in your home and then control the temperature, volume, and direction of airflow, all according to your preference. ENERGY STAR® certified models are available and, in addition to being more eco-friendly than a traditional HVAC system, can help cut your cooling costs by up to 30 percent.

Know The SEER Rating

The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating of your air conditioner is a measurement of the product’s cooling output in comparison to the total electric energy input. The SEER rating, which can range from 13 to over 30, represents the heat pump cooling and air conditioning efficiency. You’ll want to know

enJOy THe many benefiTs Of adding WaTer feaTures TO THe landscape

by Melinda Myers

Boost the beauty and your enjoyment by adding a fountain, birdbath, or other water feature to your balcony, deck, or landscape. This one addition to your outdoor space provides many benefits.

The sound of moving water helps create a sense of peace and relaxation. It is a form of white noise that helps calm the mind and revive your spirit. It also helps mask noise pollution. Combine water features with strategic screening to create a quiet and private space.

Water is also a great way to attract songbirds and pollinators to your gardens. A birdbath with gently sloping sides allows birds and insects to take a sip without getting all wet. Or add a few stones to your birdbath to accomplish the same results. Be sure to change the water often as providing fresh water is important for the health of your winged guests.

Bring in even more birds by adding some type of water agitator to your birdbath. Moving water is very appealing and helps attract more birds, especially during spring and fall migration.

No need to worry about mosquitoes taking residency in your water feature. Moving water is less appealing and adding Summit® Mosquito Dunks® (SummitResponsible -

Solutions.com) to water features prevents mosquitoes from breeding there. Just toss this donut-shaped cake of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) into the water. This naturally occurring bacteria only kills the larvae of mosquitoes, black flies, and fungus gnats. It won’t harm people, pets, fish, or wildlife.

With so many options you are sure to find one that fits the size and style of your outdoor space. A wall-mounted fountain provides calming sound to patios, porches, and spaces near your home without taking up any valuable floor space.

A small tabletop water garden or fountain can make a nice centerpiece when dining outside or entertaining guests. Then simply move your miniature water feature

Freshen up any space in the landscape with one of these water features. As soon as it is in place, you’ll enjoy the relaxing sounds of water and the songbirds, butterflies, and others it attracts to your gardens.

as needed to maximize your enjoyment.

A natural boulderturned water fountain is the perfect addition for those with informal or natural spaces. Make it appealing to birds by selecting one with a flat area or small indentation to capture some of the water before it flows over the edge. Select a garden statue with a built-in water fountain for a different aesthetic. Animals and mystical figures add playfulness to the garden while stately figures fit nicely in more formal settings.

Convert one or several plant pots into a fountain. You’ll find lots of ideas and step-by-step directions on the internet. Or purchase one ready to install in the garden. These, like other fountains, recirculate water which reduces water waste.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Summit for her expertise to write this article. Myers’ website is www. MelindaMyers.com.

A water feature and statue add interest and relaxation to the landscape.

parTnering WiTH THe prOs: HOW TO geT yOur laWn ready fOr spring

(BPT) - If you enjoy time at home these days, you’re not alone. According to TruGreen’s new survey conducted in collaboration with OnePoll, 69% of Americans spend more time at home than two years ago. And because homeowners enjoy being at home, it’s no surprise home improvement remains a priority, with lawns as a top investment in both time and money.

While lawns are valuable to homeowners, so is their time. Rather than tackling lawn maintenance, homeowners would rather be with family and friends (49%), doing outdoor activities (36%) or reading a book (33%).

But with spring around the corner and warmer weather approaching, now is the first - and best time for homeowners to prepare their lawns for the season ahead. Homeowners should partner with a professional for their lawn care this season so you can spend more time doing things you love - while still achieving the lawn of your dreams. TruGreen®, the nation’s leading lawn care provider, breaks down tasks you can do, and those better left to professionals to save time and money.

What to tackle as the homeowner

Here are the top

items to have on your spring lawn maintenance checklist:

* Prep your lawn mower for a fresh first cut. After a long winter, your lawnmower needs some love to work at its best. Clean or replace the air filter, change the oil, sharpen the blades and check the spark plug. Once your mower is ready, the first cut is critical to remove dead blades of grass from the past season to wake up the lawn. Always mow grass at the correct height, making sure you don’t cut over a third of its height during any single mowing. Most grass types should be kept at least three inches tall, as longer, thicker turf helps combat weeds and conserve water in the soil.

* Clear debris to allow your lawn to breathe . As temperatures climb, you may discover your lawn is covered in fallen leaves, sticks and other debris. If you don’t remove this debris, your lawn could get smothered and develop unsightly patches, since your lawn and its roots would be prevented from accessing sunlight, air, water and nutrients needed to thrive. Clearing debris also helps professional lawn services be more effective.

* Quench your lawn’s thirst . Every lawn requires a healthy amount of high-quality H2O. While some will come from rainfall, during

drier months you may need to use your garden hose or sprinkler system. Aim for about one inch of water per week. An easy way to measure is by spreading a few empty tuna cans across your lawn as you water. When they’re full, that’s an inch.

When To Call In The Pros

The spring season brings new beginnings and memories with loved ones outdoors. Partnering with the pros for your lawn maintenance lets you maximize your time, so you can do what you love without compromising your outdoor space.

“Research shows

the rating to help you understand the efficiency of your unit when it works at its maximum potential. In general, the higher the rating, the better. For example, your air conditioner should have a SEER rating of at least 14.5 to qualify

as an ENERGY STAR product.

Benefits Of ENER -

GY STAR

The gold standard for energy efficiency is ENERGY STAR, a U.S. government-backed program that helps consumers and businesses easily identify

products designed and built to meet above-average efficiency standards. Home products, including HVAC systems, which achieve a certain degree of energy efficiency while also meeting usability and convenience requirements, earn the rating. In fact, heating

and cooling costs could be cut by up to 20 percent versus traditional HVAC products by using ENERGY STAR certified models. Keeping your heating, ventilation, and HVAC equipment wellmaintained can have a significant effect on your utility bills and

will help you catch small issues before they snowball into financial burdens. Replace the air filter regularly, have a maintenance expert evaluate your system twice a year in the spring and fall, and report any concerns to your HVAC provider

between planned visits. Ready to make the switch? Consider an LG HVAC unit by contacting a contractor to learn more about upgrading your system or installing a new unit.

sTay safe as yOu geT bacK OuTside

(NAPSI)—Spring is coming, and as we get out our lawn mowers and other outdoor power equipment from storage to work in our yards, businesses and other green spaces, it’s important to put safe practices in place.

“Think safety first,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), an international trade association representing outdoor power equipment, small engine, utility vehicle, golf car and personal transport vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. “We’re all eager to get back outside in the spring weather but I can’t stress enough to read your owner’s manuals before starting up any equipment— especially your lawn mower.”

OPEI offers these tips to get your outdoor power equipment ready, especially mowers:

•Know not all lawn mowers are the same. Whether your mower is a garden tractor, zeroturn mower or other, it has a unique design, requirements, weight classification, and other differences that impact how to use it safely. The newest machines have the latest safety standards.

•Know your specific machine. Many mowers may look similar but the technology is ever evolving, with evolving safety systems. They vary in design, power supply, performance, operating parameters, and more.

Your manufacturersupplied owner’s manual will guide you in these differences. Read your owner’s manual.

•When using mowers on slopes follow the manufacturer’s guidance to the letter.

•Do not disable or alter manufacturer-installed safety equipment.

•Walk your yard before mowing. Slopes, wet grass and weather may impact the equipment’s performance, as well as safe handling procedures. Pick up sticks and limbs that may have fallen to the ground over the winter and any loose objects that could be hit by a mower. Inspect trees for damaged limbs that may get in your way when mowing.

•Look over equipment before use. Check the air filter, oil level and gasoline tank. Watch for loose belts and missing or damaged parts. Replace any parts needed or take your equipment to a qualified service representative. Check to be sure that you have the appropriate, manufacturer-recommended batteries, if needed.

•Protect your power. Use only E10 or less fuel in gasoline-powered outdoor power equipment if it is not designed for higher ethanol blends. Add a fuel stabilizer if you don’t use up all the fuel in the tank right away. Burn off any fuel before storing the mower more than 30 days. Also, for battery-powered equipment, only use battery packs specified by the manufactur-

er. Follow all charging instructions as outlined in the owner’s manual. Be sure to store fuel and batteries safely. Keep batteries away from other metal objects, store them in a climate-controlled area, and never stack batteries.

•Keep children and pets away from machines during operation.

•Keep your mower clean. It will run more efficiently and last longer. Always remove dirt, oil or grass before using and storing, and store equipment in a dry place, avoiding damp or wet environments.

For information on safe fueling, go to www. LookBeforeYouPump. com. For more safety information visit www. opei.org.

LAWN from 25

68% of Americans trust and hire professionals for home improvement tasks, and with the winter blues behind us, don’t miss out on this critical season to nurture your dream lawn,” said Brian Feldman, director of technical operations at TruGreen. “Whether it’s clearing weeds or providing a boost of nutrients to your lawn, partnering with a professional service can help ensure you’re on track for a healthy, green lawn all year.”

Let the experienced professionals help, here are three tasks better left to the pros:

* Tackling weeds before they attack your lawn . No one wants a lawn covered in weeds. Preventive treatments are vital to help fend off annual weeds before they start growing. Starting your lawn care at the right time and under the correct conditions - such as temperature and humidity - is crucial to prevent weeds from germinating, so consult a professional to identify when to start treatments.

* Fertilizing your outdoor space. During winter, lawns stay in a hibernating state. Come springtime, they wake up with an appe-

tite, so give your lawn a boost of nutrients with an initial dose of fertilizer. A lawn care professional can ensure this treatment occurs at the best time and in the right amount to bring out the best in your lawn, trees and shrubs.

* Tailoring a plan for pesky weeds . Despite your best preventative efforts in the spring, annoying weeds may still pop up. When this happens, a specialist can tailor a post-emergent solution specifically for your outdoor space.

Questions about recovering your lawn after being dormant all winter? Visit TruGreen. com to ensure your lawn is on track for a healthy spring season.

This year, my first sighting of an eastern phoebe was March 21, one day after the official start of spring.

So the eastern phoebe is gone all winter and returns just in time for spring. It is a bird that we haven’t seen since the fall migration. To me, that is the perfect example of a harbinger of spring. This being New England, I must put in the caveat that unofficially winter can linger well into April.

One can also make the argument that red-winged blackbirds are a harbinger of spring as well because they migrate in the fall, and we don’t see them until the spring. My reservation about calling red-winged blackbirds a sign of spring is that they show up a bit too early. This year especially they started showing up in good numbers in February. February is too early to start getting excited

about spring, especially in New England.

Perhaps eastern phoebes do not get the recognition they deserve because they are not showy or charismatic. They are small, drably colored, have a fairly soft and modest song and do not command a lot of attention. By contrast, robins are larger, more colorful, more widely recognized, and grab one’s attention more as they hop around low-cut grassy areas in great numbers.

Either way you look at it, spring is either here or right around the corner in New England. Now, even the calendar says so. There are buds on the trees, crocuses in the lawn and spring peepers are making their commotion in the swamps.

That all confirms that spring is here, regardless of what bird you consider the true harbinger of spring.

An eastern phoebe perches on a branch in New England. Phoebes have returned to New England and are looking for nesting sites.

BOSAK from

CHRIS BOSAK PHOTO

WEIRS TIMES’ BEER FINDER

ACKERLY’S

Grill & Galley

83 Main Street, Alton 603.875.3383

Akerlysgrillandgalleyrestaurant.com

Woodstock - Dbl Pig’s Ear

Stoneface - IPA

Baxter - Coastal Haze

Tuckerman - Pale Ale

603 - Winni Amber Ale

COPPER KETTLE TAVERN

At Hart’s Turkey Farm

Restaurant

233 D.W. Hwy, Meredith 603.279.6212 hartsturkeyfarm.com

Henniker - Working Man’s Porter

Concord Craft - Safe Space

Stoneface - IPA

Moat Mtn - Blueberry

603 - Winni Amber Ale

...+6 More On Tap

D.A. LONG TAVERN

At Funspot

579 Endicott St N., Weirs 603.366.4377 funspotnh.com

KCBC - A Cluckwork Orange

Northwoods - Lucky Cast

Jack’s Abby - Sunny Ridge

Resilience - Arethusa

Cushnoc - Satiator

Notch - Salem Lager

...+6 More On Tap

FOSTER’S TAVERN

403 Main Street Alton Bay, NH 603-875-1234 fosterstavernbythebay.com

Tuckerman - Pale Ale

Sam Adams - Seasonal

Sam Adams - Wicked Hazy

Maine Beer Co - Lunch

Newburyport Brewing Co -

Green Head IPA

...+2 More On Tap

JOHNSON’S TAPHOUSE

At Johnson’s

Seafood & Steak

69 Rt 11, New Durham 603.859.7500

eatatjohnsons.com/

newdurham

Lone Pine -Brightside

Widowmaker -Blue Comet

Shipyard -Smashed

Pumpkin

Jack Abby -Red Tape

Muddy Road -1762 Porter

Northwoods -Autumn Buzz

...+30 More On Tap

MORRISSEYS’

Porch & Pub

286 S. Main St., Wolfeboro 603.569-3662 Morrisseysfrontporch.com

Smithwick’s

Guinness

Harp

Concord Craft Safe Space

Concord Craft Coffee Stout

Stella Artois ...+11 More On Tap

OVER THE MOON FARMSTEAD

1253 Upper City Rd., Pittsfield overthemoonfarmstead.com

Oatmeal Stout

London Porter

Pitt Stop Pils

Coffee Porter

No Need To Argue -

Cranberry Mead

Maple Apple Cider ...+6 More On Tap

PATRICK’S PUB

18 Weirs Rd., Gilford 603.293.0841 Patrickspub.com

Patrick’s Slainte House Ale

Great North - Moose Juice

Guinness

Clown Shoes - Bubble Head

603 - Winni Amber Ale

Tuckerman - Pale Ale ...+9 More On Tap

THE WITCHES BREW PUB

At The Craft Beer Xchange

59 Doe Ave., Weirs Beach 603.409.9344

FB @craftbeerxchange

Ace – Pineapple Cider

Frost – Lush DIPA

Shed – Mountain Ale

Deciduous – Gaze Red Ale

Exhibit A – Briefcase Porter

Left Hand – Peanut Butter Milk

Stout ...+30 More On Tap

cuse them of being the liar, they’ll throw out the projection bit to try to turn it back on you again. Then you end up withholding more infor-

mation from them on purpose to protect yourself from them but… low and behold if that doesn’t give them more fuel to accuse you of being a liar. It becomes a

self-fulfilling prophecy. But only because they made a liar out of you.

Where does it end!?

It ends when you say it does. Most importantly, being constantly accused of lying is a form of abuse, something we should always consciously protect ourselves from. Don’t get defensive; rather, let them know that you aren’t going to accept that behavior from them. Maybe they are fearful and became emotionally dysregulated, but they need to pull up their grownup pants and talk to you like an adult, not a tantruming child. “I don’t allow anyone to talk to me that way. If you have something you’d like to discuss, I

will talk with you when I feel respected.” Works every time without fail. (More on this approach in a future article.) Decide how much effort you really want to put into a relationship where this is happening. If they choose to continue accusing you of lying and you know in your heart that you’re innocent, it may be time to take a break from the relationship.

It may also be time to consider their trustworthiness. Projection is real but it doesn’t guarantee that if someone accuses you of something, it means they are guilty of it themselves. Take your time to consider the person, the situation, your feelings for them, and the value of the relationship. And if you are going to burn the bridge, I recommend wooden matches for the job. Just give them a head’s up so they can get back over that bridge before it goes up in flames. Liar, liar, whose pants are on fire now?

Leslie A. Gray, LCMHC is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and operates Gray Matters Counseling & Wellness, PLLC in Laconia NH. Feel free to submit requests for subject content of future articles to: askgraymatters@gmail.com.

** Tap listings subject to change!

GRAY from 11

Pie Dough Apple Turnovers

Yield: 8 Turnovers Time: Approx. 40 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 pk Ready Made Pie Dough (2 crusts)

1.5 Cups Applesauce

2 Tablespoons Butter (melted)

2-3 Tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 dashes ground cloves

2 dashes Allspice

— Preparation —

- Remove the individual doughs from the package and set to the side while you do the following:

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

- Select a large baking sheet pan and line it with parchment paper.

- Pour one and one half cups of applesauce into a bowl.

- Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt it.

- Combine the sugar, cinnamon, clove, and allspice in a bowl.

- The dough should be relaxed enough to unroll it. Lay it out on a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle the dough with sugar and spice mix. Cut the circle into four even quarters.

- Put a spoonful or so of applesauce in the center of each quarter and fold the dough over onto itself to meet the edges.

- With a fork dipped in melted butter, crimp the edge from point to around the top end.

- Arrange these four on the parchment lined tray leaving room for all eight and repeat for the second dough round.

- Brush the tops of each turnover with the remaining melted butter and dust with the remaining sugar spice mixture. Make a few cuts on each turnover with a sharp knife for heat to escape.

- Bake for about 20 minutes, remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes. Serve with tea or coffee

FEAST from 19

evening to enjoy some BBQ with him and his mom. What a treat! We ordered takeout from a local popular “BBQ Shack” not far from his mom’s place; Que, slaw, baked beans, the whole works. We must have ordered a half dozen (and two for the road) of these apple turnovers and oh boy were they good! They looked like just about any other apple turnover; a rounded full pocket made of dough folded over apple filling and crimped at the edge. But these little gems were fresh, crispy, and hot right out of the fryer. We barely got into the car before we were into that bag of turnovers. The smell of BBQ and spiced apples

was intoxicating. There isn’t an air freshener made that could top that aroma.

I don’t think the ride was too far from his mom’s apartment, a nice place in a retirement community, but I think I could have eaten that entire bag of turnovers in that short trip. As Gray was taking the food from the bags and laying it out on the table his mom asked if he had remembered the turnovers.

“Oh, yeah!” he said with a reassuring chuckle. As though there were any question.

I think if we had forgotten anything other than those turnovers Gray’s mom would have forgiven us but forget those turnovers and we

would have been sent right back. The rest of the evening was spent eating and visiting until it was time for me to head back to my hotel.

Between the food and

the company, it was probably one of my more memorable Simple Feasts.

Enjoy!

ers on a basketball team it is made very clear that the sisters are all playing together on that team because they were all very good basketball players, not because they were sisters. ConVal had a 3 – 15 record the year before the Jutras twins joined the team, and improved to a 6 – 12 record during their first season on the team. After play -

ing their junior year with added confidence and improvement with Natalie added to the starting five, the team started out the following year, which was Christine and Michelle’s senior year, with the confidence that they could win the Class I championship, which they proceeded to do with the help of the youngest Jutras, Veronica, joining the starting five.

Based on what I have read and heard, the pre-game introduction of the starting players had a stunning and quizzical reaction to some spectators, and that of expectation of victory by others, as the names Jutras, Jutras, Jutras, Jutras, and Brennan were announced.

The sisters are the daughters of Beaver (Roland) and Claire Jutras whom the daughters credit with encouraging and supporting them, but not pushing them into anything they didn’t

want to do. Christine was stated as saying, “My parents are the backbone behind us.”

Roland, who is known to his family and friends as Beaver, was for many years the director of parks and recreation in Peterborough and in his high school years had been a standout baseball player at Bishop Bradley high school in Manchester. Beaver and Claire were honored by being named National Parents of the Year in 1997. They now reside in the Lakes Region.

We recall the basketball accomplishments of the Jutras girls not just because of the novelty of four sisters being on the

starting five of a high school team, but also because of that team winning the Class I championship. The championship game was between the ConVal Cougars and the Souhegan Sabers of Amherst, the only team that had defeated the Cougars during the regular season, denying them a perfect season.

The Jutras team was described by one sports reporter as “the first family of New Hampshire basketball,” and “a one family team.”

The local newspaper, The Peterborough Transcript, said “the real ‘charm’ for this girls’

state champion squad was family- the oncein-a-lifetime presence of four Jutras sisters in the line-up at once.”

Though this team was probably unlike any other in New Hampshire basketball history, Natalie said that “it didn’t seem odd” to the sisters themselves to be playing in that situation. Each played in a different position, so they weren’t competing against each other.

The championship game in the playoffs took place in the Spaulding Gymnasium at Keene State College on March 5, 1994 be-

SMITH from 3

Con-Val coach and team during Championship game. (Mike Yurgeles photo)

Jutras sisters before their last high school game together: Christine, Natalie, Veronica, and Michelle. ( AP photo by Jim Cole)

ConVal’s games for the 1993-4 season.

SMITH from 32 senior class, contributed with 12 points for the winning team. The co-captain of the team with Christine, Cathy Brennan, another Senior, was a leader in the winning effort with her passing and defensive contributions. The opponents, Souhegan High School, were also an especially

fore 1,600 spectators with the Conval girls winning the first ever girls’ state championship for their school by a score of 62 – 50. Both teams in this final game of the year, ConVal and Souhegan, were playing in their school’s first girls’ championship game, and the key to ConVal’s success, according to one reporter, was balance.

Christine, with a reputation as a high scorer was double and tripled teamed throughout the game, but still managed to score 14 points, and her twin, Michelle, who also was given special attention by Souhegan’s defense, managed to add 8 points. Her sister, Natalie, was the high scorer of the game with 19. With some assists from Veronica, sixth player Kristen Carroll, of the

good team, and two of its players, Courtney Banghart and Jackie Lippe, went on to be outstanding players at Dartmouth College.

Banghart is currently the women’s basketball coach at North Carolina University.

It has been 29 years since the Jutras four were the talk of the

high school basketball scene during that winter of 1993-1994, thus living up to the expectations of their fans. Called “a family owned business,” and “a four-cylinder basketball engine,” the Jutras sisters, aided by their team-mates, set an example of hard work and perseverance for those high school athletes who come along every year.

Michelle has commented that the whole community, Peterborough and the surrounding towns in the ConVal school district, were strongly supporting the team as they competed for the championship. There have been individual highlights for the Jutras family as well, as in Christine’s reaching the 1,000 point level during her four years at ConVal and Veronica being named The Keene Sentinel ’s

Sportswoman of the Year in 1995. All the sisters were honor roll students and all went on to play basketball on college teams.

A Monadnock Ledger headline called that season “ A year to remember, saying, “ConVal girls make a Class I crown season look simple.” and another

headline proclaiming, “Jutras sisters, Brennan, Carroll form a veteran squad.”

So it was with a team unlike any we are apt to see in New Hampshire sports again.

The ConVal boys basketball team were also state champions in 1994.

Con-Val girls celebrate after game ( Ben Malcolm photo - Monadnock Ledger)

I teamed up with Van, Pierre and Kenny on Mount Pisgah. The approach was nearly eight miles along Lake Frances and up Cedar Stream Road in Pittsburgh. I started two hours after them and I xc skied up the snowmobile trail/road and met them before we reached the point where our snowshoe bushwhack began. I had a lot of fun xc skiing into the mountains when I could and it saved me a lot of time and energy.

PATENAUDE from 17

Highest 200 list since.

To finish this winter I had to get up and down 15 mountains with elevations just above 3,000 feet. It isn’t the height of these mountains that makes them a challenge–it is getting to them. And all that snow!

Getting someone to go with you to a mountain that has no trail and is covered with trees–

sometimes thickly and loaded with snow is also a challenge.

Adam was a good hiking friend and he went along with me on three outings. We had fun but we had some tough moments. We won’t forget that the ice broke when he was crossing a brook on our way back from Bald Cap. Or how we got soaked on Deer Mountain in Pittsburgh while pushing through

KINDRED SPIRIT FARM

FINE FLEECE SHETLAND SHEEP

OLD TIME SCOTCH COLLIES

thick Spruce that constantly dropped slush bombs on our heads. I talked him into crossing Third Connecticut Lake in Pittsburgh because it was the shortest route to Perry Ponds Peak and there were ice fishermen out there so it must be safe. We ran across that lake! Don’t tell my mother but I did some mountains solo. Sometimes I wasn’t able to find anyone to go with me. But a few times I did it because I could cross country ski the approach to the mountain and then switch to my snowshoes for the bushwhack. I can cover 4 to 5 miles an hour kicking and gliding up a snowmobile trail or closed forest road versus 2 miles an hour on snowshoes. I saved a lot of hours on my feet and enjoyed the glee of skiing.

Center Sandwich • 603-284-7277

kindredspiritfarmnh@gmail.com Like us!

Zachary Porter finds the recognized highpoint of Baldhead Mountain South Peak in January. This was one of the easiest peaks to check off the list--only two miles round trip through open woods on top of great snow conditions. Sometimes you get lucky.

mon but I was grateful when I returned from my ski road trip that I was able to join them for some Pittsburgh border peaks. Popping off five on my list with Kenny, Pierre and Van was a big boost with just one more week of Winter left. Then there were only three mountains left for me to go.

A friend introduced me to some hikers working on their Winter 200 list. We didn’t have many peaks left in com-

Saturday the 18th I drove just north of Second Connecticut Lake in Pittsburgh. I xc skied almost eight miles up East Inlet Road and then snowshoed just under a mile up Mount

Kent. I wore a lot of orange to be visible to the many snowmobilers passed by me. The encouragement they gave me added to my skiing enjoyment. My snowshoes floated well, only sinking a few inches and I found a good route through mostly opening woods. I was home well before suppertime.

I called my friends Bryan and Zachary and asked them if they could go with me on Sunday to accompany me on the Whitcombs for my finish. Both

Bryan and Zachary have accomplished the amazing feat of completing in Winter the New Hampshire Highest 500 list.

Zachary wasn’t able to go and neither could Bryan. But Bryan said he could go on Monday. I’d just have to finish before 5:24pm.

I met Bryan at 7 m in Gorham and hopped into his truck. He drove us up Dummer Pond Road on frozen mud. This road is plowed for logging and the electric transfer station/wind

I bet a lot of snowmobilers know where this is! I xc skied up East Inlet Road, just north of Second Connecticut Lake and I passed by these Wizards on my way to snowshoe bushwhack up Mount Kent.

turbines. We snowshoed up the snowmobile tracks on Trio Ponds Road and an old logging road spur. Then we followed some frozen moose tracks through some thick spruce before finding the open woods on Whitcomb Mountain.

The morning was cold and our snowshoes didn’t sink deep. It was a splendid sunny day for a snowshoe in the forest. We hit Whitcomb’s South Peak first and then we went almost due north to hit its Middle Peak. Then we retraced our steps back to the truck, finishing at 1:20pm.

The two peak route was ten miles and I had more than four hours left before the Vernal Equinox. I used nearly every bit of Winter.

The ride out the now

deep muddy Dummer Pond Road was a good test for Bryan’s truck. There is no way my car would have survived the trip. It felt good to finish the list but I think I was happiest to have enjoyed another wonderful day in the forest and the mountains. I am sure I’ll find another list.

I’ve had the best winter of peak bagging and skiing. Now I am excited to enjoy Spring Skiing.

Don’t forget to buy your season’s ski pass for next winter, this is the time for the best deals!

Have Fun!

Amy Patenaude is an avid skier/outdoor enthusiast from Henniker, N.H. Readers are welcome to send comments or suggestions

Yours truly, Becca, Bria and Danielle enjoying the last Thursday night skiing of the season at Pats Peak. It is time to take advantage of the best prices for next year’s season passes. Many New Hampshire ski areas called it quits on the last weekend of March but some have decided to extend their season well into April. Check out ski conditions, Nordic too, at SkiNH.com.

PATENAUDE from 34

of the “broadest base of popular support,” the U.S. banking system is now teetering, already with several bank failures, with others looking for support. Banks have been ravaged by interest rate increases, the direct result of inflation caused by trillions spent by Biden’s administration.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and the $735 billion Inflation Reduction Act both passed the House and Senate without a single Republican vote and were signed into law by Biden.

We might recall that the U.S. health care system was overhauled when Biden was vice president. The Affordable Health Care Act -- “Obamacare” -- was passed in the House and the Senate with -

out a single Republican vote and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Despite the love affair with political systems, we must appreciate that human beings ultimately produce the realities under which we live, not any system. Well-designed systems are important, but the outcome of words on a page are the result of what human being reads, interprets and carries out those words.

The founders of our country, and the drafters of our Constitution, would never believe that the beautiful system they designed, conceived to limit government and protect individual liberty, would someday see government at all levels taking almost half our gross national product, gen-

erating massive deficits and national debt larger than our nation’s entire economy.

Nor would they believe that the courts have been used to remove all vestige of religion from public life or that Supreme Court justices felt it was their job to redefine marriage.

The percentage of Americans that have a “great deal/quite a lot” of confidence in their major institutions, reported by Gallup last July, are as follows: the presidency 23%; U.S. Supreme Court 25%; Congress 7%; public schools 28%; newspapers 16%; criminal justice system 14%; television news 11%.

Please, Mr. Biden, do your own job and let Israelis run their own country.

that your attacks are helping the Left? Meanwhile, Trump has been granted the soft bigotry of low expectations by many voters: He can say literally anything about other candidates, and no one blinks an eye. It’s Marquess of Queensberry rules for Trump’s opponents, WWE folding-chair-tothe-back-of-the-head smackdowns for Trump himself.

So, what can DeSantis do? The answer: It’s not really up to DeSantis. It’s up to Republican voters. It will be DeSantis’ job to remind Republican voters that Trump has won precisely one election in the last seven years; it will be the job of Republican voters to acknowledge that reality. It will be DeSantis’ job to point out that Trump

1848:

Abolition [Aufhebung] of the family! Even the most radical flare up at this infamous proposal of the Communists.

On what foundation is the present family, the bourgeois family, based? On capital, on private gain. In its completely developed form, this family exists only among the bourgeoisie. But this state of things finds its complement in the practical absence of the family among the proletarians, and in public prostitution.

The bourgeois family will vanish as a matter of course when its complement vanishes, and both will vanish with the vanishing of capital.

Do you charge us with wanting to stop the exploitation of children by their parents? To this

crime we plead guilty. Don’t you think your vote is more in line with President Biden plus all the Department of Education/UNESCO bureaucratic mandates than it is with the NH or the US Constitutions?

It is time you voted for limited government as your constitutional authorization specifies instead of the path you have chosen that leads to 100% total government and the loss of liberty. You should take into consideration that there are fortunately a lot more parents than there are unaccountable bureaucrats. And they vote! Parental constituents who desire to protect their children should demand an explanation.

Russ Payne Merrimack, NH.

jlake@metrocast.net

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share of Black women managers decreased by 9%.

“It is not about data,” says Smith. “It’s about a power grab.”

One that starts in schools.

Smith attended a conference of rhetoric professors where the conference leader, Asao Inoue, declared it racist to grade students on traditional English.

“If you use a single standard to grade your students’ languaging, you engage in racism. ... White language supremacy.”

Smith sent a group email in response, saying it’s a disservice to minority kids not to teach standard English. Instead of addressing Smith’s point, other professors attacked him, calling him racist.

“Do you enjoy using Western modes of argument to invalidate people of color?”

“I hope for the day that folks like you will learn how to check their privilege.”

“We are professors in communication,” Smith told me. “I thought we could communicate. I was so wrong. ... They saw in me a threat. ... a Black person saying it’s OK to teach Black students standardized English.”

An academic named Eve accused Smith of “perpetuating harm.” Other academics joined in to praise the “tremendous labor” Eve spent writing the email.

“They’re victims!” I say, bewildered.

“That’s the point,” Smith responds. “Perpetuate the victimhood.”

“This isn’t even logical! Has academia gone insane?” I ask. Smith laughs. “Yes,

it has gone insane.”

Today some sensible people are pushing back. Education reformer Chris Rufo proposes a DEI alternative called “EMC.”

EMC stands for equality, merit and colorblindness.

Sounds good to me, but woke college activists say “colorblindness” is evil because it denies that racism exists.

“Merit” is bad because the way it’s measured must be biased, because the results show racial disparity. This is why some colleges have dropped admission tests and why many high schools eliminated honors classes.

“If you wanted to hold down a group of people,” says Smith, “... this ‘woke’ thing is a good strategy.”

The achievement gap between Black and white students has been widening lately.

A better solution, says Smith, is to ignore the censors. Debate.

“People don’t say what they feel because they don’t want to get canceled, get called racist. People are censoring. We have to stop doing that.”

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

reached $691 billion with an American deficit of $383 billion favoring Beijing.

During the Moscow Summit despite the grandiose and glitzy settings of the Kremlin, it became clear that the Chinese Leader was the Senior partner in the relationship. Putin is still befuddled and battered from his Ukrainian war; win or lose Russia has really lost. China wants to see the USA and Europeans tied down in Ukraine, and equally the Russians weakened as well. Why? So that Russia needs China more than ever. Remember the once lucrative Russian energy deals with Western Europe, especially Germany, are now blocked by sanctions. Now the new customers are China and India.

China’s imports of Russian crude oil have surged, secondly only to Saudi Arabia. Now Chinese purchases of Russian pipeline natural gas and liquified natural gas have more than doubled.

Beijing cynically profits from a Ukraine war which ties down both enemies and future rivals; the U.S., the Europeans, Japan and Russia.

In parallel the People’s Republic prepares for a future invasion of democratic Taiwan, which it speciously claims, and military muscle flexing

in the South China Sea.

In the meantime, rogue regimes such as North Korea and Islamic Iran are stirring up trouble which the U.S. can’t afford to dismiss; North Korean “missile diplomacy” poses a clear and present danger of East Asia and the USA. Iran’s proxies in Syria and Lebanon keep the pot boiling. Should the Tehran regime acquire a nuclear weapon, all bets are off.

There’s turmoil in France, as popular rage over the government’s pension reform continues, massive demonstrations, strikes and rioting has gone beyond the cyclical and stereotypical rites of Spring and confronts not only President Emmanuel Macron but the very French Republic, posing a serious challenge to stability in a key European country.

The evolving Banking crisis remains an unseen iceberg with massive government spending prompting inflation and delusional debt levels. Bank turmoil in the USA and among major European bank lenders, could well be a tipping point.

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.

didn’t clean out the executive branch and gave Fauci power; it will be the job of Republican voters to acknowledge that such criticisms aren’t “unfair attacks.” It will be DeSantis’ job to remind voters of his record; it will be the job of Republican voters to look to record rather than tweetstorms for policy victory.

Will Republican voters use their heads rather than their hearts? We’ll find out soon enough.

request a pocked copy of the U.S. Constitution from me. E-mail me at campconstitution1@gmail.com I also recommend the distribution of the voting records of members of Congress. Here is a link to Mr. Pappas’ voting record: https://thenewamerican.com/freedom- index/legislator/ p000614/votes/scorecard-117-4/pdf/scb/ And, until supplies last, I will send readers, upon request, a copy of “Not Yours to Give.”

SHAPIRO from 36 SHURTLEFF from 8 METZLER from 7

B.C.

SUPER CROSSWORD

PUZZLE CLUE: STUDY OF GENESIS

by Parker & Hart

MAGIC MAZE SUDOKU

THEME THIS WEEK: POTATO--

CAPTION CONTEST

OUR PICK FOR BEST CAPTION

Okay, I got the tuxedo, now do you think you can get me in to that Broadway show Cats!

-David Doyon, Moultonborough,NH.

Runners Up : I would love to dance with you , but your breath smells like dog food. - David Barth, Laconia, NH.

Choreographer Ima Barker giving last minute instructions to her lead dancer. - Alan Dore, Rochester, NH,

Prince and his adoring princess are subjected to the loyalty befitting a king and queen. -Jean Cram, Pittsfield, NH

CAPTION THIS PHOTO!!

Send your best brief 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

The Winklman Aeffect by John Whitlock

PHOTO #957

PHOTO #955