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HPD Blood Drive is March 29th
Hudson~Litchfield News
Governor Lynch Visits Nottingham West Elementary
Hudson~Litchfield News Volume 21 Number 35 March 25, 2011 28 Pages
Hudson Dropout Rate Nearly in Half
by Doug Robinson The results of Hudson’s Dropout Task Force reflect that the policies and practices put into place are having a dramatic effect on Hudson’s educational dropout rate. During the 2007-2008 school year, 49 students, or in excess of 12%, either dropped out or exited the Hudson School District. As reported by the NH Department of Education, Hudson’s dropout rate has dropped to 5.7% this past year. “That shows a great deal of effort on our part,” commented School Superintendent Randy Bell as he addressed the Hudson School Board. “The state changing the [dropout] age from 16 to 18 has had a substantial
effect. We were concerned that we would have students just acting out for the two years and not have programs. It has been seamless. [The age increase] has given the kids a couple of more years to mature. There have been no increases in disciplinary issues, thus more kids are receiving high school diplomas.” “Through the practices we
have put into place, we are able to identify students as early as in the third grade as to whom may be a candidate to eventually drop out of the school system,” commented School Board member Laura Bisson. Hudson’s Task Force identified
five key areas on which they would focus their time and
Supports MooreMart Senator Shaheen
Lauren LoVerdi and Hannah Peterson can be seen through the window greeting Gov. Lynch outside the school as he arrived on Tuesday. Lynch visited again, as he had missed the fourth grade when they were at state house. Each fourth grade classroom had a presentation about New Hampshire and their visit to the capital
submitted by Paul Moore On March 19, MooreMart sponsored its fifth annual s’mores packing event, where volunteers from throughout New Hampshire packed 1,517 care packages containing requested supplies along with s’mores to members of the Armed Services serving in the Middle East to include supplies sent to schools and orphanages in Iraq and Afghanistan. The March 19 shipment brings the total number of care packages shipped by MooreMart to members of the United States Armed Services to 34,034. United States Senator
Jeanne Shaheen was one of MooreMart’s volunteers and has been instrumental in expanding MooreMart’s outreach program. She has been an avid supporter since 2005, and her support included the recent nomination of MooreMart for inclusion in the Points of Light Foundation (
http://www.pointsoflight.org/ tributes/view/864?type=2). Senator Shaheen, in addressing MooreMart’s volunteer efforts, remarked, “I was proud to join the Moore family at the MooreMart packing event and truly impressed by the dedication of its volunteers. The organization’s work on behalf of our men and women in uniform is awe-inspiring.” The March 19 packing
Principal Durso looked on as the students made a presentation for the Governor
Governor Lynch visited with students as they filed into the gym, and Lynch and the youngsters were comparing ties
event was hosted by the New Hampshire National Guard at the National Guard Armory in Nashua.
efforts: causes and issues of students dropping out of school, effects of the dropout crisis in our community, challenges of addressing the dropout problem and population, and solutions. “From here, we broke into five sub-categories and identified those areas we would concentrate on. These five areas are attendance, transition [when the child physically changes from one school to another], goal setting, student engagement, and parental involvement.”
Whereas 43 kids dropped out
of school during the 2007-2008 school year, this past year, that number was reduced to 20 kids.
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United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen and MooreMart co-founder Paul S. Moore
Deborah and Taddeus Luszey, United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and MooreMart co-founders Paul and Brian Moore
With deep regrets to our readers, we have reprinted the Memorial to Mr. Rodgers, as last week’s story had several missing paragraphs. It begins here and continues to page 10 of this week’s paper. Imagine Hudson Without … A Tribute to Phil Rodgers Through decades of stealth and dedicated service, Phil Rodgers
lived the solid maxims of family, community, hard work, faith, and integrity. With Phil’s passing on March 10, at 82, Hudson has lost a stalwart citizen who helped build and enrich this community over the last half-century. In a two-part Hudson~Litchfield News tribute, this first article looks at Phil’s personal life, while the second article highlights his public service. On behalf of Hudson, Hudson~Litchfield News’ sincere condolences go out to the Rodgers family and our heartfelt and eternal gratitude extend to Phil Rodgers—God Bless you and Rest in Peace.
Area Newspaper Group 3x3 ANG31
by Maureen Gillium
Imagine Hudson without the Hudson Community Center (HCC)— host spot to most Hudson Senior events; Hudson Rec’s summer youth programs, basketball, comedy nights, and family movies; town deliberative sessions and voting; Alvirne scholarship banquets and Scouts; Hudson Police Department’s Fright Night and Blood Drives; and popular dances. HCC has been the central location of Hudson activities, debates, and celebrations since it was built in 1970—largely due to the support and sweat of its building co-chairs, Phil and Al Rodgers.
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Lion’s Hall), the Rodgers brothers also championed Hudson Recreation Center (adjacent to Dr. H. O. Smith School) in the late 1970s by their generously donated labor, supplies, and equipment. They were also stewards of the Lions baseball field, Hudson swimming pool and St. John’s Novitiate, and is now home to St. Vincent de Paul. The benevolent brothers also gifted $4 million to the town to build the new George H. and Ella M. Rodgers Memorial Library, which opened in June 2009. While hard to imagine what Hudson would be like without
Phil Rodgers
these philanthropists, sadly, we have lost our eldest Rodgers’ shepherd. G. Phillip Rodgers, 82, died peacefully at St. Joseph’s hospital on March 10, 2011, after a four-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. “Phil” died much as he lived— forever positive, working almost until the end, and surrounded by loving family. This remarkable high school dropout and self-made millionaire was an eternal optimist, inspired by his “mother’s positive attitude” and “guided by Rudyard Kipling’s poem, If.” A self-
professed workaholic, he was urgently driven in his 80s to realize his life-long dream for a new town library in the name of his beloved parents. Without the vision, perseverance, and quiet generosity of Phil Rodgers, Hudson would be a very different town—one far less community-centered and enriched. Phil Rodgers was born in Nashua on August 25, 1928, the eldest
of five sons (followed by Al, Ken, Joe or “Dewey,” and Ronnie) of the late George and Ella (Landry) Rodgers. The family’s early years were spent in an area of south Hudson, then called “Stuart’s Corner” (on River Road, just south of Dracut Road), where they ran a family store continued to page 10 - Rodgers’ Tribute
Cut
staff photos by Len Lathrop
courtesy photos
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