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Pelham~Windham News


Pelham~Windham News Volume 9 Number 38 April 6, 2012 20 Pages Editor’s note: Jillian DiPersio is a freshman at Windham High School as well as an archer and an aspiring journalist. World


Health Day Celebrated on April 7


by Doug Robinson Every year, World Health Day is celebrated on April 7 to mark the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of concern for WHO. World Health Day is a global campaign, inviting everyone – from global leaders to the public in all countries – to focus on a single health challenge with global impact. Focusing on new and emerging health issues, World Health Day provides an opportunity to start collective action to protect people’s health and well- being.


WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence- based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. The topic of World Health Day in 2012 is Ageing and health with the theme “Good health adds life to years.” The focus is how good health throughout life can help older men and women lead full and productive lives and are a resource for their families and communities. Ageing concerns each and every one of us – whether young or old, male or female, rich or poor – no matter where we live. Previous years topics include Urbanization and Health, Save lives - Make hospitals safe in emergencies, Protecting health from climate change, and during 2007 - International Health Security.


continued to page 8- World Health Windham High School Archery Team Aims High


submitted by Jillian DiPersio, Windham High School


Arrows and new interests alike


have taken to the air at Windham High School (WHS). Students ranging from freshmen to seniors have found themselves captivated by a sport that many have never had the opportunity to explore. The WHS Archery team started out early in the school year, and since then the students have improved and become true archers. Their talents were recently displayed at the Indoor Nationals for the Northeastern Region, a tournament, hosted by Andover High School in Andover, Massachusetts. The Indoor Nationals were held


from February 24-26; the Windham High School Team competed on the 25th and 26th. Three students from Windham High School participated at Indoor Nationals: Kody Hamel, Max Johnson, and Marissa Yost. The team’s coaches, Sonia Wong and Guy Gerig also competed. The competitors came out of the tournament with impressive scores, especially for a team as new as Windham High School’s. Regionally, Cody Hamel placed seventh, Max Johnson placed 12th, and Marissa Yost placed eighth in their respective divisions. The next


Marissa Yost steadies her shot.


ARNNE Hopes for More than Just Eggs this Easter


by Diane Chubb


Children are eager for a visit from the Easter Bunny. But is your dog excited about it too?


ARNNE (Animal Rescue Network of New England) was visited by the Easter Bunny on Saturday, March 24, at the Congregational Church. ARNNE regularly sets up at that location to offer animal lovers the opportunity to foster or adopt one of the many friendly dogs available. Cathy “Sea-Jay” Geisler, local photographer, was on hand to take pictures of kids and dogs against a bright, spring-inspired backdrop. And the Easter Bunny stood on the corner, encouraging people to drop by for a visit and a photo. There are many dogs waiting for their


forever homes. Sony love peoples, being petted and playing with a ball. Hunter, a healthy 80 pound German shepherd, adores kids. He has been with a foster family for a while now, and really needs his own person to love and care for.


Ollie Dean, aka Holly, pulls at


everyone’s heart strings. This two-year old German Shepherd/Lab mix was hit by a car at a young age, but her leg was never treated leaving her with a lame leg. The injury is affecting the rest of her body and causing pain, so the leg needs to be amputated. ARNNE needs funds to pay for the surgery and is hoping that generous donors will come forward to help.


tournament for the team will be the Nor’easter Tournament in Canton, Massachusetts. The Nor’easter is one of the qualifying tournaments for the U.S. National Teams.


The coaches for the Windham High School archery team have a lot of expertise. Guy Gerig was a member of the U.S. Archery Team and has proven to be not only an exceptional archer, but also a great coach. Sonia Wong, a Windham High School teacher, competed in archery in college at the national level and is getting involved in


tournaments once again as the team progresses. Mr. Gerig and Ms. Wong always encourage and tell their students that, “Anyone can shoot if they think they can.” Shooting a bow is far more than pointing and letting go. Archery is a sport in its own category, holding more mental than physical challenges at the recreational and intermediate level. Since it is such a unique sport and poses many challenges, archery is perfect for the athletic and non- athletic student alike.


The team’s next practice is on


Sunday, April 8, from 12-3 p.m. on the Windham High School football fi eld and will continue on Sundays for the remainder of the school year. The practices are open to anyone


continued to page 8- WHS Archery


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continued to page 8- ARNNE


Mike Conrad visits with Sony, a male Lab mix. Sony needs a new forever home with a family that loves to play.


Selectmen Approve Lease/Purchase of Police SUV


EASTER SERVICES The First Congregational Church


of Pelham UCC Sunday, April 8 – Easter Sunday: 6:30 a.m. – Easter Sunrise Service on the grounds of the Harris Pelham Inn 10 a.m. – Easter Sunday Worship


St. Patrick’s Parish, 12 Main Street, Pelham Saturday, April 7 – Easter Vigil Mass: 7 p.m. Sunday, April 8 – Easter Sunday Mass: 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.


Crossroads Church, 43 Atwood Road, Pelham Sunday, April 8 – Easter Sunday: 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.


St. Matthew Parish, 2 Searles Road, Windham Saturday, April 7 – Easter Vigil Mass: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 8 – Easter Sunday Mass: 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.


Windham Presbyterian Church, 1 Church Road, Windham Sunday, April 8 – Worship: 9 a.m.; 10:45 a.m.


Windham Bible Chapel, 4 Cobbetts Pond Road, Windham Sunday, April 8 – Easter Sunday: 7:30 a.m. – Sunrise Service 8:00 a.m. – Easter Breakfast 9:30 a.m. – Easter Service


by Barbara O’Brien Windham Selectmen decided to go with the


lowest bid on a brand new mid-sized Chevrolet SUV that will be used by the police department as a command vehicle. Windham Police Chief Gerald Lewis said


that seven sealed bids had been received, one of which was only $1 more than the lowest bid opened by town offi cials last month. The two lowest bids were from Londonderry Ford, at a quoted price of $23,157 and that from Hillsboro Ford with a price quoted at $23,156. Both dealers were willing to accept the police department’s 2003 Chevy Impala cruiser in trade and both dealerships met 100 percent of the bid specifi cations, Lewis said.


Putting aside the $1 difference in the two bids, the major factor involved in Chief Lewis recommending Hillsboro Ford over Londonderry Ford is that the police department would be able to get the new vehicle a full four weeks earlier. Lewis said that the existing vehicle is “limping along,” at this point “and we want to get rid of it as soon as possible,” so that no more money needs to be spent on repairing it. “We’ll still be able to get the new vehicle serviced at Londonderry Ford,” Lewis said. During their March 26 board meeting, selectmen voted unanimously (5 to 0) to enter into a lease/purchase agreement with Hillsboro Ford for a 2012 SUV. Lewis said that the town is currently leasing two other vehicles from


Hillsboro Ford, one that is being used presently by the police department, the other by the Windham Fire Department. As for paying for the new police department


vehicle, Assistant Town Administrator Dana Call said the lowest quote came from Enterprise Bank. “We can save signifi cantly with Enterprise Bank,” Call told selectmen, quoting an annual interest rate on the lease/purchase of 2.19 percent. “We have multiple loans with Enterprise already,” Call said. The money for the lease payments is already included in the 2012 town-operating budget, which was approved by the majority of voters on March 13 at the annual Town Meeting.


Override Vote Leaves Pelham Without Dedicated Representative


by Diane Chubb On Friday, March 23, Governor Lynch vetoed House Bill 592, which is the House redistricting plan. Under the plan proposed and passed by the House, Pelham was denied its own representatives and remains grouped in with Hudson in a “super district.” The ink was barely dry on the veto when House Majority Leader William O’Brien called for a vote to override the Governor’s veto. The vote was successful, 246-112. The Senate followed suit, also voting to override the veto. Of the delegation that represents Pelham, only Rep. Shaun Doherty voted against party lines to uphold Governor Lynch’s veto. All of the other representatives and local Senator Chuck Morse voted to override the veto. “I’m very disappointed,” Board of Selectmen’s chair Bill McDevitt said. “One of the big


advantages of the former system is we had Pelham neighbors elected who were sent up to the House.”


Other residents were less restrained with their opinions of their local representatives. Charlene Takesian stated, “Hudson doesn’t


have Pelham’s interest at heart. Just ask them how they voted on the issue of redistricting. They certainly didn’t vote to give us our own district - even those who promised they would.” There may be procedural questions regarding


the override vote. On Monday, O’Brien told reporters that he did not intend to bring the vote to override the veto last week. Further, the state constitution requires that the governor’s veto message be printed in the legislative body’s journal prior to an override attempt. Presumably to deal with this requirement, on Wednesday, O’Brien called for a 30 minute


private caucus with House Republicans. During this time, he distributed a written opinion from House legal counsel Ed Mosca which concluded that the speaker has the authority to take up the governor’s veto. If the House chose not to vote on the veto, it could object by majority vote. Once given this information, House Democrats asked for a 15-minute break to caucus on their own. Their request was denied, and they were not permitted to review Mosca’s legal opinion prior to the vote. O’Brien’s decision to bring forward the


override vote passed, 255-97, and the vote was allowed.


Representatives and their constituents were equally upset, as O’Brien’s push for the veto override did not allow time for voters to contact


continued to page 8- Without


coutesy photo


Staff photos by Diane Chubb


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