Grantham New Hampshire Town News by Lorie McClory, Oct. 23, 2009

Grantham
Lorie McClory

October 23, 2009

Halloween begins Oct. 24 in Grantham

• The annual Haunted Pumpkin Festival will be held 5-7 p.m. Oct. 24 in the school gym. Intended for families with children 12 and younger, everyone is encouraged to come in costume and join in the games, crafts, costume contest and more. Don’t miss Mr. Phil’s Happy Haunting Magic Show (bunny included!) or the Haunted House. Purchase tickets at our entrance gate (5 for a $1) to enter the haunted house or play games.

If you get hungry, dine in Frank’s Café, serving up pizza, beverages and baked goods.

• Trick or Treat throughout the town from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31. The fabulous Grantham police and fire departments hand out glow sticks, slow down the traffic and watch over our ghosts and goblins along Route 10.

• Also on Halloween, bring your carved pumpkin creations to the United Methodist Church parking lot, where they’ll be displayed for all to enjoy. Drop it off any time on Oct. 31 at the parking lot railing. Please include a candle if you have one. You can pick up your jack-o-lantern when you head home or we’ll be happy to cast it away at the end of the night. Come on! Let’s see how many we can get.

Park dedication and benefit raffle

A 50/50 raffle to benefit the town park is now in progress with the drawing held at the last soccer event of the season on Oct. 25. Tickets are being sold by families with children involved in town recreation activities and will also be sold at Frank's Café at the annual Halloween celebration on Oct. 24 in the GVS cafeteria (see above).

On Oct. 25, the Grantham Recreation Department is hosting a final soccer gathering at the recreation park in conjunction with the field dedication at 1 p.m. , at which time a dedication to the Wein Family, from whom Grantham purchased the property and in whose honor the blueberry patch will be named, will be held. Don’t miss the fanfare with Town Administrator Becky Newton, our selectmen, the recreation park committee, spokespeople from the county and more.

Orchestra begins performance season

The Connecticut River Symphony Orchestra will hold its first performance at 4 p.m. Oct. 25 in the Claremont Opera House, featuring world-acclaimed Norwegian tuba artist Oystein Baadswick. For more information call Harry Critchley, 863-6542

School Board holds budget forum

The Grantham School Board will hold a public budget forum beginning at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 in the school cafeteria.

Also, the next school board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2 in the Jerry Whitney Conference Room at Grantham Town Hall .

Arthritis is topic

Healthy Night is back with “Arthritis: Don't let it wear you down” at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at The Center at Eastman. Learn about arthritis of the hip and knee, understand common treatment options and get information about some of the latest technologies and surgical techniques with Dr. Stephen Kantor, orthopedic surgeon at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center .

The evening includes a healthy and delicious dinner for $25/person, including tax and gratuity (beverages additional). Call Kathy Pomer to make your reservation at 865-7414 by Oct. 26.

Mathematical fun (not an oxymoron)

NH Public Television presents Become a Math Detective at 3 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Grantham Village School cafeteria. This interactive workshop invites participants to use clues and math to solve a variety of mysteries. The program, designed for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, is free and open to the public. Students must be accompanied by an adult.

Note to GVS parents: This event takes place on an early dismissal day for Grantham Village School ; for safety purposes, students may not be left unattended at the school between dismissal and the start of the event.

Raffle to fund tree planting project

Enter the Park & Ride Tree Fund raffle to win a beautiful Town of Grantham blanket. Tickets are $3 each; 3 for $6; or 6 for $9. This is sponsored by the Grantham Area Chamber of Commerce. Tickets can be purchased from chamber Vice President Angela MacCreighton at Sugar River Bank, or you can contact her at 863-3140 for more information.

Limited number of bricks available

The deadline to buy a brick to support the community playground is Dec. 31. Only 134 bricks will be sold. Bricks will be “engraved” with the name of your business, your family, your children, or maybe a special message. A brick patio shade garden at the new park will be created with the granite bricks, pavers and benches. The sale of the bricks will provide the funds to purchase playground equipment. Buy a Brick forms are available at the Grantham Town Office, Rum Brook Market, and online at www.granthamnh.net.

Used sports equipment sale Nov. 7

A used sports equipment sale will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 7 in the Sherburne Gym on Route 10 in Sunapee. Proceeds benefit the Sunapee Recreation Department.

If you have sports equipment around your house that you don't use anymore, drop it off to sell on 30 percent consignment between 5:30 and 8 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Sherburne Gym.

Parents: this is a great opportunity to get lightly-used children’s sporting equipment cheaply. Think cleats that are four sizes too big now but will fit in about two years. Not a bad investment of time and storage space.

All invited to pot luck

Everyone is welcome to the monthly community pot luck, which begins at 6 p.m. Nov. 7 in the downstairs of the Grantham United Methodist Church . Bring a dish to share.

Snowdusters meet Nov. 10

The Blue Mountain Snowdusters ORC, Inc. will hold its monthly meet at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 in the Grantham Town Hall . Visit www.bluemountainsnowdusters.com for more information about this Grantham-based organization.

Kimball receives nominations

It seems some people in town consider Selectman Warren Kimball a “hoarder” or “junker” because he had at least two nominations (including one from his wife) to the History Channel’s new series “American Pickers,” which will follow two “antique archaeologists” as they travel around the country searching for the “rare and remarkable” in people’s junk.

I have never been in his barn, but I’m told you can find just about anything anyone ever needs in there. I can’t wait to see what’s in there!

Local magazines’ writer wins award

John Walters, a longtime writer for Kearsarge Magazine and Upper Valley Life, has won the Donald M. Murray Outstanding Journalism Award for 2009 for his collection of articles from those two magazines.

According to the judges, “Writing has to sparkle; it can’t be humdrum; word choices periodically should make you say ‘Aha!’ That's not to say topics can't be flighty or frivolous; they just have to be worth our time. John Walters’ entries meet these tests, and pass quite nicely.”

Kearsarge Magazine and Upper Valley Life are produced by Grantham’s Laura Jean Whitcomb. The publications can be purchased locally at Rum Brook Market.

Please help for the holiday

Listen Community Services Holiday Basket Program assists low income families with children and seniors 65 and over who live in many Upper Valley towns, including Grantham. The program provides warm clothing, wish list items for children and seniors, and a food certificate for each family. Last year’s program assisted 220 households.

Applications from those in need are being accepted through Nov. 10.

If you would like to donate to this program please contact Kristin Farquharson, Listen’s program counselor, at 603-448-4553.

Reminders

• The Lebanon Motor Vehicle sub-station is closed until further notice. Licensing and registrations can be done at the Claremont office located at 1 Water St . They are open Monday - Friday 8:15 a.m.-4:15 p.m.

• Selectmen meet at 5 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesdays each month.

• Storytimes at Dunbar Free Library at 10 a.m. Wednesdays for infants and toddlers up to age 3 with an adult, and at 10 a.m. Thursdays for preschool-aged children with an adult. Now through Dec. 10 with the exception of Thanksgiving week.

• Grantham United Methodist Church offers Sunday service at 10 a.m. each week.

• Harmony Night a capella chorus sings every Monday when school is in session, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Lebanon High School . All ages and experience levels are welcome at this free, intergenerational, educational and fun singing experience! Call director Dan Signor at 863-2319 for information.

• Visit www.granthamnh.net for official minutes, meeting dates and more.

• Find news and events for Grantham and surrounding towns at www.sunacom.com. PS: All the Grantham Sunacom columns are still active. They can be retrieved on the Archives page.

• Another way to receive and communicate news concerning our community - http://GranthamVoice.com.

Don’t forget to send your news or events at least two weeks in advance to grantham-news@comcast.net. Let your neighbors know what’s going on.