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Volunteers earn Hog Reeves honor

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HAMPTON FALLS — The tireless efforts of a pair of dedicated Hampton Falls volunteers have not gone unnoticed, and it is their commitment to taking on countless beautification projects that spurred town officials to nominate them to the office of hog reeves.

Receiving the honor were Jack Fermery and Pam Fitzgerald, whose projects around town have included landscaping and planting flowers on the grounds of Town Hall and the town common, putting up Christmas decorations at the gazebo, and landscaping around the rebuilt Old Stage Road covered bridge.

The official swearing-in took place during the town’s recent deliberative session, with Town Clerk Holly Knowles conducting the ceremony. Although Fitzgerald was unable to take part due to illness, Fermery was there with his wife Carol, and accepted the traditional hog reeves badge.

The announcement, made at the meeting by selectmen Chairman Richard McDermott and former Town Moderator Tim Samway, came as a surprise to the recipients, who offered their thoughts a few days after residents voted them into office by a show of hands.

“I was completely surprised,” said Fermery. “Richard McDermott said ‘come on down’ to the meeting, but he didn’t say I was going to get anything. I’m very appreciative that they did that.”

“I’m so glad they looked in (our) direction. It’s definitely an honor,” said Fitzgerald, adding that she would have been “thrilled to be able to stand next to Jack” at the ceremony had she been able to attend.

The office of hog reeve dates back many years in Hampton Falls history to the March Town Meeting in 1811, when voters elected a moderator, selectmen and a road agent in addition to hog reeve.

Upon being sworn into office, the hog reeves were charged with enforcing the laws that forbid farmers from allowing their swine to run loose, as well as rounding up any swine that went astray and bringing them to the pound. It was a necessity, as roving hogs had the potential of destroying farmers’ crops.

According to Samway, “Hampton Falls has kept that office and that tradition, but for the past 70 years or so it has changed to an honorary position. But it’s still a very important elective position in our town.”

He said the tradition has been, and will continue to be, to nominate and vote for the office of hog reeve at the annual deliberative session.

Typically, a married couple (often newlyweds) who are new residents in town are the ones nominated to serve, so electing the unmarried team of Fermery and Fitzgerald breaks town tradition somewhat. But there’s a good reason for that.

Their election to the office serves to “acknowledge them as special volunteers in Hampton Falls. We see their work every day; (it) is one of the reasons our town is special,” said McDermott. “We see their work, but we rarely see them. They stay under the radar because they would rather do their work unnoticed. Well, it is noticed, and we want to publicly thank them.”

The newly-elected officers have a number of notable predecessors.

“There have been a lot of big names in town,” Fermery said. “I’m in pretty good company.”

Those individuals include current Wall Street CEO Paul Montrone and his wife Sandra; former N.H. Gov. Wesley Powell and his wife Beverly; interim Town Administrator Lori Ruest and her husband Bob; Selectman Chuck Graham and his wife Kay; and John H. Sununu and his wife Nancy.

“Mr. Sununu now lists on his resume that he was governor of New Hampshire, chief of staff in the Bush White House and was elected hog reeve in Hampton Falls,” said Samway, who noted the office of hog reeve is “still a very important elective position in our town.”

As far as their volunteer team is concerned, Fermery and Fitzgerald have nothing but good things to say about one another.

“He’s a wonderful man,” said Fitzgerald. “He voluntarily goes along and does the work (and) has great ideas. He’s a peach.”

“Pam really does a great job, too,” said Fermery, estimating that the investment in volunteer time “has been 10 years, maybe more than that by now. The years have gone by fast.”

Noting that “there is much more even behind the scenes that we never see, let alone hear about,” McDermott called Fermery and Fitzgerald “the epitome of volunteerism” — a high-level distinction that’s more than easy for them to bear.

“It’s a privilege,” said Fitzgerald, “to do these things for Hampton Falls.”

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Rubbing Alcohol Uses: Ideas For Using The All-Purpose Household Cleaner

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From Networx’s Chaya Kurtz:

I discovered the wonders of rubbing alcohol as a cleaning agent myself, when I tried using an alcohol pad to remove the label from a glass jar. You know the sticky goo that is left over when you remove the paper label from a glass jar? I found that rubbing alcohol took it off with minimal elbow grease.

Although it’s not perfect for every cleaning job (hello, washing dishes), rubbing alcohol is a fairly cheap and relatively environmentally-friendly solution to some tough cleaning challenges. Most people keep a bottle of it in the bathroom, and if you don’t it would behoove you to keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol in stock for cleaning tasks. One of its more attractive attributes is how fast rubbing alcohol evaporates. Although it has that initial “hospital” smell, rubbing alcohol evaporates quickly and does not leave a lingering odor, unlike vinegar. It is also suitable for cleaning surfaces that cannot be cleaned with acids, such as granite counter tops.

Although rubbing alcohol off gasses quickly, prolonged exposure to isopropyl alcohol fumes is not recommended. Bear in mind that it’s not drinkable, and should be stored out of reach of children. Also, do not use rubbing alcohol to clean near open flames or near extreme heat; it’s flammable. With all that said, here are ten ways to use rubbing alcohol around the house.

List and captions courtesy of Networx

Loading Slideshow

  • DIY Granite Cleaner

    The always charming blogger Made From Pinterest described her success making a href=”http://www.madefrompinterest.net/2013/02/13/diy-granite-cleaner/”DIY granite cleaner/a out of rubbing alcohol, dishwashing soap, water, and essential oil. Since acidic cleaning agents can cause pock marks in granite, and ammonia-based cleaners can strip the seal off of them, rubbing alcohol solutions are an inexpensive, effective way to clean granite counter tops.

  • Remove Nail Polish From Wood Floors

    I am not sure how frequently people spill nail polish on laminate floors or wood floors, or how often a href=”http://floors.networx.com/”flooring contractors/a get called to repair wood that nail polish has spilled on. Apparently it happens enough that blogger Anna Mosely posted a tip on Hometalk.com about a href=”http://www.hometalk.com/509164/how-to-remove-nail-polish-from-hardwood-amp-laminate-floors”how to use rubbing alcohol to remove nail polish stains from wood/a or laminate floors. She claims (with pictures!) that it works better than acetone or oil-based substances.

  • Clean Garden Tools

    Plant diseases can be transmitted from one plant to the next by garden tools. Four Season Garden and Landscaping, a a href=”http://www.landscapingnetworx.com/landscapers/GA/Atlanta/”landscaping company in Atlanta/a, suggests a href=”http://www.hometalk.com/48598/tips-for-pruning-you-probably-do-a-really-good-job-putting-away-your-tools-between”disinfecting garden tools like pruners/a with rubbing alcohol when changing between plants.

  • Clean Windows With Rubbing Alcohol

    Whether you use it mixed simply with water, or mixed into a custom DIY a href=”http://www.networx.com/article/window-washing-advice-from-a-window-wash”window cleaning/a solution, rubbing alcohol cleans windows like a champ. There are more rubbing alcohol window cleaning ideas out there than I can link to. Google it and find one that looks good to you.

  • Clean Venetian Blinds With Rubbing Alcohol

    Reader’s Digest suggests a href=”http://www.rd.com/home/12-ways-to-use-rubbing-alcohol/”cleaning Venetian blinds with rubbing alcohol/a. They say you can easily remove dirt and dust by wrapping a paint scraper in a cloth, securing the cloth with a rubber band, and dipping the cloth into rubbing alcohol.

  • Clean Your Cell Phone With Rubbing Alcohol Pads

    a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5954598/your-smartphone-is-basically-a-poopstick”Your smart phone is a basically a poop stick/a. I personally clean my smart phone with rubbing alcohol pads, you know, the ones that diabetics use to prep their fingers with before doing home blood tests. Rub an alcohol pad or two over the surface of your smart phone, then let it dry. Buff off the weird white film that it will leave with a paper towel. Alcohol prep pads are very handy to keep around for small cleaning jobs like this.

  • Bust Grime And Sticky Goo With Rubbing Alcohol

    Sometimes it is enough to rub an alcohol pad on sticker goo. For bigger jobs, soak the goo-covered object in a bowl of rubbing alcohol, then scrub with a scrub pad. The label goo should slide right off.

  • Clean A Pipe

    Apparently, people still smoke pipes. If you are inclined to look and smell like Sherlock Holmes and your pipe cleaner isn’t cutting the mustard, quite a few a href=”http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/rubbing-alcohol-to-clean-pipes”commenters in the Pipes Magazine/a forum suggest cleaning a pipe with rubbing alcohol.

  • Remove Permanent Marker With Rubbing Alcohol

    Rubbing alcohol is a decent solvent for permanent marker graffiti. Rub a cloth saturated in rubbing alcohol on the permanent marker graffiti from wood surfaces.

  • Clean Electronics With Rubbing Alcohol

    Crunchy Betty, an experienced DIY cleaning product maker for both home and body, posted a a href=”http://www.crunchybetty.com/how-to-crystal-clean-your-electronic-screens-for-pennies”detailed article on how to clean computers with rubbing alcohol/a. You basically make a spray of rubbing alcohol and distilled water, and you spray it onto a soft cloth and then gently wipe the screen. Never spray directly onto electronic equipment, and only use distilled water in the solution.

  • Also On The Huffington Post…

    Some of the tech gadgets we use everyday have more bacteria than a toilet seat. John Basedow has the dirty truth about our computer keyboards, cell phones and remote controls, along with what can be done to clean them up.

Black Hills students go Hollywood

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There were boards to cut, backdrops to paint, and plenty of plants and trees that still needed to be purchased. But Black Hills High School advanced horticulture students felt confident last week that their 10-by-10-foot display garden would be ready for the Northwest Flower Garden Show, which opens Wednesday at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

“I think it will be pretty good,” said senior Alexis Guy, 17. “I’m hoping we will win.”

The 900-student Tumwater school has brought home numerous first-place ribbons and other awards from the show during the past decade, said horticulture teacher Roger Bessey. It’s usually the only Thurston County school to participate in the show’s high school competition.

Black Hills students designed their display around this year’s show’s Hollywood theme. It includes an old movie projector, some lights, a set of director chairs, and a gazebo that was built in the style of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

“We’re going to have a red carpet,” said Bessey.

In addition to movie props, the display garden also was set to feature nursery-bought roses, daffodils, kalanchoe and a palm tree.

“It’s Hollywood, you’ve got to have a palm tree,” Bessey said with a laugh.

The garden’s budget was roughly $1,000, he said. Most of the money was raised by the horticulture program’s plant sales, he said.

Some of the garden’s items, including the projector, were loaned to the school for the project; others were picked up at thrift stores.

A lot of the materials were reused from previous projects as well, said Black Hills education assistant Rena Nichols.

In addition to participating in the Northwest Flower Garden Show, advanced horticulture students also work in the school’s organic garden, which raises food for South Sound food banks and the school’s kitchen.

This spring, students also will design and install landscaping in the school’s courtyard, Nichols said.

“They do a lot of hands-on planning and drawing out landscaping ideas,” she said. “They’re learning a lot about scale.”

Advanced horticulture is a one-year class and is part of Black Hills’ Career and Technical Education program. Students can receive science credit for the class, and the goal is to give kids some skills so they can get a job in the landscaping industry right out of high school, if they want to, Bessey said.

Several students said they enjoy the class because they can spend time outside, work with their hands and participate in the flower show.

“It’s actually kind of fun,” said junior Markus Aviles-Vidales, 17. “If you’re working, it goes by really fast.”

See the garden

What: The Northwest Flower Garden Show, featuring display gardens, classes, vendors and entertainment.

When: 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Place, Seattle.

Tickets at the door: $20 for adults; $5 for ages 13-17; free for 12 and younger.

Information: gardenshow.com or 253-756-2121.

Lisa Pemberton: 360-754-5433 lpemberton@theolympian.com theolympian.com/edblog @Lisa_Pemberton

CU-Boulder’s New Venture Challenge provides a chance for businesses to bloom

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New Venture Challenge

Registration deadline is Wednesday at 5 p.m. Visit cunvc.org for more information.

The University of Colorado’s New Venture Challenge is encouraging the campus community to turn dreams into realities through entrepreneurship — along with more than $10,000 in prize money.

The CU-Boulder’s New Venture Challenge (CUNVC) is a campus-wide a business competition, hosted by the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, allowing local business-minded students, faculty or residents to pitch business plans to investors.

Matthew Burns, director of the CUNVC, said a goal of he challenge is to connect teams to mentors — some are CU professors and many of them are community professionals.

“Some teams that come in the door have more experience than others,” said Burns. “They may have already taken steps to make them into a business, but its really more of a launch-pad for teams that have ideas that they want to turn into a business but haven’t really done that yet.”

A stipulation, Burns said, is at least one member of each team must be a student, faculty, or staff member at CU.

Throughout the challenge the NVC organizes workshops and speakers, said Ogheneovo Dibie, co-founder of last year’s winning team, Rideorama.

“(Speakers) talk on specific topics, like teambuilding or pitching ideas,” said Dibie.

Although workshops have already begun, last-minute entries can still be competitive, Burns said.

CU junior and NVC participant Fletcher Richman said the workshops are an educational way to learn how to build a business from the ground up.

“I think it’s one of the coolest things that happens on campus,” said Richman, who is competing this year for the second time. “The energy and some of the ideas are just awesome.”

CU graduate Bryant Mason, who won his division and second place overall in 2012, said the challenge was “one of the most critical things” in helping his business move forward

“(The New Venture Challenge) was one of the most important things in my success to this day,” Mason said.

The prizes, provided by local sponsors, also provide extra incentive.

Last year’s winners, Boulder airport ride-share company Rideorama, collected $8,000. Dibie said his team split half of the winnings among one another and used the other half to invest in the company’s website.

Mason’s team, The Urban Farm Company, won $6,000 that he used to buy landscaping tools and lease a truck for his company.

All three participants who were interviewed said it was a great experience and would do it again if they had the chance.

“We have 29 teams right now and I’m hoping to have around 50,” Burns said.

Registration deadline is Wednesday at 5 p.m. Find out more information at cunvc.org.

Koch: Part-time can be profitable

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profitable hobbies

Keep on the go with profitable hobbies if you’re made part time.
Source: Supplied




ABOUT 30 per cent of all Australian jobs are part time.


The “part-timing” of the Australian workforce has been ongoing for a decade but has picked up pace during the global financial crisis as bosses cut back the hours of staff rather than retrench them.

While that is good news for our national unemployment rate (that is one of the lowest in the developed world), it hides a legion of Australian workers who are underemployed.

Yes they have a job but are not working the hours, or earning the dollars, they want or need to live comfortably.

It could be one of the major reasons why retailers have found trading conditions so tough. While unemployment is so low, underemployment has squeezed the income stream of the average family.

So the focus for many is how to plug the hours and income gap. Here are some ideas.

Talk to the boss

The decision to cut back hours, depending on the size of the business, can often be an across-the-board decision that initially doesn’t take into account the circumstances of individual staff members.

The reality is some staff may be happy to wind back their involvement even further while others need to keep the hours up to pay bills. So chat among your colleagues to try and find anyone who’s happy to work shorter hours. Then approach the boss, explain your need for more work, your colleague’s desire for less, and offer to take up the slack.

Even if you can’t find that colleague, still talk with the boss and explain your circumstances and willingness to work more. If business picks up, you’ll be top of mind.

Plan your week

A critical trap is to waste those cut-back hours and just absorb them into your daily routine. Have a clear idea of how many hours you need to fill and note all the gaps in your week that have opened up for new work opportunities.

Write out a weekly work timetable and make it a job to fill those free hours.

Visually seeing your working week makes it easier to focus. It’s all about having a grip on time management.

Network

Let people know you’re available for work. Most jobs are never advertised, they’re filled by word of mouth. So get the mouth working.

Don’t hide your reduced work circumstances from friends and relatives.

Explain your predicament and willingness to work casual, part time or even full time if the right opportunity arose.

Sell yourself on your Facebook page, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly word gets around and offers appear.

Learn new skills

The cutback in hours could be an early warning that your employer, or the whole industry, is in long-term decline. Assess the prospects of your current job and, if they’re bleak, start reskilling for something with more potential.

Freelance

Some job seekers are opposed to anything that’s not a full-time job. If this sounds like you, it’s time to change your tune. Freelancing is a great way to boost your skills, resume, portfolio, professional network, income, and confidence.

Many industries now hire people on a project-by-project basis rather than for a specific time a week.

For example, in the media, construction, landscaping or corporate events sectors, there are a whole range of options that may suit you.

Start your own business

Begin with hobbies you love. Do gardening for neighbours, craft pieces for sale in local shops, cook for market stalls, perhaps babysitting, dog walking or house minding.

Start with an open mind and an enthusiasm to embrace change. Talk to family and friends about opportunities they see in their life.

We know a bloke who works two days a week visiting people’s homes to help them with their IT problems, from getting the PC to work to hooking up the home theatre system.

Maximise benefits

A cut in hours and income can mean changes to tax payments and suddenly entitle you to government benefits from which you were previously excluded. For more details, go to humanservices.gov.au and check whether you’re eligible.

COPING WITH LOST HOURS

* Be positive.

* Have an open mind.

* Don’t be ashamed of what has happened.

* Get organised.

* Adjust the budget in line with income.

—

[SUPER SUCKERS]

THE Federal Government and Coalition seem to view superannuation as their river of tax gold to fix any fiscal deficits.

They’ve been signalling potential changes, from introducing a tax on payouts more than $1 million to ending the contribution tax rebate for low income earners.

They say we have the most generous super system in the world and the billions of dollars in super tax concessions is over the top. But is it? Investment consultants Mercer says no.

They studied nine developed countries and found the US, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands had more generous retirement systems than ours.

Mercer measured the tax concessions for an individual saver on an average wage.

A full-time Australian worker on an average wage and working for 40 years would benefit from tax concessions worth $265,700. By comparison, an equivalent British worker receives 16.4 per cent ($45,500) more.

Region: Midwest Edition | StoryID: 19839 | Published On: 2/16/2013