Coos Conversations

Whohooo!

July Fourth, A day off from work, Family Barbecues, Trips to the Lake, Fireworks, Carnivals and More! (((AND, you don't have to leave Coos County to experience all of these!)))

So what's going on in Coos County this weekend and on the fourth?

Gorham is kicking off their annual celebration on the common with a carnival kiddie rides, adult rides, games, food and more.  There is also a fireman's muster being held this weekend AND if that isn't enough, today marks the beginning of the Centennial Celebration of the Gorham Grand Trunk Railway Station. (which if you haven't already been to that museum, you are truly missing out.) The Gorham Historical Society will be selling hats, t-shirts, autographed books, calendars and more at a booth set up on the common. Three parades will take place this year. First, a parade featuring classic cars will be held at 11 am on Sunday July 1st; the kiddie parade will take place on July 4th at 11 am and the Regular parade will start at 2 pm also on the 4th.  A duck  race on the Androscoggin begins at 10 am at McDonalds with the ducks racing to Mr. Pizza. This is being hosted by the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Berlin's Northern Forest Heritage Park is hosting a Lumberjack's Breakfast from 8 to 10:30 with boat rides to follow after.  This isnt' just a boat ride, by the way, it's a narrated tour up the Androscoggin River. Great for young and old alike.

Stratford is having its 12th Annual Old Home Day in Stratford Hollow.  The parade starts at 11AM with a FREE lunch to follow, though donations are appreciated.  There will also be games for the kids, including a sawdust scramble (hunting for money, toys and trinkets); a greased pole, with a prize of money at the top, for 10 to 14 year olds; and a skillet throwing contest for the men and women who are interested. Sounds like some good country fun!

Colebrook has a huge weekend planned with fireworks kicking off on July 3rd. This display can be seen from just about any point in the downtown and they are spectacular.  The local American Legion Post 62 will host an all you can eat pancake breakfast on Wednesday morning with locally made maple syrup and sides of bacon or sausage. This will be held at the Monadnock Congregational Church. NH Fish & Game is hosting a kids fishing derby at Roger Deblois' pond in Columbia. Prizes for Biggest, Littlest and First Fish caught.  The annual parade will start at 11 am with a "Back to the 70's" theme.  After the parade you can fill up with a chicken barbecue sponsored by the Kiwanis Club that is being held at Colebrook Academy.

Pittsburg's events will be found primarily at Murphy Dam. There will be fishing derbies, home run derbies, pony rides, a flea market from 10 to 6, local musicians filling up the evening with great music and fireworks at dusk.  There will also be a chicken barbecue to benefit Miracle for Maci.

Errol events will all take place on Saturday, July 7th.  Errol will  have a parade with the honorary marshal being US Senator John Sununu. Activities include a children's fishing derby, log-rolling and arm-wrestling contests, a dunk booth, vendors and Bingo games. The day will end with an evening fiddle performance by La Famille Riendeau of Berlin and a fireworks display at dusk.

Lancaster's Roger's Campground is setting off fireworks on July 4th at dusk.

Stewartstown's Poore Family Homestead is hosting its 13th Annual Open Barn and Celebration.

Now, add all of the above to clean air, beautiful water and friendly folks - well, why would you want to go anywhere else than here?

So,there you have it. No matter where you are this weekend and upcoming Holiday week, Coos County proves once again that it just doesn't get any better than right here.    

More research on what Coos County residents are feeling and doing these days

I attended the CEDC annual dinner last night and heard a fabulous presentation by Curt Grimm and Chris Colocousis of the Carsey Institute on the latest Carsey research on Rural America. You can read the report her e. What makes it a very interesting complement to the NCIC/NHCTC/BFA research Download cedc_presentation_may_11_2007.ppt is that it compares the views of Coos County to other rural areas around the country. The conclusion. The amenity economy is coming, and we need to be prepared for big changes as second home owners and knowledge workers who can work from anywhere discover the beauty of our area.

Whitewater Park

Wouldn’t it be nice to see a Whitewater Park where the Mill is today? 

Why a Whitewater Park?

§         To create enthusiasm by attracting locals and visitors to the park

§         To create a venue for paddling competitions

§         To enhance the fish habitat in the river

§         To restore riparian vegetation along the banks of the river

§         To create a family-friendly and easily accessible riverside park

§         To provide local economic stimulation

The Iowa Whitewater Coalition has developed a video about river renewal through dam removal and whitewater feature construction. 

The video can be viewed online at http://www.iowawhitewater.org/RORvideo.html.

Economic Stimulation:

Whitewater Parks have the ability to stimulate local economies.  There are many success stories tied to existing parks.  For example, Clear Creek Whitewater Park in Golden, CO was built for $165,000 and now grosses between 1.4 and 2.1 million dollars annually for the city.

If we built this it will provide a venue that will attract boaters from all over the area, perhaps even the whole country.

Thank you to Stacia R. for sending this guest blog in. 

Hellooooo Coos County, NH and Beyond!!

Welcome to the first day of Summer 2007!

Let's do an update of what is going on and what you can do in Coos County, NH this weekend.

First up.., this Friday and Saturday - thousands upon thousands of motorcycles will be driving through Coos County on their way to the 31st Annual Blessing of the Motorcycles (Blessing of the Bikes to all of us natives ~wink~) and for the 10th Annual Great North Woods Ride-In. Even if you do not drive a motorcycle or know someone with one - you are still welcome and it is quite the site to see so many beautiful motorcycles all together.

In Lancaster on the fairgrounds, the Stark Fiddler's contest gets underway at noon on Sunday the 24th.  Rain or shine, you are in for a good time. :-)

Need a place to stay while you are up here for the weekend?  How about "roughing" it at one of several campgrounds?   Or if sleeping in a tent isn't your cup of tea - how about renting a cabin in beautiful Pittsburg? Did I mention some of the best fly-fishing around? No??? - Well trust me when I say that this IS the place to go and catch some fish! (I have this information from a very trusted source. Thanks Bruce!)

Still not enough to do??? How about watching the races at Riverside Speedway in Groveton?

Coos County is the place to be whether it is the first weekend of summer or the last weekend of winter - there is always something going on here in this most beautious place!   

Proof that "Madame Delahaye" certainly does care about Coos County

Katie Paine was asked to be the keynote speaker at the annual AVER dinner held at the White Mountain Chalet in Berlin, NH on June 14th, 2007.  If you have ever thought that her drive is not for the people of Coos County and this area, please take a few moments to read a transcript of her speech here.

Congratulations to Larry Kelly - AVER's Citizen of the Year and to NCIA - AVER's Small Business of the Year!!

Also, here is a link to the Federal Reseve Bank of Boston's newsletter where an article by Katie was featured this month.  Check it out..., it really shows a great "vision" for our area!

Madame Delahaye Speaks

I have in front of me my crystal ball, I can see the future, a bit hazy and there are some tall smoke stacks, but wait.. the air is clearing, the smokestacks are gone, there’s a symposia going on where the mill used to be hosting the best and the brightest marketing minds in the country. They’re all up here because NHCTC is THE place to come and learn about the latest and greatest technology and practices for new media and marketing. There’s a big concert tonight, Nancy Griffith is singing my favorite song to a sold out crowd at the Heritage Park..

I love this town… of hidden charms
Where no one means… you any harm..
I love this town… on the beaten track
Where nothing slips… between the cracks

Everyone’s friendly to your face
And everybody knows their place
As long as you respect their space
You won’t have to worry

The town hall clock is calling out
It’s rush hour on the roundabout
Now I know without a doubt
It’s the place for me…

Hmmmm..... have you seen this??

No, this is not another photo contest..., it seems that perhaps some people know Coos County really really well.  ;-) 

Instead, over the weekend I was attempting to find out more about the Biomass Energy plant proposed by Laidlaw and I guess in my naivete, I assumed that it was not a done deal.  Then I came across this, this, and THIS!!!  Now I realize, that some of you have probably already seen these articles - I had not.  So in the benefit of those who haven't, I decided to post them.  Which leads me to my next question.....

Does this mean that we really, as a consensus, don't have a say? 

Things that make you go hmmmmmm?????

Things are happening in Coos County!

Things are definitely happening in Coos County, NH!  From biomass proposals - such as in Groveton and perhaps Berlin, new businesses like KD Paine & Partners in Berlin and the new French bakery in Colebrook to high speed internet access in Colebrook as well as the ATV Park off Route 110 in Berlin..., there is a change in the wind and it is blowing through the county.  To see a great show that was put together by New Hampshire Public Television, click here!

Environmental Regulations????

I have just added a new poll to see what you think about waiving ALL, SOME, or NONE of the environmental regulations for the ATV park sited at Jericho.  (Also a place if you just don't want the park at all.)  I realize that there isn't a space to write about what regulations you wouldn't mind waived and which ones that you would not like waived at all, so here is the place to do it. Do you think that Coos County needs this - environmental regulations be damned or do we need to protect what we have?  One other thought..., if the STATE bought the land, didn't the STATE know about the regulations?  I do not have a clue about this end of it, so give me one people! Got an extra long thought that you would like placed on the first page?  **** TO READ THE BILL, CLICK HERE!*****Email it to me at mpinard@kdpaine.com and I will put it up there for ya! 

Office Park anchored by Red Hook Brewery in Berlin

I need to vent:

The subject line is simply hypothetical - a vision that I have. I am responding to Mr. Dandersons latest comment's about the biomass plant in Portsmouth and its "thriving community".

Portsmouth has business diversity, but Berlin continues to lean towards its addiction to mills, extracting value rather than creating a healthy business environment for long-term true economical and cultural growth.

A lone biomass plant will become a Bad Profit. Sure, a new biomass plant will boost tax revenues and create 40 jobs, but it will be at a cost continuing to sully Berlin's reputation - and quickly become our new bullhorn for more negative word-of-mouth.

With White Mountain Distributors, Anheuser-Busch here in the city, are there any opportunities or resources that A-B might have for us? To me, a new office park anchored by a large-scale michro brewery and brew pub restaurant would be an attractive alternative.

Offering many jobs for a diverse skill-set in production, quality control, marketing, shipping & receiving, security, human resources, bartenders & servers, cooks etc. Creating much needed social recreation for the community - entertainment, group tours, corporate outings, events, and on-site Summer music festivals. This type of anchor business would help the "northsource" efforts.

Maybe an Anheuser-Busch Adventure Park with a northern theme? SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Adventure Island and Busch Gardens are all A-B. But that's like landing on the moon, way over the top...for now anyway.

More scope, new perspective and some balance is needed for good sustainable growth; to help change the landscape of the "mill & prison" addiction and perception that Berlin certainly has.

Thanks to Eric F. for his post today!