On Friday, May 16th a special flag raising ceremony was held at the Londonderry Middle School in honor of Armed Services Day. Mike Boyle a Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) with the New Hampshire Army National Guard (NHARNG) who served in Iraq from August 2007 through March 2008 presented Mr. Mcalellan’s political group with a flag that had flown on Thanksgiving Day 2007 at Sather AFB in Bagdad Iraq.
The flag was a thank you to the students of LMS. The political club made up of students from all grades at the Londonderry Middle School including Mike’s daughter 7th grader Devin Boyle. The club and students of LMS decided to start a campaign to send cards and decorations to our soliders serving in Iraq. The holiday season can be a very hard time for all those who serve being so far away from the ones you love. When Mike and his unit began to receive the holiday items they were overwhelmed with the feelings that this simple gesture had on all of them.
Three weeks earlier Mike had been asked to be a guest speaker for the Political Club. He was explaining his duties in Iraq. His mission was to fly individuals into Iraq and Afghanistan via small aircraft in a C-12 Military Aircraft. The C-12 Huron, a twin turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft, is the military version of the Beachcraft Super King Air. The c-12 aircraft provides on-call, rapid response, modern air transport for high priority supply and movement of key personnel. Specifically, it is used for VIP transport or to deliver repair parts; equipment; and technical, crash investigation, and accident investigation teams wherever needed. Its support role also includes such functions as range clearance, medical evacuation, and administrative movement of personnel, transportation connections, and courier flights.
With the help of Veterans from the Londonderry American Legion Post 27, and while the members of the Londonderry Middle School Chorus sang “America the Beautiful” and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, the current flag was lowered and the new flag was raised. Devin read a poem about the flag and Eric Smith played taps after which a moment of silence honoring those that serve and those that have given the ultimate sacrifice.
Getting ready for prom night last week Suzanne Laurent photographer and journalist for the Derry News followed five friends from Londonderry High School as they primped and prepared for their big night. She began with the girls at the Water’s Edge Salon and Spa in Londonderry where she met up with Aleah Hart, Haley Iarocci, Taylor Natella, Gia Puopolo and Samantha Sfameni. Then she joined them at Aleah’s house where the girls put on make-up and changed into their gowns. Their dates, Nick Marquis, Kyle O’Connor, Chris Gagnon, Adam Bardwell and Tyler Peterson, arrived with corsages and soon the place was full of family and friends taking photos of the group.
To view a remarkable Audio Slide Show of this day done by Suzanne visit the Derry News Website HERE.
Pauline Pichette loves to show off her oversized scrapbook filled with newspaper clippings, photos of visits to the Currier Museum of Art and announcements of awards her students have received over the 27 years she has been an art teacher at Matthew Thornton Elementary School.
Pichette and 24 other teachers from across the state nominated for New Hampshire Teacher of the Year were honored at a ceremony on May 6 in Concord sponsored by the Department of Education.
She’ll be the first to tell you about something wonderful accomplished by a student, but she’s shied away from the spotlight on herself….
Looking for a unique experience of Celtic and American country music? The Leach Library will feature the music of Two Old Friends. Two Old Friends consists of band members Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins, who played as Northeast Winds for nearly eighteen years. To find out more on these friends visit their website or read more here Londonderry Leach Library will feature Two Old Friends
May 22nd
Leach Library
7pm
Even better listen to a sample of what you may miss if you do not attend this great free event!
The already scheduled Spring pep rally to honor students and faculty for various achievements, provided the backdrop for yet another recognition – the announcement that Londonderry High School has been selected as the recipient of the NH Excellence in Education Award for 2008 as outstanding secondary school. Chair of the secondary school selection committee, Mike Jette, Principal of Merrimack Valley High School, made the official announcement accompanied by representatives of last year’s school of excellence, Pembroke Academy, and McDonald’s, corporate sponsor of the “Edies.” Over 1800 students, staff and faculty in attendance roared their approval.
LHS Principal, Jim Elefante, reflected that “The award recognizes the excellence of all Londonderry schools and the support of the entire community as the student body is representative of their combined efforts to provide learning opportunities and resources which leads to success in high school.”
The Inventioneers, the reigning NH State Champion FIRST LEGO League team, earned a Research Innovation Award at the FLL World Festival in Atlanta, GA. This group of nine students ages 10-14 impressed the judges with their patent pending solar power roofing design and their community education program. The two-day competition included 81 teams from 24 countries.
To view the presentation these leaders made to the Londonderry School Board, press play!
With some of the nicest spring weather ever, most of Londonderry is enjoying the comfortable 70 degree late spring days. A layer of pollen coats everything in town, any car parked for a day or so ends up a powdery yellow. Rain will ramp up towards the end of the week, it has been 5 days since we had any rain and that was only a few tenths of an inch.
What about those Strawberry fields at Sunnycrest Farms? How will this first crop of the season fair without any rainfall? Every day now the massive sprinkler system irrigating all the fields popping to life with thick green foliage The water source a old farm pond on Adams Road one of Londonderry’s scenic byways, provides the water, a tractor outfitted with a large pump on the PTO (Power Take Off) charges the aluminum lines with water for the fields. Not long, the first strawberries of the season, always the biggest and the best at Sunnycrest Farms in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Saturday, May 17th from 10:00 until 2:00 will be a Flowering Plant Sale at Mack’s Apples. There are two teams of students from Londonderry High School who are traveling to Knoxville TN to compete in the 2008 Global Finals. All proceeds from the plant sale will benefit the travel fund for these two teams. There will be a variety of plants to choose from. The plants have been locally grown and provided by Orchard Hill Greenhouses, and Mack’s Apples has allowed the group to use space in front of their ice cream stand for this sale.
If you missed the Grange 44 plant sale this is a great chance to get very high quality plants from a local greenhouse that normally sells only to the trade!
May 17th at the Lions Hall on Mammoth Road, across from the Londonderry Town Common
Donate Your goods to the Lions for the local eye care charity efforts!
Drop offs accepted all this week at the Londonderry Lions shelter located to the south west of the hall. Please no large Kitchen appliances, couches, ski’s, air conditioners or computers.
Sell your own goods by renting space. Call Roger at 432-3166 or Buck at 432-2332
Fire weather watch in effect from Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday evening. The national weather service has issued a fire weather watch for Londonderry, New Hampshire.
It has been a week or more since most of the region has seen a significant wetting. this has allowed fine fuels to become very dry especially in areas where the green-up has yet to occur. Because of this the combination of north winds gusting to 25 mph and afternoon humidity values between 20 and 30 percent will create the potential for hazardous fire weather conditions Tuesday afternoon and evening.
A fire weather watch means that a combination of strong winds and dry conditions may occur soon. These critical fire weather conditions may result in dangerous fire behavior.
Click HERE for further information on the NOAA weather home page.
Tuesday May 13th from 1pm to 7pm the Red Cross will be at The Church of the King at 1 Commons Drive, located on 102 Behind the Commons Mall (The mall where Wippersnapper’s is located). Follow the red cross signs on 102 just west of exit 4 off 93. If you have never donated the eligibility requirements are simple;
Most healthy adults can give blood through the American Red Cross. You meet the basic eligibility requirements if you
Are at least 17 years old
Weigh at least 110 pounds
Are in good health on the day of donation
Have no history of exposure to hepatitis or AIDS
Your last blood donation was at least 56 days (8 weeks) ago
Click HERE for the American Red Cross informational page on Blood Services in New Hampshire.
The blood component that transports oxygen to all tissues in the body is red blood cells.
Image courtesy American Red Cross, click HERE for a new blood fact every day!
Londonderry Senior Citizens, Inc. will be having our annual Homemade Chicken Parmesan & Pasta Luncheon Fundraiser on Thursday, May 29th at 11:30AM .Tickets are $8.00 per person and can be purchased at the Senior Center.
This fundraiser is not restricted to members only, but open to everyone who would like to participate. The money raised from this event will be used to help upgrade the current electrical system at the center. Some of the monies will also go to upgrading the stage. Many local organizations use the Senior Center for their events.
Get your tickets as soon as you can. This dinner always sells out. Included in the festivities there will be a Patriotic Concert performed by the “3-G’S” at 11:30AM with Lunch immediately following.
Click on this YouTube screen to read the great story on Andy Soucy at the Boston Pops this year. View the award winning underground video by Londonderry High School Students
A new image every minute (a black image indicates night). This nest was built in one day, Sunday April 29th visit our "Extras" page for Larger images and older images.
Do you have a Londonderry Web Cam you would like featured? Let us know on the contact page!
Three weeks earlier Mike had been asked to be a guest speaker for the Political Club. He was explaining his duties in Iraq. His mission was to fly individuals into Iraq and Afghanistan via small aircraft in a C-12 Military Aircraft. The C-12 Huron, a twin turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft, is the military version of the Beachcraft Super King Air. The c-12 aircraft provides on-call, rapid response, modern air transport for high priority supply and movement of key personnel. Specifically, it is used for VIP transport or to deliver repair parts; equipment; and technical, crash investigation, and accident investigation teams wherever needed. Its support role also includes such functions as range clearance, medical evacuation, and administrative movement of personnel, transportation connections, and courier flights.
