Daily Archives: June 5, 2011

ALERT Volunteers Receive National Search and Rescue Certification

June 5, 2011
Rich Semaski

Rich Semaski

On May 8th, ALERT team members Bill “Remi” Fortin and Rich Semaski completed the 48hr NASAR (National Association for Search And Rescue) SARTECH III and SARTECH II (Search And Rescue Technician) certification program by successfully completing the written and field examinations. This was a culmination of classroom and field training instructed by NASAR president Dan Hourihan.

Mr. Hourihan is a veteran of over 1000 search and rescue operations and is chairman of the Alaska region Mountain Rescue Association. He is also a U.S. delegate to the Terrestrial Rescue Commission of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue.

The classroom portion of the training was conducted at the Hillsboro NH Police department. The class was comprised of Police, Fire, CERT (Civilian Emergency Response Team) and CAST (Canine Alert Search Teams) from around the North East region.

Classroom training covered all aspects of search and rescue including the legalities of conducting a search operation, conditioning and nutrition, basic wilderness survival skills, 24hr back pack necessities, NIMS (National Incident Management System), tracking, compass and GPS usage, proper map usage and search and rescue rope skills. The final exam was a 146 question test which included a demonstration of rope skills and knots.

Remi Fortin

Remi Fortin standing beside the donated ALERT comunications trailer

The field portion of the program and testing were conducted in Greenfield NH within the Greenfield State Park, and consisted of open search, the search of a defined area, and track search, the search of an area using a compass bearing.  Final examination was demonstration of knowledge of field techniques and successful solo completion of a land navigation course within a time constraint.

These certifications give ALERT another set of tools to better serve Police, Fire and NH Fish and Game when we are called upon.

ALERT (A Londonderry Emergency Response Team) is a group of highly trained community volunteers that equip themselves. We offset some costs with private donations and the generosity of the Londonderry Rotary.

ALERT is a 501 (C) (3) organization. You can help support ALERT by visiting our website at www.londonderryalert.org and clicking on our “support” icon.

Please feel free to visit us at a general meeting on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 PM. We meet at the Londonderry Police Department Community Room or visit us on line and look around.

ALERT

ALERT volunteers organize prior to assisting the NH Fish and Game with the search for a missing teen in Londonderry.

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By Keith Tharp | Posted in Announcements, Around Town | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Londonderry Breaking News for May 29th – June 5th 2011

June 5, 2011
  • Governor John Lynch directed flags lowered to half-staff today Monday, May 30, 2011 in recognition of Memorial Day. #
  • Memorial Day YARD Sale opens at 9am in Derry Put your Free Ad on Londonderry List reach 3,000 different daily readers! http://bit.ly/iWXRnO#
  • Small Heavy Rain Cell passing through at 8:20. Monster rain storm to our south west arrive 2hr + – http://bit.ly/LDweather Parade start 10am #
  • We are at the edge of that storm right now, the cells could be moving NE, stay tuned. Ceremony goes on rai… (cont) http://deck.ly/~FbuaC#
  • Memorial Day Parade Steps off at 10 one hour from now. A moving respectful two hour tribute to our fallen. http://bit.ly/mR3J5e#
  • Parade Weather, at 9:07 the storm is skirting to our south, we are on the edge of the rain. Could be a dry parade. #
  • Parade Weather, no worries! The storm is to our south and will be to the South East at step-off time at 10am. See you in Glennwood, Peace #
  • Londonderry Fire is headed to the new market basket for a fire alarm activation, reduced response. Opens next Sunday! http://bit.ly/jrT3qa#
  • Londonderry Police are gearing up as People gather on and around the common. Mammoth Road Will close 10-10:30 then again when parade rtns. #
  • Ceremonies end at 11:20am roadways are clearing in Londonderry ok to use Mammoth Road now for transit. Have a safe memorial day! Movie soon. #
  • RT @UnionLeader: Londonderry school keeps focus on the troops: LONDONDERRY natural that a school that prides itsel… http://bit.ly/jGQmIb#
  • Breaking News:Brushfire in the area of Colonial Drive, 100 x 200 square feet, LFD on scene working to bring under control. 3:20pm #
  • Forestry one headed out of the woods for more water, bulk of fire knocked down. Command reporting live from the scene. 3:29pm #
  • Breaking News LFD outside fire at the Exit 5 Sunoco, Dunkin Donuts the Intercom system is on FIRE no exposure to building. 3:31pm #
  • Engine one is on the scene of the Dunkin Donuts Intercom System Fire at the Sunoco near Exit 5, they will be extinguishing. 3:39pm Monday #
  • Brushfire near Colonial Drive, is now in overhall, for another 20 min 3:45pm #livefire ~ Fire Alarm at 4 King Richard LFD w/Derry Eng. #fire#
  • Homeowner reports accident on King Richard Fire Alarm, Derry Engine stands down, LFD en route to check. 3:48pm #
  • Dunkin Donuts speaker fire put out by Engine 1 Crew, packing hoses headed back to North station. 3:55pm Want Foam with that espresso? #
  • Farm News, Lots of searches on “Strawberry Picking” it won’t be long now! You will get the news first if you follow us! #
  • Michele Bachmann Stopped in Dover New Hampshire, 200 people in crowd do you think that she missed the best New Hampshire Town? We do! #
  • Trash this morning will be the Monday Pickup, Tuesday trash will be picked up Wednesday. This has been a Londonderry Robo Trash PSA… :) #
  • LFD toned out to Winding Pond Road for medical emergency. Time 9:17 AM #
  • Breaking News:Reports of a Coyote on beach drive “Chasing a woman” 1pm #
  • Breaking News:Londonderry Fire is headed to the parking lot of the 7-11 on Route 102 for a MVA, LPD on scene. time out 3:59pm #
  • Breaking News Traffic ALERT a turtle is trying to cross Route 102 just west of High Range, causing a hazard, LPD enroute! 7:30pm #
  • LPD is out looking for the Turtle “someone must have moved it” 7:35. It is “Turtle Time” watch out for Snappers crossing the road! #
  • Today is Wednesday, don’t forget to put your trash out like it was Tuesday! All Trash is one day later this week in Ltown. Recycled too! #
  • Stay tuned for NWS Alerts, RT @WMUR9_Weather: Last day in the 80′s, some sct’d PM strong storms possible. Wind, hail and downpours possible. #
  • Alert: Cells just popped up to our west, look like they will arrive in a few moments. http://bit.ly.LDweather Should be fast moving #
  • Breaking News LFD responding to a lightening strike on 3 Lexington Ave. time out 8:25am #
  • Reports from Readers @PattiAnastasia 1/4 inch hail in South Londonderry also reports of hail in central Ltown. 8:26am #
  • It’s raining Pea’s (pea size hail) @Macksapples “short duration 15-30 seconds. Good thing to, other fruits and veggies are bigger. #

For more weather on the event, more breaking news from last week and the start of Turtle Time read the rest of the story.

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By admin | Posted in Around Town | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Concerts On The Common This Monday!

June 5, 2011

Its summer time again everyone, and what does that mean?  Another summer of great local music, provided by Concerts On The Common!  This is our TENTH season ladies and gentlemen, and that means we’ve pulled out all the stops and have some fantastic artists in the lineup.  We’ve brought back some old favorites, and discovered some new talent to fill your Wednesday nights with great music!  As always, these concerts are FREE and take place rain or shine!  In nice weather we are always on the Town Common, and in the rain we are in the high school cafeteria this year!  Join us every Wednesday night to support your local artists, and this great program. 

This Monday June 6 (our ONLY Monday night concert) we’re kicking off our summer season with performances by the award winning Londonderry High School Jazz bands, and a new group this year, the LHS Rock Orchestra!  This concert is the last one for this year’s graduating seniors, so it’s a special night and always a blast; this year will be no different! (Note that the rain venue for this concert is in the Matthew Thornton gym.)

The award winning LHS Math team – always at our concerts selling refreshments and pizza to support their great program – will be holding a barbeque this year for the LHS Jazz Night, so bring your appetite for great food and great music! There will also be an ice cream truck for the kids, and a portion of the truck’s profit goes to the Math Team.

Relay For Life will also have a table at the concert, where you can learn about this wonderful event.

Want to see who’s in the lineup for this summer?  Check out photos and video of last summer’s artists?  Find all this and more at our website, www.concertsonthecommon.org!

You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter!  Just visit www.facebook.com/concertsonthecommon, and twitter.com/#!/LondonderryCOTC.

This year we are offering Concerts On The Common t-shirts to commemorate our tenth season! Here’s a preview:

 

 

This program would not be possible without our AMAZING sponsors. We have worked hard to increase our sponsor donations for four years in a row, and we sincerely appreciate their generosity – it means so much to our town!  We’d like to take a moment and thank every one of them for helping us bring you free live music every week. You can link to their websites on our Sponsors page.

Londonderry Freezer Warehouse

Manchester-Boston Regional Airport

Londonderry Administrative Employees Association

Mark Oswald, Realtor

Corporate Cost Control

Market Basket

Londonderry Women’s Club

White Birch Fine Art Gallery

Concerts On The Common is presented by the Londonderry Arts Council. See you at the concert!

 

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By EJ Lee | Posted in Around Town, Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Vandals Sink Adams Pond Bridge

June 5, 2011

Temps in the high 50′s as the sun was rising over the forests that line Adams Road, the water was still and reflected the trees with it’s rusty hue created by the natural debris from the surrounding wetlands and forest.  Sunday morning, walkers and hikers were out to enjoy a bit of paradise in Londonderry.

Unable to cross the dam since vandals had turned the Trailways bridge 90 degrees and sunk it into the water in front of the spillway.  Alerted by hikers Andy Mack Jr. headed over on the big blue Ford 4wd tractor with a bucket loader to check it out.  Arriving just after 8:30 it was no easy task alone to pull the bridge out of the water, though the hydraulic bucket was a bit of a help.

“Not sure how they did this or why, it is quite heavy, looks like we will have to find a way to chain it in place.” Andy said after shutting down the tractor and removing the sound protection from his head. “Looks like a few more trips over here are in order, though heading out to the orchards and surrounding land late at night is not always fun.”

We talked of the scouts use the area, how neighbors watch out for activity that looks suspicious and also of recent dumping in the orchards.   We did not talk about how the watching will continue, but knowing our readers we expect that it will.

Our eyes turned to the far off marsh and talks of bringing the kayak over, or heading to the barn to get the old Grumman canoe.   Andy said, “You know it’s like being at Denali back up in there,  you would never know you were in a busy town.  So you have a canoe in the barn, why not go grab it I’ll meet you back here.”

With wood to cut, fields to tend, repairs to be made, likely that won’t happen today.  But the thoughts of a quiet canoe slipping through the rusty water with the occasional clunk on the gunwale does make for nice day dreaming. +

Adams Pond looking north from the westerly side of the bridge over the dam

 

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By Steve Young | Posted in Around Town, Outdoors | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Yard and Computer Products Recalled Recently

June 5, 2011

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC), has recently announced two recalls that, collectively, may affect millions of consumers. These recalls include both STIHL yard power products and computer batteries which may pose fire hazards. The USCPSC would like to remind consumers that it is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled item.

STIHL Recalls Yard Power Products
Gas powered trimmers, brushcutters, KombiMotors, hedge trimmers, edgers, clearing saws, pole pruners, and backpack blowers that utilize a toolless fuel cap are included in the recall. STIHL Inc., of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is recalling about 2.3 million of the aforementioned products because the level of ethanol or other fuel additive can distort the toolless fuel cap, allowing fuel to spill. This can cause a potential fire and burn hazard. The company has received 81 reports of difficulty installing and/or removing the fuel caps and fuel spillage. No injuries have been reported.

The items listed in the recall have been sold at authorized STIHL dealers nationwide from July 2002 through May 2011 for between $190 and $650. Consumers should stop using the products immediately and should return them to the dealer for a free repair.

For more information, contact STIHL at 800-233-4792 between 8 AM and 8 PM Eastern Standard Time Monday through Friday, or visit the company’s website. Consumers may also find additional images on the website. For a complete list of products and model and serial numbers included, or to see this recall on the USCPSC website, click here.

HP Expands Recall of Notebook Computer Batteries
The computer company, Hewlett-Packard Company of Palo Alto California, has recalled about 162,600 additional batteries due to the risk of overheating and rupturing, causing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. 54,000 and 70,000 batteries were previously recalled, in May 2010 and May 2009, respectively, due to this hazard.

Since the May 2010 recall expansion, HP has received an additional 40 reports of batteries that overheated and ruptured. Of these reports, seven included burn injuries, one included smoke inhalation and 36 included property damage. The lithium-ion batteries are used with various models of the HP and Compaq notebook computers. The computer model number can be found at the top of the service label on the bottom of the computer.

Consumers should immediately remove the batter from their notebook computer and contact HP to determine if their battery is included in the recall. Consumers who had previously checked their batteries and were informed they were not included in previous recalls are being urged to check again. Consumers with recalled batteries will receive a free replacement battery. After removing the battery from the computer, consumers can use the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.

For more information about these recalls, consumers can call HP at 888-202-4320 between 7 AM and 7 PM Central Time Monday through Friday. Consumers can also visit the HP Battery Replacement Program website. For a complete list of batteries included in this recall, or to see this recall on the USCPSC website, click here.

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By Jacklynn Weeks | Posted in Around Town | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Wet Dogs

June 5, 2011

It was mid-May and had been raining for 8 days straight. Overly conscious of my responsibilities as a pack leader, each morning I would don my knee high rubber boots and raincoat and drive the two dogs up to the field. No hairdo or makeup or even some days no face wash. I just prayed that I would not meet any other fool. Willow was a terrible passenger and had thrown up more often as not during rides longer than 5 or 10 minutes.

Good mother that I was, I watched The Dog Whisperer when she finally refused to go near the car at all. Patience was the recurring theme of course. Patience and let the dog’s brain (and feet) move forward. So I would stand by the open back door, Willow pulling on her leash and as far away as any dog could get from the before mentioned back door. Then the inevitable stand off. I would stand there pretending nothing was wrong. Willow would sit and stare at me miserably. If she took a step forward, I would reel in the leash. Standstill. Mild, unexcited encouragement. Step forward. Reel in. Finally, at the open door, she would jump in herself and proceed to start whining and drooling. I would do this and then either let her out right away or take a very short trip up to the farm field or around the block. A month later, after keeping to this ritual and no long car trips, Willow still gives the car a wide berth but then jumps right in after only mild encouragement. I am a genius I think.

Up at the field, Keepa always seemed surprised that the grass would be wet. She finds wet grass distasteful. She will jump into a stream or lake but does not want to walk on wet grass. So she walks behind me or before me, carefully staying on the shorter grass on the path. I’ve heard on the news and weather reports that this weather has been perfect for grass. Willow, on her elastic type leash, is a testament to this. She can’t be seen anymore, save her tail, in the high grass. Then a beautiful jump and run and jump and run and plop into a puddle and so forth. 30 minutes later it is time to go home, and Keepa is ready. Like I said, it is hard to walk in a wet field and not get your feet wet.

Keepa needs me to lift her rear end into the car. Her arthritic hips don’t allow her to boost herself up. She waits for me to do this, not even trying to do it herself any more. While I do this, I see that Willow is standing in a mud puddle, mildly anxious that I am going to make her get into the car. Thank God I found this back seat cover that is waterproof. Believe me, towels do not work.. The only difference when using towels is you have a towel in addition to the seat upholstery to wash. On the ride home, I tell them how good they have been and how much fun we’ve had. I mention that I spoke with our Humane Society Director, and she may soon have another foster dog for us. I ask for their full cooperation. I wouldn’t swear to it, but I thought I saw Keepa rolling her eyes.

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By Paula Dunlavey | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)