The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com The following letter was submitted by a parent in the Windham School District:   Dear Windham Citizens,   Windham parents undoubtedly share a few important and constant goals for our children: We want them safe. We want them happy. We want them educated.  The constant here is wanting what is best; wanting what will guarantee the success of our children. The key to that constant lies squarely on the shoulders of our school systems. As voters, we hold that key.  Windham is a desirable place to live. A …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com   By Carolyn Therrien   With the ever increasing school budget, I wrote to the school board on October 5th concerning the teachers contract that they were negotiating.  One of the responses was "Have you shared your perspectives with the WEA?" and another was: "have you shared your concerns with the teachers?"  I decided to share my perspective/concerns with everyone after just reading on the Patch that "This year's default school budget shows a 3.46 percent increase due to increases in New Hampshire …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com   By Genarro A. Ruocco, Jr. Let's stop the madness. The quotes below are from a man infinitely more qualified than the politicians who think a government should have the right to take more and more of our money in the form of taxation: "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." Thomas Jefferson "It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com   By Ken Eyring   During the time between 2006 and 2010, our state spending was increased nearly 24% by the Democrat majority in the NH House and Senate.  Maggie Hassan was a State Senator when expenditures were raised by this historic amount.  Her legacy as outgoing Senate President was to leave the incoming 2011 State Government with an $800M budget deficit.Thankfully, the 2011 Legislature made a fiscally responsible commitment to the voters. Instead of continuing the trend of their predecessors to …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com   By AFP-NH Director Corey Lewandowski   Two weeks from today, NH voters will have the opportunity to ban a state income tax by voting Yes on the proposed constitutional amendment, Question 1. Amending the constitution is an arduous process that should be approached thoughtfully and rarely.  The system is designed to ensure this is the case. First, both bodies of the legislature must approve a proposed constitutional amendment with a 60% majority to place the issue on the ballot. Then the responsibility …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com   By Patricia Corey Dear Editor,  I would like to praise Rep. Charles McMahon who is running Republican for State House - Rockingham 7. My son Sean, who is 5, suffers from chronic kidney disease, chronic bladder disease and seizure disorder. Rep. McMahon is dedicated to helping parents like myself (who are care providers) manage our children’s care in the comfort of our homes. As a member of the Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs Committee, he worked with his committee to deliver a better and more …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com   By Joe Plaia Recent budget cuts have further slowed an already lengthy judicial process.  The current Rockingham County Attorney has sat idly by, complaining about these cuts instead of adapting and overcoming such challenges.  Rockingham County deserves a County Attorney who utilizes innovative programs that address the problems caused by budget cuts; programs like Early Case Resolution (ECR). Strafford County pioneered ECR delivering the “same justice sooner.”    Experienced prosecutors and defense …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com By Cheryl Haas   To the Editor:   On Saturday, October 13, 2012, the Town of Windham celebrated the Annual Harvest Fest at Griffin Park. There were over 800 who attended the event on this beautiful fall day. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people and businesses who made the day the success that it was.   Thank you for Woof Woof Professional Dog Services for hosting the Doggie Costume Parade. The owners and their dogs looked great in their costumes and enjoyed the walk around the …

By Alyssa Martin, senior BSN Nursing Student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell: The time of year is approaching where sniffles and the common cold begin to rear their ugly heads. Since September marks the beginning of when yearly Flu Vaccinations should begin, I wanted to shed light on some pertinent information and reinforce the importance of receiving a vaccination. Influenza, better known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. Though anyone can catch the flu, young children and the elderly are among those who pose a higher risk of acquiring …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com By Nancy Rowe   Jimmy Fund Golf extends its sincerest thanks to the organizers and sponsors of the Foodmaster Charity Golf Tournament held on Sept. 17, at Windham Country Club in Windham, N.H. Special recognition and appreciation goes to Michael Palmerino and Debbie Dubuque of Chelsea, Mass., and the committee who organized the annual event.    The dedicated sponsors, participants, and volunteers helped raise critical funds to support lifesaving cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com By Nancy Rowe   To the Editor: Jimmy Fund Golf extends its sincerest thanks to the organizers and sponsors of the Annual Friends Fighting Cancer Charity Golf Classic held on Sept. 7, at Windham Country Club in Windham, N.H. Special recognition and appreciation goes to Tom Maguire of Wakefield, Mass., and his committee who organized the seventh annual event.    The dedicated sponsors, participants, and volunteers helped raise critical funds to support lifesaving cancer research and care at Dana-Farber …

In July the Windham School Board was alerted that their recently adopted policy, Policy IGE, was significantly flawed. The adopted policy did not follow the new law, RSA 186:11, IX-c, which allows parents to chose alternative classroom materials for their child in place of objectionable resources, at the parents' expense, at no cost to the schools. The WSB responded promptly and amended the policy to be properly aligned with the new law. The WSB was responsive to the problem and acted responsibly. Unfortunately, the Pelham School Board does not feel they must follow the new law. Although they…

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com   By Michael Hatem   To the Editor: Why have Windham’s leaders suddenly decided our kids are worthy of public admonition?  As somebody who has spent years coaching these kids, who had the opportunity to teach them, who spent time with them at Bourndale and on countless field trips, let me say we have exceptional young people in our town.  They disproportionately excel at almost any challenge we give them, academically, athletically or culturally.  We should be very proud of these kids.  I write this …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com   By Mike Schneider Hi, I am greatly dissapointed by Dennis Senibaldi's decision to work towards shutting down the skate park. I completely understand his frustrations, although they CAN be dealt with! I am a skateboarder myself and I choose to wear a helmet anywhere I skate, but I respect those who decide not to. In a public place where helmets are required, it's a courtesy to abide by the rules to use the facility, but there is nobody actually working in the park so people have even told me "you dont …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com By Anne Lentz   After watching the RNC, the DNC, news, talk shows, speeches, political ads, as well as having read articles about platforms, policies, and gathering facts as well as checking facts at fact checking websites, the most profound impact on me last week,was the astonishing way in which Romney reacted to the recent crisis in Libya and Egypt.  Before gathering facts, Romney came out with a statement saying that it was disgraceful that the Obama Administration did not condemn but sympathized with…

The following is a candidate letter for state office. Submit your own by following the same format as this letter. Make sure to provide a photo. All submissions should be sent to michael.ryan@patch.com Name:   Kristi St. Laurent             www.KristiStLaurent.com Date of Birth:  September 13th, 1967Background/Education: Master of Science in Physical Therapy, University of Miami, FloridaBachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences, Grand Valley State University, MichiganPinkerton Academy, Class of 1985Experience/Occupation:Over twenty years of experience as a licensed Physical Therapist in …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com By Tony Massahos  The recent 3-2 vote by our Windham Board of Selectmen to waive the billing for President Barack Obama’s campaign stop visit was a slap in the face to hard working taxpayers. During an election year, more consideration should have been given to the quite obvious fact that Mr. Obama was here to promote his political agenda. Voting to waive the extra cost has set a precedent for future politicians wishing to campaign here. The way I view town politics here in Windham is quite clear. …

By Stephen Gorin, Canterbury: I admire Jennifer Horn’s concern for her parents and the future of Medicare.  Unfortunately, I believe she misunderstands and therefore misconstrues both Governor Romney’s and President Obama’s proposals to address this critical program.  The truth is that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) strengthens Medicare, not weakens it. First, the ACA does not reduce Medicare benefits. The $716 billion Horn and Romney refer to are not cuts but reductions in the rate of growth of Medicare spending. The bulk of these savings come from eliminating excess payments to insurance …

The following is a letter to the editor. To submit your own, email michael.ryan@patch.com By Ken Eyring This past weekend, Windham was honored by the visit of a sitting President.  As part of the preparation, the Secret Service required our town to provide $5,400 of local resources to enhance the security efforts of President Obama's visit.  The question has been publicly raised as to who should pay.  Some people believe Windham should, incorrectly citing the recent visits of GOP candidates as justification. Last December and January, our non-partisan Southern NH 9.12 group invited all …

Dear Windham Patch, Recently, the non-partisan Tax Policy Center and Brookings Institution released a study that laid out the real world impact of Mitt Romney's tax plan. The study found that people making over a million dollars would receive a tax cut of approximately a quarter of a million dollars, while families who have children and make less than $200,000 would see their taxes go up an average of more than two thousand dollars. Yes, that is right. In New Hampshire, about 640,000 middle-class families could face a tax increase of about $2,000 under the Romney plan. Under President Obama, …