Each week, we show up at City Manager Tom Aspell's door with sacks and sacks full of mail. When he answers the door, we march right in to the kitchen and upend the mailbags all over the place. The contents? Thousands of letters nominating Aspell as a Concord Hunk. Sadly, each week, he declines the nomination. Fortunately, there's a silver lining – he gave us this city memo!
Ballots available
excused absence
Absentee ballots for the state primary election to be held Sept. 11 are available at the city clerk's office, Aspell writes.
Residents who are unable to vote at the polls Sept. 11, due to absence from town or physical disability, may obtain an absentee ballot. Requests for absentee ballots may be made in writing to the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, 41 Green St., Concord, NH 03301; or by appearing in person at the city clerk's office, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Please note, those who choose to appear at City Hall will have to deal with the irony of requesting an absentee ballot in person.
You must be registered to vote prior to casting an absentee ballot. For more information, contact the city clerk's office at 225-8500.
We like Ike
And here's the proof
A new granite marker and plaque commemorating Concord resident Isaac Hill has been installed at the entrance to Eagle Square, Aspell writes. Hill was a printer, book seller, publisher, circus clown and owner of the New Hampshire Patriot, which was the predecessor to the Concord Monitor. (Editor's note: One of those professions is a fabrication. See if you can tell which one!)
Hill was very active in politics and served in the New Hampshire Legislature as a U.S. senator from 1831 to 1835, and as governor of New Hampshire from 1836 to 1839.
The marker is sited near the location of Hill's first home in Concord. It is also near the Eagle Square Deli. Yummy.
The marker was originally located on South Main Street, at Hill's second home in Concord, which was demolished in 1973. The marker subsequently spent 40 years on Loudon Road. It could often be seen grabbing a coffee at Dunkin' Donuts or a Frosty from Wendy's. Chocolate, of course. (Duh!)
After much research and coordination, the Concord Heritage Commission was able to bring the marker home to this appropriate location and produce an informative plaque outlining the highlights of Hill's life in Concord and his service to the city, state and nation. Staff of the General Services Department installed the monument and plaque. Many thanks to everyone who was involved in this project, Aspell writes.
turning up the heat
Oil donation lauded
Thanks to the generosity of St. Paul's School, the Human Services Department was able to provide 930 gallons of oil to six households over the past two weeks, Aspell writes. And thanks to the generosity of the Concord Insider, you now know about it!
John O'Shaughnessy of St. Paul's School wanted to help others when the school converted from oil, so he reached out to the city. It was a wonderful collaboration between St. Paul's School and H.R. Clough, which removed the oil from the tanks at St. Paul's and made the deliveries.
Our thanks also go out to Donna at H.R. Clough, who worked magic to coordinate these deliveries. Things only went awry when her lovely assistant cut Tom Aspell in half and then made him disappear.
We are so grateful to St. Paul's for this opportunity to help these households, many of whom had empty tanks. The timing is also excellent, as the price of oil continues to rise and heating season is right around the corner. Some of the households needed the oil for hot water and were provided an immediate relief. Thank you St. Paul's for this wonderful donation.
