Each week, City Manager Tom Aspell cuts out cardboard reindeer and Santa Clauses and superglues them to his chest to turn himself into the world’s first human Christmas sweater. And it works! Thankfully he whistles the city memo as he is working.
Nicey nice pants
These people are good
Christmas spirit abounds at the Concord Human Services Department, Aspell writes. The pantry shelves have been replenished with food and hygiene items as a result of the city employee food drive, which was much more successful than the city employee drive (turns out it’s hard to stuff actual people into those tiny cardboard boxes).
The department’s appreciation begins with Sandi Lee of the library, who organizes the food drive each year, albeit without using the Dewey Decimel System, and is extended to the many helpers and employees who so generously contributed. The department wants to give a special thanks to Deb Marcotte (fire), Paul Garland (parking), Don Mathews (finance), and Sandi Lee’s son, Ben Jarvis, for delivering these donations to the Human Services Department.
The department is able to help out many people due to the generosity of its coworkers. The department also wants to acknowledge and thank the Capitol Region Food Program and Temple Beth Jacob for providing food to the department each month, including Smarch.
The spirit of giving does not stop with food. The department now looks more like Santa’s workshop as Christmas gifts for the children on its list fill every nook and cranny (which is only a bummer if you asked for a nook or cranny this year). In addition to the colorful bags and boxes of gifts, others have donated gift cards or money to help out. The department will use this to help families with teens and infants, as there are always fewer donations for these age groups. The good news is that more than 75 children will wake up on Christmas morning to gifts that would not have been there without this generosity.
The department wants to thank its coworkers from collections, finance, the city clerk’s office, Guy Newbery and the Fire Officers Union Local 3195, and John and Carrie Duval for sponsoring children on our list.
It also wants to thank the Le-gal Advice and Referral Center, Jenny Luciano and her coworkers from Irving Oil, and Colleen Barbarita and her daughter, Sophie. In addition, the generous employees from Health Trust have once again sponsored 10 children from the list. Thanks to Kathy Hollins of Health Trust for organizing this large project each year. Many of these thoughtful people have been helping children at Christmas for years and the department is so grateful that they have chosen to partner again.
The department’s thanks also go out to Arthur Aznive and his family, who generously donate money for children at Christmas; to Mike Mills, Hester Campbell, and Robert Murdoch, who donated gift cards; to the Unitarian Church Benevolent Association, who gave a donation to be used for the teens on our list; to Sanel Auto Parts, who collected donations from employees and customers so wish lists could be completed; and last, but not least, to Lissa Salvatore of building and code services, who helped to sort and fill bags and make sure no building codes were violated.
This is an amazing display of goodness and generosity and the department is so very grateful for such thoughtfulness from so many.
Creedence wastewater revival
Noel no longer prez
Kristin Noel, laboratory technician from the Hall Street Wastewater Treatment Facility, gave her final speech as president of the New Hampshire Water Pollution Control Association at the recent 2013 annual business meeting for wastewater professionals, Aspell writes.
Noel was awarded with a plaque for outstanding service and dedication to the association, along with a gift card and a NHWPCA briefcase, which was plenty large enough to store the gift card. Noel will continue on the board for one more year as a past president.
Bridge blog?
Sewalls Falls goes online
The Sewalls Falls Bridge Project has a new website with the latest news and information, project schedules, documents and photos, Aspell writes. It’s Twitter account remains separate (and imaginary).
As the final design continues, project notices and documents will be made available for viewing. The website is sewallsfallsbridge.com.
