Making a difference
The Capital Region Food Program named Debra Bourbeau of Bow (second from right) and Jackie Whatmough of Concord (second from left) as their 2015 Volunteer Hero Award winners at the 42nd Annual Blessing of the Baskets ceremony at the National Guard Armory.
City Briefly
City Manager Tom Aspell was so excited to usher in the new year, he decided to put the final two city memos for 2015 into one release on Dec. 23 and call it a year. This version was sent to us right before Christmas, so it’s like the gift that keeps on giving. Paying the bills Property tax time Property owners are reminded that third quarter property tax payments were due on Jan. 2. (Editor’s Note: Original city memo said “property...
Book of the Week: ‘The Hollow Land’
The Hollow Land Jane Gardam 2014, 158 pages Fiction The Hollow Land is a series of linked stories about Harry Bateman, who is a little boy the first time his family comes from London to stay in an old farmhouse called Light Trees owned by the Teesdale family. Harry and the Teesdales’ son Bell get into a number of scrapes, such as getting stuck in an old silver mine shaft (hence the hollowness of the land) and lost in a blizzard while...
This Week in Concord History
Jan. 5, 1776: In the first of five Provincial Congresses in New Hampshire, delegates adopt a temporary constitution. The document makes New Hampshire an independent colony six months before the colonies jointly declare their independence. Recalling the objectionable actions of recently departed Royal Gov. John Wentworth, the framers make no provision for a governor. Meschech Weare becomes New Hampshire’s president. The permanent state...
Bulletin Board
Author Hannah Papp to present book Friday Author Hannah Papp presents The Mystical Backpacker: How To Discover Your Destiny in the Modern World, Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 S. Main St. Part memoir, part guidebook, The Mystical Backpacker invites you to explore your inner terrain and learn how to create your own unique version of a modern day vision quest or walk-about. Tired of living a life based on other’s...
Here’s proof we actually worked pretty hard making the ‘Insider’
It’s been quite an eventful year at the Insider. Kinda like the previous eight since the paper was created, but way more recent and likely the one you remember most. And we can’t argue with that reasoning, especially because the first one is a fact and the second is likely because we did a lot of really awesome stuff. If you’ve been following along, you know exactly what we’re talking about. And even if you haven’t, that’s okay, too....
The Concord Insider Pics of 2015
It’s been a fun year at the “Insider,” and like the famous saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” So if you think about it, there’s about 11,000 words on these pages. Well, actually these are all the best and coolest photos we could find when we dug through the 2015 archives so we could share our accomplishments one final time before the calendar switches to 2016. Happy reminiscing!
No plans for New Year’s Eve yet? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered
So now that Christmas is over and you’ve opened all your presents and eaten all the turkey, ham and roast beef you can handle, your attention is likely focused on the other big winter holiday: New Year’s Eve. The last night of the year may just be the biggest party night there is in the whole world, but many of you no doubt are still looking for something to do around here. After all, who can be bothered to sit down and plan New...
Meet the newest mascot of the ‘Insider’ – we call him the Inspider
We never really know what we’re going to find in the Insider pod each morning. There could be cookies from an adoring fan, someone’s left over food containers or another stain on the carpet. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we’d find a little “Concord Monitor” frisbee with a hand written note stating “BIG SPIDER” and an arrow on the floor. But that’s exactly what we came across last week and there was actually a big spider...
Reptiles, farmers markets and movies always go hand in hand
Wednesday One of life’s great challenges is trying to figure out how to spend your time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. It’s that awkward period where we’re all basically just staring at the clock waiting for the new year to arrive. But this year, you can do something a bit scaly at the Concord Public Library to keep you busy. If you want to learn all about reptiles – and maybe even meet some up close and personal – check out...
It’s ‘Insider’ trivia time – 2015 edition
When we look back at 2015, even though it’s not quite over, there’s been a lot of great stories in the Insider. From hard-hitting news to fluffy features, art exhibits to scavenger hunts, Missed Connections to Instagram fame, the Insider has covered a little bit of everything. And we’d like to thank you for joining on this wild journey every week. It can’t be easy trying to keep up with us. While we imagine that you stand at one of...
The Place Studio is home to some great local high school art
The Concord High School National Art Honor Society is a group of more than 30 students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, that meets twice a month for community service and school art projects. And as you might have guessed (and can see), they’re pretty good at creating art as well. An exhibit featuring their work is hanging in The Place Studio & Gallery through the middle of January.
Four generous people times 25 days equals 100 Acts of Kindness
If you’ve found a candy cane on your windshield, a bag of popcorn taped to a Red Box machine or a bag of change and candy attached to a downtown parking kiosk, you have likely been a lucky recipient of 100 Acts of Kindness. Or it’s just one of the great coincidences of all time, but most likely this was the work of Jessica Fogg Livingston and her family. The quintet has been going around Concord since the first of December committing...
Look who we found trying to create a love connection on Craigslist
With the year almost over, we figured why not jump on Craigslist one final time and check out what’s happening on the Missed Connections page. Here’s a sampling of what we found – unedited and what we could print, of course. dark hair, black and grey flannel and jeans – m4w (Dollar Tree Concord) You were in Dollar Tree on Loudon Rd Tuesday at about 4:30. You had faded jeans, a grey and black checked flannel, black t, and long...
This Week in Concord History
Dec. 29, 1933: The low temperature in Concord is 21 below zero. That’s what it was yesterday. And that’s what it will be again tomorrow. Dec. 29, 2000: More than 50 Concord residents have called the city recently to complain that their water tastes or smells bad, the Monitor reports. The culprit: golden brown algae. The city’s water treatment system kills it, but the process releases an apparently harmless chemical that has an odor...
Book of the Week: ‘Throne of Glass’
Throne of Glass Sarah J. Maas 2012, 406 pages Fiction Celaena Sardothien was a feared assassin until she was betrayed and imprisoned in the salt mines of Endovier. In a strange twist, she was taken from the salt mines by the Crown Prince to be entered into a competition to become the King’s Assassin. If she can defeat 23 other competitors in a series of tests and duels, she will earn the right to serve the king for four years and win...
The Bulletin Board
10-week parenting class offered at Riverbend Riverbend Community Mental Health is offering a free 10-week parenting series titled, The Incredible Years! Parenting children ages 2 to 8 years old can be a difficult time for both parents and children. Learn new skills to handle problem behaviors; strengthen family relationships and reduce family stressors; increase your knowledge of child development; gain support and share information...
Nothing says happy holidays like a festive scavenger hunt
As one final way to celebrate before Santa comes sliding down your chimney in a few days, we thought why not find the coolest Christmas things around and have people guess where they are. Email your answers to news@theconcordinsider.com and the person with the most correct answers will receive a $20 gift card to the Concord business of their choice.
Lending a helping hand around the holidays sure does feel good
When I walked into the N.H. National Guard Armory last week, the sight of more than 1,100 boxes sitting on the concrete floor was a little intimidating. Especially since my directive for the next couple hours was to help fill all of those boxes with nonperishable food items. Luckily, I wasn’t alone in this endeavor, ’cause if so, I’d probably still be there, sleep deprived and with some pretty sore muscles. Instead, I was part of a...
We hit every Dunkin’ Donuts around to give you the ultimate guide
While you’re out scrambling like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Jingle All the Way to check off those last few items on your Christmas shopping list, it’s important to make sure you have enough energy to battle the traffic, long lines and angry parents you’re sure to encounter. You also don’t want to fall asleep out there – that could be bad. So what do you do to give yourself a little boost? Well, chug coffee, of course. If you didn’t...
It was Holiday Cookie Madness at the Heights Community Center
It’s been said time and time again, yet it still bears repeating: We really like food here at the Insider. We also really like Christmas. It’s pretty cool to meet and interact with new people, too. Therefore, we absolutely had to check out Holiday Cookie Madness at the Heights Community Center last week. And it wasn’t a disappointing trip. The event, in which people got together to learn how to bake three types of cookies, was put on...
Christmas is Friday, that’s what’s up
Tuesday Looking for something fresh and new to give as a gift this year? Head on down to Susana’s Sewing Studio (26 Warren St.) for Alternative Fashion’s Holiday Pop-Up Shop from 4 to 7 p.m. You’ll find some one-of-a-kind clothing that you won’t have to worry about that special someone already having in their closet. Wednesday If you’re looking for that one final gift for that oh-so-hard to shop for relative, but haven’t had any luck...
Artistic sisters team up for Side by Side exhibit at McGowan
When your mom is a painter, you’ll probably find an artistic path yourself. But that doesn’t mean you’ll follow the same style as her – or even your siblings. And the latest show at McGowan Fine Art will attest to that. The exhibit is called Side by Side, and it features the paintings of sisters Bethany Cole Rymes and Hanna Cole Dahar. This exhibit is a special, limited-run kind of deal: it began Monday and runs until New Year’s Eve,...
Merrimack Valley gets new b-ball unis from Monahan Foundation
The last time the Merrimack Valley varsity basketball programs got new uniforms, current players like Ian Curtin and Sammi Osborne were in sixth grade. They’re seniors now. And if it wasn’t for a generous donations from the Frank Monahan Foundation, they would have been the seventh set of seniors to don the same old white and navy jerseys and shorts. Instead, Curtin and Osborne (and the rest of the varsity players for that fact) are...
The warming tree
At this time of year, it’s not all that uncommon to see a living tree indoors decorated with a variety of bulbs, ornaments and candy canes. But you don’t often find a tree covered with hats, gloves, scarves and socks. Not unless it’s the Keep Concord Warm Tree at the Concord Public Library. For two weeks earlier this month, the library asked for patrons to bring in new or newly made items to donate to the Concord Homeless Resource...
Grant to support Music in the Community Initiative
The Concord Community Music School received a $14,000 grant from the Lincoln Financial Foundation. The contribution lends support to the music school’s Music in the Community Initiative (MICI), which takes music school faculty members into public schools, early childhood programs, public housing communities, mental health programs and other human service agencies across New Hampshire to provide music education programs free-of-charge....
City Briefly
Last week, City Manager Tom Aspell spent much of his time scouring the city looking for holiday decor to put in his own Christmas scavenger hunt for city employees. But instead of writing out clever clues, Aspell instead created his weekly city memo in code. Don’t worry, though, we have translated it for your enjoyment. That’s heavy Leaf collection done Concord General Services has finished its fall leaf collection for the season....
