St. Thomas Aquinas High School Students Build Cardboard City

DOVER—

Recently, 37 St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) students gave up a Friday night to share, in a small way, the experience of the 1.6 million homeless teens in America by becoming “homeless” themselves. Sponsored by the school’s Campus Ministry Team, the students built a “Cardboard City” in the STA parking lot, where they spent the night.

"Cardboard city was one of the hardest things I’ve done. Not because it was cold, or hard sleeping in a box for the night, but because it showed me how hard some people have it in life. Not knowing where you will eat your next meal, or even if you will have a next meal is very sad," explained senior Hannah Schwoerer.

Before participating in this meaningful event, each student raised a minimum of $100. Together, this group of committed students raised over $5000. Of that amount, $1000 will be used to support the work of local homeless shelters, while the remainder goes to support St. Thomas’ work this summer with Young Neighbors in Action (YNIA).

In many ways, YNIA was one of two guiding forces behind the St. Thomas Aquinas’ efforts to gain a deeper understanding of the plight of the homeless. The other is the school’s effort on behalf of Lazarus House Ministries, which also serves the homeless.

When engaged with both programs, students provide labor, tutoring skills and yard work; they serve food and work with children. STA students who have participated in these programs have called it a “life-changing experience.”

Walter Hutcheson, a junior at STA explains, "As I lay in my cardboard box that night, I felt the cold, discomfort and loneliness that many must suffer through every night. However, I had something that many homeless do not. Though I was physically hurting, the knowledge that I had a warm breakfast, loving family and comfortable bed awaiting me in the morning warmed me. It was this hope that made my experience much more bearable than the suffering that many homeless must endure."

Because of those efforts, students realized that they needed to know more about the struggles and hardships of the lives led by the homeless. So, when the idea of a Cardboard City was first proposed, there was an enthusiastic response.

Spearheading the project were senior Emily Keane and junior Meaghan Flynn. Additionally, a dozen adult volunteers chaperoned through the night, and many students came in to cook and serve dinner and breakfast. For 37 committed, caring students, it was the perfect opportunity to learn, serve and grow as a community.

Located in Dover, St. Thomas Aquinas High School is a coeducational, Catholic high school community where young people are challenged academically, to stretch their hearts spiritually and to embark on a journey to make a difference. For more information, visit us at www.stalux.org or call 603-742-3206.

Dover Chamber Sweepstakes Event Set for April 27

DOVER—

$10,000 Grand Prize Highlights a Night Packed with Entertainment

The Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce will hold their 11th Annual Sweepstakes and Auction, underwritten by Federal Savings Bank, on Friday, April 27 at 6pm at the Dover Ice Arena. This year, Sweeps will “Swing into Spring” with a golf theme, complete with a mini golf course and an Optishot simulated golf range that will have attendees swinging the night away.

Tickets are now on sale at the Chamber of Commerce or online at www.dovernh.org. Each ticket, which could win the $10,000 cash grand prize, is $100 and admits two people to the event. Only 250 tickets are sold and ten cash prizes will be awarded, giving attendees a 1 in 25 chance of winning at least $200.

In addition to the sweepstakes, the event will feature a sampling of delicious food from local restaurants, a wide-array of auction prizes, a live DJ and cash bar.

“People always come out to Sweepstakes for a chance at the $10,000 cash grand prize,” comments Event Committee Chair Toby Arkwell, of RW Insurance, “but we focus on making every aspect of the night entertaining, so even if you don’t win a cash prize, you still go home having a great time at the event.”

As is tradition, many Dover restaurants will be present at Sweeps as food service providers. The Orchard Street Chop Shop, Liberty Lane Catering, Kelley’s Row, The Meat House, Harvey’s Bakery, The Weathervane, Strafford Farms, UNOs and The Spaghetti Stain will all offer attendees a taste of delicious entrees and appetizers from their menus.

“The participation from local restaurants is a great aspect of the event,” commented Chamber Community Events Manager Michael Mengers. “Every year there are people who attend Sweeps simply to get a taste of all the great restaurant cuisine. This event would not be possible without the consistent support from the Dover restaurateurs.”

Don Briand of WOKQ will return as Sweepstakes emcee and will guide attendees through a night of live, silent and penny sale auctions. Auction items include a Boston Red Sox Package—Two Red Sox tickets, a Darnell McDonald autographed baseball and two Downeaster Train tickets to the game—a big screen flat panel television, movies for a year at Barnz’s Barrington Cinema, golf packages from the Links at Outlook, The Ledges Golf Club, Cochecho Country Club and much more.

Sweepstakes attendees are encouraged to dress in golf themed attire.

“Having guests dress for the occasion always adds another element to the event,” said Arkwell. “I hope everyone coming out to Sweeps searches the back of their closet for an old pair of knickers, argyle socks and a golf cap.”

For more information on Sweepstakes, please contact Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce Community Events Manager Michael Mengers at 603-742-2218.

Dover Offers New “Transparent” Government Resource

DOVER—

The City of Dover unveiled a new resource that provides one-stop access to the City's significant open government tools and information. The new web page, “Transparent Dover,” was launched to coincide with Sunshine Week.

Each year, Sunshine Week promotes the importance of open government and freedom of information. A variety of agencies and organizations participate, including local government, news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know. This year, Sunshine Week spanned March 11-16, coinciding with James Madison's birthday on March 16.

The City of Dover is an advocate for the public's right to know, and values transparency in all aspects of local government.

City Manager J. Michael Joyal, Jr., said the City strives to make information readily available to the public on a daily basis. The City's website, www.dover.nh.gov, updated daily, is a repository for thousands of documents, records and public information, including financial information, City reports, budget details, and meeting records. Few communities in the State of New Hampshire or across the nation make as much information available to the public as a matter of course.

"The City of Dover is committed to open government and transparency," Joyal said. "We will continue to promote openness and public participation in local government, recognizing that transparency is the foundation of public trust."

The new web page allows residents and the public to navigate to many of the most requested and essential City documents and records, as well as information about all aspects of local government. The page, which collects links to public resources into one easy-to-navigate location, is a way for the public to quickly find links to the significant information already available on the City's website. Transparent Dover will be updated regularly to reflect additional resources.

Transparent Dover also allows the public to compare the City's commitment to open government against the "Transparency Checklist" created by the nonprofit organization Sunshine Review. The City of Dover meets or exceeds all of the items on that checklist.

According to the Sunshine Review, "residents and taxpayers need to be able to gauge whether local government is effective, competent, frugal with tax revenue, and in compliance with laws relating to public records and open meetings." The Sunshine Review benchmark is the availability of key information online.

For more information, contact City Manager J. Michael Joyal, Jr., at 603-516-6023.

Children’s Museum of NH Hosts Art Beyond Vision Gallery Show

DOVER—

It’s a common mistake to think of art as mere visual representation and a venue open only to those who can see. Inviting people to touch works of art can broaden the experience of both the sighted and the non-sighted.

In a unique collaboration between the NH Association for the Blind and the NH Art Association, the Children’s Museum of NH’s Gallery 6 is hosting an exhibit titled “Art Beyond Vision” through May 28. This curated collection of textural paintings, fiber arts and sculpture welcomes visitors to open their minds to a fresh new way of experiencing the beauty of art. Tactile works created by more than a dozen New Hampshire artists offer opportunities for gallery visitors to explore each piece using different senses. Unlike most art exhibits, this one welcomes guests to take a hands-on approach as they tour the gallery.

Marty Quinn's MoveMusic technology is also featured during Art Beyond Vision as part of the popular Build It, Fly It exhibit. Museum visitors will be able to hear the paths of objects as music as they fall in flight. Using visual-to-image sonification technology developed by Quinn's Design Rhythmics Sonification Research Lab, visual surveillance software tracks the moving objects as they are selecting pixels in a selected image. Those pixels are turned into music using MoveMusic's innovative algorithms. In addition to hearing the objects fall through various and selectable artistic images, qualities of the moving objects, such as size, speed, angularity and change of direction add to the musical mix, providing additional information that visually challenged guests can utilize to perceive the flights of the falling objects, and experiment to hear how the music varies with different objects and their unique flights.

"We are thrilled to have this one-of-a-kind gallery show in the Museum,” said Justine Roberts, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of NH. “It is amazing what you can accomplish with the right partners, and in this case, we had an ideal team with the New Hampshire Association for the Blind and the New Hampshire Art Association.”

“This show captures so much of what Gallery 6 is about,” Roberts continued. “It is multi-sensory, which is an ideal way for children to learn, and gives our visitors a successful experience with art. This show also fuses science with art by exploring vision. And we have come up with some really exciting art projects that will be available in our Studio, allowing visitors to do their own creative explorations."

George Theriault, President and CEO of the New Hampshire Association for the Blind, stated, “We hope that many, many people of all ages will come to the museum for this fascinating exhibition—it will challenge visitors to ‘see’ and perceive art in very new and different ways! And, we hope that this experience will promote better understanding and appreciation of all of the senses and how people whose sensory input is reduced or impaired can and do fully appreciate art and lead independent and fulfilling lives. The New Hampshire Association for the Blind is delighted to join in this very special partnership opportunity.”

An opening reception for the featured artists and invited guests will be held on the evening of March 14. The museum has also planned a special day of tactile experiences for young visitors on Tuesday, April 17, from 10:30am–2:30pm.

For more information about the Art Beyond Vision exhibit, please visit www.childrens-museum.org, or email NHAB@sightcenter.org or NHAA@nhartassociation.org.

St. Thomas Students Named Finalists in National Merit® Scholarship Program

DOVER—

St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) High School is pleased to announce that the National Merit Scholarship Corporation has named seniors James Klingensmith and Matthew Radford National Merit Scholarship Finalists.

Started in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships, honoring students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The test serves as an initial screen of more than 1.5 million entrants each year. Of these entrants, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT scores qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Klingensmith and Radford will now compete for one of the 8,400 Merit Scholarships to be awarded this spring from a group of more than 15,000 scholarship finalists. This finalist group represents less than 1 percent of the nation’s pool of high school seniors.

“We are very proud of James and Matthew’s accomplishments in moving forward as candidates for a National Merit Scholarship. Each is most deserving of this consideration; they are two of St. Thomas’ finest students,” said Principal Kevin Collins.

Radford is from Brentwood, and was also recently named as a US Presidential Scholarship candidate. He is a three-season runner and a member of the STA Music Ministry program. In college, he plans to study math, physics and music. Among others, Radford has applied to Olin College, Boston College, Dartmouth, Harvard, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Gordon College.

Klingensmith is from Nottingham, and is a member of the STA D-V State Champion Football Team and the Math Team. James is interested in studying chemical engineering and is awaiting decisions from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

PHOTO CAPTION: National Merit Scholarship Finalists Matthew Radford and James Klingensmith shown with St. Thomas Aquinas Principal Kevin Collins. (Courtesy Photo)

City of Dover Thanks Local Business Owners

DOVER—

The Department of Planning and Community Development wishes to thank local business owners in the City for their compliance with its sign ordinance. This recognition comes after staff held the first “illegal sign sweep of 2012.” The sweep occurred between January 11 and 13. In total, 21 signs were confiscated.

Director of Planning and Community Development, Christopher Parker, announced the clean up of illegal and un-permitted temporary advertising signs throughout the City of Dover on January 3, as part of a winter cleanup around the community. Illegal and un-permitted signs included those on utility poles or in the right of way.

The removal of illegal signs was warranted because the placement of these temporary signs in public rights-of-way and medians of streets, on utility poles and attached to trees is not permitted by Dover’s sign ordinance—potentially causing safety hazards for traveling motorists—and create “a visual blight that is unsightly for residents.” According to town officials, these signs detract from legitimate business signs that have gone through the proper permitting process.

“I am very pleased with our results,” Parker said. “We collected 21 signs, compared to this time last year, when we collected twenty-four. When you consider that the last sweep was over six months ago, it appears that our education and outreach campaign has continued to succeed.”

Furthermore, Assistant City Planner, Timothy Corwin, who along with Parker conducted the sweep, explains that none of the signs collected were from local Dover-based business. The signs collected advertised tree removal, firewood and hot tub sales provided by businesses outside of the community.

“It’s very rewarding to work in a community whose citizens and businesses value such a high quality of life. I’m looking forward to helping Dover maintain that quality of life by reducing clutter with future sign sweeps,” Corwin said.

Business owners who have placed these signs were advised to remove the illegal signs in advance of this clean-up effort. Any sign that was confiscated will be held for 30 days before they are recycled or destroyed, unless the owner claims the sign after paying a reclamation fee. Repeat offenders may be subject to prosecution and additional fines.

This was the fourth sweep conducted by the Planning Department since the summer of 2011. Staff have been monitoring signs and holding the sweeps every few months. At the same time, efforts have been made to reach out to businesses to explain the regulations and safety concerns associated with the placement of signs within the right of way.

For more information please call the Planning Department, at 603-516-6008.