On Memorial Day, at Oak Grove Cemetery in Enfield, there will be a foot-marker dedication as part of Enfield’s Memorial Day observation for Pvt. Oscar Collins.
Collins is distinguished as having been the last living survivor of the famed Fifth New Hampshire Volunteers, which was one of the most noted and effective combat regiments of the Civil War. Collins enlisted at age 19 on Sept. 4, 1861, and was mustered out on Oct. 29, 1864, during the Siege of Petersburg. He was involved in some of the bloodiest battles of that time, including Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg.
The current Civil War living history group, The Fifth New Hampshire Volunteers, will be attending to fire a volley salute to Collins as part of the dedication. The foot-marker has been donated by Twin States Monuments.
While I have been successful in contacting the descendants of Pvt. Collins, I have not had much luck contacting descendants of the Butman and Neily families. Collins had a daughter, Carrie M. Collins, who married Fred Butman on Nov. 11, 1891. One of their children, Blanche S. Butman, married August B. Neily on March 26, 1910, so members of the Butman and Neily families may have an interest in attending this dedication.
For more information, contact Paula Rowe Stone at the Enfield Police Department, 603-632-7501.
Russell Yearke
Enfield
On behalf of Twin Pines Housing, I want to thank everyone who advocated for Hanover’s Article 17 and those who turned out to vote for its passage during Town Meeting. We’re excited to move the redevelopment of Summer Park forward to provide safe, energy efficient, fully accessible housing for seniors and those with disabilities in Hanover.
Twin Pines Housing will continue to partner with the town on concepts for the Summer Park complex. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be meeting with Summer Park residents and other members of the community to discuss ideas and share a project timeline. In August, Twin Pines Housing will apply for low-income housing tax credits to finance the new building. Assuming all goes well, we plan to begin construction in the summer of 2019.
Thank you for your continued support of affordable housing in the Upper Valley.
Andrew B. Winter, Executive Director
Twin Pines Housing
More than 120 towns have exercised New Hampshire’s renewable energy property tax exemption statute allowing homeowners to install a solar energy system without incurring an increase in property assessment and higher property taxes. Hanover is not one of them.
Many towns surrounding Hanover — Lebanon, Lyme, Enfield, Grafton, Grantham, Springfield and Canaan — have adopted the exemption. With Hanover’s goal of 100 percent renewable electricity by 2050, not joining these towns places Hanover homeowners who install solar energy systems at risk of a substantial increase in their property taxes.
A simple calculation shows that an increase in property tax due to an increase in assessed value equal to the cost of a typical solar installation can easily exceed a homeowner’s pre-solar annual cost of electricity. This leaves the homeowner no means of recovering the cost of the installation over time. Please contact your town representatives and insist that Hanover join other New Hampshire towns in ensuring that our investment in renewable resources is not taxed.
Laura Ray
Hanover
Road construction season is here.
In Hanover, on Route 120 South, there will be two new sections of sidewalk. Construction has begun on one section south from Greensboro Road to Buck Road. The Gile Hill development is funding part of this. Preparation work for the second section between Tanzi and Greensboro roads has also started with construction beginning after July 1. Voters approved this at Town Meeting.
Traffic delays may occur, but as always, the Department of Public Works will do everything possible to minimize them. The new sidewalks, bicycle lanes, signal light changes and a new northbound Advanced Transit bus stop are part of the Hanover Bicycle and Pedestrian master plan. They will permit safer walking and biking to the Buck Road neighborhood, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Lebanon.
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has also scheduled resurfacing of Route 120 South from Greensboro Road this construction season. Thanks for your patience.
William Young, Chairman
Hanover Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee
As I go through each day, I wonder if I am the one who is crazy and everyone else is sane.
I see people on the corners of our cities asking for money legally. Where are the churches, the organizations, the VA and other groups that care for the unfortunate citizens?
Across from the White House there are people asleep on the street while we send rockets to space. What are we looking for? Do we want go to war with the Martians? Maybe take over Jupiter?
We have fought so many wars, only to lose it all to climate change. Let’s put our heads back in the sand. Maybe it will go away.
Ernest Silvia
White River Junction