Warner

It was a cold, damp, rainy nightWarner's own Darlene Nevins and Bob Deluca. in Warnertown on Saturday, April 17, 2010 but inside, the hall was full of dancing couples. Sponsored by the Warner Men's Club, over 50 residents from the area and from out of town moved to the music of the Windham Swing Band, live, playing jazz, big band and swing from the 30's, 40's and 50's up to the present day.

The program started at 7:00 P.M. and ran until 10:00 P.M. Warner's own Bob Deluca played several saxophone solo selections; Darlene Nevins, a music teacher in Warner, was a guest musician in the saxophone section.

This was the 8th annual appearance in Warner by the band and their 17 members really rocked the hall. The band had full big band instrumentation and their repertoire paid tribute to the music and leaders of the Big Band Era, including Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and others. Formed in 1998, the Windham Swing Band is one of three musical organizations of the Windham Community Bands which also includes a Concert Band and a Flute Ensemble.

There was plenty of activityBen Goss, an eighth-grader at Kearsarge Middle School in Warner on Saturday, April 10, 2010, when the Warner Woman's Club's annual flea market took place. There wasn't a parking place to be found in town but since it was such a nice day, it was a great time for a walk.

Upon entering the front door of the Warner Town Hall, one heard the strains of a violin playing classical music. Ben Goss, son of Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Goss of Warner, a 8th grade student at Kearsarge Middle School, was entertaining the visitors to the flea market. A raffle was held for a gourmet basket with the proceeds, together with the funds from the vendor space rental, benefiting the Club's scholarship fund.

Two floors of the Town Hall were filled to capacity with vendors marketing their wares including jewelry, china, hand-made articles, knick knacks, books and clothing. There was something for everyone; even a representative from a cosmetic company was present displaying her company's products.

In Warner, the Simonds’ Safe Routes to School Committee has been awarded $91,000 for sidewalk construction on North Villager Road and Geneva Street as well as speed signs on Route 103 and Kearsarge Mountain Road.

The Simonds Elementary School was also awarded $800 to promote education safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, which the school will use to hold a bike rodeo in the spring where they would provide helmets for students.

This committee was formed in 2008 in order to identify measures that would encourage more students in a two mile radius to walk and bike to school in Warner.

Within the travel plan proposed by the committee, the five E’s of successful Safe Routes programs are promoted, including education, encouragement, engineering, enforcement, and evaluation.

The committee consists of the Warner police chief, fire chief,
selectmen, town administrator, emergency management coordinator and several Simonds’ school staff members.

In conjunction with the NH Department of Transportation, the committee is in the process of completing a grant application for Round IV of Safe Routes to School. Funding for Round IV is up to $250,000.

At Simonds Elementary in Warner Principal Judith Pellettieri is joking they have flat-lined.
And they’re not the only school in the Kearsarge Regional School District who can make that joke.
Simonds Elementary, KRES at Bradford, and KRES at New London/NLCS have all presented 0% increases in their 2010/11 proposed budgets.
The Sutton Central School is presenting a 6% decrease, and the Kearsarge Regional High School budget is down by $94,000.
The only school in the district that hasn’t flat-lined is the Kearsarge Regional Middle School, which is proposing a 6% increase, due to maintenance items.
Principals from each school met with the district’s school board last Thursday to discuss their respective budgets. The school board gave the principals a goal of zero percent budget increases, with a district-wide objective of nothing more than a 1.9 percent increase.
KRES at Bradford
James Spadaro, Principal at KRES at Bradford, said he moved money around in order to maintain a flat budget.
For example, Spadaro took money from the art budget, which hasn’t been spent in the past, and put it in the science budget.

Two recent college grads in Warner have made it their mission to put a face to the food we eat.

Lane Perry Nevins and Meryl Fox Mekeel got the idea to start up a quasi bakery, Workingman’s Bread, this summer, selling their goods at farmers markets in Contoocook, Warner, Newbury and Bradford.

“We are passionate about bringing back the culture, peace of mind and sense of community that the local baker encompasses,” reads their mission statement.

They offer customers loaves ranging from French Artisan Rustic to Rosemary Garlic and Jalapeno Cheddar.

Also, they make their own pizza dough, bagels, and sweets like zucchini bread.

“We like making food, and making food for ourselves, so it’s nice to provide that for others,” Nevins explained.

They bake everything in their apartment kitchen above Main Street Bookends, borrowing oven space from Nevins’ parents and grandmother at times.

It’s truly a family affair when you consider Nevins’ younger brother, Colin, does the artwork and labeling for Workingman’s Bread.

Kids in the Warner area are getting their creative juices running this summer during art classes at Main Street Bookends.

Meryl Fox Mekeel, who lives above the bookstore, started the classes this past winter.

She conducts these classes with the intention to open her students’ minds to being creative, as well as learning hand motor skills and sensory coordination.

“It’s doing something fun outside of the box from everyday school or home activities,” Mekeel said.

Mekeel recently received her undergraduate degree from the College of the Atlantic with an emphasis on photography, printmaking and the arts. She also studied photography and art education at Pacific Northwest College, in Portland, Oregon.

While in Portland, Mekeel interned at an art-integrated elementary school. She enjoyed teaching there, which has inspired her to continue teaching art to young kids.

“I really love it when they get excited over an activity and develop it into their own,” Mekeel gushed.

For instance, this week they made tissue paper butterflies, but one kid decided to do a mosquito instead.