My Teen Heart throb comes to Hampton Falls

So while other girls were pasting photos of Kirk Cameron and other teen heart throbs on their wall, I was putting up pictures of boys that actually rode horses. Such as McLain Ward. And now today, I get word from the people at the Jumper Classic horse show that McLain, just at the Olympics, is coming to the show here next weekend. Good thing I've already scored my tickets!

Here's the info:

Just days after winning the team Gold Medal in show jumping at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China, McLain Ward informed show organizers that he is coming to the Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire to compete in selected classes, including the $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix on Sunday, September 7, 2008.

The two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (the USA Show Jumping Team claimed gold in both 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing) will headline some of the top competition coming to the event to be held for the first time at its new location at the Silver Oak Equestrian Center. Ward has long been in the Equestrian spotlight and has been named American Grand Prix Association’s Rider of the Year numerous times.

“We are thrilled, McLain is a phenomenal athlete,” said Jumper Classic President Melissa Lovasco. “This is the first time he will compete at the Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic, and to have him select our show on the heels of his incredible Olympic success is so very exciting.”

The Jumper Classic has a rich history of Olympic athletes competing, including Margie Engle, Joe Fargis, Leslie Burr-Howard, Chris Kappler, and Nona Garson. This year will be a spectacular performance for all of our New England audience.

New Art Gallery Opens

The Yellow House Art & Tiques Gallery opened this week at 20 Water Street, the historic "yellow house" where Nancy Kingston has her real estate office. The shop features the art of Linda Anason, a local landscape artist. It also features primitive, functional, contemporary, and eclectic artifacts and antiques.

New Clothing Shop Opens Saturday

The new tenant downtown, Ablaze, apparel for men and women, is opening Saturday at 9:30 a.m. I'll be curious to see what they have.

Mystery Chicken

No, it's not the mystery chicken/meat you sometimes find at a bad fast food restaurant. It's a chicken that seems to have taken up residence on Swasey Parkway. My husband has been telling me about seeing this bird for about the past week, but I thought he was joking. That was until we saw it this afternoon, just strutting about as nice as could be.

Balloon Festival Almost Here (and mechanial bull riding)

It's time for the annual Highnote Balloon Festival out on the McPhee Farm in Epping. This is a great day of family fun with hot air balloon rides, music, food from Zampa and Goody Coles, and get this (I'm WAAAY Excited for this part) a mechanial bull! Check it out at:

http://www.highnotefest.com/

Don Clement Steps Down

I was disappointed to hear that Don Clement had resigned from the Conservation Commission this week. I always think of Don, whether it be at the ConCom or deliberative session or at other meetings, as the voice of reason.

Here's the full story about Don's decision and time on the commission.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080821/NEWS/80821026

As for his regrets, Don had this to say:

"I didn't get a chance to sit in the new chairs in the Nowak Room."

Now, I can say my sources say that Don is also involved in a new career in the movies. Perhaps we will soon see him on the big screen...

Fire News

By Lara Bricker
EXETER__Fire investigators suspect a fire inside a Tamarind Lane garage early Tuesday morning was sparked by the spontaneous combustion of some rags covered in linseed oil."We’re suspecting it was discarded rags," Exeter Fire Chief Brian Comeau said. Exeter firefighters were called to 5 Tamarind Lane at 2:15 a.m. for a report of a fire in the residential garage, Chief Comeau said. The homeowner had noticed the fire and was trying to extinguish it on his own by the time fire crews arrived on the scene. Firefighters were able to douse the flames quickly using water from a tanker truck, Comeau said, adding there was a fire hydrant in the area if they needed additional water. "The damage was pretty much contained to the garage area, it never got into the house," the fire chief said. "There was some smoke and heat damage within the garage, but it was not a total loss."The fire Tuesday is the second time in recent months that a fire was believed to have been started by spontaneous combustion of oil soaked rags. In May, a home at 6 Gill St., was heavily damaged when rags stored in a sealed metal container heated up and caught fire. "The fires are being caused by how these rags and the painting materials are being stored after their use," Comeau said. For example, a homeowner may use rags to stain a piece of furniture and then place the rags inside the sealed stain container. "When they get in a closed container like a gas container, the rags will heat up and spontaneously combust," he said, adding people should always read the label of a stain or paint can for special instructions. And they should keep an eye out for linseed oil. "Linseed oil is the culprit," Comeau said.If using a rag or cloth to apply stain or paint, people should make sure to leave the rags in an area away from their home when done. "So if it’s going to do anything, it will do it without damaging your property."

I'll take the tuna...NOT

Stop & Shop is voluntarily recalling tuna salad because it could be contaminated with Listeria.
The supermarket chain says the recall covers pre-packaged 12 oz. containers of Stop & Shop Tuna Salad with a sell-by date of Aug. 19, as well as tuna salad sold at the service deli.
Customers can return the product to stores for a full refund.
The company says no illnesses have been reported. The bacteria Listeria monocytogenes can be fatal to the elderly, newborns and people with weakened immune systems, the elderly and newborns. It can also cause miscarriages.
Home Made Food Brands of Newburyport, Mass., says the tuna salad was distributed to stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and New Jersey.

More Water Woes.

Old gas plant blamed for black goo in Squamscott River
By JASON SCHREIBERNew Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
EXETER – Officials have traced the source of a black, slurry-like substance found bubbling up in the Squamscott River to an old gas-making plant that closed down many years ago.
Exeter Health Officer Ken Berkenbush said the substance is a byproduct left behind when coal was turned into gas at a plant that was located on Water Street for several decades.
Berkenbush said he believes remnants left over from the gas production have just now begun to surface in an area of the river near the pavilion at Swasey Parkway.
"We know what it is, but we don't know how it got there," Berkenbush said yesterday.
The substance was discovered at low tide last week in a section of the river along the parkway. It was visible again rising up through the ground around low tide yesterday, Berkenbush said.
Officials are now trying to figure out exactly where the substance is coming from in the river bed. It may have been dumped into the river years ago when the plant was in operation and for some reason has recently begun to resurface, or it could be related to an old retention pond in the area that held remnants from the gas production.
The heaviest concentration has been mapped out in a 20-foot by 30-foot section that now has a boom around it to filter the substance out before the contaminated water moves downstream.
Officials from the town, the state Department of Environmental Services, and Northern Utilities are working on a plan to pinpoint the source and clean it up.
Berkenbush said he believes the substance began surfacing only in recent weeks. So far, he said, none of the wildlife in the river appears to have been affected.
"It needs to be cleaned up, but it's not a catastrophic event at this time," he said.