Katherine B. Miller, Esq., is stepping down in March 2013 when her term on the Exeter Regional Cooperative (“Coop”) School District Board ends. “I have served for eight years on school boards: six years on the Exeter Elementary School Board and three years on the Coop Board. They have been wonderful years, and I have the highest respect for my fellow Board members and the administrators who run our schools, but it is time to retire from that service,” she says.

For astute individuals who do the math, six and three add up to nine years of school board service, not eight. Responds Kate: “For one year, I served on both Boards. That was a lot of night meetings!” Kate has been involved in the hiring of the current Superintendent, Michael Morgan, the Main Street School Principal, Steven Adler, the principal of the Cooperative Middle School, William Furbush, and, most recently, the new principal at Exeter High School, Sean Kiley. Speaking of those hires, Kate comments, “I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished in SAU 16 over the past eight years. I firmly believe that we have, overall, the strongest team of administrators since I became involved with the schools, when my oldest child began second grade. He is now a junior in college! We are fortunate as a community to have excellent schools and dedicated administrators, teachers and staff. By the same token, these educators are blessed to work in districts that support these schools. In the end, the children are the winners, and so are we. Our local economy will grow stronger, the more effectively we educate our youth.”

As to why she is stepping down, Kate responds: “My term on the Coop Board ends in March. Because of work obligations in the evenings with non-profit boards and municipal select boards and city councils, I am finding it challenging to make time for the demanding schedule of school board meetings. I also have two teenaged daughters at home, and it is important to be there, too.

Although she is not seeking reelection to the Coop School Board, Kate is not retiring from elected office altogether. She is seeking election as Moderator of the Coop School District, a position held for fifteen years by DTC partner, Charlie Tucker. Says Kate, “I would like to continue to contribute to our community and to our excellent schools. As Moderator, I would preside over the deliberative session of the Coop School District Meeting each February and the balloting session each March. If elected, I pledge to do my best to run these meetings in a fair manner, following the excellent record Charlie left after fifteen years.”

Charles Tucker Will Not Seek Re-election after 24 years as Exeter Town Moderator and 15 years as Moderator of the Exeter Region Cooperative School District.

Here are a few words from Charlie on his experiences:

“I have thoroughly enjoyed this civic endeavor. When I began, we were operating under the traditional form of Town Meeting, where all was done at one long Saturday session, or, sometimes, several evenings in a row.

We then transformed into the SB 2 form of local government, and we adjusted. During this time we went from the old lever action mechanical voting machines, to paper ballots read by hand for one year, to paper ballots read by machine.

If I did a good job, I owe it largely to Everett Holland, who was the Town Moderator before me, and who I watched at Town Meetings from 1972 until his retirement. He ran a very efficient and fair Town Meeting, and was a great teacher by example. He gave me a 1915 copy of Robert’s Rules of Order, which has been passed on from Moderator to Moderator, upon my election, with the advice to never open it! He said that two rules were enough: only one amendment on the floor at a time, and, be as fair as you can be.

As important, and as enjoyable, is the Moderator’s role in “running” the voting process for every election. Fortunately I had Linda Hartson, and now Andrea Kohler, as Exeter Town Clerks, who both very efficiently organized the election process. I was more of a figurehead, than a director, of what went on, but wore my best dark suit so as to project some semblance of authority when our procedures were questioned by the voters – one citizen sincerely believed that our vote counting machines could be manipulated by evil people using electronic devices from the parking lot, for example, and, at the primaries the lack of education in civics was always apparent among registered Republicans who wanted to vote in the Democratic primary, and vice versa. Calming them down was my job.

The biggest, and most memorable, meeting was my first meeting as Moderator of the Exeter Region Cooperative School District where the main issue was voting to build the Cooperative Middle School, in Stratham. The meeting was held in the PEA field house, as the biggest room in town at the time, and there were over 2000 citizens, plus teachers, students, and others, in attendance. The meeting went very well, and the vote, although close, was over the 2/3 majority needed to pass, and the school is now a reality.

I will certainly assist my successors in any way I can, and will miss doing this civic duty. I hope to continue to serve Exeter in lesser roles in years to come.”

Attorney Chris Boldt and his wife Carolyn will perform with the Sandwich Singers at two Christmas concerts this year: Sunday December 16 at the Methodist Meeting House in Center Sandwich and Wednesday December 19 at the Tamworth Congregational Church. Both concerts will be at 7:30 p.m. and are free, though contributions are gratefully accepted.

The Singers are co-directed by Peggy Johnson and Allan DiBiase, who have been doing so for the past twelve years. The group has existed primarily for Christmas music for well over thirty years, since being formed by local legend, Bob Bates. This year’s program includes music from American and European traditions, and a commission based on a Celtic tune, the Welsh Gower Wassail.

Johnson is music director at the Melvin Village Community Church. She was co-director of the Singers with Bates for several years before his death, and was a singer in the group before that. She also works at the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, writes and paints.

DiBiase has worked at Franklin Pierce College and Plymouth State University, both as an associate professor of philosophy, whose special interest is the philosophy of education, and as an accompanist to others working in the music department. He is an avid hiker and photographer, well known for holding his classes along local trails.

Both of the directors are associated with the Yeoman’s Fund for the Arts, which has commissioned the Gower Wassail. In many areas of old Britain, it was the custom in rural districts to sing the Wassail song outside the homes of neighbors. The custom is probably Saxon, as “Wassail” would seem to be a contraction of “wes” (be) and “hal,” (whole), therefore “be well.” The newly commissioned Gower Wassail is based on a song that the singer Phil Tanner learned from his father and grandfather, both weavers. Diddling, or “lilting” seems to have been a Celtic custom. When there were no instrumentalists available, a person who could “diddle”, or make “mouth music” could substitute and “play” the dance. Tanner said he learned to do this when a fiddler died and left no one to play his songs, which Tanner had memorized. You can hear the excellent Phil Tanner recording of the Gower Wassail on YouTube. Prior to Tanner making the recording the tune had not been written down in music notation.

The seven verse setting of the Gower Wassail commissioned for the Sandwich Singers by the Yeoman’s Fund for the Arts was coordinated by head composer Jonathan Santore, Chair of the Plymouth State University Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. Hannah Chambers, Brad Dumont, Kyle Quirion, and Eben Brown, all students in Dr. Santore’s advanced music composition class have contributed verses to the piece. The commissions began years ago as unison descants to traditional holiday carols. But gradually over the years more ambitious projects have been created. The Gower Wassail is written for mixed chorus, children’s chorus, French horn, soprano sax and piano. The hornist is Ron Wold of Wonalancet, the saxophonist is Kyle Quirion. The children are students at K.A. Brett in Tamworth and Sandwich Central School.  For more information, please go to http://artstamworth.org/.

Lisa Hayes, Administrative Assistant at DTC, and her family spent part of Thanksgiving Day greeting and thanking troops at Pease. The Pease Greeters welcome troops passing through Pease International Airport on their way to, or from, Afghanistan or Iraq, or any other areas of conflict in any part of the world. The Pease Greeters also provide care packages to the Troops during their “down time” at Pease. Supplies to assemble care packages for the Troops are running low. If you would like to contribute to the Pease Greeters, DTC is serving as a drop off spot. Click here for a list of items http://peasegreeters.org/pdf/care_package_items.pdf. For more information on the Pease Greeters or to make a cash donation visit http://peasegreeters.org/.

Karen Baillargeon, Paralegal at DTC, is an active member and Treasurer of The Exeter Lions Club, serving the towns of Exeter, Brentwood, East Kingston, Kensington, Newfields and Stratham. The Lions Club are sponsoring several events this Holiday season. The Lions Club has partnered with Rockingham Nutrition Meals on Wheels progam to purchase gifts and everyday items for 10 seniors. The packages will be assembled at DTC’s office on December 6. On December 15, the Lions will be distributing 60 food baskets to individuals through-out the area. Finally, the Lions Club is selling raffle tickets for a $500 gas card. The drawing will take place December 15. Watch for the Lions Club float at the Exeter Holiday Parade on December 1!! For more information on the Exeter Lions Club go to http://exeter.nhlions.org/.