This 10-year-old and under baseball team has been chosesn as one of just 96 teams througout the U.S. and Canada to compete for the national title in Cooperstown, N.Y., next summer.

In addition to Cooperstown, the Jr. Fisher Cats will be competing in a number of local and New England tournaments.

With this honor comes a lot of expenses. Our first fundraiser will be Dec. 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Cawley Middle School cafeteria. We will be selling Christmas gifts for everyone, including sports collectibles; hats and sweatshirts; women's gloves, mittens and socks; Beanie Babies; and plenty of dollar items for the kids. Pizza and drinks will also be served, and Santa will be there for the kids from noon to 2 p.m.

If you would simply like to contribute to this wonderful opportunity, we are accepting donations. Please make checks payable to: Jr. Fisher Cats, c/o Carole Jutras, 27 Gailor Lane, Hooksett, NH 03106.

Thank you very much.

Ed Groves
Manager
Jr. Fisher Cats
Hooksett

In the midst of the Hurricane Katrina devastation, many lives were destroyed and many towns demolished. I have family all along the southern coast, from Texas to Florida. Four small coastal towns in Mississippi suffered significantly: Gulf Port, Ocean Springs, Pass Christian and Long Beach. They have emerged out of the rubble and are on a road to recovery. I have family in Ocean Springs. My cousin is the principal of the high school there. I made a call to be sure everyone was safe and asked "How can we help you from here?"

My cousin's response was "Kim, we need everything, and our first mission is to get our kids taken care of and back to school."

The four towns rallied together and salvaged the Ocean Springs schools.

He told me that one of the first things they needed was basic school supplies. I sent out an email to all of my fellow co-workers, friends and business networking group. With this e-mail, a friend (Kim Desruisseaux) contacted me to let me know that her 9-year-old daughter wanted to help! Alex was also collecting school supplies for us in Auburn! The response was amazing! In less than two weeks I had 13 boxes of supplies and some personal donations, weighing in at about 40 pounds apiece, full of school supplies.

My next dilemma was, "How to get it shipped?" UPS in Manchester came through for us and shipped everything for free! Thank you Bill Peck and the New Hampshire UPS team! I live in Hooksett and the Hooksett School District had a book drive to restock the elementary school libraries. They collected thousands of great books and boxes of fabulous teacher supplies. This was all with the help of our wonderful friend Charlie from Mailbox Express providing our boxes.

Again we were stuck with the shipping issue. Both the PTO and the PTA were ready to donate funds for shipping. However, our friends at FEDEX New Hampshire came through for us, shipping 35 boxes of books and teacher supplies! Thank you Mel Finley, Steve Dalzell and the New Hampshire FEDEX team! With that generous gift the Hooksett PTO and PTA were able to donate $100 in gift cards each.

The world is small and the connections and open arms in New Hampshire circled together when I found out through a coworker that SAU 19, New Boston, Goffstown and Dunbarton schools, had come together and chosen Ocean Springs to adopt and help on their own. That amazing team came together with all sorts of great things from gift cards to sneakers. Goffstown High School raised more than $2,600 in cash.

And once again, a great company, Con-way Central Express came to our rescue and took the two palettes at no charge. Thank you Con-way Central Express and Ernie Bullock!

I realize this is a wordy note but I really felt that I had to send this letter to say my personal thanks to all of these great New Hampshire residents! I am proud to be a part of such a great state with so many wonderful caring people!

Kin Reagan
Hooksett

Superintendent of Schools of SAU 15 is doing a great job. Armand LaSelva is a hard-working, energetic, dedicated, knowledgeable superintendent.

Because of his leadership and that of the Hooksett School Board, Hooksett is on the right track and our students are getting the best education.

In the past year and half, many positive changes have been made that have improved our instructional and educational programs, business accounting procedures and controls, school board meeting protocols and food services management. All have been focused on improving the controls on the school budget and minimizing the tax impact.

Every change has been approved by the Hooksett School Board, and I am proud of our decisions. Change is not easy, but our changes have benefited the Hooksett School District and the town.

Having heard public concerns expressed at two deliberative sessions last spring about trying to bring health insurance costs under control, the school board made changes to the insurance plans offered to our classified employees. We have eliminated the district's contribution to the most expensive J-Y medical plan.

If a classified employee wants to continue with J-Y, they would pay the differential costs between the plans now offered and J-Y. Hooksett's alternative offerings of Blue Choice and Matthew Thornton provide good insurance coverage at lower rates. We have not negatively changed the benefits and our staff is treated well.

In regards to technology improvements, the school board has worked to promote the use of technology in the district. There is much work to be done and, with the strong recommendation from the superintendent, we recently approved a new position of technology assistant.

Every component of education is important and the administration and school board are working hard to insure that no child is left behind. Every day the district is finding ways to improve education and we will continue to promote every educational resource.

With respect to budget preparation and sound fiscal management, we have continued to explore ways to be more cost effective. We are exploring ways to address building renovations at the Underhill School and the Hooksett-owned SAU office. Underhill School will take priority in this matter. This approach will allow us to utilize bond monies already approved for the school district and not impact any further on additional bonding at this time. Thus bond monies for other town-approved projects and programs can be available. The school board recently made adjustments to the rent we charge.

In regards to board conduct of meetings, we have continued to allow public input and made necessary changes to allow more people to participate in the discussion. The board has clarified the proper chain of command in getting concerns addressed. Parental concerns should be first addressed to teacher, then to the principal, followed by the administration and finally to the school board if a matter has not been resolved at the various levels listed. Response to concerns that are not on the school board agenda items will be placed on future agendas in order to allow all citizens to participate and listen to the debate. For example, the Hooksett Improvement Plan for Math will be reviewed at the next meeting. This will allow time to get necessary information regarding this matter collected and give all citizens a chance to be aware of the discussions that occur at school board meetings.

As to proposed changes in the organization to deliver special education services, a model which was discussed for the third time at our 11/15 meeting, the school board will decide on what is best for the students and what is best for Hooksett. If we can provide better services in the area of special education and not duplicate efforts and expertise resulting in significant savings, wouldn't it make sense to support the proposed change? Changes to these services have been held off for it was determined that more information is needed. In all aspects of education we will continue to strive to find better ways to help our children to succeed. The school board and the superintendent in Hooksett are doing their job. The superintendent does answer to the Hooksett School Board. We have always had the children as our number one priority and changes are necessary in the demanding times of No Child Left Behind. Working together we have and we will make the Hooksett School District the best in New Hampshire. I am proud of our administration, teachers, staff and students.

Remember, be careful the things you say, children will listen. And if they only hear about the bad things, what do you think they will do? So listen to me, children and parents alike, the Hooksett School Board and Superintendent Armand LaSelva and every member of the Hooksett education family are doing a fine job.

Children must be carefully taught and in Hooksett they are!

Jim Sullivan
Hooksett

Charles Beward's letter was a good example of the methodology used by purveyors of propaganda, purporting to be professors.

First, he was rude and demeaning, then he makes outlandish claims that are, on their face, unverifiable. He uses extreme percentages without offering a source, as if there was one, and of course, offers no evidence to support his position.

The lame attempt to use a headline item like the avian flu virus was laughable. Mutation is not evolution, sir. Adaptation, genetic damage, and cross breeding aren't either. Many of the supposed "evidence" of strange looking biped fossils have been shown to be hoaxes or mutations. Go to the circus sometime, check out the side shows and you'll see some mutations and genetic failures, still alive today.

I will use only a couple scientific facts, because I would need at least a full page to cite them all, and these are sufficient to prove that it requires a lot of blind and ignorant faith to believe in the "theory" of evolution. Yes, because there is absolutely no evidence that meet the requirements of science, it is not a "fact." The dictionary can tell you that.

Meet me at the library, and we'll look under "physics;" thermal decay, and other "laws of physics." They are called laws because they are proven facts. We will find that all matter is in a state of decay. Everything is measurably slowing down and cooling off. Nothing is becoming more complex, rather everything is becoming less complex and is deteriorating. Even the galaxies and stars are slowing down and cooling off, as shown through research using the Hubbell telescope and space exploration.

The "big bang" evidence shows evidence of a beginning, but not a bang. When you blow something up, it does not get more complex, as the "chaos theory" claims, (there's that theory word again). Matter can neither be destroyed, nor created by all the scientists in the world. Not even one speck of dust can be created or obliterated. It can be broken down into smaller pieces, that's all. Even using what is already here, no life can be created in the lab.

Even Isaac Newton's laws have remained intact, because they are scientific facts. Energy is finite, there is only so much. Matter cannot move itself, and when it is put into motion, its speed eventually decreases. Matter cannot make itself into something else, it can only decay into base elements. You have to mix chemicals to get a reaction, they can't mix themselves. Perpetual motion is impossible, as is the "theory" of evolution.

David Ross
Hooksett