Oh Christmas Tree(S), Oh Christmas Tree(S) Raising Trees a Family Affair for Locals
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Merry Christmas! THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015 COVERING ALTON, BARNSTEAD, & NEW DURHAM - WWW.NEWHAMPSHIRELAKESANDMOUNTAINS.COM FREE Oh Christmas tree(s), oh Christmas tree(s) Raising trees a family affair for locals BY CATHY ALLYN end from Thanksgiving Contributing Writer until Christmas. REGION — Ask a kid Sarah indicated the what he wants to grow “amazing” thing about on his family’s farmland the Christmas indus- and instead of spinach try is “getting to see the and broccoli, he’s apt to same faces” year after say, “Christmas trees.” year. That’s what Tony “At first, I’d say I was Grasso did when his married to Tony and parents bought 51 acres the customers would in Laconia back in the go, ‘You mean the little early 1980s. No doubt in- guy?’ because they still fluenced by a friend who thought of him as the son also grew trees, his par- who worked there,” she ents went along with his said. “Now we’re getting suggestion and P and T to show off our girls to Tree Company was born. those same customers.” Now an Alton resi- Many of those people dent, Grasso shares re- have been regulars for sponsibilities with his 30 years. “It’s interesting parents as well as own for them to see our fam- family: wife Sarah, and ily grow and we get to daughters Sydney and see theirs grow,” Sarah Amelia. observed. “I started working Six-year-old Sydney there the Thanksgiving enjoys going to work be- COURTESY PHOTO before Tony proposed to cause she considers it A FAMILY business calls for all members to help, no matter how young. Luckily, these two youngsters enjoy working at their me,” Sarah said. “I knew play. “I get to decorate grandparents' Christmas tree farm, and prove their mettle by hauling wrapped trees to customers' cars. I was marrying into a the tree shop and make business. up north to supplement seem to be the worst Grasso thinks about it, family business and it’s the popcorn” for custom- Both girls enjoy run- their supply. Sydney thing in the world. it’s more the year-round been fun.” ers, she said. Her three- ning through the “secret prefers “staying inside” The layperson’s idea work that springs to his Business means work- year-old sister finds the tree tunnel” made up of the shop, acknowledg- of a Christmas tree farm mind. ing and the Grassos head “popcorn waterfall” the two rows of pre-cut trees ing that customers “fuss centers around the hol- “There’s a lot of main- for the farm every week- best part of the family the family brings in from over” her, which doesn’t iday season, but when SEE TREES, PAGE A10 Alton planners place five Afterschool program warrant articles on ballot continues to grow in Barnstead BY DAVID ALLEN six months. facilities to the town Board also hears preliminary tax rate impact of budget Contributing Writer If the property owner code so neither appli- ALTON — The Alton fails to remove, rebuild cant nor town official BY MARK FOYNES presentation by Pres- ever, that the “bottom Planning Board agreed or replace the structure will miss it or need to Contributing Writer ident Obama, whose line” is that “there will at its Dec. 16 meeting to within the six months go looking into the state BARNSTEAD — The remarks included ref- really be little change” place five warrant arti- or authorized extended regulations to know it. Dec. 15 Barnstead School erences to doing away in how assessment is cles on the ballot for the period, the town must It also adds the different Board meeting discussed with a “one-size-fits-all” conducted. 2016 trip to the voting place a lien on the prop- types of childcare to the student assessment, the approach to education. After approving an booths. erty and file the lien zoning ordinance’s table tax rate impact, space Rice said this ap- FMLA request, the The third planning with the town clerk. of permitted uses. This needs and the possibility proach to assessment board heard a Barnstead board article creates This amendment en- simplifies the applica- of hosting Old Home Day “takes away the pu- Afterschool Zone (BAZ) the most significant sures that a burned or tion process by allow- next September. nitive side of things.” update. The program is, change in the zoning or- damaged structure will ing the applicant to go Principal Tim Rice Under past assessment according to Rice, “add- dinance. It establishes not sit endlessly as an straight to the planning gave a brief presenta- regimes, some schools ing a ton of kids,” and a requirement that the eyesore or a safety haz- board for approval with- tion about the Essential were punished for stu- is in the second year of owner of any building ard. out first going to the zon- Secondary Science As- dents who, overall, un- a five-year grant. BAZ or other structure that The remaining four ing board of adjustment sessment (ESSA), ac- derperformed. is destroyed by fire or articles fall into the cat- SEE ALTON, PAGE A10 companied by a video Rice concluded, how- SEE BARNSTEAD, PAGE A1 0 natural disaster must egory of “housekeeping” be removed, rebuilt, changes. or replaced within six The first planning months. The town’s board article adds the code officer is autho- language of the state’s rized to extend the six- definition of standalone month deadline if there and in home childcare are legitimate reasons that interfere with the six-month timeline. To obtain an extension, the Offices property owner only needs to ask the code closed for enforcement officer in writing as soon as possi- ble before the end of the holidays INDEX WOLFEBORO — t The Baysider offices in Wolfeboro will have Volume 9 • Number 52 special holiday hours the next two weeks. Business ................. A6,A7 Our offices will be Churches ......................A8 closing at noon on Classifieds ..............B6–B9 Thursday, Dec. 24, and Thursday, Jan. 31, and Editorial Page ..............A4 will be closed all day John Harrigan ............A11 on Friday, Dec. 25, and Letters .................... A4-A5 Friday, Jan. 1. Obituaries ....................A8 There are no chang- COURTESY PHOTO Sports ...................B1 - B5 es to any of the dead- lines for press releas- Ferry ride 22 pages in 2 sections es, photos, letters and John Chapin of New Durham checks out The Baysider while taking the Shelter Island Ferry. He and his riding partner (Rich ©2012, Salmon Press, LLC. obituaries. The dead- Bunce) took the New London, Conn. ferry to Orient Point, N.Y., riding to Shelter Island. After the ferry rides they ended up Call us at (603) 569-3126 line remains Tuesday at Sag Harbor, riding from there all the way out to Montauk light house. All told they rode 110 miles with full packs camping email: [email protected] at noon. out three nights. www.salmonpress.com A2 THE BAYSIDER, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015 Early results of Smarter Balanced Assessment testing presented to school board BY ELISSA PAQUETTE to the process. skills with other New tery. Last year the board a million dollars just Granite State News The new type of test- England states, and the Wood Estate trust approved requests in to earn interest” nor NEW DURHAM — ing yields very detailed average district math fund support of Pioneer Day limiting expenditures. Kaitlyn Hills, Curricu- information on the sta- and reading scores The board returned programming at Cres- Widmer described the lum Coordinator for the tus of students' skills, were above the nation- to discussion of policy cent Lake Elementary three percent limita- Governor Wentworth which can help guide al norm. on how funds should School, partial funding tion as a first step and Regional School Dis- individual English/lan- Hills said the district be expended from the for the Ossipee Central asked the board to see trict, offered an over- guage arts instruction has established goals Wood Estate Expend- School fifth grade's an- how it works for the view of educational in the area of reading, that include: increas- able Trust Fund. There nual four days of ex- next year or so. With achievement results so listening and speaking, ing parent outreach is around $656,000 periential learning at no one else offering an far using the Smarter writing and research/ to help them support available. The sugges- Camp Merrowvista, opinion, the board ap- Balanced Assessment inquiry and math in- their children; creating tion from Finance Com- and support for Camp proved the new policy. (SBA) testing at the struction in the area and practicing perfor- mittee Chairman Jack Invention tuition for In other business, school board's Decem- of concepts and proce- mance tasks that help Widmer, after consid- Effingham Elementary a letter from the N.H. ber meeting. The new dures, problem solving students apply skills eration from that com- School students. Department of Educa- assessment methodol- and modeling and data and knowledge in real mittee, was that the Board Chairman tion commending com- ogy, given for the first analysis and communi- world scenarios; and board aim to distrib- Charlene Seibel said pletion of the required time last spring, has cating reasoning. examining math re- ute up to three percent she did not believe that audit procedures was a computer adaptive New Hampshire sources and profession- of the funds in a given the trust was intended noted, and the board component and a per- students consistently al development models year (around $20,000 to last in perpetuity, extended appreciation formance task that has fared well in proficien- to best support elemen- this coming year) for and commented that to Business Adminis- required both teacher cy comparisons of both tary teachers in leading approved requests she was“...not com- trator Mary Patry for and student adjustment language and math their students to mas- within the district.