Valley News – Forum Valley News May 26, 2023: The success of the Science Olympiad in Lebanon was a team effort
Posted: 05/26/2023 06:13:18
Modified: 05/26/2023 06:13:03
The success of the Science Olympiad in Lebanon is the result of teamwork
As the coach of the Lebanon High School Science Olympiad team, I would like to express my thanks and gratitude, on behalf of our students, to the stakeholders in our community who have been so important to our success. The Byrne Foundation, Bio X Cell, Geokon, Mascoma Bank and Ulysses Diversified Holdings have each contributed to our teams at various times over the past eight years.
This year, Lebanon High School took first and second place in the state championships held in April at Saint Anselm College and was able to send a team of 15 high school students from Lebanon, Grantham, and Plainfield to the national championships in Wichita, Kan., thanks to the support of our sponsors. Representing our community and the State of New Hampshire in this national competition is an impressive achievement for our students and our school district – an achievement that will inspire generations of Lebanese students to come.
At a recent neighborhood gathering, I had the chance to meet alumni from our program. Many of them have completed their undergraduate studies and are working in industries or graduate programs related to the fields of science, medicine or engineering. They all agreed that the Science Olympiad was one of the most formative, rewarding and memorable experiences they had had as young students. Our community’s support of the Science Olympiad has made it a rich tradition, which reaches an ever-growing number of young people.
John Tietjen
Lebanon
John Tietjen is a faculty member of the Lebanese High School Science Department and coach of the Lebanon High School Science Olympiad program, now in its eighth year.
Hartford running out of housing money
The Hartford Selectboard potentially misses millions in grants and low-interest loans (state and federal) to invest in housing: Northern Border Regional Commission and “10% in Vermont”.
I have worked hard to change this privately, but there is a leadership vacuum on the Selectboard. This represents a huge cost to businesses and citizens of Hartford.
Maybe my head will roll (again) for speaking publicly about this – I accept that – but I believe you deserve transparency. The Selectboard has a responsibility to take advantage of every positive opportunity to improve investment and housing development in Hartford. Our complacency can lead to millions of dollars in potentially lost opportunities, and for what?
The Selectboard exists to serve the people.
Write to [email protected] or Selection Committee Chair Mike Hoyt asking for leadership, explanation and accountability.
Rocket
White River Junction
Hartford Selection Committee Member
Don’t touch my Medicare and Social Security
I just don’t understand it. The government, which seems unable to pay its bills, mainly because of overspending, is ready to default on its obligations.
We learn that Social Security and Medicare will be affected. These must be untouchable. Each of them is not a rights program! I paid into Social Security for 50 years and paid a premium (every month) for my Medicare coverage (not to mention what I paid during my working life).
Our government, for a long time, managed to spend more than it took in. It is time for the government to take a serious look at where it can cut spending. If it was a business, it would be closed.
Social security, to which we have contributed for all these years, is not a cash cow that our elected officials can dip into whenever they need “additional” funds. They did it for too long, and I guess they had no intention of refunding (even after writing “IOU’S”).
John M. Fragnella
Tunbridge
