Around the Towns: Lyndeborough – Milford – Amherst – Hollis – Wilton
Lyndeborough has its finger on political pulse
Residents of Lyndeborough are used to reporters asking questions.
So they weren’t entirely surprised Sunday when David Broder, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post, was in town asking about Barack Obama’s chances of winning the presidency.
Why Lyndeborough?
Broder, in his Aug. 21 op-ed column, said he had asked Secretary of State Bill Gardner for a place to interview voters “who mirrored the outcomes of the last two presidential races and the most recent primary.”
He was given the names of four towns that met that criteria and Lyndeborough was the one he’d never been to.
Telegraph correspondent Jessie Salisbury said Broder spoke to her daughter and her brother.
“My brother, who lives in Maryland, said he recognized the name, but didn’t read the Post very often,” she said.
Broder said he conducted two dozen interviews in four hours.
His conclusion: “Everything I heard here points to another close finish in November.”
Starting on Wednesday, Oct. 1 the Granite State Organizing Project will provide people in Milford, Amherst, Hollis and Brookline with rides to hospitals and doctors’ offices.
The GSOP has been working with residents and officials since January to plan and raise money for this service.
The non-emergency rides will be offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. by the Nashua Transit System.
Anyone from one of the four towns needing a ride to a medical appointment needs to call 880-0100 at least 48 hours in advance.
All residents of the four towns are eligible, and riders will be charged a $2 fee each way.
Those who cannot afford the fee can apply for vouchers for a free ride.
One of two basketball courts planned for Carnival Hill in Wilton will be donated to the town in memory of Stuart Draper, best known for owning Draper Energy and creating the Wilton Scenic Railroad.
The basketball courts are part of the original master plan for the development of athletic facilities at the town-owned conservation area on Whiting Hill Road.
Draper died unexpected of a heart attack two years ago.
He was a lifelong resident of the town, and served as selectmen among many other positions.
The Souhegan and Merrimack rivers looked clean to volunteers Tuesday following the latest biweekly sampling for bacteria and other measures of the rivers’ health.
River levels are still high for this time of year but are slipping back to normal after weeks of rain, according to the report compiled by the Souhegan Watershed Association and the Merrimack River Watershed Authority.
