May 8, 2008

News in brief
By Alec O'Meara aomeara@hippopress.com

More help for mom
May was declared Postpartum Depression Awareness month in New Hampshire by Gov. John Lynch, and in response, Concord Hospital is holding a special seminar just after Mother’s Day to help new parents dealing with an often difficult-to-diagnose disorder.

“What we are trying to do is eliminate some of the obstacles that get in the way for parents that need help,” said Dr. Linda Zollo, the New Hampshire coordinator for Postpartum Depression International. As many as 10 to 20 percent of new mothers experience the symptoms of postpartum depression, and half of those women experience moderate to severe symptoms, she said, including thoughts of harming one’s own baby, extreme concern over the health of the child, or general symptoms of depression. A classic symptom of postpartum depression is a mother’s lack of interest in caring for herself in the wake of having a child. Postpartum depression most often occurs in the three months after having a child, but can also happen when the baby stops breastfeeding, after a miscarriage, or even during pregnancy. Often, mothers do not seek medical assistance when fighting depression, assuming there is a level of shame in having such feelings.

“These are all very treatable situations,” Zollo said, “but the problem is that people may not know that there is help out there.”

A weekly support group for those suffering from postpartum depression is held every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Family Room at Concord Hospital at 250 Pleasant St. in Concord. In addition to those sessions, group leader Mari-Sue Tuuri will be leading a special seminar on depression on Wednesday, May 14, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the family house. The seminar is free and open to the public, but registration is required prior to the event. More information on the seminar is available by contacting the hospital at 224-1381. Postpartum depression services are also available at Elliot Hospital in Manchester by calling 505-7559, Zollo said, and more information on the disorder is available at Postpartum Depression International’s Web site, www.postpartumdepression.net.
—Alec O’Meara

Will there be pink slips?
Whether or not teachers’ jobs are on the table for cutting to make the budget in Manchester will be made clear by Friday, May 9, the last day the school district has to notify staff that jobs may be in jeopardy.

To make Mayor Frank Guinta’s proposed $140 million budget for the 2008-09 school year, a five-percent cut over this year’s budget of approximately $147 million is called for. acting superintendent Henry Aliberti said that as many as 77 school staffers may need to be let go to meet that requirement. While the final budget won’t be voted on until the first week of June, the district’s teacher contract requires that teachers who may lose their jobs for budget reasons must be notified in writing by Saturday, May 10. The school board met on May 1, but a motion to send out 80 written “pink slip” notifications was voted down by the school board. The next scheduled meeting by the school board is not until May 12, so should the board vote to authorize notifications, a special meeting would be required.

Should the school board not send out the notorious “pink slips” but still be forced to fire teachers, the district would be in breach of its current contract with the union and would likely face an unfair labor practice suit from the district union, said Brad Cook, a former Manchester school board member and attorney with Sheehan, Phinney, Bass and Green.

“What happens is that if a teacher isn’t notified, then they still have a contract for the next year,” Cook said. “If they were then fired, the school would be in breach of contract and the union could sue for the lost wages.”

The Manchester Board of Aldermen was scheduled to meet Tuesday, but Cook said that the vote to distribute notices must be sent out by the school board. On Tuesday afternoon, the school board announced plans for a special joint meeting with the Board of Aldermen on Wednesday, May 7, at Manchester’s City Hall. —A.O.

Moose on parade
It’s just like that song “Bulls on Parade,” by Rage Against the Machine, only instead of bulls there are fiberglass moose, and instead of protesting global sociopolitics, the fake moose are parading to help the Boy Scouts of America. The first 20 six-foot tall moose statues that will participate in the summer-long New Hampshire Moose Parade arrived at the Waumbec Mill in Manchester on Friday, May 2, with a dozen volunteers on hand to help pen the moose in warehouse space donated by Brady-Sullivan. The shipment was the first of three scheduled, said Gemma Waite, public relations director for the parade. Artists from the New Hampshire Institute of Art will paint each moose with their own signature designs, Waite said, giving each its own personality and story. Throughout the summer, each moose will be “on parade” for public display at a business locale somewhere in the state. The event borrows heavily from Boston’s 2006 “Cow Parade,” which featured approximately 120 cow statues, each painted differently, throughout the city. The Boston cow parade was in turn lifted from a New York fundraiser that featured bulls on parade.

See? The Rage reference totally fits.

After the cows have been displayed separately, the full collection will be brought to Veterans Park in Manchester on Friday, Sept. 26, for the weekend, after which the moose will be auctioned off at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester on Friday, Oct. 3, at a special black-tie event.

“We thought it would be a great event for the community and a way to showcase local artists, as well as a chance to raise money for the scouts,” Waite said. “Moose just seemed to fit with the state better than the cows Boston used.”

All proceeds from the events will go to the Daniel Webster Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which serves the entire state. —A.O.

Warlords of the cubicles
Seven local businesses will duke it out at Brady-Sullivan Field during halftime of the Friday, May 16, Manchester Wolves game against the Tulsa Talons, in an event known as the Business Bowl, conceived by the New Hampshire Business Resource Center. Three representatives will take the field for each business; participants include Gateway Community Services, BID2WIN Software, North American Equipment Outfitters, Divided We Fail (an AARP affiliate), Emerale Hill Medical Spa, Colebrook Savings Bank and Manchester Veterans Administrative Services.

“We had just gotten so tired of the standard after-hours business seminar, and we decided to do something a little different to talk about the services we offer,” said Steve Boucher, communications director for NHBRC.

The winners will get the chance to accompany the Wolves to their game in Albany the following week, and the winning business gets 50 free passes to Canobie Lake Park.

Events will probably include a wastebasket basketball contest, an event that will involve wheeling the length of the field in an office chair to correctly file folders in a cabinet, and a game where foam footballs must be caught within a mail crate.

You must purchase tickets to the Wolves game to see the Business Bowl, but discounted tickets for $10 apiece are available for those who call ahead of time and mention the Bowl, Boucher said. Call 627-9653. —A.O.