Last night we visited the Exeter Inn for a look at their upgraded facility, it is fabulous. I would recommend the bar and dining room to anyone seeking a respite from your usual haunts and fare. We also got a chance to see two guest rooms, again , very nice. We always used the Inn for my parents when they would come for holidays. In the past few years we stopped as the place had really fallen on hard times and we switched to the Marriott in Portsmouth. This change really was a pain especially with inclement weather. I am glad to see we can once again utilize the Inn. It means they can stay at the family celebration longer(less than 5 minutes to bed ) and (which they prefer) have their “own” room and a dining room for breakfast.

The Inn at the Bandstand, never been in the front door. I have looked at their web site and “get it”. There are travelers that seek these establishments over branded hotels. I see no competition between this lovely Inn and the existing choices. You will also see on their web site that they simply must have minimum stay commitments on certain PEA weekends.

Fairfield by Marriott proposed for the Wendy’s site is like a McDonald’s hamburger on the road. You pull in and know exactly what you will be getting. We use Marriott points all the time, it’s a good deal. This will be our “passing through” hotel.

The mystery hotel for the Hospital. Yes, this hotel is for the Hospital. I am sure you all noticed how the Hospital stood up for the proposal. This is a trend nationwide with hospitals. Now lets be serious about what type of Hospitals. Children’s Hospitals, Teaching Hospitals, Major Medical centers. It is unreal how “hospitality themes” have influenced community hospital planning.

UPDATE, its over. The Advisory Committee is disbanded. This debacle and any aftermath can be laid squarely at the feet of those that approved the new member with no eye toward small town sensitivities.

I know it’s Summer and the “livin is easy….” but c’mon this mess should be resolved. I want some movement soon. I hear people are so ticked off they are hanging up on each other! I can also hear the construction crew banging on the new water tank from my backyard, on Sundays no less. I hope this project is on time, that’s one of many things the volunteers were staying on top of for sure. Volunteers, can I say that one more time? The Town was getting a wealth of expertise for zip from these folks. Mr DelGreco should simply withdraw his offer to join the Board, that’s my counsel. Is there any other solution? I guess all the players are simply enjoying this all too much to resolve it.

Mike

Just because fuel is gonna be expensive is no excuse for allowing smoky furnaces to be installed outside. Oh by the way for all you wood burners and pellet burners, good luck . I remember two years ago you couldn’t even buy pellets, they were rationed too. I hope we got a law to prevent these from being installed in Town .

There is a citizens petition to take advantage of a tax credit for using alternative or renewable fuels. Outside furnaces are included. We have to nip this in the bud within neighborhoods.

This from the Maine DEP

Is the rising price of fuel getting to you? Are you looking for alternatives to oil that don’t involve the mess and hassle handing wood inside?A new heating technology hitting the market might seem to offer a solution. It’s the option of burning wood in a outdoor wood boiler. Outdoor wood boilers heat water outside of your building in an insulated shed. Underground pipes carry water for both heat and hot water.

Sounds like the answer, but there is a problem—smoke. These burners smoke a lot!

Let’s examine why. For one thing, the firebox of most of the units available today is surrounded by a large water jacket. This is good for heating the water, but it acts to cool the escaping gases before combustion is complete. Incomplete combustion causes smoke.

Another reason that these units tend to be smoky is that the heat demand is very sporadic. There are long periods of time when the wood just smolders in these units. During these periods of low airflow, creosote collects on the water jacket walls. When heat is needed, air is re-introduced and the fire is rekindled. The creosote is then burned off, creating black soot. To make matters worse, the stacks of these units are very short, and the smoke and soot are released close to the ground where it can drift into your neighbor’s yard.

Why is this a concern? Wood smoke contains large amounts of particulate (“soot”), carbon monoxide, and other toxic pollutants. All of these are legitimate health concerns and can justify nuisance complaints. For exactly these reasons, some state and local municipalities have banned the use of outdoor wood boilers.

UPDATE

I am reposting this as I have seen some local new articles about problems with these furnaces. Given the high prices for fuel moving forward my hope is local laws prevail. If you don’t have one on the books you should. It would seem anyone building one is prepared to simply snub the neighborhood.

Update

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2008/hb1405.html

So they have a bill pending but it really doesn’t go far enough. How about this language to be inserted. “If you live in the woods , fine. If you live in close proximity to other people , forget it!” How are Towns going to police the use of non toxic fuels? Can we please move forward a bit in NH, this outdoor furnace stuff ridiculous. Pizza ovens are ok, the occasional brush pile, but c’mon who wants smoke drifting over their yard all winter?

Mike

Mike

I just heard this and thought you might find it interesting. I was watching the scroll on Chan 22 and noticed the alumni room at the High School is the Morissette room. The theater , the Hanson theater. I guess someone wanted to add the driveway as the Walter Pierce drive. I just found it funny that’s all. I seem to remember a great hoohah over the naming of the Middle School. Maybe there should have been some public input this time around.

I am increasingly disappointed with  the lack of courtesy of local drivers at this intersection. Drivers are actually speeding up  as they approach this intersection from the  Ioka  theater. They seem to think that  the car at the stop sign on Water St has no right to move through the intersection. I have had cars dive into the intersection and careen through coupled with the finger or a glare. I want this stopped . Frankly I feel  many of these drivers could be cited for aggressive driving which is a traffic offense. How about a tap of your brakes  rather  than punching the gas? How about some courtesy? How about letting the cars turn to String  Bridge thereby clearing the intersection. This intersection is not working.  I wish we could get this under control  as it will not get better  moving forward. Oh, while we are  talking traffic the String Bridge has no stop sign  going up the the hill  past the library. The cars  crossing at the top do have stop signs, which are regularly  blown  off. I would like to see the Police and Town Government do some traffic calming coupled with  some traffic enforcement.

]]> http://exetertowncrier.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/courtesy/feed/ mikelambert http://exetertowncrier.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/poison-ivy/ http://exetertowncrier.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/poison-ivy/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:42:47 +0000 mikelambert http://exetertowncrier.wordpress.com/?p=128

I saw it everywhere I looked today walking the dog. If your kid  can’t recognize it, I feel for you. I have one son that can roll  in it, the other son, forget it. So, if you don’t want your family life and your kid to suffer, take him for a walk and point it out for him or her. It looks like  a good season for poison ivy!

]]> http://exetertowncrier.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/june-6-2008/feed/ mikelambert http://exetertowncrier.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/bang-boom/ http://exetertowncrier.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/bang-boom/#comments Mon, 26 May 2008 23:55:05 +0000 mikelambert http://exetertowncrier.wordpress.com/?p=124

Summer is great , even better to be able to sleep with the windows open but there is a hitch. I have a a cairn terrier, bailey. He goes nuts when he hears firecrackers. It would be fine if they exploded all over Town around the 4th of July , but all Summer? Sometimes I hear, and so does my dog on the ceiling barking, continuous volleys. I just can’t understand why the neighbor of  the nut doesn’t tell them to quit it, especially after 10pm. I would do it for you  I can assure you . I also do not understand why these really continuous explosions don’t draw any attention from patrol officers. So, if you got neighbor kids or nut adults doing this tell them to quit after 10.

Mike

I hardly think the resignation of these key volunteers rises to the level of brinkmanship. No, I feel they did the right thing in response to a decision bereft of sensitivity. Back room politicking has nothing to do with it at all. Appropriateness is still a viable social more in my opinion and one we should restore on many fronts.

Mike

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/BIZ/805110325/-1/rss50

God forbid they should raise their fees for their tenants! You want to know what else is down besides golf?

General aviation is down too. You should do your own checking, it’s quite an eye opener.Frankly , I see more activity going in and out of Hampton Air field. Oh sure, planes are expensive so is fuel, but landing at these airports such as Pease is like 5 bucks, and the basing fees are like a penny a pound, check the weight on a Lear jet. Infrastructure for general aviation is very expensive and they don’t really pay that much at all. I think this is a big secret with a powerful lobby to keep things quiet. I have gone on web sites of GA pilots that will complain about a 5 dollar ramp fee. It costs me more to pull in to Prescott Park’s dock in the Summer for few hours. I want to see changes in leadership at the PDA. I want the media to quit writing puff pieces and then telling me they are ” just reporting the news”. I find the troubling news reported by the Newington Conservation Commission volunteer who commented on my golf post more newsworthy than a new hot dog stand. The Newspaper would not be in dire straits with readers and subscribers if they stepped out a bit. I am sure the furniture store owner in the bikini would not pull his weekly ad, unless maybe he owns a plane.

Mike