Volunteers Needed

The Town Needs Your Help!

Towns provide many functions. Some of them are more visible to residents than others. Some are required and others are more discretionary. Some of the functions are provided by volunteers. Rollinsford needs more volunteers. Many of the appointments to the boards and committees are expiring in March. We will be voting to fill some of them. Others are appointed by the Select Board right after Town Meeting. Thank you to all of the people who dedicated their time in service to our community this past year. The following are boards and committees on which volunteers serve.  Please read the brief excerpts about them and consider offering your name to be considered for appointment. Each has its own level of commitment which often is not very much time per month.  Come meet more of your neighbors!

 

Planning Board

Meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7:00pm. This is an essential function we must offer to property owners wishing to subdivide or develop their property, start or expand a business or change the use of a property, for example. There is typically no outside work required and meetings are typically not more than two hours. Members should become familiar with the Zoning Ordinance and other planning regulations.

 

Zoning Board of Adjustment

Meets at the call of the Chairperson when there is a case to be heard (typically 3-5 times per year). This is an essential function we must offer to property owners who feel aggrieved by a land use decision made by the Planning Board, Town or planning regulations. It is a quasi-judicial body.

 

Conservation Commission

The group manages the conservation land along the Salmon Falls River known as Scoutland, the area beyond the community garden on Foundry Street, and discusses topics important to our natural environment. Some development requires a review by the Conservation Commission and their opinions can inform planning regulations.

 

Recreation Committee

These volunteers are the super heroes who recreated the summer recreation program which would otherwise have been discontinued just a few years ago.  Summer camp, pick-up basketball, the new youth soccer program in the evenings, and senior programming could not function without this group.

 

Highway Safety Committee

This group only meets when there is a topic for discussion. They meet to discuss matters of public safety including, but not limited to traffic concerns. They make recommendations to the Select Board regarding roadways, when appropriate.

 

Stormwater Committee

This committee is necessary for keeping the Town compliant with our MS-4 permit which allows us to discharge stormwater into the Salmon Falls River. This is a federal permit which obligates the Town to engage in public outreach and public engagement regarding public activities which pollute waterways as well as water testing and data compilation.

 

Historical Committee

We live in a small town with a lot of history. This group meets monthly to discuss topics of historical significance to Rollinsford and the Salmon Falls region. You don’t have to be an expert on local history to join, just interested in learning, sharing, and preserving the fascinating stories of our town. This group is flexible in making the most of the members’ strengths and interests and setting meetings to work for all members. They have provided educational programs, history hikes, and restoration projects, so handy people are especially welcome!

 

Don’t see the thing you are passionate about listed? Offer your idea to the Select Board and if there is enough interest, perhaps a new committee can be formed.

If you would like further information or to offer to serve, please email the Town Administrator or stop by the Town Office.

Snowshoe Rangers at the Wentworth House 1.18.20 & 1.19.20

Step back in time at Rollinsford’s historic Colonel Paul Wentworth House on Saturday and Sunday, January 18 and 19, and meet Captain John Harmon’s Snowshoe Company of Rangers, a group of historical reenactors who portray the soldiers who patrolled the New England frontier during the 1740s and 1750s.

Snowshoe companies were formed to patrol the colonial frontier during the long winters and protect the northern settlements from attack by the French and their Native American allies. Members of Harmon’s Company will be in residence at the Wentworth House and will demonstrate the use of flintlock muskets and traditional snowshoes, plus the clothing, equipment and tactics used by the frontier militia.

Visitors may also tour the Wentworth House; warm up by the hearth and watch food being prepared in 18th century fashion; and experience other aspects of winter life in colonial New England.

Event hours are Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, and Sunday from 9 am to 3 pm. Admission is $5 for adults; the event is free for children and ARCH members.

The circa 1701 Wentworth House is located on Water Street in Rollinsford and is maintained by the Association for Rollinsford Culture and History (ARCH). For more information about this and other events at the Wentworth House, consult the ARCH website at paulwentworthhouse.org or Facebook at The Colonel Paul Wentworth House.

Wentworth House Event This Weekend!

The summer season at Rollinsford’s historic Colonel Paul Wentworth House kicks off with Down to the Sea: The Maritime Heritage of the Piscataqua, a living history timeline of American maritime history, on Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2.

Re-enactors and historians representing maritime life from the 17th through 20th centuries will demonstrate naval rope work and knot tying, naval signaling, maritime food ways, cannon firing, and musket and rifle demos. A full scale replica 18th century whale boat as used by civilians and the military will be on display, along with weapons, uniforms, and other artifacts of naval military history.

Hours for the event on Saturday are from 10 am to 4 pm; Sunday hours are 10 am to 3 pm. Admission is $5 for adults; free for children and ARCH members. The Wentworth House is regularly open for tours between 1 and 4 pm on Sundays from June through mid-October.

The circa 1701 Wentworth House is located on Water Street in Rollinsford, NH and is maintained by the nonprofit Association for Rollinsford Culture and History (ARCH).  For more information about this and other events at the Wentworth House, consult the ARCH website at www.paulwentworthhouse.org or Facebook at The Colonel Paul Wentworth House.

Meetings Next Week

The Recreation Committee will be meeting on Sunday, December 16, 2018 at 10:15am at the Black Bean Cafe. 

The Conservation Commission will be meeting Tuesday, December 18th at 6:30pm at the Rollinsford Public Library. 

The Historical Committee will be meeting Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 7:00PM at the Town Hall. 

The Budget Committee will be meeting Wednesday, December 19th, 2018 at 6:30PM at the Town Hall. They will hear presentations from the following departments: 

  • Highway
  • Town
  • Town Clerk
  • Water and sewer

Veterans Day Event at the Wentworth House

Serving Their Country at the Wentworth House

In honor of American veterans, past and present, the Colonel Paul Wentworth House will host Serving Their Country, a day-long living history tribute to American soldiers on Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11.

Visit the historic Wentworth House in Rollinsford for a day of displays and living-history demonstrations illustrating the lives and stories of America’s citizen-soldiers from the colonial period through modern times.  Historical reenactors with carefully researched and period-accurate uniforms and equipment will portray soldiers from the colonial and Revolutionary eras, the Civil War, the world wars, and the Vietnam War.

In addition, to mark the centennial of the end of World War I, the presenters will march to the Martel-Roberge American Legion Hall on Foundry Street for an 11 am ceremony commemorating the exact hour and day of the armistice which ended that conflict in 1918.

The event will run from 10 am to 4 pm at the Wentworth House on Water Street in Rollinsford. Admission is $5 for the general public; free for veterans and active duty personnel, children, and ARCH members.

The circa 1701 Wentworth House is maintained by the Association for Rollinsford Culture and History (ARCH) as an educational and cultural center for the community.  For more information about this and other events at the Wentworth House, consult the ARCH website at paulwentworthhouse.org.

Call for Volunteers

The Town of Rollinsford has several important boards, commissions and committees peopled by interested and engaged volunteers who wish to serve the community.   If you are interested in volunteering, or would like to learn more about one of the groups listed below please call the Select Board’s Administrative Assistant at 603-742-2510.

Open positions:

Planning Board Alternate

Energy Committee

Historical Committee

Recreation Committee

 

Roberts to Receive ARCH Heritage Award

Rollinsford resident Stephen H. Roberts has been chosen by the Association of Rollinsford Culture and History (ARCH) as the 2018 recipient of the ARCH Heritage Award, which is presented annually to a person who has made significant contributions to the preservation of the history, heritage and culture of Rollinsford and the lower Salmon Falls region. The award will be presented at the organization’s annual dinner and auction gala on Saturday, November 17 at Spring Hill in South Berwick, ME.

Preserving local history is deeply personal for Roberts, as his family history is inextricably entwined with the area’s history. A direct descendant of Thomas Roberts, one of the founding settlers of Dover in 1623, he is also related to many other colonial settlers of the area, including the Wentworth and the Rollins families. “From the very beginning, Steve has been a steadfast supporter of ARCH and the Colonel Paul Wentworth House,” said ARCH board member Lucy Putnam. “In addition to providing generous financial support, he has loaned documents, photographs and other items from his family collection to our exhibits, has donated objects to our permanent collection, and has even served as auctioneer at our annual auction and dinner event.”

Roberts is a partner in the law firm of Hoefle Phoenix Gormley and Roberts in Portsmouth, and is a retired district court judge.  In addition to his efforts on behalf of ARCH and the Wentworth House, Roberts also currently serves as president of the Board of Trustees of the Portsmouth Athenaeum,which maintains a library of over 40,000 volumes and an archive of manuscripts, photographs, objects, and ephemera relating to local history.

Tickets for the annual dinner and auction are $40 per person and may be purchased online at www.paulwentworthhouse.org or mailed to ARCH, PO Box 16, Rollinsford, NH

Historical Committee: Notecards are Now Available

Hello from the Historical Committee!

Our notecard fundraiser is now under way! Starting Tuesday, October 16, notecards will be available for purchase at the Town Hall during office hours. Each set is $10 and contains all 8 designs. 100% of the profits will go back into the Historical Committee’s fund to be used for restoration and preservation projects.

Thank you! 
The Rollinsford Historical Committee

Feel free to email us if you have any questions: [email protected]
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Each set of notecards includes all 8 designs