Gravel Driveway Repair in South Hampton, NH

Portsmouth Herald

Name: Brenda Oldak

Party: Democratic

Office you are seeking: NH Senate candidate

District: 23, Brentwood, Chester, Danville, East Kingston, Epping, Fremont, Kensington, Kingston, Newton, Sandown, Seabrook and South Hampton.

Education: Bachelor of science in nursing, UMass Amherst; master of science in nursing, Boston University

Occupation: Registered nurse, retired; Owner of Jewell Towne Vineyards, retired

Political or civic experience highlights: Appointed South Hampton welfare officer; founder and co-chair of the South Hampton Council on Aging

What are your top three priorities if elected?: My first priority is to reduce property taxes. High property taxes prevent young people from buying, renting, working, and raising a family in NH. We have the USA’s second-oldest population. We need teachers, contractors, health care workers, and a young workforce to promote NH business. We must reduce property taxes and make NH a more welcoming state for young, working families to ensure a dynamic economy. NH legislators have given tax breaks to the wealthy, but have forgotten the taxpayer.My second priority is to support public education. NH children deserve a quality education so they are prepared for the future.Finally, I will support legislation that makes abortion and reproductive care safe, affordable, and accessible. NH legislators should not threaten doctors for taking care of their patients.

What would you do to address the housing crisis in NH? Please be specific.: 1. Encourage developers to include a percentage of affordable housing. 2. Incentivize the conversion of empty commercial buildings into residential space. 3. Encourage municipalities to allow in-law apartments or accessory dwelling units.

Do you support NH's school voucher program, known as education freedom accounts? Why or why not?: I do not support school vouchers. School vouchers siphon money away from public schools and towns with little or no accountability or oversight. Recently, a limited audit found two applicants were admitted with post office boxes used as addresses, and inadequate documentation on financial eligibility. School voucher money can even be spent out of state - supporting another state's economy - and or on religious schools which is in violation of the state' constitution.

The school voucher system is grotesquely over budget. Plans were to budget $300,000/year. It is currently costing the state over $35 million a year. it was supposed to benefit those who couldn't afford private school, yet 70% of those taking advantage of this were already in private school.

The school voucher program is an attempt to defund our public schools. Inadequate public schools will make our homes and communities less desirable. Meantime, we still must still fund our public schools which means we are being doubly taxed. Our taxpayer money should be well spent and benefit our students, our taxpayers, and our communities.

Do you support changes to abortion law in NH? Why or why not?: I do favor changes to our abortion law. Lawmakers have been spreading mistruths about late term abortions to scare and mislead the electorate and sway voter opinion. OB-GYN physicians will tell you that late term abortions do not happen. Why make a law to limit abortions after 24 weeks when they're not done that late? What the lawmakers don't understand, though, is that their intervention in medical decisions is unneeded and sometimes injurious to patients and physicians by threatening them with imprisonment. Medical doctors must be allowed to make the best decisions based on best medical practice and what is best for their patients, not out of fear of imprisonment. Legislators are not trained in medicine, so they should not be making medical decisions.I will support legislation which allow ob-gyn care and decisions about abortion - remain in the privacy of the patient, doctor, and family.

Do you support changes to gun laws in NH? Why or why not?: Yes. Most gun owners and the general public at large favor sensible gun control, including red flag laws and background checks. High velocity weapons of war do not belong on the street. NH legislators have been acting in the best interests of the NRA and the gun manufacturers, rather than for the common good.

Do you support the NH law banning transgender girls from playing on girls school sports teams? Why or why not?: I do not support the banning of transgender girls from playing sports. The state Supreme Court has ruled this is discriminatory.

Do you feel NH lawmakers need to address immigration and border security? If yes, what would you do?: Immigration and border security are controlled by the national government. Former President Trump encouraged his followers not to vote in favor of a bipartisan law which would have funded border security, for his own political gain. Lawmakers have to stop kicking the can down the road. They must vote for adequate funds to address border security and immigration to manageable levels.

What else should voters know about you?: I am a retied RN and business owner. My professional experience entails CCRN Certification, Respiratory-Cardiovasular ICU RN, a Master of Science in Nursing, Clinical Coordinator of Nursing Education, Emergency Dept RN, Case Manager, Triage RN, and Certified Diabetes Educator. My husband and I founded and operated Jewell Towne Vineyards for 23 years. I’ve lived in South Hampton for 46 years, raised two children here, served as Welfare Officer, founded and Co-Chair the South Hampton Council on Aging.Prioritizing people’s needs and solving problems utilizing state and local resources is what I do. As business owners, my husband and I initiated New Hampshire’s wine industry, worked with the state Liquor Comission and lawmakers, helped establish 32 new wineries, and brought in tourism and revenue to NH. We developed an UNH internship program furthering young people’s education and professional development.If I am elected, I will work for the best interests of all of you and our neighbors, our taxpayers and townspeople and prioritize your needs. I will put people’s needs above big business, lobbyists, and culture wars - so that everyone of us will be able to “live our best life” in New Hampshire.

HAMPTON — A group of young Native Americans will be coming to Hampton Beach for the first time this summer to work as part of a new pilot program in the tourist community.

John Nyhan, president of the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce, said they plan to host a dozen 18- to 25-year-old Oglala Lakota tribe members from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, starting in May.

This will be in addition to the roughly 250 to 300 foreign students expected to arrive this summer to work in the beach's shops, hotels, restaurants and state parks.

"This is a win-win," Nyhan said. "These young Native Americans (from the Lakota tribe) will get to see a part of the country they've never seen before, and workers will get the help they need."

The chamber along with New Hampshire State Parks, is partnering on the pilot program with One Spirit, a nonprofit working on the reservation in South Dakota.

Several beach businesses, including the Sea Ketch Restaurant, the Boardwalk Cafe and Marguerite Motel, along with state parks, have already signed on with offers of employment.

Beach businesses need workers

Nyhan said the chamber started looking last summer at innovative ways to bring more workers to the Seacoast.

Hampton Beach, he said, is reliant on college students from overseas to work in the seasonal shops, restaurants, hotels and state parks. In the last two years, he said businesses have run into issues with foreign students obtaining J-1 and H-2B visas that allow them to come to the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While they don't expect that to be an issue this summer, Nyhan said, local leaders still expect to see fewer workers from overseas than usual. A number of the students who come to Hampton Beach to work each year are from Ukraine and Russia, and Nyhan said they are having difficulties getting their visas due to the war.

"Those two countries are so far up in the air right now," he said. "We don't know if we are going to get anyone from Russia or Ukraine ... so we have to start to look elsewhere."

Chuck Rage, Hampton Beach Village District commissioner and owner of the Pelham Hotel, said he's excited the beach will have another pool of potential workers.

Even before COVID-19, Rage and other business owners reported seeing a decline in students from overseas.

"It was better last year than the year before (with COVID restrictions), but we are still having a hard time trying to find enough people," he said.

Rage said he's still awaiting word on whether his J-1 visa workers from the Dominican Republic, Columbia and Romania will get their visas.

One of the benefits of the new pilot program, he said, is the workers from the tribe in South Dakota will not need to go through the lengthy visa process that international students go through.

"(Members of the Lakota Tribe) are already American citizens and they already have Social Security cards," he said. "They can come here and work on day one."

How did the pilot program come about?

Nyhan credits Hampton Beach business owner Ute Pineo, owner of Al Gauron Luncheonette, with the idea of partnering with a Native American reservation.

Pineo told Nyhan about the all-volunteer group One Spirit and the successful summer employment program it runs, where they match seasonal employers in Cook County, Minnesota, with young people from the Pine Ridge Reservation.

She thought Hampton Beach could be another work option for the reservation.

"It's very similar to our Seacoast except the difference is we have the ocean, and they have Lake Superior," Nyhan said.

Nyhan called organizers of One Spirit and asked if they were interested in expanding to Hampton Beach. He said the answer was yes.

Hampton needs help, tribe needs jobs

One Spirit created the summer employment program with Minnesota due to the shortage of work opportunities with unemployment at the reservation hovering at 80%.

The program, according to its website, exists to give young adults opportunities to "earn money and have an adventure" while learning important skills that they can use to help better the economy on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

As part of the Hampton Beach program, Rage said businesses will find housing for the Native Americans coming to the beach. The chamber, he said, is also planning weekly excursions for the workers on their days off so they can visit some of the attractions in the Granite State like the Isles of Shoals and Pawtuckaway State Park.

"So it's not just coming here work," Rage said. "They are going to experience some of New Hampshire."

A trip to Pine Ridge Reservation

Nyhan along with representatives of state parks traveled Sunday to the Pine Ridge Reservation.

The goal of the three-day trip, he said, was to gain approval for the pilot program with the tribal elders.

"They have to sign off and feel comfortable that we are in a position of helping young natives learn skills and then sending them back to the reservation so they can apply those new skills on the reservation," Nyhan said.

Nyhan reported Tuesday night the tribal elders were supportive of the program. He also met with young Native Americans who have an interest in coming to Hampton Beach for the summer.

If the pilot program is a success, Nyhan said they plan to expand it in summer of 2023.

Chamber also piloting new program for J-1 visa students

Nyhan said the chamber is also implementing a new pilot program for the J-1 visa students who come to work at the beach.

The goal, he said, is to match students up during their days off with employers in the field for whatever their major is.

"We want employers in the Seacoast area to give them an understanding of what job opportunities they would have if they ever considered coming back to the United States after they graduate," said Nyhan.

Nyhan said the students would have a point of contact if they wanted to return to the U.S. and employers will have future prospects in a time where good help is hard to find.

"Even though we have one of the lowest or lowest unemployment rates in the country, even if we went to zero percent unemployment we would still not have enough people to fill jobs," Nyhan said "So we have to find them from someplace else."

Portsmouth Herald

Name: J D Bernardy

Party: Republican

Office you are seeking: NH House candidate

District: Rockingham 36, Hampton Falls, Kensington, Newton, Plaistow, South Hampton

Education: BS Biochemistry and JD

Occupation: Consultant

Political or civic experience highlights: Chair, South Hampton ZBA, 2 terms NH House

What are your top three priorities if elected?: 1) Reliable, affordable & price-stable electric service - and no new taxes.2) Preservation of Constitutional rights and liberties including Convention of States. 3) Family Court reform.

What would you do to address the housing crisis in NH? Please be specific.: End sanctuary cities and deport illegal aliens. NH has about 25,000.

Very modest and reasonable zoning reform can be considered.

Do you support NH's school voucher program, known as education freedom accounts? Why or why not?: Education Freedom Accounts are not vouchers - this is an inappropriate, judgmental, left-wing political statement. It betrays the integrity of this questionnaire.

I support EFAs, home schooling, pod-schooling, private schooling, charter schooling and public schooling.

Do you support changes to abortion law in NH? Why or why not?: NH currently allows abortion during the first 6 months of pregnancy and for life of the fetus or mother after that time. An unborn baby in months 7 -9 can live on its own outside the womb. Abortion during the third trimester is barbaric. I would support legislation to bring NH in line with the vast majority of the rest of the world where it is allowed during the first 3-4 months. Only countries like Communist China and North Korea allow abortion up to the time of birth.

Do you support changes to gun laws in NH? Why or why not?: NH's laws are consistent with the US Constitution, Amendment 2 and the NH Constitution, Part First Article 2-a. No changes are necessary or will be supported.

Do you support the NH law banning transgender girls from playing on girls school sports teams? Why or why not?: Yes. Individuals with XY chromosomes have larger and stronger bones, greater muscle mass, larger heart and circulatory capacity and larger lung capacity along with other physiological advantages over individuals with XX chromosomes. They need to compete with individuals of their biological gender or schools can create "transgender" sports teams.

Do you feel NH lawmakers need to address immigration and border security? If yes, what would you do?: Yes, sanctuary cities/towns need to be banned. No driver's licenses or other services should be made available to illegal aliens. The US and NH citizenry has the right to expect entrants to the country come by a legal immigration process. Only those that will bring knowledge or skills that are useful to the country and state should be considered for immigration into the country. Immigrants should not overwhelm any community so as to change the social cohesion of the community entered, rather they should assimilate. If they hold beliefs antithetical to the Constitution they are not reasonable candidates for immigration.

What else should voters know about you?: I am a common sense, Constitutional conservative. I hope to structure laws and systems to permit citizens to thrive and succeed by their own efforts and merit with a minimum of government interference. As a member of the Science, Technology and Energy Committee, I have worked for reliable, affordable and cost-stable electric power with the confines of federal requirements. I strongly oppose any increased taxes, including a sales, income or inheritance tax. I support enhancing our election integrity laws, including voter ID requirements. I strongly oppose ESG and DEI programs. I support an Article V Convention of States to 1) fiscally restrain the federal government (balanced budget amendment), 2) implement term limits on Representatives, Senators and federal government officials, and 3) limit federal action to those items and processes authorized in the Constitution, reserving all other powers to the states. I have actively worked for legitimate reforms to the NH Family Court and will continue to do so.

The 2024 New Hampshire primary is on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The following is an alphabetical list of polling times and places by town/city for the greater Seacoast area in New Hampshire:

Barrington, NH

Brentwood, NH

Swasey Central School, 355 Middle, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Dover, NH

Ward 1: Frances G. Hopkins Elementary School (formerly Horne Street Elementary School), 78 Horne St., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 2: Dover Ice Arena, 110 Portland Ave., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 3: Woodman Park Elementary School, 11 Towle Ave., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 4: Garrison School, 50 Garrison Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 5: Dover Middle School, 16 Daley Drive, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 6: Hellenic Center, 219 Long Hill Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Durham, NH

Oyster River High School, 55 Coe Drive, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

East Kingston, NH

East Kingston Elementary School, 5 Andrews Lane, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Epping, NH

Epping Middle School Gymnasium, 33 Prescott Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Exeter, NH

Seacoast School of Technology in the Talbot Gym, 40 Linden St., 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Farmington, NH

Town Hall Recreation Center, 531 Main St., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Greenland, NH

Greenland Central School, 70 Post Road, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Hampton, NH

Winnacunnet High School, 1 Alumni Drive, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Hampton Falls, NH

Lincoln Akerman School, 8 Exeter Road, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Kensington, NH

Kensington Elementary School, 122 Amesbury Road, 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Lee, NH

Public Safety Complex, 20 George Bennett Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Madbury, NH

Madbury Town Hall, 13 Town Hall Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Milton, NH

Nute Middle High School, 22 Elm St., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

New Castle, NH

New Castle Recreation Center, 301 Wentworth Road, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Newfields, NH

Newfields Town Hall, 65 Main St., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Newington, NH

Newington Town Hall, 205 Nimble Hill Road, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Newmarket, NH

Town Hall Auditorium, 186 Main St., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

North Hampton, NH

North Hampton School, 201 Atlantic Ave., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Portsmouth, NH

Ward 1: New Franklin School, 1 Franklin Drive , 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Ward 2: Middle School, 155 Parrott Avenue, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Ward 3: Senior Activity Center, 125 Cottage St., 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Ward 4: Dondero School 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Ward 5: Little Harbour School, 50 Clough Drive, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Rochester, NH

Ward 1: East Rochester Elementary School, 773 Portland St., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 2: Chamberlain Street School, 65 Chamberlain St., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 3: Gonic Elementary School, 10 Railroad Ave., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 4: McClelland Elementary School, 59 Brock St., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 5: James W. Foley Memorial Community Center, 150 Wakefield St./Community Way, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 6: Elks Lodge #1393, 295 Columbus Ave., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Rollinsford, NH

American Legion Post 47, 551 Foundry St., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Rye, NH

Rye Elementary School, 461 Sagamore Road, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Seabrook, NH

Seabrook Community Center, 311 Lafayette Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Somersworth, NH

Ward 1: City Hall, 1 Government Way, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 2: Summersworth Historical Museum, 157 Main St., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 3: Somersworth High School cafeteria, 11 Memorial Drive, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 4: Idlehurst Elementary School cafeteria, 45 Stackpole Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ward 5: Romeo J. Messier Building, 218 Main St., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

South Hampton, NH

South Hampton Town Hall, 3 Hilldale Ave., 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Stratham, NH

Stratham Memorial School, 39 Gifford Farm Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.