NH State Representative Steven Smith

I was honored to be permitted to attend the Lempster Historical Society meeting last night. I don’t think people realize how vital groups like this are to preserving NH and our historic buildings. One gentleman at the meeting has spent the last ten years identifying family connections and correct plot identification at the cemetery. Ten years, as a volunteer. This group preserves historic artifacts, books, 150 year old maps, etc. The next time you pass a historic building (and we have many here in District 11), be grateful for the volunteers that keep them for us.

I love Yard Sale Day. I found a 12 volt car vacuum with a power head for 2 dollars, some Robert Ludlum books, and some other great buys. I also spent some time talking with two ladies from the Langdon Community Club. This is a group of private people helping others. They help at Christmas, help families who were the victims of fire, and many other cases. They are a great example of citizens helping citizens in ways that government cannot. I also found a yard sale who’s proceeds benefit the Fall Mountain Special Olympics. I got a George Foreman grill for ten dollars and helped a worthy cause. I have been a Special Olympics supporter for over 30 years. I’ve been a coach, clinic instructor, and contribute every year. If you would like to help, please contact me.

You can’t make this stuff up. When House leadership pitched the expanded Medicaid program to us, the justification was twofold. If we didn’t pass it, we were giving up a half million dollars per day in federal funding and putting our budget at risk, and also we would deny 35,000-50,000 people coverage. It looks like state agencies didn’t get the same talking points. They are shocked that 11,000 people have signed up, and now there is a budget crunch. Are you kidding me? That isn’t even one third of a conservative projection. Maybe they could have coordinated a little better. Maybe they could have done some due diligence before passing the budget. Maybe they could have vetted their numbers before passing expanded Medicaid. To say that these signups are “unexpected” is beyond disingenuous. http://nhpr.org/post/medicaid-enrollment-jumps-11000-stretching-state-budget