IBEW Local 2320

The first annual PAC sponsored IBEW Family Day Picnic will be held at Pawtuckaway State Park on Saturday August 28^th with a rain date of Sunday August 29^th. So, please mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information on what will be a day of good camaraderie and family fun.

Activities begin at 10:30 am.  Hamburgers, hotdogs, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, pasta salads and desserts and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided.  Organized entertainment provided.

A head count is needed by Friday, August 20th for meal tickets.

Please see Dave Duhamel or Carlene Horne to sign up.

Hope everyone had a great and safety 4^th of July weekend, here are some food safety tips.

Concord, NH – During this busy summer season of trips to the beach, vacations, and cookouts, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Bureau of Food Protection wants to remind everyone to follow some important food safety practices to avoid food borne illnesses, such as Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli, and Campylobacter.

There are an estimated 76 million cases of food borne disease, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year in the United States. “Food is an important part of vacation and holiday gatherings but it needs to be handled safely, especially during the warmer weather,” said Dr. Jose Montero, Director of Public Health at DHHS. “The basic rule is keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.”

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The above DHHS video on summer grilling food safety is now available on YouTube.  There are some simple precautions everyone should always take to reduce the possibility of becoming sick when preparing food, which include:

Separate: Use a separate cutting board for cooked foods and raw foods (especially meat) and always wash them after use. Avoid cross contamination. Wash any utensil after preparing one food item before going on to the next item.

Clean: Always wash hands before touching any food. Wash hands and surfaces often during food preparation and afterward.

Cook: Make sure all meats are thoroughly cooked by using a meat thermometer: turkey, stuffing, and casseroles to    165ºF; veal, beef, and lamb   roasts to 145ºF; and ham, pork, ground beef, and egg dishes to 160ºF. When reheating, leftovers should be thoroughly heated to 165ºF.

Chill: Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours. One hour if it is a hot day over 90ºF. The refrigerator    should be maintained at 40ºF or lower and the freezer should be at 0ºF or lower. Keep hot foods hot, 140ºF or hotter, and cold foods cold, 40ºF or below. Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the refrigerator, in a cold-water bath, or in the microwave. When using a microwave, meat must be cooked immediately after. Marinate foods in the refrigerator.

Report: Report suspected food borne illnesses to the NH Department of Health and Human Services by calling 603-271-4496. Often calls from concerned citizens are how outbreaks are first detected. If a public health official calls you to talk about an outbreak, your cooperation is important, even if you are not ill.

For more information visit www.usda.gov, www.cdc.gov, www.befoodsafe.org, or www.dhhs.nh.gov.

As many members are aware, the Network NH NOW Coalition has been awarded $44 million dollars to expand broadband in NH.  It is the hope that these tax payer provided funds are utilized in an intelligent and common sense manner to expand broadband to those areas in the State that have little or no broadband.  It is the hope that these taxpayer provided funds are not squandered by the NNHN Coalition to build a redundant network to compete with private local businesses.  It is the hope that these taxpayer provided funds will be used to support and add jobs to the existing NH based workforce and not to reward any out-of-State, fly-by night, gypsy workforce.  It is our hope that these taxpayer provided funds are used for the maximum benefit of the residents, taxpayers, workers and voters of NH.  These are our  hopes.  It is our determination and our mission to ensure that these hopes are known and taken into account by the NNHN Coalition.  These taxpayers and voters that have provided these funds expect and deserve nothing less.

Bankruptcy Update

The Vermont Public Service Board has rejected Fairpoint’s bankruptcy plan as submitted to the bankruptcy court.  The Vermont PSB wants Fairpoint to quantify its’ projections in regard to revenue stream/expenses/and cash flow.  It’s a true shame that the Vermont Public Service Board didn’t show this much interest to detail during the initial sale from Verizon to Fairpoint.  One comforting thought ……  Vermont listens to nobody when there are decisions to be made and, fortunately, nobody listens to Vermont.  There will surely be more to come on this issue.

On behalf of IBEW, Local 2320, the Officers and Staff would like to wish everybody a happy and safe Holiday.  Please don’t drink and drive.  There will be multiple sobriety checkpoints in place over the next 3 to 4 days.  Protect your license and your job!