Annual Peepers 5K Run/Walk Race - In Search of Runners and Sponsors
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The countdown is on! Only 20 more days until the Leapfrog special is done!  The Leapfrog Special is a discounted rate to be a runner in the Annual Peepers 5K Run/Walk Race this year, which is May 9, 2020.  Registration begins at 8 am, and the race begins promptly at 9 am!

This annual fundraiser goes to providing 3,500 Dollars in local scholarships for students in the Barrington area, or whose family members are in the Greater Barrington Chamber of Commerce.  This annual chamber event is hopping into it’s 26th year. 

Originally an actual frog jumping contest, after a couple of years it turned into a person hopping race, then an informal walk/run and now it's a sanctioned race – with bibs, timing, and runner categories. Local Runners from the entire area will come to the race because they need to make a certain number of sanctioned races to qualify for the bigger events.  The average number of participants is about 421 racers – the goal is to get to 600.  Some people run in costume, some in teams, some walk. Sometimes you'll see strollers, and other times you will see people representing a group or a cause.  There is even a friendly rivalry in town between TurboCam and Stonewall Surveying for the number of racers in each team.    Each of those teams has a charity of choice that they represent, like the local food pantry.

Stacey Gallant, the organizer of the race, strives each year to improve the race.  The committee works diligently to provide the registration, snacks, water, and other things that assure a smooth race day.    There are vendor tables, entertainment (such as Wildlife Encounters), raffles, bake sales, etc. The Peepers race is really a community activity which can use more community involvement.

This year, one of the improvements is to increase business scholarships.  Businesses are encouraged to sponsor this event, which could mean a logo on the back of a t-shirt, a vendor tent with giveaways and goodies for the people in the races and even donations for prizes for the racing winners.  There are recommended sponsorship levels found on the website, and recognition for the sponsors as well.  It's a good way to give back.

For more about the race – Click Here!

New Beginnings at Barrington Town News
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Due to ongoing health concerns, Kat Roedell will be stepping down from full-time leadership at Barrington Town News.  She will remain writing for the paper, and work with us during the transition to assure a smooth trade-off of responsibilities and to posture us for growth in the future.

To that end, we are announcing three contract positions available at the Barrington Town News.  We are looking for people who have a passion for their community and reporting the news in a non-biased manner.  The internet has changed the news industry radically in the past 20 years, however at the core it is the same – report the truth in a positive, uplifting manner.  The positions we are filling are:

Sales Manager:  The sales manager will oversee the sales and marketing aspects of the Barrington Town News, from the Business Directory, Banner Ads, and Promotional Marketing – including sales of feature ads and content development for clients in the greater Barrington area.  This person will forge business relationships within the community and would be a great fit for a person with a great networking base.  Compensation is commission-based.

Journalist(s):  Every paper needs great writers that are creative, have high-quality standards and strive to understand the ins and outs of the community.  Journalists can be subject-based (such as a group member sharing the ins and outs of meetings or historical stories), or more news story based (such as covering grand openings, school board meetings, etc.)

Graphic Storyteller:  More than a photographer, we are looking for people who communicate through pictures, and have a good handle on graphic design for infographics, banner ads, and photojournalism.  Must provide own equipment.

Barrington Town News offers flexible schedules, work from home capability, and project-based pay.  This is perfect for students, homemakers, stay at home parents or even people on disability.  If you are used to working in a gig-based economy, this is a great place to work and build a strong portfolio for your future.  Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to express interest in working with us.

NH State Police Colonel Wagner Announces Retirement
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CONCORD, N.H. – Colonel Christopher Wagner will be retiring from his position, effective March 2, 2020.  Colonel Wagner has served and protected the citizens of New Hampshire as the Colonel of the Department of Safety for over three years and as a law enforcement officer for almost 25 years.

After consulting with his family, Colonel Wagner has made the difficult decision to retire from law enforcement and the tremendous family sacrifice that his position requires. 

The Department of Safety appreciates the years of service that Colonel Wagner has provided to the citizens of New Hampshire and wishes him well in his future endeavors. 

The Department will conduct a full and extensive process identifying qualified candidates to serve as the next Director of the Division of State Police, including holding stakeholder meetings and receiving input from the community's leaders.

You can read Colonel Wagner's resignation letter here.

UNH Researchers Find Clues to How Hazardous Space Radiation Begins
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UNH Researchers Find Clues to How Hazardous Space Radiation BeginsDURHAM, N.H.— Scientists at the University of New Hampshire have unlocked one of the mysteries of how particles from flares on the sun accumulate at early stages in the energization of hazardous radiation that is harmful to astronauts, satellites and electronic equipment in space. Using data obtained by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP), researchers observed one of the largest events so far during the mission. These observations show how plasma that is released after a solar flare—a sudden flash of increased brightness—can accelerate and pile up energetic particles generating dangerous radiation conditions.

“We’re getting some of the earliest observations from this mission to the sun on how the coronal mass ejection—the sun’s release of plasma and energy—builds up particles released after solar flare events,” said Nathan Schwadron, professor of physics in UNH’s Space Science Center. “Because energetic particles are accelerated near the sun, by flying closer and getting a better look we are able to observe the beginning of the energization process and see them actually start to pile up like snow that piles up in front of a snowplow. Instead of an actual snowplow, it is the coronal mass ejections released from the sun that causes the buildup of this material in space.”

In the study, recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, the researchers observed solar energetic particle events from April 18, 2019, to April 24, 2019. when two active regions near the sun’s equator became highly unstable, releasing a number of flares followed by coronal mass injections (CMEs). Scientists saw the complex interplay between the flares, particle populations and CMEs causing the pre-accelerated particles that are created by these solar events to get trapped and pile up. The study highlights a new phase of the energization process that is critical for the formation of radiation hazards. 

“We have known that these high-energy particles are energized in this region, but the missing link was how these particles buildup in the fronts of coronal mass ejections,” said Schwadron. “It’s like imagining a room filled with bouncing tennis balls and asking how did they get there? The particles become so highly energized that they move at almost the speed of light and, as a result, can pose hazards in the form of harmful radiation that causes health issues for astronauts and damage electronic equipment in space.”

The PSP, which was launched by NASA in 2018, is on a seven-year mission to learn more about the sun, the solar wind and the origin of the energetic particles that can pose radiation hazards. The probe will fly to within 4 million miles of the sun’s surface, closer than any previous spacecraft has flown and will face formidable heat in the corona—the sun’s atmosphere—to help scientists improve the forecasts for space weather that affect life on Earth. Onboard PSP, the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun instrument suite is specially designed to measure the near-sun energetic particle environment and includes two instruments that were designed based on previous missions with which UNH was involved.

The University of New Hampshire inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation, and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. As one of the nation’s highest-performing research universities, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, and receives more than $110 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea, and space.