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Written by Patrick R. McElhiney

Category: Articles

Published: 31 December 2019

Rochester, NH:  Cornerstone VNA, a nonprofit home health and hospice care organization, is offering free training for individuals interested in becoming a Hospice volunteer.  For as little as 4 hours per week, volunteers can offer companionship, respite care, and their own unique skills to patients and family members in their community. This comprehensive 8-week Hospice Volunteer Training program focuses on how to provide comfort, support and a reassuring presence to Hospice patients and their families. No medical or volunteer experience is necessary to make a positive difference. The next training will begin on Wednesday, January 22 from 10 am-12 pm and will take place every week until March 11 at the Cornerstone VNA office on 178 Farmington Road in Rochester, NH.

Current Cornerstone VNA Hospice Volunteers recently shared, “Hospice volunteering has been the most rewarding and humbling experience of my life” and "Hospice visiting has shown me how to be present." Cornerstone VNA invites individuals to be a part of this enriching and meaningful volunteer experience. To register for this training or for more information about the Hospice Volunteer Program, please contact Nancy Nicolazzo, a Hospice Volunteer Coordinator at 603-332-1133 x1239 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Cornerstone VNA is a nonprofit home, health and hospice agency currently serving Rockingham, Strafford, Belknap and Carroll Counties in New Hampshire and York County in Maine. The team at Cornerstone VNA provides skilled nursing, rehabilitative therapies, social work as well as volunteer and support services through five distinct programs: Home Care, Hospice Care, Palliative Care, Life Care-Private Duty and Community Care. For 107 years, Cornerstone VNA has been committed to bringing services to people of all ages so that families can stay together at home, even when facing the challenges of aging, surgical recovery, chronic or life-threatening illnesses or end of life care. To learn more about Cornerstone VNA, visit www.cornerstonevna.org or call 800-691-1133.

You can also download a flyer entitled "Become a Hospice Volunteer" provided by Cornerstone VNA.

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Written by Patrick R. McElhiney

Category: Articles

Published: 30 December 2019

CONCORD, N.H. – The New Hampshire State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) will open at an enhanced monitoring level at 6:00 A.M. on Monday, December 30, 2019, to monitor storm conditions and support response efforts throughout the State of New Hampshire.

Barrington Town News will keep you updated as we learn more about the storm and the State of New Hampshire's response. We advise all readers to avoid driving during the storm. The road conditions will be terrible considering the amount of snow and ice that is predicted all day Monday. Only emergency vehicles should be on the roads during the storm. If you have an emergency, please dial 9-1-1, and do not try to drive to the Emergency Room.

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Written by Patrick R. McElhiney

Category: Articles

Published: 30 December 2019

For those of you that don’t follow what our company is doing closely, the Business Directory is what will allow us to continue operating and providing the news to the community of Barrington, NH. It’s a directory, categorized by business industry and business type, that currently has 371 businesses listed, most of which are all in Barrington.

Most people that live in Barrington probably never realized that there were more than 100 businesses in town because you don’t see all the businesses that are operated out of people’s homes and side streets. Basically, all you see is what is on NH-125 and RTE-9, while there are hundreds of more businesses in Barrington that were not previously massively advertised to this extent to Barrington residents.

It’s all part of a new marketing campaign developed by Barrington Town News Founder, Patrick R. McElhiney, who thought up the “Shop Barrington First” slogan. The problem he found with the Chamber of Commerce’s membership pricing is that it leaves out most of the businesses in town that don’t make over $50,000 a year in revenues and thus can’t afford the membership. There is a reduced price membership, that Barrington Town News took advantage of, because at the time, and still currently, we are not posting any profits, however even at $50, it still leaves out a lot of businesses.

The Business Directory on Barrington Town News can cost under $25 a year with all the possible discounts. The standard price for a listing is $100, which includes one location, up to three categories, up to three photographs, and up to one file attachment. Our listings include a wide array of information, such as hours of operation, website address, contact information including physical address, phone numbers, and email addresses, and it’s a fully searchable listing that brings in traffic from the web – not just from Barrington Town News. It’s fully Search Engine Optimized (SEO) to bring business from the search engines directly to your company. We also have the capability to add videos to the listings, you can sponsor a listing of a non-profit organization with your logo, and you can even add additional locations, categories, photographs, and files for small additional fees.

We wanted everyone to take advantage of the full Business Directory now and Shop Barrington First, because there may ultimately be companies that will refuse to pay, and they will lose the benefits of being a part of this digital community that we have built, however, we’re willing to work deals with companies for an example if they’re a women-owned or veteran owned business, which receives a 10% discount off of any of our services, and for a business making less than $25,000 a year in revenue, the directory listing starts at $25 a year. This means that even a small home-based business can afford to advertise in the same way that a multi-million dollar corporation can.

We did this to help the local economy grow, to help local businesses grow because there was nothing else like it. Facebook and other Social Media websites aren’t built for Barrington’s consumers. We use Facebook as part of our online footprint, however, there’s only so much you can do on Facebook and the problem are that once you post something on there, Facebook technically owns it and can do whatever it wants with it. Barrington Town News is a local company that is accountable to its stakeholders, whether that be people that read our news stories or businesses that advertise with us. We don’t sell your data to the highest bidder!

We reach the community of Barrington, New Hampshire in ways unlike Facebook or any other online platform can because we’re local. Patrick R. McElhiney actually developed an algorithm that Facebook now uses in its dating system, which he worked on for his Master’s Thesis at the University of New Hampshire in Manchester. He’s no stranger to large companies trying to put the little guy out of business – they stole the algorithm. This is part of the reason why small companies have a financial advantage in the Barrington Town News Business Directory, because we know what it’s like to be small and to be walked all over by companies like Facebook.

Patrick spent months looking for every business in Barrington on Facebook, during which time he compiled this list of Barrington social profiles. What he found was that over 50% of the businesses in Barrington were not even on Facebook, and the ones that are, were extremely hard to find. So, they’re not listed through the Chamber of Commerce, they’re not listed on Facebook, and over half of the companies in Barrington don’t even have a website. So, Patrick set out to list all of them in the Business Directory.

If you have a business, and we’ve left you out of our Business Directory, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we’ll give you 3 months absolutely free. Our sales team will be reaching out to all the companies we have listed to see if they would like to support their local newspaper and continue to be listed in our community’s most comprehensive Business Directory. It’s available to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year at https://directory.barringtontownnews.com/. Most of all, we hope you’ll “Shop Barrington First”!

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Written by Patrick R. McElhiney

Category: Articles

Published: 29 December 2019

CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management is urging residents and visitors to be prepared as a complex and relatively long duration winter weather event will affect the state tonight through Tuesday.

The NWS has issued a Winter Storm Warning for parts of Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, and Sullivan counties from 7:00 P.M. tonight until 1:00 P.M. on Tuesday. Heavy mixed precipitation is expected. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 8 inches and ice accumulations of around one-tenth of an inch to four-tenths of an inch is expected.

The NWS has issued a Winter Storm Watch for parts of Belknap, Carroll, Coos, Grafton, and Strafford counties from this evening through Tuesday afternoon. Heavy mixed precipitation is possible with total snow accumulations of over 6 inches and ice accumulations of around one-tenth of an inch possible

The NWS has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for parts of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties from 7:00 P.M. tonight until 1:00 P.M. on Tuesday. Mixed precipitation is expected. Total accumulations of 2 to 6 inches and ice accumulations of up to two-tenths of an inch are expected.

Travel could be very difficult, or nearly impossible, at times and slippery road conditions will affect both the Monday morning and evening commutes. If you must travel, have an emergency kit with food, water, and a flashlight in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

“During the storm, only travel if absolutely necessary,” New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Jennifer Harper said. “Once the storm begins, travel will be hazardous. If you must travel, remember to clear snow and ice from your vehicle, slow down, allow extra time for travel, and leave plenty of space between vehicles.”

Due to the heavy, mixed precipitation, power outages and tree damage are likely. If you lose power, be sure to report the outage to your utility provider every 24-hours until your service is restored.

New Hampshire Utility Provider Telephone Numbers:

Eversource........................ 1-800-662-7764

Liberty Utilities................ 1-800-375-7413

NH Electric Co-op............ 1-800-343-6432

Unitil Capital Area............ 1-800-852-3339

Unitil Seacoast Region...... 1-800-582-7276

 

If you see downed power lines, stay away and call 9-1-1.

 

Harper provides these additional reminders:

·       Slow down and move over for emergency vehicles.

·       Do not crowd the plows or emergency crews.

·       Clear all snow and ice off your car, including your roof, around lights, and license plates before traveling.

·       Bridges, overpasses, and exposed road areas are the most prone to icy conditions.

·       Visit ReadyNH.gov to learn more preparedness tips to help you and your family stay safe.

 

Take time now to prepare. Director Harper encourages everyone to plan ahead for disasters. The core steps toward preparedness are:

1.     Make an emergency kit,

2.     Have a family emergency plan, and

3.     Stay informed by signing up for NH Alerts.

 

Download templates and instructions for each of these preparedness steps online at ReadyNH.gov