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Written by Kat Roedell

Category: Articles

Published: 15 March 2020

Although Barrington Town News launched in August 2019, over the past few months we have gained traction and growth in readership. Because of this growth, we wish to share with you some current areas to use for information exchanges, and how those work for the reader and for our sponsors.

Business Directory Listing:  Although there are many business directory listings online, we are striving to make our directory listing focused on Barrington and surrounding areas.  We are first-come, first-serve, giving first print privileges to local businesses.  Businesses that are majority-owned by veterans, women, and/or other minorities are given a discount, and pricing is tiered based on business size, or annual gross income. We encourage small businesses to be listed (some of which is their only web presence), and we are unique in offering our non-profit sponsorship program.  This program allows any business to sponsor a directory listing for a non-profit.  The cost of the listing is donated to the non-profit by the sponsor – doubling their marketing dollars.  One of the most unique things about our listing is that the software system we’ve enabled allows businesses to schedule appointments and send quotes through our system – providing low-cost commerce systems to local businesses.

Free Classified Ads and Job Postings:  Our classified ads are free!  That includes JOB POSTINGS!  Did you know that if you drive on route 125 from the Lee traffic circle there are already 10 businesses posting help wanted signs?  This is the digital age, and our online listings allow for links to online applications.  A current Google search resulted in only 4 of those business job postings in the first 40 job listings when the search is “Jobs in Barrington, NH”.  Working with our team, we can guarantee help with SEO keywords and targeted writing, for local business owners. We drive traffic through great SEO, games, contests and boosted posts for our sponsors. 

Growing Web Presence:  Over the last 3 months, our growth has exceeded the town population – which means we have an impact not only on the residents of Barrington, but our reach is expanding throughout the seacoast.   By capitalizing on our IT backgrounds, and communication ability, this presence will continue to spread.  Unlike traditional print newspapers who moved to the internet, we DO NOT CHARGE to read our paper – we rely on local sponsorship of local businesses to offset costs – even for our quarterly print edition, which may one day be monthly or even weekly when we get enough sponsorships from local businesses. Our first print edition was distributed to approximately 350 residents, while we plan on expanding our distribution to be up to 1,000 copies in the next edition, which will be heading out to local businesses in the coming week.

Upcoming Children’s Area: We want to increase literacy for children in our area.  We are working on a junior journalist area, with a mascot, games, contests, and publication area for the local children. Our games and challenges will include fiction and non-fiction, and our goal is to work with local teachers to help support their curriculum while encouraging children in writing and visual arts. We will be unveiling our mascot in the near future - his name is B.A. Rington, and he really likes Barrington!  

Local Online Store:  We are also building an online store that offers products to support children’s literacy, local tourism, and other local goods. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information on sponsorship and sales of local products and goods. There will be coffee mugs, clothing, backpacks, phone cases, and many other products available for purchase in the upcoming future featuring unique brands and our new company mascot. We're working on dozens of poses of our mascot, depicted like everyday Barrington residents.

Online Technical Support System: Minutes ago, we released our online help system that has chat capabilities, and we've made numerous updates to improve our website to make it more user-friendly. Now you'll see offers for help on all of the featured parts of our website, like the Business Directory, our Classifieds, our Document Downloads, our Event Calendar, and many other features that you may not even know about. There is a knowledge base of technical support articles in the support system, and you can chat directly with the Founder of Barrington Town News simply by clicking on one of the messages that pop up, or by clicking on the support button in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

New Website Features: We've added voting to all articles, so you can select how many stars (up to 5) and vote based on how much you like the article to help provide us feedback on how we are doing. The scores will be averaged based on all submissions, and you can only submit a vote once. We've also added options (expanded from the gear logo) that allow you to print a printer-friendly version of any article, or email the article to friends or family, directly through the website. We've improved our login and registration system, and you can also submit news articles as the privilege of registering for an account on our website. Anyone that is logged in can submit a news article to our website, and we will moderate and edit the articles, publishing only those that met the criteria of our Content Guidelines. This allows local businesses and non-profits to submit Press Releases that meet our Content Guidelines directly to our newsroom through our website.

If you would like to help grow and develop our local community through positive news articles or featured photography, or business development for Barrington Town News, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., as we are looking for partners, sponsors, and team members! Thank you for continuing to read our stories, and we hope you'll continue to look forward to new ventures by Barrington Town News –- Your Local News Source.

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Written by Patrick R. McElhiney

Category: Articles

Published: 14 March 2020

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has announced a new presumptive positive test result for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. This brings the total in New Hampshire to 7 cases.

The person is an adult female from Rockingham County who notified their healthcare provider after developing symptoms. There is an ongoing investigation to identify people with close contact before this individual self-isolated. Any person who has been identified as a close contact will be notified directly by DHHS. DHHS has determined that the person was at the Manchester branch of the NH Division of Motor Vehicles, at 377 South Willow Street in Manchester on the following days:

·  Monday, March 2, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

·  Tuesday, March 3, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

·  Wednesday, March 4, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

·  Thursday, March 5, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

·  Tuesday, March 10, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

The Manchester DMV will be closed on Saturday, March 14, for enhanced cleaning and to allow DHHS to conduct the contact investigation. Any individuals who entered the Manchester DMV during those days and times may have been potentially exposed to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and should monitor their health for fever or respiratory illness. Any persons who were in the Manchester DMV on those days and have developed symptoms should stay home, limit their contact with others, and immediately contact their healthcare provider. Any individual who is symptomatic but does not have a healthcare provider should contact DHHS at (603) 271-4496.

Any person who develops fever or respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) should stay home away from others and seek health advice by phone from a healthcare provider to discuss symptoms and any risk factors for COVID-19. Self-observation guidance can be found here.

Given the increasing numbers of infections globally and around the United States to protect themselves and help prevent further community spread, all persons should:

·  Stay home and avoid public places when sick (i.e. social distancing)

·  Cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing

·  Wash hands frequently

·  Avoid being within 6 feet (close contact) of a person who is sick

·  Avoid sharing drinks, smoking/vaping devices, or other utensils or objects that may transmit saliva

·  Disinfect frequently touched surfaces

For more information on COVID-19 in NH, please visit https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/2019-ncov.htm. For the latest information from the CDC, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

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Written by Patrick R. McElhiney

Category: Articles

Published: 14 March 2020

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has issued the following update for March 13, 2020, on the new coronavirus, COVID-19. DHHS will continue to issue COVID-19 updates each day to provide media and the public with current information about the State’s efforts.

New Hampshire residents who have questions or concerns about COVID-19 should contact 211.

What’s New

·  Governor Chris Sununu Declares State of Emergency, Opens Emergency Operations Center in Concord

On March 13, Governor Chris Sununu declared a state of emergency for New Hampshire for the next 21 days in order to coordinate information and resources in response to the presence of COVID-19 in NH. State officials activated the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) at the Incident Planning and Operations Center in Concord to bring together state agencies to manage response communication, coordinate responses with community partners and provide essential resources to local, state and federal healthcare and public health partners. The SEOC is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

·  DHHS announces new positive test result of COVID-19

DHHS announced a new presumptive positive test result for COVID-19 on March 13. This brings the total in New Hampshire to 7 cases. The person is an adult female from Rockingham County who notified their healthcare provider after developing symptoms. DHHS has determined that the person was at the Manchester branch of the NH Division of Motor Vehicles, at 377 South Willow Street in Manchester on March 2,3,4,5, and 10. Anyone in the Manchester DMV on those days and has developed symptoms should stay home, limit their contact with others, and immediately contact a healthcare provider. If you are not experiencing symptoms, you should self-observe for symptoms and report any by calling a healthcare provider.

·  DHHS announces increased testing capacity and new guidance to medical providers on testing for COVID-19

The ability for residents to be tested for COVID-19 continues to increase. The State Public Health Laboratories continues to request and receive additional testing kits and supplies from the CDC to ensure the capacity to test individuals potentially exposed to the virus. Commercial testing is currently available and is also set to expand to help more patients get tested through their health care providers. Some hospital laboratories are also developing local capacity to test for COVID-19. DPHS issued a Health Alert Network message on March 13 to expand guidelines for providers regarding COVID-19 testing. Patients with symptoms of COVID-19 should contact their health care provider, who will determine if testing is necessary. Providers should contact DPHS for testing facilitation. People who are sick should not report to emergency departments for clinical evaluation.

·  New guidelines issued by CDC around non-essential domestic or international travel

Everyone planning travel should monitor the CDC’s Travel Health Notices and avoid travel to any country with a Level 3 travel notice, which currently includes China, South Korea, Iran, and most European countries. Because of travel restrictions put in place by other countries, anybody who does travel internationally risks difficulty returning and could potentially face quarantine in that country and quarantine upon returning to New Hampshire, based on the progression of the global COVID-19 outbreak. 

Because COVID-19 has become widespread in many countries around the world, and even in parts of the United States, older adults or those with chronic medical conditions should talk with their healthcare providers before travel. They should also avoid any domestic or international travel, which is consistent with guidance from the CDC, which issued a Level 2 global outbreak Travel Health Notice. Other individuals, schools, and businesses should also consider postponing non-essential domestic or international travel and review the newly released guidance for those considering travel in the United States. 

New Hampshire 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Summary Report
(updated March 14, 2020)

NH Persons with COVID-191	7
Persons with Test Pending at NH PHL2	31
Total Persons Tested at NH PHL3	250
Persons Being Monitored in NH (approximate point in time)	425

1 Includes specimens presumptive-positive at any laboratory and those confirmed by CDC confirmatory testing.
2 Includes specimens received and awaiting testing at NH Public Health Laboratories (PHL).
2 Includes specimens sent to CDC prior to NH PHL testing capacity.

DHHS continues to test for COVID-19 in the NH Public Health Laboratories. DHHS is updating its website Monday through Friday to include a current summary of testing actions.

Previous Updates

·  DHHS Announces Sixth Presumptive Positive Case of COVID-19

·  Residents Can Contact NH 2-1-1 for information and resources on COVID-19

NH DHHS Daily Update on COVID-19 Archive

For more information, please visit the DHHS COVID-19 webpage at https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/2019-ncov.htm.

 

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Written by Patrick R. McElhiney

Category: Articles

Published: 12 March 2020

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has issued the following update for March 12, 2020, on the new coronavirus, COVID-19. DHHS will continue to issue COVID-19 updates each day to provide media and the public with current information about the State’s efforts.

What’s New

·  DHHS Announces Sixth Presumptive Positive Case of COVID-19

DHHS announces a sixth presumptive positive test result for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The patient is an adult from Rockingham County, who had recently traveled to Europe. The individual has remained at home since returning from travel and all of the person’s close contacts are in self-isolation.

·  Residents Can Contact NH 2-1-1 for information and resources on COVID-19.

New Hampshire residents who have concerns about COVID-19 can call 2-1-1.  Information and referral specialists are on hand to direct people to the appropriate resources. NH 2-1-1 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Outside of New Hampshire, call 1-866-444-4211.

New Hampshire 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Summary Report
(updated March 12, 2020, 9:00 AM)

Number of Persons Confirmed 1	2
Number of Persons Presumptive Positive, awaiting CDC confirmation 2	4
Number of Persons with Test Pending in PHL 3	21
Number of Persons Tested (closed, tested negative)	94
Total Number of Persons Provided Specimens	121
Number of Persons Being Monitored in NH (approximate point in time)	275

1Includes specimens confirmed by CDC confirmatory testing.
2Includes specimens tested at NH Public Health Laboratories (PHL) and other laboratories.
3Includes specimens received and awaiting testing at NH Public Health Laboratories (PHL).

DHHS continues to test for COVID-19 in the NH Public Health Laboratories. DHHS is updating its website Monday through Friday to include a current summary of testing actions.

Previous Updates

·  DHHS Announces Fifth Presumptive Positive Case of COVID-19

·  DHHS and DOE Address School Concerns Surrounding Educational Trips

·  First round of self-monitoring and self-quarantine process has been completed 

NH DHHS Daily Update on COVID-19 Archive

For more information, please visit the DHHS COVID-19 webpage at https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/2019-ncov.htm.