CLAREMONT'S "LIGHTHOUSE"

Last night as I drove through town along Main Steet as I returned from the UPPER VALLEY, I was dazzled by the lighting display of the new PARKING GARAGE which I understand causes the stars in the heavens to appear rather dim to those who watch the skies or try to do so at night. Among the questions that might spring to mind is one: WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS, & HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? Perhaps the answer lies in the 'use of extremely energy-efficient' bulbs and lights,etc. that there is hardly any cost or perhaps no cost? HOWEVER, this edifice so well-lighted serves to bring attention to Claremont since it serves as a beacon for drivers, especially from out-of-state, to 'taste the waters' and focus their attention to the area as they pass by in the night?

THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE PROJECT FOR STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL

In a place noted for its 'mutual backslappers' any competion of this important project, altered or modified as it may become, will bring a loud round of applause when the first graduates step on the stage of the new auditorium to receive their diplomas, many of which or such, will be issued in a strong possibility of the future: 'ON-LINE" ,even on FACEBOOK!

STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PLAN

No amount of projected costs and tax revenues to pay for such a project as envisioned for Claremont can fulfill the goals because all these 'imaginary' figures that tend to little match the pocketbooks of 'JOHN Q. PUBLIC' will suffice to solve the problmes of AMERICAN CULTURE & SOCIETY or at the very least, those of Claremont, itself. The PROJECT haas inherent in it many unforeseen consequences but even so, should not be abandoned or dismissed by skeptics and 'nay-sayers' since the problems to be encountered during any approved construction will emerge and those that rear their ugly heads after the completion will be evident, no doubt.

THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT

It would be nice if a GREAT MAGICIAN could come to Claremont, the town that pretends it's a city, and wave a magic wand over STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL and transform and transmute that building into the marvelous edifice that the architects and committee have envisioned but since that is unlikely to happen,those who have labored to conceive this project must now turn to PUBLIC SUPPORT, that unruly herd of sheep and goats with numerous whims and attempt a 'GREAT ROUNDUP' to achieve the goal and aim! Those who favor or once favored the COMPLETE DESTRUCTION of STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL and hoped for constructing a monument comparable to the TAJ MAHAL or THE GREAT PYRAMID or some similar 'sacred shrine' built on the outskirts of Claremont can claim a 'certain victory' in that if this plan is followed up and accepted and undertaken will assure the ultimate destruction of Stevens in years to come, for the school, 'designed to bring it into the 21st century' and assure its much needed accreditation 'higher authorities' than the people of Claremont, will be obsolete if present trends in education, science, technology, culture,goveernment continue.

THE GREAT NEWSPAPER REVIVAL

When the EAGLE TIMES shut down, the VALLEY NEWS and the UNION LEADER newspapers attempted to make use of the opportunity to extend and increase their circulation in CLAREMONT(and surrounding area,no doubt) but in the wake of the apparent demise of the EAGLE, three other newspapers emerged:THE CLAREMONT CITY POST; THE COMPASS; AND THE CLAREMONT VILLAGER. As of this writing, these latter three are still existing despite the resurrection/revival of the EAGLE TIMES! In a period when newspapers and magazines are decreasing, downsizing, declining and ceasing to operate, future national trends, small papers,both in actual size and shape, and circulation that cater to specific communities will survive the rapid digitalization via the electronic media revolution that is reshaping all present institutions as well as government operations. Two of these papers in Claremont are free:CLAREMONT CITY POST & THE COMPASS and both depend on advertising and interest in them. THE POST was at first a single sheet,floded with print and color photos on both sides. It has since expanded into two full size sheets, making four sides total. It has, and rightly so, tended to focus on positive affairs and events in the Claremont area and has avoided the negative politics of the town for the most part and one might hope that they will shun all of this and continue to concentrate on the groups, people, and activities they have featured thus far. THE COMPASS has involved former EAGLE employees apparently and covers a a large area than merely Claremont. THE COMPASS should succeed or survive but it also faces,as do all the others,competition from other papers in Vermont and New Hampshire. THE CLAREMONT VILLAGER has on its staff Archie Mountain who also worked many years for the DAILY EAGLE(as the EAGLE TIMES was once known) and then started his own paper,THE NEWS LEADER( apaper to which I subscribed,incidentally). THE CLAREMONT VILLAGER, like the former NEWS LEADER, faces great competition from the EAGLE TIMES simply because most people who read the EAGLE and supported it before are too lazy to support the new publications, and out of habit, prefer the long familiar name to them of EAGLE TIMES to the courageous upstarts,even if two of them continue to be free! They somehow imagine a certainloyalty to the name EAGLE TIMES,which binds and obligates them to do so.