Orientation groups returned from cool, wet camping trips in the White Mountains yesterday.

 

At the same time, returning students returned. We enjoyed a cookout dinner from 4:00-6:00.
 

Today, we set everyone up with laptops, tested for summer reading compliance and attended to other details before classes begin Tuesday. The start of a year is a good time to address the fact that--unlike some rural schools--we enjoy significant interface with both a local community and the world beyond. We speak of Andover as a "village," and our quaint address is "Main Street." This is technically accurate, but potentially misleading. "Main Street" is a euphemism for New Hampshire Routes 11 and U.S. Highway 4, which overlap as they bring approximately 5,700 vehicles through our otherwise tranquil hamlet daily.

 

Exacerbating the situation is the lure of Jake's Market and Pizza Chef, which draw dozens of students across "Main Street" every hour.

 





We need to consider two distinct issues here. The overwhelming matter is safety and the measures we can take to minimize risk: looking both ways before crossing and crossing in clearly marked crosswalks.



Sure, the speed limit is 30 miles per hour and state law mandates that cars stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, (and hopefully those outside of crosswalks.)

 

It is also true that the manner in which we cross the street--and our behavior at Jake's Market--are the two greatest interfaces we have with the community. A friendly wave to patient motorists goes a long way.

 

Witness the heartfelt gratitude of Dave Kenney's advisory!

 

While the volume of traffic on Main Street poses obvious risk, particularly at dusk and later, it is the intersection of Main Street and Lawrence, and the stretch of Lawrence Street down to Thoreau House, that brings our kids into the lives of local townspeople. Loitering across the north end of Lawrence, and strolling down the street with ear buds in place, our well-intentioned teenagers drive some of our neighbors to distraction. 

There's a crosswalk here somewhere...



I usually write about Proctor students, not to them, but I hope that this page will register at this early moment in the year. Our relations with townspeople have improved greatly over the decades, and those relations are our responsibility, not theirs. Of even greater significance is our safety. Not everyone driving down the highway has good vision, particularly at night. Some do not know they're in a school zone. Some drive too fast. Statistically, we can assume that some are impaired by alcohol..... It's worth considering, and acting wisely.