Buy local

Friday, August 12, 2011

A letter in last week’s Journal from Anita Lorah Hinkle reminds us of the importance of buying locally. Her letter is specifically about the Merrimack Farmers Market, now in its third year, but we can extrapolate and remind readers that we are the ones who keep our neighbors in business.

Why is that important?

Because Merrimack is a town where local businesses help to keep the tax rate down. Imagine, if you can, a community that had no businesses, no industry, and relied entirely on homeowners to fund municipal services. Your tax rate would be considerably higher, as would your tax bill, of course, and if you are on a fixed income, well, good luck.

We know that it is sometimes more convenient to shop at a mall, and that we have gotten used to shopping online, and that’s all well and good. Convenience is important, of course, but when you buy from half.com, for instance, you might be saving a bit on a book, but you won’t be helping your community in the long run. That local book store pays property taxes as does the local gas station and the local restaurant and the local clothing shop.

In and of itself, the Merrimack Farmers Market doesn’t pay property tax, but the farmers who sell their goods there certainly do and the more solvent they are, the less likely it is that they will default on those taxes.

So, think locally when you think shopping.

And if you haven’t been to the Merrimack Farmers Market, well, it’s held every Wednesday from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at the Merrimack Commons across from the post office.

Lettuce is good. Local lettuce is better.

Good choice

The selection of Timothy Thompson, Londonderry’s lead planner, to be Merrimack’s community development director certainly seems like a good one. He has excellent credentials, was recently named one of the state’s two Professional Planners of the Year, and has been working with communities for nearly 15 years, including Rochester, where he began his career.

“How do you beat the planner of the year?” asked Councilor Dan Dwyer. “That’s like getting a first-round pick. It made it easy, his resume and background were so impressive.”

We agree.

Merrimack takes such selections very seriously, as it did when picking Mark E. Doyle to be its new police chief in April,

As our readers know, we don’t always agree with the Town Council, but this is one decision where we do: The selection of Timothy Thompson, as was the case with the selection of Mark E. Doyle, should be applauded.

So, we applaud.