Auburn News

After two impressive wins, Memorial eliminated in semifinal

2008-06-18T19:40:00Z

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

If you had asked him two weeks ago if his Memorial baseball team would be playing in the Class L semifinals, Don Menswar would have been more likely to laugh than nod. Yet that’s exactly where the No. 15 Crusaders ended up, facing third-seeded Goffstown at Nashua’s Holman Stadium on June 11.

And had it not been for an early missed opportunity, Menswar may very well have been preparing his team for the state title game.

Instead, Memorial found itself on the losing end of a 4-1 score.

With two outs and the bases loaded after a Kyle Morrill single in the first inning, a baserunning error at third base signaled a change in momentum. Two Memorial errors and two subsequent Goffstown runs in the bottom of the frame affirmed the shift.

“I told them after the game they have no right to hang their heads,” said Menswar. “You know, with beating a team like (No. 2) Keene, with beating a team like (No. 7 Pinkerton) and giving Goffstown all they wanted, I’m proud of these kids.

“They battled, but you know, against a team like Goffstown … we had (pitcher) Matt Gifford on the ropes in inning one. But they made the plays, and we didn’t.”

One person not surprised to see Memorial in the semis was Grizzlies coach Matt Benson. “The south end (of Manchester) always has good baseball players. Memorial is an outstanding … baseball school, and they’re notorious for that,” said Benson. “Those kids play baseball all summer, Sweeney Post is an outstanding program, and those kids, they know how to win. They know how to play tournament baseball. I could have easily seen them winning, no problem.”

Menswar said his players, at least until very recently, underachieved throughout 2008, and he noted next season may be an even greater challenge.

“We have six kids coming back,” said the manager. “The biggest message they have to get is you’ve got to scrap and battle every inning, and that’s what they learned in the playoffs that they didn’t in the regular season.”

There may have been no better example of how to conduct oneself on the field than Auburn’s Morrill, who sacrificed his high school pitching career to dedicate himself to solidifying the team’s defense as shortstop.

“You don’t replace a kid like Kyle,” said Menswar. “Kyle Morrill is a kid who as a sophomore came up for us and pitched two dynamite games for us and helped us win the tournament. He’s a class kid from a class family, and Keene State (College) is lucky to have him next season.”

School Board prohibits drinking in building at community events

2008-06-18T19:00:00Z

BY TOBY HENRY

Questions over prohibition of alcohol at Auburn’s only public school continue to be raised after the School Board’s recent decision left one local charity without a place to hold its popular open-bar dances.

On June 10, the Auburn School Board voted 4-1 on a policy revision which bars alcohol from being inside Auburn Village School, mirroring a policy that was set in place years ago regarding cigarette smoking.

Local policy had previously allowed alcohol to be served in the school gymnasium after 7 p.m. on Saturdays if no minors were present at the event.

Norm Bouley, head of the Auburn-Candia Lions Club, said the new policy curtails much of his group’s fundraising endeavors in town, including the openbar dances in the school’s gym, which Bouley said have been taking place for nearly 40 years without incident.

While School Administrative Unit 15 Superintendent Dr. Charles “Phil” Littlefield and School Board Chairman Elaine Hobbs say the prohibition decision has children’s interests at heart, Bouley said the gymnasium -- as Auburn’s only large place for the community to gather -- falls under the jurisdiction of the community at large.

“There’s no negative effect on children if we hold a dance here, with alcohol, on a Saturday night when there’s no children around,” Bouley said on June 12. “A lot of people have been telling us that the gym was built to be used by the community ... and we’re investigating all avenues to regain use of that building.”

The board’s decision comes in the wake of an April incident in which a Manchester resident allegedly fell asleep during an April Lions Club dance and then awoke hours later, believing himself to be locked inside the building. Auburn police say Michael Coakley allegedly ran instead of asking to be let out of the building after being spotted by police, and he was charged with two counts of criminal mischief. His trial is scheduled for Aug. 6.

Although the Lions Club and any other nonprofit group can still use the school’s gymnasium as long as they adhere to the alcohol-free policy, Bouley said alcohol has traditionally been a part of many of the Lions community fundraisers. But during the June 10 meeting, Hobbs and School Board member Robert Hayes said they’d long been thinking about whether or not it is appropriate to have alcohol in the building, and Littlefield later said that he and other school officials need to have a narrow focus when considering the welfare of children.

“This has been a policy that we’ve grappled with as a board for seven years ... and it seems to me that for 39 years, or even 10 years, the philosophy behind alcohol use in a public building is something that does not sit well,” Hayes said. “Alcohol does not belong in a public school.” “I’m an advocate for children -- I have blinders,” Littlefield said. “We don’t teach children how to ‘drink responsibly,’ we teach them about the health issues surrounding alcohol. I don’t believe alcohol and kids mix.”

Ultimately, board member Alan Villeneuve was the only one to speak out against the board’s policy change on June 10, and he branded the move as a “prohibitionist” gesture that did little to recognize the AVS gym as a community center.

“This was put up as a community facility,” he said. “I don’t think (the policy change) tells anyone in our community about the proper place for alcohol ... and I don’t believe that’s the way to go.”

On June 12, Hobbs reiterated her earlier sentiments that the policy change is not a punitive measure toward the Lions or anyone else, stating that it is a “philosophical change” that came about after a consideration of what is in the best interests of children. But Bouley said the children his group provides for -- the Lions have given two pairs of eyeglasses and a Braille reader, among other things, to AVS students in recent years -- may be the ones who lose out in the end.

Without the dances, Bouley said his group’s losses could top $10,000 annually.

“We may have to move things to Manchester, because there’s nothing available in the area, but what we’re looking at right now is if they (the School Board) really do have the right to regulate it,” he said. “We’re going to explore all the avenues.”

Sub-.500 Memorial two wins from state championship

2008-06-11T19:49:00Z

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

As Pinkerton baseball manager Ron Manseau and his players boarded their bus, heads hung in defeat, a voice from behind called out. “Hey, did you guys catch something, or what?” “We caught something alright,” replied Manseau. “We caught lighting.”

The shock came when the seventh-seeded Astros fell via the mercy rule, 10-0, to Manchester Memorial, the No. 15 seed, in the quarterfinals of the Class L tournament.

“We haven’t been ‘10- runned’ all year, so it’s kind of embarrassing,” said Manseau. “It started with the Keene game, and (Memorial) just started putting it together at the right time. We ran into a buzzsaw. What can I say?”

Indeed, after a 7-12 regular season, the Crusaders used a two-week layoff to regroup before upsetting 16-win and No. 2-seeded Keene, 8-4, in the opening round of the playoffs.

“’I’m not going to say those two weeks helped us, but it got our 10 seniors in a frame of mind where they realized this year is it,” said Memorial’s manager, Don Menswar. “And now that every game could be their last day, they’re at a point where they’re playing like we expected them to all season.”

The team showed hardly a glimpse of its current form during the regular season, so add Menswar to the list of those surprised by the recent developments.

“We were averaging six walks a game, three errors, a couple hit batsmen. We’d win a ball game here and there, but it’d be 15-14,” he said. “We lost our last three … I really wasn’t confident in this team. I mean, we haven’t done this all year. Forget up and down, we’ve been down. We flat-out struggled all year.”

But Menswar credits his seniors, including Kyle Morrill of Auburn, for turning the season around at the right time. “We’re gelling at the right time,” said the coach. “We’re throwing strikes. We’re getting hits in timely situations. We’re not making errors. We’re just playing good, good Memorial baseball.”

Even up 10 runs against Pinkerton, however, the Crusaders were kept on their toes. Twice the players ran out of the dugout and onto the field in jubilation. Twice they were sent back.

On the third attempt, Memorial was finally allowed to celebrate its accomplishment.

An umpire first called the game based on the 10-run Class L mercy rule, another stepped in and said the procedure applied only to opening-round games. After a conference, the officials changed their minds three more times until finally Memorial was declared the winner and sent to the semifinals against No. 3 Goffstown. The contest was scheduled for Wednesday, June 11.

“We’re on a roll,” said Menswar. “They’re as good as we expected, and we’ve been telling them all year that they’re this good, and they didn’t believe it. I don’t know, maybe they’re believing it now.”

Alcohol policy questioned after fundraiser at school

2008-05-28T19:14:00Z

BY TOBY HENRY

School officials said a vote on prohibition may be in their future following a recent incident involving a man who allegedly fell asleep in the Auburn Village School following a community dance.

As it now stands, Auburn School Board Chairman Elaine Hobbs said the policy allows alcohol to be served in the town’s only school after 7 p.m. on Saturdays when the building is rented out. Hobbs said an alcohol policy has been in place since at least 1990, adding that it may be time to consider an outright ban on alcohol.

The subject of whether or not it is appropriate for alcohol to be served in the building which is used by more than 500 children every day was raised following an April Lions Club fundraising dance. At the event, which had an open bar available to all adults, Manchester resident Michael Coakley reportedly went to sleep at an area near the school stage during the dance and later awoke to find himself alone in the building.

According to court records, Coakley allegedly caused between $100 and $1,000 damage to a door in his attempts to get out of the building. Coakley is scheduled to go to trail in August on two criminal mischief charges. Regardless of the eventual outcome, Hobbs said the incident is a good opportunity to take a close look at whether alcohol should be in a school building.

She said local parents have not lodged any concerns yet to the board in the wake of the incident.

“But it’s really more of a philosophical discussion on the question of: Is it a good idea to have alcohol in a building that is used mostly by children?” she said on May 23. “What would have happened if (Coakley) had been found by a student returning the next morning for recreational basketball? Those are the things we’re thinking about.”

Neither Hobbs nor Norm Bouley, president of the Candia- Auburn Lions Club, the dance host, could ever recall a similar incident like this occurring in the past.

Bouley said his group has a three-decade-long history of using the school, which is one of the only suitable spaces to host dances in Auburn, and he said a prohibition on alcohol would be devastating. “It would cripple us,” Bouley said. “That last event, between the Lions Club and the Breast Cancer Foundation, raised about $4,800 in that one evening. They (the dances) are our major fundraiser.”

Bouley said the open-bar policy is an appropriate one in his opinion because the events are only open to adults and are held at times when no students are scheduled to be in the building.

The club took many precautions to prevent drunken driving and other potentially dangerous situations, he said.

“It was a Saturday night with no children around. We hired an Auburn police detail to supervise, and we also offered a free van for people to ride home in,” he said.

But Hobbs said she “had some reservations” about the alcohol policy several years ago when it was revised, and she said that “times have changed” since then.

“I understand that it is good for them (the Lions Club) to have something local, and they can continue to have dances there - they just can’t serve alcohol,” she said. “Our primary responsibility is to the students who use that school.”

Bouley and the board will discuss the issue at a June 10 meeting.

Local towns wait to see what Manchester will do with high school budget cuts

2008-05-14T21:56:00Z

BY JENN McDOWELL

With the Manchester Board of School Committee having announced several times they would not authorize the dissemination of 80 pink slips to teachers in Manchester schools this year, communities holding tuition contracts with Manchester’s school district are breathing a wary sigh of relief as they wonder how the funding will play out.

“I’m guardedly optimistic,” said Elaine Hobbs, chairman of the Auburn School Board. “I think that the Manchester Board of School Committee is working really hard to make sure that the students within the Manchester school district are provided with the best education they could possibly get.”

The deadline for layoff notifications has come and gone, but a few teachers have left for other positions in anticipation of losing their jobs.

Hooksett, Auburn, Candia and Bedford all have tuition contracts with Manchester that stipulate class sizes remain under 30 students and that nothing happens that jeopardizes Manchester schools’ accreditation.

Since the city of Manchester’s public budget meeting on April 28, which about 2,000 people attended, the Manchester Board of School Committee has reiterated three times that they would not issue pink slips to teachers in the district.

The Board of School Committee asked for $153 million to cover the costs for the district in 2008-09, but Mayor Frank Guinta cut that to $140 million.

While school expenses comprise about half of the city’s overall $276 million budget proposal, the school budget number is $7.3 million less than the district’s 2007-08 appropriation.

Manchester’s Board of Aldermen must approve a budget for the city, including the school district’s portion of the budget, by June 10.

Some aldermen have said they would be happy with tax increases of between 2 to 4 percent, or a budget around $145 million, for the school district. A school appropriation of $145 million would still be $2.3 million less than what they’ve been authorized to spend this year.

The sending towns had scheduled a non-public meeting with Guinta on Tuesday, May 13, to discuss the budgetary impacts on students from those towns. While not all board members from the sending towns would be attending the meeting, Hooksett School Board Chairman Maura Ouellette said she would be there.

“I don’t think it’s my place to comment on what dollar amount the Manchester School District budget should be. I think it’s our responsibility as a sending town to be sure that Manchester is adhering to the terms of the tuition agreement,” said Ouellette.

“My concern is with the quality of the educational experience of our students attending Manchester high schools. The sending towns have lived up to their end of the tuition agreement and we fully expect Manchester to do the same,” she added.

All four school districts sent letters from their attorneys to Manchester reminding them of their obligation to maintain class sizes and accreditation status in keeping with the terms of their contracts.

While the boards of the sending towns agreed it is a waiting game for them, they added they are watching the situation closely to see what direction should be taken.

“Passing a budget of any number does not put Manchester in violation of the contract,” said Candia School Board Chairman Ed Caito. “At this point, I think we have to let the budget process play itself out in Manchester.”

Ouellette said part of the problem may lie in Manchester’s timing in developing their budget.

“If it were done earlier in the year, as is done in Hooksett, there wouldn’t be the need to even consider pink slips to the staff. Everyone would know well in advance what the budget would be for the following year,” she said.

Auburn chooses firm to build kindergarten

2008-05-07T18:32:00Z

BY TOBY HENRY

School officials have selected a Goffstown firm for the renovation job to build Auburn’s first kindergarten.

Auburn School Board Chairman Elaine Hobbs said the board picked the $204,000 bid put forward last month by the Pidela Corp. Hobbs said the firm has a good track record and came highly recommended by architectural consultant Dan Bisson.

“This is a good contract, and it actually came in a little under what we’d projected,” she said. “We feel good that the company can complete the project on time, and we’ll be ready to go with the first round of kindergartners in the autumn.”

Located on Back Mountain Road, Pidela has a 25-year history of building projects throughout southern New Hampshire, including recent family housing developments in Nashua and Hillsborough. More than $280,000 in state aid is available to the town for the kindergarten project.

Hobbs said that kindergarten registrations are already underway, and a May 23 deadline has been set for parents who wish to take part in the lottery for morning class assignments, which are typically more sought-after.

At least three half-day classes, two in the morning and one for the afternoon, are expected for next year, and 55 students are expected to attend the town‘s first public kindergarten.

Registration for kindergarten will still be available for all kindergarten- aged students whose families move to Auburn at any time after the deadline, Hobbs said.

Memorial’s first-ever varsity victory buoys team’s morale

2008-04-23T20:08:00Z

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

With his boys lacrosse team led by a stingy defense and a solid core of veterans, Memorial coach Joe Bernier said it may finally be time to accumulate some wins.

In fact, the Crusaders notched the first Division I victory in the program’s fouryear history on April 14, a 6-5 triumph over Nashua South – a playoff team last season. Memorial overcame a 4-1 fourth-quarter deficit to win the contest.

“That was a huge step for us because it kind of showed the kids we’re worthy of competing in Division I,” said Bernier. “Before that we always just entered games assuming we were going to get killed, so it was nice to build some confidence.”

Because Memorial has no funding for a junior varsity or freshman team, however, Bernier said it’s tough for his program to be competitive in D-I with the likes of Bishop Guertin, Pinkerton, Hanover and Exeter. All have deep player pools.

The good news this year, said Bernier, is the Crusaders get through most of their tough opponents by midseason, which gives them the opportunity to string some wins together and pick up momentum. Heck, they may even sneak into the playoffs.

“We’re definitely much improved over last year and absolutely the most competitive team Memorial has had yet,” said Bernier. “I’m really excited about this team’s potential this season.”

Senior captains Jack Croasdale, TJ Burkish, Pat Bresnahan and Cody Kelley led the Crusaders.

Croasdale, who won the team’s MVP last season, and Burkish anchor a “tough as nails” defense, while Kelley, a long-stick midfielder, and Bresnahan handle the team’s transition game.

Croasdale plans to play prep school lacrosse next season. Bresnahan, the team leader in goals and assists, has been recruited to play at LaSalle University, said Bernier. Both are likely all-staters, and Kelley may earn the honor as well, he added.

Auburn’s Steve Delahanty, a junior attacker, is one of the hardest workers and most versatile players on the team, said Bernier of the third-year starter.

Attacker Brandon McMaster, who started every game as a freshman, is as good a sophomore as you will find in the state and will likely play college lacrosse, said his coach.

Another sophomore, Dillan Norcross, started all but three games on defense last year and is another player Bernier said he’s excited to watch develop. Senior goalie Richard Kelley provides the team with solid play in net, said Bernier.

Also on this year’s team are seniors Scott Morin, Mike Marshhausen and Adam Pike; juniors Josh Lee, Corey Bartlett, Chris Brunelli, Shawn Mancini, Cody Quinn, Pat McLaughlin and Joey Mason; sophomores Mike Marcotte, Jon-Luc Gagnon, Chris Emery, Pat Lewis and Nick Voight; and freshman Eric O’Connell.

City’s proposed high school cuts scare parents, students; April 28 meeting set

2008-04-23T19:34:00Z

BY JENN McDOWELL

Parents of high school students being tuitioned to Manchester schools may want to attend a meeting at Manchester Memorial High School on Monday, April 28, at 6 p.m., to discuss the proposed staffing and programming cuts the fiscal year 2009 Manchester school budget will bring.

School officials have been grappling with the gouging cuts after Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta requested the city’s Board of Aldermen reduce the district’s budget from $153 million to $140 million for the coming year.

Many teaching and administrative positions in all Manchester schools are being cut from the budget to realize the savings, including the eight assistant principals recently given notice of possible layoffs.

Music, art, ROTC, full-day kindergarten and athletics have also been cut from the budget, leaving many parents worried about the quality of education and level of character-building Manchester schools will now provide.

Many Hooksett students attend West High School, where the phasing out of Bedford students, thanks to a new high school in Bedford, has left a $7 million shortfall in expected revenues.

Auburn and Candia high school students are also tuitioned to Manchester high schools. Chris Martin, director of fine arts for the Manchester School District, holds one of the many positions being cut from the budget.

Eliminating this position puts extra duties on the even slimmer music staff in place, some of whom are also being cut.

“I think this community appreciates the arts. The community needs to speak out about what’s important to it,” said Martin.

Hooksett resident Tom Shepherd, whose daughter, Julia, 8, will one day attend a Manchester high school – unless Hooksett eventually decides to build its own high school, calls it an idea some residents support. “We keep paying more for education in Manchester and getting less out of it. It’s like any investment,” Shepherd said. “At some point, you have to evaluate the investment and say we’re not getting the return.”

Martin said it’s hard to say what else could be cut from the budget to save money when revenues have fallen so flat for the district.

“If I could think of a way for a public education to be a revenue- generating source, I would win a Nobel prize,” Martin said. “Unfortunately, we are dependent on the tax dollar and right now that’s not a healthy position for us to be in, given the state of the economy.”

Auburn Village School principal retires, Hooksett principal will move to Auburn

2008-04-16T20:33:00Z

BY JENN McDOWELL

After seven years on the job, Hooksett Cawley School Principal Ron Pedro has decided to take the open principal’s position at Auburn Village School. Hooksett Memorial School Assistant Principal Steve Harrises will take over as Cawley principal, effective July 1. With some administrative shuffling within SAU 15, the assistant principal posts at both Cawley and Memorial are open as well.

“I’m very excited about the elementary piece,” Pedro said of his new job at the K-8 school in Auburn, adding he would dearly miss the Hooksett students and frequent interactions with the community.

The Auburn position came up at the end of March, when Principal Anita Johnson announced she would be retiring at the end of the school year. Pedro, interested in getting involved with the elementary levels and particularly the kindergarten implementation, applied and was selected from about 10 candidates. The Auburn School Board appointed Pedro to the position at their meeting Tuesday, April 8.

“Auburn is right on the cusp of change right now,” Pedro said, referencing their space and programming issues as well as the Auburn School Board’s interest in building a new school.

Hooksett School Board Chairman Maura Ouellette said while they will miss Pedro at Cawley, she is happy to see him pursue his interests.

“Ron Pedro had expressed an interest in working with younger students. This is a great opportunity for him and we wish him all the best and thank him for his years of dedicated service to Hooksett,” said Ouellette. The Auburn School Board expressed similar wishes for Johnson in her retirement, but members are excited to have Pedro on board.

“We’re just really going to miss (Johnson), but we wish her the best,” said Auburn School Board Vice Chairman Kathi Porter, adding that the board is excited to have a “fresh set of eyes” on the Village School’s issues.

She added the timing is perfect to get Pedro into the Village School in time to set up kindergarten for the coming school year.

“My goal is to pretty much follow on all those great things that Ron Pedro and Becky Wing have gotten rolling over the years,” Harrises said, adding he is excited at the idea of knowing the Cawley student body from his first day on the job, having seen the great majority of them come through Memorial.

“It excites me so much that I’ll carry these kids from their third-grade year to their eighthgrade year,” Harrises said. “I enjoy seeing kids growing an going through different situations and questioning.”

With Cawley’s current Assistant Principal Becky Wing having been officially approved as the Hooksett School District’s math coordinator for next year, that leaves two assistant principal positions open, one at Memorial and one at Cawley. Wing said she’s excited to spearhead the math coordinator position and shape it to fit the needs of Hooksett schools, adding one of the main goals is to improve math scores both in the classroom and on standardized testing.

“I want to see kids leave our district with a good solid math background and a love of math,” said Wing, whose educational and instructional background is in math.

“When you’re the first person to go into a position, I think that makes it all that more exciting, really,” Wing said.

Superintendent Phil Littlefield said the assistant principal job openings have been posted in newspapers and online, and that two separate committees will be formed to screen applications and narrow down candidates before turning the process over to the SAU administration. Littlefield said the openings were just posted Friday, April 11, so no applications had come in as of press time.

Each committee will include the principal – Harrises for Cawley’s committee and Principal Carol Soucy for Memorial’s – plus five teachers, one support staff member and three parents.

Of the five teachers on each screening team, one would come from each grade level, one would be a unified arts staff member and the remaining teacher spot would be filled by someone from special education or guidance. The Hooksett Education Association, the teacher’s union, will select all five of them, Littlefield said.

Out of the three parents on each committee, one will be the principal’s choice, one will be the PTA/PTO’s choice and the third will be the school district volunteer coordinator’s choice.

The candidates filtered by that process will go into interviews with the SAU staff, including Littlefield, Assistant Superintendent Gail Kushner and Business Administrator Karen Lessard, among others.

From that group of interviewees, the SAU staff will settle on one candidate to bring before the School Board for consideration. “We’re hoping on or about June 10 to bring a candidate for each position to the Hooksett School Board so that they can conduct the final interview,” Littlefield said.

Abrupt end to solid ’07 season leaves Memorial wanting more

2008-04-09T19:47:00Z

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Led by two veteran locals, the Memorial High School Lady Crusaders are prepared to better last season’s 13-6 record and make some noise in the Class L postseason.

“We are young, but we certainly have the talent, and at this stage of the game, we certainly have the leadership,” said coach Dave Hedge. “This is a focused group looking forward to making amends for last year.”

In 2007, Memorial’s 13 wins earned the team the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, but a 5-1 19-inning loss to No. 10 Spaulding prematurely ended the campaign.

This season, Memorial returns three seniors and adds a fourth in its quest for postseason success.

Sara Murray and Kelsey Isham, both of Auburn, anchor this year’s squad.

Manchester’s Kerry Webb is the team’s third captain, and Lauren Cawley joins the varsity unit to complete a senior core of four.

Playing primarily first base, Isham didn’t commit an error last season, said Hedge. She fielded 27 chances in the 19-inning playoff marathon alone, turning two unassisted double plays. Murphy, Webb and junior Rachel Hedge, said their coach, form a solid rotation.

“Last year was a good year that ended on a sour note,” said Murphy. “Right now we’re just working on our team unity, but we definitely want to make it to the playoffs and live up to our expectations.”

First things first, said Isham.

“We want to win the (Queen) city championship.”

Indeed, part of the fun of playing in Manchester is vying for annual bragging rights amongst Central, West and Trinity.

Helping the seniors reach their goals this season are Desiree Letendre, Kelsey Johnston, Sam Hebert, Meredith Doyle, Reilly Sheehan and Courtney Tumble.

Audubon Center celebrates maple sugar

2008-04-02T20:02:00Z

BY SUSANNA HARGREAVES

Smiling with a shirt stained from maple syrup, Nathan Archambault of Hampstead proudly shared his adventures at the 10th annual maple syrup celebration.

“My favorite was the wagon ride,” said Archambault. “It was a lot of fun.” Candice Archambault and her son Nathan both agreed the event was a fun time for all.

“We loved all of it. The storyteller was really great. All the kids were so absorbed in the story,” she said.

The event, known as Maplefest, took place Saturday, March 29, at the Massabesic Audubon Center in Auburn. Approximately 250 New Hampshire maple syrup lovers of all ages turned out for the celebration, according to Alison Dixon, Volunteer and Visitor Services coordinator. Nearly 30 volunteers helped host the event; including interns from the Student Conservation Association (SCA) who are staying at the Bear Brook State Park.

“This is a great way to bring people together to celebrate and educate people about the sugaring season, and also increase awareness about our programs at the Audubon,” said Dixon.

Participants feasted and raved about the meal, which consisted of pancakes with real maple syrup, muffins, sausage and fruit. The center provided a horse-drawn wagon ride, storytelling, crafts, maple syrup demonstrations and various learning activities throughout the day.

Maple sugar candy, maple flavored milk, maple ice cream and maple coffee were also available for all to try.

“This is just wonderful. We have attended every year for the past five years and we even have the recipe for their pancakes,” shared Bonnie Carlson of Candia who attended with her husband, John Carlson.

Emma Schulman, Annie Schumlan and Sofia Falkengren of Bedford came to the event to help Sofia

celebrate her eighth birthday.

“This is a really fun time and I love the pancakes,” said Sofia. “The pancakes are fantastic,” said Felix Shepard of Candia, who brought his grandson, Hunter, to take part in the festivities. “We love it. We will definitely do this again.”

“I ate pancakes, sang songs and saw real snakes and frogs,” boasted 3-year-old Shannon Hargreaves of Hooksett.

“This is one of our biggest fundraisers. It is nice to see so many people be able to celebrate this time together while also supporting our many programs,” said program naturalist and educator Angie Krysiak.

“The New Hampshire Audubon has six centers throughout the state. Our mission is to protect and enhance New Hampshire’s natural environment for wildlife and to educate people.”

roceeds from the celebration will help support the education programs at the Massabesic Audubon Center. The Audubon Center provides several nature and environmental programs throughout the year on wildlife conservation, land protection and environmental education.

For more information on their programs, call 668-2045 or visit www.nhaudubon.org.

Auburn considers its own school

2008-03-26T19:48:00Z

BY TOBY HENRY

The defeat of a two-town middle school to serve Auburn and Candia has left Auburn to evaluate a possible new school proposal on its own while Candia officials say they’re done making plans for now.

In Candia, the past five years have seen three school proposals shot down, including the recent failure of a tuition contract which could have sent that town’s sixth- through eighthgrade students to a proposed Auburn middle school for 20 years. Although the proposed school had been a topic of discussion in both towns for three years, it garnered only 278 “yes” votes to 766 against in Candia, making an Auburn vote moot.

Following the vote, Candia School Board Chairman Karen Smith said her town will likely not revive a major school improvement proposal for the near future. Officials in both towns said Candia’s lack of representation at the proposed school and the uncertainty that their middle-school teachers would be hired to teach there were likely the biggest voter turn-offs.

“I guess it just goes to show you that people have a hard time spending money in a town where they’re not going to have a say,” said Auburn Budget Committee Chairman Lew Theos. “I think people also didn’t like the fact that there was no guarantee (Candia’s) teachers would get hired.”

Candia School Board member Ingrid Byrd, who had been staunchly opposed to the project, said its overwhelming defeat surprised even her. She too agreed that Candia’s lack of representation at the new school was probably its proverbial nail in the coffin.

Byrd said the nationwide news of poor economic forecasts which coincided with the final vote may have convinced more people that the proposal was badly timed.

“Gas is over $3 a gallon, and people are just looking at the realities of life right now,” she said.

Although the $25 million proposal was never presented to Auburn’s voters, the project still maintains a life of sorts after voters approved School Board member Kathi Porter’s request for $62,000 to continue work on a new school design. Porter said the plan for a two-town school is definitely out of the question for now, but the additional money leaves the door open for looking at alternative designs for a building that might eventually replace Auburn Village School.

While the scope of the new project has not been determined yet, Porter said that one concept that is definitely out of the question is building an Auburn-only middle school, a venture that she said would be too costly for the town. Porter said that another two-town partnership is also unlikely.

“A lot of people I’ve talked to said we need K-through-eight, Auburn only,” she said. “And there’s also the question of what we’ll do with AVS -- Do we sell it? Do we give it to the town? Will we lose revenue if we give it to the town? These are all things we’ll have to consider.” Porter said she expects discussions on new school options to begin this summer.

Auburn says ‘yes’ to public kindergarten

2008-03-19T20:33:00Z

BY TOBY HENRY

Residents approved the town’s first public kindergarten and town budget of $4,218,251 during the final annual Town and School District meetings March 14 and 15.

The voters’ decision to approve the SB2 official ballot voting system on March 11 means the traditional meetings held on Friday and Saturday were the last Auburn will have. Discussions on a failed two-town middle school was the focus as the school meeting began Friday night.

School Board member Kathi Porter said she’d wished she would have been kicking off the talks for Auburn’s vote on the project, but the new school effort ultimately evolved into a $62,000 budget increase.

Candia’s rejection of a 20- year contract had killed the project three days earlier before Auburn’s voters could take up their own vote on the two-town school. Porter said the additional $62,000 would be used to “research solutions for space and programming needs” for local students, and an overall budget of $10,133,854 was approved.

Residents also approved a kindergarten with a total construction cost of $382,833, with some $287,125 in state aid expected. State sources will also provide $95,040 toward the $111,060 needed to staff and supply the kindergarten next year.

Although some residents said they were concerned about financial difficulties for the many private kindergartens which have been teaching Auburn’s children, many residents said they felt establishing a kindergarten program was unavoidable.

“The fact of the matter is if the state tells us we have to do this, it’s like my 10-year-old arguing with me about going to bed,” said Chris Trickett. “Sooner or later she has to go to bed. They (the state) is telling us we have to do it.”

According to school officials’ plans, more than 50 students will attend the kindergarten when it opens next year, and a technical education classroom will be converted into two 1,000-square-foot classrooms. The kindergarten passed by a vote of 298-94, easily meeting the required simple majority vote.

Later, during the Town Meeting on Saturday, residents OK’d an additional $150,000 for extra winter road maintenance as well as $3,400 to cover increased costs for groundskeeping equipment. The final budget totaled $4,218,251 without warrant articles.

Voters also shot down an article to have the governor reject the longstanding pledge against having a state tax, and more than $300,000 in various town road projects were approved. Voters also supported a $75,000 request for wastewater planning.

Auburn leaves traditional Town Meeting behind

2008-03-12T19:49:00Z

BY JENN McDOWELL

Aside from electing their town officials, Auburn voters also decided whether to go to an official ballot style of voting on town matters and school matters.

In an overwhelming vote, it was decided the town and school district would now be governed by the official ballot law, often called SB2 for the Senate bill that became the law, leaving the traditional Town Meeting behind.

A total of 538 voted to change to SB2 on the town side, with 308 voting not to change. On the school side, it was 537-310 in favor of SB2.

Prior to the election, Auburn Selectman Jim Headd said he would have liked to see the issue debated at Auburn’s Town Meeting on Saturday, March 15, rather than making it a ballot item.

“It would be funny if we could bring it up and talk about it on the floor,” Headd said, adding only 14 people showed up at a public hearing on the question on Feb. 25.

The Auburn School Board recently showed its position against going to the SB2 form of election used in 50 municipalities and 70 school districts in New Hampshire, the board having taken a stance at a meeting in February against adopting the official ballot law.

While the Board of Selectmen did not take an official stance on whether or not to go to SB2, a public hearing on Feb. 25 featured much discussion among the board members and Auburn residents on whether voting by official ballot was a good idea for the town.

According to 2006 population figures, Auburn has more than 5,160 residents. Currently, the town has about 3,500 registered voters on the checklist.

Several town and school officials have argued that the town is still small enough to maintain the Town Meeting practice, which typically draws a few hundred people in Auburn.

Some are worried the switch to official ballot for all town and school issues would permit many residents to skip the meeting altogether and could possibly bring uninformed voters out to the polls.

Candia, sitting next to Auburn with a population about 1,000 residents fewer than Auburn’s, adopted the official ballot law in recent years and saw the voter participation at the town and school district deliberative sessions plummet by the hundreds from the number which attended the traditional Town and School District Meetings.

While it may be easier under SB2 for more voters to make it to the polls than can attend a lengthy meeting to vote, they may not have as good a handle on the issues, some officials say.

In another upset, long-time Selectman Harland Eaton was supplanted by Paul Raiche in the town’s only contested race for a single open seat on the Board of Selectmen.

The only other ballot issue was to extend the town clerk term from one year to three years, which passed 624-230.

Auburn votes on change to official ballot law

2008-03-05T21:20:00Z

BY TOBY HENRY

The March 11 vote on establishing Senate Bill 2 official balloting is getting a mixed review as residents weigh increased voter participation vs. the traditional meeting and discussion format.

“Less than 200 people last year voted for an almost $9 million school budget, and I think that percentage is just too low,” said former selectman Charles Kellett, who signed citizen petitions for SB2 for both the town and school. “At the Town Meeting, you deliberate and then vote, and all SB2 really does is separate the two.”

About 50 towns and cities and 70 school districts in the state use the official ballot law, often called SB2, which replaces the traditional annual Town Meeting and School District Meeting with an early deliberative session, usually in February, with the vote occurring in mid-March. Kellet and other residents say this is the first time they recall seeing SB2 on Auburn’s ballots, and while officials have not taken sides on the issue, Selectmen Chairman Harlan Eaton recently said he sees “nothing broken” with the Town Meeting format that has been practiced so far.

Everett Harriman, a local retiree, said he opposes SB2 because he has become aware of a drop in attendance at the deliberative sessions when towns such as neighboring Candia have adopted SB2. In 2005, about 600 voters attended the annual Candia Town Meeting, but attendance was about 80 at the deliberative session in 2007.

Harriman said Auburn, with its population of about 5,000, is still “a small enough town to get its “arms around issues” at the annual Town Meeting.

“I’ve found that in the eight years I’ve lived here ... that the give and take at the school and town meetings is very informative, and that it brings out a true picture of the articles up for discussion,” Harriman said. “Neither system is perfect, but I still opt for ... the Town Meeting format.”

School Board member Kathleen Porter agreed, adding she believes SB2 is more effective for bigger towns than it would be for Auburn.

“I think it works well in larger communities where you just don’t have the space for that large of a meeting,” she said. “Auburn is still small enough so that the voters can come together.”

But Kellett observed that as time goes on, Auburn is becoming more and more of a bedroom community, where many residents’ work schedules don’t allow enough time to attend a big meeting or analyze many issues at once. In a best-case scenario, Kellett said, he hopes busy residents could become apprised of the town’s issues by reading the summary of the deliberative sessions and then make an informed vote in March.

Kellett said he views the upcoming SB2 vote largely as an attempt to elicit more voters, and said that he’ll have no problem voting against it should it ultimately prove ineffective.