Bedford may not have as many households that will struggle to pay their heating oil bills as other towns, but with the severity of the energy crisis the town may still have to start a program for those who will need some help.

Jonathan Zdziarski, a former candidate for the Town Council, appeared before the council at its Wednesday, June 25, meeting to issue the warning. He said rising taxes could make it harder on some families.

“While we all hope that the sacrifices we’ve made to invest in better schools and infrastructure will one day benefit the next generation, many appear concerned the reality of such sacrifices will hit them particularly hard this winter, as the cost of heating oil and propane continues to skyrocket,” Zdziarski said. “At no fault of the council, our current benevolence budget for this year is ill-quipped to handle the need anticipated this winter.”

Zdziarski estimated that the town had about $10,000 in that budget. If the town cannot add to that, he suggests that it could at least make the money go further by using it to purchase heating oil at bulk rates and then distribute it homeowners in need.

Other fuel assistance programs provide little help, offering 100 gallons or less, Zdziarski said. He called for the establishment of a citizens task force or committee to examine the issue and build a Bedford version of those programs, combining contributions from outside charities with the bulk buying power of the town.

“Something’s going to need to give,” Zdziarski said. “There’s just not enough there.” Chairman Mike Izbicki said the council thinks Zdziarski has a good idea, and councilors asked Zdziarski to do more research.

“The town is listening to the voters,” Izbicki said. “We’re looking into it.”

Izbicki could not confirm what the town had in its benevolence fund, but said the town is restricted in what it can do with that money. He doubted the town would be able to purchase oil at cheaper rates and redistribute it, effectively getting itself into the oil business. “There’s certain things we can do and can’t do as a municipality,” Izbicki said. “We can’t restrict competition.”

The chairman said Zdziarski is investigating whether residents can pre-purchase fuel at bulk rates as a private group, instead of tapping into the buying power of the town.

Izbicki said the proposal has already stirred feedback from the public.

“It’s sparking a lot of interest within the town,” he said.

It may be warm in July, but area residents are still feeling the pain of the past winter’s heating bills and fear what the future holds.

Edward Ramos of Bedford said he doesn’t know exact figures, but guesses that his bill for natural gas has increased about 50 percent over the past two years.

Ramos heats a 2,200- square-foot home with natural gas, and said he is forced to look at his budget and remove money from other areas.

“We just do less of what we used to do. We don’t travel, or eat out as much, and that’s about it for now,” said Ramos, who said he tried to keep the temperature lower in the house during winter months. “We just wear more layers of clothing. Obviously we’d like to see the prices come down, but we don’t see it happening.”

Dominick Rainone of Bedford uses natural gas to heat his 2,000-square-foot condo, but said he hasn’t felt too much of an increase. On his April bill, Rainone said he paid $97.85, and said during the winter months that bill would probably have been about $20 higher. His most recent bill was down to about $41.

Although he hasn’t felt the increase in heating prices, Rainone said he is lucky to have gas heating his home. “I’ll say I am very lucky to have gas heating,” he said. “People who have oil have been telling me how expensive it is, and how much it’s been hurting their wallets.”

Goffstown resident Carol Clark said her oil prices have tripled what she used to pay. “It’s extremely frustrating. I don’t know what to do. A $300 fill will cost almost $900 and it’s ridiculous,” said Clark. “I wear a sweater or a jacket all winter in the house. It’s awful. I wear an electric blanket to keep warm sometimes as well. I try to conserve any way that I can. I’m a sole owner, so it’s difficult on my income.”

Although summer is just beginning, Clark said she already has an eye on the upcoming cold months.

“I am starting to plan now and putting money aside for oil,” she said. “It’s all got to go to that.”

Lois Hollow and her husband Jim Hollow of Dunbarton use both oil and propane. Last June did a pre-pay purchase for the oil and it cost them $2,000 for their two-story home.

“We have a sunroom that is unheated, and it was cheaper for us to install a free-standing propane stove to heat it, which is why we have both,” said Lois Hollow. “We don’t turn the furnace on right away, we start the propane stove and the goes upstairs to save us a little bit at the beginning of the year.”

Hollow also said the cost of oil has forced them to cut back on traveling and also put off some home upgrades that they had planned on doing.

Local governments feel some pressure Residents aren’t the only ones feeling the crunch of heating oil costs. Bedford Town Manager Russ Marcoux said, the town, like others in the area, are being forced to cope with increasing costs.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Marcoux. “It is a moving target that appears to be beyond unreasonable. We are all at the mercy of the federal government officials who certainly don’t give the appearance of doing anything. There is more talk than action.”

The town pays to heat the town office building, Town Hall, BCTV and the library on oil, while the transfer station and safety complex are heated with propane.

This year the town has spent about $64,000 of its $81,000 budgeted for propane and oil. Marcoux said the town offices and Town Hall buildings are energy inefficient, making it harder to save money in other ways.

“All other utility costs are going up because of fuel costs,” he said. “Just today (July 1), there was an over 6 percent increase in electricity to which we have absolutely no control over. Conserving is only a small part of the solution, and with inefficient buildings it makes it more difficult.”

With the high costs of oil, it can also be difficult to find other areas to scale back on.

“For local government, it is difficult to make any serious dent in the costs for a variety of reasons,” said Marcoux. “Road construction is contingent on vehicles working on site, snow plowing vehicles demand high volumes of fuel, and snow has to be removed, police cars should not patrol less, and all fire and emergency vehicles need to respond to calls.”

Considering the high cost to heat the town’s buildings, Marcoux is not looking forward to when the cold weather rolls in. “This winter is very frightening,” he said.

Oil providers in a tough spot, too
While they are in the moneymaking business, several oil companies in the state have said the through-the-roof prices are not exactly good for business, and are going to pose a problem this winter as they try not to buy too much for deliveries.

“The biggest concerns are the elderly and people on fixed incomes,” said Bill West, manager of the Derry-based Rockingham Oil. “How are they going to come up with that money? They’re going to have to choose between heat and food, and that’s not a good place to be.”

Rockingham Oil’s price is hovering at $4.49 a gallon right now, up more double from the $2.31 the company was selling a gallon for in March 2007. West said they’re still doing pre-buy and budget plans, but won’t set a lock-in price until August.

“For anybody in this industry, the lower the price, the more fuel you sell. But it’s a commodity – everybody needs it,” said West, adding sales are currently down and collections are higher.

George Winslow, manager for City Fuel, which has served Bedford, Manchester and surrounding areas since 1936, said it’s a tough time right now because of the economy.

On June 30, City Fuel in Manchester charged $4.59 per gallon of home heating oil. City Fuel offers a cap program, with a $4.89 ceiling price that will not go over that per-gallon cost. If the price goes down, customers who have signed up for the program, get the lower price.

“We have budget plans for that program, and also have one without a ceiling. It’s a 10-month program and you spread your payment out from July for 10 months,” said Winslow. “I think that is one of the better things people can do. Our fear is that people are not prepared for the cost of heating. A lot of people are going into these programs to spread the cost out.”

The price of oil is a very volatile thing, he said, and dealers have to adjust their price. “Right now, our posted price is $4.59 (per gallon), which is a full $2 more than it was a year ago. Unfortunately, people have to prepare themselves for that when winter comes.”

Fred Fuller Oil Company, one of the largest in the state, is selling oil at $4.59 a gallon right now. In June 2007, said general manager Bill Fuller, the price was $2.20 a gallon.

“People can’t afford to fill their tanks or afford to do any pre-buy or budget plans,” said Fuller, adding the company will still offer both but has yet to lock in a rate.

Viking Oil, based in Candia, usually contracts at a stated price based on next heating season buys, said owner John Mayland. “This year, we sent out a letter to customers saying we have only so much oil, and to call from a price and contract paperwork,” said Mayland. “We sold out in two days at $4.49 a gallon. Now we’re selling at a higher price, $4.74 a gallon.”

Mayland added the company has been careful about buying too much because they’re not sure how much people are going to use.

A lot of customers have told him they’re going to keep their thermostats set extremely low and use space heaters, Mayland said.

– Sarah Lebrun contributed to this story

Bedford School Board members voted to make the high school’s Booster Club district-controlled, although the decision could be revisited after some current club members felt they weren’t given enough input on the matter.

Booster Club members had hoped to raise money as an independent, nonprofit organization, but at its June 16 meeting the School Board decided it would not be run that way. The move could set a precedent, moving independent booster clubs and other fundraising entities under the direction of the school district.

Former School Board member Sue Thomas had worked with the subcommittee dealing with the Booster Club, while she served on the board.

Thomas said while on the subcommittee she spoke with the administration about whether to keep the Booster Club independent, but because of a full schedule at the end of her term, she did not have a chance to meet with Booster Club members.

“I’ll never fault the board for making a decision. However, I was surprised the decision was made without bringing in the current Booster Club board,” Thomas said. “They’ve been working very hard for a year, and they didn’t bring them in and talk to them. We’ve done it for every other board. That is my frustration with it.”

Booster Club member Paul Woodmansee said the group had hoped to speak with the School Board before its decision was made.

“We wanted to have a dialogue with the School Board from the beginning, but we knew with the new school coming in, it wasn’t a huge priority,” Woodmansee said. “We thought we’d wait until after the athletic season and school year were over and then talk about it. We were disappointed.”

Manchester West High School Booster Club president Jay Brewster, who is not involved with the Bedford High School club, has worked with West athletics for four years and said West school officials do set guidelines for their group of volunteers. Brewster said the West Booster Club often met socially or informally to discuss issues, something the Bedford High School club may not be able to do.

“We would have regularly scheduled meetings; we had one a month. Volunteers went to the meeting if they could,” said Brewster. “By having it under the school’s guidelines, it becomes more formal. The West Booster Club was very informal. We kept minutes, but had a lot of free-flowing discussions.”

Woodmansee has worked with a variety of athletic groups in town, including the Bedford Little League and Babe Ruth groups.

“It’s easier to get volunteers and raise money when you’re away from the school district or town,” said Woodmansee. “That can be restrictive on us as to what we can do in terms of day-to- day operations. It’s easier if you’re on your own.”

While there was no Bedford High School booster club in the past, since there was no high school, Bedford students and parents were involved with the West club.

“We always had Bedford students going to West, and the Bedford School Board was never involved with that,” said Brewster.

“They are dealing with the same age group, just different kids. It is kind of beyond me as to why they want to get involved now just because it is now Bedford High School.”

School Board Chairman David Sacks said he didn’t believe the decision would have a negative effect on the club. “We don’t see a difference in terms of fundraising ability and attracting volunteers between an independent group and one that isn’t,” said Sacks. “The difference is at the end of the day George Edwards would sign the check. We’d let it be governed freely, but we just want it closely aligned with the school.”

According to Sacks, the School Board’s plan is to have the club under district control for a short period of time, possibly three to four years.

“We’re a young school and don’t have four-grade operation yet. It’s not like the other organizations which are district-wide,” Sacks said. “This will be very closely linked to the high school. We’d like to incubate the booster club and then in the not so distant future spread it out and have it be its own group.” Sacks said he felt the School Board got input from the booster club.

“The subcommittee did interact with the Booster Club members,” he said. “They have explored the concerns, and they did present the concerns.”

Thomas said she believes the board should reconsider its decision. “I’ve changed my mind based on a whole bunch of things, but mostly based on how much they (the Booster Club) have done for the last year,” said Thomas. “I am not critical of their decision, and I have had people question my vote. I think mistakes were made. I don’t think anything was done blatantly on purpose, but I think procedural mistakes were made. It can be reexamined, which is good.”

Sacks said looking at the subject again is a possibility. “It’s a board’s prerogative to change the decision,” he said. “We just need a board member to say they want to open it up for discussion again. I think I would want to hear from the subcommittee again if that was the case.”

Regardless of the end result, Thomas said she thinks it’s in the school’s best interest to reconsider the decision. “Maybe the vote will stay the way it was, but at least the community will be able to say they heard both sides of the story, stepped back and looked at the decision. That’s all I want to see,” said Thomas.

Girls U15
The Bedford Cannons U15 girls team won its division at the New Hampshire Youth Lacrosse Festival on June 8.

The first win was against topseeded Cocheco, 10-6. Nine players scored, including Danielle Ayers, Julia Murphy, Morgan Linehan, Callie Santos, Jenna Mead, Sarah Pallatroni, Jess Lambert, Alex Fink and Caitlin Heaps. Mead also played well in goal.

Then then Cannons came from behind to beat perennial powerhouse and second-seeded Derry, 11-8. Five straight goals and solid goaltending from Sarah Curran turned the game around. Erin Hendrickson scored, as did Pallatroni, Heaps, Linehan, Ayers, Murphy and Santos.

Boys U15A
At the New Hampshire Youth Lacrosse Association year-end festival, the Cannons fought back from a 3-1 second-half deficit to tie Amherst, then avenged an earlyseason loss with a convincing 6-1 win over Derry.

Nathan Larrivee, Johnny Miller and Shane Tracy scored in the 3-3 tie with Amherst. Larrivee and Jared Hornsby earned assists. Tommy Vailas, James Wyatt, Tom Brigham, David Phelps and Sam Kollmorgen provided strong midfield support. Alex Ewing, Mason Murphy and Jake Grande played well defensively in front of stingy goalkeeper Jimmy Hall.

The Cannons collected 45 ground balls and fired 29 shots in the contest with Derry. Jordan Garron scored twice, and Hornsby, Larrivee, Trevor Harnsberger and Mike Astarita also tallied.

Hornsby, Pat Lemay, Tracy and Garron dished assists. Nate Harrington, Matt Poremba and David Lademan led the defense in front of Hall, who made seven saves in goal.

Then on Father’s Day weekend, the boys won three of four games in the Granite State Lacrosse Festival in Amherst.

The Cannons defeated Hollis- Brookline in game one, 7-4, before dropping the afternoon contest to Seacoast by the same score. The next day, the locals beat Nashua, 5-4, and capped the festival with their best game of the season in the afternoon, beating a very good Maine Select team, 5-4.

Max Heald joined the rest of the group in turning in a strong performance to close the season. The Cannons finished with a 12-6-1 record.

It all started when she first arrived at Trinity High School four years ago. Now, as Linsey Barker of Bedford prepares for college, she understands the value and benefits of helping others.

Barker, 18, is involved in the National Honor Society, teaches dance at the Bedford Dance Center, and was Trinity’s homecoming queen this year. But her volunteer work with campus ministry is what she’ll remember the most.

“That’s probably my favorite thing at Trinity,” said Barker. “They really encourage volunteering.”

Barker became a part of campus ministry as a sophomore and immediately got involved in the activities the club did throughout the year. One of the club’s events was to visit and help victims of Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, Miss.

“A school was completely flooded and collapsed,” said Barker. “We went to the school and talked to (the students) and got to see their perspective.” After meeting residents who had lost their homes and were still trying to recover, the students cleaned houses and rubble around the city.

She attributes her experience to Trinity, as most schools don’t offer the same opportunities like visiting New Orleans.

“It was just really surreal. Most schools (except Trinity) don’t offer that.” she said. During her junior and senior years, Barker also volunteered with Special Olympics. “We go for the day and help out with everything they need,” said Barker.

Some things volunteers did included bringing food to the athletes and working as timekeepers. “It was so awesome. I had such a blast,” she said.

Barker did other things with campus ministry, including helping out at the New Hampshire Food Bank once a month during her senior year, collecting and sorting canned food. She and others also volunteered raking leaves in back yards for elderly residents in Manchester every other weekend.

Now out of high school, Barker, 11th in her class, will attend Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., majoring in psychology with a concentration in pre-med.

“I’ve wanted to be a pediatrician for a while,” she said. “I love kids and I love medicine.”

Her parents are proud of the accomplishments she’s had while at Trinity.

“She’s extremely well-prepared for what’s coming in her future,” said her mother, Carol- Lynn. “It really couldn’t have been better.”

Barker has truly benefited from her experiences with campus ministry and understands how large an impact the club has had on the school. According to her, students come out of Trinity more selfless than they were going in.

“It helps us to see that there’s more out there than yourself,” said Barker.

About 45 Bedford residents showed up at a meeting aimed at gauging public sentiment on putting up money for road improvements to the intersection of Route 101 and Nashua Road.

Voters already overturned a request to use $3 million in town money for improvements in March.

On Tuesday, June 24, town officials hosted a public forum so residents could offer their input on how to make the intersection safer, especially for high school students who are expected to drive to and from school.

Town Manager Russ Marcoux said he has been working with a small group since April 29, including three New Hampshire Department of Transportation engineers, Town Council Chairman Michael Izbicki and Public Works Director Jim Stanford to come up with a solution that is relatively affordable to Bedford residents.

Marcoux said the improvements to Route 101 have been on the state’s 10-year plan for about 30 years, and could remain there indefinitely if Bedford does not go forward on its own.

“We can do nothing, that’s an alternative,” said Marcoux. “If we do nothing, there is a good possibility that we will see no improvements on 101 for 10, 12 years.”

Michael Dugas, the DOT’s chief of Preliminary Design and Bill Cass, chief of engineering, presented several alternatives at the June 24 meeting and some possible funding sources, including applying for the State Aid Highway Program and the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program.

The options were estimated to start at $1.5 million. The first entails putting a traffic signal at Nashua Road and Route 101, adding a left-turn lane and another eastbound lane running from Wallace Road past Nashua Road on Route 101 and restricting turns at Bell Hill Road.

The second option is similar, but would extend the added eastbound lane up to Meetinghouse Road. The third option would add a westbound lane and extend both new lanes up to Constitution Drive.

Several residents at the June 24 meeting in Bedford High School theater, including Gus Garceau, suggested scaling down the improvements.

“We have to look at a way that costs very little money and wait for the state to decide,” Garceau said.

Others, including Christopher Dainiak, suggested calling on surrounding towns whose residents use Route 101 to help pay for the project.

“This is the most populated area of the state. It’s basically a bedroom community of Boston. It’s not just been Bedford, it’s been the entire region,” Dainiak said.

Others pointed out that Route 101 is a state road, and the only money Bedford should put out would be for changes to Nashua Road.

“It’s my humble opinion that it should be the state’s responsibility to maintain and improve state roads,” said resident John Bostwick.

Joleen Worden said the town should put the money up to remedy safety issues, arguing that the state would reimburse the town for two-thirds of the project under the state highway program, or about a million for a $1.5 million project.

She argued the remaining $500,000 would be considered as funding the Nashua Road improvements only.

“The real question in our minds should be do we want to loan the state a million dollars and then spend half a million on Nashua Road,” she said. “I think the answer is obviously, if we don’t do it, we’re crazy.”

Marcoux said the study group would look at the suggestions made, come to the Town Council with the most viable and would likely present a warrant article in March 2009.

The town could soon be getting an influx of nearly 100 apartments and townhouse condos affordable to middle-class workers.

NeighborWorks Greater Manchester, a nonprofit community development corporation, envisions 72 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments split between two three-story buildings on 11 acres of land between South River Road and Technology Drive owned by James Dwire.

The plan was aired for the first time in public at a planning board meeting on Monday, June 16. The board was also scheduled to hear a plan for a 2,400-square foot bank at Nashua Road and Route 101, but that was postponed.

The housing development, which would be coordinated by TFMoran, an engineering firm with an office in Bedford, would also have 26 townhouse condos and 26,000 square feet of retail stores. The townhouses would be either two or three-bedroom units.

The 72 apartments would be affordable for an average working middle-class family of four with a household income of $45,000, according to NeighborWorks.

That income is a little more than half the median income in the area, which is about $76,000. The townhouses would be marketed to families whose income ranges from $68,000 to $89,000.

In a presentation to the board, Robert Tourigny, executive director of NeighborWorks, pointed out that only 7 percent of the 183 single-family homes for sale in Bedford are affordable for families who earn less than the median income in the area.

The average price of a singlefamily home for sale in Bedford is $533,430. To afford a home like that, a household must make $157,354, which is slightly more than double the area’s median income.

By comparison, firefighters, on average, earn $40,613, police officers pull in $49,716, and elementary school teachers have an income of $50,724, according to NeighborWorks.

Tourigny said his organization would finance the development through federal tax credits, which are allocated through the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. The credits would offset some of the cost of the development, allowing NeighborWorks to rent the apartments at lower rates.

The development would be in the performance zone, where the housing is not permitted. Rick Sawyer, the town planner, said the developer would need a use waiver from the Planning Board. A use waiver is similar to a variance.

Robert Cruess of TFMoran, said he will return to the board in late October or November to ask for the waiver. In the meantime, Sawyer said the board will wait and see if the town wants to change the rules for the performance zone, allowing the housing.

“We have to think about what’s the right thing to do as a community,” Sawyer said.

If the board grants the waiver, Tourigny said his organization will then apply for the tax credits. That process, he said, would last for most of 2009, pushing a groundbreaking off to the following year.

The board also indicated that it was keeping its eye on some legislation which has passed the state Senate and House, but has yet to be signed into law by the governor. The new law would reinforce a court case, barring towns from prohibiting or unreasonably discouraging housing developments which are affordable for low- to moderate- income families.

But Sawyer said the law applies to residential zones. This development would be in a commercial area.

“The snapshot in my mind of what this says is that you need to allow multi-family housing in the majority of your residential zones,” Sawyer said.

Tourigny said the 98 homes and apartments would be built in phases. NeighborWorks would co-own the apartments with the financial entity that buys the tax credits. There would be separate owners for the condominium and the commercial area, according to Tourigny.

Even though NeighborWorks is itself a nonprofit corporation, Tourigny, when questioned by Town Manager Russ Marcoux, said the partnership that owns the apartments would pay property taxes on them.