Candia News : Raymond

Celebrating a new courthouse

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:28:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

Candia District Court was visited by more than 30 state and local officials on Monday, Sept. 29, as they attended the official introduction of the state’s newest justice building.

“It’s a beautiful facility, it certainly gives them enough room to conduct court business, and it’s centrally located,” said former Auburn Board of Selectmen Chairman Harlan Eaton. “I would have liked to have kept in in Auburn, but it wasn’t in the cards. I’m very pleased it came here.”

The new Candia District Court on Route 27 (Raymond Road) officially began hearing its first cases in late July after it replaced the now-defunct Auburn District Court on Priscilla Lane. Last year, state officials chose Candia for the site of a new district court to serve the residents of Auburn, Candia, Raymond, Northwood, Nottingham and Deerfield because that town is located in the center of the district it serves.

Officials who spoke at the open house praised the work by Severino Trucking, the local contractor who built the facility.

Linda Hodgdon, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, hailed company head Ron Severino for his vision in crafting the building’s traditional brick exterior with its notable Roman columns.

“He really put a lot of himself into it, with a lot of nice finishing touches,” she said. “Very thoughtful.”

As he addressed the crowd in one of the courthouse’s two courtrooms, presiding Judge David LeFrancois said the courthouse was the culmination of discussion that began as early as 2001 on where the new courthouse should be. LeFrancois said that even seven years ago, a number of problems were affecting the Auburn court building, and ultimately, more than a dozen locations were looked at before Candia was chosen.

“What we have from that seed that began in 2001 is ... a beautiful new public building,” he said. “What we have now is a district (court) that is smack in the middle of our six towns.”

Commissioner Hodgdon also said the new building, which was designed by Mary Belecz of the state Bureau of Planning and Management, may ultimately “become the template” for future court buildings across the state. Area officials including Candia Selectmen Chairman Fred Kelley to Chairman James Headd of Auburn’s Board of Selectmen gave the new building high marks.

Headd recalled a time only a few decades ago when visiting circuit judges had to make do with the crowded court conditions in the basement of the Auburn Town Hall.

“I remember pictures of people hanging on the stairs,” he said. “If you had a rather interesting civil trial, you couldn’t pack the people in.”

Police Chief Michael McGillen also noted that new hightech touches such as a camera system and a lockable defendant holding area add a new level of security that the former court lacked.

“We’re very pleased with the facility,” he said.

Lamprey River 10 and 11s reach losers bracket finals

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:28:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

They made it further than any Lamprey River Little League all-star baseball team before them.

This year’s 10- and 11-yearolds, with players from Candia, Raymond and Nottingham, not only pushed several perennial Little League powers aside during their unprecedented run, but they gave 2008 champ Goffstown all it could handle in a 4-3 loss in the losers bracket finale on Friday, July 18.

In fact, it took a Goffstown rally in the bottom of the sixth and final inning to prevent the locals from meeting Bedford for the state championship.

Still, manager Paul Coates said it sure was a wild ride. “This team was the most relaxed, fun-loving team that I have ever coached,” he said. “I have been coaching for some time, and this group of players were always a joy. They worked hard … and never let the pressure get to them. They always respected each other and their opponent.”

That was never more evident, said Coates, than at the end of the Goffstown game, when an opposing parent approached assistant coach Carl Edin to thank him.

“(She) expressed her appreciation and respect for (Edin’s son) Adam and the other players for congratulating her son, who hit in the game-winning run. She said that she had never seen such sportsmanship,” said Coates. “This was typical of the Lamprey players throughout the tournament. Win or lose, they understood that all that was required was to give their best effort. On Friday, Goffstown was just a little better, and our players recognized their efforts in a great well-played game.”

The fact that Lamprey River suffered both its setbacks to the champs, said the manager, makes the run that much more impressive.

After beating Manchester South, 4-1, the boys were knocked into the losers bracket courtesy of a 10-0 thumping by Goffstown.

Many teams would have folded. Instead, Lamprey River came from behind to defeat Pelham, 4-2, handed Bow a 5-2 loss, then socked a solid Windham squad, 6-1, before taking down Derry American, 4-3.

“It’s very difficult in Lamprey River, as opposed to a Little League composed of one town, for the kids to come together in an all-star format,” said Coates. “This team was comprised of 14 players who all made a commitment to play. Not one kid was cut in tryouts, and right from the onset they developed a strong concept of team play. They brought four towns together and made one Lamprey River.”

Practices, added the manager, were where the players gelled.

“They never got down on themselves, and they helped each other out quite a bit,” said Coates. “There wasn’t one superstar among them. They were a true team.”

In addition to Edin, others contributing during Lamprey River’s ride include Candia’s Garrett Bolton; Raymond’s Jeffrey Bouchard, McKenna West Coates, Dennis Cowan, Alan Towle, Matthew Layman and Tim Trefethen; and Nottingham’s Alex Sprague, Jamie Sigmund, Tyler Comte, Connor Gaffney, Carter Medeiros and Benjamin Porter.

Assisting Coates were Carl Edin and Dan Gaffney. Others helping the players during practice were Tim Layman, Rob Porter, John Sigmund and Sam Towle.

Lamprey River sweeps to state title, heads to regional tourney

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:22:00 GMT

BY JERRY LIPTAK

In winning the New Hampshire Little League 11- and 12-year-old state championship on Monday, July 21, Lamprey River allowed no hits, no runs and no errors, beating two-time defending champ Auburn, 10-0.

The new champs head to Albany, N.Y., for the Eastern Regional tournament, and, according to Auburn’s manager, Ray Pelton, they’ll need to improve on that fine effort if they plan to beat some of the best teams in the country.

“The pitching is dominant. Just unbelievable,” said Pelton, after watching a dominant performance by Lamprey River’s Sarah Lavallee, who fanned five and was backed by a flawless defense.

Ken McLaughlin, River’s manager, agreed with Pelton, knowing his group must wield some mighty bats when pool play begins on Saturday, July 26. “We need to be more patient (at the plate), and we need to hit those gaps (with some extra-base hits),” said McLaughlin. “But these girls are playing so well right now.”

Indeed, the state champs won three straight contests by a combined score of 39-6.

Lavallee and Kim McLaughlin, who steps inside the circle for the regional opener against Connecticut in Albany, shared pitching duties throughout the state tourney run.

And when the River was at bat, it was odd to see the bases empty.

Autumn Masse and Amelya VanDeWalle, who earned a game ball for her triple and two RBI against Auburn in the final, consistently reached base and ran wild. Lavallee and cleanup hitter Gabby Desjardins, both Candia residents, each drove in a run.

The bottom half of the lineup and River’s reserves were also productive. Hannah Keefe, Brandie Valentine, Meredith Reed and Audra Jenkins – the team’s No. 6 through 9 hitters in the championship matchup – all scored a run, as did Makayla Philibert and Kayla Thomas off the bench. Candia’s Sydney Bolduc, a starter in the team’s mercyrule win against Pelham a week earlier, also reached base.

They’ll need to continue to battle because the competition improves – according to Pelton – exponentially at regionals. “It’s a different level of play there,” he said. “A lot of smallball. If you score three runs in a game, you’re doing well.”

Regional lineup
After the tourney opener, Lamprey River faces Maine on Sunday, July 27; Rhode Island on Monday, July 28; and Massachusetts on Wednedsay, July 30, to complete pool play.

District court relocates to Candia

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:09:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

The former Auburn District Court is now an empty building after personnel relocated the last remaining files and documents to their new Candia location.

On Monday, July 21, court personnel said they were all but finished with the building that has served as the area’s main criminal and civil courthouse in the area for more than 20 years.

As the last documents were packed up for the trip down Route 101, Deputy Clerk Maureen Murphy said there was little else in the building.

Murphy said she and her fellow court officers were looking forward to Candia’s new building, which is about twice the size of the former Auburn court and has a much larger office area and a second courtroom.

“It’s a more secure building and very spacious,” she said. “Right now there’s not much left here really, just some file cabinets and that’s about it.”

Last year, state officials chose Candia as the new location for the district court, which serves thousands of residents living in Auburn, Raymond, Candia, Nottingham, Deerfield and Northwood, and contractor Severino Construction of Candia recently wrapped up work on the new 8,000-square-foot building. The new facility at 110 Raymond Road (Route 27) was the scene of much activity on Monday morning as workers brought in furniture, computers and thousands of documents while court employees began setting up the new office area, which appeared to be twice the size of the room they’d previously shared in Auburn.

In an earlier interview, Court Clerk Joann Lemay said she’d already completed a full tour of the new building, which she said was similar in design and layout to the Franklin District Court. Lemay said she anticipated everything would be “business as usual” when the building opens to the public.

Judge David LeFrancois, who has presided over the district court for the past nine years, also inspected his new location on Monday, and he said the new building should be free of the infrastructure issues that sometimes delayed court at the Auburn location. Although court staff and local officials did not know much about the history of the former court building, Judge LeFrancois said that problems with termites and plumbing sometimes delayed scheduled cases.

“It was just time to find a better facility,” he said. “The town of Auburn has been a very good host for many years, and we really appreciate that.”

Currently, there are no plans for the old Auburn courthouse.

As of press time court officials said all signs indicate that the building was going to open to the public as scheduled on the morning of July 23. The telephone number for the Candia District Court is 483-2789.

Lamprey River wins three straight in state tourney, needs one for title

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:22:00 GMT

BY JERRY LIPTAK

Three up, three down.

That’s not describing the end of an inning for the Lamprey River 11- and 12-year-old all-star softball team. It’s an accurate account of the team’s state tournament games to date.

Most recently, the locals mercy- ruled host Pelham, 10-0, on Monday, July 14, behind the nohit pitching of Kim McLaughlin and a potent offense.

“I just can’t say enough about that team over there,” said Pelham’s manager, Steve Notini. “That’s a sound team, a good team. And they’re well coached.”

Manager Ken McLaughlin and coach Ken Lavallee assembled a group of 11 players – five from Raymond and three each from Candia and Nottingham – that quickly became one unit.

“They all play against each other all year, and they just want to compete,” said McLaughlin, who added they respect each other’s talent and enjoy each other’s company. “They don’t care about anything else.”

Lamprey River is, right now, the state juggernaut at this level. Both the young McLaughlin and Candia’s Sarah Lavallee throw hard from inside the circle, making at-bats an uncomfortable experience for foes.

“Sarah’s 11 years old, and she’s accurate (with her pitches),” said McLaughlin, who said Lavallee throws even harder than his daughter, who fanned two Pelham batters in the second, third and fourth innings.

Lavallee recorded 13 strikeouts against two-time defending state champion Auburn on Thursday, July 10. She also doubled in a run against Pelham.

A solid defense, one that didn’t make an error in the shutout win, takes care of most everything else. Catcher Hannah Keefe also threw out a would-be base stealer with a strong throw to second base.

And the team can hit. Lamprey River put up 18 runs to Merrimack Valley’s four in the tourney’s first game on July 9, another fiveinning affair, then ripped Auburn the next night, 11-2.

Audra Jenkins and Kayla Thomas, who started the game on the bench against Pelham, contributed mightily in the earlier wins. Jenkins was 3-for-4 in the two games, and Thomas reached base three times and stole home against Auburn.

In the middle of the lineup is cleanup hitter Gabby Desjardins of Candia. McLaughlin said she catches for Lavallee, plays a solid third base and runs well. She also blasted a triple that produced River’s final run against Pelham.

Sydney Bolduc is the team’s other Candia resident. She drew a walk and scored in the fifth. “She’s a really fast, athletic player,” said McLaughlin. “And she’s really improved her hitting toward the end of the year.”

Autumn Masse and Amelya VanDeWalle hit 1-2 in the Lamprey lineup. Each scored twice down in Pelham.

Brandie Valentine and Meredith Reed patrol the middle of the infield at shortstop and second base, respectively. Reed was robbed of an extra-base hit in the locals’ five-run first inning by Pelham’s left fielder, and Valentine drove in two runs with two singles. They hit seventh and eighth in the loaded lineup.

Lamprey River needs one win to secure the state Little League softball title, but it must wait until

Monday, July 21, to attempt it.

The team is guaranteed to face one of the squads it has already throttled. Staying focused, said McLaughlin, won’t be an issue.

“Every single one of ’em has a sense of the game,” said the coach on a post-game walk to the parking lot. “Their parents deserve the credit for that. They’re so supportive of the girls in everything they do.”

Candia sues to stop trucks on Route 27

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:04:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

Candia town officials said they plan to join a Raymond lawsuit against a gravel pit approved for an area of Route 27.

Last month, Raymond Planning Board officials approved a two-year extension on a gravel pit project for the Londonderry based Thibeault Corporation, which owns a 315-acre quarry on Route 27. An abutter’s group later called for a re-hearing, and when this was denied, abutter representative and attorney John Vetne took the case to local selectmen and asked for their support.

Vetne said the approval of the gravel pit means that an average of up to 150 trucks a day could access the gravel pit, and he said that 40 percent of this truck traffic would be coming through the Candia portion of Route 27. Selectmen Chairman Fred Kelley said a major influx of heavy trucks could give Route 27 the biggest traffic problems it has seen in many decades.

Route 27, sometimes known as old Route 101 or Business Route 101, was at one point the main route to New Hampshire’s coastal beaches. While Kelley said the town cannot control how this state-maintained road is used, he said a significant increase in traffic would still be a major concern because Route 27 will soon be the main roadway to a new town transfer station, a new district court and a seasonal water park.

Kelley said officials had turned the case over to town counsel for analysis and a recommendation.

Although no official decision had been made as of press time, Kelley said the town will likely file for “amicus,” or “friend of the court” status, in order to have access to information on the proceeding while being shielded from potential counter-lawsuits.