Hooksett Banner : Epsom

Ice storm of Dec. 11-12 leaves hundreds of thousands without power around state

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:26:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Local towns are dealing with the wrath of Mother Nature, who dropped ice around the Granite State, leaving a good portion of the state in the dark.

More than 325,000 New Hampshire residents were left without power following an ice storm that many officials say was worse than the one that took place in 1998.

Virtually all of Epsom, a town of about 4,000 people was left in the dark at the start of the ice storm.

“There were quite few trees and wires down,” said Selectman Joanne Randall. “The whole town was out. As of Monday (Dec. 15), we still had small pockets of secondary roads without electricity. There may still be some people without power at the end of the week.”

Epsom Fire Chief Stuart Yeaton said they learn something from each event, having gone through floods the past few years and the tornado this summer.

“Every time we get another event, we learn something,” he said. “People would call and say they have power and a generator (to offer).”

Auburn police have seen the criminal element take advantage of the storm. Police Chief Edward Picard said his department received a call during the power outage about an attempted break in.

The call came at 3 a.m. Sunday morning, Dec. 14, but Picard said his department hasn’t been faced with the theft of generators that he has been told is happening in surrounding towns.

“People have to go all the way to Connecticut to purchase generators,” said Picard. “The bad guys are using this emergency to their advantage.”

As of Tuesday, Dec. 16, about 50 percent of Auburn was in the dark, compared to what Picard estimated to be about 90 percent at the storm’s height.

Despite the negatives that came with the storm, Picard said there is a positive he took out of it.

“I’m proud of the way that the town has responded to helping their neighbors who don’t have power,” said Picard. “There were private residents going around with their generators, and that’s the character of Auburn.”

Candia officials met on Friday, Dec. 12, to set a plan of action, a plan that included getting the town’s roads cleared first.

While the road agent and his crews began on the back roads, firefighters attacked dangerous trees on Route 43, High Street and Old Candia Road.

Officials opened an emergency shelter later in the day at the Moore School, but after only one resident stayed there Friday night, it was suspended on Saturday.

The use of generators and personal heaters made for busy days and nights for the Hooksett Fire Department, according to Chief Michael Williams.

“We were extremely busy responding to over 60 electrical emergency incidents in a 48-hour period,” said Williams. “We are now experiencing carbon monoxide problems due to generators operating in garages and kerosene heater operating in houses. Just (Monday, Dec. 15) we responded to five carbon monoxide problems with related medical symptoms.”

Pembroke and Allenstown were not hit too hard. Lt. Dwayne Gilman of the Pembroke Police Department reported that 425 homes in Pembroke were without power at the height of the problem, mostly in the northern area of town. Allenstown residents also lost power, but there were no serious issues reported by the Allenstown Police Department.

Flash floods hit hard in spots

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:12:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Just as Allenstown wins federal assistance to buy up to 14 homes severely damaged in the past two years’ floods, it – and many other towns throughout the state – ended up sopping wet after Hanna hit.

The tropical storm swept up the coastline and through New England quickly, the first downpour hitting the state in the evening on Saturday, Sept. 6.

The storm dumped several inches of rain overnight, and brought with it winds of 40 plus miles per hour.

The next day, Sunday, Sept. 7, was spent surveying the damage and pumping out for many business owners.

For many road agents, it means being worried about spending money the town doesn’t have.

Hooksett Police Capt. Paul Cecilio said the Kmart plaza on Route 28 flooded just as badly as it did in the past two years’ floods.

Virtually every major route into and out of Hooksett was out of commission in the early morning hours of Sunday, Sept. 7.

“At one point, we had Mammoth Road closed, we had Bypass 28 closed from Whitehall all the way to the intersection of Route 3 and 28 because Kmart flooded, and we had Hooksett Road closed all the way from McDonald’s to that intersection because Kmart flooded,” Cecilio said. “At the same time, we had Route 3-A closed from Exit 10 going south because of a sinkhole where the new Lowe’s construction is.

“Basically, every major route going in and out of Hooksett was closed except for I-93 and Route 3-A from Exit 10 to Bow,” he said. “Other than that, every single major road was blocked.” “It rained, and it rained hard,” said Epsom Police Chief Wayne Preve. “We had a lot of damage, basically in the same areas we had trouble with in the previous floods,” he added. Roads slowly began opening around 6 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7, Cecilio said. The highway and fire departments were out in full force trying to contain the water damage.

“It was as bad as the flooding we had a couple years ago, when we had to have the National Guard and everyone else coming in,” Cecilio said. “If they don’t fix that problem at Kmart, every time we get heavy rain, it’s going to flood.”

Epsom fire and police evacuated about 20 people from the Lazy River Campground on Goboro Road when the heavy rains caused the flooding water to rise about 2 feet in an hour in the lower part of the campground. “We got there around 3 p.m., and I was walking on dry ground. Within half an hour, I was walking in water,” Preve said.

Many chose to tow their campers out of the flooded area and brought them to higher ground in the park. The campground owner was also helping tow campers out of the rising water and mud, along with fire and police, Preve said.

Black Hall, Prospect, New Orchard, Swamp, Range, North, River, Droulet and Goboro roads were all washed out, Preve said, and there was also a tree down on Swamp Road.

“In some areas, there is considerable damage,” he said.

Epsom Road Agent Gordon Ellis said on Monday, Sept. 8, he planned on meeting with selectmen at their weekly meeting that night to discuss how the town is going to pay for the repairs the latest weather disaster left behind.

The town hasn’t even fully recovered from a tornado that ripped through on July 24. “I do not have enough money to fix the damage. I don’t think it’s going to get declared, so it will fall on the taxpayers, and I just have to do the best I can with what I have,” said Gordon, who said he and his workers were busy on Sunday, Sept. 7, clearing cow paths for emergency vehicles to enter areas still inaccessible by road.

“What I’ve done yesterday and today is make sure people can get in and out of their homes,” Ellis said on Monday, Sept. 8.

Sanborn Hill, Martin Hill, and Chestnut Pond were the hardest hit areas this time, he added.

There are no preliminary estimates of the damage but it wasn’t as bad as the spring floods of the past two years, Ellis said, because they used a lot of erosion stone when they rebuilt the roads after the last flooding episode.

Most of the roads in question are unpaved. Ellis said it’s not financially feasible to pave them because the drainage repairs that would have to be made are astronomical compared to the simple paving of the road itself. “Drainage most of the time costs more than the pavement that’s on top,” said Ellis. “If you’re drainage isn’t right, it’s not going to last.”

Earlier this year, Allenstown residents voted down every monetary warrant article on the ballot, including one asking voters to help fund a matching grant to fix a culvert on Mount Delight Road that was reduced to pieces during the 2007 floods.

Mount Delight Road was washed out again when Hanna hit, and Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said it’s a situation that could have been avoided if the culvert had been fixed.

While Allenstown was just awarded $2 million in federal grants to buy flood damaged homes, Mulholland said its unlikely the $10,000 or so in damage Hanna caused would qualify for assistance.

The storm caused erosion damage on Deerfield Road and Campbell Street, Mulholland said, and water flooded the culde- sacs on Jasper Drive, Alban Avenue and Riverside Drive. These areas were seriously affected by the 2006 and 2007 floods. Mulholland said the water pooled on their lawns, but did not reach the homes again. “Obviously, this caused a great deal of concern down there. We had an officer stationed down there,” Mulholland said.

Residents in the Deerfield Road area lost power during the storm Mulholland said. Several trees came down around town, he added.

Many struggle to pay last year’s fuel bills, worry about future

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:36:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

It’s going to be a lot harder for the Hills family of Allenstown to stay afloat financially this year, with fuel prices hitting record highs.

Jeanne Hills babysits her toddler grandson, staying home while her husband and her adult children work. With the price of heating oil averaging more than $4.50 a gallon, according to the state Department of Energy and Planning, the future looks frightening.

The Hills got a decent price last year, but ended up spending a total of $2,281 on their oil deliveries between September 2007 and their most recent in May 2008. This year, they are likely going to spend much more than that to heat their home.

Hill added that her mother, a 70-year-old retired woman on a fixed income, had so much trouble trying to pay for the oil heat bills on her mobile home in Derry that she had to move in with Hill’s sister.

“I used to buy 150 gallons (per delivery) and had to go down to 100 gallons,” said Hills. “It wasn’t fitting in our budget. Prior to that first September bill, I was paying $240 for 150 gallons, and now for 100 gallons it was almost as much,” Hills said, adding she made good use of her wood stove last winter and would continue that practice this winter.

Not a bad idea, and one David Pearl of Hooksett has more than bought into. Pearl, who runs “Spotlight Video” out of his Main Street home, has two years’ worth of wood sitting in his back yard in preparation of the heating crunch.

Pearl does use oil, but stocks up on the wood each year, buying it wholesale at about $1,200 for a gigantic truckload that equals about 12 cords, a two-year supply.

At first, said Pearl, his wife, Joanne, wasn’t crazy about the the huge amount of wood in their backyard. “This year, she’s kind of on board; that it’s definitely worth it,” said Pearl. “You’re going to have to have heat one way or the other.”

Local governments under stress
Hooksett Town Administrator David Jodoin said most of the town’s buildings run on gas heat, the price of which is also on the rise.

Still, with energy prices increasing along with gasoline, Jodoin said there are going to be many trickle-down effects from the national and state levels to the towns.

“We will be forced, like many towns, to postpone paving if things get too tough and look at hours of operation, and possibly even layoffs,” Jodoin said. “Projections are impossible right now. The market on fuel is fluctuating way too much. All we can do is, like everyone else, pray that things stabilize.”

To heat the old Town Hall and the highway garage for the 2007-08 year cost Hooksett $11,768.42 said Finance Director Christine Soucie.

The only building in Candia that runs on oil is the old library, not in regular use. The heat has to stay on the lowest setting there so the pipes don’t freeze, said selectmen’s assistant Dawn Chabot.

That building alone cost $1,401.47 to heat between January and December 2007.

“It’s probably going to be double, if not triple, this year,” said Selectmen Chairman Fred Kelley, adding his own home cost about $1,000 to heat during this past winter.

Pembroke and Allenstown use little heating oil, as they sit almost directly on top of a gas line. Natural gas prices are also increasing, according to the Department of Energy and Planning, but not at the rate of oil increases. The average cost for natural gas is around $1.70 per unit on the high end.

“The major gas line that runs to Concord runs through Pembroke between Route 3 and the (Suncook) river,” said Pembroke Town Administrator Geoff Ruggles, adding that skyrocketing oil prices will have only a small effect on Pembroke.

The only Pembroke building using oil is the Perry Eaton building, the old police station, which also houses the Sewer Department.

Most of the town is also on gas, Ruggles said, but some residences in older sections may be on oil heat.

It’s basically the same story in Allenstown, where the majority of buildings – including the town hall, police and fire stations and recreation center – are on the same gas line that runs through neighboring Pembroke.

“I’m sure the rate will increase just like everything else,” said Police Chief Shaun Mulholland, agreeing with Jodoin that gasoline is going to have the biggest impact on the town’s budget.

The highway garage in Allenstown is a little bit different. “We actually heat the highway garage with waste oil,” said Selectman Tom Gilligan. “We have a waste oil burner that we put in years ago, and we continue to maintain and upgrade it. We also have a propane tank as a backup at the highway garage,” he said.

Epsom selectmen’s assistant Nancy Wheeler said the current town office building, the old Town Hall, and both the fire and police departments run on oil heat. The highway shed is the only town building that uses propane.

In 2007, she said, Epsom spent $13,738 on heating oil, coming within $150 of what they had budgeted for that year. Selectmen budgeted $15,475 for 2008 in anticipation of the historic meeting house, which was moved next to the old Town Hall, is completely renovated and becomes involved in the oil heat budget this year.

So far, the town has spent $8,188 of their 2008 heating oil budget line, with about three more months left to go between October and December.

Wheeler added the town was able to lock in a good rate at $2.34 per gallon, but will have to go out to bid again sometime in the next month. “If it goes up a dollar a gallon, based on what we used the second half of the year, we should be okay, but who knows?” said Wheeler.

Auburn Town Administrator Bill Herman said town is trying to juggle the rising costs of heating fuel, gas, and asphalt, and said those increases have exceeded their budget projections.

The Board of Selectmen is looking at installing a new, more energy efficient heating system in the town hall this year to help to defray some of the increase in oil heat costs down the road.

“Depending on the account, increases of 10 to 27.5 percent were included in the 2008 operating budget for anticipated fuel increases. It appears at this point those increases may not be enough to cover the expenses of heating the town buildings this year,” Herman said.

All town buildings except for the highway garage run on oil heat, he said, and rising heating fuel costs caused the budgets for both the police department and general government buildings, including the Town Hall, highway garage, and old police and fire stations, to run over budget in 2007-08.

So far in 2008, according to Herman, those accounts are getting close to their budgeted amounts, with at least three months left to heat on this year’s budget.

It’s time to vote

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:10:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

New Hampshire towns are gearing up for the annual vote on town and school issues. Polls will open Tuesday, March 11. Hooksett’s official ballot town elections are not until May 13.

Pembroke and Auburn adhere to the traditional Town Meeting format, and are only electing officials on March 11.

Auburn will, however, decide whether to change to the official ballot law, or SB2, at the March 11 vote. Auburn will also decide between Paul Raiche and Harland Eaton for selectman.

Hooksett – school
Hooksett will choose two of four candidates for School Board and vote on four warrant articles. The four running for School Board are Becky Berk, Pat Rueppel, Paul Cournoyer and Trisha Korkosz. Warrant articles include a $25 million school budget and renovations to the Underhill kitchen.

Allenstown – town
There are two contested races in Allenstown. David Bouffard, James Rodger and Chris Roy are competing for one road agent position. Lawrence Anderson, Thomas Irzyk, Richard Keeley, Sandra McKenney, Robert Lee and Roger LaFleur are running for one selectman’s slot.

• Proposed operating budget: $5,055,264. Should the budget fail, the default would be $4,541,936.

• The Suncook Wastewater Treatment Facility expansion: a $15 million bond to be paid over 20 years would expand the sewer plant, Allenstown taxpayers being responsible for 48 percent of the total costs and Pembroke 52 percent.

At the town’s deliberative session, voters amended the wording of the article to say that the town would only go for the expansion if at least half the costs could be secured in state and federal grants. A 60 percent majority vote is needed for this article to pass.

• New fire truck: This article asks voters to approve a $450,000 expenditure on a new fire truck to replace one dating back to 1976. The new truck is a 2,500-gallon pumper/tanker that would do the work of three of the older trucks for the Fire Department.

• Road agent: This article asks to change the method of putting the town’s road agent in place from official ballot election to Board of Selectmen appointment.

Allenstown – school
• Proposed operating budget: $9,954,853. Should the budget fail, the default budget would be $9,838,008. School warrant articles would add an extra $78,802.

• A warrant article asks for $58,802 for the first year of a four-year collective bargaining contract with the Allenstown Paraprofessional Association.

Epsom – town
The only contested race in Epsom is between four people running for three slots on the Budget Committee. They are David Fiorentino, Greg “Whitey” Foss, Mar Lou J. LaFleur and Carol McGuire.

• Proposed operating budget: $2,882,220. Should the budget fail, the default budget would be $2,469,881.

• Various articles ask for money to pave and maintain roads, projects that have been put off in the past few years due to defaulted budgets.

• A citizen’s petitioned warrant article asks voters whether they favor going back to a fivemember Board of Selectmen.

At this year’s election, three members will be voted in after Epsom residents voted last year to reduce the number of seats on the board down to three.

• The police and fire departments submitted a warrant article asking for $57,054 for six months’ salaries for one full-time officer and one full-time firefighter.

The article states $4,500 of that would come from a line in the police department’s budget, with the rest being raised through taxes. Another article asks for $82,815 to give all fulltime fire and police personnel pay raises.

Epsom – school
• Proposed operating budget: $8,071,443. Should the budget fail, the default budget would be $7,904,002.

• The school district asks in a warrant article for $36,292 to fund pay raises for school support staff.

• Another article asks for $34,884 to pay for bus transportation for Epsom high school students attending Pembroke Academy. Currently, there is no school district funded transportation for those students.

• To remove asbestos flooring left in the Epsom Central School, the district asks voters for $70,069.

Candia – town
Candia has two contested races. Dannis Lewis and Paul C. Vallee are competiting for road agent. For selectman, voters will choose between Todd D. Allen, Frederick Kelley and Amanda Soares.

• Proposed operating budget: $2,321,660. Should the budget fail, the default would be $2,265,781.

• A citizen’s petitioned warrant article asks whether Candia voters are in favor or selling a 12-acre parcel of land by Exit 3 off of Route 101. A 2003 vote already gave selectmen the authority to sell the land for a grocery store, but the article voted in also allowed for a citizen’s petition after two public hearings on the land sale.

• Selectmen submitted a petition asking voters’ stance on “rescinding” the town’s Budget Committee. The wording was changed at the town’s deliberative session, and now asks whether voters are in favor of “retaining” the Budget Committee.

Candia – school
• Proposed operating budget: $7,486,408. Should the budget fail, the default would be $7,526,161 (almost $40,000 higher than the proposed budget).

• The most expensive article asks voters to allow the Candia School Board to enter into a tuition agreement for a joint middle school with Auburn, and further to spend $296,708 for the first year’s payment on building costs. The tuition agreement would be in effect for 20 years, with Candia paying 38 percent of the school’s building and operating costs based on current enrollment.

• A warrant article for a collective bargaining agreement with Moore School teachers would require $83,347 to be raised in taxes.

• The school district is asking for $91,885 to purchase a generator for the Moore School.

letters to the editor of The Hooksett Banner, Feb. 28, 2008

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:10:00 GMT

Editorial:

We must make math education a priority

Half, yes, half, of the 11th-graders tested by the state were listed as “below proficient” in math. That’s the politically correct way of saying they failed. They weren’t even close to being able to do the math expected of them. Yes, the 11th-grade test is harder than simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. But if half the students taking the test fail, you have to wonder if it’s the students or it’s the test.
In this case, having looked at the test preparation booklet available online (http://www.ed.state.nh.us/Education/doe/organization/curriculum/NECAP/PracticeTest.htm), we think it’s the students. Which means they are either not taking the test seriously – a point worth considering – or they have not been adequately taught. You can’t do algebra or geometry without a strong basic foundation, and our elementary schools are also struggling to meet the state’s proficiency requirements. This problem started when these students were much younger.
We need to make sure our students are well educated in the fields of math and science. Our futures all depend on our children’s ability to solve complicated problems. China is graduating far more math and science students than the U.S. is – a point often hammered home by FIRST founder Dean Kamen. This isn’t to be taken lightly. We must find a way to teach our children and make them care about it.

letters:

Epsom should return to a five-member board of selectmen

To the Editor:
A committee to study whether the town would be better served by a five-member board was appointed by the town moderator. They met in 2001, four times in three months. They interviewed town officials from four towns that were about the size of Epsom and had changed from three to five members (Bow, Deerfield, Hinsdale and Bethlehem) and approximately 30 current and former town leaders.
The major concern was if we stayed at three we would need to hire a town administrator. And if we went to five, it would need to increase the office staff because of the extra work. At that time, we had one full-time and one part-time employee in the office. When the board went to five members, the staff doubled. We now have three full-time employees, who have been working in the office for the past four years.
There are over 18 departments and committees that the BOS is responsible for. Each one has to have a liaison from the BOS. Some committees require that a board member attend each meeting as a member of that committee. That’s six departments or committees for each selectperson.
The truth is that our town is growing, and the work load is increasing not decreasing. I am very concerned that if it stays at three, next year we will see an article for a town administrator.
Remember, if it doesn’t pass this year, it will take two years before we can change it back. That’s why I support voting to go back to a five-member board this year.
Richard Frambach
Epsom

I endorse Fred Kelly and Joe Duarte for selectmen

To the Editor:
There will be a “Meet the Candidates” night on Friday, March 7.
I would like to express my views on two of the candidates running this year.
One is Mr. Fred Kelly, who is running for re-election for chairman of selectmen’s board. I would like people to know that this man has served and delivered great things to our town for many years. He is truly dedicated to the people, interests and safety of our town and proves his dedication time after time. Even when the pressure is overwhelming, he always remains calm, open-minded and objective. He is also a resident of Candia, which I feel is important for our town.
The second is Mr. Joe Duarte who is running for re-election for selectman. I would like people to know that he also is dedicated and has delivered great things to our town. Mr. Duarte is always dedicated to the people of this town and always is truly interested in the issues of our residents. He never lets the small voice go unheard and is open-minded, objective and patient. He is also a resident of Candia.
Thank you for your time.
Jennifer Haggett
Candia

Please vote for Trisha Korkosz for Hooksett School Board

To the Editor:
My name is Trisha Korkosz. I am a resident of the town of Hooksett and I am running for the Hooksett School Board. I would like to ask people to go to the polls and vote for me on March 11.
I would like to represent each of you on the Hooksett School Board. I will work with the School Board, the SAU administration and the school administrators to help us all educate the students of the town of Hooksett. I believe that we, as a town, need to work together to make the best choices for our students. I feel what I may lack in political experience, I make up for in that fact I represent a sector of the population that may not have a strong voice. By this I mean that I have young school-aged children within our system. I can bring fresh ideas and new energy to the board.
I feel that the School Board needs to work with the SAU administration, the other towns within our SAU and the school administration in a collaborative manner to enact what is best for our students. In our very changing economy, we need to be fiscally responsible and spend money in a manner that gets us the best results. I think this year the School Board and the Budget Committee worked very hard at having positive communication and doing what is best for our students while being as frugal as possible. I would like to help continue this improved communication.
When people ask why I am running, I answer that my husband and I are trying to teach our children that we each have a responsibility to do our part to make our community better. We believe, as we were raised, that the one of the most important things we give our children is a great education. We feel that Hooksett has a great school system and we would like to help make it better. The manner in which we think we can do that is by my running for School Board.
I can promise each member of the Hooksett community, when you vote for me on March 11, I will do my best to represent you on the Hooksett School Board.

Trisha Korkosz
Hooksett

Thank you for allowing me to serve the town of Epsom

To the Editor:
To the residents of Epsom:
Thank you for allowing me to serve you as selectman for the past year. I have certainly learned a lot about Epsom; budgets, RSAs, tax rates and many other important things.
I have also learned what a great town Epsom is, especially the people. I am overwhelmed sometimes at how eager people are to help, donate, volunteer and generally assist the town.
Although I will be running unopposed, as are the other two selectman candidates for their positions, it is important that you make the effort to vote on March 11.
Vote yes on Article 1 and carefully consider each article on the ballot. Each warrant article has many hours of thought and consideration behind it, including cost considerations.
It is important to support our police and fire departments, as well as the work that needs to be done on our roads and for our Highway Department.
Thank you for continuing to support our great town!
Joanne Randall
Selectman, Epsom

Snowmobilers and four-wheelers make park a raceway

To the Editor:
On Sunday afternoon, my daughter and I went for a snowshoe hike to Hayes Marsh in Bear Brook State Park. But it felt more like we were at the Loudon Raceway with all the snowmobiles and four-wheelers flying full throttle down the trails. Firsthand we learned why snow vehicles should not be allowed in the same area of the park that hikers and skiers use.
Following a trail parallel to Podunk Road (which goes from Deerfield Road to the 4-H camps), we came to a wide roadbed leading from Podunk Road to Hayes Marsh. There were 15 to 20 vehicles revving their engines so much that we could hardly hear each other talk. They all took off at full speed toward the marsh. We walked along the edge of the road looking for the next foot trail to escape to. A four-wheeler sped past us and suddenly veered to the right as three snowmobiles came racing from the other direction.
At the place where the road narrowed, a sign said “No motorized vehicles allowed,” but they all drove past it without slowing down to look.
On our return trip, we took the Hayes Farm Trail to save time, but had to keep stepping aside for each group of machines that was apparently trying to set a new speed record. When we were about a quarter mile from the parking lot, we went down Podunk Road and had to suddenly evade a snowmobile that was racing full throttle up the road around a curve at what seemed like 40 to 50 mph.
I am disappointed in the behavior of all these people. In the summertime, you can walk along a roadway and feel safe that passing cars will slow down and give you wide berth. But that does not seem to be the mindset of the snowmobile/four-wheeler crowd. Full throttle seems to be the only way to travel.
Michael Frascinella
Allenstown

No need to be disagreeable when disagreeing with someone

To the Editor:
Apparently, the young Mr. Ross mistook what I intended as advice for admonition.
For the record, Rep. Snow stands behind his votes. As a candidate I was, hopefully, clear about how I would represent my constituents, if elected. I have, again hopefully, consistently attempted to do what I said I would do: listen to everybody, attempt to understand all the sides of every issue and vote for what I believe best serves the needs of all the people.
Inasmuch as there are many sides to every issue, some people will inevitably disagree with any particular vote. It would be nice if we could disagree without being disagreeable.
As always, I’m available for discussion on any issue. I’m old enough to have gained the wisdom to know that there are more questions than there are answers and that I, like Mr. Ross, have opinions, but that neither of us have infinite wisdom.
Richard H. Snow
Candia

Epsom needs recording system

To the Editor:
I am writing this letter in support of Article 17. This article addresses the purchase of an audio/video system for the various town board meetings.
For years, the Board of Selectmen and other boards have had to rely on handwritten notes and transcribed minutes to record their meetings. For those who cannot attend the meetings, it is difficult to keep up with business in town.
This equipment will allow Metrocast subscribers to view the meetins from your home. It will supplement record keeping and could be made available for public use and would be in invaluable in future litigation.
Many towns are now broacasting their town meetings. Let’s bring Epsom into the 21st century.
John Campbell
Epsom

Things not done

To the Editor:
I regret not being able to accomplish the following tasks:
1. An exit exam for the eighth grade, done independently from the school.
2. State and federal government to pay for unfunded educational mandates.
3. State and federal government to pay for unfunded non-educational mandates.
4. The state to allow schools to refuse the mandate moneys and not comply, as is done on the federal level.
5. Stop the demasculinization of our youth.
6. An understanding of where our rights come from and what they are in the Constitution.

Gordon R. Ellis
School Board member
Epsom

Hooksett Banner letters to the editor for Jan. 10, 2008

Hooksett Editor — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:31:00 GMT

Hooksett Salvation Army says thank you to volunteers
To the Editor:
Thanks to the generous donation of time by countless Hooksett citizens and the equal generosity of shoppers in Hooksett, over $17,000 was raised through bell ringing from collection points at Kmart, Wal-Mart and Shaw’s in Hooksett during the holiday season.
We are extremely gratified that our total exceeded that of 2006, thanks to an outstanding response on the last few days before Christmas.
The Salvation Army Kettle Campaign in Hooksett is one of the very few in the state that is totally staffed by volunteers and this is a significant factor in our success each year. The volunteer coordinators of the bell-ringing drive, Mary and Jane, wish to thank all who gave so generously of their time.
We would also like to thank Shaws, Wal-Mart and Kmart for their community spirit in allowing our Hooksett volunteers to stand near their exits to enable their customers to participate in this vital holiday effort. In addition, BJ’s Wholesale Club participated in the Salvation Army Angel Tree program, with their generous customers donating several hundred wonderful toys and articles of clothing to the Hooksett Adopt-A-Family program. Ken from Aubuchon repaired our bells when vigorous ringing rendered them inoperable.
We are especially grateful to the Hooksett Fire Department which manned the kettles for several days including a four-hour stint the day before Christmas. The Hooksett Kiwanis Club was equally generous in giving of their time all day on Saturdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Other organizations which participated include the great folks at CB Sullivan’s, the Builders Club at Cawley Middle School, Boy Scout Troop 292, Cub Scout Pack 292, Town Hall employees, and teachers and principals at the Hooksett schools.
There were many other individuals, couples and families who willingly gave two hours of their time during this very busy season to help others less fortunate.
One mom who was ringing with her children said, “This is what I want my children to remember about Christmas – that our family, which is so blessed, can take the time to help other families that may be experiencing hard times. In addition, the children get very positive feedback from the donors who praise them for volunteering.”
Another example of volunteerism in action is the David Pearl family. They were hosting a holiday party to which many family friends and their children were invited. David interrupted their party time to bring all of the girls to Shaw’s on a Saturday afternoon to ring bells and sing Christmas carols to busy shoppers. The girls had a great time and the shoppers loved their spirit. Not all of the girls were Hooksett residents, but they want to ring again next year!
The willingness of so many citizens to donate precious hours during this busy time of year is a testament to the wonderful volunteer spirit that is alive and well in Hooksett.
Every year the dollars available to our Hooksett Salvation Army come from the holiday bell-ringing conducted from Thanksgiving till Christmas. These dollars are spent to assist the Hooksett Adopt-A-Family program so that needy Hooksett families with children can have a happier holiday.
In addition to this vital holiday support, the Salvation Army is there to help all year long. Without this money it would be much more difficult to help our fellow Hooksett citizens in emergency situations. Again, thanks to everyone for a job well done!

Mary Farwell
Human Service Secretary
Hooksett Salvation Army Chapter

Many thanks to those who helped Hooksett holiday programs
To the Editor:
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone who helped make the 2007 Hooksett holiday programs a huge success. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the many Hooksett community organizations, businesses, and individuals, we were able to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to 80 Hooksett families as well as gifts for 175 children through the Adopt-A-Family program.
This unbelievable generosity came in many forms, from many sources. Some gave food, toys or children’s clothing. Others provided gift certificates, cash donations or offered their time to sort or distribute.
Once again this year, Hooksett Wal-Mart and the Hooksett Salvation Army provided considerable financial support for the Adopt-A-Family program. Patrons of BJ’s Wholesale Club donated dozens of toys and gifts through their Angel Tree program. United Health Care employees provided major support to this year’s program by adopting 30 Hooksett families. Central High School student Lindsay Jarnutowski coordinated a food drive, which raised an incredible $1,200, that was donated in grocery store gift cards. The Hooksett Boy Scouts helped to fill our food baskets with food donations gathered from their incredibly successful food drive. The students at Cawley Middle School raised an astonishing $1,900 from their turkey drive and an additional $255 from a student run community yard sale to benefit HERC. Students at Memorial School raised an amazing $635 through their change donations. Underhill School, along with the help of the Lions Club, provided age appropriate books for every child in the Adopt-A-Family program.
Thanks to the combined efforts of so many individuals, we were able to brighten the holidays for many Hooksett families in need. On behalf of these appreciative families, thank you again for your generosity and for making Hooksett such a special place.
Extra thanks to Hooksett Suspension Coordinator, Bethany Chase, Chief Steve Agrafiotis, United Health Care employee, Lisa Paquin, PTA members Claudette Knieriem and Kim Steger and the amazing Barb Brennan and for all of your hard work.
Best wishes for health and happiness in the New Year!

Joy Buzzell
Hooksett Family Services Director

Don’t let ultra liberals raise age for criminal responsibility
To the Editor:
I should be amazed, but I am not. What I should be amazed about? It’s that Democratic controlled Legislature passed HB584, which would protect drug dealers and violent criminals from prosecution! Why I am not amazed? It’s because the ultra-liberal Democrats keep pushing their radical left-wing agenda down our throats. They support letting your minor children getting abortions without your knowledge or consent; they support gay marriage; they support letting the state decide what you can and can’t do regarding seatbelts, smoking and food; and now they support letting violent, drug-dealing criminals be charged as juveniles so they can get a slap on the wrist, a hug and sent on their way to commit some other violent crime.
Back in early 1990s, when these juvenile drug dealers were crossing the border into New Hampshire committing violent crimes, police in this state pushed for a law to prosecute these violent offenders as adults. The law passed, and for over 10 years it has worked, just ask Manchester Deputy Police Chief Gary Simmons!
Now the ultra-liberals want to change that. Even the liberal bastions of Massachusetts and New York put the age of criminal responsibility threshold at 17 and 16 respectively. But here in New Hampshire, the left wing will have you believe these violent drug dealers are just a bunch of silly kids who just need a hug to straighten themselves out. How out of touch with reality are these uber-liberals? After one of these young violent criminals gunned down a police officer in Manchester, one would think they would listen and support law enforcement, which wants to keep the law.
This is another example why we need to get these left-wing radicals out of the Legislature before another one of these poor “juveniles” grows up to commit an even more violent crime.
Ray Miclette
Hooksett

Thanks, Epsom Planning Board
To the Editor:
I would like to thank the members of Epsom Planning Board on having the wisdom and foresight to adopt the Department of Environmental Services Best Management Practices of the Greenyard Program as the standard for inspection for junkyard licensing in the town of Epsom. You have brought our town up to a new and better standard that can allow Epsom to be seen in the future as the town that expects and enforces basic environmental standards as a basis for issuance of junkyard licenses. We continue to move in a new and better direction.
Joanne Randall
Selectman, Epsom

Record turnout for primary

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:03:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

High voter turnouts, particularly among young people and independents, characterized this year’s primary election as one of a possible culture change.

More than half of registered voters in Hooksett, Pembroke, Allenstown, Auburn, Candia and Epsom participated in the primary vote, with Hooksett hitting a high 68 percent turnout.

Overall, New Hampshire is one of the more independent states in the country. According to an ABC News exit poll, about 40 percent of registered New Hampshire voters who participated in the nation’s first primary on Tuesday, Jan. 8, were registered as undeclared or independent.

Republican winner John McCain, who took 37 percent of the Republican vote, was the favorite coming into the primary for his perceived ability to capture independent votes.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in a dead heat for most of the night as results poured in, but Clinton pulled away overnight and came through with 39 percent of the Democratic vote to Obama’s 36 percent to take the win.

In Hooksett, where just three votes separated McCain and Romney on the Republican ballot, Clinton was a favorite with about a fifth of the total 5,337 votes cast for both parties.

Including write-ins and 25 blank ballots from voters who wrote in their choices and forgot to fill in the oval, 5,487 votes were cast, a 68 percent turnout.

Leslie Nepveu, Hooksett town clerk for the last 21 years, estimated more than 500 new voters registered at the polls. “For a primary election, it was definitely the highest turnout,” Nepveu said, but added checklist supervisors did not yet have an exact count.

The Associated Press set up shop at the polls at Cawley School with a live feed to a news program in Europe, Nepveu said.

About a third of Candia’s voters are registered as undeclared, 1,176 out of a total 3,228 names on the checklist. The total number includes 224 new voters, who accounted for one-tenth of the primary votes. About 65 percent of Candia’s registered voters showed up at the polls.

“I’ve been the town clerk for 24 years, and this was probably the best primary we’ve ever had,” said Town Clerk Christine Dupere.

Pembroke registered 45 new voters, bringing the checklist total to 5,505. According to Town Clerk James Goff, 3,025 votes were cast for a 55 percent turnout. New voters accounted for about 15 percent of the total votes. Democrats on the whole got about 40 more votes than Republicans in that town.

Pembroke election moderator Tom Petit, who has been working at the town’s polls since 1972 in various capacities, said he thinks the spike in voting numbers is a sign of the town’s growth.

“My first thought is our town, like a lot of other towns, is in a state of change,” he said, adding new people, particularly of a younger generation, have come to town in the past few years.

Before the election, said Allenstown Town Clerk Diane Demers, there were 2,554 registered Allenstown voters, 1,205 of those registered as undeclared.

By the close of the polls, 279 new voters had contributed to the 1,696 votes cast, making up about 17 percent of the total votes. The total turnout was 59 percent of registered voters.

“I think there’s a lot of things going on that’s sparking people’s interest,” Demers said, referring to the younger generation’s surge in political involvement and world issues.

Joanne Linxweiler, Auburn town clerk, said 2,541 votes were counted, amounting to a potentially record-breaking 66 percent turnout. Complete numbers for new voter registration were not available by press time, but Linxweiler said she was impressed with the amount of new voters who came out.

Epsom counted a total of 1,905 ballots. Of those, 227, or almost 12 percent, were from newly registered voters. Out of the total 3,261 registered voters, Epsom had a 58 percent turnout.

Blackwell said the inundation of political calls and mail in the weeks before the election could have spurred people to vote, as well as the outcomes in Iowa where Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee took their respective party’s victories in caucus.

Epsom was the only Banner town to vote mostly Republican, with 1,004 total Republican ballots to 901 Democratic ballots counted.

2007 Top stories: Hooksett 'fired four,' more floods

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:26:00 GMT

By: Jenn McDowell

As 2007 comes to a close, we take a look back on the year.

One issue common to many towns in the Banner’s coverage area was the floods that came for a second time in two years.

Among our top stories of the year was the Hooksett Town Council’s decision to fire four town employees, which gained international coverage as the world debated whether it was fair to fire anyone over gossip in the workplace.

In Epsom, the historic meetinghouse was saved from the wrecking ball and the town reorganized its governance with new selectmen and a change in road agent rules.

Candia and Auburn wrestled with the need to solve school space issues.

And, just as families in southern New Hampshire began to recover from the 2006 Mother’s Day floods, another storm in April 2007 ravaged the region.

Communities, particularly along the Suncook River, saw devastation worse than the first time around. Many homes were left abandoned, roads washed away, and lives drenched and destroyed.

In Epsom, the Suncook River changed its course in 2006, bringing tons of sludge pushed in from the raging waters and redepositing it inside people’s homes, but 2007’s flood just made things worse.

Phone service and electricity outages were charted all over the area, along with washed out roads, many of which are still in disrepair.

In Auburn, a local woman had to be rescued from her convertible when she became trapped in the flood waters on Wilson’s Crossing Road, and the car began floating away in the strong currents. Fred McNeill, a Manchester town employee who was trying to pick up his son at Pinkerton Academy, noticed Colette Deusinger of Auburn in the front seat.

Paul Lynn, who owns nearby Turnpike Pizza, responded to McNeill’s cries for assistance and provided a screwdriver to rip through the soft roof of the car as Deusinger attempted to kick out her window.

Allenstown was once again submerged, due to many lowlying neighborhoods, particularly Riverside Park Drive right on the Suncook’s banks.

Marcia Abbott and Brian Gagne, who live in a small cottage they lovingly call “the gingerbread house” on Riverside were lucky enough to get some help with materials and labor from the Community Action Program, There’s No Place Like Home, Grace Capital Church and many volunteers.

The couple had just completely gutted and rebuilt their little home after the first flood, a luxury they were able to enjoy for just a few months before the April 2007 flood waters took over their neighborhood.

Studies on the flooding and how to prevent it from happening in the future have been in the works for months. The Department of Environmental Services held the first of three public information meetings on Dec. 12 in Concord regarding an independent study of the flood’s causes and the differences between the events in 2006 and 2007.

Misunderstandings common about Right to Know requirements

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 23:25:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

In conversations with town officials and staff involved with our Right to Know project, our reporters found that, in many cases, refusals to provide information such as town and school district salaries, police logs and meeting minutes were simply the products of misunderstanding, both of the law itself and of what was asked of them.

Upon seeing the report, several town officials were pleased with the way their respective agencies handled our requests.

Others were not, several of them charging Neighborhood News with unduly slamming their offices or being elusive about our identities and the information we wanted.

In last week’s coverage, we sent staff to town halls and SAUs to ask for minutes of meetings and municipal and school salaries, and to police stations to ask for a week’s list of arrests and activities. We did not identify ourselves as reporters to test whether the public has access to public information at local government agencies.

Candia and Epsom performed the best of the Banner’s six towns, offering all documents with little trouble.

For Candia, this is a major turnaround from the last time Neighborhood News took on the project six years ago. In that experiment, Candia failed to turn over the list of arrests and their municipal salaries. Epsom completely passed the test for the second time.

Town offices

Hooksett Town Hall readily provided Town Council meeting minutes and, upon receiving a faxed written request, the town salary information our reporter asked for.

“We had the information, it was just a matter of gathering it,” said Christine Soucie, a town hall secretary, who had an inkling she was dealing with a reporter. “The interesting thing is, it is usually only reporters who come in here looking for different public records.”

In Allenstown, Kelley Collins, administrative assistant to the Board of Selectmen, said we could find town salary information in the 2006 Town Report, which she said was located on the town’s Web site.

Several Neighborhood News reporters and editors looked for the Town Report on the site following the visit, and could not locate the information.

A followup call was placed to Kelley after the initial report ran on Thursday, Sept. 13. Kelley said a selectman with the town had advised her against speaking to this newspaper.

She did say, however, that her original comments to our reporter made her take another look at the site, and that was when she discovered she had misinformed our reporter.

“I noticed the information was not on the Web site after I spoke with you and contacted the town administrator,” Kelley said.

According to the site, it was updated on Wednesday, Sept. 12, to include past town reports. We had not seen the addition to the Web site before press time last week.

Secretary to Candia’s selectmen Dawn Chabot was very forthcoming with information.

Chabot said the staff at Candia’s town offices knows the law well.

“We get these requests all the time, I’d say on a daily basis, and we realize that these are public documents,” said Chabot. “You have to be aware of the laws if you’re sitting here every minute of every day.”

Epsom Town Clerk Dawn Blackwell made similar remarks about her office, saying she keeps up with the latest developments with public information laws and makes certain the other town employees are well informed about them.

“The Right to Know laws are very important and I do distribute packets to the rest of the offices,” Blackwell said, adding that she would discuss some of the information regarding the laws at an upcoming meeting with department heads and selectmen.

Upon requesting the town salary and selectmen’s meeting minutes, Barbara Clark in the Epsom selectmen’s office directed our reporter to the town’s Web site.

Clark regularly directs citizens with such requests to the Web site, she said, to save the person money on copies.

She also confirmed that Blackwell distributes information packets to throughout the office on the Right to Know Law.

In Auburn, our reporter was given the minutes from the last selectmen’s meeting and a photocopy of the town employee salaries from last year’s Town Report.

Our reporter later spoke with Town Administrator Bill Herman and asked for an updated listing of the salaries. The report had been published in March, Herman said.

“We can create a list. Is that what you want us to do?” Herman said. “It can be done,” adding that the request would not be processed immediately. “It would probably take a couple of days to do.”

Linda Williams, administrative secretary in the Pembroke town office, handed over the town salaries and selectmen minutes with no questions about our reporter’s identity or business with the information.

“People always want to see what we make, which is understandable,” Williams said, adding, “Sometimes getting (the information) may take some time, but, with few exceptions, everything is open to the public.”

Interim Pembroke Town Administrator Geoff Ruggles said his office is sensitive to laws about public information, and that he is pleased with the way Williams handled the request.

He said a lot of town offices are hesitant about giving out salary information, but he understands it is something the public should have access to.

“If people ask for it, we’ll give it to them,” said Ruggles.

School districts

The SAU 15 office in Hooksett, school district for Hooksett, Candia and Auburn, failed to provide us with school district meeting minutes and salaries. They said they would work on it and get them to our reporter as soon as possible, but, under the Right to Know Law, they have five days after a request to dispense the information.

Almost two weeks later, we had still not received the information.

Superintendent Charles Littlefield said his office does not frequently get requests for the information our reporter requested, and that there was some confusion over it.

“I believe my staff who deals with any of the requests we get for that information is very familiar with the law,” he said

He added that he usually does not ask for a written request, but that he asked for it this time to clear up the confusion among his staff.

“I told them it was all public records, so just give it to him, but we wanted to be sure we knew exactly what you were looking for,” Littlefield said. “I strongly believe we should do the public’s business in public, so it was our job to give the information that you want.”

At SAU 53 in Pembroke, covering Allenstown, Pembroke, Epsom, Chichester and Deerfield schools, our reporter’s request for school district salaries and meeting minutes was not immediately dealt with.

Human Resources Director Loretta Campbell asked our reporter for a written request. The start of the school year made things difficult for her to personally take care of getting the documents, she said.

She said later she was unsure about whether our reporter was a school district employee, and this created a dilemma for her.

“We’re not going to give out the personal identification information to people if they’re employees themselves. We just try to protect personal information like that,” she said.

According to the Right to Know Law, school district salaries are public information and therefore should be available to anyone, no matter who their employer is.

Police departments

At the Hooksett Police Department, our reporter could not even find someone at the reception area to locate the police log for him, even after going to the department on three separate occasions.

The first two times, the reporter was greeted by officers who said they could not help him. The third time, he found no one at all to ask, just an unmanned reception window.

Chief Stephen Agrafiotis said the report was eye opening for his department, and that he is taking steps to make sure someone is always available during business hours to field such requests.

“We don’t have officers or dispatchers deal with requests, just our administration staff, so if by chance they aren’t available we want to make sure we have someone the citizen can talk to in order to get their name and contact information down until someone can help them,” Agrafiotis said.

“We understand the law, and we certainly are not trying to keep anything from anybody. We learned a lesson from your experiment,” Agrafiotis said, adding that he is going to meet with police personnel on the issue.

Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mulholland also expressed concern over the report. When our reporter arrived at the Police Department to ask for a listing of the previous week’s calls and arrests, a staff member at the front desk told her the information could not be printed out.

Mulholland said there was apparently some confusion about our reporter’s request, adding that our reporter was not entitled to all of the information in the log.

Mulholland is correct that under the Right to Know law police departments are not required to reveal their police logs to the public if the document contains personal information about juveniles, would jeopardize an ongoing investigation, strip an offender of his or her right to a fair trial, or could put officers in harm’s way.

“Most of that information we can give you, but we need to redact all the personal information,” Mulholland said. “When we asked (the reporter) why you wanted the information we were trying to determine what you were looking for. Sometimes people aren’t sure what they’re really asking for.”

To “redact” information in the log is to black out certain information that is confidential.

“We’ve always been open with the press,” Mulholland said, which is true. Mulholland has provided The Hooksett Banner with information regarding specific incidents numerous times during his tenure as chief.

Our reporter was asked to file a written request for the arrest log with the Pembroke Police, which they provided us with before the five-day period was up.

Police Chief Scott Lane reiterated Mulholland’s comments that the department would need time to redact some information in the log and that they were attempting to get more specific information from the reporter about what she needed.

“We were trying to save the trouble of gathering information you didn’t need,” Lane said, adding, “I feel we were painted with a brush we didn’t deserve.”

In Auburn, we were asked to file a written request for the arrest log. Chief Ed Picard said he is not comfortable releasing the information to someone unknown to the department, adding that he is happy to comply with such requests coming directly from Union Leader and Hooksett Banner reporters.

“If a stranger walks in here without the proper credentials, we’re not going to give out the information,” Picard told the Neighborhood News publisher.

In Epsom, our reporter was able to obtain the redacted arrest log without a problem.

Gail Quimby handled our reporter’s request. She later said she had a feeling that the visitor was a reporter, and that she understands the values of the Right to Know Law.

Chief Wayne Preve said that either Quimby or himself handle all such requests from the public for information.

“We control most of what goes in and out while acknowledging the public has a right to see much of it,” said Preve.

Candia’s police department also immediately provided us with the arrest log, without question.

Our reporter encountered Karen Merchant there, who was very familiar with the Right to Know Law.

“I wondered in my mind who (the visitor was), but it’s not up to me to discover that or ask about it,” said Merchant.

2006 Year in Review - In star-studded year, CHS boys hoops takes top billing

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 21:34:00 GMT

BY MATT STOUT

It took more than nine months after it claimed the Class L state title, but the 2005-’06 Manchester Central boys basketball team finally received some competition. Who knew it would come from a sports section?

In a year filled with athletic achievements from local residents – some small, some big, all memorable – the Little Green’s undefeated run to its second straight crown and Class L-record 17th championship proved the top story of 2006.

But unlike their success, the decision wasn’t a foregone conclusion. These last 12 months have included rounds of cheers, championships, and, in some cases, consolation in Hooksett, Allenstown, Auburn, Candia, Epsom, Pembroke and beyond.

There were memorable titles, like the Manchester Memorial baseball team’s first Class L crown in eight years. There were also magical runs that fell just short, such as the Memorial softball team’s first-ever championship game appearance in its 30-year history and subsequent 1-0 loss to powerhouse Salem.

Then there’s the area’s dominance in the high school track and field scene, Emily and Catherine Teague’s state doubles tennis title for Central, and the Little Green football team’s lasting footprint on the state, which included Jim Schubert coaching in his final game, a 24-7 New Hampshire win in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, and firstyear coach Ryan Ray guiding the Little Green to their eighth consecutive playoff berth.

And how can anyone forget the New England team invites the Central girls and boys cross country teams earned? Or the Cawley Middle School softball team’s Tri-County League Class M championship? Or Nicole Simoneau’s win in the all-around at the state gymnastics championships, a performance that included the first perfect 10.0 in state championship history?

Yes, there was a lot to celebrate in 2006. Unfortunately, there probably are a number of stories and accomplishments that didn’t find their way into the pages of this sports section, though that hardly diminishes their importance.

But from the perfect 25- 0 season to the history behind it, Central’s place atop the boys basketball scene translated to the peak of The Hooksett Banner’s Year in Review. So without further ado, let’s rewind the tape on the year that was.

Winter

It really wasn’t a question of if Central would take its second straight state championship, but how. That question, however, received one of the most impressive answers in New Hampshire high school boys basketball history. With a 54-39 win over Merrimack in the Class L title game on March 18, the Little Green became just the fourth program in state history to complete a perfect season and first since the Matt Bonner- led Concord squad of 1997-’98.

Led by Hooksett native and Gatorade state player of the year Tyler Roche, who’s currently playing at Boston College, Central dominated on both ends of the floor to capture its Class L best 17th crown and third under coach Dave “Doc” Wheeler.

“We’re comfortable in pressure situations,” said Roche, who scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the finals.

“When the other team makes a run, we stay poised. Poise is what we’re all about.”

Earning the season’s top individual highlight, however, was Central’s Nicole Simoneau, who led the Little Green to a top-five finish at the state gymnastics championships on Feb. 11.

Coming off a back injury that had limited her to the beam the previous season, the junior posted a total score of 38.625 to win the state all-around, setting two records along the way. Her 9.75 on the uneven bars and 10.0 on the beam – the only perfect score in state championship history – were both state bests.

Memorial placed 12th in the competition, West 20th and Pembroke Academy, represented by Jen Acheson, placed 31st.

The Pembroke cheerleading squad also enjoyed a stellar winter, finishing second in Class I behind Pelham in the Kiwanis Club spirit competition on Jan. 14 and sixth at the state championship. The Central co-ed squad took home the championship in its group under the guidance of coach Mia Vetri.

Meanwhile, a number of local- led teams posted solid regular seasons before falling in the postseason. The No. 11 Pembroke girls basketball team, led by Kelly Thomas and Kayleigh Robinson, fell in a hard-fought first-round Class I match-up with John Stark, 54-51, on Feb. 15. Thomas scored 26 points. The Spartans finished their regular season at 8-10.

The Central girls basketball team, also seeded 11th in Class L, fell in the first round to eventual state finalist Bishop Guertin, 63-52, on March 1 despite Whitney Fremeau’s 27 points.

Three days later, the Memorial boys hockey team ran into a powerhouse of its own, dropping a 5-1 quarterfinal decision to No. 2 and eventual champion Hanover. The Crusaders overcame a 1-5 start to make the postseason.

Central and Memorial both posted solid showings at the NHIAA swim championships on Feb. 4, as Central placed 20th among the girls teams and 27th among the boys, and Memorial finished 19th among the boys teams and 24th among the girls. At the wrestling Meet of Champions on Feb. 25, Memorial ended its season among the state’s best in 10th, while Central finished in 24th.

Spring

It was incredible, epic, a challenge in every sense of the word – and it was probably as anticlimactic as it gets. Yet the ending – a hit batsman in the ninth that forced in the winning run – didn’t take away from the magic surrounding the Memorial baseball team’s 5-4 extra-inning win over Bishop Guertin in the Class L final on June 13.

The Crusaders, without a state title since 1998, withstood a Cardinal comeback entering the ninth before Tom Burke stood in and took Austin Sullivan’s 100th pitch off his back.

Auburn’s Matt Skeffington – 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored – and Wes Cotnoir both started and played key roles in clinching Memorial’s seventh state championship.

The Memorial softball team nearly made it a pair of titles after advancing to the Class L championship game for the first time in program history, but MHS succumbed to Salem on June 13, the only run coming in the sixth when a Blue Devil lined a ball of pitcher Sara Murray’s stomach to advance the runner home. The loss didn’t sour the Crusaders’ 15-7 season, however, which included a no-hitter from Murray in her first career start – a 5-0 win over West on April 15.

Two Central tennis players celebrated a title of their own on June 12 when sisters Catherine and Emily Teague defeated Hanover’s Brittany Prescott and Natalie Donnelly, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6- 1 for the state doubles title. The pair completed the season at 16-1, becoming just the second sister team to accomplish the feat in state history. Junior Catherine also finished as the state runner- up in the singles tournament.

Central boys tennis, meanwhile, upset No. 2 Exeter in the quarterfinals of its state tournament before falling to No. 6 Keene, 6-3, in the semis on May 30. Behind several contributors, the Cawley Middle School softball team took the Tri-County League Class M title with a 3-0 win over Londonderry on June 1. Cawley, which defeated Pelham, 13-3, in the semifinals, enjoyed a 15-strikeout, three-hit complete game performance from Tanya Robidoux in the championship.

“We could pitch, we could hit, we could run, we could play defense and do it all at a superior level,” said coach John Frazier.

A slew of local athletes excelled for their track and field teams this spring as well. Memorial placed fifth among boys teams at the Class L championships on May 27, thanks to a first-place finish from Jonathan Harkins in the high jump, while the girls finished in 10th behind Mindy Hardy’s top javelin throw.

The Central boys finished seventh as a team while the 4 X 800-meter relay team set a new Class L record of 7-minutes, 57.02 seconds in its first-place run. The Central girls took fourth as Stacy DiSabato finished second in the javelin, and the 4 X 800 team also placed second.

At the Class I championships, Pembroke’s Wili Brehm was the runner-up in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dash, while sister Allison took third in the 100, Kelly Thomas took home three top-five finishes, and Erin Keeler placed second in the triple jump. John Tetlow also was a runner-up in the 800.

At the Meet of Champions on June 4, Central’s Matt Paulson and Alex Hall took first and second, respectively, in the 800.

A trio of Memorial teammates took runner-up honors including Harkins in the high jump, David Irving in the discus and William Wrobel in the javelin. Pembroke’s Allison Brehm, a freshman, finished second in the 100.

The Central boys lacrosse team put its best foot forward in a 6-8 regular season. The eighthseeded Little Green claimed unofficial status as city champs before falling to No. 9 Londonderry, 7-5, in the first round of the playoffs.

The Pembroke Academy boys tennis team also had a strong season, finishing at 9-4, but ran into powerhouse Hanover in a firstround 9-0 playoff loss.

Summer

The Auburn softball all-star team highlighted the summer months as it took home the New Hampshire District One major league softball title with an 11-1 win over Lamprey River on July 20. The squad erupted for eight fifth-inning runs in the victory, which earned them a trip to the regional tourney in Albany, N.Y. “I asked for three (runs) and they gave me eight,” said Auburn manager Rick Pelletier. “That’s how these girls are. Once they start swinging, it just carries over to the next batter.”

Central football coach Jim Schubert ended his summer – and career – in a fitting way as well, coaching team New Hampshire to a 24-7 win over Vermont in the 53rd annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl on Aug. 5. Schubert, who led the Little Green to six Division I titles in his 16 years as head coach, announced his retirement from high school coaching the previous Thanksgiving, but was voted in to coach one final time for the annual showdown between the top recently graduated senior football players from both states. The victory was the sixth straight for the Granite State.

Central grad and Hooksett native Cory Wright and teammate Josh Ratacik both represented their school as well.

Several locals fared well in this year’s Granite State Senior Games, which enjoyed the largest turnout in its 19-year history. Pembroke’s Bill Edmonds won gold in the 80- to 84-year-old age bracket in the tennis singles tournament on Aug. 5. Hooksett’s Ernie Greenberg took first in the doubles tournament with partner Saul Levenson on Aug. 6. Suncook native Stan Irzyk placed second in the pistol shoot within the 75- to 79-year-old age bracket. In the cycling events, Hooksett’s Norman Gill, 53, won gold in the 40K road race and bronze in the 20K, 5K and 10K time trials, while John Valavane, 55, placed first in the 5K and 20K and second in the 10K. Hooksett resident Jay Taylor also won gold with his Young Associates team in the 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Aug. 12.

In Little League action, area teams fared well despite not taking home any titles. The Hooksett Little League majors all-star team fell 9-3 to Nashua in its tourney exit on July 1, and Suncook dropped a 7-3 decision to Salem American on July 8 after winning three tournament games.

Timothy Carey enjoyed an award-winning summer. The 16- year-old was honored with the first-ever New Hampshire Youth Conversationalist Award by the state Fish and Game department for his work in teaching other children about the importance of conserving natural resources.

Auburn’s Wes Cotnoir also had a season to remember after he competed in the Down Under International Games along Australia’s Gold Coast in July. The Memorial three-sport athlete – he plays for the school’s soccer, baseball and track and field teams – competed in the 100-meter dash and the 4 X 100- meter dash while soaking up the two-week experience, which also took him to Hawaii.

The Sweeney Post 2 American Legion baseball team didn’t have as much to cheer about as it failed to make the state playoffs for the first time since 1993.

Fall

The Central girls and boys cross country teams literally ran away with the fall headlines in 2006. They completed a highly successful season that saw both squads claim top-five team finishes at the Meet of Champions on Nov. 4 and top-10 team spots at the New England Championships a week later. Both Little Green teams couldn’t defend their Class L titles – the girls finished second and the boys placed fifth on Oct. 28 – but their performances in the weeks that followed more than made up for it. The boys team was the only squad to place three individuals in the top 10 at the state championship meet, while the girls jumped from 18th in 2005 to ninth this season at the regional competition.

“Out of my three years being at Central,” said girls coach Kelly Feibel, “this is by far the best group of girls I’ve worked with.”

Under first-year coach Ryan Ray, the Central football team also enjoyed a strong season that included its eighth straight playoff berth, a 7-2 regular-season record in Division I play and a 31- 14 over rival West in the Turkey Bowl on Nov. 23. Senior running back Mike LeClerc ran wild that day, racking up 279 yards to cap an all-state season. The year was spoiled, however, when the Little Green lost star wide receiver Joe Pasqual in a 48- 12 blowout loss to Bishop Guertin in the regular-season finale before they fell in a 21-7 semifinal loss to Salem on Nov. 11.

The Memorial football team had its share of struggles but its two victories were uplifting ones. Memorial stunned Central, 35- 28, on Oct. 12, and ended its year with a 27-24 win over Trinity.

The Derryfield School girls soccer and field hockey teams – which featured locals on both squads – each fell in their respective state finals.

The Pembroke Academy football team knocked off Kingswood for its lone win of the year but a lack of size and numbers hurt its chances in Division III.

The Pembroke Academy boys and girls soccer teams both enjoyed a resurgence of sorts during the regular season, but it didn’t translate into playoff success. Both squads fell in the first round of the Class I tournament, with the fourth-seeded girls dropping a 3-2 decision to Oyster River on Oct. 24.

The Memorial girls soccer team won 11 of 13 games at one point but fell to Nashua South, 2- 0, in the first round of the Class L tournament on Oct. 25. The Memorial boys team knocked off Central in a 2-0, shootout win on Oct. 26 but fell in the next round, 1-0, to Bishop Guertin.

The Hooksett U12 girls and boys soccer teams both celebrated Division III Granite State Youth Soccer League championships on Nov. 4. The girls team finished 4-3-1 and will automatically move up to D-II next season.

On the greens, Memorial’s Pat Gocklin took home the Class L individual golf title on Oct. 7, while West, featuring Hooksett’s Matt Breault, fell a stroke short of the team title. The Blue Knights ended up finishing third after losing to Timberlane in a tiebreaker.

The Memorial and Central cheerleading squads each represented their school well at the fall Class L spirit championship, placing 11th and 12th, respectively.

At this year’s Punt, Pass and Kick competition on Sept. 16, Candia’s Chad Bowden punted 56 feet, 9 inches, passed 65-1 and kicked 62-8.

And with that, bring on 2007.

Real estate reality, Home prices still strong, though slower to sell

Hooksett Editor — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:39:00 GMT

By Staff Writers

Sharon Livingston has seen a change in the housing market first hand. Two years ago, she and her husband offered to buy their Windham Colonial-style house about an hour after it went on the market.

“I snapped it up,” said Livingston, who paid $629,000 for the house.

“It was such a small market (then), “ she added. “There were hardly any houses.”

The Livingstons are now moving to Tilton and their Colonial is up for sale. Their asking price is $619,000.

The house has been on the market about three weeks. A few people have looked at it, but there are no buyers yet, she said.

“It’s such a different environment (now),” Livingston said.

Area real estate experts and agents suggest the recent shift is more like a return to normalcy than an impending catastrophe.

“The market is not all the doom and gloom you see in the media,” said Jeff Keeler, owner of Pembroke’s Keeler Family Realty and chairman of public policy for the New Hampshire Association of Realtors. “The sky is not falling.”

Keeler said many homes have been staying on the market longer, frustrating many sellers. But he said sellers and real estate brokers have been living the high life until now.

“What we’re seeing is a reaction to 11 solid years of appreciation,” said Keeler.

Keeler described the last six months as a kind of “plateau” period.

No cooldown in Hooksett

Ken Culbertson, owner of Hooksett’s Coldwell Banker Culbertson Realty, said the problem relates more to educating sellers and real estate agents who may unreasonably still expect to seal a good deal in three to six weeks.

“Right now it’s more historically normal,” he said. “It’s normal for it to take three to six months.”

One sign of a reasonably active local market, said Culbertson, is that a wave of new Hooksett homes are selling at prices unseen in town before.

“Houses are being built in Hooksett that are $100,000 or $150,000 higher than they’ve ever been here,” said Culbertson.

Hooksett Assessing Coordinator Sandy Piper said one Hooksett home sold for $624,000 in August.

Reviewing the numbers and types of home sales in recent months, Piper said she’s noticed little, if any, cooling effect.”

“Honest to goodness, I don’t see it cooling down,” she said.

Piper said there are perhaps more homes on the market, but said sales numbers aren’t lagging.

“I’m finding a lot of people who have homes in Hooksett are buying new houses in Hooksett,” she said. “They’re upgrading.”

Why there’s a change

Keeler said while the local market may not be as disastrous as many may perceive, a portion of the housing market is creating a statewide crisis.

He suggested town restrictions on developers, like growth controls and excessive fees, that have cropped up in recent years have led to a shortage in affordable housing.

“The towns put as many impediments as they can on residential growth,” he said.

The result, said Keeler, is that builders build more expensive homes in order to make a profit.

Keeler said the New Hampshire phenomenon has led to a surplus in homes in the $350,000 to $500,000 range, but said there’s still a need for housing for young families, which he suggested invigorate local economies.

“There’s none of it being built,” he said. “$225,000 and below, it’s pretty much still a seller’s market.”

Livingston agreed with that assessment. She thinks a huge building glut in town has changed the market.

“I think it’s obvious that the activity level has certainly slowed down compared to six months ago and I think sellers have to negotiate a little more than they did six months ago,” said Sandy Heino of Sandy Heino and Associates Realty in the Bow/Hopkinton area. “Part of it is just this time of year, in the fall, when things usually slow down, and I think part of it is when people listen to the TV or the radio and hear that it is a buyer’s market and things are going to get worse, they believe it,” she said.

Slower to sell

“Our inventory of houses is very high, with a low inventory of buyers. Lots of sellers, but there aren’t as many buyers as we’ve had in the past,” said Anna Fish of Century 21 Advantage Realty, with offices on Mast Road in Goffstown.

While Fish said prices have remained static over the past half decade, buyers are not as quick to snatch a home off the market.

“A few years ago, the prices were about the same as they are now,” Fish said, “but if I bought a house in January, I could sell it in six months and make a profit. I can’t do that now.

“People are beginning to realize the party is over, we’re back to where we were before it started. People are starting to realize that, because their houses are sitting longer,” Fish said.

To offset the change, Heino said sellers are offering incentives to build buyers confidence such as paying points and closing costs, offering one-time price reductions during open houses, or updating appliances and flooring.

“Sellers need to make their house stand out above everything else,” she said. “You only have one chance to make that first impression.”

It had been a “seller’s market” the past decade, according to Nancy Casagrande, general manager of ERA The Masiello Group in Windham.

Now, there are more homes than buyers, she said.

“Obviously, we are in a buyer’s market,” Casagrande said. “Prices are adjusting.”

Casagrande said that, conservatively, prices of existing homes have come down 10 to 15 percent.

Average home prices

Home sale prices show a wide range of numbers. The 63 home sales in Goffstown between July and August ranged in price from $50,000 for a mobile home to $435,000 for a residence, while New Boston saw 25 home sales spanning $10,000 to $770,000 and Weare’s 41 home sales covered financial territory from $54,000 to $412,000, according to data from Real Data Corp., an online database tracking public record information in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Goffstown saw 140 home sales in 2005 for an average of $258,958, according to information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network. The same report shows 39 home sales in New Boston last year averaging $386,162, and Weare showing 81 home sales with an average price of $246,795.

Of 41 standard house sales in Pelham between mid-June and mid-August, the average price was $398,571.

The highest sale was $660,000 for an eight-room Colonial-style house built on nearly six acres last year. The lowest sale was $206,000 for a 1974 Cape Cod-style home situated on one acre.

In July and August, 40 traditional homes including two exceeding the $1 million mark changed hands in Windham. The average price was $481,135.

At the highest end was a modern/contemporary Beech Street home in Windham that fetched $1.225 million. At the other end was a 34-year-old condominium that sold for $153,466.

More foreclosures

Real estate agents said foreclosures have increased.

Joanne Riopel of Innovative Realty in Pelham said sometimes a family buys a new home before their current one sells and carries two mortgages. But the house they left doesn’t sell as quickly as they had hoped, and the family finds themselves in a financial bind.

Reviewing the number of foreclosures in Goffstown, one town official pointed to a sharp jump in that statistic.

While Goffstown has record of 14 foreclosure notices since June of this year, the town counted 15 foreclosures in all of 2005.

“It seems like a lot of foreclosures,” said Deputy Tax Collector Rene Millson. “I can tell you the folder (of foreclosure notices) is pretty fat.”

National trends

“While new-home sales have been quite strong throughout 2005, we see a cooling of the market to a healthy and more sustainable pace in the months ahead, as substantiated by recent surveys of our builders,” said NAHB chief economist David Seiders. “For 2006, we expect to see a 6 percent to 7 percent drop in sales, but certainly no reason for alarm. This would make 2006 the second or third best year in housing history.”

If you must sell

A seller’s best bet it to listen to their agent when setting a price for their home, Fish said.

“If you’re moving and you need to quickly, you better list it for what your agent tells you to list it for, because they know. A lot of the reason why houses are slower to sell is because sellers start out with an asking price that’s too high,” she said.

“Right now is a good time to buy and some buyers are making offers with great, great reductions to sellers,” Berge Nalbandian of Berge’s Real Estate in Salem said. “I’ve been doing this for 50 years and it’ll come around again like in the years prior.”

In the meantime, builders have been giving discounts and extras in new homes that aren’t normally included, he said.

Nicholas Brown, Darrell Halen, Rod Hansen, Jim Devine, Joseph Edgerton, Ryan O’Connor Steven Andrews and Robert Inks contributed to this story.