Hooksett Banner : editorial

Hooksett Banner letters to the editor for April 24, 2008

Hooksett Editor — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:38:00 GMT

Editorial

Informed voters make the best choices

Hooksett votes on town candidates and warrants on May 13. In order to give people enough information to make informed decisions, we are covering controversial issues like the drive for public-access cable TV and whether the Hooksett sewer system expansion bond should pass.
On May 1, we plan to run profiles of the candidates in contested races. We sent questionnaires to Nancy VanScoy, Jason Hyde, Michael Pischetola, Stu Werksman and Carl Hebert Sr., who are running for two Hooksett Town Council seats. We’ve heard from a few; to those we haven’t heard from, we hope you got our questionnaire. Let us know if you didn’t. Answers are due now to appear in the May 1 issue. This is an ideal and free way to get your message out to the Hooksett voters.
One dilemma this newspaper has is that it takes an enormous amount of space to print the entire ballot. We will do so when we report the vote results, but it is even more important that voters get to see those warrant articles before the day they walk into the voting booth. Rather than take up valuable news space, we will be happy to e-mail a copy of the ballot to anyone who is interested. Just send a note to editor Ginger Kozlowski, at editor@hooksettbanner.com, and she will be happy to help you become a better-informed voter.

Letters

Information is power, so vote for public access TV on May 13

To the Editor:
Dear Hooksett residents,
Please vote for Article 26 on May 13 at Cawley School. The polls are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Article 26 is a petitioned warrant article presented by citizens of Hooksett to establish public television access to Hooksett.
The major reason I am supporting this article is for information purposes. I am a firm believer one cannot gather enough information. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. You will have access from the comfort of your home to view how local government runs this community. So many are in the dark about what is going on in the community.
It will be a message board: for example Raymond, during their spring floods, kept the viewers update on the roads that were closed and any other emergency that occurs in town.
Please support Article 26.
Pat Rueppel
Councilor District 1
Hooksett

Voting ‘no’ on sewer expansion will not hinder Hooksett growth

To the Editor:
Have you tried to sort out the arguments of those who either favor or oppose approval of Warrant Article 3, which Hooksett voters will see on the ballot when they go to the polls on May 13?
Article 3 asks us if we are in favor of completing upgrades to the Hooksett Wastewater Treatment Plant in the amount of $1.5 million.
I have, and I urge you to vote “yes” on this very important issue.
Some have argued that defeat of Article 3 will serve to control growth in Hooksett. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Most folks who have taken the time to study the issue agree that expansion of the sewer treatment plant is vital to Hooksett’s future. Failure to expand the sewer plant will not hinder residential growth! Residential development will continue with the installation of less desirable septic systems in the event that sewer capacity is no longer available. In such a case, the added expense to the town for educating more kids, and providing other essential services will not stop.
In my view, failure to approve Article 3 allowing sewer plant expansion will adversely affect commercial development, which Hooksett sorely needs in order to maintain and improve our tax base. There will be little chance that we can lure the larger taxpaying commercial establishments to our community. Without them, your taxes and mine are likely to rise dramatically in the years to come.
I urge you to vote “yes” on Article 3 as recommended by both our Town Council and Budget Committee.
Frank Kotowski
Hooksett

West High School Destination Imagination team needs help

To the Editor:
West High School’s Destination Imagination Team is going global ... and we need your help! Destination Imagination is a program that encourages and develops creative problem solving for students of all ages. Our team placed first at States, which secures us a place at the global competition. We are selling 50/50 raffle tickets, one for $5 or five for $20, to help finance our trip to global finals at The University of Tennessee, where we will compete against hundreds of other D.I. teams from across the U.S. and from 20 other countries.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please contact: Kay Penney at 485-2249, or kaypenney@comcast.net. The drawing will be held on May 19 and the winner will be announced.
Thanks for your support~

Kristin Johnson
Brianna Levenstein
Laura O’Dea
Kay Penney

Separate fact from propaganda, no matter where it comes from

To the Editor:
Rep. Boutin’s letter in the April 17 Banner expressed some opinions about actions being taken in the state Legislature this session. As many of the bills that he refers to came out of the committee that I serve on, I feel somewhat qualified, and compelled, to provide counterpoint to the political rhetoric.
The bottle bill with the 5-cent deposit attached to it was HB1621. It was killed (14-0) by a bipartisan vote in the committee and the House concurred by voice vote at the Feb. 6 session. The Legislature remains unconvinced that the benefits of a bottle bill outweigh the concerns expressed by the retail establishments about the added costs and effort necessary to effectively implement it.
The other bill relating to beverage containers, HB503, was passed out of committee (15-2) with an amendment that would have added a 1-cent distributor fee for all beverage containers brought into the state. It would have generated several million dollars for local recycling efforts, reducing the mountains of plastic and aluminum that litter our landscape and fill up our landfills and lowering our local property tax bills. The House, at the Feb. 6 session, killed the amendment to the bill by a narrow (148-158) margin and then killed the original bill, which would have raised your taxes, with a voice vote.
HB1426 increases the 3-cent fee that you’ve been paying with your gas tax since 1988. It is used to pay for mitigation costs associated with leaky gas and oil tanks. I believe it’s a legitimate exercise to study why, after all these years, we still have leaky tanks and why we have to pay for them. HB1594, in addition to protecting the public safety from accidental or deliberate hazardous material spills and getting your local fire department the information that will help to keep our emergency personnel safe when they have to respond to a hazardous material incident, also has a study commission to look into who pays and who benefits from those fees.
The surcharge added to the real estate deed transfers is the dedicated funding source for LCHIP that was overwhelmingly passed by the Legislature in 2007. I find it ironic that this is being raised as an issue in the same edition of the Banner that talks about the possibility of Hooksett’s population growing from 13,000 to the 40,000 in the foreseeable future. Anyone that doubts the commitment of our residents to preserve and protect our forests and fields has only to count the number of “Moose” plates on the cars going by. New Hampshire Advantage, indeed!
Some of us serve in Concord to solve problems, some to rehash old, tired tax-and-spend slogans. Solving problems costs money, takes time and requires significant effort. In my time in the Legislature, I have met many very bright, experienced and talented individuals. I haven’t found any correlation between their good (or bad) points and their party affiliation.
As a Democratic House member. I have listened to everybody, worked hard to accomplish good things and to ensure that the taxpayers get their money’s worth from state government.
Come November, the voters will give us our report cards. Until then, I’m going to encourage you to separate fact from propaganda, no matter where it comes from.

Rep. Richard H. Snow,
Rockingham One
Candia, Deerfield,
Northwood, Nottingham

Girl Scouts urged to let their leaders know they’re appreciated

To the Editor:
If you are a girl in Girl Scouting – or ever were – I would like to remind you that April 22 was Leader Appreciation Day. I know you have done some great things as a Girl Scout! But please take a minute to remember the people who helped you accomplish your activities and goals – your leaders.
You are a member of a large group of girls in Swift Water Council (more than 14,000) who are facing the world with inspiration and determination. In Hooksett, you are one of over 170 girls who are making a difference in our community and exploring your world. I am seeing your troops doing fantastic projects such as sharing our birthday with our town’s family services office, supplying a neonatal ward in a Boston hospital with eye covers for preemies, creating birthday party kits and donating to CMC’s family services, making new mother/infant lovies for maternity wards, supporting animal shelters, and providing grocery store gift cards to neighbors in need.
You’re exploring some wonderful things like events at the SEE Science Center, learning photography at Clix, needlework at Bonnie’s Stitchery, sky and wildlife exploration, recycling, the theater arts, ice harvesting, maple sugaring, all about our police and fire departments, and what it means to be your best. Our olympic festival coming up will “take us around the world” learning new things from far away countries. And, each of you are starting to take on more leadership roles in your troops and beyond.
I know you are proud of all you have accomplished with your troop. You were very ambitious this year selling cookies to do all these thing - more than 17,000 boxes in Hooksett alone! I know the community appreciates all you are doing to make our world a better place. I also know how much your leaders care about you and want to help you succeed in all you do.
Please take a minute (well, maybe a little more than a minute) to write a note, draw a picture or send an e-mail to your leaders to let them know you appreciate their help. Tell them what you have had fun doing or something that was especially meaningful to you. Just as you know to write a thank you note when someone gives you a present, think of all your experiences in Girl Scouting like a gift that will be with you forever, and the people who helped make them happen.
Thank you, girls! Miss Robin thinks you are awesome!
I, too, want to say thank each of our 46 adult volunteers here in Hooksett for the amazing things our girls are doing because of your support. I am inspired by your dedication in bringing the Girl Scout program to our girls. Your efforts are definitely making a difference in their lives as they grow to be young women of courage, confidence and character. Indeed, awesome!

Robin Boyd
Service Unit Manager
Hooksett

Editorial and letters to the editor of The Hooksett Banner, week of Feb. 21, 2008

Hooksett Editor — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:14:00 GMT

Editorial:One more town considers SB2

Auburn residents have a big decision to make: whether to change from the old style of Town Meeting or move to the official ballot law, commonly called SB2 for the bill it began as.
For larger towns, the official ballot law makes more sense. It is simply impossible to gather a representative sample of voters into a single room and have them discuss the town or school district’s issues in a meaningful way. Opening up voting on warrant articles to the entire population of a town allows everyone to voice their opinion on issues and spending – or at least to those willing and able to travel to the polls or get absentee ballots. That’s only fair. Everyone should have a say.
But in smaller towns, like Auburn, it’s a little trickier. Yes, there’s the advantage under SB2 of not having to attend the Town Meeting or School District Meeting and still getting your vote. But towns like Auburn typically have a pretty good turnout at their traditional meetings, enjoy the chance to debate the issues and see this civic duty as a tradition they want to keep.
It is unfair to say people go to the polls and make uninformed votes under SB2. Under both forms of government, special interests can reword warrant articles so their intent is totally destroyed, and not all articles are explained at every meeting so voters are sufficiently informed at their public meetings. What SB2 offers, though, is an opportunity for greater participation in the process. That, alone, is reason enough for us. We’ll soon see if Auburn agrees.

Letters:

Please vote in favor of new middle school and kindergarten

To the Editor:
I am writing this to you to give you the heads up for the Auburn School District Meeting. The date is Friday, March 14, at 7 p.m., at Auburn Village School. I realize it is a few weeks away, but planning ahead is of the utmost importance.
There are six warrant articles to be voted on that night and your vote could be crucial to the education of Auburn’s children. I would like to recommend that all voting members of your household take part in this very important night. If babysitting is an issue, there will be babysitting provided. Hopefully this notice will give you enough time to make arrangements, if necessary.
Over the next few weeks, you will be receiving a lot of specific information about the warrant articles, so this letter is to merely stress the importance of to casting your vote. The new Auburn/Candia Middle School, the two-year teachers contract and the addition of the public kindergarten program are being voted on.
The new Auburn/Candia Middle School is a bond vote. This means that we need 67 percent to pass the article. This school plan was done with the due diligence that the Auburn community deserves and expects. It is a great plan. It gives the students a chance to be true middle school students. The programming and social opportunities are endless.
This school also gives the taxpayers the best benefit. It is financially responsible to merge with another community to share the costs and gain more state aid. It also gives the Auburn community a new building to use and be proud of.
Public kindergarten will also be a hot item for voting. The state has mandated the program to be offered by September 2008 and the School Board intends to comply with this law.
The board has looked at the current school and has decided to renovate the technology education area for the two classrooms needed to add the program. Tech. Ed. will not be eliminated but will be redefined and relocated to another area in the building.
The School Board has also applied for and been granted kindergarten construction aid. This aid gives the district 75 percent of the construction/renovation costs related to adding the program. This is the last year for the money and we need to take advantage of it while it is available.
Public kindergarten is extremely important to the children’s education. We are currently one of 11 districts in the nation without it and further, it has been 18 years since the other 49 states have required the program. It is high time for us to step up and start our 5-year-olds off on the right track.
Thank you for your continued support. The children of Auburn deserve it. I only can encourage you to mark your calendars and make Friday, March 14, an important night for doing your civic duty by voting. This may be a night where history in made in the community we love and will move Auburn’s educational system to new heights.

Elaine Hobbs
School Board Chairman
Auburn

It’s important to vote for Epsom’s selectmen this year

To the Editor:
I would like to thank the residents of Epsom who made it out for the deliberative session. Many important things were discussed and some were modified.
My biggest surprise was that after the Budget Committee chair was quoted in the paper as saying the budget would probably be cut and slashed at the deliberative session, the town actually added $15,000! Why is this? It is because the town finally has a Board of Selectmen they feel they can trust.
So let’s review. The last three years, our town has voted for a default budget. The last three years our town has faced numerous lawsuits and, let’s just call it what it is, bad press about the Board of Selectmen. There were rumors of impropriety, conflicts of interest, violations of the code of ethics, and general bickering and mudslinging.
One year ago, Epsom overwhelmingly supported a vote of no confidence for Kitson, McKechnie and Bosiak, and also voted out the other two, Frambach and Weaver. Then you elected two new people who you felt might make a difference. And you told the selectmen you thought the new five-member board didn’t work, and reduced the number back to three.
Today, three people are running for the three selectmen positions, two who have worked hard for you and one who has worked many years in different capacities for the town for many years. All unopposed.
Does this mean you don’t need to show up on election day on March 11? No. Now you can do what you have been wanting to do for three years but hesitated. Vote “yes” on Article 1, the proposed budget. It’s time to get back to business.
Thank you!

Joanne Randall
Epsom

Check *** Snow’s votes; his colors show plainly

To the Editor:
Was that supposed to be return fire? It was rather bland and impotent, but “par for the course” with liberals. I will give Representative Snow a nod for answering, but must point out his patently partisan adhesion to the evil lock-step marching orders from the liberal masters on his side of the aisle. His voting record is “right in tune.” The state Web site www.NH.gov is an awesome tool. Check on your representative’s voting records; review the bills, compare the votes, etc. Check *** Snow’s votes; his colors show plainly.
The “Baby Tax” on milk was taking our money to save someone else’s cows! The “Bottle Bill” was an attempt at adding another new tax and department we would pay for. Those are broad-based taxes he has spent time on, and the difference between 3 percent and 17 percent is 14 percent, ***. They will not stop trying, folks. Anything “gambling” is getting fast-tracked, no pun intended. They also know better than to let the people decide about the definition of marriage, or to let them decide about prohibiting income taxes. No amendments will be allowed to our Constitution while he and his “demoncrat” friends hold the majority, unless it is to their benefit.
He agreed with those evil people that requiring parental notice of a minor child’s abortion (not approval, mind you), was bad and had to be repealed. He voted with them to limit debate to 10 minutes too! Ten minutes!? That is how important he thought parent’s rights were. He voted more than a couple times against any possible reconsideration, amendment, delay, etc. No, like the masters told him; repeal parental notification immediately. He also agreed that enhancing our minimal laws regarding abortion, to protect viable fetuses from destruction, (partial birth? birth by accident?), is too cumbersome to the contract killers at Planned Parenthood and elsewhere, to be considered, even though the bill specifically prohibited prosecuting the would-be mother.
They also decided that parents do not have the right to know when some reprobate organization plans to instruct children about (promote) homosexual sex acts. A common-sense bill requiring public schools to notify parents, and allow them to opt out before any “sexual orientation” classes (indoctrination) was effectively killed by him and his cohorts. Heads up, parents!
I am proud to be a partisan, on the right side. It’s not “bickering,” it’s standing and fighting for principles. To be non-partisan is to be AWOL, or in the way. Mr. Snow is living up to the old label quite well. How old is he anyway? The lies are older than us both. The truth is self-evident. Look it up.

David Ross
Hooksett

It’s the economy, not politics

To the Editor:
I would like to thank the approximately 60 Epsom residents for coming out to the deliberative session. Among them were four from the select board, 10 from the Budget Committee, two secretaries, the police chief, the fire chief, the road agent, the town counsel, two supervisors of the checklist, and three members of the press.
It was the chairman of the ZBA, who made a motion to increase the line item for the legal fees $15,000 in anticipation of increased litigation expected this coming year. This increase had nothing to do with anyone trusting the present BOS or not trusting the previous one. Out of the 60 people, one third had to be there.
The reason that the town has been on a default budget for the last three years is economical and not political. It was a reaction to the change in the tax base to a 100 percent valuation. It has nothing to do with last year’s election.
Reducing the positions on the BOS is not going to change the fact that we all are experiencing a financial crunch. Even the Budget Committee has voted not to recommend Article 1.

Richard Frambach
Epsom

A job well done

To the Editor:
I am writing to commend the Hooksett Highway Department for a job well done. In this year of record-breaking snowfall, our roads have been remarkably clear.
I have driven in other town and cities and their roads are terrible. They have ice grooves in lanes and the potholes could swallow up a small car.
Thank you again for a great job.
Alyssa Zapora Ehl
Hooksett

Pembroke’s school budget is one for the history books

To the Editor:
While it certainly will not be on the best seller’s list, this year’s Pembroke School District budget reads like a novel, with each page putting forth a new set of challenges, and the ending yet to be determined.
The Pembroke School Board’s requested operating budget, exclusive of the food service program, grant funded programs and warrant articles for specific additional items, shows an increase of $1,324,154. This number is arrived at despite the fact that the board added no new initiatives and has level-funded or actually decreased all discretionary line items within the budget. By now, any rational reader is probably asking the simple question, “Why?”
Major areas of increase include:
Special education expenses: $791,194 (60 percent of increase).
Insurance/salary-related expenses: $296,314 (22 percent of increase)
Teacher contract: $170,103 (13 percent of increase)
The common thread running through these line items is that they are all areas over which the district has essentially no control.
There’s even more to the story. The Pembroke School District is asking for a deficit appropriation to balance a serious shortfall in special education expenses in the current (2007-08) budget year. This request is not an easy one. In fact, the district has already frozen about $100,000 from other budget lines and plans to use its entire $267,458 special education trust fund, but it’s not enough.
As it stands right now, we will still fall short of balancing the budget. And, unfortunately, this is simply one chapter of this novel. We are also asking voters to discontinue the existing Roadway Trust Fund and re-appropriate the money it contains into the Special Education Trust Fund to help offset some of the additional special education expenses anticipated for 2008-09.
Compounding the problem is the fact that special education expenses are very difficult to estimate as they fluctuate with the needs of students. There is no way to know if a student with special needs will move in or out of the district, and the costs of that can, as we have seen this year, be staggering.
An out-of-district placement for one student alone can cost $200,000 or more, and because we don’t know if students will move in or out of the district, these expenses are both unanticipated and unbudgeted.
This year, we have seen students move in with very serious needs resulting in very expensive services. As you may or may not know, the federal government is supposed to fund 40 percent of special education costs. The reality of the matter is that they currently fund approximately 15 percent, making it, for all intents and purposes, an unfunded mandate.
Having served on the Pembroke School Board for 21 years, I can say with confidence that this year’s budget request is unusual. In fact, over the past three years, the Pembroke School District portion of the tax rate has averaged a zero percent increase.
The Budget Committee asked the School District to cut its budget by $310,000. The School Board made $80,000 in reductions in technology and the requested deficit appropriation. The result – a $23,154,452 budget that the School Board recommends. It is the Budget Committee budget that gets put forth for a vote at the annual School District meeting, however; and though the Budget Committee recognizes that the School Board has no control over special education costs, the committee feels that it cannot endorse such a large tax rate increase, thus their recommended budget of $22.9 million.
If voters approve the Budget Committee’s full decrease, the School Board will eliminate one instructional position each at Pembroke Academy, Three Rivers and Village/Hill, reduce co-curricular programs and reduce custodial time. No matter which budget total prevails, the School Board will also seek the lowest possible deficit appropriation amount.
What will be the ending of this story? Like any good reader, I wouldn’t want to jump ahead to the last three pages of the book. I would, however, want to pay close attention to the fundamental elements of the tale – understanding that this budget has as many twists and turns as a John Grisham novel.
In the end, the facts and the way that voters accept those facts will determine the conclusion of this story. Make sure you are present to help turn the pages at the annual School District Meeting, Saturday, March 8, at 10 a.m., at Pembroke Academy.
Clint Hanson
Chairman
Pembroke School Board

We need to change status quo

To the Editor:
I have two big questions for Sen. John Sununu and Sen. Judd Gregg. Why, in these times of heightened awareness of the effects of global warming, would they vote against tax incentives crucial to renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Senate Economic Stimulus Package?
This initiative might have created over 820,000 new jobs worldwide, including 5,000 here in our state. This poor decision needs to be rectified – and quickly.
Senators! What will you do in the coming months to turn this negative vote into some positive action for our world and for our beautiful state of New Hampshire?
We need to change the status quo. It isn’t working!
Judi Lindsey
Candia

letter to the editor of The Hooksett Banner, Jan. 31, 2008

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:25:00 GMT

Editorial: Credibility and opinions

In last week’s editorial, we mistakenly identified Matt Comai as a Hooksett School Board member when we should have stated that he is a member of the Long-range Planning Committee of the Hooksett School Board. The mistake happened due to a misreading of the minutes. Should it have happened? Of course not. But it simply wasn’t questioned at the time. Should we have known who is on the Hooksett School Board? Of course. But it’s easy to lose track of every member of every town and school board and police and fire department of the six towns we cover. It was an honest mistake, which we apologize for and are happy to clear up here.

Nevertheless, our opinion stands. Whether Comai is on the board, on a planning committee or just a regular Joe, he did indicate that he thought people should be coming to meetings to get their information first hand, not reading about it in the newspaper or online. We disagreed. We think newspapers play an important role in informing the public, since people simply don’t have time to attend every public meeting. Web discussion boards fulfill that role too. The letter writer (below) takes us on, asking if the editor of this paper has ever run for office. She hasn’t, because it would be a conflict of interest to hold office in Hooksett while being editor of the local paper. Should she ever decide to leave The Hooksett Banner, Ginger Kozlowski may well take on such a challenge. And in doing so, she would encourage public discussion of issues and work for freedom of information.

Does The Hooksett Banner scare people from running for office? If so, good. We want people in office who aren’t afraid to be asked the hard questions, not the type of people who think they know better than the rest of us how to set public policy. It truly can be a thankless, miserable job holding public office, so we thank those who have taken it on. Overall, we think the Hooksett School Board does a wonderful job. So do many other town and school board members. But if we see an issue which we think is worthy of questioning, we will not shy away from the topic. If we don’t ask the hard questions, who will?

Letters:

If we want unbiased reporting, we need public access TV

To the Editor:
Last week’s editorial in The Hooksett Banner stated if there were an argument for a public access television station or Web cast, it’s now. I couldn’t agree more, although I’m sure my reasoning will differ from the editors’ reasons. Apparently, to be an editor for The Hooksett Banner you don’t need research skills, just a desire to ridicule and discredit people in the community that are actually trying to make things better.
For the past two weeks, the editor of the The Hooksett Banner has been bashing the School Board in an attempt to draw them out and create some type of controversy where it does not exist. Luckily for us, the Hooksett School Board has too much class and brains to fall for this lame attempt.
Last week, the editor repeatedly bashed a gentleman for comments he made at a school board meeting. While his comments were factual, there was one very big problem – this person is not a Hooksett School Board member as was repeatedly reported in the Banner.
How can you write a whole editorial and have the basic facts so wrong? This is sloppy journalism at its best. Ginger Kozlowski has been “reporting” and living in Hooksett for many years, yet she doesn’t even know who the members of the local board are? Isn’t that pertinent to her job? What happens to accountability and credibility.
Although I’m a resident of Hooksett, I am employed in another town in the education field as an administrator. From my perspective, the members of the Hooksett School Board have made some of the most educationally sound decisions I’ve ever seen. Hookett is blessed to have such an educated, involved and committed group of individuals on the Hooksett School Board. I’d like to publicly thank them for their service and commitment to our students and the community as a whole. Keep up the good work!
As for Ginger Kozlowski, I ask you this: How’s the view from the cheap seats? I don’t recall you ever sitting on a committee nor seeing your name on a ballot to run for elected office, but, boy, can you criticize those who do. You are doing the community of Hooksett a big disservice. I wonder how many people have decided not to run for a position after watching how you treat our elected officials – it’s just not worth it!
Public access television is pertinent to this community if we ever want actual unbiased reporting – we all know it won’t happen with this editor!

Marjorie Raymond
Hooksett

Vote ‘yes’ for Auburn-Candia Middle School

To the Editor:
On March 14, at 7 p.m. (snow date March 21 at 7 p.m.), a bond will be presented for vote at the annual Auburn School District Meeting for the construction of a grade 6 to 8 middle school on a 58-acre property located near the intersection of Hooksett Road and Old Candia Road, along with a long-term tuition agreement with Candia for their students to attend the new middle school.
Auburn Village School has been overcrowded for several years, with our middle-schoolers literally squeezed into the second floor. There are six classrooms that are in portable trailers in the parking lot. There is inadequate science and computer lab space and classrooms that are bursting with students. Three programs currently do not have a classroom and are taught from mobile carts. The library is half the state-recommended size, and trying to keep enough books on the limited shelf space for reading levels of all eight grades is a challenge. Special education space is shamefully undersized with students receiving therapies in the hallways!
It is time to give our middle school students a space where they have room to become the leaders of tomorrow with a well-rounded education consisting of more programs, adequate-size classrooms and laboratories, enough time to eat lunch, physical education, a library filled with reading-level-appropriate literature, adequate playing fields for athletic opportunities, and a more diverse group of kids, including students from Candia.
How can you help?
Vote “yes” on Article 2.
Encourage your friends and neighbors to vote “yes.”
Register to vote at the Town Hall, if you are not a registered voter, by Feb. 29.
Go to www.stateofourschool.com for information on how and when to register to vote.
Communicate. Talk about the date of the vote (March 14) and make sure your friends and neighbors are registered. Talk about the importance of passing this bond and the consequences of its failure. A bond vote requires a two-thirds passing margin – 2007 was less than two-thirds!
A middle school with Candia provides the best educationally and fiscally responsible solution for the town of Auburn. Please mark your calendar and come to the Auburn Village School on Friday, March 14, and vote “yes” for our kids! Child care is provided so that all voters can attend.
Come and vote on March 14. Bring all registered “yes” voters with you. We can get this done with your help!

Caylene Mottola
Auburn

Epsom’s experienced selectmen made hard decisions too

To the Editor:
Although my letter of the 19th was written to encourage Epsom’s residents to think about running for selectman, it must have hit a nerve. The tone of Bob Blodgett’s letter of the 24th implied that he thinks that only three of the five selectmen, that is, the three who haven’t yet finished a full term, can make all the right decisions and that the other two members have no concern for the best interest of the town. Blodgett, chairman of the board, is the newest member; serving only six months. The two senior members have a total of seven years combined service and have had to make some hard decisions, too. Some were not too pleasant, but they too took a stand for what they felt was good for the town.
I would like to encourage you, as Epsom’s residents, to attend the remaining Board of Selectmen’s meetings and judge for yourself before you vote on March 11.
Just keep in mind when you vote, that we all will have to live with the statement you make, for years to come.
Richard Frambach
Epsom

House Democrats are dangerous for our state’s economy

To the Editor:
I am writing to agree with Hooksett Rep. David Boutin about the differences between Democrats and Republicans in terms of the state budget. The Republican philosophy is quite clear – if you tax less, there is less money for the government to spend! Of course, our current crop of Dems in the State House increased spending in last year’s budget by 17.5 percent and new taxes and fees, then, of course, had to go up by $169 million. That’s a lot for a small state! In my house, if I want to go on a $10,000 cruise, I have to have the money in my pocket first before I spend it. I don’t buy the cruise first, and then decide how I’m going to pay for it! That’s the responsible way to run a budget. Apparently, in the House in Concord, with the Democrats in charge, they use a different formula – one that’s dangerous for our state’s future economy!

Liz Feren
Hooksett

Mitt Romney would make the best president for times like this

To the Editor:
Don’t judge a book by its cover. It wasn’t surprising to have so many people ask me why I was holding a sign for Mitt Romney instead of Huckabee. As with the mainstream media, they apparently presumed that “Evangelical Christians” (especially the noisy and unapologetic types like me), would automatically support an ordained minister. The Lord has no respect for persons or positions. “You will know them by their fruit.”
With some of the endorsements he garnered, I had reservations. John McCain didn’t get my support for the same reason, plus others. Rudy never had a chance, being pro-abortion. Thompson spoke well, and would perhaps rank as a VP, but didn’t instill confidence in his ability to win. My second favorite, Duncan Hunter suffered the same unfortunate reality of the “un-electability” factor. Ron Paul’s positions were great, in most cases, but not enough.
Who can we believe when they all lie? That puts them all on the same level. Therefore, take them all at their word, then measure their words equally. Mitt Romney’s positions on all the major issues most closely match mine. Most of all, Mitt Romney is the candidate most hated by the liberals and their transparent media allies. They do lie, all the time. It seems that they are so panicked, they can’t even think straight and presume that their advice would sway their opponents. It’s too late now, but they should have endorsed Mitt if they really wanted to sink his campaign among us in the Right. (We ARE right, and it is right to call us right.)
Mitt Romney is on the right side of the issues. He is a Conservative and has publicly, without hesitation, boldly declared that The Holy Bible IS The Word of God. That was the moment which put him over. How he has determined to worship the God of the Bible may be erroneous, but Jesus looks at the heart, where no one can see. On the outside, where the fruit is, Mitt Romney is the man I think would make the best president for such a time as this.
David Ross
Hooksett

Service, service – and then there is service

To the Editor:
Once upon a time I thought I had a handle on the meaning of various words to include the word “SERVICE” which is described as “the act of doing things for others.” Then I bumped into the following terms which reference the word service:
Internal Revenue Service
Postal Service
Telephone Service
Civil Service
Customer Service
Service Stations
Public Service
This is not what I thought “service” meant.
One day while eating at the Circle Restaurant, I overheard two cattle farmers from Pittsfield talking, and one of them said he had hired a bull to “service” a few of his cows. All of a sudden it all came into perspective. Now I understand what those “service” agencies are all about.

Jim Breagy
Epsom

Tri-Town saved my life

To the Editor:
I am writing to commend the efficient rapid response by the following members of Tri-Town Ambulance: D. Desrochers, Eric Uitts and William Palmer. Without their actions, this letter could not be written. Obviously, I am totally in their debt for responding to an incident at Shaw’s in Hooksett two weeks ago.
Most importantly for all readers, the value of CPR training is highlighted. One never knows when you could be called upon to save a life!
Again, praise and my appreciation to Tri-Town Ambulance.
Albra Pollard
Candia