Pelham News

Pelham High School coach confident in team’s ability, seeks consistent intensity

Salem Editor — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:48:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Linda Koehler has spent the greater part of the last 20 years grooming young field hockey talent in Pelham.

After helping develop a generally successful high school program between 1987 and 1998, she spent 2004 through 2006 mentoring at the middle school, where she led several current Lady Pythons to two first-place finishes and a runners-up trophy.

In 2007, Koehler returned as an assistant at the high school, and this year she once again took the reins of the program, which hasn’t won more than a handful of games the last several seasons. Her aims are simple.

“Our first goal is to love playing field hockey again. Our second is to start winning some games, and then we want to finish it off by making a playoff appearance,” she said. “I know these girls, and you’re looking at girls somewhere along the line that obviously knew how to play.”

So when the Lady Pythons were getting off the bus prior to their road contest at John Stark on Sept. 24, Koehler’s advice was simple: Play like you’re behind three goals.

“They always play better in the second half, and I wanted to show them that if they come out with that same type of intensity, it’s a lot easier to hold the lead than to come from behind,” she said.

Sure enough, Pelham scored first when sophomore Kelsi Lynde connected with fellow midfielder Chelsea I’Anson, who planted the ball in the back of the net. In the second half, Lynde and Emily Koehler each notched tallies and the Lady Pythons cruised to a 3-1 triumph, their second of the season. Goalies Alexandra Catalano and Monique Fournier combined for the victory in net.

The win, of course, was a step forward. Now, Koehler said her players are ready to take some long strides, hopefully picking up enough momentum to reach the postseason.

“I think if you look at our season and you look at our schedule – we spent a lot of time on the road and played some historically strong teams – and … I was told we played great out there,” said Koehler. “My girls can play. They can’t necessarily always score, but they can play. More importantly, they’re happy, and now they’re starting to learn how to win.”

Phone fraud on rise, Pelham police say

Salem Editor — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:42:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Police Department has fielded many calls related to telephone fraud recently, according to Police Chief Joseph Roark.

“The common thread of all the complaints is an attempt by the caller to obtain personal information from the citizens,” said Roark in a press release. “This type of scam is very common and referred to as ‘pre-texting’ in law enforcement. The criminals lie on the telephone to get your personal information.”

In such cases, the scammer may call and lie to the resident about who they are and whom they work for, saying they are with a particular bank or another legitimate company to get the resident to divulge their personal information by saying there is a problem with an account.

Some even pose as representatives from government agencies and ask the resident to confirm their billing information. In these ways, the scammers obtain Social Security numbers and other types of personal information to commit any number of identity fraud crimes, including unauthorized charges on existing credit cards, opening new credit cards or bank accounts, writing fake checks and taking out loans.

But scams are not just limited to phone calls, Pelham police Lt. Gary Fisher pointed out.

“A lot of it is done over the Internet,” he said.

A Contoocook woman was recently duped when she received an e-mail saying Yahoo. com wanted to confirm her personal information for her account. Pam Manus did not respond with her account information, but did send a reply asking why Yahoo wanted the information.

When she sent the e-mail, she saw that it did not go to Yahoo, but to a different email address. Just by doing that, Manus set off a chain reaction in which an e-mail was sent to all of the people in her address book saying she’d been robbed in Michigan, and requested they wire money to her.

The Pelham police have a case now in which a man was being asked via e-mail to give money for a cause and found out it was going overseas.

Both telephone and email scams should be reported to police, Fisher said, as a security in a person’s eventual dealings with their credit company or bank. All such incidents should also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission and to your credit company immediately.

“If (residents) report them to us, usually police agencies can work with the banks to try and find out where (the scam originated),” Fisher said.

If there is no return number or e-mail address, the culprits can be very hard to track, Fisher said.

If residents do not recognize the e-mail address, can’t get a caller to give them a return number or especially if they haven’t done business with the agency being represented lately, no personal information should be given out, Fisher said.

Those who suspect they’ve been scammed should close their accounts immediately and place fraud alerts on their credit reports, police said.

For more information on identity theft, visit www.ftc. gov/idtheft or call (877) IDTHEFT. To find out more about the most common phone scams, visit www.ftc.gov/bcp/ edu/microsites/phonefraud/ index.shtml.

Pelham field hockey team thoroughly outplays Bow but falls at home, 2-0

Salem Editor — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:15:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The Pelham field hockey team created more scoring threats, but Bow made its chances count, earning a 2- 0 road victory. Although the Pythons spent most of the afternoon on the attack, the Falcons scored a goal in each half, defeating Pelham on Friday, Sept. 12.

Bow’s Kristen Chulada corralled a loose ball in front of the net and pounded it home, giving the Falcons a 1-0 advantage heading into the half. Falcons goalies Lydia Crisp and Sarah Starempfer split time in net, combining for the shutout.

“The defense’s ability to stop all of those chances was amazing, and the star of the game was obviously the defensive line,” said Bow’s head coach, Tracy Berube. “Even though a lot of the times they created those chances, they can back themselves up.”

For Pelham’s head coach, Linda Koehler, it was frustrating to see her team on offense so frequently without cracking the scoreboard.

“(We) dominated that game, but we were caught flat,” said Koehler. “It’s the second effort to put those back in (the net) that we need. We just need to learn how to win, and it goes back to having confidence.”

Berube agreed the Pythons controlled the flow of play, despite what the scoreboard indicated.

“We had to bring it back to basics,” she said. “I think they outplayed us, so you have to focus on going slow, making passes and hoping they find a rhythm. I can’t tell you what this is doing for our morale. Hopefully it gives them the confidence they needed.”

In the second half, Pelham continued pressing for the equalizer inside the Bow offensive circle, but Julia Romano added her first goal of the season with 4:38 remaining to seal the victory.

Romano had missed the majority of the preseason as well as Bow’s first three regular season games with an ankle sprain.

With the win, Bow improved to 1-2-1 for the year. The loss dropped Pelham to 1-2 on the young season.

Ali Meagher, Lindsay Davis and Kelly Knepper anchored the Bow defense to help blank Pelham, while Devon Lamoreux and Kally Riddinger kept the Pythons in the game on defense.

Koehler said it was Bow’s ability to switch from defense to offense that was difficult to stop.

“They transition very well from defense to offense, and they did it very quickly,” she said. “They took advantage of their opportunities.”

Three suspected of murdering a Pelham man plead innocent

Salem Editor — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:04:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The three suspects accused of fatally shooting a Pelham man in Worcester, Mass., after a conflict over a woman pleaded innocent at their arraignments in Worcester Superior Court.

Adrian Ortiz-Rodriguez, 21, of Pelham was gunned down on Ethan Allen Street in Worcester after attending a night club and then a party afterward.

Ortiz-Rodriguez was not directly involved in the altercation between his friend and another man over a woman at a night club, Worcester police said.

The alleged gunman, Hector Cortez, 26, of Worcester is facing charges of murder, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and six other charges related to his carrying a loaded gun.

Juan Tapia, 22, of Lowell, Mass., who allegedly drove the getaway vehicle, is charged with murder, being an accessory to murder after the fact, being an accessory to murder before the fact, and several other gun charges.

Manuel Padilla, 23, of Worcester is also charged with murder, as well as several other gun and accessory charges similar to Tapia’s.

A grand jury indicted the three men in July. The case proceeded to their Superior Court arraignments on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

“At this time, the cases are being tried together,” said Tim Connelly of the Worcester District Attorney’s Office. The next step is a pre-trial conference scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 8, Connelly said.

According to witness accounts, Ortiz-Rodriguez and a group of friends were at Voodoo, a night club on Commercial Street in Worcester, when a man allegedly confronted one of Ortiz- Rodriguez’s friends for talking to the girl he was with at the club.

After leaving Voodoo, Ortiz- Rodriguez and his friends went to the party 27 Ethan Allen St., about a mile from the club.

“Once at the after hours party, the friend of the victim encountered the same man that he had argued earlier with, and words were exchanged once again,” a Worcester police statement said.

The situation quickly escalated, according to police, when Ramos allegedly went into a bedroom in the house with another man and came out pointing a gun at Ortiz- Rodriguez’s friend, prompting the group to leave the party.

Worcester prosecutors allege Cortez, Padilla and Tapia left the party minutes later, got into a Jeep Cherokee, which police allegedly traced to Padilla’s girlfriend, and circled the block until they found Ortiz-Rodriguez and his friends.

Cortez allegedly fired shots at the group, hitting Ortiz-Rodriguez, who was pronounced dead at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester at 3:35 p.m. on May 25 from a single bullet that entered his arm and went into his chest.

A security camera caught the three men walking into the 51 Wellington St. apartment complex where Padilla lives. When officers came on the scene at about 3:15 a.m., according to police, Ortiz-Rodriguez’s friends were driving toward St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester at a high rate of speed. Officers followed the two cars to the hospital.

During the Superior Court arraignment on Sept. 10, Cortez’ attorney Alan Black argued outlining the story line and facts in the case would prejudice the jury pool.

“The judge didn’t accept that objection, and Ms. Hatch was allowed to recite the basic facts of the case,” Connelly said. A trial date has not yet been set in the case, nor has jury selection started.

Talent up, scores down, on Pelham golf team

Salem Editor — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:03:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

With one senior and three freshmen in the top eight, as well as a sophomore playing as the team’s No. 1, there’s no denying the Pelham golf squad is young. Yet it presents an ideal scenario for Todd Kress.

The second-year golf coach said last season’s lot featured a solid group of seniors who were very much set in their ways. This year, he said, the players are excited to learn and improve their play.

“Last year they were good, but they were pretty much the same (talent-wise) all year. This year, we’re just going to get better and better. These guys are listening, and they’re passionate about working to get better,” said Kress. “I told them last year was a pass, I let them do what they wanted to do, and now it’s about winning.”

Though he’s taking a patient approach, recognizing the Pythons won’t compete for a state title this season, Kress said the team should be capable of a top five finish in 2009.

“We would like to think we’re (currently) a .500, competitive team, and we would like to think we’ve improved from last year,” said Kress. “The numbers are up. We’ve gone from 10 to 16 (athletes), so that’s a step in the right direction.”

Senior Grant Hebert is slotted as the team’s No. 3 behind junior Corey Couillard and Pelham’s top golfer, sophomore Jesse Vaiknoras.

“That gives us three consistent guys in the 36 to 40 (shots per nine holes) range,” said Kress. “If we can get those next couple guys around 43 – right now, they’re 45, 46 – and we can teach those guys to manage the course a little better, I really expect us to be around 205, 210 meet in and meet out.”

While junior Ryan Fyfe is a solid No. 4 for Pelham, freshmen Daniel Roberts and Trent Austin each have the opportunity to score in the top five on any given outing.

Those competing to fill the final two spots include senior brothers Everett and Nathan Paitchell, juniors Brett Austin, Jeffrey Caira and Stephen Jean, and freshman Alec Surprenant.

Kress said the freshmen were shooting in the low 50s when practice began. Two of the three have already lowered their handicap, each consistently carding scores in the mid 40s.

“They’re only going to get bigger and stronger. I mean, they hit it straight as an arrow, they just need to get a little more distance,” said Kress. “If Jesse and Corey can take the leadership in the offseason and get the guys playing in the summertime and getting memberships, I think next year will be a very good season for us.”

Kress, whose top accomplishments – including the 2006 Class I title – have come on the side of a basketball court, said he’s had to make adjustments as a coach, too.

“Sometimes you’ve got to realize (golf) is a mental game more than anything else, and if you think that kid’s head is not quite right, you can’t afford to put him out there because you can’t make a change,” said Kress. “You know, in other sports you can substitute. In this sport you throw your eight guys out there and hope they’re good for a day, but they really are on their own out there … You really can’t make halftime adjustments.”

That doesn’t mean the course doesn’t offer benefits foreign to the court.

“The thing that’s different about this sport, as opposed to other sports, is all you’ve got to do is be good on one day,” Kress continued. “You know, last year (at the state tournament) the 12th seed was Monadnock, and they finished third. You’ve just got to hope the course fits your team’s strengths and hope your guys show up on the day of the state meet.”

Pelham wrestles with kindergarten problem

Salem Editor — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:52:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Pelham school officials, faced with a state mandate to provide public kindergarten next year, must submit a long-term implementation plan to the state Department of Education by Dec. 1.

No decisions on how they are going to provide a kindergarten program were made when members met for a strategy session on Wednesday, Sept. 3. The board will discuss the issue again at future meetings, but Assistant Superintendent Roxanne Wilson is going forward with her plans to start a committee to work on curriculum for a program.

The state Legislature has included kindergarten in its definition of an adequate education. Earlier this year, lawmakers extended the kindergarten mandate until next year and are offering financial assistance to Pelham and other communities to begin a program in 2009.

“I think they’ve been very kind to us in terms of what they’re providing for us,” said School Board member Linda Koehler. “I think they’ve really extended themselves for us. I think it’s time for us to look as a community at (kindergarten) as something we need to provide for our children.”

Koehler encouraged her colleagues to come up with a plan and to educate voters about why it’s necessary and the costs to start a program.

Superintendent Frank Bass estimated it would cost $400,000 to $450,000 for teachers for a half-day program to educate more than 200 children. Additional money would be needed for aides and specialists. State aid of $1,200 per child will offset some of that cost, he said.

Where the students would be taught is uncertain, but school officials can take advantage of state aid for both a temporary fix and a permanent solution, according to Bass.

For the first three years, the state would pick up the full cost for modular or portable units, along with furniture and fixtures. The state is also offering to pay 30 percent of land acquisition costs and 75 percent of construction costs.

Pelham is one of approximately nine New Hampshire communities that do not offer public kindergarten. Some residents, however, are not happy with the state’s actions. Board member Linda Mahoney complained the state is stepping on local control.

“I’m not viewing this as a kindergarten issue,” she said. “I’m looking at this issue as a much bigger issue, and I do believe it has to do with our constitutional rights as a community. There are some who might disagree, but in this bill it’s waiving the will of the voters.”

“I think what the state is offering is very generous and I’d love to give the townspeople the opportunity to take advantage of that,” Mahoney said. “But that’s not what the state is doing. The state is saying, ‘This is what we’re going to give you, take it or leave it, you’ve got to do it. And if you don’t want to, you’re going to have to do it anyway.’ That’s where I have an issue.”

Mahoney also raised concerns that other programs in the school district could suffer. She noted that voters didn’t pass funding for paving for the middle school’s parking lot.

“We put in kindergarten, this money is going to have to come from somewhere else,” she said. “That’s where I’m coming from. It’s going to have to come from other programs in the district. Where is all this money going to come from?”

One of the residents who attended the meeting, Bill Scanzani, said the time to fight the state mandate had passed and he warned that the community would put itself in peril if it didn’t follow the law.

“I think instead of debating how we got to where we are, I think we’re better off trying to figure out how we’re going to fund it,” Scanzani said.

School Board member Cindy Kyzer stepped down from the board for its discussion. Her husband, Matt, is the pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church, which offers a kindergarten program.

“I don’t want it to look inappropriate,” by sitting on the board, she said.

Friends recall life of Pelham High football star who died in swimming accident

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:19:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

In his senior year playing for the Pelham High School Pythons, running back Robby Maille rushed for about 1,500 yards, said athletic director and Maille’s coach, Tim Powers. He also scored more than 20 touchdowns that year, two stats that are both rare for high school football running backs and telling of the drive Maille had, both on the field and in his life.

“His competitive nature personified him. He always wanted to win, and he would do whatever it takes to win,” Powers said.

Maille died at Massachusetts General Hospital on Wednesday, Aug. 13, after fighting for his life for several days. He was the son of Michael and Janet Maille of Pelham.

He was 21 years old, about to enter his senior year at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., and was looking forward to a bright future.

“He was my best friend, and we had a lot of good times together,” said Jon “Biggie” Gendron, 21, who grew up with Maille. “He always had a great outlook on life. He was always the life of the party.”

Maille was swimming at a friend’s house in Tewskbury, Mass., on Friday, Aug. 8, when he dove in. He misjudged the depth of the pool and broke his neck.

“We pulled him out of the pool, once we knew something was wrong,” said Maille’s longtime friend, Brian Stanton, 22, and his friends performed CPR until the ambulance arrived.

Stanton and several other of Maille’s friends and family stayed by his hospital bed until his death.

“The doctors told us he may be able to hear us, so I just spent the time in there with him, talking to him and telling him how strong he was,” Stanton said.

Audrey Sousa, 21, was Maille’s high school sweetheart and went to two proms with him. The couple dated for three years before heading off to separate schools, Sousa going to Rivier College in Nashua.

“He loved to dance. He would dance anywhere,” Sousa said, recalling their senior prom. “He had got his uncle’s Mustang, and he was so excited and so proud to drive this thing. The license plate said ‘giddy up,’” she remembered. The two remained close friends after separating, Sousa said. She last saw Maille on July 30, when she went to his house to watch “Stomp the Yard,” a movie about street dancing.

“He made me watch it even though he quoted everything in the movie,” Sousa said, laughing.

Sousa said Maille excelled in football, but also in baseball, basketball and academics.

“He could just see things happening that no one else could pick up on, and just read plays,” Sousa said.

Will Demers, 21, met Maille at the age or 6 or 7, he said, when Demers first moved to Pelham. Demers described Maille has being the “strong personality” that brought Demers out of his shyness.

“The best way to put it was that he always represented to me what it meant to really live life to the fullest, and he had a strong impact on me,” Demers said. “He was the guy who took charge. I was always really shy, and he really made me be me.”

Demers, who also stayed by Maille’s side in the hospital, said he spent a lot of time telling his friend how much he’d affected his own life.

“Especially when it started to drag out a few days, I tried to tell him not to fight anymore. By the end, it was just time for him to go, and we were just trying to make him understand that it was OK,” Demers said.

Stanton and others recalled a football game in their senior year in which Robby made a play characteristic of his attitude toward life. Maille got the ball and ran 40 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown didn’t count because the game officials called a holding penalty.

“Robby just turns to the coach and turns to the rest of (the team) and said, ‘give me the ball and run the same play,’” said Stanton, the team’s wide receiver.

Powers, the football coach at the time, remembers that play vividly. “He just ran over to the sidelines and said ‘call it again, call it again,’” Powers said.

When he got the ball this time, he again ran for a 40-yard touchdown and got it that time.

“He was a person that if he told you he was going to do something, he did it,” Stanton said.

Powers said Maille’s confidence and upbeat personality spread to the rest of the team in that year in particular, in which they lost the first two games before winning eight in a row, losing in a hard-fought championship game.

“He had that intensity and he had the ability to go out on the field and do things like that,” Powers said.

Demers said Maille wouldn’t want his friends to be sad about his death, but would want them to get the most out of life.

“He wouldn’t want people moping around. He’d want people to enjoy the time they have,” Demers said. “I just wanted to make sure he knew how much I really looked up to him, and the impact he’s had on me is going to last forever.”

Drugs at Pelham High School

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:13:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

A 16-year-old Pelham High School student was arrested on the second day of school for allegedly bringing narcotics into the school to sell them to other students.

The student’s name is not being released because he is a juvenile. Police are pursuing charges through Salem Family Court for possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute.

Police were called to the high school Thursday, Aug. 28, at 12:35 p.m. Assistant Principal Leland Brennan Jr. said he got an anonymous tip that the student had prescription pills at the school. Brennan could not say whether that source was a student or not, he said.

“We had a confidential source tell us that he was in possession,” said Brennan. “Our process always is, unless there’s a threat to other students, like a weapon or something like that, we always deal with the student first,” he said, in case the tip is misleading or in error.

After questioning the student in private, the student handed 19 pills to Brennan, who in turn called police, Brennan said. Police were able to identify the pills, 14 of which were the narcotic Adderall and the rest Vyvanse. Both prescription medications are used in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit disorder.

The student has been suspended from school, although Brennan said he could not reveal how long that suspension will last.

Brennan said prescription drug use is on the rise among students, but said he and other administrators are making every effort to eliminate all types of drugs from the school.

“I think the prescription drugs are becoming the drug du jour, if you would,” Brennan said, adding they are easily obtained and hidden from view.

Pelham High School has a very stringent medication policy, Brennan said. Students are not supposed to keep any medications on their person throughout the day, and instead have to store them at the nurse’s office. Parents have to give the nurse their written consent to allow their children to have medication at the school.

“We’re trying to monitor it the best we can,” said Brennan, although he added it’s difficult to catch every pill bottle. “If we catch that, it’s confidential, and the parents are notified of our medication policy. I think most of the kids realize that they’re not supposed to have any type of medications on them at school grounds at all.”

The hard part, Brennan said, is sustaining their status as an educational institution without overstepping their bounds by searching the backpacks, purses or pockets of every student who walks through the door.

“We’re trying to keep this as a school instead of becoming invasive,” Brennan said.

Brennan said anonymous tips from students, teachers, faculty and community members are the key to uncovering drug use and sales in the school.

“Students and other people know before we do,” said Brennan. “That bridge, I have found, is the most important part of trying to get a school that is free of drugs.”

The first step in that is getting students to trust that whatever they say will remain completely confidential, Brennan said, which many students are starting to believe.

A large seminar held at the end of the last school year featuring a person who’d been incarcerated for drugs, addiction counselors, police and school administrators talking about drug use among youth was very poorly attended, Brennan said.

“We were kind of upset about the fact that we only got a few parents,” he said.

The climate in the school is swinging in favor of eliminating drugs on school grounds, Brennan said, and more and more people are speaking up when they see suspicious activity that may involve drugs.

“I think the biggest change is people are making the decision to not just say, ‘oh well, I can’t do anything about it.’ They’re deciding to make a stand. They want a drug-free school, and this is their way of handling it, and we’re there to back them up,” he said.

Pelham football, behind strong ground game, seeks another crown

Salem Editor — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:42:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Tom Babaian isn’t looking for his team to replicate what it accomplished last season, but he does hope it ends with his football team holding a championship plaque for a second consecutive year.

Babaian’s Pelham Pythons completed their undefeated 2007 campaign with a state title, and the team returns some of the main cogs from last year.

“Obviously you try to duplicate what you did last year. You don’t settle for anything less,” said the head coach. “We’re looking to be just as good, if not better. That doesn’t mean that’ll happen, but that’s what you strive for.”

One returning player to this year’s team is Bruce Vieira, who proved to be one of the best backs in the state last season. Babaian said Vieira has been successful on the field due to his preparation off it.

“He’s without a doubt one of the top players in the entire state, if not in New England. He’s an outstanding player, outstanding kid,” said Babaian. “He does it all on his own. He’ll push himself, and that’s the difference between him and everybody else. He just does it, and that’s rare for a high school kid. You can’t teach that.”

Leading the offense will be Josh Luciano, who Babaian said brings a combination of leadership and athleticism to the quarterback position.

“He has a lot of that (athleticism), but he just needs to learn to use it,” said Babaian. “I think he’ll have a big year.”

With the success of Vieira last year, defenses will look to slow the senior, making Tim Schaffer vital to the Pelham backfield.

“If they key on Bruce, then (Schaffer) could have a big year. That’s huge because you can’t have an average guy be the opposite of a Bruce,” said Babaian. “You need somebody who can pound the ball and take it the distance. It makes a big difference (in) play calling.”

Babaian said he expects junior linebacker Connor McColgan and senior nose tackle Bill Helliwell to anchor the defense for Pelham, which faces new Division-V opponents thanks to an expansion and reshuffling of divisions.

“It’ll be much more competitive … It makes it a lot more difficult. You’re adding in some good quality teams,” he said. “We’re not going to have the teams that roll over like we had last year. There were times we walked on the field and it was over.”

Although Babaian is excited for the season to begin, he knows his team still needs to improve before its regular-season opener on Saturday, Sept. 6, at Campbell.

“Honestly, we have a lot of work before our first game. We’re nowhere near game ready yet,” he said. “It’s getting the kids prepared for what’s coming at them and the speed it’s coming at them.”

Special ops called in on Pelham mental health case

Salem Editor — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:10:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Pelham police called in the region’s special operations unit to negotiate with a 31-year-old man after they heard what they at first believed to be a gunshot coming from inside a home on Victoria Circle and could not get the man to come to the door.

While the Southern New Hampshire Special Operations Unit was surrounding the home and making attempts to contact the man, Pelham officers working an outer perimeter found the man walking by the intersection of Bridge and Old Bridge streets, less than a half mile away.

What police initially thought was the sound of a gunshot they now believe was actually the back door of the home slamming, said Pelham police Lt. Gary Fisher, who added no firearms were found in the home.

The man, whose name cannot be released, had called 911 on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and requested mental health assistance. The 911 operator lost the connection with him, and Pelham police responded to the home just before 8:30 p.m.

When they heard the loud bang, officers retreated from house and began to set up a perimeter. They tried to make contact with him using a loud speaker, and then called in the SOU.

The man had been consuming alcohol, Fisher said, but was not heavily intoxicated when the Pelham officers found him. The man was taken to Parkland Medical Center and eventually released.

Fisher said anyone suffering from mental or emotional issues should not be afraid contact police for help.

“Don’t ever hesitate to contact us. We can put (people) in touch with outside agencies to assist them. We’re a valuable resource when it comes to that stuff,” said Fisher.

Pelham Fire Department faces budget cuts

Salem Editor — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:30:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Facing rising costs and potentially restricting budget constraints for next year, Fire Chief Michael Walker remains supportive of a move by selectmen to keep the budget under control.

“They’re taking on the responsibility and following what they feel is a public mandate to try and find out what’s the best efficiency for the town,” he said. “I think they’ve got a lot of guts doing it.”

While nothing is set in stone until after the voters approve the budget next March, Walker is preparing to reconcile rising expenses with a budget that does not reflect those increased costs. In the short term, it translates into more overtime and a delay in purchasing new equipment or repairing older pieces of machinery.

“The only motivation is to deliver the best possible service under the budget,” Walker said. “What I decided to do, if we were going to have a limited budget, we were going to focus that into the training and focus on delivering the best service possible.”

The tightened budget comes as Walker must allocate $92,000 extra toward contractual obligations this year. In order to keep his finances on target, he had to cut $128,000 going to equipment, supplies and manpower.

In the event one of his firefighters takes time off or is injured, Walker may have to reduce the size of his shifts from four men to three. If the station receives multiple calls at once, the firefighters on duty will be forced to choose between waiting for reinforcements to show up or fighting a fire understaffed.

Walker has also been using emergency medical supplies – stockpiled in the event of an emergency – to stock his ambulances in order to defer the rising costs of the supplies. Not all of the supplies are transferable and of those that are, there is a limited amount.

The ability to purchase new equipment – like a backup hose, which would give Walker the ability to test his equipment without taking a fire engine out of service – does not look likely in the next year.

According to Shawn Buckley, a firefighter with seven years of experience in Pelham, the situation has been getting tougher for the department over the past year and a half.

“We went a month without buying soap to wash the trucks,” he said. “We were doing really good for a while.”

Though the department currently needs a new ambulance, new gear, and repair parts for several engines, including the backup forestry unit, Buckley does not see any of it coming through any time soon.

“Every little thing seems to add up,” Walker said. “We are going to continue to give superior service. We are going to do what we have to do.”

Selectman Harold Lynde said the intent of the board had never been to drastically cut the budgets of town departments, but to try and hold the line when it came to spending. While Walker presented a bare bones estimate at their request, the selectmen plan to review each of Pelham’s departments before presenting to the Budget Committee.

“We’re going to take into account any of the cutbacks. I know we’ve run across several of those things. We’re going to add those things back in,” Lynde said. “The level of service we have provided has diminished from what it has been. We are mindful of holding the line but also of obligations to provide adequate service.”

Lynde said voters may have been reacting to higher taxes and the downturn in the economy when they voted against the operating budget in March, but he did not think Pelham’s residents had intended to slash and burn the town’s budget.

By not voting for the approval of a police contract, he said the town had lost several good police officers, some of whom had not received a raise in three years.

“I think some people just vote no to say we’re spending too much money and not thinking that they’re going to get impacted by the level of service,” he said. “I don’t think people really want to diminish this capacity, but we have.”

For his part, Walker said he is working more closely with the neighboring town of Windham to provide adequate coverage of Pelham during any emergency that might arise.

Pelham building added to state Register of Historic Places

Salem Editor — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:04:00 GMT

The New Hampshire Historic Resource Council has added the Pelham Library and Memorial Building in Pelham to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.

The register is part of the state’s efforts to recognize and encourage public and private efforts to identify and protect historically significant properties throughout the state.

In order to be eligible for the register, properties must be at least 50 years old and retain the unique qualities that make them irreplaceable.

In 1896, citizens committed tax money for the construction of the Pelham Library and Memorial Building, which was erected to house town functions, serve as a memorial to Civil War soldiers and honor the 150th anniversary of the town’s incorporation.

This was Pelham’s first and only library until 2003. It has served an important role in the town’s development.

“These communities and individuals have done a terrific job of understanding and valuing their historical resources,” said Elizabeth H. Muzzey, New Hampshire’s state historic preservation officer. “These listings represent a great deal of dedication of citizens to protect our state’s heritage and special places.”

N.H. volunteers put money where their heart is for Haitian orphans

Salem Editor — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:57:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

After more than a decade of battling the rampant poverty, crime and pollution of Haiti with friends and family, Pat Jussaume has no plans to stop bringing aid to the Caribbean nation.

Jussaume, a Pelham resident, said it is the country’s orphaned children that has kept her and a group of contractors, handymen and good Samaritans from across New England coming back every year.

“It’s the poor of the poor. They live in little huts with tin roofs, with no running water, no utilities, no electricity,” she said. “It’s a whole different culture, but yet the people are basically pleasant, cordial, kind. The kids love it when you come down.”

Jussaume, a music teacher in Lowell, Mass., has returned regularly to the impoverished Caribbean nation to work with a small orphanage on the outskirts of the capital of Port-au-Prince for the past 11 years.

In that time, Jussaume has been joined by a group of friends and family, including her husband and her son and daughter, all of whom have donated their time and resources to making life for 65

Haitian orphans a little better.

“We were able to install and build a bathroom with flushable toilets and showers, screens to keep out the mosquitoes and lights for the kids,” she said. “Last year we built a library for them. We do as much as we can every year, depending on the needs.”

Since her first trip to Haiti, the orphanage has grown to three stories and doubled in size. With building materials donated from local businesses and a diverse group of volunteers, Jussaume’s group has done everything from installing plumbing to running electrical wire.

“We actually built a basketball backboard and frame and we put it up in the kids’ village, which is up against the orphanage wall, and we must have had 150 kids high-fiving us,” said Jean Soucy, a metal fabricator from Tyngsboro, Mass., who has been on eight of the trips to Haiti. “Everything is broken, so people don’t have time to put up new stuff. They’re always repairing something, air conditioners or vehicles. To get something new, that’s something that we have to do when we go down there.”

Out of the dozen or so teams of volunteers that visit the orphanage every year, Jussaume and Soucy’s team is the only group that handles construction work. Supplies that have not been donated are purchased from funds raised throughout the year and are either shipped to Haiti from the United States or purchased on the ground.

“We’re up early, we stay late. It’s exhausting work with the heat and everything else. That’s what makes it good to go down there,” Soucy said. “We depend on a lot of people to give us donations and stuff, and we usually pay our own way down there and then we use the donations to purchase the materials we’re going to use down there to do our jobs.”

Each member pays roughly $1,000 out of their own pockets to cover the cost of airfare, food and housing while in Haiti. Any funds received through fund raising or donations are put toward building materials, medicines and food for the orphans.

For Jussaume’s daughter Nicole, who just returned from her fifth trip to Haiti, it’s the children as well as the experience that keeps bringing her back.

“(The orphanage) is very well kept. The staff in the orphanage is wonderful for the kids. The kids are very well taken care of. They’re so excited,” she said.

The group has hopes to eventually be able to build a new orphanage in the countryside with schools and a medical clinic for the children, but without the major funding needed for a project of that size, Jussaume said the team will continue to focus on keeping the orphans fed, healthy and educated.

After having seen what a small group of volunteers can do in one week, Soucy has plans to return to Haiti and stay for a few months.

“We bring so much when we go down there as far as talent and organizational skills to make things happen that a couple of months of a few good guys could make a big difference,” he said. “That’s why we go, we go for the children. In order to be in this orphanage, both parents have to be dead, so we got these little guys looking up at us and they don’t have a prayer unless we get down there.”

Pelham man arrested after struggle with police

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:52:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

A 23-year-old man was hospitalized after a physical altercation with two detectives outside of a Rite-Aid pharmacy.

Pelham resident Kevin Henderson – with three warrants already out for his arrest on charges relating to speeding and drug possession – attempted to flee the pharmacy parking lot after two detectives approached him and identified themselves at about 1:11 p.m. Thursday, July 24.

Officers were able to physically detain Henderson, at which point he began to struggle with police, authorities said. One officer sustained minor arm injuries.

After additional officers arrived at the scene, Henderson was placed into the backseat of a police cruiser for transport. Henderson began kicking the backseat windows, causing damage to the vehicle’s doors and windows, according to police.

Henderson was subsequently transported to Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center to receive treatment for minor lacerations to his head sustained during his struggle with police.

Police are charging Henderson with resisting arrest, assaulting an officer, criminal mischief and operating a vehicle with a suspended license. He is also being held on three electronic bench warrants, including driving with a revoked license, speeding, and possession of drugs in Nashua and Merrimack.

Veteran Pelham firefighter dies at 48

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:18:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Pelham firefighters saluted one of their fallen brethren with a cigar- smoking gathering on Monday, July 21, after learning of the sudden death of veteran firefighter Howard Mastropiero.

Mastropiero, 48, a firefighter with the Pelham Fire Department for 11 years, had been vacationing out of state with his wife and three daughters when he died of a heart attack Wednesday, July 16.

Chief Michael Walker described Mastropiero as a “good man, good father and a good husband.”

“You look at yourself and you wonder, ‘I wish that I could be like him,’” Walker said. “I never heard him say a bad word about anybody. He was always upbeat and supportive. He will do anything for you.”

Mastropiero – who routinely worked out with Walker in the mornings – was an asset to the fire department and to the community, he said.

He had just begun taking more of a leadership position within the department.

“Right now we’re grieving,” Walker said. “Everyone here loved him; the community loved him. We’re going to find out what we can do for him.”

Outside of the Pelham Fire Department, the flag flies at half staff and traditional drape of dark purple bunting hangs over the station to signify the loss.

On Monday, July 21, Walker joined with others to mourn Mastropiero’s passing and in a small ceremony held at a cigar store in Pelham where he used to purchase his cigars. His funeral was held that day at Londonderry Presbyterian Church.