Pembroke Year in review 2007

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:11:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Baby burned
Matthew Butler, 26, was arrested in February for allegedly burning his baby’s foot in chicken soup. Butler later allegedly stabbed himself in the chest in a suicide attempt, and was hospitalized prior to his arrest.

According to police, Butler was watching his three children while their mother was at work at the time of the incident. The mother later told the state’s Division for Children, Youth, and Families that Butler was also drinking before she left for work, and could not handle the children’s behavior.

15-year-old collapses and dies
A Pembroke Academy freshman died suddenly on May 9 when he collapsed at his home. His stepfather attempted CPR on Matthew Couture, 15, of Pembroke, but to no avail.

According to the medical examiner’s report, Couture had a heart condition in which an artery was abnormally shaped, cutting off some of the blood supply to his heart and causing damage over time.

Friends and family praised Couture as being funny, very bright and extremely kind.

PA gets an EDie
The New Hampshire Excellence in Education Award Program Organization named Pembroke Academy a Secondary School of Excellence, referred to as “the EDies.”

The award was based on curriculum, instruction, learning processes, student achievement and improvement, community and parent involvement, leadership and school culture.

The school got $1,000, which Headmaster Michael Reardon said would go into the general account for something education- related.

Bridge is replaced
The historic doubledeck bridge connecting Allenstown and Pembroke on Route 3 was replaced this year. The lower deck of the bridget was just recently opened to traffic.

The old one, which the state had “red listed” due to its disrepair, was closed immediately after the Minnesota bridge collapse on Aug. 1 when state inspectors shut it down.

The Allenstown/Pembroke bridge was of the same deck and truss design as the Minnesota bridge. There are just a few others in New Hampshire with similar structures that were also inspected after the collapse.

Bridge opens – Recent Minnesota bridge collapse forces quick work on Suncook doubledecker bridge construction

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:29:00 GMT

BY SUSAN WARE

The doubledeck Allenstown-Pembroke Bridge, which carries Route 3 traffic across the Suncook River, failed a state inspection on Friday, Aug. 3, forcing the opening of the new replacement bridge on Tuesday, Aug. 7.

The inspection was prompted by the collapse of a Minnesota bridge on Aug. 1. The following day the Federal Highway Administration ordered an immediate inspection of all bridges across the country. The bridge that collapsed was a deck truss design, and the U.S. has 750 of these bridges. In New Hampshire, there are four.

In addition to the Allenstown-Pembroke Bridge, inspectors focused on the Queen City Bridge, Manchester, the Ashland-Bridgewater Bridge and the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge that spans the river between Portsmouth and Maine.

“The Allenstown-Pembroke Bridge is just not a good structure. It has required constant monitoring and we have had to add strengthening supports many, many times,” said Mark Richardson, the head of the state Bridge Design bureau.

The bridge gets heavy use and for the past few years has been in place while a new bridge is constructed next to it.

While the new bridge was scheduled to open at some point this month, the inspection on Aug. 3 changed those plans.

Richardson made the decision to have crews work through the weekend to finish the new bridge so that traffic could use it and the old Allenstown-Pembroke Bridge could be closed on Tuesday, Aug. 7.

“Because we had so many concerns once we did the close-up inspection, there was no other choice but to close that bridge as soon as possible,” said Richardson.

The access to the old bridge has been blocked off with barrels and barriers, and traffic is moving over the smooth pavement of the new bridge.

Richardson said a contractor has been selected to remove the old bridge, and that a date has not been set yet.

Pembroke News : bridge

Pembroke Year in review 2007

Bridge opens – Recent Minnesota bridge collapse forces quick work on Suncook doubledecker bridge construction