Salem Observer : Salem, Merrimack Valley

Man swallows drugs during Salem police stop

Salem Editor — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:42:00 GMT

Police Tasered a Gonic man after he allegedly swallowed a packet of drugs and fought with officers during a vehicle stop on Route 28.

Casey Jones, 32, has been charged with false reports, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer and tampering with evidence after authorities stopped the vehicle – containing two other adult female passengers and two children under the age of 3 – for operating under a suspended registration at about 11:17 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 5.

Police said they became suspicious when the driver and the front seat passenger provided false information, and a subsequent investigation of the vehicle allegedly yielded over a dozen hypodermic needles.

One of the passengers also told officers that they had just picked up heroin in Lawrence, Mass., according to the authorities.

Police said that Jones swallowed a packet of drugs after officers began speaking with him outside of his vehicle. Officers were unable to retrieve the drugs despite repeated attempts during the ensuing struggle, according to the authorities.

Jones, taken into custody after being Tasered, may face child endangerment charges along with the other two adult occupants of the vehicle, police said.

Jones was held on a $5,000 cash bail pending his arraignment, authorities said.

Salem senior center is local hangout for old friends to play pool

Salem Editor — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:44:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

A couple of days every week, a group of old friends gets together on the second floor of the Ingram Senior Center to swap stories, tell jokes and shoot pool. For Joe Swift, a retired police officer, the morning sessions are an opportunity to reminisce and spend time playing a game with some good friends that he has loved since he was a schoolboy.

“We used to play hookey to play pool,” said Swift. “That’s when you could play pool for a nickel.”

“We had nothing else to do,” Nick Sambataro, a postal worker for 30 years before retiring 26 years ago, said as he interrupted Swift. “There was no such thing as going any place.”

Swift and Sambataro are part of a group that changes in size from day to day, but has as many as 12 regular members.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday they get together and shoot pool on an old, worn table from about 8:30 in the morning until 1 p.m. Flipping coins to divide up into teams of two, they take turns trying to outplay each other.

“We get a lot of laughs and have a lot of fun,” said Ronald St. Amand. “We enjoy it.”

On Aug. 6, St. Amand – who practices on his own pool table back home in Hampstead, but doesn’t enjoy it nearly as much as playing with friends – and the other members of his group will challenge the town employees in a tournament.

In the meantime, their greatest challenge is remembering whose turn it is to take a shot.

“We’ll argue for hours on who is partners, who’s got high or low, whose shot is it,” St. Amand said. “We talk for 15 minutes and nobody knows whose shot it is.”

They began playing together about six years ago when the senior center first opened in Salem and have kept the weekly tradition alive since then. For fewer than five hours three times a week, they talk pool, drink coffee and eat pastries.

“I really enjoying being with my friends here every week,” said Lou Alterisio. While he has been playing pool with the group for most of the six years they have spent on the second floor of the senior center, Alterisio just retired as a truck driver and mechanic in July.

“I’ve been playing here since the place opened up,” he said. “I never played pool before. When I was a kid, maybe. Some of these guys are pretty good.”

“I started at 12 years old and I’m still lousy,” Sambataro said with a smile and a pool cue resting across his knee.

Some of them have known each other since their childhood days. Sambataro is joined regularly at the pool table by his cousin, Sam Laudana. Together they’re known as “the Italian stallions” by the others.

Childhood friends Joe Swift and his partner, Joe Perrotta, remembered playing high school basketball together.

“(Joe Swift) was the only one who could make a basket,” Perrotta said, laughing. “As soon as you got the ball you passed it along to Joe.”

“We were friends as teenagers, but we don’t talk about that,” Swift said with a smile. “All of us were born during the Depression. We were juvenile delinquents. We learned to steal hubcaps at a young age.”

As senior center officials begin to move forward with plans to expand the second story before the end of the year, Swift, St. Amand and the others are hoping they might end up with a new pool table or two. The current table – worn and dented from so many years of use – has been at the senior center since it opened. But for the time being, they are happy just to shoot the breeze, and pool, with one another.

“We take on all comers,” Swift said with a grin from his seat next to the table.

Even rental housing denied for those with foreclosure on their credit

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:41:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Edward Kruczinski and his family had a hard time finding a place to live since the mortgage on their Allenstown home was foreclosed on the day after Christmas in 2006.

While Kruczinski, his wife, Carolyn, and their three teenage daughters finally relocated to one side of a duplex in town, the foreclosure ruined their credit score, and it’s been an uphill battle since then, he said.

Kruczinski, 50, works for the state and has a second job at Wal-Mart. While his wife doesn’t work because of medical issues, he said, his income is more than enough to support a rent payment. Nonetheless, the family had a hard time finding a landlord who would look past their credit.

“To me it’s more important that people renting have an ability to pay, not something based on their past credit issues,” Kruczinski said.

As the number of foreclosures across the state – and the nation – continues to climb, there will likely be many more families facing the housing crunch as they compete with others who may earn the same income, but don’t have the black mark of a foreclosure on their credit records.

In Kruczinski’s case, rising property values due to new development in the area, an increase in their homeowner’s insurance and the skyrocketing cost of heating oil combined in a perfect storm.

“Basically, it became too expensive for us to live there,” Kruczinski said.

The crunch felt around the state – and the country

Most of the foreclosures across the state and the country evolved from high-interest subprime adjustable-rate mortgages, which boomed in the past few years and placed people into dream homes at unrealistic financing, according to Peter Hildreth, commissioner of the New Hampshire Banking Department.

“People go into the closings and all they see is the monthly payment they’re going to have next month,” Hildreth said. “People were buying houses that they really couldn’t afford.”

Now the effects of purchasing such homes are blanketing the country. According to RealtyTrac, publisher of the Registry Review, a weekly real estate and financial newspaper, more than 1 percent of homes in the nation were in some phase of foreclosure in 2007, double what was recorded for 2006.

The percentage of homes in New Hampshire entering foreclosure in 2007 is .67, or about one of every 150 loans, according to statistics from the national Mortgage Banker’s Association.

That’s creeping toward what the state’s rate was in the recession of the early 1990s, said Jane Law of the New Hampshire Housing and Finance Authority. For the entire country, that rate is .88 percent of all home loans.

The NHHFA’s Office of Planning and Policy conducted a study on foreclosures in December 2007 titled “Mortgage Delinquency, Foreclosures, and Subprime Lending in New Hampshire. How Big is the Problem?” which they updated in March with the most recent numbers from the last part of 2007.

Statistics from that study and RealtyTrac show the foreclosure wound deepening rapidly across the nation and the state in 2007, particularly in the fourth quarter. According to the study, there were 18,000 mortgage loans in the second quarter of 2007 with past due payments. Out of those, a total of 1,970 entered foreclosure in the fourth quarter, a 50 percent jump from the amount of homes entering foreclosure in the second quarter.

Out of about 32,650 subprime loans, almost 20 percent had a past due payment in the second quarter and about 3.5 percent of those had entered foreclosure in the fourth quarter, according to the study.

Subprime mortgages make up the larger portion of home loans entering foreclosure. In 1998, subprime mortgages made up only 2 percent of all mortgages. By 2007, that number had increased to 12 percent.

The state’s average foreclosures per month in 2005 hovered at around 40. In 2007, according to the study, that number jumped to 160 per month.

Contributing largely to the foreclosure troubles is the stagnant housing market, which prevented people from getting out from under mortgages that became too expensive, Law said.

“It was always an escape hatch for people when the market was going up,” Law said, adding the median home price went from $250,545 in October of 2007 to where it currently rests at $220,500. She added that the coming of spring will hopefully push that price back up.

Many of those who entered into subprime mortgage deals were middle class people looking to boost their lifestyle, the study found.

Hildreth said one of the trends his department saw with the subprime boom was the use of out-of-state mortgage companies and national banks rather than local banks and credit unions.

But Hildreth and Law both indicated that it’s not just a subprime mortgage problem anymore, a notion backed up by statistics from the national Mortgage Banker’s Association.

According to the statistics on delinquent payments, prime fixed mortgages with past due payments jumped about from about 2 percent of all loans of that type in the second quarter of 2007 to 4 percent by the fourth quarter.

The percentage of prime adjustable rate mortgages with past due payments jumped almost 3 percent in the same time period.

How local does it get?

Dave Mulchahey of Salem said his daughter’s home on Sylvan Road in Salem was foreclosed on after a series of financial hits, including her husband’s motorcycle accident.

At a public auction on Friday, April 4, at 3 p.m., the bank bought the home back for just under $200,000.

In Rockingham County, which includes Salem and Windham, RealtyTrac reports there were 108 foreclosures as of February 2008.

For 2007, the county had a total of 472, almost twice as many as the 240 foreclosures Realty- Trac reported for 2006.

The tax collectors for Salem not keep records of the number of foreclosure notices that come in or the actual foreclosures for the year.

Windham tax collector Ruth Robertson said while the town does not keep a count, it’s important to note that the town does not always receive all the notificaitons of foreclosures in town. Regardless, she said, the number coming in has risen in the past couple of years.

“The foreclosures have definitely increased,” she said.

Hillsborough County, which includes Pelham, showed a 54 percent increase in the number of foreclosures from 2006 to 2007.

According to RealtyTrac, Hillsborough County recorded 622 foreclosures for 2007 compared to 283 in 2006. Already, the county has had 144 foreclosures in January and February of 2008, just surpassing the half-way mark of the foreclosures RealtyTrac recorded for 2006.

Dorothy Marsden, Pelham’s town clerk, said the town only keeps a record of the foreclosure notices it receives. For all of 2007, the town received 33 notices of upcoming foreclosures.

“We’ve had 20 so far this year,” Marsden said, already more than two-thirds in a threemonth period of what the town got all of last year.

The number of foreclosures for Merrimack, Rockingham and Hillsborough counties combined in January of this year, 172 total, surpasses the number of foreclosures recorded for the entire state in January 2007, which was 157 according to RealtyTrac.

“It’s where people had to stretch to afford housing anyway,” Hildreth said of the troubling numbers for the three counties. “It’s still scary.”

Military moms offer support while children serve

Salem Editor — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:50:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

They’re four Salem area women who share a common bond – mothers of men serving their country in military uniform.

And twice a month, over coffee and soda, they exchange stories and share their fears, giving each other moral support and, at times, a shoulder to cry on.

They call themselves “military moms.”

“We bounce ideas or vent or share stories,” said Lisa Desrosiers of Windham, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Edmund Vandecasteele, 20, is serving in Okinawa, Japan. “We’re proud moms. Every two weeks we have proud stories to tell. We’re just here for each other.”

The women began meeting regularly in November, and they find their talks to be therapeutic.

Their other friends are supportive but don’t understand what they are going through. In this group, the women talk with fellow moms who know what it’s like to not hear from a son for weeks, not see him for months, miss him during the holidays and worry about his safety.

“We’re all in the same boat,” said Pam Rochon Russell, whose son, Thomas, 20, is serving in Afghanistan.

And they’ve tapped into each other’s experiences and knowledge to get answers to their questions: What will boot camp be like for him? Will he be able to call home? How do I get a birthday cake to him? How long does it take to ship his Christmas presents? Can he get a military discount on his flight when he comes home for leave?

“I really had no one to talk to, to ask questions, to ask advice,” said Desrosiers. “And it’s just nice that there are other moms in the same situation.”

The women, whose sons are Salem High School graduates, share photos, update each other on their boys’ lives and teach each other about what they’ve learned about the military through their experiences.

“There’s so much to bounce off each other and learn,” said Russell, who hasn’t seen her son in 11 months.

The mood at their meetings is generally upbeat, but the women do share their worries for their sons’ safety. Russell’s son is doing dangerous work – he’s a combat engineer blowing up mountainsides to build roads and leading convoys in a one-man Husky to clear roads of improvised explosive devices.

“There are times you talk about the fears,” said Russell. “My son’s blowing up the side of a mountain or the snipers or the suicide bomber that killed someone in his group. That can bring the emotion out, and with these girls, that’s OK.”

“This is the place to let it out,” added Sandy Bohne.

Bohne would know. One of her sons, Joseph, was injured in June 2006, when a roadside bomb blew up near the Humvee he was riding in while on patrol in Iraq. The explosion claimed the life of a fellow soldier.

“We can relate to the same fears,” said Bohne, whose son, James, 17, is in the Marine’s delayed entry program. “Everyone can sympathize when you have a child that is deployed or injured or whatever happens but to actually have someone – It’s just a completely different feeling of not having a child with you. You don’t know until you’ve gone through it.”

For Lucille Penny, her situation is a bit different. Unlike the other mothers, whose sons are single, her son is married and has children.

While Staff Sgt. Mark Penny, 35, of the New Hampshire Army National Guard is serving in the military police over in Baghdad, his wife, Tracie, and their two children, Spenser, 7, and Harlee, 2, are living in Raymond. A third child is due in a few days.

Spenser wants Lucille to promise that his daddy will come home – something she can’t do.

“It’s been rough but you get through it day by day,” she said.

To date, the women have kept their group small but now they’re ready to expand. They welcome others to join their conversations.

“We just want to get the message out,” said Desrosiers, “that if anyone needs to talk, we’re here.”

Five candidates file for two selectman seats

Salem Editor — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:32:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

If Everett McBride Jr. and Michael Lyons return to the Salem Board of Selectmen in March, it will not have been without a fight.

Two seats on the board are available this year, and three other candidates – Ron Giordano, John J. Manning and Roland Theberge – have also filed to run. The positions are for three years.

Another contested race features three candidates vying to succeed retiring Town Clerk Barbara Lessard. William Carter, Betty Oldeman and Susan Wall are seeking the three-year job.

There are three contested races for land-use boards.

Two three-year seats are available on the Planning Board and four men are running: Ronald J. Belanger, Jeffrey M. Gray, Robert J. Campbell and Thomas Campbell.

A pair of three-year seats on the Zoning Board of Adjustment are available and three candidates have filed: Jeffrey M. Gray, Jeffrey S. Hatch and Christopher Sousa.

Meanwhile, four people are running for a single two-year ZBA seat: Jeanette Mompo, Diana Seifert, Edward Suffern and Robert T. Uttley.

Other candidates don’t face opposition:

Cheryl-Ann Bolouk, tax collector, three years; John Sytek, treasurer, three years; Michael J. Carney Jr. and Peter Rayno, Budget Committee, two seats, three years; Sally Gilman, library trustee, three years; Michael K. Garofalo, trustee of trust funds, three years; Christopher B. Goodnow, moderator, two years; Janice Habib, supervisor of the checklist, six years.

The school district ballot features only one candidate for one position. Incumbent Bernard H. Campbell is unopposed for another three-year term on the School Board.

Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, March 11, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Second-half push sends powerful Salem past winless Concord

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:42:00 GMT

By Matt Schooley

The Concord High School girls basketball team was hungry for its first win of the season, but Salem High School wasn’t letting that get in the way of its fast start to the year, cruising to a 63-47 road victory.

Concord kept the contest on Friday, Jan. 25, within shouting distance into the halftime break, but the Blue Devils pulled away to improve to 9-1 on the season.

Amanda Saab turned in a solid game for the visiting Blue Devils, playing especially well in the final quarter to push the Salem lead to as many as 23.

Despite playing a winless opponent, Salem head coach Elizabeth Briggs said her team faced a tough task.

“It was a battle tonight. They’re hungry, and I was impressed by how they played that third quarter,” she said. “In the second quarter we sat back and our defensive effort was lacking, and we let them back into it. In the third quarter we were on a mission to come out with intensity and work harder.”

Saab scored six points in the fourth, including a breakaway layup that pushed the Blue Devil lead to its peak.

“(Amanda Saab) really took over the fourth and made a difference,” said Concord head coach *** Pratt. “She’s a nice player. She’s a difference maker, and she really was one in this game.”

Concord’s closest margin of loss this season has been 11 points, leading to the Crimson Tide’s current 0-10 record.

“They were 0-9 coming in, but they were scary as heck,” said Briggs. “We were certainly not overlooking Concord. We maintained the lead with some key subs, and were able to come out with a win.”

Kelsi Record and Sarah Raye came off the bench to play well on both ends of the floor for Salem.

Salem reached double figures in victories following a 57-55 win against visiting Bishop Guertin on Tuesday, Jan. 29. The Lady Blue Devils entertain 8-3 Merrimack on Friday, Feb. 1.

Team’s small roster yields big results for SHS

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:19:00 GMT

By Ryan O’connor

Those formulating the rules must have had Nick Miles in mind when they put pen to paper.

At the annual Salem Invitational boys gymnastics tournament, which took place Saturday, Jan. 26, those competing in the all-around are not eligible to place in individual events.

“It’s to give everyone a shot,” said Salem coach Nate Hicks, a former standout gymnast for the Blue Devils. “They don’t want one person to run away with everything.”

Indeed, Miles would have sprinted out the door with wins in five of six events – floor, parallel bars, high bar, pommel horse and vault – and second place on rings – had the rule not been established.

Instead, he sprung, flipped and landed on top of the winner’s podium only once, holding the all-around title high in front of an exuberant home crowd with a total score of 50.7.

His closest competitor, Andover’s Aaron Davidovits, finished more than 10 points back with a 40.2.

Miles, who earned a 9.3 on vault, an 8.8 on pommel horse, an 8.7 on floor, an 8.6 on parallel bars, a 7.8 on high bar and a 7.5 on rings, was also named Outstanding Gymnast, an award presented to the athlete who exhibits the most impressive individual performance while showing team pride, team spirit and camaraderie among teammates and opposing gymnasts.

In the process, he led Salem to a third-place team finish with 153.8 points, behind Burlington’s 159.6 and Braintree’s 159.2.

What’s most impressive, said Miles, is Salem finished ahead of teams – Lowell and Attleboro, among others – with two, three and, in some cases, almost five times as many athletes.

Salem, for example, has nine gymnasts. Lowell has nearly 50.

“Everybody participated, and we had a lot of guys winning awards, and everyone out there participated in our finish,” said the sophomore.

Just as important as winning with fewer athletes, said Hicks, is representing New Hampshire as the Granite State’s lone boys high school gymnastics program.

“This is kind of like our States because obviously it’s here in Salem, whereas we usually have to go to Massachusetts to compete,” he said. “I wish there were more New Hampshire teams, but it’s really great to see our kids go out there and compete so well against some of the best Massachusetts has to offer.”

Sean Fallon, who didn’t compete for the all-around title at the Salem Invitational, despite participating in each event, earned a second-place 8.3 on floor and a second-place 8.4 on vault, ahead of teammate Danny Raymond, who finished third in the event with a 7.9.

Earlier in the week, the Blue Devils extended their dual-meet record to 2-1 by slaying Revere, 152.1-138.7.

Miles won the all-around with a 50.9.

He took first place in each event with a 9.4 on floor, a 9.2 on vault, a 9.0 on pommel horse, an 8.5 on parallel bars, a 7.6 on high bar and a 7.2 on rings.

Fallon finished second overall with a 39.9, placing second on vault with an 8.6; second on floor with a 9.2; second on high bar with a 6.7; and third on parallel bars with a 6.8.

Raymond earned third on vault with an 8.1 and took fourth on high bar and rings with a 5.0 and 4.8, respectively.

New police station tops town warrants

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:42:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

A proposed $32 million operating budget and a $7 million warrant article to construct a new police station top the list of warrant articles Salem voters will consider when they gather for the town’s first deliberative session of Town Meeting.

That first session will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, at Salem High School, and begins at 9 a.m.

Selectmen are asking voters to approve a $7,135,712 warrant article to construct a 26,000-square-foot police station behind the department’s current building.

The new facility is being requested to accommodate a police department that has outgrown its station, which was built in 1966 and has been added on to several times.

The article, if approved, would authorize the town to issue not more than $6,985,712 of bonds or notes and use up to $150,000 in interest earnings on the invested bond proceeds.

Asset forfeiture money and impact fees would also be used to cover some of the project’s $7.3 million total cost. The new station would cost the average homeowner $42 annually.

Officials are proposing an operating budget of $32,249,993. The property tax impact is $4, the water rate impact is $2.85 and the sewer rate impact is $2.80.

In addition, there are five warrant articles that each provide increased financial benefits to unionized workers. These include: $121,376 to firefighters; $101,366 to police employees; $43,614 to clerical and administrative employees; $50,092 to professional employees; and $45,851 to public works employees.

If the operating budget is rejected at the polls, voters will take it up again at the town’s second deliberative session on Saturday, March 15, when at least 19 other warrant articles, including requests for roadway improvements and hiring four new firefighters, will be debated and voted on.

Renovation funds among warrant articles up for debate

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:38:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

A $53.5 million operating budget, money to plan for a high school renovation and a new contract with teachers and other professionals are among the Salem School District warrant articles voters will see this year.

The district’s deliberative session will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, at Salem High School. There, voters can discuss and debate these spending measures. Voters will decide the fate of each warrant article when they go to the polls on Tuesday, March 11.

One topic that could generate debate is whether voters should approve spending $1,511,000 for architectural and engineering plans to renovate Salem High School.

The renovation project has an estimated price tag of $41 million, and the preliminary work would provide a better defined price.

The school board is asking voters to authorize spending the money for the architectural and engineering plans, and would use impact fees to cover $250,000 of the cost. The Budget Committee, however, is not recommending the article.

Advocates of the proposed renovation say the project is needed to improve and expand the 42-year-old school, which suffers from numerous deficiencies and has been pushed to capacity.

Some Budget Committee members, however, said they would prefer to address the issue after Windham students leave the school.

Also on the warrant is an article to put $600,000 into a reserve fund to pay for renovations to the high school. The money is a penalty that Windham is paying to keep its students at the school an extra year, after Windham delayed the opening of its own high school.

The $600,000 article, which the budget committee is not recommending, will be null and void if the $1.5 million for architectural and engineering plans is approved.

The proposed operating budget for 2008-09 is $53,539,584, of which $29,707,595 goes to salaries.

The budget also includes $9,412,708 for employee benefits; $2,342,468 for supplies and materials; $421,730 for equipment, furniture and fixtures; and $7,354,795 for various purchased services, such as pupil transportation, equipment repairs and printing.

The warrant also includes a $100,000 deficit appropriation for the school district’s current budget, representing the cost of special education tuition for out-of-district placements, and a $198,197 article to address deficiencies identified in a 2005 facilities audit, which includes replacement of fire panels, roofing, windows, HVAC units and paving.

Five other warrant articles each provide increases in pay and benefits in accordance with collective bargaining agreements between the School Board and worker unions: $31,830 to secretaries; $29,120 to food service workers; $83,601 to aides; $47,233 to custodians; and step increases totaling $404,284 and increases in salary and benefits totaling $730,897 to members of the Salem Education Association, which includes teachers, nurses and student services specialists.

Company wants slots at Rockingham

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:30:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

An audience of business people, local officials and state legislators got a look at plans for a revitalized Rockingham Park, presented by a company that hopes to bring 3,000 video slot machines to the 101-year-old Salem landmark.

William Wortman, who owns 20 percent of the park, also hopes to return thoroughbred racing as part of his company’s plans.

“I am committed to revitalizing Rockingham to bring it to its former grandeur,” said Wortman, the co-owner of Millennium Gaming.

Millennium is the majority owner of Cannery Casino Resorts, which owns or leases four casinos in Las Vegas and Pennsylvania.

The audience, made up of about 50 people, were gathered inside Rockingham’s clubhouse on Thursday, Jan. 24.

They also heard from Matthew Landry of The Innovation Group, a consulting company that estimated that slots at the racetrack could annually generate $294 million to $402 million, depending on how much competition there would be in Massachusetts and at greyhound tracks in New Hampshire.

Half of the revenues would go to the state in taxes, the study assumes.

For Millennium to bring slots to Rockingham, the state Legislature would have to allow for the expansion of gambling.

Gov. John Lynch has said it must be demonstrated to him that expanding gambling will not adversely affect the quality of life in the state before he would agree to it.

“We need the revenue. We need the money,” said state Rep. Mary Griffin, R-Windham, following the company’s presentation.

She cited that the state is experiencing a shortfall.

“Personally, I think it’s a good thing,” she said. “It brings in jobs. It’s entertaining.”

Currently, Rockingham employs 250 people, according to Edward Callahan, its president and general manager. Wortman estimates that as many as 1,200 people could be employed when the project is complete.

If lawmakers agree to allow slots, Millennium could have a temporary facility up and running about eight months later.

A new clubhouse would include a retail shop, gaming areas, restaurants, space for banquets and conferences, a food court, an outside covered grandstand, and VIP boxes.

“This represents a very unique opportunity for all of us,” said architect David Climans. “I think the tradition here, the 100 year history of Rockingham, is extremely valuable and our whole philosophy is to respect the heritage that’s been here all these years, and really to create something that’s reminiscent of what’s been here but brings it into a new era.”

Rockingham, which opened in June, 1906, currently offers live harness racing, simulcast racing, bingo, Texas Hold ‘Em Poker tournaments, various attractions and other activities.

14 businesses cited for underage alcohol sales

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:02:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Underage buyers were able to purchase alcohol at 14 stores in Salem during a police-conducted alcohol compliance check on 58 businesses.

The underage buyers went into the stores and restaurants during the evening of Friday, Jan. 18.

The store clerks and waitstaff that sold to them were issued a summons for prohibited sales. The New Hampshire State Liquor Commission will be issuing an administrative summons to the businesses.

Deputy Police Chief Bill Ganley said four buyers were used in the check. The buyers look youthful and presented identification when asked for it. Some workers sold alcohol even after checking an ID, Ganley said.

“The whole point ... is to try to get to 100 percent compliance,” he said. “It’s not to punish people, but to keep them on their toes.”

The workers who were issued a summons are:

Michael Baez, 22, Methuen, Mass. (Cumberland Farms); Warren Perry, 52, Lawrence, Mass. (Salem Exxon); Nancy Seligman, 48, Derry (B & H Oil); Pritish Patel, 20, Methuen, Mass. (Salem Convenience); Belinda Overdeput, 16, Salem (Mike’s Red Barn); John Russo, 35, Salem (Store 24); Jose Pabon, 28, Methuen, Mass. (K-Mart); Joseph Meadows, 67, Derry (Centerplate); Hudson Wells, 19, Salem (Irving); Meryl Thomas, 56, Derry (Hess Express); Shayna Padden, 22, Sandown (T-Bones); Lori Mogauro, 45, Pelham (Bertucci’s); Kelly McCarthy, 38, Salem (7-11); Binh Nguyen, 19, Lawrence, Mass. (Tokyo Steakhouse).

The compliance checks were funded by a grant from the New Hampshire Department of Justice to address underage drinking.

Two of the establishments are repeat offenders, according to police.

Mike’s Red Barn was cited during alcohol compliance checks in May and July 2007, and Hess was cited in May 2007.

Salem wrestlers impress in Merrimack, Concord

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:08:00 GMT

By Ryan O’connor

MERRIMACK – Traveling without their highly touted freshmen, who were competing at their own event in Concord, Salem invaded the Merrimack Hall of Fame Tournament and finished fourth among 16 squads.

Despite bringing just eight grapplers to the event on Saturday, Jan. 17, the Blue Devils often looked dominant against some of the best competition from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Senior standout Trevor Dearden won the 125-pound weight class, pinning Exeter’s Chris Scott in the final.

Likewise, Alex Pittera won the 135-pound weight class via pin over Bow stud Doug Rosenberg.

In the 160-pound weight class, Corbin Decker lost a close decision to Alvirne’s Evan Carter in the finale.

And 285-pounder Ryan Stanton placed fourth, losing 4-3 to Merrimack’s Bill Lester.

Assistant coach Todd Oljey said he was pleased with efforts from 145-pounder Rich Cronin and 140-pounder David Welch as well, though both fell short of placing.

“We definitely have our moments, our ups and our downs, but what’s important is we’ve gotten our act together at the right time, because we recognize the postseason is approaching,” said Oljey.

Those not present in Merrimack, those who impressed at the Concord Freshman Invitational included Devon Dearden and Tyler Dietrich, who each won; Brett Pittera and Cameron Yergow, who placed second; Micah Dion, who took third; and Jason Herrick, who finished fourth.

“The majority of those freshmen aren’t first-year wrestlers. They came from the (Salem) Boys and Girls Club, so they know their way around the mat,” said Oljey.

Selectmen back new police station

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:37:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

A $7.3 million proposal to build a new police station was unanimously backed by Salem selectmen and appears to have the support of most Budget Committee members.

Plans call for a 26,000-square-foot building that would be constructed behind the current station. The new facility is being requested to accommodate a Police Department that has outgrown its station, which was built in 1966 and has been added on to several times.

“The building is not getting any younger. It’s not getting any easier to maintain,” Don Freeman, a member of the police station building committee, told selectmen during their Monday, Jan. 14, meeting. “It ultimately will be constructed. It’s not going to get cheaper than it is today.”

The Salem Police Department is the fourth busiest in New Hampshire, according to Freeman.

In the 1970s, officers answered 123,000 service calls. In the 1990s, they were answered 354,000.

The department had 27 officers in the 1970s. Now it has 59 full-time officers, 20 civilian employees and 20 part-time officers.

The current station suffers from inadequate space, its cell block, lockers and weapons storage are substandard and the building doesn’t meet current building and electrical codes, according to Freeman.

“We need to be out of that building,” said Police Chief Paul Donovan. “It’s just not suitable for a department our size.”

The new station can be built with minimal impact to adjacent wetlands, and the current station will remain operational while the new building is being constructed, Freeman said.

The warrant article that selectmen are putting before voters in March calls for appropriating $7,135,712 to construct the new station and for site improvements, to authorize the issuance of no more than $6,985,712 in bonds or notes, and to spend up to $150,000 in interest earnings on the invested bond proceeds.

In addition, it authorizes selectmen to accept state aid and other funds that may be available.

Some of the $7.3 million for the project will be funded with asset forfeiture money and impact fees.

The warrant article requires a two-thirds percent majority to pass. If approved, it would annually cost the average homeowner $42. A proposal to build a new station in 2004 did not get the two-thirds vote it needed to pass.

Baybutt Construction of Keene, selected for the project, submitted a bid of $5,985,525. The project’s total price tag includes contingency money and $827,500 for owners’ costs, such as wetlands permitting, equipment, furniture, communications, technology and construction oversight.

Most Budget Committee members, meeting after the selectmen adjourned, supported the article when they took a preliminary vote. But several said they wanted to see a breakdown of some of the costs.

One committee member, Stephen Campbell, said he doesn’t support the warrant article. School and town spending is going up, and people can’t afford the new station, he said.

“The question is: where are we supposed to come up with this money? The idea that it will never be cheaper doesn’t make it any easier to pay the tax bill when it comes.

“I’m going to vote no, not because we don’t need a new police station, but because there doesn’t seem to be any political will in this town by elected leaders to say no to anyone,” he added. “That’s why the increases are so crazy this year.”

Company to pay $3.4 million to settle lawsuit over stocks

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:36:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

StockerYale Inc., a manufacturing company based in Salem, has agreed to pay $3.4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of misleading investors by issuing two fraudulent press releases in 2004.

According to documents at U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in Concord, the plaintiff’s lawyers were awarded 33 percent, about $1.13 million, in fees and $51,111 in reimbursement of expenses.

The remainder will go to 10,900 class members, investors who bought StockerYale stock between April 19, 2004, and May 24, 2005.

StockerYale is a designer and manufacturer of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fiber optic, structured light lasers, fluorescent illuminated technologies and other products, according to the lawsuit.

The suit named the company, chief executive officer Mark W. Blodgett and his father, Lawrence W. Blodgett, a company director, as defendants.

On April 19, 2004, the company announced through a press release that it had received an order from BAE Systems to supply lasers for an airborne military missile defense system.

Following the announcement, the company’s share price surged. Mark Blodgett sold more than $1.6 million worth of shares and Lawrence Blodgett sold more than $350,000 worth of shares, according to the lawsuit.

Another press release issued on April 21, 2004, providing additional information about the order, also caused share price to rise, the lawsuit said.

The share price later decreased significantly, according to a published report.

The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the company and settled a fraud case against it and Mark Blodgett in 2005.

“Specifically the complaint stated that StockerYale did not have any contract with BAE Systems for the development of a laser for missile countermeasure systems for commercial airplanes as part of the Homeland Security project,” the lawsuit said. “Nor was StockerYale developing such a system.”

Mark Blodgett agreed to pay disgorgement of $788,118 and a $120,000 civil penalty. He and the company did not admit to wrongdoing, have defended the press releases as accurate and have denied the plaintiffs’ charges in the class-action suit, according to a published report.

State rep charged with assault

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:24:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

A state representative from Salem has been charged with assaulting his wife.

David C. Dalrymple, 65, 11 Sullivan Court, faces a charge of domestic simple assault. He was arrested on Dec. 31, after his wife, Janeen A. Dalrymple, 58, reported the alleged assault.

Janeen Dalrymple was granted a temporary restraining order against her husband. It requires him to have no contact with her and to stay 1,000 feet away from her.

According to Janeen Dalrymple’s petition for the order, filed Dec. 31, her husband told her the night before that he had her followed and her phone tapped. She claims he repeated several conversations that took place the previous Saturday.

Her husband, she claims, wanted her out of the house and demanded she go to the bank and withdraw money from a savings account.

He repeated his demands the following day. She claims she refused to go to the bank, told him wiretapping is illegal and wouldn’t comply with his demands.

Her husband became enraged, grabbed her shoulders, pinned her to the bed, put his fist to her face and threatened to break her jaw and kill her, according to her petition.

After being held down for several minutes and feeling pain in her shoulders, she told him she would go to the bank and wherever he wanted but wanted him first to go away for a while.

Later, as she followed him, she made a quick turn and went to the Salem Police Station.

In her petition, Janeen Dalrymple claims there has been a long history of verbal and physical abuse from her husband and she has feared for her safety. Her husband is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 245 pounds, according to a police log.

David Dalrymple is a Republican member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Janeen Dalrymple is a nurse and a former state legislator.

“The conversations I have on my cell phone include discussion about my patients, and now their privacy was violated by having my cell phone tapped,” she wrote in her petition.

On Jan. 25, a hearing will be heard in court to determine if the protective order should be extended for a year.