Weare News : Bow

Fire guts home

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:31:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

A family lost almost everything in a two-alarm fire that ravaged their Weare home on Tuesday, Jan. 6.

Weare firefighters, the first to arrive on the scene at 11 Cilley Hill Road, said the blaze started about 12:51 p.m. Local trucks arrived within five minutes.

Later, teams from Henniker, Bow, Dunbarton, New Boston and Hopkinton also responded. Firefighters were able to recover a pistol that saved Jimmy Gilman’s father’s life in World War II more than 60 years ago from a dresser drawer in one of the bedrooms.

“They were able to save that. Everything else is pretty much gone,” said Chris Douglas, husband of Virginia Gilman and one of the residents of the house that burned to the ground in a matter of hours.

Fire officials suspect the fire originated in the chimney of the two-story house, but Douglas said the structure, built in 1981 on land that has remained in the Gilman family for six generations, had also recently experienced electrical problems.

No one was home when the fire started. Virginia Gilman said she pulled into the driveway, saw flames and immediately dialed 911 on her cell phone. “There were flames coming out of the house. I was on the phone. I called 911,” said Virginia Gilman, the daughter of Jimmy Gilman.

Firefighter Ricky Hippler, the first emergency responder to arrive on scene, said the flames had engulfed about 30 percent of the structure and quickly spread. The fire department established a 4-inch water line to pump water to the site and the fire was completely under control within two hours.

Creosote buildup in the chimney was the likely cause of the fire, which destroyed the house, said Hippler.

“It is a complete loss,” Hippler said. “This is the perfect example of why you should have your chimney regularly cleaned.”

Douglas, who arrived at the scene minutes after his wife, said he was still in shock after the flames had been extinguised. “I almost crashed into the snowbank coming into the driveway when I saw the house,” said Douglas. “I’m still pretty surprised that it happened.”

The family’s two dogs, a chocolate lab and a boxer, were safely removed from the building. As of Jan. 6, a house cat remained missing.

Cleanup efforts under way

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:16:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

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

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

“I’ve been with the department for 16 years, and this is the most I’ve seen with power outages and other things,” said Weare Police Lt. James Carney. “Although there was more ice on the road (in 1998), I just don’t remember this many trees down and this many people in the dark.”

Weare was one of the towns hit hardest by the storm, as about 75 percent of the town was in the dark, according to Carney. As of Monday, Dec. 15, several hundred residents were still in the dark.

One piece of evidence on the destruction of the storm came when a local news team came to do an interview in Weare. As the cameraman was setting up, he and several members of the Police Department ran to safety as a tree began falling in their direction.

As of Monday, 1,800 Goffstown residents had no power, and Police Chief Patrick Sullivan said that number was at about 4,600 at the storm’s peak.

“The worst part is the inconvenience for all the people,” said Sullivan. “We certainly appreciate their patience, that’s for sure.”

One police lieutenant in the department even had to leave his post at the Emergency Operation Center after finding out his home was on fire. The blaze left a hole in the the side of his house, and he was unable to live there as of press time.

Several roads were closed in Goffstown, but nearly every one was open by the beginning of the week, with the exception of Shirley Hill Road.

Another town thumped by the ice storm was New Boston, as Police Chief Chris Krajenka said at one point during the storm, only one road was open in town – Route 12N to Goffstown. “It was scary out there,” said Krajenka. “Snapping trees, falling limbs – some of the sounds were God-awful.”

In addition to the closed roads, power outages and closed schools, Krajenka said the Fire Department’s 1964 generator died early Saturday night. Through FEMA, the department was able to get a temporary generator the next day.

Bow Police Chief Erin Commerford said the storm has taxed the manpower of several departments in town, as well as residents.

“Without being able to stay warm, take a shower, cook, go to school, just every day functions, it’s had a great impact,” she said. “It seems like a lot of people have been without power a lot longer than surrounding towns.”

Good John Stark, Bow teams use OT to verify there’s room to improve

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:33:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow’s and John Stark’s girls soccer teams couldn’t muster any serious offensive threats through 80 minutes of play.

But it took John Stark forward Joan Hamel only 1 minute, 4 seconds to break through the afternoon shadows that consumed the Bow High School field and a host of Falcon defenders. Her goal gave the Lady Generals a 1-0 overtime win. The Friday, Oct. 10, contest was a battle of Class I postseason contenders; both teams entered the game with eight wins.

Coming off a difficult 2-1 loss to Kearsarge, John Stark’s head coach, Heather Doucette, preached to her team about the importance of a road win against Bow prior to the game.

“(Bow) was obviously fired up for us, and we came out and really needed to utilize our speed,” said Doucette. “They did a good job of keeping us off of our game. This was big for us after a disappointing loss, so I think it gave us some confidence to finish strong.”

During regulation, the majority of play took place near midfield, with neither goalie tested regularly.

Early in overtime, Hamel picked up a loose ball near midfield and carved through multiple Bow defenders, blasting down the sideline and powering a shot into the upper-right corner of the net. “In a tight game, it just takes a mistake or someone to step up,” said Bow’s head coach, Jay Vogt. “It happened so quickly. I’m still not really sure what happened. Obviously it’s frustrating.” Including the loss to the Generals, Bow has been shut out in two of its last three games, a problem Vogt said his squad needs to correct.

“At times we moved the ball, and we did everything until we got to the final third (of the field),” said Vogt. “That’s it. We have to find a way to finish. We just need to create some opportunities and get some shots on net.”

Midfielder Caitlin Heindl and defender Caitlin Pratt played well for the Falcons, while John Stark midfielders Alyssa Charest and Allison Harris were in the middle of the action throughout the contest. The win improved the Generals to 9-4-0 on the season, while Bow dropped to 8-4-0 with the loss.

Despite the win, Doucette said she knows her team, which has scored one or fewer goals five times this season, has to improve offensively.

“Being able to beat a team like this can boost us, but we need to be able to get more creative up front,” said Doucette. “There’s a lot to be done.”

JS coach expects more from charges

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:33:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Entering his eighth year as John Stark wrestling coach, Bill Walton hoped to see a squad ready to build off last year’s success. Yet after finishing third in Division II and sending seven individuals to the Meet of Champions last season, Walton hasn’t seen that hunger to win in 2007-’08.

“I had some high expectations coming in, and they just aren’t competing real well right now as a team,” he said. “We have a few individuals that will do well, and then a lot of guys that are just there and haven’t shown yet that they want to work hard and be as good as last year’s team.”

That, said Walton, was evident when the Generals traveled to Bow for the Falcons’ holiday tournament.

Two JS wrestlers – both with good chances at placing – didn’t make weight, and another was a no-show.

The problem may be a lack of leadership, something Walton said he expects senior captain Keith DeMoura to resolve.

“We lost two leaders last year, and we’re looking for (DeMoura) to fill that role, but I haven’t seen him step up and tell the team, “Look, I’m your captain, and this is where we’re going this year,” said the mentor. “A lot of times, being a leader, you know, you have to ruffle some feathers.”

Still, Walton said Class I is wide open behind “unbelievably stacked” Plymouth, and he believes the Generals are among a group of five teams – including defending champ Hollis-Brookline, White Mountains, Pelham and surprising Bow – with a legitimate shot at second place.

But the Generals have already lost to both Hollis-Brookline and Bow, and have Plymouth and White Mountains on the horizon.

At the Bow Holiday Classic, John Stark finished second among D-II teams to Bow, 131.5 to 101.5 points.

DeMoura, who wrestles in the 145-pound weight class, finished second, while fellow captain David Cass, a 130-pounder, lost in the semifinals to Bow’s Matt Boyd before rebounding to place third.

“When (Cass) wrestles well, I don’t think anyone can beat him,” said Walton. “He has a great opportunity to be a champion, I think.”

Greg Jones, a 119-pound sophomore, also finished third, and senior 103-pounder Morgan Belanger surprised her coach with a fourth-place showing. Walton said if Belanger can continue utilizing her speed and athleticism to counter opposing male muscle, she has a legitimate chance to reach the Meet of Champions, as does 171- pounder Jon Richardson, who finished fourth in Bow as well.

“He’s a wrestler that does all the wrong things and often ends up in good situations,” said a perplexed Walton. “I’m trying to make him get out of bad habits, but the truth is he can beat just about anybody and can just as easily lose to anybody.”

Senior 160-pounder Dennis Stringer won two matches in what his coach categorized as possibly the toughest weight class of the day.

Stark also showed flashes of excellence against Hollis-Brookline earlier in the week when it entered the final match trailing 38-33. Needing a pin to win, the team fell, 44-33.

Wrestlers wanted In addition to working through early-season inconsistency, Walton said he wants a better turnout at wrestling tryouts in future years.

“I can’t get any little guys to come out. In fact, I’ve told all the teachers at the school if they see anybody who looks under 100 pounds to send them my way,” he said. “I’m also trying to get football players to come out. I mean, we have 50 to 70 guys go out for a successful football team, and yet we have only three of them wrestling. It’s actually pretty sad.

The Hollises and the Plymouths, that’s they’re lifeblood, getting the big guys from the (gridiron) team to come out.

“I get the feeling maybe they’re afraid,” Walton continued. “You can walk around the halls like a tough guy at school, but when you step on the mat it’s really evident if you are or not. Wrestling is definitely the most difficult sport at the high school level. Not only are you on your own, as opposed to a situation on the football field where one mistake rarely has a major affect on the outcome, but you also have to worry about weight management and conditioning, and if you make one mistake, you’re done. It’s just so unforgiving.”