Weare News : flooding

Weare Year in review 2007

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:50:00 GMT

BY MICHELLE KIM

2007 got off to an inauspicious start for Weare with a fivehour standoff on Jan. 11 between police and an armed and allegedly suicidal Weare man who recently lost his job.

William Lambroukos shot the telephones inside his house with a shotgun and was eventually driven out with pepper spray, accidentally shooting himself in the ankle. Later this year in October, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated after a single-car crash that seriously injured his 11-year-old daughter, Britany. Both were flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital.

This year also saw the rejection of both town and school operating budgets at the March elections, sending both to default levels.

The school budget failed by only three votes, a razor-thin margin upheld by a requested recount.

The school district had requested an operating budget of $11.9 million, about 1 percent or $126,628 higher than the default budget.

Voters approved all other school warrant articles, including money for a new contract with a $58,077 increase in salary and benefits for school support staff, district surplus funds to maintain water and septic systems and money for technological equipment.

The $4.3 million town operating budget on the ballot was about $86,000 or 2 percent more than the previous year’s budget and the default level.

Also on the ballot were warrant articles requesting money for road reconstruction, a building needs assessment, the hiring a new police officer, EMT staff for the ambulance eight hours a day, modified tax exemptions for the elderly and capital reserve fund requests totaling $325,334.

Petitioned articles included year-round public access to Horace Lake, establishing a fund to build a community center and a controversial change in rural agricultural zone lot sizes from two acres to five acres.

Voters passed the zoning ordinance changing rural agricultural lot sizes but rejected the articles for a new police officer, ambulance EMT staffing and increased access hours to Lake Horace.

Town departments and selectmen cut back on some services to fit town employee raises while on a default budget. The overall property tax rate, set in November at $15.27 per $1,000 assessed value, dropped 78 cents, or 4.9 percent, from the previous year’s rate. The town portion remained level and the school portion was lower by 81 cents, or 7.9 percent, because of an adequacy grant that was about $1 million more than expected.

Weare Middle School students performed the junior version of “Fiddler on the Roof” in February. John Stark Regional High School staged the musical “Children of Eden” in March.

Racing snowmobilers helped raise money for a teen battling lymph node disease and a 1- year-old with brain cancer in a February event organized by the Weare Winter Wanderers.

John Stark Regional High School saw the departure of Principal Arthur Aaronson, who left after eight years as principal, for a position as an educational consultant in Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates. Assistant Principal Michael Turmelle was chosen to replace Aaronson. Turmelle came to JSRHS in 1998 as a health and social studies teacher and became assistant principal in 2002.

Though he was the only applicant for the job, because he was an internal candidate, he was interviewed much more rigorously than an external candidate, said SAU 24 Superintendent Christine Tyrie. Turmelle said one of his main goals is to reduce student dropout rates.

A local group spearheaded by Walter Alderman formed a committee to explore longterm plans and resources for a bicycle and pedestrian pathway for students, in response to a 2006 town warrant article. The group will likely work with the national Safe Routes to School program, said Alderman.

Flooding hit Weare again with the storms of April 16, closing many of the same roads affected by the 2006 Mother’s Day flood, including River Road, South Stark Highway, Twin Bridge Road and Derring Center Road. The roads were opened by the following afternoon. Schools closed early but reopened the following day after a two-hour delay, except JSRHS which remained closed.

The children’s room in the lower level of the Weare Public Library received about an inch of floodwater, delivering a blow to a town and library already operating on a default budget. An engineer’s report two weeks before the flooding noted potential problems in the drainage system. A new drainage system for the children’s room, estimated at $20,000, would come out of the town’s building improvement capital reserve fund, but the library had to raise money for a drainage study.

Selectmen approved about $8,000 for repairs on July 16. The flooding elicited an “overwhelming” response from the community, said library director Christine Hague, from volunteers that scrambled to store books and materials in a safer area to groups that held fundraising events for the library, which raised about $4,600.

The Weare Rocketry Team, composed mostly of JSRHS students, was one of 12 groups nationwide granted a chance by NASA to design their own rocket and test it at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., in April. Though their rocket did not meet the time requirement, they qualified to resubmit a project next year.

A Weare Middle School rocketry team also qualified for the national Team America Rocketry Challenge in May. The Russell M. Durgin Memorial Road Race, held in May in Henniker, helped raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps injured soldiers transition into civilian life.

Durgin, a 2001 graduate of JSRHS, died during his second tour with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. Weare residents Michael and Suzanne Couhie, who have two sons in the military and knew Durgin through tae kwon do, helped organize walkers and runners to participate in the race.

A Weare man allegedly shot another Weare resident in the chest with a handgun on June 19 following an altercation over the possession of tools. Thomas Lagerbloom, 58, was held on $1 million cash bail while his victim, Jeff Hebbeln, 47, was transported to Concord Hospital.

Lagerbloom was charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and theft by unauthorized taking and was scheduled for a probable cause hearing in Goffstown District Court.

Weare held its annual Patriotic Celebration from July 6 to 8, with a parade featuring “movie themes,” blacksmithing demonstration, police K-9 demonstration and a DJ providing music and karaoke.

Public Service of New Hampshire began construction on a $17.6 million project to provide more power to southwestern New Hampshire, featuring a new substation in Weare and two new transmission lines, to be completed in the second quarter of 2008.

The first six months of 2007 yielded a significant rise in recycling rates – now more than 25 percent of the solid waste collected, according to Carl Knapp, who heads the transfer station.

The brand new $18.3 million Weare Middle School was dedicated on Aug. 25. With 134,600 square feet and capacity for 920 students, three science labs, a new library and music room, the school represents a significant improvement in quality and safety over the old school, said Principal David Pabst.

A 38-year-old Weare man assaulted a 17-year-old student in the parking lot of JSRH on Sept. 10, leaving him with injuries requiring stitches, after being told the boy had raped his 15-year-old daughter.

The teens had been seeing each other covertly for several months, since the girl was not allowed to date, and the two later admitted going to the boy’s parent’s house to have sex. The students returned to campus through separate entrances, but the girl’s absence had been noticed and her parents notified. The girl told her parents and police that she had been raped. but later said that statement was false.

Since she was younger than 16, she is unable to legally give consent. The boy is less than three years older than her and was charged with a Class A misdemeanor. The father was charged with a Class B felony assault.

The 17-year-old student is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 3 in Goffstown District Court, following a hearing that same morning to see if the 15-year-old faces issues of self-incrimination.

The probable cause hearing at Goffstown District Court of the father has been continued.

After initial differences, Weare and Goffstown agreed to request a special election in conjunction with the March town elections to fill the seat of longtime District 7 state Rep. Bruce Hunter, who died Sept. 23. The filing period runs Dec. 24 to 31, and the primary will be Feb. 5.

A car driven by two Weare teens collided headlong into a bus full of Weare Middle School students Nov. 8 on Route 114 but no one was seriously injured.

Concert to raise money for library

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:24:00 GMT

BY STEVEN ANDREWS

Though the damage in town due to the April flooding was great, the community’s volunteer response to help repair it has been just as great.

The latest event to benefit the library as it works to repair the Children’s Room will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 26, at Center Woods Elementary, with a concert performed by Parents Choice Award-winning entertainers Ben Rudnick and Friends.

This is the third and final event put together by the Volunteers for the Weare Public Library, after a successful carwash and show by the Bedford Youth Performing Company.

So far, the events have raised more than $2,000, thanks in large part to the more than 30 volunteers who have contributed to the planning of each fundraiser, including everyone from parents to high school students.

Rudnick’s show aims to bring together people of all ages by providing a variety of styles he describes as an “amalgamation of bluegrass, folk and rock with some reggae/calypso tossed in because it’s fun to play.”

While children may not recognize the styles, Rudnick is confident they will enjoy the atmosphere.

“Our music is generally aimed at the family unit with kids and grandparents in tow,” he said. “The kids are free to run and dance and engage anyway they like and the parents and grandparents appreciate the playing, enjoy the tunes and recognize the well-known covers that we liberally sprinkle throughout our sets.”

He is also excited to play for a good cause, hoping to please his old fans, and maybe earn a few more along the way.

“Our band comes out of the school of thought that our fans and those who care about what we do is something of a community,” he said. “We love being part of this community, and helping when we can always feels like a very good thing to do.”

Early warning – Library knew of drainage problem before flooding

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 09 May 2007 19:30:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

Two weeks before the recent April floods, an engineer’s report alerted library officials to potential trouble in the building’s drainage system.

An insufficient depth for the drains constructed for a 1991 building addition, as well as possible clogging in drainage pipes, were among problems cited in a report trustees reviewed at their meeting on April 3, said Library Director Christine Hague.

On the morning of Monday, April 16, an inch of floodwater entered the library’s basement-level Children’s Room due to the weekend’s nor’easter rains.

Firefighters put children’s books on shelves to protect them from water damage the morning of the flood, said Hague. Volunteers helped in putting the more than 6,000 books, magazines and audio/visual materials that make up the children’s collection into storage at town hall and in the library’s Sawyer Conference Room, she said.

The library now finds itself in a quandary for a number of reasons, Hague said. Namely, she said the library needs to raise money for a drainage study and improvements to the building.

With summer serving as the most popular time of the year for children’s programs, she said the library also needs to determine where to host those programs while the Children’s Room waits repair.

A number of other questions also linger regarding the Children’s Room, she said.

“We still need to define the project, and this is all very slow because of the nature of the investigation.

We’re proceeding carefully because we want to make sure we do everything right,” she said.

The town’s Department of Public Works was scheduled to dig a test pit the week beginning Monday, May 7, to investigate some of the library’s drainage issues, said Hague. The depth of the drains from the 1991 addition and potential clogging issues were among the issues likely to be investigated through the test pit.

Director of Public Works Carl Knapp could not be reached to elaborate on other areas to be investigated through digging a test pit.

Hague said money for a drainage investigation will have to come through fundraising, as the library and the town as a whole are operating with limited resources.

“Trustees have discussed the need for substantial funding for (a drainage investigation) with the Board of Selectmen. However, the request comes at a time when town resources were already strained,” Hague said.

One local parent has already developed plans to raise money for the library’s flood expenses.

Mary Couture, a Weare mother who said she frequently brings her two children to the library, has planned a handful of events to assist in library fundraising efforts.

Couture has arranged for the Bedford Youth Performing Company Jazz Band to play a concert at the Holy Cross Community Center on Center Road on Friday, June 1, beginning at 7 p.m.

The following day, a benefit car wash has been scheduled in the parking lot of Lanctot’s Plaza on Route 114 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to coincide with the town- wide yard sale.

Musician Ben Rudnick and members of the Storytellers Guild of New Hampshire will also perform in separate events to benefit the library, Couture said. Details for both of those events have not been finalized yet.

“I think people are just starting to realize all of what the library does, in terms of its story times or just being a place that has lots of nooks and crannies for children to come and enjoy reading. And when something like (the flooding) happens, I think you’ll see that people are very willing to help out,” Couture said.

Library leaks after spring nor’easter

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 02 May 2007 20:04:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

In a year when budget struggles have already put a strain on library resources, the flooding of April 16 has spelled calamity for the children’s room.

“I don’t know how all the water got in; I just know that when I came to work on April 16, there was an inch of water on the children’s room floor,” Weare Public Library Director Christine Hague said.

Hague told other library employees to stay home that day due to the heavy rains of a spring nor’easter.

She had come to check on the drainage system in the downstairs Sawyer Room, and was surprised to find water coming into the children’s room when she arrived at 9 a.m.

“It didn’t stop coming in until the afternoon,” she recalled.

Upon seeing the water, Hague notified the Fire Department and Town Administrator Fred Ventresco.

Library power was shut off an hour after Hague discovered the water, and a floor pump kept water levels down using an emergency generator. Firefighters helped in putting books on higher shelves to prevent water damage, she said.

The following day, Hague and a group of about a dozen volunteers set about trying to rescue more than 6,000 books, magazines and audio/video material in the children’s collection, which constitutes one-third of the library’s collection.

“It really shows how committed people are to this library that we got the kind of help that we did,” Hague said.

A study of the air quality in the children’s room showed humidity levels in the children’s room to be 70 percent, she said. To guard against mold damage, the books are now being kept at Town Hall and in the Sawyer room.

Storage of the books is one of many questions now facing the library, Hague said.

The largest among these include determining how the damage occurred, how to prevent a recurrence and how to finance a drainage study and repairs in a community that rejected the town’s proposed operating budget in March. The library is now operating on a default budget of $169,980, Hague said.

The town will dig a test pit to study the drainage system at the library, said library trustee Terri Wahnowsky.

However, Hague said insurance would only restore the library to its previous condition and would not finance any improvements to the drainage system.

An engineer estimated that a new drainage system for the children’s room of the library could cost as much as $20,000, Hague said.

Repairs to the library would come out of the town’s building improvement capital reserve fund, Hague said. She noted that the library is one of many town organizations seeking those funds.

“There are so many building needs in town, and the building maintenance capital reserve fund isn’t going to cover all of them,” she said.

Estimates for drainage work and other improvements are still coming in, Hague said. Work completed thus far includes removal of sheet rock and carpeting damaged in the flooding.

While the building awaits repair, some children’s programs, including story hour, have been moved to the library’s upper level, Wahnowsky said. There are no plans to house the activities in a different building for the summer, and using space in one of the district schools is not a likely option, she said.

For now, Hague said the library is collecting a list of volunteers to help in fundraising efforts.

“If we have to raise money through grants or private donations, it will be done through the people who say they’re going to help us,” Hague said.