January

An oriental rug graced the historic Searles School and Chapel after the item, made in Iran and valued at $8,000, was anonymously given by a donor.

February

The School Board selected Kori Becht to become the new principal of Windham Middle School. Becht, a former WMS student who is the school’s assistant principal, took over from retiring principal Steve Plocharczyk in the summer.

A Superior Court judged ruled that Ruth-Ellen Post’s name must be removed from the town’s ballot as a Planning Board candidate. Post had mistakenly filled out an application for an absentee ballot, not a declaration of candidacy. After filing period closed, Town Clerk Joan Tuck had allowed Post to fill out the correct form and backdated it. Planning Board member Walter Kolodziej sued Tuck, claiming she didn’t have the authority to allow Post to file after deadline and that the deadline must be adhered to.

Wayne Morris was honored for his service to the community when he was named by the town as its Volunteer of the Year. Morris has given much of his time to several committees in town, including the Planning Board and its Trails Committee, the Conservation Commission and other groups.

March

Former selectman Bruce Breton beat out incumbent Galen Stearns to return to the Board of Selectmen. Ruth-Ellen Post won a write-in campaign for the Planning Board. Voters rejected a change in zoning for 29 acres at Route 111 and Wall Street that could have brought a Lowe’s store to the site. Voters approved adding $4 million to the high school building project to provide core space for 1,000 students and to add additional classroom space, two athletic fields and a districtwide kitchen. They rejected a $3 million article to add additional facilities. Voters returned Bruce Anderson and Al Letizio Jr. to the School Board.

The town was awarded a $190,000 grant to help purchase two parcels, totaling about 84 acres, to protect drinking water.

A 15-year-old girl was back home with her parents after running away to meet a Florida man, Daniel Lenz, who she befriended over the Internet. A sheriff’s office took the girl into protective custody in South Carolina as a friend of Lenz’s was driving her to Florida.

Flooding prompted several residents to call the Fire Department for help with flooded basements. Flooding also forced officials to close several areas, including Old Mill Road and a portion of North Lowell Road at Route 111.

April

Prosecutors dropped charges against a Salem man, Frank Meisel, saying he had acted in self-defense when he shot his stepbrother at Windham Auto Body a month earlier. Meisel fired a single shot from a .38 revolver after David Richardson swung a club at his head, according to prosecutors. Richardson survived.

More than 400 people turned out for a spaghetti supper to raise approximately $18,000 for Police Capt. Patrick Yatsevich. He is battling multiple myeloma, an incurable but treatable cancer of the plasma cells, an important part of the immune system. Yatsevich returned to work later in the year.

A Superior Court judge rejected a request by selectmen that he overturn the granting of several variances issued by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Selectmen argued the ZBA erred when it granted variances to allow a company to build three homes with separate wells and septic systems within the town’s Wetlands Watershed Protection District. But Judge Kenneth McHugh wrote in his decision that selectmen had failed to convince him the Zoning Board’s decision was either unlawful or unreasonable.

May

Million-dollar home was destroyed by fire after apparently being hit by lightning. The owners were away in Mexico when firefighters from several communities fought the blaze at 1 Timberland Road. The area had been hit by “some sort of microburst” – featuring rain, thunder, lightning and hail, according to Fire Chief Tom McPherson.

Robert Mulkey, a Windham resident and a 2002 Salem High School graduate, was commissioned an Army second lieutenant during a historic White House ceremony. At the event, which was attended by President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates administered the oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution to 55 ROTC cadets and midshipmen. Mulkey ceremoniously repeated the oath two days later when former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush administered it to Mulkey and other soldiers during the University of New Hampshire’s May 19 graduation.

After hearing from residents on both sides of the issue, selectmen passed a ban on smoking at the town beach and its parking lot. Lifeguards would later say that the ban appears to be working well.

An old Boston and Maine C-16 caboose, purchased for $15,000 from William Boddy of Salem, was delivered from its Lawrence, Mass., location to be put on permanent display near Windham’s Depot Road. The town’s Depot Advisory Committee is working to transform the old train depot into a park-like setting for people to enjoy.

June

Hundreds of supporters turned out for Knight Ride 2007, a motorcycle ride, followed by a barbecue, to raise money for police officer Mark Knight, who was battling cancer, his family and the American Cancer Society. Knight, who had been a patrolman in Windham for seven years, died the following month.

July

A Salem man who was drunk when he caused the 2005 collision in Windham that claimed the life of a young Derry woman had his sentence on a negligent homicide charge increased from five to 10 years to seven-and-a-half to 15 years by the New Hampshire Superior Court’s Sentence Review Board. A judge wrote that the increased sentence for Jack Webb, whose blood-alcohol was almost three times the legal limit when his pickup truck crossed the center line on Route 111 and hit Katelyn Contraros’ car, was warranted by the circumstances of the case.

Frank Bass became superintendent of Pelham and Windham schools. Bass, who has previously served as an assistant superintendent in Manchester, succeeded Elaine Cutler who retired.

Dan Moulis, an educator with eight years experience teaching social studies, joined the staff of Windham Middle School as assistant principal. He succeeded Kori Becht, who been promoted to principal.

Hoping to ensure safety and maintain discipline, the School Board voted to spend $14,600 to install video cameras and recording devices on 17 buses and four minivans. Signs and other notices alert students that all actions on buses may be recorded.

August

Police Chief Gerald Lewis resigned to become director of campus safety and security at Connecticut College in New London, Conn. But the job apparently wasn’t what he thought it would be and at his request selectmen hired him back 10 days after his departure.

September

A majority of the School Board voted to allow green to be added to the mix of school colors for the future high school. They charged the school district’s integration committee to come up with a color scheme that adds green to the two colors chosen by students two years ago: blue and gold. The move is an act of compromise, after several parents and students told the board they favored green as a school color and believe, the voting process was flawed.

October

The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that former selectman Christopher Doyle can be tried on a felony assault charge of striking checklist supervisor Gail Webster at the polls in 2005. Doyle wanted the charge thrown out, arguing that Webster should have been disqualified from acting as an election official because her name was on the ballot as a cemetery trustee that sday.

Searles School and Chapel turned 100. The Windham Historic Commission hosted a class reunion, and Maria Webber, a former longtime teacher, was invited to serve as mistress of ceremonies.

November

Windham resident Gurrie Fandozzi was convicted of breaking seven bones in his infant son and acquitted of causing 19 other fractures. A Rockingham County jury found Fandozzi responsible for causing fractures to six ribs and a broken vertebrae in the lower back.

December

Representatives of the state Department of Environmental Services informed selectmen and residents that Meadowcroft Development LLC, which is building a business park off Ledge Road, must have a site investigation done because the company’s blasting operation may be responsible for high nitrate levels found in some area wells. The study will assess the extent of the contamination and develop a plan for remedial action.