Windham News : Merrimack Valley

Windham candidates file for office

Salem Editor — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:15:00 GMT

Two three-year seats on the Windham Board of Selectmen are up this March and four men are running: Bruce H. Richardson, former selectman Galen Stearns, Planning Board member Ross McLeod, and state Rep. Charles McMahon, a former selectman.

Alan Carpenter and Margaret Crisler are not seeking re-election.

Other candidates for town positions include: Philip LoChiatto, Rick Okerman, Planning Board, two seats, three years; Peter Griffin, moderator, two years; Gail Webster, Mark Brockmeier, cemetery trustee, one position, three years; Robert A. Skinner, supervisor of the checklist, one position, six years; Alphonse J. Marcil, Jr., trustee of trust funds, one position, three years; Thomas J. Murray, Zoning Board of Adjustment, one position, one year; Mark Samsel, Zoning Board of Adjustment, one position, three years; Anne-Marie O’Neil, Carolyn B. Webber, Joyce Wilt, library trustee, one position, one year; Mark Branoff, library trustee, two positions, three years.

Two three-year seats are available on the school board this year. Al Letizio Jr. and Elizabeth Valentine are not seeking re-election.

Christine Lane, Mark Brockmeier and Michael Hatem, who is making his third bid for the board, have filed their candidacies.

Also running for school district positions: Mary Ann Horaj, clerk; Elizabeth Dunn, moderator; and Maura Pennisi, treasurer. Those are one-year positions.

Parents petition to have Windham high school open with just freshmen and

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:06:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Freshman Chris DiPersio likes going to Salem High School, where is he actively involved in the band program.

And he wants to stay there, even though his town will be opening a brand-new high school next year.

DiPersio was one of several students and parents who weighed in at a Windham School Board meeting on whether Windham High School should start with four grades – or as few as two – when it opens its doors in fall 2009.

More than a year ago, the School Board voted to have a full school – grades 9 through 12 – when the school opens.

But recently, several parents and students have asked the School Board to reverse its decision and open the school with only freshmen and sophomores and allow juniors and seniors to finish their careers at Salem High School before Windham High School becomes a full school.

They made their arguments late last year and aired them again at the board’s Tuesday, Jan. 22, meeting.

The last two years of high school are particularly important for students because that’s when they are gearing up for college, some of them said.

“Eleventh and 12th grades are where you’re taking the courses, applying to colleges and becoming integrated in a system that is going to move you into the college of your choice if that’s the field you want to go into,” said Renee Solomon, a mother of a freshman and a junior at Salem High.

Another mother, Lisa Van Berlo, said it was unconscionable for the School Board to move students out of Salem during those years.

“It’s like transplanting a tree in the middle of winter. It makes no sense,” said Van Berlo. “This does not just affect a class ring. It’s their future.”

School Board members did not make a decision that night. Some said they were receptive to receiving more information before doing so.

School Board member Barbara Coish, however, said she would not change her vote, and another member, Beverly Donovan, said she thinks the board should stick with its plan to open with four grades.

It’s a decision that is not easy for School Board members because they know some people will be unhappy with whatever decision they make.

“None of these solutions are terrific,” said Superintendent Frank Bass. “None of them solve all the issues. With each solution you propose, there are drawbacks.”

Currently, about 650 Windham students attend Salem High School, with Windham paying to send those students there through an agreement between the two communities.

Salem is willing to take Windham students as tuition students after Windham opens its own high school. Several people said they believe that if the Windham school opens for all four grades, there might be few upperclassmen there because many parents will opt to keep their children in Salem.

Those who do go to Windham, some said, may be those students whose parents can’t afford the tuition.

Several students told the board they’re unsure if Windham’s high school will provide the same opportunities they enjoy in Salem. And they don’t like the idea of leaving some of their schoolmates.

“We’ve met many people and met new friends,” said freshman Kim Movsesian, adding that students at Salem High, despite coming from two towns, think of themselves as one community.

“They’re part of a community. It’s extremely difficult for (them) to abandon that community and come to a new school,” Bass said.

About 40 people attended the meeting, and several speakers drew applause when they finished their remarks.

Not everyone, however, believes the school should have only freshmen and sophomores when it opens. Some parents have said they are concerned that the school will lack a “critical mass” of students to support a genuine high school experience for their children.

One parent, Patty Michal, asked the School Board to think about the students who are currently in middle school and will be in the new high school.

“There are a lot of (kids) who have to go to that high school who want a real high school experience,” she said. “A school with two grades, to me, is truly not a high school experience.”

Another mother, Cindy Hastings, said she worries about the message sent to the community at a time when the School Board is asking for more money to provide additional athletic facilities at Windham High School.

“To me, if you open a high school with just two classes, it says to the voters: We don’t need the facilities, we don’t need the fields and we can put off those things,” she said.

$11.6 million budget to be discussed

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:56:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Voters will have an opportunity to let their voices be heard when they take up a proposed $11.6 million operating budget and 28 other warrant articles at Windham’s town deliberative session.

They will gather on Saturday, Feb. 9, starting at 9 a.m., at Golden Brook School.

If the $11,645,020 budget and all warrant articles pass and the town receives grants, donations and other funds, officials hope for, the net increase in spending would be $757,167 or 6.47 percent.

Voters will consider adopting a new blasting ordinance and a noise ordinance, and transferring 16 acres of recreation and conservation land to the school district, land school officials need to accommodate additional athletic facilities, as part of a land swap.

Other money warrant articles voters will look at include:

• $275,425 for increased salary and benefits to the police union, in accordance with a collective bargaining union with the town.

• $54,080 for a trailer for the Transfer and Recycling Department.

• $29,630 for increased salary and benefits to the firefighter’s union.

• Add $90,000 to a salt shed/highway facility capital reserve fund

• $70,000 for renovations to the Nesmith Library, including exterior painting and interior lighting repairs and replacements.

• $26,510 for increased salary and benefits to municipal workers

• $3,985 to replace two part-time maintenance workers with a full-time employee, beginning in June.

• $15,000 for a salt shed/highway garage engineering/feasibility study, and to authorize the withdrawal of money from a capital reserve fund.

• Voters are being asked to spend $182,230 to add four new firefighters and to apply for a $101,200 Homeland Security grant to help cover the costs.

If the grant is obtained, the town’s reimbursement from the government will diminish each year until 2013, when the town assumes the full cost of the employees. The article will be null and void if the grant is not won.

Voters will also see requests for money for three projects that have been on previous warrants: Castlehill Bridge, bike paths on Lowell Road and improvements to an old train depot area.

The town is seeking to spend $501,585 to replace the bridge, which crosses Beaver Brook at the Pelham-Windham border.

The state would provide 80 percent – $401,268 – in bridge aid, and a developer working on a subdivision in the area would pay a $89,000 donation. That would leave $11,317 to be raised by taxes.

Selectmen are putting forward an article to spend $73,200 to fund a portion of the town’s 20 percent share of the costs, including engineering, easement acquisitions, right of way, and construction expenses, to build bike paths along Lowell Road from Route 111 to Golden Brook School.

The state is picking up 80 percent of the cost, and is committing additional funds to rehabilitate pavement and drainage on the road.

Voters have already put aside $160,000 of the town’s share of the project.

Selectmen are asking voters to approve spending $33,000 to develop engineering and design plans to improve and renovate the Windham Depot area, and to accept $20,000 of this appropriation from the state.

The project’s total cost is expected to be $210,000, with the state paying 80 percent of the cost.

Some warrant articles will have no effect on the tax rate:

• Taking $12,000 from the Searles Special Revenue Fund to pay for marketing and maintenance costs at the town-owned Searles School and Chapel, which is rented out for functions.

• Using $12,560 from the same fund to pay on a loan taken to make renovations and repairs to the building’s west wing

• A warrant article by citizen petition calls for allowing juniors and seniors to continue attending Salem High School.

Because it was submitted to the town, selectmen felt obligated to put it on the town warrant.

But the legality of the article – whether a town vote can influence the school district – will likely be discussed at the deliberative session, said Town Administrator David Sullivan.º

Articles to enhance high school on this year’s ballot

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:54:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

This year’s Windham School District warrant includes several articles to provide money to Windham High School, which will open in 2009.

Those articles, and others, will be the subject of discussion and debate when voters attend the school district’s Friday, Feb. 8, deliberative session.

The session starts at 7 p.m. and will be held at Golden Brook School.

A majority of the School Board is supporting three bond articles to boost athletic facilities at Windham High: $3,819,980 for a multipurpose sports center; $900,000 for a second gymnasium and $778,500 for three additional athletic fields.

Each bond article requires a 60 percent majority when voters go to the polls on Tuesday, March 11.

State Rep. Charles McMahon has submitted a $1.25 million warrant article by citizen petition to construct a second access road for the high school.

The new road would be built over the area of the former London Bridge Road from the high school to Castlehill Road.

Selectmen had proposed their own warrant article to build the new road but later withdrew it. McMahon has said that by having the construction proposal on the school district ballot, the project would qualify for 30 percent aid from the state.

The School Board may recommend that wording of McMahon’s article be changed at the deliberative session, but supports its intent.

To accommodate additional athletic facilities, the School Board is asking voters to accept the transfer of 16 acres of recreation and conservation land from the town. The district intends to transfer 40 acres of its land to the town in return.

Voters will be asked to approve a three-year collective bargaining agreement between the School Board and the Windham Education Association that calls for increases in salaries and benefits of $484,060 in 2008-09, $507,620 in 2009-10, and $483,618 in 2010-11.

The warrant includes these other articles:

• Add $286,082 to a capital reserve fund to fund repairs, replacements or additions to the driveway, parking lot or a new parking area at the middle school.

• Add $100,000 in surplus money to the school buildings and grounds maintenance fund. The maximum amount of money to be put in the fund, created last year, is $200,000 and would be replenished in future years. The fund’s purpose is to cover unexpected repairs and replacements.

• $95,000 for salary and benefits to add an assistant principal at Golden Brook School. The student population is approaching 500 students, the state’s suggested threshold for adding an assistant principal

• $65,000 to add a Spanish teacher at the middle school. This increases academic time for students and allows students entering high school to start at a higher level in the subject.

• Create a committee to study whether Windham should withdraw from SAU 28, which also includes the Pelham School District.

“Both towns have been experiencing, over the past 10 years, an amazing amount of growth,” said School Board member Beverly Donovan at public hearing on the budget.

Two other warrant articles by citizen petition will appear on the warrant.

One would change the terms of the school district’s clerk, moderator and treasurer from one year to three years beginning with the 2009 elections. It is recommended by the School Board.

The other, submitted by Jim Curtin, would designate green, gold and white as the officials colors of Windham High School, and the wildcat as the school’s official mascot. The School Board opposes it.

The School Board has already adopted the jaguar as the mascot, and navy blue, metallic gold, and green as an accent color as the official colors, according to School Board member Barbara Coish.

The School Board is recommending a 2008-09 school district operating budget of $34,453,396. If the budget is turned down by voters in March, officials will have to spend within a default budget, the previous budget with certain adjustments, of $34,185,643.

The new budget includes money for eight positions at the high school, an increase of $719,847 for Salem High School tuition, a $169,515 debt service increase for outstanding bonds, more money to keep pace with rising fuel and electricity costs, $85,062 more in transportation accounts, and more money for special education, an area that accounted for 27 percent of the budget’s increase.

Schools benefit from piano donation

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:47:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

The Windham School District has a baby grand piano – thanks to the generosity of a local couple.

School Board member Beverly Donovan said Al and Cathy Pappalardo, who recently sold the Guesthouse Inn and Suites in Methuen, Mass., donated the Kawai baby grand piano to the Windham Endowment for Community Advancement.

The Windham School Board, in turn, accepted the donation from the nonprofit foundation.

The piano was appraised at $6,500, according to Donovan.

“The appraiser said it was in wonderful shape,” she said.

The piano is currently on loan to Windham Middle School, and will be used as the stage concert piano in Windham High School’s auditorium when the school opens in fall 2009, according to Donovan.

Donovan’s family paid $60 for the appraisal and $300 was donated by School Board member Barbara Coish to transport the piano.

Cathy Pappalardo, a first-grade special education teacher at Golden Brook School, said the piano used to be located in the hotel’s function room. She said she and her husband, who have a daughter in seventh grade, like that the piano will be used at the schools.

“It’s actually quite beautiful, black and shiny, real nice, and it has great tone,” she said. “We’re hoping it will be enjoyed.”

Diane Carpenter, another resident involved with the endowment group, said the Windham Woman’s Club donated $200 to purchase a cover for the piano.

Teacher travels to top of Mt. Washington to enhance science curriculum

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:38:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Ashley Moore’s recent trip to the top of Mt. Washington was more than a one-day winter adventure. It was an opportunity to increase her knowledge of science and to bring that information back to her Windham Center School students.

Moore, 33, joined several other teachers on an EduTrip – an overnight stay on the mountain’s summit. There, she learned about the workings of the Mt. Washington Observatory, toured the summit’s museum and learned some science experiments she can perform with her students.

“Now that I’ve had this experience, I can bring that piece into the classroom,” Moore said.

Moore is a fifth-grade teacher whose duties include teaching science to about 50 students – her own students and those in teacher Linda Satkwich’s class.

Moore traveled to the mountain’s top on Thursday, Jan. 17, and returned the following day.

During her first day, she had a 30-minute video conference with her science students from the observatory’s weather station room. The kids got a look at weather instruments and talked about weather conditions with her.

Moore also showed them how a bag of potato chips had gotten puffy due to a change in the air pressure.

Moore was scheduled to have a video conference with students gathered in the school cafeteria the following day, but plans were scrapped when Internet service went down in the Mt. Washington Valley.

Thursday’s video conference was not the first time that Moore’s students learned about Mt. Washington.

She had been talking with them about her trip, and a week before she left, Michelle Cruz, an outreach educator from the observatory, spoke to an assembly of students.

The observatory’s mission is to advance the understanding of the natural systems that create climate and weather.

Cruz told the students that Mt. Washington, the highest mountain in the Northeast, draws thousands of visitors, and folks at the observatory need to tell them what the weather will be like.

“We observe, measure and record the weather every single day,” Cruz said.

She showed them a picture of a snowcat that brings visitors up the mountain, a video demonstrating how fast wind travel at the summit and a recent listing of weather conditions.

Cruz also involved a couple of students in some demonstrations involving air, and showed videos of how boiling water thrown into the air on the mountain quickly turns into snow and ice crystals.

She donned heavy clothes to show how visitors should dress when they visit the mountain’s summit in the winter.

“Mrs. Moore will be geared up like this when she goes on her trip,” Cruz said.

The observatory is a private nonprofit scientific and educational institution. Cruz travels to schools in a “weather mobile,” provided by Suburu, the observatory’s outreach sponsor.

Moore became interested in taking an EduTrip to Mt. Washington while attending a conference for New Hampshire science teachers. And she was inspired to do a video conference by Christa McAuliffe, the New Hampshire woman who was supposed to be the first teacher in space when Moore, herself, was in fifth grade.

“I’m not necessarily a weather buff. I just like science and like to have some sort of an adventure and learn new things all the time,” Moore said the day before her trip. “I’m hoping I come back with some really cool experiments that I can conduct in the classroom that you don’t need an extensive science lab to do.”

She learned those experiments from Steven Roberts, a member of her trip’s group who is an eighth-grade Inter-Lakes Middle School teacher from Meredith.

Moore had been to Mt. Washington before – she joined a small group of hikers who made their trek during a nice late summer day about seven years ago.

“I thought it would be really cool to go up there during the winter time,” Moore said. “How many people can say they’ve been up to the summit of Mt. Washington in the middle of winter?”

Another person who thought Moore’s recent trip was “really cool” was Lauren Sullivan, 10, one of her students.

Lauren had recently seen the mountain while skiing with her father, Richard, at Gunstock.

“It’s amazing that she’s doing that,” Lauren said.

The combination of extreme cold, heavy snow, dense fog and high winds makes the 6,288-foot mountain, the convergence point of three storm tracks, “home of the world’s worst weather.”

In April 1934, a wind gust of 231 miles per hour was observed – a world record for a surface station. The lowest temperature recorded was 47 degrees below zero in January 1934.

Going up the mountain, Moore could see about 90 miles away. On Friday, the day of a snowstorm, she felt winds of about 50 mph at the observatory.

Moore has photos and video footage from her trip – images she’s excited to share with her students.

“My biggest thing with kids is that learning things and education doesn’t have to be boring. It can be exciting and you can do it different ways,” said Moore. “I’m hoping when they’re 33 they’ll say ‘I remember when I was in fifth grade and my teacher going up to Mt. Washington and that was the coolest thing, and I want to do something like that.’”

Secondary road warrant to be on school ballot

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:56:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Selectmen have withdrawn a $1 million warrant article to build a second road to Windham High School after a similar article was submitted for the school district’s March ballot.

A move may be made to modify the wording of state Rep. Charlie McMahon’s $1.25 million warrant article at the school district’s Feb. 8 deliberative session, but most officials are supportive of his proposal, said School Board Chairman Al Letizio Jr.

McMahon’s article, submitted by citizen petition, would extend the current road to the high school to Castlehill Road.

At a school district bond hearing on Friday, Jan. 11, McMahon told School Board members that state law requires a second road for safety for the school.

“We need to do this so the school opens on time,” he said.

Letizio added that placing the road construction article on the school district ballot enables the project to receive 30 percent in state aid, another argument that McMahon had made to the board a few days earlier.

“Substantial savings would be recognized by the town,” Letizio said.

A unique cooperative effort among School Board members and selectmen will get the project completed, he added.

McMahon’s proposal is one of four school district bond articles that voters will consider this year. Each requires a 60 percent majority to pass.

The other three would provide additional athletic facilities for the high school: $900,000 for a second gymnasium, $778,500 for three fields and $3,819,980 for a multipurpose sports center.

“I believe it fulfills the promise we made to residents that we provide a high school that offers the opportunities (students) had at Salem High School,” said Letizio.

He added that without the additional fields, the school can’t properly support a junior varsity program. “By not having land to put facilities on, the school district is shortchanging its residents.”

In order to accommodate the sports center and extra fields, the School Board is asking voters to approve a land swap so it can have 16 acres of town-owned recreation and conservation land known as the Gage property.

In return, the town would receive 40 acres of school district property.

Not everyone, however, supports the bond articles for additional facilities.

“I want to wait,” said School Board member Barbara Coish. “My plan would be to fundraise for bleachers and lights for the fields we already have and schedule properly before we build anymore fields.

“It would be nice to have,” she said of the gymnasium, “but my concern is I want the operating budget to pass and I feel these bond articles could jeopardize (it).”

High school head chosen

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:48:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

An educator from Hollis has been chosen as the first principal of Windham High School.

Richard Manley was recently selected out of two finalists for the job by the Windham School Board. He will begin working full time in his new position on July 1.

“We had two excellent candidates to choose from. However, Mr. Manley had a great combination of credentials and great skills as a leader, a role model to other teachers and students,” said School Board Chairman Al Letizio Jr.

Manley, 51, currently serves as principal of North Middlesex Regional High School in Townsend, Mass., a job he has held for two years.

From 2001-06, he served as the assistant principal of Hollis Brookline High School. He was a social studies teacher there from 1983 to 2001.

Manley said he was drawn to the Windham position because of the town’s dedication to education and its commitment to having a high school “second to none.”

“I think it’s an opportunity to build a great high school, and I’m glad to be part of the leadership team,” he said.

The announcement of Manley’s hiring characterizes him as a life-long learner.

He went to high school in Danvers, Mass., and earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from Salem State College in 1978.

He holds a master of arts degree in history from Northeastern University, a certificate in Spanish from the University of Massachusetts, a certificate of advanced studies in educational administration from Rivier College and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Manley does not practice law, but is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association and supports such programs such as Mock Trial, Granite State Challenge and We the People, according to the announcement.

Manley said he took a liking to history while he was in high school.

“I attribute that to having some great teachers who inspired me,” he said. “I found the subject interesting and still do today.

Manley was a Fulbright Scholar who studied in India and was recently chosen to participate in a principal shadowing program in China as part of a cultural exchange program.

He received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and studied Russian history at Harvard University. In addition, he has traveled in Europe, including the Soviet Union, where he studied alternative education programs.

Letizio said that he expects Manley will deliver a “standout” program to students at the high school, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009.

Manley and his wife, Rita, have two young children. His starting salary is $99,500.

Second school road proposed

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:14:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

A move to put a construction project to build a second road to Windham High School on the school ballot instead of the town ballot has prompted school and town officials to discuss how they can work together.

Currently, a new road leads from Route 111 to where the school is being built. It’s part of the school construction project.

Selectmen have been planning to build a second road to the school by extending the new road to Castle Hill Road. They had prepared a $1,020,000 town warrant article to fund it.

But recently, state Rep. Charles McMahon submitted a school district warrant article by citizen petition for the school district to build the road for $1.25 million.

McMahon argued that putting the road construction project on the school district ballot rather than the town’s would provide a substantial savings to taxpayers because the district would receive 30 percent in state aid.

His move prompted town and school officials to see if they could rally behind a modified version of McMahon’s article for the school district ballot.

For the district to recoup 30 percent of the project’s price tag – perhaps $300,000 to $400,000 – it must own the land for the road. Several officials said they wanted to have a cooperative effort between the School Board and selectmen that would enable the school district to acquire the land.

“It behooves us to at least explore a number of possibilities to make this thing work,” said Superintendent Frank Bass during a School Board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at Golden Brook School.

Before McMahon submitted his warrant article, selectmen were already planning to hold a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 14, on their warrant article to build the second road.

Because McMahon’s article will appear on the school ballot, selectmen may withdraw theirs to avoid voters having to face two similar warrant articles in March.

The school is scheduled to open in fall 2009. Although no one argued against a second road to the school should not be built, not everyone favors the road construction proposal being placed on the school district’s ballot.

“To me, the town should be doing it,” said School Board member Barbara Coish. “The town should be getting the betterment (fees) to do it. It needs to be done but it should not be us.”

McMahon said that the town can’t use betterment fees to pay for the road.

Other School Board members said they wanted more information, particularly about costs. And they said they didn’t want the school district in the “road building business.”

“However, we do have to think as a town,” said School Board member Beth Valentine. “If it’s better for the town to do it this way, I certainly could be swayed to do it that way. But I think there are details we’re going to need to firm up so that we know what we’re getting into.”

Two School Board members, Beverly Donovan and Bruce Anderson, will work with town officials to work out details.

McMahon said a second access road to the school is required by state law, and that a state Department of Education official erred when he approved the school without having a second road.

That prompted Anderson to complain that they were being told in the “11th hour” that the school couldn’t be opened without the second road, and that he wanted an explanation from the official.

FedEx driver is charged, 27 children unhurt in collision

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:59:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

The driver of a FedEx truck that collided with a school bus carrying 27 middle school students has been charged with failing to keep on the right side of the road.

None of the Windham Middle School students was injured when the collision occurred on Cristy Road around 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 2. But the crash sent both drivers to the hospital for injuries.

Police Capt. Patrick Yatesevich said the FedEx driver, Dominic Mancino, was charged with failure to keep right.

The charge is a violation and carries a fine of $75. Mancino is not required to appear in court but must answer a summons through the New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles within 30 days, according to Yatsevich. Mancino was issued the summons on Jan. 7 by officer Bryan Smith.

Mancino, of 15 Meadow Drive, Goffstown, suffered lower leg injuries. He was semi-concious when rescue workers arrived but became more alert as he was treated, said Fire Chief Thomas McPherson.

The bus driver, Thomas Murray, of 5 Rainstree, Londonderry, suffered lacerations and abrasions to his left hand and face. He was treated at Parkland Medical Center in Derry.

The severity of the damage from the accident was something one would expect to see on an accident occurring on a highway or major road, McPherson said.

“To see it on a secondary street was pretty amazing,” McPherson said. “Obviously, it could have been worse.”

McPherson credited the students with staying calm on the bus after the accident. Another bus brought them back to school where they were released to family members.

Windham police were assisted in their investigation of the collision by the New Hampshire Highway Patrol.

Two take up cause in Florida marathon

Salem Editor — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:43:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Neil Gallagher doesn’t have a family member afflicted with muscular dystrophy. Neither does Jerry Ouellette.

But soon, for the fourth time, the two Windham residents will run a marathon to raise money to fight the neuromuscular disease.

They will do so at the Walt Disney World Marathon, a 26.2-mile course hosted by the renowned Florida resort.

It’s a cause important to one of Gallagher’s teaching colleagues at Woodbury School in Salem, Patrick Moeschen, 35, a music teacher who has Becker Muscular Dystrophy, a disorder characterized by weakness and muscle wasting.

“We’re going to run marathons anyway. I’d just as soon do it to benefit a cause I’m personal with,” said Gallagher, 58, who knew Moeschen when he was a student at Salem High School. “I do believe there will be a cure for this. Money drives research, there’s no question about it, and research will find a cure.”

Gallagher and Ouellette, 63, are raising money for Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, whose mission is to improve the treatment, quality of life and long-term outlook for people affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy through research, education, advocacy and compassion, according to the organization’s Web site.

Duchenne is a fatal progressive disorder, occurring primarily in boys, that causes loss of muscle function and independence. It is similar to Becker but more severe.

In 2005, Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy recruited runners for the Disney Marathon. An 86-member team raised $186,000 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research.

Since then, Run For Our Sons has drawn hundreds of participants and families and raised more than $1 million, according to PPMD.

“All these people are a family, not by choice, but by necessity. But one nonetheless,” Moeschen said. “Everyone is really supportive.”

This year’s Disney Marathon will be held Sunday, Jan. 13. This will be Ouellette’s 14th Disney run. It will be the 13th time for Gallagher.

“You run through all the Disney parks,” Gallagher said. “They treat you like royalty. You see all the characters. There’s crowds, there’s music. There’s medical (help) everywhere. It’s just a wonderful time.”

There are runners there for other causes, too, including those raising money to fight leukemia, breast cancer and birth defects. Gallagher and Ouellette have been participating in Run For Our Sons since its inception.

Gallagher teaches language arts and social studies. Ouellette works for Raytheon. When they participate in Disney marathons, they pay their own way to travel and stay in Florida.

“It’s nice to do something to help somebody else,” Ouellette said.

To participate on the Run For Our Sons team, a $1,200 entry fee is required. Moeschen has set a fundraising goal of $2,500.

Sponsors are donating money, and like previous years, Woodbury students will help the cause. Students attend a social where they can make a $2 donation, listen to music and learn more about MD.

“We’re asking the community to focus on this particular fundraiser because it is so important to us,” Gallagher said of the marathon. “It is personal. It’s part of the Salem School District. There is a cure out there. It’s doable I think.”

Moeschen, who uses a wheelchair, teaches band and music appreciation and runs an after-school jazz program. He was diagnosed with Becker in 1985 when he was 11. He was walking until he was 30.

“I do personally benefit, not by the money raised, but by being uplifted by these two people that really don’t have to do anything but choose to,” Moeschen said. “They choose to run and they choose to run in my honor. They help me raise money but giving their names to this cause. So the personal benefit is huge because it helps keep me going.”

Year in Review-Windham

Salem Editor — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:09:00 GMT

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.

Blasting may have caused water woes

Salem Editor — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:47:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

State environmental officials have ordered a company to conduct a site investigation after levels of nitrate exceeding safe drinking water standards were found in several wells near the company’s blasting operation off Ledge Road in Windham.

Meadowcroft Development LLC was ordered by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to have the investigation completed by March 31.

The study, which would be conducted by a qualified expert, is intended to assess the full extent of the groundwater contamination and develop a plan for remedial action. DES has determined that Meadowcroft may be responsible for the contamination. Following complaints by several neighbors, Meadowcroft voluntarily ceased blasting and the town hired StoneHill Environmental Inc., to test wells in the vicinity of its site.

During a Monday, Dec. 10 meeting, hydrogeologist Tim Stone told selectmen that some of the samples taken by his company revealed nitrate levels higher than the acceptable standard of 10 milligrams per liter: 130 on the blasting site, 62 in its supply well, 60 at a nearby business, and samples at four houses on Haverhill Road (Route 111) that ranged from 17 to 58.

Meadowcroft has been ordered by DES to provide bottled water to the affected property owners.

About 25 residents attended the meeting, many of them wearing orange stickers that read: “Support a Safe Windham.”

“We are here to try to work through a solution that is best for you and your greater community,” Selectmen Chairman Alan Carpenter told them.

Several residents previously complained that the blasting, which began last year, has shaken their houses, and has caused water to smell bad and be discolored.

Meetinghouse Road resident Joanne Vignos said that for 14 years there was no discoloration in her water. Six weeks after the blasting began, she said, her water drastically went bad and iron levels “went through the roof.”

DES has recently sampled 20 wells and the results will be included in the investigation.

High levels of arsenic have also been found in some area wells.

Brandon Kernen, a DES hydrologist, said blasting won’t be allowed to continue at the Meadowcroft site until the investigation determines what caused the contamination, there are remedies in place to fix it and it’s determined how to prevent the situation from happening again.

Dave Gordon, a DES health risk assessor, said nitrate can affect the ability of the body to carry oxygen. Those who are most susceptible are pregnant women, infants and people who suffer digestive disorders.

Meadowcroft plans to build a business park at the blasting site.

Rich Wissell, who soon turns 65 and lives on Haverhill Road, said he planned to retire next year and sell his property.

“How in the hell am I going to sell my home when you can’t drink the water?” he asked selectmen.

Wissell said another resident with bad water is a “prisoner” in his own home – trapped because he can’t sell his property.

Board adopts athletic plan

Salem Editor — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:35:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

In a 3-2 vote, the Windham School Board adopted an athletic master plan for the site of its future high school.

Al Letizio Jr., the board’s chairman, along with Bruce Anderson and Beth Valentine voted to adopt the conceptual plan, which includes athletic facilities for the high school and a future middle school at the site.

“I look at the master plan as something we adopt but knowing that over time future school boards will have to revisit it, revise it, because things do change,” Valentine said.

The adoption of the plan is contingent upon the school district securing town approval to use a portion of the Gage Land, townowned recreation and conservation property, on which to place some of the athletic facilities.

And fields on a 32-acre parcel at the site must be positioned to maximize the land’s future use. Beverly Donovan and Barbara Coish voted against adopting the plan.

“What really worries me is that we’ve really sped through this the past couple of meetings,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of things thrown at us. We haven’t really deliberated much at all ... I still do have a lot of questions.” Letizio and Valentine argued that the matter had not been rushed.

Earlier in the meeting, Donovan said that using some of the Gage Land, through a land swap, had become a hot topic in town. But Valentine disputed that. “I have to say 100 percent of the people I hear from have told me: it’s our land. Let us have the opportunity to weigh in on it,” Valentine said. “Some people might support it, some might not.”

Some of the discussion focused on where the best place would be to build a proposed football stadium.

Valentine said she doesn’t support placing it on the 32-acre section because hundreds of spectators will park along a street, creating a dangerous situation.

“I’ve heard about issues with safety. I’ve heard about issues with security and maintenance that tells me this is the right spot for this,” Letizio said of putting the stadium on the Gage Land.

The school district, he said, is capable of delivering a two-forone swap for a portion of the recreation and conservation land.

Windham siblings key to Derryfield’s championship

Salem Editor — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:02:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Lauren Satkwich, in her fourth year playing Derryfield field hockey, had come ever so close to winning a Class M-S title, losing in the state final in 2005 and 2006.

When the Windham native finally hoisted the coveted trophy, she did it with her younger sister, Tayla, at her side, following a 3-0 victory Oct. 28 against Newfound Regional. Derryfield’s first title in more than 20 years made history’s bite taste that much sweeter.

“It was nice to not only win it, but win it with my sister,” said Lauren. “I think when a lot of our seniors graduated last year, we thought it was going to be a rebuilding year. But we got a couple strong freshmen, and Tayla and I worked really hard and played really well together and are obviously really happy we won a championship together.”

Tayla Satkwich, in her first year playing with her older sibling, said having Lauren on the team made the transition to high school field hockey relatively painless.

“I was kind of scared at first because I didn’t know what to expect, but my sister and all her friends on the team were really warm and welcoming and made me feel like a member of the family right away,” said Tayla.

“It was nice to have a sister on the team because when I was doing something wrong she was really motivating and helped keep me (mentally) in the game.”

On the field, Lauren also literally had her back. The elder Satkwich played left defense and her younger counterpart started on the same side in the midfield.

So when the ball worked past the freshman, it comforted coach Lenny McCaigue to know he had a senior there to scoop it up.

“They locked down the left side for our team and did a great job with that,” he said.

“Playing close to each other was great. They sort of looked for each other, and it was really nice to watch that combination play out.”

There are some notable differences between the two, however.

“Tayla … does more with field hockey outside of school in terms of camps and playing with the travel club. She really is passionate about the sport,” said McCaigue, who noted Tayla played JV high school basketball in eighth grade. “She is quite the athlete.

I think getting some high school competition in middle school definitely helped her with the transition to varsity field hockey this year.”

Lauren, on the other hand, while not necessarily as natural an athlete as her sister, excels in everything she does.

“At Derryfield, our mission is to see kids do very well in terms of academics, the fine arts and athletics, and Lauren really epitomizes what it’s all about. She has been a star in several school musicals, is strong academically and now has a state champ medal.”

And though McCaigue returns a strong midfield next season, anchored by Tayla and fellow freshman phenom Anne DiPastina, along with the team’s top scorer in Katherine DiPastina, he said Lauren’s experience will be difficult to replace in the backfield.

“Lauren played a great leadership role on the team,” said McCaigue. “Most offenses attack on (their) right side of the field, so having a strong defensive presence on the left side was critical for us. She added that little bit of aggression to the defense in terms of winning the ball and providing good transition to the offense.”

That presence was never more evident than in the state final when Lauren helped shut down a Newfound squad that scored 105 times during a previously undefeated campaign, decimating opponents to the tune of almost seven goals a game.

“She was determined,” said McCaigue. “She wouldn’t be denied on that day.”

Now Tayla recognizes she will have to elevate her game next season to make up for the loss of her veteran sibling.

“I think it’s going to be a little harder. I mean, when I was playing with my sister, we knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses and had a lot of time to work together. So with a new person we are going to have to feel each other out a little bit,” she said.

In the meantime, the Satkwich sisters likely have at least one more season together as both plan to play softball in the spring.