Search results matching tag 'floods'

Grant may be part answer to shifting Suncook River

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:46:00 GMT

The town of Epsom has completed its paperwork for a grant which Department of Environmental Services river specialist Steve Landry said will put the town and the Suncook River on a better course following the “Mother’s Day Flood” of 2006.

The Suncook River, which has its headwaters in Alton and Gilmanton, changed its course during the 2006 flood in an action river experts call an “avulsion.”

The avulsion, the largest event of its kind in New Hampshire history, affected businesses and homes in Epsom, Allenstown and Pembroke. It’s too big a problem for the towns or the state to address on their own, and Landry, colleague Steve Couture and the Epsom selectmen have been working to find funding.

The Suncook, a tributary of the Merrimack River, rose to flood level May 16, 2006. Before that time, it split around the northwest and southeast sides of Bear Island. The river veered to the southeast, then broke through an active gravel pit, a half mile to the east and continues to move east, eroding land. Since 2006, it has moved 140 feet to the east, affecting property and property values along its route.

Selectman Keith Cota, a professional engineer who is working with Landry and Couture, said Monday, Sept. 28, that Epsom has done its part of the paperwork and returned the application to the local office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

DES and the town will pursue two grants, Landry said. The first, an Emergency Management Progress grant, will be for $400,000 for designing the project and the permitting process. There will be no cost, not even a grant match, to Epsom or any of the towns affected, Landry emphasized. The “match” will come from the state of New Hampshire, which will provide in-kind services to complete the design and permit process.

The current plan calls for in-stream structures such as rock veins and rock weirs to control erosion, and culverts to release pressure, Landry said. There will also be new snowmobile crossings at Layton Brook and the Little Suncook River, he said. The culverts will give the “new” Suncook access to a flood plain, he said.

When the first grant is completed, Landry, Couture and the town will apply to FEMA for a second grant. While the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant was rejected last year, the stakeholders hope that a repackaged request, including a lower bottom line, will succeed this time. Last year’s request was for $5 million for design, permitting and construction, and was denied.

“Now we’re cutting out a half million of that, which is funding from the first grant,” Landry said. “We’ve also changed the scope of the project, and won’t do so much channel dredging downstream. That was $1 million by itself.”

The new, scaled-down grant request will be “more attractive” to FEMA, Landry said. In addition to the first grant proposal, Landry and Couture have also drafted a request for qualifications for firms to do the work should the grant be accepted. The application will be filed through Dick Verville of New Hampshire Emergency Planning, who manages the FEMA grant programs for New Hampshire, Landry said.

“We’ll see where this goes,” Cota said of the first grant. “I’m a little disappointed at the slowness of the process,” he added. “This is very important -- it affects three communities.”

Selectmen Chairman Bob Blodgett hopes the second time will be the charm.

“It’s eroded a lot of property,” he said of the wayward river. “Every time we get a severe rainstorm, it eats at even more of the land. Once we get the grants, we hope that will stabilize it.”

Man flooded two years ago gets donated house

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:46:00 GMT

By KAREN DANDURANT

Sometime in mid-July, Stan Watson will return to the property he has lived at for more than 10 years, to a brand-new home that was donated to him.

Watson’s previous home was destroyed in April 2007. Flood waters sent 3 feet of water through his property.

“I got out with a couple of bags of clothes and my dog,” Watson said. “I carried my dog out of the road. I can’t wait to close the door and know I am home again.”

On June 17, a miracle happened for Watson when a group called “No Place Like Home,” an offshoot of Grace Community Church in Rochester, delivered a modular home to his property at 60 Clement Road.

The home was delivered and finished by members of the church and students from Dover High School. The organization works with area students to give them the chance to help people in need.

Jan Fowler, a member of Grace Community Church said No Place Like Home started after the devastating hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana.

“We helped by sending water and other supplies,” Fowler said. “Our pastor, Bernie Quinn, stayed for two weeks in a shelter counseling people. When he came back, he said we need to think out of the box. We need to help people affected by situations like this.”

The church community recruited help from area businesses for labor and supplies and sent two houses to Cut Off Louisiana, delivered by the National Guard. Their path was set. Since then, the church group has donated a house in Goffstown, one in Barrington, another in Bennington and now the house in Allenstown.

Dover High School junior Nick Lytle said he likes helping even if it is a lot of work.

“A lot of my family are in this kind of business and I have the experience to help,” Lytle said.” It’s a good feeling.”

Nick Tweedie, a senior at Dover High School has been involved in some of the other projects.

“It’s hard work.” He said. “But you meet new people all the time and you know what you are doing is helping people. I worked on a barn. We basically gutted it and added new stalls for animals.

Watson couldn’t be more grateful.

“I have spent over 26 months at my parents’ house in Merrimack,” he said. “I don’t even know what I would have done if they were not around. People keep calling me to ask about the house. I am so grateful and cannot wait to be home.”

If you would like to make a donation to “There’s No Place Like Home” or would like more information on how to get involved, call 332-9689 or visit www.placelikehome.org.

Buyout plan fails to please everyone

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:39:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Town officials have jumped the first hurdle in buying up homes in the Suncook River floodplain in Allenstown, getting $2.1 million in federal assistance, but there is still a way to go before the town can purchase the homes.

“People are going to be lucky if they can make it to the buyout before they’re foreclosed on,” said Marcia Abbott, whose Riverside Drive home was included on a list of 14 homes the town hopes to purchase in what they are calling “phase one” of the buyout project.

Of the 14 homes the town intends to buy, 11 are on Riverside Drive, one is on JillErik Road and two are on Albin Avenue. The federal grant is for 75 percent of the total amount of the cost to purchase the 14 homes. The town is charged with coming up with the rest, and officials hope to secure state funding in the amount of $650,000 through a special appropriation bill currently going through the state Legislature.

Selectman Tom Gilligan said the hope is to get a draft of the bill before the special appropriations committee at their October meeting.

“We’re confident that it has the support it’s going to need,” said Gilligan.

During a public informational meeting on the buyout program on Thursday, Sept. 11, many residents in areas affected by the flooding of 2006 and 2007 expressed concerns that their homes were not included in this round of buyouts.

Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said the town will pursue more grants in the coming years to buy more homes in the flood plain. Getting this federal assistance and following through with the buyouts will help their cause in the future, he said. “Every year, we have a stronger and stronger argument to get to phase two and phase three. We want to see if there’s enough people interested in doing that,” Mulholland said. “We’re not going to stop helping our citizens out.”

Others expressed a need to get out from under their mortgages before foreclosure strikes.

Russell Mailhot of 14 Riverside Drive said the town needs to buy his home before Oct. 14, when his bank has said they will foreclose on his mortgage. “I’m this far from losing everything I ever had because of these floods. I’m a single parent trying to survive,” said Mailhot, whose home was on the list.

Mailhot had to take out thousands in loans to pay for home improvements after the floods. The town, he said after speaking one-on-one with town and state officials after the meeting, is willing to offer him $154,000 for his home.

At that rate, Mailhot said, he’s not sure if he can even afford to take the buyout. Mailhot said he had to take all of the money out of his 401k to fund his home improvements. “I’m 47 years old and I don’t have a retirement fund anymore. I don’t have anything anymore,” Mailhot said.

Keith Donovan’s 24 Riverside home was not included on the list, but the homes on either side of him were.

“Eighteen houses on Riverside applied for that grant, and 12 were accepted. Why were the other six not accepted?” Donovan asked.

Donovan said he had to redo the first floor of his home after the floods, and said that wasn’t the case with some of the other homes who were being bought. “I got eliminated from this and I don’t understand why I got eliminated,” Donovan said. “Granted, everybody deserves it who applied for (the grant), and the houses that didn’t get it, I just don’t understand why two-thirds get it and the other third did not.”

Richard Verville, preparedness planner for the New Hampshire Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the homes on the list had to meet a cost-benefit ratio to qualify.

“The benefits of purchasing that home have to outweigh the costs,” said Verville, adding each home was considered on a caseby- case basis.

Those who were not included on the list can apply for grants in the future, or sell their homes on their own, something that isn’t a likely scenario, given the frequency of the flooding in the area.

The 26 Riverside Drive home of Paul and Evelyn Bernard was also not included on the list, although their home was raised 10 years ago, they said.

Paul, 66, and Evelyn, 60, are both retired and are on a fixed income. They’re paying about $1,300 per year for flood insurance, they said.

“We can’t put it on the market. No one’s going to buy it,” said Paul Bernard. “So if we don’t get bought out, we’re stuck.”

Kurt St. Germain of 7 Albin Ave. said he and his family had a purchase and sale agreement on their home in place before moving out to Kansas. The deal fell through when the bank would not give the buyers a loan after learning about the floods, Germain said.

The town plans to start the purchasing process next summer, after meeting with each homeowner individually. The purchase prices are based on the April 2007 tax assessment, Mulholland said. “This is going to be new to us,” said Mulholland. “I’m a police chief, not a hazard mitigation expert, but we’re going to do the best we can here.”

Flood plan - Regulations could prevent damage

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:59:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Planning Board has approved changes to the subdivision regulations that specify clearly the requirements for drainage facilities, in an effort to help prevent future flooding.

The changes solidify the responsibility of developers to make sure their drainage facilities are in keeping with the town’s specifications. It also includes language that clearly states developers must re-submit their site plans if any part of the amendment is not being complied.

After severe flooding the past couple of years, the town wants to be more concrete about what they want to see in terms of flood prevention measures.

“The changes that were just made were an amendment to existing subdivision regulations to tighten up some controls from an engineering standpoint to that when the town engineer reviews the plans, it is more clear that these procedures have to be followed,” said Planning Coordinator Nic Strong, adding that many of these practices included in the amendment are already being implemented.

The amendment requires that all drainage facilities are built for a 10-year flood rather than a 2-year flood.

The language added to the subdivision regulations encourages practices such as designing road-crossing culverts to specifications for a 50-year storm; improving run-off slowing systems; and placing drains under the ground at every 300 feet and requiring that such drains lead into a culvert.

The Planning Board voted unanimously to adopt the amendments on May 27 after several meetings spent discussing the changes and a public hearing during their meeting on May 13.

If any changes are made to a site plan after it has already been approved, Strong said, the Planning Board has the authority to ask the developer to submit revised plans for review and approval.

One piece of the amendment spells out plainly that the Planning Board can ask for new plans if the approved ones are not being held to.

One example of that is when developers end up cutting down significantly more trees than they originally planned to cut, which would allow more storm water to run off the site and onto neighboring ones.

“We don’t want to be in a position that more water could leave the site,” Strong said.

Before that language was there, the Planning Board could require a developer to submit plans again, but the amendment just firmly states it.

“Because we had all that flooding over the past three years, we wanted to start being more clear,” Strong said.

Options to fix Suncook River after shift are daunting

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:25:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

After “100-year” flooding two years in a row, residents in towns along the Suncook River got some answers to questions surrounding the river’s change of course in May 2006, which led to worse flooding in Epsom, Allenstown and Pembroke almost a year later.

In some cases, the answers residents got left them with more questions, some of them questioning the extent of the studies as well as their validity, and others expressing anxiety as the spring melt rushes through the state again.

Researchers performing studies of the Suncook River‘s avulsion, as well as those studying floodplain maps, sediment flow and concentration, dam operations and stream bed changes, presented the latest advancements in their progress at a public meeting on Wednesday, March 26, at Epsom Central School.

Residents also heard multimillion- dollar possible action plans to tame the Suncook in the future. Aside from doing nothing, the least expensive option tops $1.2 million.

“I’m assuming we’re going to find gold or dinosaur bones to pay for this,” said Jack Campbell of Epsom during a discussion of the several plans offered, all of them involving dredging the river bottom to change its character. Researchers Randy Sewall and Peter Walker of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., contracted by Epsom and the state’s Department of Environmental Services, presented the executive summary of their study, titled “Suncook River Avulsion, Geomorphology-based Alternatives Analysis.”

Sewall, a river specialist, and Walker, an environmental scientist, said their research is ongoing and weeks from being complete, and also that any of the alternatives offered would not completely prevent flooding.

“We’re not here tonight with the final answers,” Walker said. Prior to the May 2006 flood, the river naturally split into two separate channels right after the second Huckins Mill dam, the main river bordering Bear Island on the west and a secondary stream along the eastern border. The two streams joined up just after Bear Island, near Round Pond.

The Suncook changed course in Epsom during the heavy May rains when the rushing water dug a deep trench and blazed a new channel before the Huckins Mill dams, which now carries most of the Suncook’s flow down past Cutter’s gravel pit before joining back with the secondary channel on the east side of Bear Island.

The former main river on the west side of Bear Island all but dried up, and the reduced capacity of the new channel led to worsened flooding in April 2007 and the deposit of more sediment in the downstream towns of Allenstown and Pembroke. Alternative 1 listed in the study is to do nothing, which a few residents at the meeting supported.

Alternative 2 involves installing “cross vanes,” or rock barriers, at strategic points along the river bottom. That plan, which would slow the river’s rush and prevent the bottom from dropping further, would cost about $1,275,000, Sewall and Walker estimated.

This alternative also involves removing sediment deposited downstream near Epsom’s town beach on Short Falls Road.

According to the study, this would prevent another potential avulsion from forming, which could divert a portion of the river into Round Pond.

Another option Sewell and Walker presented was to add to stabilizing the new channel to the cross vane and sediment removal plan. This would require more extensive studies of the new river bottom and a complete reshaping of the stream bottom. That cost was estimated to fall between $1.8 million and $2.1 million.

The study also puts forth the idea of diverting the Suncook back into its original state prior to the avulsion by constructing a dam either by the avulsion site or upstream of it.

The Class B dam would replace the 150,000 cubic feet of sediment eroded off the river bank by the avulsion. This would cost between $4 million and $5.5 million, the study estimated.

Researchers offered pros and cons of the alternatives, mostly for the dam concepts which would greatly impact neighborhoods in the flood plain, would require extensive engineering and of course is the most costly. “Frankly, we see that there’s a lot of risk associated with alternative four,” Sewall said. “This would really be quite an engineering feat.”

Tom Baumeister of Pembroke, concerned about the silt and sludge deposited by his home on Bachelder Road, pointed out the river’s soft, fine bottom

sand in many spots.

“I don’t believe you can stop the silt from going downstream,” he said. “This is why I feel alternatives one, two and three are dead in the water before you even start.”

In terms of cost, it is not yet clear how the three towns would go forward.

Steve Couture of the Department of Environmental Services said any of the solutions would be major undertakings that the federal and state governments would likely contribute to, but added Allenstown, Pembroke, and Epsom residents will need to cooperate with matching funds and public works endeavors to make it happen.

“It’s going to take everyone coming together and contributing what they can,” Couture said. “Any discussion going forward on restoration alternatives will include all three towns.”

Meanwhile, researchers with U.S. Geological Survey are performing sediment studies and mapping the floodplain. Walker said the avulsion study would be wrapped up in the next four to six weeks, which would allow them to make better recommendations about which course of action best suits the Suncook and the residents in the three towns.

New Boston Year in review 2007

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:00:00 GMT

BY MICHELLE KIM

For many residents in Goffstown, Weare and New Boston, 2007 had a strong a sense of deja vu. Few would have thought a 100-year flood would happen two years in a row. But it did.

Here’s a look at a few events in New Boston:
Rose Meadow Farm, a residential care facility for clients 18 and older with brain and spinal cord injuries, opened up a second facility on Bedford Road, called Rose Meadow Gardens, with 13 more openings.

A fire broke out in January at 114 Pine Road, the home of Kelsiey Nippe and Jerrod Poliquin, who were awakened by the sound of their smoke detector. The Fire Department was able to locate and put out the fire before any significant structural damage was caused.

At the March Town Meeting elections, voters accepted the $3.4 million operating budget, a 9 percent increase over the previous year’s operating budget, and approved almost all the warrant articles, except for an article seeking money for a footbridge connecting the central village to the south commercial district, despite a heated campaign by the article’s proponents.

The article would have required $30,000 from the town and acquired the other $120,000 through state grants.

Voters returned six-year incumbent selectman and board Chairman Dave Woodbury over challenger Kim DiPetro.

The school operating budget of $9.4 million, which was close to the default level, easily passed, as did articles for a new teacher contract requiring about $120,000 in new spending. A $33,000 article to conduct a study on expanding the New Boston Central School that had sparked discussion at the deliberative session also passed.

Also during March, New Boston part-time resident Richard Hawes, 65, of Friendly Beaver Campground, who pled guilty to trafficking pornographic photos of his 2-year-old granddaughter, was sentenced in Concord District Court to 10 years in prison.

The floods from the April 15 and 16 nor’easter brought worse damage to local roads than 2006’s Mother’s Day floods, according to Police Chief Chris Krajenka. The main thoroughfares of Route 13, Route 136, Route 77 and Bedford Road were all closed, and several families were displaced from their homes, with about five staying overnight at the emergency shelter set up by the Greater Manchester Red Cross at the Central school.

Small brooks and streams became raging torrents that overflowed their banks and destroyed the pavement, and clear cutting 40 acres of forest for construction off of Bedford Road caused rushing waters to undermine a 12-foot section of the road. Gov. John Lynch visited the police station April 17. In all, there was about $400,000 worth of damage, according to Town Administrator Burton Reynolds.

New Boston was one of nine counties declared federal disaster areas, making it eligible for FEMA aid. FEMA representatives toured the area in June.

Reynolds said the town would apply for FEMA and state aid, which should reimburse about 88 percent of the damage. The Mother’s Day floods made the town much more familiar with applying for aid, he said.

The school district applied for a waiver for the time it missed because of flood-damaged roads that prevented school buses from getting to Central or to the Goffstown schools.

In May, builder Aaron Fielder was arrested in Londonderry and charged with felony forgery after he allegedly forged the certificate of occupancy for a $365,000 Hutchinson Lane home after it failed to pass inspection by the town building inspector. The Hutchinson Lane subdivision was being built by Front Line construction in New Boston.

Water from River Road Spring, a popular local landmark on Route 13, was declared unsafe after detection of an abnormal level of coliform bacteria, a naturally occurring organism that probably came from the flooding run-off water, according to health officer Shannon Silver.

Selectmen hosted information sessions on the transfer station April 30 and in July. The town achieved its goal of 40 percent recycling in May and discussed ways to increase that rate, such as an incentive program for haulers.

The Board of Selectmen adopted a new energy conservation policy in July to look for practical ways to save energy within the town’s means.

The Fourth of July celebration introduced rock climbing, in addition to the traditional favorites of mud volleyball, fiddler’s contest, chicken barbecue, parade and fireworks.

In September, the 50th anniversary Hillsborough County Fair went on despite heat and rain that reduced its attendance by half. The fireworks were canceled, but everything else continued as planned. Peter Carter of Goffstown won the giant pumpkin contest with a gourd weighing 1,101 pounds. The same pumpkin had won the grand prize at the Rochester Fair.

In August, Dave Woodbury donated a 100-year-old railroad passenger car he had been renovating for the last 15 years to the Contoocook Riverway Association to put on display.

The New Boston Police Department saw staff changes with the resignation of officer Josh Woehl and, after a long search, the hiring of a new candidate to be sent to the police academy.

A study conducted by the former police chief concluded the department needed 10 officers to function at full capacity; the department currently has four full-time officers, including the chief, and one part-time officer.

Chief Chris Krajenka put in a request for an additional officer for the 2008 budget, which would bring the number of spots for sworn officers to eight. The budget proposal also included a request for eight Tasers.

A delegation of teachers from Iceland visited the New Boston Central School in October to observe the Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (PBIS) program as part of a three-day trip to New Hampshire. The teachers swapped ideas with New Boston teachers and presented the Central School with a book and a flag from their school.

The New Boston Climate and Energy Committee organized a fair in November to promote awareness of climate change and energy efficiency in conjunction with a nationwide series of events called “Step It Up.” In the second half of the event, local politicians answered residents questions in a forum on policy, incentives and ideas on climate change.

The property tax rate for 2007 decreased 8.4 percent, despite a doubling of the town portion of the tax, mostly because of a larger than expected adequacy education grant that lowered the school portion of the tax. The overall rate was $14.02 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Also in November, an enormous barn fire on a Bunker Hill Road barn killed 125 goats trapped inside, many of which were pregnant and due soon. The property and goats were owned by Steve Caggiano.

At one point, up to 75 firefighters from 10 different communities were fighting the barn fire, side house fire and spot brush fires. The cause of the fire is unknown but not suspicious.

A survey and architectural study concluded expanding the New Boston Central School to possibly bring back grades 7 and 8 would take up too much parking and playground space.

Only $3,000 of the $33,000 granted in the warrant article was used and the rest will be returned to the town, according to Principal Rick Matthews.

Home delivery shocks family

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:32:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The Herod family will be home again.

After having their house severely damaged by floods in 2006 and 2007, Gary and his wife Kelly were given a surprise when they arrived at their Goffstown neighborhood to see volunteers and television crew members ready to deliver a new home to a waiting foundation on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

Students at Somersworth High School had built the home with plans to donate it to the Voisine family in Manchester, but after “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” surprised them with plans for a new home, the Herods were next in line.

“They get to be a family again. It’s just not the same when you’re not at home,” said Kelly’s mother, Pat McDonald, whom the family was staying with after they were forced out of their home.

“People have gone through a lot trying to get them what they deserve. You don’t realize how much goes into this.”

A yellow school bus parked in front of the large crowd of volunteers and friends blocked the Herod’s view of what was going on when they arrived at the site. Minutes before the bus was moved, Kelly Herod’s brother, Jim McDonald Jr., said he was thrilled for his sister.

“I’m excited that the community could come together and help them with the new home,” said McDonald, who was trying to hold in some of his emotions. “I’ll try not to shed a tear (when they move the bus). I’m ecstatic and just happy to see that my niece can get her room back. It’s the little things that we take for granted.”

Stacey Edgar, a neighbor and close friend of the Herods, was very excited as well.

“There’s nothing better. We’ve been friends for six years, and we just want her home,” she said. “I’ve gotten more joy over the last few days than I have out of anything else in a long time.”

Another friend and neighbor, Deb Gaudette, agreed.

“It’s been a ride like you wouldn’t believe,” she said. “I was up all night last night and just couldn’t wait. I’ve been dreaming of this for months.”

As the bus moved, the crowd walked toward the waiting family, and the process of putting the home together began.

After nearly two years away from home, the Herod family is finally back in the neighborhood.

Home again – After two floods in two years, Suncook couple begins to recover

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:21:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Marcia Abbott and Brian Gagne will be happy to be back at home, even if it’s 10 feet in the air.

The house on Riverside Park Drive, a small brown cottage-like structure they have dubbed the gingerbread house, was twice ruined in the Suncook River’s spring floods of 2006 and 2007.

Flood insurance paid to raise the house up on a concrete foundation, something they couldn’t do after the first flood, Gagne said, because their flood insurance requires that it happen twice.

But insurance didn’t pay for decks and stairs to get into the house, nor did it replace the insulation, flooring, appliances, and other brand new items acquired after the first flood.

It didn’t replace the old things, either. A 200-year-old antique wood buffet, passed down through Abbott’s family, survived the first one but didn’t make it through flood waters the second time around.

Abbott and Gagne had been back in their home, newly furnished and completely repaired, for about six months before the second flood hit in April.

A crew of workers, organized by No Place Like Home, Grace Capital Church and the Merrimack County Community Action Program, gave them back some pieces of their home.

The workers, including electricians, plumbers and construction workers, volunteered their time on Saturday, Sept. 22, to construct decks in the front and back of the house, build staircases inside and outside, finish a large portion of the plumbing and wiring, and dig a trench for a new gas line among other repairs.

Andy Labrie of the Community Action Program walked through the devastated neighborhood after this year’s waters had receded as people attempted to clean up what was left behind – mostly silt and trash, and items such as propane tanks that had drifted into their yards.

Community Action provided the materials, and Pastor Mark Warren of Grace Capital Church got the work crew together after Paula Young of No Place Like Home contacted the church for pastoral care for the couple.

“It’s great to pray for them, but really what I thought they needed was to get some work done,” Warren said.

Gagne, Abbott and their three cats have been living in a mobile home on Abbot’s mother’s lawn in Derry since they had to leave their home.

Both are out of work, Gagne having been laid off at the end of March and Abbott having to quit her job to take on the full time work of cleaning up and rebuilding their home – again.

“We have to get in before winter,” Abbott said, before the cold and snow comes, adding that the clean up and restoration is a “full time job.”

Many local businesses were involved in the work done on their home, including Dumpster Depot, Bagley Construction, DME Construction, and Jim Donnelly from Donnelly Plumbing and Heating.

Ken Hadley, senior project manager for the construction company J.H. Spaine, Assoc., oversaw the project.

“We probably donated over $10,000 worth of labor,” Warren said.

Other homes on the road, which is located near the Suncook’s banks, are in worse shape than Gagne’s and Abbott’s, several of them now empty.

“Everyone on the road just didn’t recover financially, emotionally, or mentally from last year’s flood, and we get hit again,” Abbott said. “Some people have been here 20 or 30 years, and they’re thinking about leaving.”

The flooding, however, pulled together the neighbors. “Disaster sometimes brings the community together,” Gagne said.

Damages from the two floods have cost the couple about $150,000, only a portion of which insurance paid for, Gagne said.

Once their home is livable, they will be able to help others still working to get back in their houses before winter hits, they said.

The couple is grateful for the huge amount of work the volunteer crew completed. “They’ve helped me out quite a bit with what they could do,” Gagne said.

Gagne said they hope to get into their home in the next few weeks. As of now, the walls and ceilings have been painted, and they are working on putting in the floors and getting the electrical and heating work done.

“We just keep plugging away day by day,” he said.

No more RAC – Epsom road agent gets more say over budget

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:31:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Epsom’s Road Advisory Committee is no more, following issues with the road agent’s authority and the trickling down of paperwork.

At a meeting on Monday, Oct. 1, selectmen decided to do away with the committee after concern arose that it hindered the road agent’s progress in repairs and improvements to the roadways in Epsom.

They also agreed to allow Road Agent Gordon Ellis, more authority over discretionary spending from the roads budget.

According to selectmen’s accounts, a member of the former committee was asked to leave the meeting after an outburst.

Particularly in the aftermath of flooding in the past two years, this has become more of a problem for the town.

It became a major issue when Ellis was fired last October for allegedly going forward with projects without getting signatures from selectmen.

A lawsuit transpired, with Ellis claiming he was unlawfully and malignantly fired by the board.

Selectman John Klose, also the board’s liaison to the highway department, said the purchase order process had become too complicated.

According to guidelines, the road agent was only allowed to spend up to $200 without the board’s signatures and RAC approval.

Klose, who made both motions to do away with the RAC and increase the road agent’s purchase order powers from $200 to $2,000, said he’s been getting an average of up to five calls each week from Ellis asking for permission to spend money.

“Last Monday, the road agent needed five loads of gravel, and he called me five different times,” Klose said.

With winter approaching, he said, Ellis has got to be given more authority to get things done, as is the case in other towns.

“Road agents run their own budgets. They don’t have anyone telling them to do anything,” Klose said. “This man has got to be able to operate.”

The $200 limit for purchase orders was applied to every town department, Randall said, when it got too complicated for the town to sift through different limits.

The road agent, however, may not know whether they need to go over that $200 limit, and thus obtain signed permission from the board, until the day they start to work on a particular project. By then, it is too late to get that permission, and the project gets delayed.

Selectman Joni Kitson voted against the motion to dissolve the committee. According to minutes, Kitson pointed out that the road agent should be able to plan a monthly schedule,and understand that changing seasons will affect it.

Kitson said dissolving the board is a mistake, saying there were problems with board members not attending meetings.

“The road agent committee is a very valuable asset to the town, as long as the people on the committee attend the meetings,” Kitson said.

Rita Graham, a member of the former RAC, disagreed with the decision to dissolve the committee and expressed discontent with the board, according to minutes from the meeting.

Selectman Joanne Randall, acting as chairman at the meeting, said Graham blew up at the board and was asked to leave the meeting.

Randall said she attempted to give Graham the floor, but when Graham began pointing the finger and “getting into it one-on-one” with Klose, she pulled the plug on Graham.

“She got a little out of hand and I had to ask her to leave. Whatever credibility the RAC had went right out the door with her,” Randall said.

Klose said the RAC was not meeting as frequently as it should have, and was no longer serving its original purpose. She added there should be a specialized committee for the road agent to fall back on, but in a more collaborative function.

“The committee should work for the road agent,” she said, not the other way around.

Condemned homes strain mobile home park

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:35:00 GMT

BY SUSAN WARE

A handful of Brookside Terrace residents met on Sunday, June 24, to weigh their options. The issue is that a quarter of their mobile home park sits dangerously close to the Suncook River and has been flooded twice in the past two years.

Today, almost three months after the last flood, there are six condemned mobile homes in the park, the owners having fled when the water started quickly rising on April 9.

The flood has caused problems for the homeowners who lost everything, but also for the remaining residents who now have to deal with the financial strain.

Brookside Terrace has a mortgage for 21 homes. After the heavy rains that caused flooding on Mother’s Day 2006, one of the Jasper Lane members of the co-operative had his flooded mobile home removed, leaving the other members to cover his share of the mortgage.

Lynn Booth, a representative of New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, has been working with the co-operative to figure out how they will manage their mortgage with only 14 homes.

“We work with co-operatives on financial matters like this. We need to figure out how they can manage with six fewer homes. We are working with their bank,” said Booth.

Jack Payne is the president of the co-operative and his home sits on the upper side of the park. He is one of the lucky ones.

Almost three months after the flash flood, the mobile homes on the lower riverside lots are empty. Their owners left in a hurry, leaving food on the stove, laundry on the clothesline and all of their possessions.

The floods were not just water, but water that seemed to converge on the neighborhood from three different directions because locals contend that the path of the river is changing.

The force of the water caused mobile homes to move off of foundations, oil tanks to detach, and silt and mud to fill what once were lawns and living rooms. Lawns, now overgrown, are home to grass and aquatic foliage.

“Look at the river now. Unbelievable. There’s barely 2 feet of water,” said Payne pointing down over the embankment to a seeming passive river.

But remnants of the flood remain in the Suncook River too. Look one way and there is a home oil tank sitting on the river floor in a few feet of water. There is twisted metal from mobile homes caught up in the embankment and other household items.

Payne said the co-operative took an informal vote on June 24 as to whether they should work with Community Action Program to clean up the condemned area by removing the five mobile homes and infrastructure and relocating the families.

Andy LaBrie, the housing coordinator with Community Action Program who is working with the park said that his agency does relocation, not remediation.

“We move families affected into different mobile homes using some of their FEMA money and other funds if necessary. Then we remove their damaged home,” said LaBrie.

Community Action Program is in the process of relocating 18 families in the area in similar situations. Once the flood-damaged mobile home is removed, a deed restriction is put on the lot and it becomes green space.

“What they will do is come in here and take all of these home out of here. Gone. Then they will remove septic and water and grow grass. Nothing will ever be built here again,” said Payne.

This is bittersweet because the residents of the mobile home park are all on fixed incomes, said Payne.

“We are not wealthy people here. We all are on fixed incomes and money is tight,” he said.

For the owners of these condemned homes, working with Community Action program means they would not have to pay the $5,000 it would cost to remove their home, but they must sign over the deed, walk away and take a financial loss.

Also, according to Payne, the entire mobile home park must agree to allow Community Action Program to relocate mobile homes because of the financial stake.

“Each of the 20 residents owns one share, so the vote must be unanimous,” said Payne.

Payne knows each of the condemned homes personally. He points to reminders of the floods that still remain and tells stories of the owners, now all scattered and staying with family and friends.

One home has a Harley Davidson parked out front. The motorcycle sat completely submerged in rushing water and is now ruined.

Another mobile home, expansive and modern, shifted off its foundation. Payne said when the owner tried to repair the foundation, he slipped and broke his leg. The couple had lived in the home less than four months when the flood hit. His wife is blind and was unable to assist, said Payne.

The floodwater sat in their home too long, and standing in the overgrown front yard you can smell mold and mildew. The home is now twisted and out of line, the forceful river water wreaking havoc on the metal frame.

“All this is now is scrap. Junk. It’s a darn shame,” said Payne.

Another mobile home’s oil tank detached and spilled heating oil into the river and ground. Payne said FEMA came and treated the area like a hazardous waste site and cleaned the area.

The owners of the condemned homes have not been able to return to gather their possessions because their homes are structurally unstable. Payne doubts there is anything worth taking anyway.

Payne said the next step is a full neighborhood meeting where he will lay out all of the options and what it means to those who were forced to leave and to those who still live at Brookside Terrace.

“We are going to call a meeting of all of the co-operative and put a vote out to everyone. If we get unanimous, we will move forward and get this neighborhood cleaned up and get these people into homes again,” said Payne.