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This week's stories: (click on the headline
to jump to story)
 Neighbors
fight industrial park proposal
New Boston's
Farmers' Market kicks off second season
SAU
seeks safety in numbers, joins education funding group
When
tested, Candice Currier delivers in class, on the field
Builder:
Oops, sorry about that
Goffstown
Don't rock the boat
The ninth-grade students of Goffstown
High School showed off their abilities by making boats made only
of cardboard, duct tape and plastic wrap to successfully get
across Memorial Pool at Barnard Park on June 10 and 11. Physical
science students constructed the boats for their fourth-quarter
project. (Courtesy Photo)
Goffstown
Neighbors fight
industrial park proposal
By DAYMOND STEER
Staff Writer
daymond@yourneighborhoodnews.com
GOFFSTOWN Abutters of a proposed
industrial park are calling for another hearing before the zoning
board on a special exception and 16 variances that were granted
in May to Silver Bow Communications Inc. of Bedford.
The industrial park, to be called Pond View Park, will be on
a 54-acre parcel off Goffstown Back Road.
Abutters include Cherokee Condominium Association, Janice Thomas-Aubin,
Diane and James Shunemann and Jeremy and Irina Dupuis.
On Tuesday, July 6, the zoning board will hear a request for
a rehearing on the exceptions and the variances.
For abutters, traffic is the biggest issue, said Jeremy Dupuis.
Beyond that, abutters have complained about procedural errors
in the granting of the variances and the special exception.
The park, Dupuis said, would add 1,000 cars per shift to an already
dangerous Goffstown Back Road and Landmark Lane intersection.
He said the zoning board has refused his right to speak on the
matter.
According to the minutes of the May 4 meeting, zoning board chairman
Tony Marts said the traffic issue is something for the planning
board to discuss, not the zoning board.
But that response doesn't satisfy Dupuis.
"We will either have another hearing, or we will go to court,"
he said. "What we want to accomplish is for the zoning board
to take all the information that was presented as of the last
hearing and do their job follow the town ordinances and
state law."
Abutters have raised their objections in a formal request for
a rehearing filed by their attorney, Michael L. Donovan.
"While it's commonly thought that the only justification
for granting a rehearing is new evidence, that view is misplaced.
One of the fundamental purposes of a rehearing is to afford local
zoning boards of adjustment an opportunity to correct their own
mistakes before appeals are filed with the court," according
to the rehearing request.
A major point of contention, Dupuis said, is that the zoning
board ignored the criteria under which special exceptions can
be granted.
Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Derek Horne said the zoning board
did not discuss the criteria for the variances or the special
exception during its May hearing.
Abutters have argued as well that the proposed location of the
industrial park across the street from Educare Day Care
is not appropriate for the surrounding area.
"An industrial use of this intensity is not compatible with
the character of the adjacent residential development,"
abutters argue.
According to the minutes of the May 4 meeting, Marts said the
area was already zoned industrial, so the question of whether
the proposal would be located on an appropriate site had already
been answered.
In addition, the minutes show that Marts said the only issue
is whether the property would be considered as an industrial
park or separate industrial plots.
If the parcel is considered a park, then the roads in the park
could be private. If they're separate lots, then the town would
have to maintian the roads, said Marts.
The zoning board was not required to vote on the matter, said
Marts.
All 16 variances that Silver Bow applied for were grouped together
in two motions brought before the board.
Under state law, certain criteria for granting the variances
were never addressed, said Dupuis.
The "zoning board completely ignored the state law and town
ordinances, allowing for multiple waivers/variances to be given
to the builder," he said. "The builder requested those
waivers/variances to maximize his profit on the land."
The request for the rehearing also maintains that planning and
zoning board member Richard Georgantas should have recused himself
from the hearing.
During the April 8 planning board hearing, planners voted to
recommend that the zoning board approve the variances
This shows that Georgantas had a "predisposition" for
voting in favor of the waivers at the May zoning board hearing,
according to abutters.
But that so-called predisposition may not be enough to disqualify
Georgantas.
New Hampshire law prohibits members of zoning boards from sitting
or deciding on a matter in which he or she has a personal or
financial stake which differs from the interest of the community.
Georgantas has no financial connection to the proposed development.
Despite the critcisms of abutters, the industrial park will have
its benefits, said the project's development manager, Steven
Silverberg.
"It's our goal to create a business environment that's in
harmony with the landscape and the physical aspects of the land,"
said Silverberg.
Meridian Land Services of Amherst, planners for this proposed
development, said it will protect open space around the nearby
pond to the greatest extent possible. Meridian's plans will also
include trails around the pond.
The company plans to create a campus-like facility that will
limit the neighbors' visibility of the trucks and visitors that
will go to the park.
When the zoning laws were established, the land, which is on
the Manchester line, was designated for industrial use, said
Silverberg.
The company is creating the park to serve a variety of businesses.
However, Silverberg said he couldn't be specific on what types
of businesses the company is working with.
The area is one of the few parcels in Goffstown that is zoned
for such use, he said.
New Boston's
Farmers' Market kicks off second season
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By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer
dcormier@yourneighborhoodnews.com
The town's second annual farmers' market
began on a sunny note. Fine weather on Monday promoted a good
turnout for the community event.
Pam Condon, a longtime New Boston resident, enjoyed the warm
weather that marked her first appearance at the farmers' market.
"It is such a beautiful day," Condon said. "It's
just amazing."
Condon started her business, Ideas in Bloom, a few months ago
after becoming tired of her desk job. An avid gardener with a
background in art, Condon began to make plant containers out
of ordinary objects.
"I decided I had been behind a desk for too long and it
was time to make some changes," she said. "I was wanting
to get back to the earth and away from computers."
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MARKET BASKETS New
Boston's Pam Condon ditched her desk job to go into business
for herself selling container plants. She sells her products
at the farmers' market in New Boston every Monday during the
summer. (Devon Cormier Photo)
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Condon isn't the only vendor from New Boston. Although vendors
often come from the far reaches of New Hampshire, New Boston's
own vendors were scattered about the grounds of the Hillsborough
County Fair property on Monday.
Farmers' market founder Melissa Harvey was there with her homemade
Kizos, or healthy cakes.
Stephanie Silverman, M.D., was there with her scale informing
people about obesity.
Roger Nunan had vegetables on display, as did Dana and Gary Briggs.
New Boston also got a visit by a fish truck from Portsmouth,
a Buffalo farmer from Alexandria and vendors from across the
state.
As Harvey surveyed the scene, she took pleasure in attaining
her goal of bringing the community together over fresh produce
and flowers.
"I think farmers' markets are a really good thing,"
Harvey said.
The market will be held every Monday from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on
the Hillsborough County fairgrounds.
As the produce season gets stronger, more and more vendors will
join, Harvey said.
Goffstown
SAU seeks safety
in numbers, joins education funding group
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
GOFFSTOWN Education funding has long
been a sore subject in New Hampshire. But to many, the tumultuous
end to the 2004 legislative session with a drastic last-minute
change to the education funding formula was worse than
in years past.
Donor towns weren't eliminated, the state property tax was only
slightly reduced, and even though dozens of towns got more money
than planned, the long-term future of that funding remains very
much up in the air.
Goffstown School Board Chairman Scott Gross says what did become
clear is that a district like his is in over its head when it
comes to the fight in Concord.
"Goffstown itself is a relatively small entity and has relatively
small, if any, bargaining leverage in Concord," Gross said.
In terms of property value one of the defining factors
in determining how much aid a school system receives Goffstown
is fairly average.
It is not poor enough to benefit from the various formulas that
have been proposed. But according to school officials, it is
also not wealthy enough to raise as much money as needed by the
schools through local property taxes.
Gross and his fellow board members hope by banding together with
other towns in a similar "no man's land," they may
finally get a say in Concord.
At the June 21 school board meeting, Mike Asselin, co-chairman
of the Coalition of Adequate Education, met with the board to
discuss his group's agenda.
Although associated with the coalition before, the board voted
unanimously to join formally.
Asselin told the board that the coalition's first priority will
be to develop a definition of "adequate education"
and then convince the legislature to accept it.
Under the Claremont Lawsuit, the state must provide an "adequate
education," but in the years since, the amount of funding
available to provide for such adequacy has fluctuated.
Unlike several other education funding lobbying groups, Asselin
said his coalition has no plans to sue over the issue.
"Right now, I think we're the only group in New Hampshire
not talking about going to court," Asselin said. "A
lawsuit will not solve the problem."
"Until we define what adequate education is, these (legislative)
battles will continue year after year," he said.
Asselin told board members they have the choice to remain passive,
or sign on with his group, which now counts 73 members consisting
of both school boards and municipal governments.
"You can decide not to and just accept what happens down
the road," he said. "But no one community no
matter how big they are is big enough to move this issue."
Gross said aside from joining the coalition, the school board
is planning on becoming more involved with state politics.
"One of the things we've talked pretty aggressively about
is how one of our board members should be up on legislative issues,"
he said.
There are no dues to join the coalition and Gross said the board
would be able to pull out at any time. At this point, it is the
best option, he said.
"We don't really have any choice anymore," he said.
"Before school boards could deal with local issues and not
get involved with state or federal politics.
"But now we have to take a much more aggressive stance,"
Gross said. "Otherwise we're going to shortchange our community.
If we don't have an active voice, others will be making decisions
for us."
Goffstown
When tested,
Candice Currier delivers in class, on the field
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By MARC THALER
Staff Writer
mthaler@yourneighborhoodnews.com
GOFFSTOWN Hard work does pay off.
And Goffstown's Candice Currier is the latest example.
The 14-year-old, one week removed from her Mountain View Middle
School eighth-grade graduation, has already blazed quite a trail
for herself.
Academically, she's a teacher's prized pupil: An A and B student
and student council homeroom representative whose favorite subject,
far and away, is social studies.
"He always made it fun to get involved in the class,"
Currier said of social studies teacher Andy Pyszka. "We
did a lot of simulations and we always acted things out. We covered
all the wars, slavery, and the Salem witch trials."
Athletically, she's also a coach's delight, a hardworking leader
for her hockey, softball and soccer squads. She was also the
manager for Pyszka's MVMS hoops team.
"She's a hard-nosed player who will do whatever it takes
to win," said Bruce Rand, one of Currier's coaches for the
Goffstown Grizzlies under-14 ASA summer softball traveling team.
"She'll always do what's necessary, she has a strong desire
to compete, and she'll certainly do whatever is asked of her.
All I can say is after the game, Candice's uniform is always
dirty."
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ACCOMPLISHED A multi-sport
athlete and "superior student," according to her MVMS
social studies teacher, Goffstown's Candice Currier will look
to add to her accomplishments on the field and in the classroom
at Proctor Academy this fall. (Marc Thaler Photo)
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To this well-rounded teen, the quest for
perfection in the classroom and on the field is the name of the
game.
Currier's journey will continue in the fall at Proctor Academy
in Andover, where she'll skate for the school hockey team on
scholarship.
It takes only a few short minutes to realize this teen, mature
and well-spoken for her age, has her head on straight. Her constant
smile tells you she's easygoing off the field of play. On that
field, of course, Currier readily admits she kicks it into a
different mode.
"In hockey and softball, I love the pressure," Currier,
a goalie and pitcher for the respective sports, said. "It's
so exciting. I love how you can just steal the game away to win."
"She never seems stressed. That's the image I have of her,"
Pyszka said. "She's able to keep it all in perspective.
She excels under pressure."
Still, Currier acknowledged that a different breed of butterflies
appear for test time. In fact, the local star said it's more
important for her to come out on top in the classroom.
"If you don't do well in sports it's not the end of the
world," said Currier. "If you don't do well on a test,
it can ruin your chances at other opportunities."
It's that ability to prioritize which resulted in Currier receiving
four awards as the school year wound down last week.
With the certificates spread across her kitchen table to prove
it, Currier sifted through the papers recognizing her as the
recipient of the math award, the language arts award, the student
council award, and the citizenship award her clear-cut
favorite.
"I kind of had an idea," she said in response to taking
home four top honors. "I always try to be close with my
teachers. The better you know them, the better you know what
to do in their classes and what they expect of you."
Regardless of what her teachers, classmates and teammates expect
of her, it doesn't compare to what she expects of herself.
"I don't think mediocrity sits well with her," Pyszka
said. "She brings it to the next level."
"That sense of perfection comes from my dad," Currier
said. "We're definitely a lot alike. We'll argue about who's
right all the time."
Not that it's a matter of right or wrong, but it seems the folks
of Proctor Academy were 100 percent correct for deciding to welcome
Currier into their community.
"She's a delight to have," Rand said. "It's too
bad she won't be following us along at the high school level."
Weare
Builder: Oops,
sorry about that
By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Stone walls are protected historic features
because of an article passed at the 2004 Town Meeting.
But a section of a stone wall on Oak Ridge Road was knocked down
for a driveway because the builder wasn't aware of the new regulations.
Robert Starace went before the board of selectmen on June 7 to
ask for a waiver for the section of wall he disturbed.
The article protecting stone walls was put on the town warrant
by petition and passed 992 to 573. It states that no person shall
deface, alter the location, or remove any stone wall which is
made for the purpose of marking a boundary of any road in the
town of Weare, and which lies wholly or partly in property owned
by the town of Weare or over which the town has a right of way,
except under the written consent of the planning board and board
of selectmen.
Starace said he didn't find out he had violated the town regulation
until after he had started the preparation work for the driveway.
He started the work before he had obtained a permit for the driveway.
Carl Knapp, director of public works, was the one who told him
about the regulation, Starace said.
Despite the violation, Starace asked the board to accept the
project and grant him a waiver for the work.
Selectman Doug Cook advised Starace to research town regulations
before starting any other projects.
Selectmen voted unanimously to grant Starace a waiver for the
stone wall, and asked that he reduce the driveway opening from
the 25 feet he had already cleared to 18 feet as required by
the current zoning ordinance.
Future cases where stone walls are a construction consideration
are something the board of selectmen may handle on a case by
case basis.
Knapp said another waiver request should be before the selectmen
soon, and the board discussed asking for photographs of a work
site before granting a waiver. Co-chairman Leon Methot requested
a written recommendation on procedure from Knapp along with a
written waiver request.
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