– Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board.

The sale will take place at the Bedford Presbyterian Church on Saturday, April 22, from 9 a.m. a.m. to 1 p.m.

Drop off your unwanted furniture, household goods, clothing, etc. at the church this week. It’s the white church on the hill in Bedford Center, facing the Old Town Hall.

Be sure to attend the sale on Saturday. Who knows, you may find a fabulous bargain! All proceeds will benefit the church’s summer mission trip to Louisiana, where volunteers will help hurricane victims rebuild their homes and their lives.

For more information, call the church at 472-5841.

Mimi Dumouchel
Bedford

Destination ImagiNation is the largest creative problemsolving organization in the world, with more than 250,000 members from more than 40 countries and all 50 states.

In 2006, more than 2,300 New Hampshire students from 150-plus schools and organizations made DI one of the state’s most chosen after-school activities.

We are proud to say that, of all of the teams in New Hampshire, these Riddle Brook fourthgraders will soon be competing with top teams from around the world!

The Silly Safari Searchers, under coach Mary Pat Norfleet, have been working together since last fall, developing such important life skills as teamwork, creative problem solving, collaboration, project management, resource management, critical and creative thinking, research and presentation skills and, as all challenges must be strictly team-solved, self-reliance.

These students have worked extremely hard to get this far, and we want them to be able to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the global finals.

But we need the assistance of Bedford residents and organizations to help cover the cost of registration, travel, room and board.

Please consider making a donation to support the Bedford DI team.

For more information on your Riddle Brook DI team, and to learn more about becoming a sponsor, go to RiddleBrookDI. blogspot.com.

Congratulations again to the Silly Safari Searchers!

Carolyn and Bob Froding, Shelley and Pete Lecours, Pamela and Doug Moll, Mary Pat and David Norfleet, Ruthanne and Lonnie Stefekos, and Nancy and Paul Woodmansee
Bedford

Our newly installed town council, in this writer’s opinion, reflects a breath of fresh air.

The new chairman appears to be a listener, an arbitrator of differing opinions but most importantly respectful to the opinions of each citizen of our community regardless of, among other things, on which side of Route 114 they reside.

The co-chairman already has been seen to exhibit a subtle compassion which many voters feel has been lacking in previous councils. It would appear that the talents of the co-chairman were either not recognized or not appreciated by previous council leaders, more the pity.

The balance of the council has some faces, which by the vote in March represent the voter’s hopes for change, and some old faces that can contribute much, if past prejudices can be set aside.

It is even more shocking in this day and age when a politician actually immediately keeps a campaign promise.

It was revealed that recently elected Councilor Paul Roy Sr. was scheduled to be in Baltimore for the entire week on business.

Mindful of his commitment during the campaign to be present at council meetings, the councilor left Baltimore Wednesday afternoon and flew home to attend last week’s council meeting, before leaving the next morning to return to Baltimore to complete his business meetings to return to Bedford the next day.

It should be pointed out that Councilor Roy paid for his coming and going out of his own pocket. Imagine, all that effort and money just to keep a campaign promise.

In light of the above, a big tip of the hat should go to our town manager for motivating Paul Roy to become Councilor Roy.

Roy readily admits that had it not been for the town manager’s “challenge to serve,” he most likely would not have entered the race and the results of the March 14 election would certainly have been different.

Regardless of anything else, this council is a new council. The members have been elected by us to serve our interests.

In my poor and humble opinion, we should all take a step back and let this new leadership with new and old members take their best shot at solving the problems facing our town.

Ryk Bullock
Bedford

It has enjoyed successive weeks of coverage on its failed attempt to expand even further the existing broad controls on wetlands, after two years during which only the barest minimum legal notice ever made its way to the local weekly newspapers.

Contrary to the commission’s assertions, the zoning amendment was not rejected due to voters’ lack of understanding.

Bedford voters do not lack intelligence.

The commission and town manager still tell us that existing lawns would not have been affected, but the public actually recognizes the unspoken converse – new lawns, flowers and vegetable gardens were among the threatening property uses that would have required a variance from the expanded ordinance.

Contrary to the chairman’s most recent assertion, the vote did not reflect a “not in their yard” attitude. The amendment lost 4-1.

The number of no votes dwarfed the number of people whose properties were to be further controlled.

Rather, the rejection of the wetland ordinance amendment reflects the re-emergence of the traditional New Hampshire political mindset: when extensive regulation already exists, we don’t need more; when more and more governmental bodies already have power over us, we don’t need to give them more.

Michael Najjar
Bedford

The conservation committee has still not yet clearly articulated how an additional 50-foot non-disturbance zone around those so-called “wetlands of significant value” will enhance the public welfare.

The commission’s $20,000, two-year study does not plainly describe how an additional buffer zone will protect the wetlands in question anymore than the currently existing 50-foot nondisturbance buffer does now.

Further, as anyone who has read the study already knows, it is rife with errors. Specifically, properties containing purported “wetlands of exceptional value” do not correctly correlate with the town’s tax maps.

Perhaps it’s time to bring the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services in to determine how many of those 21 wetlands are really of “significant value.”

Bedford officials pointed out in last week’s article, “there would be no reduction in the assessed value of the property” affected by an additional nondisturbance zone. Meaning that although the town proposes placing additional restrictions on the use of our property, the town would still expect impacted homeowners to pay the same taxes on newly restricted property as they would on unrestricted property.

Effectively and disproportionately taking more of our property rights with no compensation and, worse yet, compelling us to pay the town to put even more of our own land into forced conservation.

The voters sent a clear message to our town government that an additional 50-foot nondisturbance zone is not the method Bedford chooses to extend its existing wetland protection ordinances.

In the past, I have suggested that the conservation commission look at proposing zoning amendments that extend wetland protections but include clear language exempting existing homes and developed parcels from additional non-disturbance zones.

I hope the commission truly takes my suggestion under advisement. Exempting a property or a class of properties from a regulation is legally different than grandfathering existing lawns and structures.

We homeowners who live in or near Bedford’s wetlands are doing our part right now to protect our wetlands. How much more are we expected to sacrifice in order to satisfy your conscience, Mr. Taub?

We sent you a message, it was “Hands off our property!” If you were listening, you learned that many homeowners feel marginalized by and angry over your commission’s attempt to further restrict our land and property rights.

If you weren’t listening, hopefully the town council who appointed you is.

Mark W. Dell’Orfano
Bedford