Short-term leases are hard to find and retrofitting an office building for one year would be very costly and wasteful. Behold, we have school children in need of a building for a while and a school building sitting vacant for the same while. Could it be that Divine Providence has arranged this concurrence? I hope and pray it’s so.

This would be as perfect a solution for them as could be; a place that needs nothing changed. It would take an enormous amount of pressure off of the families and allow more time and energy to be focused on the task at hand.

The town would save money by having the building occupied and maintained by Mount Zion. The revenue gained from the lease could be used to help pay for the engineering and architectural design work that still needs to be done before any remodeling can begin. The money currently budgeted doesn’t allow for much of anything to be done with it now, or in the very near future.

The town of Hooksett and SAU 15 can help these students through a short-term but pressing need, while gaining tangible benefits and becoming heroes to many families. The community would still have access to the facility on weekends and after-hours, as it had before. In fact, Mount Zion would not need to occupy the entire building, allowing space for the town to ease the overcrowding problems at Town Hall.

Will Hooksett and SAU 15 help make this happen? It is within their power to do so. Here is a chance to do something that is obviously the right thing to do. The notoriety of such goodwill and fiscal ingenuity would be praised by more than just the people involved. Will you help me to convince them? At least pray with me.

Dave Ross
Hooksett

To the Editor:
Dear elves of Allenstown Secret Santa (out of the town hall):

Selflessness: The act of giving of oneself. What a powerful word! So often in life, families that are less fortunate when it comes to worldly possessions need desperately to see this quality in people but never encounter it.

Though my family may never meet those involved in this past holiday’s Secret Santa, we felt that wonderfully powerful quality of selflessness! The toys you supplied my three children were wonderful surprises! The children were only expecting two presents each – imagine the surprise you wonderful people supplied my children! For a day we forgot our troubles and felt heart-felt joy, laughed heart-felt laughs and enjoyed the wonderful holiday!

In closing, I wish to thank you from the core of my heart. Please hold your wonderful qualities dear. You may never know how you can touch the lives of people you may never know in positive ways.

Diane Crooker
Allenstown

To the Editor:
When is the Pembroke School District going to stop adding more on the budget to whom it may concern? But I think it’s ridiculous. We don’t need an adult education program and another 48 cent increase on our tax bill.

Well, there is something that the superintendent of schools in Pembroke is doing behind taxpayers back, which is religious groups renting the cafeteria for their Masses, and being charged for the amount of $2,600 a month times $31,200 a year. Plus four more years on top of that equals $124,800.

Where did this money go? Taxpayers of Pembroke have the right to know, and our kids shouldn’t have to pay $15 to park their cars in the parking lot.

The school belongs to the taxpayers, not the superintendent of schools.

G. Deeper
Pembroke

To the Editor:
The Hooksett Permanent Firefighters Association, International Association of Firefighters Local 3264, is a group of dedicated professionals who strive to make you comfortable and safe during your time of need. This past year showed a continued rise in emergency calls and a continued massive growth to the town that we protect.

The year of 2004 was a very busy year for our members. They donated many hours volunteering, raising money for both the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. 2004 was also the 50th anniversary of the International Association of Firefighters helping the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and we raised $13,000 through the very familiar boot drives we conducted throughout town. We again assisted Santa Claus in spreading good cheer to all during the holiday season. All of this was our way of giving back a little, and trying to make Hooksett a better place.

We would like to send a special thank you to Bernadette Chevrette and the Hooksett-ites Happy Helpers. They have demonstrated to us an enormous community spirit and have become our largest supporter.

We will continue to respond to your calls in a professional and compassionate manner and look forward to many new opportunities to contribute to the community. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a happy and safe 2005.

John Hill
President,
Hooksett Permanent
Firefighters Association

To the Editor:
To the residents of Hooksett:
Please take every opportunity to review the Town of Hooksett 2004 Master Plan and its associated proposed land use maps. Any town expressing its desires through a zoning ordinance, sends a clear message to developers about what will fit in their community. What is the message behind the plan to rezone more than 600 acres on the west side of I-93 from low density residential to industrial use?

The question is not, “Will Hooksett become a city?” The question is, “If Hooksett does become a city, what kind of city will it be?” Did you know that the city of Boston’s original 19th century plan for the Charles River waterfront called for a railroad yard in place of the esplanade? Just imagine the Boston Pops playing their July 4, symphonies amidst boxcars and warehouses!

The master plan contains some excellent proposals for directing future growth in our town, such as transportation improvements, additional schools and fire stations. It also addresses the need for further commercial and industrial development in order to strengthen the tax base and supplement the construction and maintenance of the proposed improvements.

There is nothing wrong with growth. There is nothing wrong with commercial development. There is nothing wrong with industrial development. The issue is how to direct growth, and where to place commercial and industrial zones so as to create an aesthetically pleasing and desirable place to live, work and shop. When serving a gourmet meal, a fine chef realizes that the presentation is just as important as the product when furnishing a variety of foods.

The town of Hooksett 2004 Master Plan has not been accepted yet. The planning board has said that they will review all viable comments regarding any aspect of the proposed plan. It is not too late to influence a change on any of the proposals that concern any individual resident of Hooksett. The comment period remains open until Feb. 2.

Please review the master plan. Copies are available at the town library, town hall, and on the town Web site at www. Hooksett.org. Copies of the executive summary of the master plan are also available at these locations, as well as from the Hooksett Taxpayers/Citizen Volunteers who meet each Wednesday evening at the American Legion Hall at 7 p.m.

Review the master plan, take a drive through any community and study its relation of residential to nonresidential zoning. Make your own decision as to what pleases or displeases you, and apply it to your study of the Hooksett Master Plans’long-term effect on the quality of our town. If you have any concerns, please voice them to the town planning board at Town of Hooksett, Community Development Department, 6 Main St., Hooksett, NH 03106.

The deadline for comments is Feb. 2.

You may say, “These zoning changes don’t affect me, they’re not in my back yard.” Remember, as a resident of Hooksett, your back yard and mine is 36.3 square miles of future, nestled between Manchester, Allenstown, Candia and Bow.

John Rainville
Hooksett

To the Editor:
The Hooksett School Board and staff wish to express sincere appreciation and gratitude to several members and organizations of our community. Through the hard work and generosity of these community members, the Hooksett School District has been fortunate enough to receive three AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) over the past two years. Last year, the David R. Cawley Middle School received an AED from the Hooksett Youth Athletic Association. Terry Creamer, R.N., coordinated the effort with Cawley Middle School nurse Barbara Cliff. Mrs. Cliff spent part of her summer attending AED training and then organized training for the middle school staff at the start of the school year. The AED is currently posted in the hallway between the school cafeteria and gymnasium, two areas that are well used by the community.

This school year, Memorial Elementary School and Fred C. Underhill School each received an AED through the efforts of Dr. Alan Stein of Suncook Family Health Center and Dr. Connor J. Haugh, medical director of the Heart Failure Management Program at New England Heart Institute. School nurses Irene Dion of Underhill School and Lisa Jacobson of Memorial School are currently arranging training for staff.

During the summer of 2002, New Hampshire adopted legislation enabling the public to use automated external defibrilla-tors and obtain training in their use. The legislature encouraged access to AEDs in businesses, schools, fire and police departments, and other organizations throughout the state.

The New Hampshire Bureau of Emergency Medical Services set up the PAD program (Public Access Defibrillation) in New Hampshire schools. Dr. Stein will be involved to provide medical oversight of the PAD program and to help ensure the program’s safety and effectiveness.

Again, all members of the Hooksett School Board would like to thank those organizations and community members who were involved with this effort.

Hooksett School Board

To the Editor:
Epsom residents are fortunate that a highly qualified group of community members have lent their expertise and time to our district.

For nearly a year, a small group of Epsom residents have met weekly to develop a building project that will accommodate the needs of our community’s children. It is unusual for a small town volunteer committee to consist of several engineers, technology experts, education administrators, and heating and A/C specialists as members.

Also note that while some of the members have children in our district, many do not. Yet they are all tax paying citizens of Epsom, who recognize the importance of providing for the educational needs of our children. They have devoted their time and knowledge to work for our community. They have scrutinized the various ways to accommodate for ECS’building and space needs. They have developed a building proposal that has the approval of the school board, ECS administration and staff. No decision was made lightly and without hours of discussion and compromise.

This same committee is now challenged with the task of presenting all the information to the budget committee, planning board and the voters of Epsom for approval.

I urge Epsom residents to support this proposal. If you would like more information, then please contact ECS, a board member or building committee member. Plans for the proposal are also available on the ECS Web site at www.sau53.org/ecs.

Virginia Drew
Epsom