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After years of sitting in gridlocked traffic, those who must pass through the intersection of Hooksett Road and Londonderry Turnpike in Hooksett now have to hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel - and that it's not the light of a freight train heading at them.

As the population has increased, the number of vehicles traveling on these roads has grown, but there was no extra room on the roads to accommodate all the vehicles squeezing onto the single road heading north. Trying to get through that intersection at the evening rush hour generally has meant sitting in traffic for at least 20 minutes . often quite a bit longer, inching your way toward the intersection a car or two at a time. It's a maddening experience whether you just want to get home or need to pick up a child from daycare.

The state is more interested in allowing workers to do their jobs in daylight than alleviating the stress on commuters, so we're all just going to have to deal with the mess until it's done.

What we can't wait to see is whether all this work actually speeds up the commute, or moves the gridlock point from the 99 Restaurant up to Wal-Mart or Lindsay Road. After all, all those cars are still going to have to squeeze into one lane at that point. Add to that the risk many drivers will take by making right turns on red at the new intersection, which was not possible with the old design.

Still, it's encouraging to see something being done. A town of Hooksett's size shouldn't have to put up with such a big-city problem. We are all crossing our fingers that this does solve the gridlock.

Now, if we could get some action on the proposed bypass road, things would really be looking up for Hooksett and all the Allenstown and Pembroke residents who have to pass through Hooksett to get home.
– Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board. The board is composed of Publisher and President Amy J. Vellucci, Executive Editor Ginger Kozlowski and Managing Editor Christine Heiser.

I maintain that the issue has been, and continues to be, how communities in New Hampshire fund education. As long as we continue to pit “property rich” communities against the “property poor” ones, everybody loses. For our children to able to afford to live in our communities, they must receive the best education possible. Allenstown children must be able to compete successfully in a technological, 21st-century world. I believe on this point, both Mr. Chaput and I agree.

The town has come a long way since I first stepped through the doors in 1994. What was accomplished was not on an individual basis, but rather done as a team and I thank you all.

To all the volunteers who have devoted numerous hours on committees and boards as well as all the selectmen and co-workers that I have worked with, I say thank you for being there as well as your support and guidance. Since I have not moved too far away, there is no excuse for all of you to not keep in touch.

To the residents of Hooksett who were able to stop by on the July 11, I too say thanks. It was nice seeing some familiar faces from the past as well as the present.

I for one was in favor of your group renting the school and I can safely say there were a few other councilors that were in agreement with me, but the school board placed a covenant on it and we cannot violate the warrant article.

I felt renting it out to your group would generate revenue for a few years until the tax payers see fit to OK the warrant.

Being in government at times can be very frustrating because there are checks and balances to keep us in line. Do you think we wish to leave that building sit empty for another year?

I believe it took five or six years after the warrant article for the safety complex failed some years ago before it was approved by the voters. The fire department and police department lived and worked in conditions that I considered unhealthy, but the safety complex failed by four votes and the voters spoke.

I am also angry that you attack our new town administrator in your letter last week. Calling him a social liberal is unconscionable in my book. If you are a God-fearing Christian that supposedly walks with Jesus, you are reading a different Bible than I read because Christ teaches tolerance.

I challenge you to to run for the council next year and learn how government rules shackle us. I will put your dollar down for you.

We, the taxpayers of Hooksett, are all shareholders of this corporation called Hooksett and are entitled to information pertinent to the operations, contracts, accounting, revenue collections and disbursements authorized by our trustees.

Unfortunately, I could not spend enough time to compose all of my questions for today. These are a start and the answers are prerequisite to some of the really important ones.

Of the $30,000 authorized by Article 10 of last year, how much has been spent, and for what purposes? (Who got the checks and what did their invoices say?) Of the $20,000 authorized the prior year for the "overcrowding problem" studies, ditto.

How much time and money has been spent by town employees and officials on meetings, conversations, faxes, planning, consulting, mailings and promotion of the Village School "renovation" project? (Moving town offices and leasing to CEDCOH.)

How much time and money was spent sincerely researching other options for the building and the "overcrowding problem" at town hall? What options were considered and with whom did you meet?

What happened and who were the people involved in the decisions and actions that led up to the pipes freezing and the subsequent flood at the Village School? Have the repairs been completed? How is it being paid for and who is getting the money?

Why didn't you advertise the job for bidding? The last question is rhetorical, but after witnessing what they put our emergency director through for his $3,800 radio purchase request, the contrast is astounding. Oh, by the way, the money used was from a federal grant! I guess it made them feel powerful to spend federal money using as much red tape and penny counting as possible.

How much total revenue was collected last year? (Just the grand totals, please. Taxes, fees, fines, grants, interest, tipping fees, etc.) The Town Report is dizzying. Please respond in kind; in print, in The Banner.

The family has been forced to put the business and equipment up for sale in order to cover business expenses. Until the equipment sells, the Gerlack sons continue to operate the business in an effort to keep the expenses paid.

The Epsom-Chichester Lions Club, neighbors helping neighbors, will be assisting the Gerlacks through a fund drive. You will see collection cans in a variety of local businesses. Please drop that loose change or a bill in the can. It all adds up and will be greatly appreciated by the family.

If you would like to get more information, contribute to the family fund, or assist the family through a service of some sort, please contact me, Donna Gosse, at 435-6508.

I say that every legislator who is a member of the NHMA through their town's government should have disqualified themselves from voting or at least announced their prejudice.

Robert Wheeler, former president of the New Hampshire Municipal Association, was pleading the position he enjoys having as a protector of this quasi-governmental association as pronounced by the Supreme Court in a recent case.

I don't believe that any association should have the right to charge dues of every person in the state and then use the dues to electioneer as they did in the trying to pass the previous local rights constitutional amendment. Something that would have really blurred powers and caused many in the state to be lawful in one town when hunting and unlawful in another.

Most recently, I found the fiscal statement of the New Hampshire Municipal Association on one of my bills where I was trying to help local taxpayers. They well know the kiss of death to a bill is to say it might cost money to the municipalities.

I made a major complaint to the speakers office and don't expect I will see fiscal notes by the New Hampshire Municipal again but can't say they won't be there especially before the municipal and county committee killing citizen friendly bills just as easily as ever. All thanks to Rep. Robert Wheeler and representatives who are members as selectmen, planning boards, budget committee elected officials.

If you want to know why Concord legislation is hurting the little guys look at the lobbying of the New Hampshire Municipal Association in Concord. Your local elected officials ask them to either get sponsors for legislation or to lobby against, and boy do they ever use your tax extracted dues to do the job. They only have four or five lobbyists as paid staff and then they call the local government officials to come to Concord to testify, that's the police chief's Association, Town Clerks Association, Tax Collectors Association, Assessors Association, and by the way paid for with tax dollars and their time in Concord paid for by taxpayers.

You should see the town paid employees on any day a bill is in the hopper that affects their jobs. I bet there aren't many citizens that get paid to take time from work to be there testifying?

Talk about the need for an ethics investigation where's the house ethics committee on this one, outta sight!

LCHIP helps protect critical local natural resources, and the state of New Hampshire needs to be a partner in conserving the natural treasures that are important to all of us. While local communities have invested more and more in natural resource protection, the state has fallen behind. In our region and across the state, there is a huge demand and need for the program. More than 100 cities and towns across the state have already requested $39 million in new funding from LCHIP.

With escalating land prices and major development pressures, LCHIP needs to be funded at $10 million to have a significant impact on our quality of life and economic development. Without adequate funding, only a few projects will be supported by LCHIP. Investing in the places that make our state special is a priority to protecting our state's long-term viability.

In the four years since its inception, LCHIP has been a major success and that's why the program has received such strong support with the residents of our state. To date, the program has funded 112 projects in 89 cities and towns across New Hampshire.