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This week's stories: (click on the headline
to jump to story)
 Federal
prison halfway house eyed for town
Neighbors'
feud leads to attempted murder charge
Litterbugs
keep trashing Kimball Pond preserve
Students
learn Earth Day is every day
Goffstown
Play ball
it's opening day!
There wasn't a raindrop anywhere
when Goffstown Junior Baseball got off to its official start
on Saturday, April 24. The day's festivities kicked-off with
a parade (top photo), followed by the ceremonial throwing of
the first pitch. This year, 10 people who have donated their
time and energy to GJB over the past 20 years were honored (photo
above). They were Jack Healy, Larry Emerton, Mike French, Jane
Western, Albert Desruisseaux, Jeff Shapiro, Eddie Coulombe, Jay
Hunter, Lou D'Allesandro and Mike Ryan. "I think it was
nice for people to see some of the faces of the people who have
preceded them," said Dave French, president of Goffstown
Junior Baseball. More than 400 children are participating in
the program this year.
(Karen Metz Photos)
Goffstown
Federal prison halfway house eyed for
town
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
After months of watching their Manchester
neighbors debate the issue, Pinardville residents are preparing
for the possibility of a federal halfway house being located
in their neighborhood.
The federal Bureau of Prisons has selected Manchester as the
new home of at least one halfway house for rehabilitated prisoners.
Community Resources for Justice, one of the two nonprofit agencies
currently bidding to manage the facility, has selected the old
St. Edmund convent as the proposed location.
The old convent at 48 Henriette St. is located on the Manchester-Goffstown
line, which means boards in both Goffstown and Manchester would
have to approve the halfway house.
Dan LaRochelle, Pinardville resident and owner of King Lanes
bowling alley, said he is not sold on the plan.
"I don't really want a federal halfway house next to my
business," he said. "It doesn't come across as a good
neighbor, a nice friendly safe place to send your kids."
As a property owner, LaRochelle said he is also concerned about
what effect the facility might have on land values.
John Larivee, chief executive officer of Community Resources
for Justice, said the inmates at the facility would be nearing
the end of their sentences and ready for return to society.
The residents, he said, would hold jobs and would be working
to establish relationships within the community.
"So, when they do hit their release date, they do have some
ties developed so they are more ready," he said.
Larivee said the federal prison system is larger than ever before,
and the Bureau of Prisons is hoping to establish more halfway
houses everywhere, not just locally.
Larivee said the system tries to return inmates near their homes,
so the ones who would move to the new facility would be from
New Hampshire or Vermont. New Hampshire currently has no federal
halfway houses.
An informational session will be held on May 5 at 6 p.m. at the
Parish of the Transfiguration Church on Kelley Street in Manchester.
Larivee said his agency is interested in meeting with neighbors
and would be presenting information on its program.
Weare
Neighbors' feud leads to attempted murder
charge
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
A Weare man has been charged with attempted
murder after a heated feud between neighbors escalated to gunfire.
Christian Fletcher, 37, of 101 Bart Clough Road, was arrested
Thursday, April 22, after he allegedly fired a handgun at his
neighbor, Leo Morse, of 108 Bart Clough Road.
Weare police say the two men have long feuded over a variety
of issues, but a verbal exchange between Morse and Fletcher's
girlfriend earlier in the afternoon led to the alleged shooting.
According to the police affidavit filed at Goffstown District
Court, Fletcher was arguing with Morse because had allegedly
insulted Fletcher's girlfriend, Sue Ann Weir, earlier that afternoon.
According to Weare Police Chief Myles Rigney, Fletcher pulled
a handgun from behind his back and fired at close range toward
Morse.
"It came to a head when one neighbor was arguing with the
other, and (Fletcher) came out and drew a .380-semi-automatic,
pointed it at (Morse) and fired at him," Rigney said.
Fletcher was arraigned in Goffstown District Court on Friday,
April 23, on charges of attempted murder, reckless conduct with
a firearm and criminal threatening.
If convicted of the attempted murder charge, Fletcher could face
a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Rigney said Fletcher walked to the center of the road, approximately
6 to 10 feet away from Morse, and fired. He said based on the
proximity and witness accounts, there was little doubt about
what Fletcher's intentions were.
Morse said he "felt that if he didn't duck and turn and
run he would have been struck," Rigney said. "And we
did find the (shell) casing and it was in the middle of the road,
right where it was alleged he shot."
Morse immediately called 911 to report he had been shot at, and
police say Fletcher called moments later to report Morse had
been firing a weapon at him.
Fletcher was later arrested, driving a blue BMW on Bart Clough
Road. He told police he was on his way to the Manchester Monarchs
hockey game and denied owning any handguns.
Weare police searched Fletcher's residence early on April 23
and reported seizing "numerous firearms and a large quantity
of ammunition."
At his arraignment later that day, Goffstown District Court Judge
Paul Lawrence set bail at $50,000.
Even if he posts bail, Fletcher is severely restricted in his
movement and may not return to Weare or have contact with the
Morse family, according to court documents.
A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 4.
Dunbarton
Litterbugs keep trashing Kimball Pond
preserve
By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com
A scenic walk around Kimball Pond often
starts with some not-so-scenic trash.
The second entrance onto the town's land has been used as an
illegal dumping site for years.
Metal shingles, beer bottles, cardboard boxes, a mattress and
a rusted refrigerator were among the items soaking up the rain
on the morning of Monday, April 26.
It's a secluded spot, and an easy place to get rid of trash that
might mean a fee at the local transfer station.
"Unfortunately, a lot of the smaller communities are ideal
dumping grounds," Police Chief Jeff Nelson said.
Now that the area around Kimball Pond is conservation land, the
conservation commission and the selectmen are discussing putting
a gate up at the second entrance.
People on foot can still walk around the edge, but there won't
be any room for trucks or cars to drive along the rocky path.
Trash that looks like it could have come from a construction
site is far from the worst that people have found down there.
Chairman of the Conservation Commission Larry Cook said that
there was once an abandoned car there.
Since the commission arranged for the purchase of the land around
Kimball Pond in 1996, the members have cleaned up a lot of trash
down there, Cook said.
They've never made the clean-up into a large public project,
however, because it was never anything a few people couldn't
take care of on their own.
But that has changed. What is most frustrating for Cook and the
police is that people haven't stopped dumping trash illegally
in the area.
A gate seems to be the best way to discourage people, Cook said.
However, not everyone is in favor of a gate. At a public hearing
in the fall, some residents suggested putting up a no-dumping
sign, said Cook.
"The type of dumping (that's there), I don't think they're
going to obey a sign," he said.
Garbage cans were also suggested, but then garbage pick-up and
animal control is a problem.
It's not likely that the types of things people are dumping there
would fit into a regular garbage can. Cook and Nelson suspect
that contractors are dumping construction waste by the pond.
Because the police can't constantly patrol the area, and the
trash rarely contains any kind of identifier of who dumped it
there, it's difficult to know who is leaving the trash there,
Nelson said.
Town Administrator Janice VanDeBogart said someone left a couch
out by the pond once. After a hard rain, a piece of furniture
will get waterlogged and the town needs to rent a loader to pick
it up. They rent the loader on an as-needed basis, which is usually
about twice a week, she said.
There are different contractors in town who rent the equipment
for $70 to $80 an hour. If the town had to go to Concord to rent
the equipment, they would have to pay for at least a day's worth
of use.
"It's a cost to the town, period," VanDeBogart said.
In the case of the loader, it comes down to the lesser expense.
But no town expense would be better, Chief Nelson said.
"At some point, it becomes more cost effective to put up
a gate rather than keep collecting trash," he said.
It's also more difficult to catch people in the act of dumping
illegally so the town could hold them responsible.
Because it's so difficult, it's better to find a way to stop
the dumping before it happens, Cook said. The commission is developing
a land management plan to present to the town at the 2005 Town
Meeting.
On Thursday, April 29, the parks and recreation commission was
to hold a public hearing on ordinances, some of which would work
toward the same goal.
Dunbarton
Students learn Earth Day is every day
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By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Earth Day sprouted its first grassroots
effort in 1970, thanks to the efforts of Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic
U.S. senator from Wisconsin.
At Dunbarton Elementary School this year, Nelson's legacy prompted
students and teachers to call attention to the harmful effects
of pollution, provide information on over-grazing, and to stage
a play about deforestation.
It has been 34 years since the initial effort, but the fifth-grade
students found the need to spread the word every bit as important
as Nelson did back in the late 60s and early 70s.
"They've surprised me how personally they've taken it,"
fifth-grade science teacher Dawn Jones said.
Since the beginning of the spring semester,
she's been teaching the curriculum from Planet Earth Close Up.
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SOUND CHECK: Can you really
hear the ocean if you're in the gymnasium at Dunbarton Elementary
School? Kinder-garten student Devyn Urbanik was determined to
find out during the Earth Day celebration organized by the fifth-grade
students. He learned about water pollution and overgrazing, but
seemed to enjoy the shell the best.
(Lara Skinner Photo)
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Although a celebration and information
fair weren't in the original plans, Jones said after designing
their own informational brochures, the students wanted to spread
the word about what they learned.
On Thursday, April 22, the fifth-graders invited other students
to come to the school gymnasium to find out what protecting the
environment is all about.
They learned that slowing deforestation is one way to keep the
earth healthy. Before this semester, Arianna Nelson, Sunny LaPlante
and Chelsea Bruzga hadn't thought much about the effects of cutting
down acres of trees.
Now, however, they realize that cutting down trees doesn't just
mean that there's less shade in the forest. Without tree roots,
the soil will wash away and it could negatively affect the water
cycle in an area, Bruzga said.
Animals and birds will have to adapt to a new climate, LaPlante
said, and that's not easy to do.
What the girls didn't promote was a complete end to forestry
practices.
"Use what you need," LaPlante said. "Don't just
cut down trees if you're not going to use all of it."
To get their point across, the girls wrote a simple play involving
a lumber company executive, a lumberjack and an environmentalist.
It didn't take many props, and in less than five minutes they
were able to explain the concept of deforestation and its effects.
Their play was also a kind of resting place. Games and activities
designed by the fifth-grade class gave the other students plenty
to do. Creating an interactive display seemed to be the best
way to teach.
"(The students are) professional learners," Jones said.
"And they know what it takes to teach someone."
Two plastic bins filled with water and figures of different sea
animals had a distinct difference to show "The Horrible
World of Water Pollution." The water was clean and clear
in one bin, and an oily, murky mess in the other. Even a plastic
porpoise didn't look like it belonged beneath a layer of vegetable
oil.
Pollution awareness on Earth Day got a bit of help from the state
Department of Environmental Services.
Rob Tardiff, a DES employee, was there with his son, and he brought
along the Enviroscape from the department's supply of educational
tools.
The Enviroscape is a molded plastic landscape model with a wetland,
homes and a construction site. In the Enviroscape, powdered drink
mixes and colored vegetable oil are used to make piles of dirt
and spots of engine oil. Kids can make it rain with a spray bottle,
and all of the "pollution" rolls downhill to the wetland
where it blends into a muddy mess.
Staff from the DES take the Enviroscape to schools throughout
the state all year, Tardiff said.
Seeing students embrace an event that's grown over the years
and make it their own celebration is a sign that they're taking
the lessons seriously.
"Earth Day puts another emphasis on keeping the earth clean
for their own good," Tardiff said.
How any industry or practice affects the earth's resources was
the overall message Jones said she wanted to get across to the
students.
Hopefully, their excitement won't fade and they'll realize that
every day is earth day, she said.
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