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This week's stories: (click on the headline
to jump to story)
 Building
floats and neighborliness
Goffstown
as a 'city' finds few fans
Teachers,
SAU 19 reach agreement on contract
After-school
program starts next year at MVMS
New
Boston
Building floats and neighborliness
Residents of Forest Hills development
grow closer working on their entry
for the Fourth of July parade
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By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer
dcormier@yourneighborhoodnews.com
There's nothing like building a float to
bring neighbors closer together.
The annual Fourth of July parade is nearing, and for the past
several weeks the residents of the Forest Hills neighborhood
have been gathering around their fire pits, working together
on a float and hoping for a win this year.
The Forest Hills development is a tiny hilltop utopia that is
filling with families, where a close neighborhood bond gets stronger
by the day.
Twelve or 13 families have pooled their resources to come up
with scrap wood and pieces for the float, gathering together
to paint, sew and socialize.
The adults aren't alone, though they get to use the imaginations
of a dozen kids and their ideas.
While the parents work and chat, the neighborhood children and
their dogs run around and play together. With so many people
involved, the float took only a collective 20 hours of work
and some play.
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POSITIVELY FLOATING
The children from the Forest Hills neighborhood show off their
Fourth of July float. They are Michael Lorenzo, Sam Bennett,
Maddy Bergeron, Alicia Bennett and Matthew Millos, Alex Millos,
Logan MacDonald, Christian Clinton, Ryan MacDonald, Brooklyn
Brackett and Chris Lorenzo. (Devon Cormier Photo)
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"It's a perfect neighborhood in a
perfect town," said Marcy Morton. "It's like an extended
family it is the epitome of New Boston."
The parade theme for the floats this year is American Folk Tales
and Legends.The Wilson Hill group has made a float depicting
the Pony Express, a legend created when 183 young men and boys
risked their lives to deliver mail quickly during the 1800s.
The Forest Hills float is built into a general store, a telegraph
window and, of course, stick horses. The children are proud of
their float, they said, and they can't wait to ride on it in
the parade.
"What the kids do is important to everybody," Maureen
MacDonald said. "I got all choked up last year; it's just
so nice."
MacDonald moved in about a year and a half ago. She and her family
lived on Orchard Road for about six months before the neighborhood
began making last year's float.
Now, this year's float sits in the corner of the MacDonald's
driveway, the neighborhood's gathering place for the past couple
of weeks.
"I think it's becasue we had most of the power tools,"
MacDonald said. "I do interior design on the side, so I
did the initial drawings."
MacDonald said it wasn't long after she moved from Bedford that
the neighborhood feeling started to affect her. "I just
knew I was home," she said.
The pony express will be riding into town on Sunday to show off
their hard work and tight bond.
Goffstown as
a 'city' finds few fans
At public hearing, town's new charter
commission begins exploring different forms of government
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
The idea of turning Goffstown into a city
found few supporters at the first meeting of the town's new charter
commission.
And the lack of support for the idea has less to do with Goffstown's
size than with the differences in the forms of government between
a city and a town.
As it turns out, establishing city status for a community has
nothing to do with its size.
For example, the city of Lebanon has a population of just 12,000,
compared to Goffstown's 17,000 residents.
Calling a community a city does, however, have everything to
do with the way a town is governed.
In a theoretical city of Goffstown, there would be no more budget
committee, town meeting or separate school district. There would
be a mayor and a board of aldermen.
But just what would that mean to the voters of Goffstown? And
is that really what the people want?
These questions, which have not been formally discussed since
1991, surfaced once again at the June 23 charter commission public
hearing.
A community's charter is roughly equivalent to a state or a country's
constitution it provides the basic framework for how the
town will be run.
But Goffstown has no official charter which formally designates
whether it will be a city or a town.
So the recently elected commission used its first meeting to
toss around ideas with almost 30 interested residents who turned
out to offer their opinions.
Resident Stephen Monier, who along with four others originally
petitioned for the charter commission to appear on the ballot
in March, shared the tidbit about size meaning nothing in terms
of becoming a city.
But Monier told the board he wasn't there to advocate for a city,
and when he and his fellow petitioners made their request they
had no specific change in mind for the way Goffstown is governed.
"Now that we have a charter commission, you folks can consider
anything," he said. "Everything's on the table."
If the reaction of residents at the meeting is any indicator,
the idea of making Goffstown a city may not stay on the table
long.
Resident and school board member Ellen Vermokowitz suggested
that Goffstown voters probably won't want to give up their Town
Meeting.
"I am very leery of anything that gives more authority to
fewer people," she said as many of those present nodded
their heads in agreement.
The question of city vs. town may remain an option, but residents
at the meeting seemed primarily concerned with issues of how
to refine the current town system.
As it stands, Goffstown has five selectmen who represent the
entire town.
When it was his turn to speak, resident Matt Burke voiced support
for keeping as much power as possible over elected officials.
In fact, he suggested, maybe more positions need to be elected,
not less as in a city.
"I think elected is the way to go, a town council is the
way to go," he said. "I'd like to see the road agent
elected just to get our (department of public works) working
instead of driving around all day."
One supporter of consolidating policy control in the hands of
elected officials instead of residents at a town meeting was
Arnold Winenberg.
"I think the idea of having all the decisions made by all
in the community may be a beautiful idea, but impossible,"
he said.
As it is, he said, there are 300 or so "self-elected legislators"
making decisions for the rest of the town just because they show
up to town meeting.
The freewheeling discussion also touched on whether the ballot
voting style is right for Goffstown.
The system calls for a deliberative session where changes can
be made to warrant articles, followed by an election day where
voters can cast their ballots in a voting booth.
Although overall participation in elections has risen, attendance
at the deliberative session remains anemic.
But small turnout at deliberative sessions doesn't mean the voters
don't care or can't vote at the polls, said resident Dick Georgantas.
"SB2 is the right of the voters to vote," he said,
defending the system. "Because they're not at the deliberative
session, we shouldn't assume they're not informed."
Several audience members tackled the question of whether selectmen,
or possibly town councilors, should be designated to represent
specific areas in town.
"Is there still polarization? You betcha!" said one
audience member, even as several others suggested the town isn't
particularly divided.
Several audience members said that electing representatives from
regions such as Pinardville, the Village and Grasmere would only
further polarize the community.
Karen McRae, the commission's chairman, said the meeting had
been productive.
"I thought it was a good turnout and a good discussion,"
she said. "It was going all over the place, but I think
the main thrust is that (the people) want a charter. They want
something, and where it goes from there, it's all over the board."
Goffstown
Teachers, SAU 19 reach agreement on contract
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Ending six months of impasse, both the
school board and teachers' union have agreed to a new three-year
contract proposal.
The school board and Goffstown Education Associa-tion (GEA) have
both voted to accept a compromise proposal offered by an impartial
third party which settles five issues that led to negotiations
stalling last winter.
The current contract expires on June 30, meaning Goffstown teachers
will begin the school year without an agreement.
Before this contract becomes official, it still must receive
approval from voters. Both school and union officials said they
are rushing to arrange a special election, possibly as early
as September.
SAU officials said they are still in the process of drafting
wording for a warrant article, and have not yet determined what
the total cost to taxpayers will be.
Officials said that once a warrant article is final, the district
will petition a Hillsborough County Superior Court judge for
an emergency special election to be held this fall.
Virginia Sinclair, GEA president, hailed the compromise as a
positive step.
"The teachers are very happy that we have come to an agreement
with the school board," she said. "We feel this is
an important step in continuing the positive educational experience
for the students of Goffstown."
School Board Chairman Scott Gross said it was a relief to finally
reach an agreement after nearly a year of talks.
"The process was very long. Typically it doesn't take that
long," he said. "But I think there was mutual respect
in the negotiations, and there certainly wasn't any bitterness
or bad-mouthing."
Talk over a new contract came to a standstill in early January
after a marathon mediation session failed to find common ground
between the two groups.
Earlier this spring, both sides agreed to enter fact-finding
a process by which a third party considers each side's
position and recommends a "reasonable resolution."
Both sides accepted the fact-finder's recommendations on all
five issues.
According to Carol Kilmeister, human resources manager for SAU
19, the proposal calls for salary increases in each of the three
years of the contract.
Kilmeister said there would be a 1.5 percent increase in salaries
the first year and 2 percent increases each of the following
years.
The rate increases will boost the starting salary for new teachers
by approximately $500 in the first year. Gross said boosts like
this help keep Goffstown competitive when it comes to hiring
and keeping good teachers.
"Like many other districts, we struggle to attract and maintain
teachers," he said. "Our main goal is that we have
to pay a competitive wage, and I think this keeps us competitive."
Gross said he was also pleased with the fact-finder's recommendation
that allows the district to slowly trim some costs for health
benefits.
Since these two areas carry a financial cost for taxpayers, they
must still be approved by the budget committee before voters
can accept or reject the proposal.
Gross said he is optimistic voters will approve the contract
proposal.
"I would say the board has done a pretty good job of keeping
our finances at a reasonable level," he said. "We've
worked hard.
"And I think when you look at other bargaining agreements
(for town employees), this particular contract will be in line
with them," he said.
Three non-financial areas suggested by the fact-finder and approved
by the two parties are:
· Increasing the number of so-called professional development
days for teachers. Teachers will still work 186 days a year,
but will have four instead of three professional development
days.
· Dropping a proposed change for more flexibility in the
length of the work day.
· Granting full credit for teaching experience in other
New Hampshire districts.
Goffstown
After-school program starts next year
at MVMS
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
On the first day of class at Mountain View
Middle School in September, fewer students will be tearing out
the front door after the final bell rings.
With the help of Crispin's House, Mountain View Principal Rose
Colby expects many may actually be scrambling to stay in school.
Colby, along with Crispin's House Executive Director Laurie Hambleton,
are completing a plan to offer a strong after-school program,
running from the end of classes to 6 p.m. The program will only
cost $50 per student, per semester.
"We've been trying to get something like this going for
several years," Colby said. "We're so excited to have
a solid program that will be fun for kids at a low cost to families."
Hambleton said organizers are not only hoping to create a supervised
space for students, but actually make them want to be there.
"This is not anywhere close to a day care," she said.
"This is a place we want kids to look forward to coming
to."
To get the students hooked, Hambleton said numerous activities
will be offered ranging from rocketry to art classes to
cooking. They will be the type of activities "that kids
will sign up for, and that they'll be talking about in school,"
she said. "It's really like a club for kids."
Although the activities will be student driven and designed to
build enthusiasm, Hambleton said she and Colby hope to help students
stay out of trouble during the after-school hours.
"After-school hours are when young people are most likely
to get in trouble and take risks or get involved with drugs and
alcohol," Hambleton said. "If a kid is doing something
fun and constructive he's not doing something he'll regret later."
The program is being planned with the support of PlusTime of
New Hampshire, a nonprofit that helps develop youth activities
during nonschool hours. The program will be modeled after the
Weare Middle School's successful CASA after-school program.
The project, which will eventually be named by the students who
participate, is also partnered with the 4-H After School Initiative,
which will help provide programming.
Hambleton said the program received a $26,000 grant from the
Governor's Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention to
help keep the fee low.
Dirtiest sneaker
After dirt spilled all over the
ground from the inside of his sneaker, Seth Lafond shows off
his first-place winning entry in the Goffstown Parks and Recreation
Department's Dirty Sneaker Contest held at Barnard Park. The
contest is an annual event held at both Barnard and Roy parks.
Seth said he's taken the sneaker on bike rides and into puddles.
(Irene Hannagan Photo)
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