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This week's stories: (click on the headline
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Hooksett
Packard starts
as town administrator
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By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com
A career of managing Air Force bases seemed to make switching
to town administration easy for Arthur "Chuck" Packard.
On his first day, Monday, Jan. 5, he was working on straightening
up some papers in his office before going to meet the staff of
the Town Offices and Departments.
Assistant Town Administrator Elizabeth Dinwoodie didn't have
enough time to get used to the change, but she said she wasn't
nervous.
"I'm sure things will just continue on," she said.
Council voted 5-4 on Dec. 17 to hire Packard as the new administrator
with a contract for one year. Councilors Michael Jolin, Patricia
Rueppel, George Longfellow and Paul Loiselle voted against the
hire.
Packard's salary for the first year is
$65,000, and will increase to $67,500 if council renews his contract
in 2004.
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HARD AT WORK RIGHT AWAY Not
even an hour into his first day and Chuck Packard was hard at
work sorting through papers and computer files in the town administrator's
office. He's a retired Air Force colonel and has managed military
bases, which he said are very similar to a small town. (Lara
Skinner Photo)
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Because Packard is receiving benefits
from the military, the town is not covering health, dental, disability
or life insurance benefits.
Former Town Administrator Michael Farrell was started at $67,000
in salary in 2000 plus benefits. He was given a 3 percent raise
each year.
Donetta Haley, director of Human Resources at the New Hampshire
Municipal Association, said towns with similar populations between
10,000 and 15,000 people are paying approximately the same salary.
Amherst will pay an administrator between $59,000 and $74,000
depending on things such as experience and how long the administrator
has been with the town. Durham starts an administrator at $72,000.
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Town employees
seemed a little more concerned with just meeting Packard on Monday.
Finance Director Diane Savoie said she was going to have to give
the budget presentation to council this year, a task that is
usually the town administrator's job. But she hopes to bring
Packard up to speed soon.
None of the councilors were present for the meet-and-greet on
Monday.
Allenstown Town Administrator David Jodoin, who was a candidate
for the position, made the trip over to congratulate Packard
and talk with the town employees.
Hooksett and Allenstown work together on many issues, Jodoin
said. One of the things they are trying to accomplish is getting
communications equipment for the public safety and highway department
radios onto a water tower in Hooksett. It would make communicating
with someone in Bear Brook State Park easier. |
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THE NEW GUYS Hooksett
Town Administrator Chuck Packard and Fire Chief Mike Williams
talk Monday, Jan. 5, during a meet-and-greet session at the town
offices. Williams was welcomed at a similar event the week before
because he was appointed as the new fire chief. (Lara Skinner
Photo)
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Jodoin and Savoie talked about state
financial aid, and after town employees met Packard, they took
some time to catch up with other people they haven't talked to
lately.
Changes have shaken the town offices over the past year, but
Dinwoodie said they have to trust Packard will do a good job.
"Ultimately, it's hard to say because, well, he just started,"
she said.
Epsom
Hunting death
Robert Proulx shot hunting boar
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
An Epsom man was killed over the New Year's
weekend in a hunting accident.
Robert H. Proulx, 58, of Sleepy Hollow Lane, died Jan. 3 in Croyden
at Corbin Park, a private hunting reserve. He was hunting elk,
boar and deer with five friends when he was shot.
According to state Fish and Game investigators, the group split
up, with two men taking stands in the woods. Proulx, who was
wearing jeans and a camouflage jacket, was moving toward the
stands when he was shot. He was not wearing any hunter orange.
Croyden police and EMTs were first to arrive at the scene, where
they pronounced Proulx dead at the scene from a single gunshot
wound.
Proulx was a taxidermist, and owned the Wildlife Taxidermy and
Sport Center in Manchester. He was also a prominent member of
a number of local organizations, including the National Rifle
Association, National Wild Turkey Federation, the North American
Hunting Club, the National Taxidermists Association and the Sea
Plan Sea Pilots Association. He was a founding member of both
the Goffstown Beagle Club and the Manchester Chapter of
Ducks Unlimited.
Born and raised in the Manchester area, he was a graduate of
Goffstown High School. He is survived by his wife, Susan
Proulx, and one daughter, Denise Cayer of Goffstown.
According to Col. Jeffrey Gray of Fish and Game's Law Enforcement
Division, 24,000 acre Corbin Park is only one of two fenced in
private game-parks in the state and is not subject to permitted
hunting seasons.
Fish and Game identified four other members of the party as: Roger
Williams of Barrington, John Twitchell of Hampton, Robert
Barr of Strafford and Angelo Cacciatore, visiting from Italy.
They have not yet identified the shooter and at press time the
incident was still under investigation as a "probable mistaken-for-game
scenario." It was the first hunting-related fatality in
the history of Corbin Park, which was founded in 1890, and only
the second in the last decade in the state.
Candia
Firefighters
agree let town take over
By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com
The town's volunteer firefighters have
agreed it's time for the town to run the department, ending its
unique status as a department separate from the town.
The decision by voters to accept this change will come at the
March Town Meeting where, just last year, residents watched some
of the members of the department duke it out over a proposal
to transfer the department to town control.
This year, voters will see a united department, standing behind
a warrant article requesting it become a town department.
"The residents probably won't see a whole lot of change.
We'll still be volunteers," said George Denoncourt, president
of the Candia Volunteer Firefighters Association. "It's
a move for the future."
Members of the association voted 15-7 in favor of putting the
warrant article out for voter approval.
Denoncourt said despite the dissenting votes, firefighters agreed
prior to their private vote that, whatever the outcome, they
would band together and support it.
"We're going into the town meeting as a unified front and
we're sticking together on this," said Denoncourt.
"It's a positive move and I think the townspeople will be
very pleased with it. Now is the time for this to happen."
The debate over whether the town should run the department began
over a year ago, advocated by some as a way to better serve the
town, but dismissed by others as an unnecessary change.
The issue came to a head last year at Town Meeting when members
of the department were clearly at odds over what was best.
Residents amended the warrant article on the transfer to instruct
members of the Candia Volunteer Firefighters Association to work
with selectmen to come up with a proposal for the transfer. Voters
asked that the proposal be brought forward, along with a department
vote, to the 2004 Town Meeting.
Forming a committee, members of the association, along with Selectman
Clark Thyng, met consistently this year, working out that plan.
The culmination of their efforts is the warrant article approved
by the selectmen and members of the association.
"They have worked so hard on this," said Thyng. "The
members of the fire department have been dedicated and worked
diligently through the whole process."
Among the benefits of bringing the department under town control
is a chance for more training opportunities for firefighters,
a cost savings associated with being under the town's wing and
the ability to bring on full-time firefighters in the future.
"We're growing, the town is growing. We're approaching 400
calls a year," said Denoncourt. "At some point in the
future we'll need some full-time coverage and this change will
help us be ready for when that time comes."
Denoncourt said the association will continue to exist, though
it will become a benevolent association, and the town will take
ownership of the fire station and its equipment.
When the department needs equipment, voters will still see those
needs mapped out in a budget or broken out as a warrant article,
said Denoncourt.
"Nothing is going to change as far as our abilities to put
out a fire," he said. "It's our town too and we're
all taxpayers. We want to keep things running nicely."
Candia
New committee
to preserve open space
By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com
With the town poised to enter a period
of sustained growth, a newly formed town committee plans to stem
the development tide in favor of preserving rolling hills, wooded
forests and tranquil water bodies.
But they'll need the town's financial backing with a key vote
at Town Meeting.
"Candia is in a unique situation," said resident Peter
Bond. "Candia has an incredible opportunity because it has
a lot of larger pieces of land that have not been developed,
but it's dwindling fast."
Bond, a member of the town's conservation commission, is heading
the new open space committee, driving a mission to identify and
preserve undeveloped parcels.
Along with that vision, members of the committee are drafting
a warrant article for Town Meeting that asks voters for a $5
million bond to be set aside into a conservation fund.
The money could be used to get easements placed on land the town
currently owns, to help residents place easements on their prime
acres or even outright purchase conservation land.
"Open space is just undeveloped land," said Bond. "It
could be a forest, brook, pond, swamp or open field."
In Candia, he said, there are a number of places like that which
remain unprotected against development.
And while the committee is not out to hurt development, concerned
citizens say a reasonable attempt to control the town's growth
and preserve undeveloped natural locations is necessary.
"The bottom line is that with the I-93 development coming,
Candia is a few towns over from the highway," said Bond.
"People need a place to live, but if you don't manage it
and put something aside, it becomes too late."
Bond said the first priority of the new open space committee
is education.
Talking to residents about land conservation, what it takes to
get an easement and the plans for the town's future will drum
up ideas and support, he said.
There are a number of ways to place a piece of property under
an easement, and once it's done an outside agency manages the
easement.
"People get worried. They hear 'easement' and they think
the town has lost all control, but the town does not want to
get into easement management," said Bond.
And while the town won't be tied up with easement management,
said Bond, the development rights will be taken away from the
parcel, guaranteeing it remains open.
"This is something the people within the town need to decide.
There has to be a majority of people wanting this kind of thing
to happen," he said.
Members of the committee will partner with residents to explore
easement possibilities and, if voters approve the warrant article,
financial backing could be available to help usher acres into
conservation.
The committee will work concurrently with the town's master plan
effort, which is also looking at growth concerns, and the conservation
commission.
Ultimately, the town's selectmen will approve any protections
placed on land in town.
"We'll be able to get some muscle behind the commission
this way so we can get the ball rolling to go through the commission
and selectmen," said Bond.
Candia
Police department
grows by two more officers
By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com
On a Friday overnight patrol, Candia police
officer Rick Langlois spent most of his shift on the road.
Checking out well-hidden areas for abandoned cars or cruising
busy roads looking for speeders, Langlois, 29, said he likes
to stay on the road and alert during the 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift.
He took a few runs on Route 101, circling around Candia's Exit
3, and looped back onto the town's residential roads. There,
he stopped a handful of speeding drivers and called for a tow
truck to pick up an abandoned car on Brown Road.
"I don't mind the night shifts, but I like the day
shifts, too," said Langlois. "It's nice when I'm able
to talk to business owners and the residents. You know, say hi
to the guy who's raking his lawn. It lets people know we're out
here."
Letting those who live and work in Candia know that their police
department is alert and available is the order of the day under
the leadership of chief Michael McGillen.
The department, said McGillen, is often busy with local speeding
complaints, juvenile cases and other calls, but two recent hirings
have helped bring the town's police department up to full staff.
"It helps increase patrol coverage and help us out because
it's the part-timers we rely on when the full-timers take vacation
or are out sick," said McGillen.
Selectmen recently approved the hiring of full-time officer Christopher
Beaule and part-timer Gregory Spicher Jr.
Beaule, 28, a Manchester resident, was recently sworn in by Candia
selectmen and has already hit the streets with fellow officers,
learning about the town and finding his way around. He'll attend
the police academy for 12 weeks beginning this month.
Beaule replaces Sgt. Scott Gallagher, who was promoted to sergeant
several months ago.
Beaule's experience as a youth case worker and time spent working
at Manchester's Youth Detention Center will help round out McGillen's
full-time staff.
"His experience with juveniles is an asset to the town,"
he said. "We have a lot of juvenile issues here in town."
Spicher, 35, lives in Manchester and spends his days as an EMT
with Rockingham Ambulance.
"That cross-training is beneficial," said McGillen.
"We can always use those medical and first aid skills out
here."
Spicher will go to the police academy this month, graduating
the last week in February. At that time, he'll ride along with
other officers to get familiar with the town until he's ready
to be on his own.
With six full-time and four part-time officers, McGillen said
Candia's police force is stronger than ever. And it's something
Selectman Clark Thyng said he's proud to see.
"I think it speaks to the level of professionalism of our
police department that they've hired these guys. They won't just
hire a warm body. They'll pick up extra shifts until they've
found the right candidate," said Thyng.
And for the officers, having another body on the clock adds to
officer and resident safety.
"We can only be in so many places at once," said Langlois.
McGillen and Gallagher are generally on duty during the week
days; the four other full time officers Langlois, Beaule,
Kevin Bowen and Dan Gray pick up the evening and night
shifts, while the part-timers fill in where they're needed.
Epsom
Good friends, good deeds
Epsom Circle Breakfast club donates food
to the needy
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By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Every Tuesday at 8 a.m. an eclectic crew assembles just north
of the Epsom traffic circle and caravans to find a good breakfast
meal.
When it first started, it was no official organization, but today
the Epsom Circle Breakfast Club has become one of the most regular
and active clubs in town.
There's no real membership. Some days it's just a handful of
men, other mornings it's more than 20.
And sometimes it's more than just breakfast. At the Dec. 9 meeting,
almost 30 met for an annual Christmas gathering where each attendee
brought canned food to donate to a local charity.
The annual holiday breakfast has traditionally been held at club
member Howard Saturley's house. This year he organized the special
occasion, complete with a three-piece music ensemble to entertain
at The Circle Restaurant.
Member George Foster said he can't always make it to the weekly
gatherings, but when he does, it's a pleasure. |
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THE HOST OF IT ALL Though
held at the Epsom Circle Restaurant, Howard Saturley doesn't
miss the chance to fulfill his duties as host of the Epsom Circle
Breakfast Club's annual Christmas breakfast, serving a healthy
portion of eggs to fellow club member Leon Corbett. Most years
Saturley serves the informal group of old friends and neighbors
at his house, but didn't miss a beat bringing the event, complete
with a three-piece music group and an impressive breakfast spread,
to the restaurant. (Russ Choma Photo)
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"It's been a good group of people
over the years," he said.
And long before it became a club, it was just that some
friends having good talks over breakfast.
In the fall of 1987, Charlie Butler began having lunch with an
old friend after he retired.
"I used to go out and eat and Jim Finley also was going
out," he said. "So, I said, 'Why don't I go with you?'"
Foster said it's remained a simple thing, but everyone still
loves it.
"For some of the guys it's just about getting out and being
able to have a good exchange," he said.
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