The Hooksett Banner ­ May 20, 2004

This week's stories: (click on the headline to jump to story)

Local scientist murdered A 'meaningful commitment' State, Auburn disagree on excavation rules Historic Town Hall is proudly restored Bridge work to start next year

Are you interested in chatting about Hooksett issues? Want to help plan Hooksett's future? Check out the new Internet chat group begun by the master plan committee at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hooksett_chat/ Auburn has a similar group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/auburn/

See Hooksett Town warrants for the May 11 vote here.

Pembroke

Local scientist murdered

By RUSS CHOMA Staff Writer rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com Police in Connecticut are investigating the death of Eugene Mallove, a Pembroke resident, father of two and well-known scientist. Investigators say Mallove, 56, was found slain outside his childhood home in Norwich, Conn., after police responded to a report of an injured person shortly before 11 p.m. on Friday, May 14. An autopsy confirmed Mallove died as a result of several blunt-force injuries to his head and neck. Norwich police say their initial investigation points to robbery as a possible motive for the assault. Police said Mallove's mini-van and several unidentified items were taken from the scene.

Eugene Mallove

The mini-van was discovered several hours later at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in nearby Mashantucket, Conn.

Mallove had been renting the Norwich house for several years, and, although there were currently no tenants, he was in Connecticut to do some maintenance work on the property.

Described by those close to him as a warm, outgoing man with a vibrant sense of humor, Mallove's death sent waves of sadness and disbelief through family and friends.

Mallove's daughter, Kimberlyn Woodard, described him as a loving husband, father and family man. His knack for humor and his upbeat demeanor characterized him best, Woodard said.

"He had a very great sense of humor. He was a very jovial man," she said. "He was extremely passionate, especially about his work."

Mallove achieved international prominence in the scientific world as the champion of cold fusion theory. Cold fusion, discovered in 1989, is the process by which enormous amounts of energy are created without the massive amounts of heat created by nuclear fission. Although originally dismissed as a scam by many in the scientific world, Mallove left his post as Massachusetts Institute of Technology's chief science writer to advocate the theory. Despite early dismissals of the theory, the federal government announced plans this past March to study the concept seriously.

Mallove is credited by many as being largely responsible for steering the science into the mainstream. Educated at both M.I.T. and Harvard, where he received his Ph.D., Mallove authored a substantial body of scientific literature as well as three books aimed at the general public. In 1991, he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for "Fire From Ice: Searching For the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor." He also offered his expertise as a scientific advisor on the 1997 Val Kilmer film, "The Saint."

For almost 10 years, Mallove has served as the editor-in-chief for Infinite Energy, a magazine he launched in 1995 focusing on the science of new energy. Mallove also served as the head of the New Energy Institute, a Concord-based nonprofit he founded in 2000.

Mallove and his wife of 34 years, Joanne, moved to Bow in 1989, and then to Pembroke three years ago. Woodard said that outside of his scientific work, her father had always been a devoted family man an active participant in Concord's Jewish community.

"As a father, he was extremely caring and he had a strong sense of his Jewish roots," she said. "He had a great sense of humor and would pretty much do anything for anyone at the drop of a hat."

Friends at Concord's Temple Beth Jacob, where Mallove had been a prominent member of the congregation, said Mallove was best characterized by his boundless energy.

Rabbi Richard Klein said Mallove had served for many years on the board of trustees and had volunteered to teach the synagogue's confirmation class.

"His outlook on life was to approach everything with passion," said Rabbi Richard Klein, "and to do whatever he was doing with all the energy he had."

Klein said Mallove was an engaging conversationalist who could speak passionately on nearly any subject. Klein described him as Mallove as having a quick wit, a love for puns and a knack for thinking unconventionally.

"Sometimes his mind would go places that would challenge the rest of us," Klein said. "But sometimes he was plain and out front. He'd sit and talk with just about anybody on just about anything."

Jim Kazan, a Bow resident and president of Temple Beth Jacob's board of trustees, said he most frequently interacted with fellow trustee Mallove in the more serious board setting. Still, he said, Mallove's charisma and energy was visible.

"He was passionate about the many things he cared about," Kazan said. "And if you started a conversation about any of these things, you would be talking with someone who was really engaged and very animated. He was very good at transmitting that enthusiasm to other people."

Woodard said it was her father's passion for so many things, and the boundless energy to pursue all of them, that would be his legacy.

"He really modeled for us that you should follow your dream," she said. "That you should follow your heart."

Candia

A 'meaningful commitment'

Candia women find rewards in training puppies
to become guide dogs for the visually impaired

By AMY FORTIER
Correspondent

Many Candia residents are accustomed to seeing Nancy Maloney, a health teacher at the Henry W. Moore School, with a dog at her side because she takes her dog to the grocery store, to church and to school. Maloney is a volunteer puppy raiser for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a nonprofit organization that raises and trains guide dogs for visually impaired people.

A puppy raiser is someone who adopts a specially bred puppy from the Guiding Eyes for the Blind organization for 16 months, and teaches it basic obedience and socializes it as much as possible. There are also bi-monthly meetings with fellow puppy-raisers and trained area coordinators who offer help and advice, since raising any puppy can be tricky at times.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind, which was founded in 1954 and has over 500 raisers from Maine to North Carolina, is nationally recognized as one of the top guide-dog programs. Volunteers adopt puppies issued from the program and are supplied with almost everything they will need, including food, a crate, a leash and collar, and vaccinations. After spending 16 months with their host raiser, the puppies go to New York, where they complete a series of tests that determine their eligibility to move up to the next level of training that will eventually qualify them as guide dogs and pair them with their visually-impaired partners.

Maloney has raised several dogs for the program, including a black Labrador named Echo, of whom many children at the Moore School have fond memories and who is now a successful guide dog for a college student, and also raised a golden retriever named Carmen.

Maloney said Carmen "chose not to become a guide dog," meaning that Carmen did not pass the guide dog test in New York and was released. In this situation, Maloney explains, the raiser has first choice to either adopt the puppy themselves or let it go to another family. The waiting list for these released dogs is three years long; apparently there is a high demand for puppies that have already been trained not to chew up shoes.

Rose Wells, public relations director for the New Hampshire region of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, lives in Merrimack and is raising a dog named Mia. "It is such a rewarding experience," said Wells, "but it does have its challenges and frustrations, as anyone who has ever raised a puppy knows. Plus, you know what the dog has the potential to become, so you feel a sense of pressure because you really want the dog to make it." "This is one of the most meaningful things I have ever done," said Jane Lahaye, a Candia resident who was introduced to the program through Nancy Maloney. She has been involved with Guiding Eyes for the Blind for the past three years. "I was looking for a volunteer activity that was not all that easy and this is really a meaningful commitment." Lahaye is currently co-hosting puppy Marvel with Nancy Maloney. Marvel is being raised by a host family in Vermont and is in Candia just for a month. The dogs frequently go on exchanges because they have to learn to be comfortable and confident in all settings and situations for their future life as a guide dog. "We need more puppy raisers," said Maloney. There are not enough dogs for the people who need them." The New Hampshire Region of Guiding Eyes for the Blind is looking for more puppy raisers and puppy sitters, which are volunteers who watch puppies on weekends and during vacations. On Friday, May 21, from noon to 4 p.m., at the Pilgrim Congregational Church at 4 Watson St. in Nashua, the Guiding Eyes for the Blind is hosting an open house for people interested in becoming a puppy raiser or a puppy sitter. Many dog raisers and their dogs will be in attendance. Information can also be found at www.guidingeyes.org.

SPECIAL DOG ­ Jane Lahaye, left, and Nancy Maloney of Candia pose with Marvel, a dog they are training for a month on an exchange from Marvel's host family in Vermont. Lahaye and Maloney are puppy raisers for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind, which breeds, raises and trains guide dogs for the visually impaired. (Amy Fortier Photo)

"It can be difficult," said Wells, "because you do get emotionally attached to your dog. You open your heart and your home and have bonded with the dog, taught it so much, and then you have to let it go. It is bittersweet, because you will miss the dog, but you know the dog will mean security and independence for a visually impaired person. The dog has a higher purpose than just being a pet, and knowing this helps to ease the parting."

Auburn

State, Auburn disagree on excavation rules

By JUDITH DIONNE
Staff Writer
jdionne@yourneighborhoodnews.com

You might say Keith Babb is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The owner of K&B Rock Crushing of Auburn has been trying for two years to get approval from the planning board to excavate on land in a rural zone, which state law says is allowed, but the Auburn Planning Board says the rural zone does not allow for large-scale excavation.

The planning board has defended itself in court regarding an excavation application once already, and is heading back to court again.

Because of the pending court case, Keith Babb, owner of K&B Rock Crushing, and planning board members were unable to discuss details of the application.

Former planning board member Paula Marzloff said Babb came to the planning board initially to build a home and a construction garage on his land.

"At the time the board realized that his operation was going to disturb a lot of land so the board suggested he get an excavation permit," said Marzloff. "From there he realized he had a lot of granite on his land which he could excavate and sell, and it grew from there."

And grow it did, into a series of legal battles.

Old expectations, new rules

The first court case resulted from the denial of the excavation application following a Nov. 13, 2002, planning board meeting.
Babb's application was denied because the board said K&B Rock Crushing's plans to have an excavation operation at Babb's property on Silver Hill Road was not a suitable use in the rural zoning district, which is where the property is located.

The court overruled the planning board's decision, stating that under state excavation law RSA 155-E, Babb's proposal to excavate gravel, blast, run rock crushing equipment and import sand to create construction grade aggregate were all permitted uses on his land.

According to court documents, the court ruled these uses were all permitted activities as outlined in the RSA and Auburn's zoning laws themselves support that fact.

Auburn contested the decision, saying the law allows "soil removal" in the rural zone, not full-blown excavation of earth.

Auburn Planning Board member Stoney Worster said the original intent of that zoning law more or less was to allow farmers to excavate small gravel pits in their back yard for trade.

"A long time ago, when bartering was a way of life, that law was enacted,"said Worster. "It's obviously been updated since, but it was never intended to allow a full-scale operation. The intent was to allow farmers to have small gravel pits so they could trade with the town to pay their taxes. Again, that was a real long time ago," said Worster.

"Rural zones are set up for agricultural use," said Marzloff. "The acreage requirements are larger to support farming, and frontage requirements are larger too. The fact that soil removal is allowed in this zone is part of the nature of agriculture."

Both Worster and Marzloff said the spirit of the law never intended this type of operation. They do acknowledge that the state law is clear, however, and it is within Babb's right to excavate if he wishes.

Concerned neighbors

Leading up to the court case, residents themselves were concerned about the operation.

At the Jan. 20, 2003, meeting the board and residents were still discussing the merits of the case, saying this is a commercial operation and not permitted in the rural zone of town.

In the minutes, residents said Pingree Hill Road, which would be affected by traffic from the operation, is more residential with 67 homes on it and said the rural character of the town would be adversely affected by the size of the proposed operation.
Despite residents' concerns, the court only looked at the RSA and zoning laws, which clearly state this operation is allowed.

Confusion over size of excavation plan

Following the court case, K&B Rocking Crushing resubmitted its application to excavate the land on Silver Hill Road.
Since the court proceedings, many meetings have ensued regarding the scope of the application. At the Monday, May 5, meeting, the planning board voted against allowing the excavation based on Babb's original application.

In the minutes of May 5, the board contends that the operation was never petitioned to be anything larger than 1.6 acres of excavation. Residents at the meeting agreed with the board's opinion, adding that the June and August 2002 meetings discussed an area no larger than 1.6 acres.

Again in the minutes, Babb's attorney, Richard Uchida, said the original application clearly states this was going to be a phased operation, with 1.6 acres being the initial area of impact.

The board clearly discusses the entire proposal will be 5.5 acres over a 12-year period according to minutes from the May 8, 2002, meeting. This application was for phase 1 of the operation, which discussed phase 1 as being 1.6 acres for the first two years. There were also discussions stating the board understood there would be more phases to follow.

Denied again

At the end of the May 5 meeting, the planning board had the opinion the application was for a 1.6-acre area of impact despite revisions made on April 15 showing a series of phases greatly exceeding the proposed 1.6-acre application. Based on the April 15 scope of the operation vs. the May 8, 2002, application, the board denied Babb's request.

The board did ask if Babb intends to submit a plan that conforms to the 1.6-acre area of excavation and Uchida said no, the original application was clear in its nature. The 1.6 acres was for phase 1 and subsequent phases would be applied for at a later date.

Following the meeting, Uchida said Babb had no intention of limiting his operation and was going to leave it up to the courts to decide whether the application is clear in its nature of being a phased approach.

Epsom

Historic Town Hall is proudly restored

By KAREN BRAYNARD Correspondent It was just like the good old days. Young and old filled Epsom's Old Town Hall to standing room only on Sunday, May 16, to commemorate the dedication of the newly renovated hall. More than 25 years have passed since the building has been used for large town functions such as this, and the memories were fond for Epsom residents of all ages as they reminisced about the role of the old town hall in their lives. Jessica Emond, 33, a lifelong resident, said she remembers the old town hall as a central point for gatherings when she was a little girl. "I attended Halloween parties and 4-H functions right here in the hall," she said. "The committee has done a great job of bringing this building back." Pat Yeaton Crafts, 74, now a resident of Pembroke, also grew up in Epsom.

NEW LIFE ­ The old Epsom Town Hall fills up with residents to celebrate the dedication and renovation of the historic building on Sunday, May 16. (Karen Braynard Photos)

"The town hall was the focal point for all of our town meetings and the town vote," said Crafts. "It was very actively used by the Epsom community."

After leaving the U.S. Navy in 1957, Frank Quimby moved from Chichester to Epsom. He recalls the town hall as the place where "I had to prove I could read so the selectmen could allow me to sign up on the town checklist in order to vote."

Two of the original voting booths still stand in the old town hall.

The town of Epsom has changed over the years and although the old town hall building has been restored, it is still too small to house Town Meetings and elections. But it will be enjoyed by residents as the doors open to civic groups and community functions. The Epsom Historical Association office is now located in the old town hall. The association is an all-volunteer group and office visits will initially be made by appointment. The old kitchen has been turned into a storage area and many of Epsom's historical items will be housed there. The dedication ceremony included a presentation of the certificate of acceptance to the New Hampshire Registry of Historical Places. Harvey Harkness presented the framed certificate on behalf of the Town Hall Renovation Committee to Mary Steele Frambach, chairman of the Epsom Board of Selectmen.

A quilt pieced together in 1976 depicts the town's history, and will be on display in the old town hall soon.

Charleton Rand of the Epsom Historical Association closed the dedication with a memoir documenting the history of the town hall as a meeting place for the residents of Epsom since 1850 when it was first built. The renovation of the old Epsom Town Hall was dedicated in memory of Robert "Bob" Yeaton for his leadership in preserving Epsom's historic town hall.

Suncook

Bridge work to start next year

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Rumbling over Suncook's Main Street Bridge, most motorists don't think twice. When crossing the dull steel and concrete structure that spans the Suncook River and links Allenstown to Pembroke, it appears thoroughly unremarkable.

However, hidden from view, there are least two interesting facts about this bridge.

The first is that the bridge, despite the modern facade, is actually quite old. In fact, major portions of the bridge's support structure, completely obscured by the modern deck of the bridge, are actually granite blocks laid by masons nearly 150 years ago.

The second fact, more relevant to the everyday driver, is that the bridge sits atop the state Department of Transportation's "Red List" of 955 bridges identified as in need of serious work. Specifically, the DOT has labeled the Main Street Bridge as "in poor condition, needs to be replaced."

After years of planning and debate, state officials say they are finally ready to move forward with a plan to replace the bridge.
Mark Whittemore, a bridge design engineer with the DOT and project manager for the Main Street Bridge overhaul, said to expect work to begin as early as this winter. The department would begin soliciting bids for the project by the end of this summer, he said.

"Typically I would say if we advertise for bids in late summer, it would be a couple months after that," Whittemore said. "But it'd be pretty late (in the fall) for construction work to begin, so the major bridge construction would occur early next year."

According to the DOT's 10-year plan for 2001 to 2010, construction was originally slated to begin in 2002 and cost $800,000. Whittemore said that in addition to the 2005 start date, the cost is now estimated to be around $2 million.

Pembroke officials say the state's plans to replace the bridge have been in the works since the late 1990s, but say they are pleased with the final plans.

Jim Garvin, the state architectural historian and Pembroke resident, said the plans being put out to bid solve the safety issue as well as give significant consideration to the bridge's historic value.

Garvin said a bridge has been located on the site since the Suncook River was first crossed in the early 1740s. The granite abutments, he said, were originally constructed in the 1860s to support a wooden bridge. The supports outlived both that bridge and an iron truss bridge, and were eventually incorporated in the current bridge, completed in 1956.

While the type of masonry used in the original bridge was not so unusual, Garvin said the fact the stonework was incorporated in the steel bridge is remarkable.

"It is very unusual those abutments have survived all this time and have been used for the newer bridges," he said.
Garvin said the DOT's plans call for the new bridge to be significantly longer than the existing one, and actually go over the stonework, which will be kept intact.

Another nod to the area's rich history as a booming mill town is the state's plans to incorporate historic lamp posts in the final design. The lamps will match those already in place throughout the Pembroke side of the Suncook village.

Known as Amoskeag lamps, Garvin said the fixtures will help the new bridge fit in with the area better than the current structure. Local officials had lobbied for the inclusion of the Amoskeag lamps, Garvin said, in an effort to extend the historic look of the Pembroke side.

"The bridge will extend the ornamental lighting and kind of carry it across the river," he said. "Maybe it will give the town of Allenstown the opportunity to pick up the theme and maybe unify the look of the two communities."

Pembroke Town Administrator David Stack said the town had pushed for the lights as well, in an effort to help the new bridge blend in with the historic look of the village.

"We want to carry that theme over," he said. "I know there was input on the design, to make sure it fits in so it's not just an ugly highway bridge."

Garvin said this unified look was more than a simple cosmetic touch.

"That kind of coherence of a village on both sides of the river can sort of wed together the sides," he said. "It can make the bridge a focal point."