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This week's stories: (click on the headline
to jump to story)
 Unearthing
history at the Molly Stark house
No need
to bond kindergarten
Three
vacancy signs go up in the Village
Budget
panel reinstates funding for football
Corridor
study comes into focus
Unearthing
history at the Molly Stark house
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By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com
DUNBARTON Chand-eliers barely illuminate
the "barn" in the Molly Stark house that was used as
the living room.
But for the past few weeks, the chandeliers have provided the
only light to Laraine Allen and Donna Dunn as they dug in the
dirt to search for anything left by the people who lived in the
house before.
Allen, who is a descendant of Molly Stark, received the house
from her husband, Herbert, as a Christmas present in 1995. She
knew about her family connections to the Starks and Pages of
the area, so every time they renovate a part of the house, Laraine
looks for more clues to her family's past.
On Dec. 29, carpenters started tearing up the living room floor,
which was the barn many years ago, and Laraine drove up from
New Jersey on Friday, Jan. 2.
"When we got in on Friday night we started right in, in
the dark," she said.
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DIGGING IT Living
room renovations exposed the dirt and rock foundation in the
Molly Stark House, and Allen stands in the middle of what will
soon be a new family space. The next step is to tear up the second
half of the floor and see if any more history is hiding beneath
the floor boards. (Lara Skinner Photo)
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Dunn helped her with the digging, and so
far the women have found pieces of pottery as well as equipment
they believe was used to make shoes.
In the middle of the dirt floor, they found an old well filled
with bricks.
In the kitchen there is a brick fireplace, deep enough for a
large cooking pot to sit in, and all of the bricks are intact.
Most Colonial era homes also had a bread or beehive
oven beside the cooking fireplace, but the Molly Stark house
didn't have one.
Years ago, a friend found a separate flue in the back of the
closet next to the fireplace. Laraine said she believes it was
used to vent the beehive oven, but she didn't have any other
evidence that it existed. Finding the old well full of bricks
under the living room floor is another small clue into the home's
history.
"The bricks were really special to find," Laraine said.
When the carpenters are done putting in the first half of the
new floor, they will tear up the second half of the floor that
is closer to the house. Dunn told Laraine she could see a tree
stump under the second half, and both women are looking forward
to getting the shovels back out for some more digging.
As they get closer to the original house structure, Laraine said
she hopes to find some surprises from the 1700s. Most of the
pottery and bottles they've found so far are from the middle
to late 1800s.
Part of the renovations to the house will include new roof beams.
Laraine also plans to recreate the taproom in the finished barn,
and to finally seal the old foundation so animals won't seek
shelter under the house anymore.
No need to
bond kindergarten
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
After being defeated at the polls
last March by a mere 15 votes, proponents of a public kindergarten
believe they may finally have a winning plan.
Following last spring's vote, kindergarten supporters went back
to the drawing board and pieced together a plan which will cost
the average taxpayer dramatically less than any previous plan.
The total cost of the school was brought from $3.6 million to
$3.3 million, and this year the proposal only calls for eight
classrooms.
Of the total cost, state aid will pay for $2.2 million and impact
fees will add $436,000.
The district will also chip in another $400,000 from the unreserved
capital fund, leaving the taxpayers to foot a one-time bill of
$256,000.
This represents a tax rate increase of 21 cents per $1,000 of
assessed property valuation. That means the owner of a home valued
at $250,000 would pay approximately $52 this year to fund construction
of a public kindergarten.
Peter Oseicki, chairman of the kindergarten planning committee,
said his group took into consideration the fact that 59 percent
of voters did approve of a kindergarten but also understood the
cost had to come down.
"Because the project now nets out in the $200,000 range,
it makes it more affordable to the town and also allows us to
do it in one year," he said.
Last year's kindergarten warrant asked voters to OK a bond of
$1.2 million dollars. Oseicki said it was possible to cut the
cost to the taxpayers by adding in more impact fees and money
from the unreserved fund.
Additionally, the owners of the property where proponents hope
to build the school have offered to donate the land.
School Board Chairman Scott Gross said he is pleased with the
work that has been done to lighten the load on the taxpayers.
"Last year, we didn't have the $300,000 land donation and
we only had $100,000 in impact fees," he said. "And
last year, we didn't have the ability to use our unreserved fund.
The fact that we (the school board) have been able to manage
our budget as well as we have means we're able to use some of
that to offset the price."
Last March, planners believed they would not be eligible for
state aid, but because several other towns did not approve kindergartens,
a pool of money remained available. This year is definitely
Goffstown's last chance for any money from the state, Oseicki
said.
"That's it for the state money, unless the current governor
decides to fund it," he said, adding that he is not optimistic
of that happening.
In addition to almost certainly losing state aid after this year,
Gross also said Goffstown faces the real possibility of being
forced to build a kindergarten sometime down the road.
"One thing that should be made clear to the community is
that there could be the likelihood in the near future that kindergarten
becomes a mandated program under No Child Left Behind," Gross
said. "And like many other federal mandates, it may not
be fully funded."
Gross said the committee anticipates a future operating budget
costing taxpayers about the same as the one-year appropriation
to construct the school.
To find out more information on the committee's plans and when
they will next meet, Oseicki said interested residents can log
onto www.Kinder gartenForGoffstown.org.
Three vacancy
signs go up in the Village
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By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Keeping a small business alive and well
in the heart of the Village can be a challenge.
Three of Main Street's businesses Jonathan's Books and
News, Anything Scrumptious bakery and Cutting Castle barber
are closing shop, and Main Street's advocates say they're ready
to start pitching the locations to new entrepreneurs.
Rick Creeden, owner of Cutting Castle, said he's not going far
and not giving up the name that many locals know.
He'll rent a booth at Normand's Haircare at 282 West Hancock
St. in Manchester beginning Tuesday, Jan. 13.
"I just needed to grow and I can't do that here," said
Creeden. "I will continue to answer the phone as Cutting
Castle and, for the foreseeable future, any advertising will
feature my logo."
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New tenants are being sought
for the space previously occupied by Jonathan's Books.
(Kate Benway Photo)
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Creeden said he's been letting his regulars know of the move
for well over a month.
"This is the best scenario for future growth," he said.
The news of Creeden's departure is disappointing, said Robbie
Grady, director of the Goffstown Main Street program.
"We'll be sad to see him leave," she said. "But
we, as an organization, plan to do the second half of our market
analysis, conducting focus groups to identify what types of businesses
people would like to see."
The program's analysis will also help drive the filling of the
now-vacant Jonathan's Books and News.
Owners Don and Sally Higgins decided to close the store before
the holidays, and landlords Larry and Sandy Brown are joining
with Grady and the Main Street Program to shop the newly renovated
space around to prospective proprietors.
"It's really a great location," said Grady. "It's
visible, it certainly gets a lot of exposure during special events,
and we're convinced that a business can thrive there."
Opening and keeping a small business solvent is a tough venture,
said Grady, but the Main Street Program plans to look for potential
owners with strong business plans and good financial backing.
"There are a lot of reasons why small businesses fail,"
she said. "We're going to be very careful in recruiting
businesses that are well planned and well financed, because in
today's market it takes several years for a small business to
catch on."
The Main Street Program will often team up with landlords to
help scout and attract potential businesses, and Grady said input
from local residents about the types of stores they'd patronize
is helpful.
"We entertain suggestions, particularly as downtown Manchester
gets built out or more expensive, we'd like to know what people
would like to see come in," she said.
Budget panel
reinstates funding for football
By MARC THALER
Staff Writer
mthaler@yourneighborhoodnews.com
To the delight of many residents, the town's
budget committee voted to amend its original recommendation not
to partially fund football at Goffstown AREA High School.
By a vote of 7-5, the committee's majority voted to recommend
$20,000 to fund the program.
In the week leading up to the budget committee's public hearing
on Tuesday, Jan. 13, members of the Goffstown Grizzlies Gridiron
Booster Club met with school board representative Scott Gross.
The result was a collective decision to pool efforts and concentrate
on passing the school board's proposed budget rather than
have the football boosters submit a petition with the understanding
that partial funding of Goffstown football would continue.
"We had our petition article all ready to turn in,"
said Gridiron Club Vice President Tony Laprise. "But we
decided to take a look at the greater good. That greater good
was to get the school board's budget passed and have football
be embraced in some facet under that umbrella."
Many members of the community turned out to voice their opinions
on the evening's hot topic. Residents attempted to shed new light
on the importance football serves for the community in order
to have the budget committee change its original position of
not recommending a partial funding of the young program.
"As a community, we wouldn't be where we are without this
sport," Steve Hart told the budget committee. "The
community supports football. The players work at Loudon Speedway
parking cars. They fundraise to put the football uniforms on
their backs and run concessions at Mountain View Middle School
dances. They don't do this to raise money for a trip to Florida.
These players have pride and they've worked hard."
Hart's words, coupled with the thoughts of other Goffstown residents,
made an impact on the committee's members. Vivian Blondeau made
the motion for the amendment.
"I thought everyone spoke well to the fact that these players
are working hard," she said to the committee. "They
do have a lot of community support, and if we can just give them
a little bit (of funding), that's a step in the right direction."
During the committee's deliberations, which followed the public
hearing portion of the meeting, Gross lobbied to have $20,000
reinstated to the school board's proposed budget. That money
would pay for transportation, officials' fees and salaries for
two coaches.
Specifically, the breakdown provides $6,000 for transportation,
$6,490 for officials' fees, $4,670 for salaries, and $2,840 for
helmet safety checks.
Al Desruisseaux, the committee's school subcommittee chairman,
said the group in no way opposed football. Instead, the board's
members were concerned because last year's budget only accounted
for transportation and referee fees.
This year, coaches' salaries and money for equipment were also
included, he added.
"We don't know what the ceiling is," Desruisseaux went
on to say during the public hearing. "We want the taxpayers
to know what they're funding. Our remedy was to take everything
out and let the voters decide. This was a tough thing for us
to wrestle with because we felt (with the cost of football) we
could be getting in deeper and deeper."
The new agreement is now dependent upon approval of the school
board's budget. Should the budget fail to pass for any reason,
the program would not have access to the money.
In that case, Gross said, it would be his recommendation to make
cuts "across the board" in all athletic programs rather
than completely eliminate funding for any individual sport.
Corridor study
comes into focus
By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Interconnected back roads, plenty of green
space separating between roadways and development and sidewalks
are among the recommendations up for resident consideration under
proposed zoning amendments.
The concepts have come out of the Route 114 Corridor Study, part
of an effort to help focus the upcoming master plan revision
and a means of addressing the growth the town will see in the
short and long-term.
"We thought we should start the corridor study process before
the master plan revision, which is coming up in 2004," said
planning board Chairman James Raymond. "There's been a goal
to develop more commercial property, but if you're going to do
that, you want to do it well and preserve the rural character
of the town."
Residents will see a handful of planning board-sponsored zoning
amendments at Town Meeting, the first of which comes directly
from the study.
Raymond said residents will continue to see proposed zoning changes
over the next few years to help guide the town toward smart development
and growth.
"One of the goals of the corridor study was to look 10 and
20 years down the road. How do we want Goffstown to look like
and how do we get there?," said Raymond.
The amendment proposes the placement of rural overlay districts
along portions of Route 114 zoning stipulations that "lay"
across a variety of areas already zoned for a particular use.
On Route 114, the rural overlay would require various aesthetic
elements of all types of development, from commercial to residential.
Building a network of interconnecting streets that allows cars
or pedestrians to access buildings from the back or side, rather
than dumping all traffic onto Mast Road, is one of the primary
components of the amendment.
"An example of how not to do this is in Pinardville, where
you've got all those dead end streets that dump onto Mast Road,"
said Raymond.
The overlay and zoning amendments would encourage mixed uses
of property, aiming to mingle residential areas with business.
And planners also hope to create "nodal" development,
where small neighborhoods are created between stretches of open
space.
"We don't want a South Willow Street. Instead, we have mini-villages
with mixed uses with plenty of open space," said Raymond.
Another component of the amendment is the creation of setbacks
100-foot stretches of land required between the main road
and a business or residence.
At a recent planning board public hearing, residents weighed
in on the proposed setbacks and other zoning changes, concerned
about whether their homes and land would be grandfathered and
whether the overlay would restrict the uses of their land.
The owners of Happy House Amusements, an all-season rental facility,
asked the board to consider exempting the Depot Street business
from the zoning changes, concerned the change would limit the
types of businesses that could be run from the land.
"We enjoy our industrial rating," said Ray Blondeau
Jr. "It works for us."
Others worried about the setback requirement in relation to their
homes, where no such stipulations have ever been in place.
"My biggest concern is the 100-foot setback," said
resident Bill Chaput. "What happens if I want to put a garage
in? It'd have to be 300 feet from my house. Where it pertains
to residential use, that 100-foot setback might cause problems."
Other residents agreed, concerned the setback would prohibit
landscaping or simple add-on projects many homeowners do over
time.
Raymond told residents planners would look into that concern.
"We don't want to create a system that prevents people from
doing what they do in existing uses," he said.
Phil Tatro, a member of the Goffstown Economic Develop-ment Council,
said members of the council wanted to offer zoning amendments
that encourage commercial growth and expand the tax base
in a responsible way.
"There's potential there along Route 114, but we don't want
traffic like Second Street. Those setbacks, with the access roads,
are a way to avoid curb cuts every 50 feet," he said.
Ultimately, said Raymond, it will be up to residents to guide
the zoning changes.
"What we've proposed this year is just the first step,"
he said. "We just want to ease into it."
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