The Hooksett Banner ­ March 25, 2004

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

'Bygone Brides' revives memories for Suncook residents SIZE="+1" No ATV trails, thanks to a typo Hooksett town budget up 14 percent this year Snowstorm forces birth on highway Public's last chance for input on Master Plan is March 30

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/

We have listed the warrants and candidates in advance of elections on March 9 so you can see them before the vote. Election results will be posted as soon as we get them on the night of March 9. See your town's warrants here: Hooksett School, Hooksett Town (for May elections), Allenstown, Auburn, Candia, Epsom and Pembroke.

Suncook

'Bygone Brides' revives memories for Suncook residents

By AMY FORTIER Correspondent The Meet me in Suncook organization, founded in 1998, is committed to preserving the history and heritage of the Suncook area. They have held many fundraisers such as historic walking tours and elegant dinners to raise funds for projects like restoring the clock tower in downtown Suncook and placing historic markers. Their most recent fundraiser, an exhibit titled "Bygone Brides," was a different way for the Suncook community to experience its history. On Sunday, March 21, the Meet Me in Suncook organization exhibited a collection of wedding dresses contributed by women from the Suncook, Allenstown and Pembroke area that spanned the entire 20th century in the St. John the Baptist Parish Hall on School Street. The $5 admission allowed visitors to tour the collection of dresses and photographs and then sit down to an elegant tea with china cups and a huge assortment of cakes, cookies and other sweets that was itself reminiscent of a bygone era. Jan Shichkin, a Suncook resident and member of the Meet me in Suncook committee, conceived the idea to display the wedding apparel of local women as a new way of exploring Suncook's history. "We have done a lot with buildings," she said "and this is a more personal way to remember the past." "Originally I though of a fashion show," said Shichkin, "but I wanted something different, something that would appeal to the ladies as an enjoyable gathering and to look at something that would bring back memories."

FIFTIES SUNCOOK BRIDE ­ Pauline Boisvert, of Suncook, stands next to the dress she wore for her wedding in 1953. Her dress, which she bought in Manchester, was made with a style of lace that was popular in the '50s. (Amy Fortier Photo)

Memories were certainly abundant at the event. The wedding dresses, which came from the 1920s and spanned every subsequent decade till 2000, were exhibited with wedding photographs, many of which were black and white or hand tinted. The owners of the dresses shared their memories and stories with other women around the tea tables.

When Shichkin was seeking out the dresses, the floodgates of memory were opened for many local women. They began to remember and share their stories. Even the evolution of the dress styles was telling of history ­ the dresses made during the war years were much simpler, whereas the dresses from the '50s were very frilly with lots of lace, sequins and beadwork, and were worn with large hoop skirts and petticoats.

Ingrid Lemaire, chairman of the Meet Me in Suncook committee, said seeing the women come together was what made their work so gratifying.

"This is what community is all about; people want to identify with a place and reflect on the past."

Allenstown

No ATV trails, thanks to a typo

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Neighbors of Bear Brook Park have won their battle against all-terrain vehicle trails in the state park ­ at least for this year.
On March 11, the New Hampshire Senate voted to stall a piece of legislation, Senate Bill 349 (SB349), that would have allowed recreational trails for ATV users into the park.

Neighbors have battled the trails for several years, but in the end it was a typo that blocked the recreational vehicles from Bear Brook Park.

The trails were originally approved with an older piece of legislation, known as House Bill 1273. However, after the legislation was already written, lawmakers discovered a mistake in the text of the bill. Lawmakers sponsoring that bill had intended to say that no trail can come with 400 feet of any public well in the park. Instead, the legislation mandated the distance from the wellhead must be 4,000 feet. Because there are several wellheads in the park, this effectively prevented trail construction.

"That's what it was, absolutely ­ a typo. One extra zero. As soon as the people from Allenstown heard about it, they came in droves and hung their hat on the mistake." ­ State Sen. Robert Flanders

This legislative session, Sen. Robert Flanders sponsored SB349, which would have reduced the 4,000-foot limit back to 400 feet. The March 11 vote by the Senate sent the bill to a study committee and will not be brought up again this legislative session.
Allenstown resident Armand Verville, a Bear Brook neighbor who has been active in opposing the trails, said he was pleased with the recent vote. Verville said he hopes the new study on the issue will settle the question.

"I really do believe in the system," he said. "If the trails end up in Bear Brook, it's because they were meant to be. But I simply feel that (right now) it's not appropriate and I think they've got a lot of problems to resolve."

Flanders said he was frustrated that trails were going to be blocked by what was essentially a typographical error.
"That's what it was, absolutely ­ a typo. One extra zero," he said. "As soon as the people from Allenstown heard about it, they came in droves and hung their hat on the mistake."

Flanders said he introduced a letter from the anonymous staffer who made the error taking blame for the mistake, but the Allenstown residents were able to sway enough support.

The trails have received significant opposition from not only adjacent landowners but from Allenstown police and town officials. Allenstown's state senator, Jack Barnes (R-District 17), who voted against the measure, said the town was struggling for tax dollars and the trails would not help the situation.

"A concern is that 51 percent of the town is taken up by the state park that doesn't send any taxes for the town," he said. "And how are the police, already on a limited budget, supposed to patrol? If someone gets hurt, who pays to go in there? "

Flanders disputed this reasoning and said the real reason for opposition by Allenstown residents was much simpler.

"It's 'Not in my backyard!' There's no other reason," he said. "And my position is those ATVs are here. We don't like them, they're nasty things, but we still have to make a place for them."

Flanders went on to say that blocking official trails would not be solving anything.

"I think they're making a big mistake, because they think by not having any trails they're going to keep people out, and they're not," he said.

Verville disagreed and suggested that opening up legal trails would only encourage ATV-ers to stray farther into the park.

"Our argument is that even if they put the trails in there, the ATVers do not want a nice flat comfortable trail," he said. "They want a challenge. They want hills, they want mud, they want wetlands to run through. They want excitement."

Both Verville and Barnes said they were worried that another amendment to HB1273 might be slipped into an unrelated piece of legislation later in the session.

"I'll be all awake looking for that, and everything that comes across I'll look at," Barnes said. "I will be watching and hopefully something doesn't slide by me. And if it does, there will be a problem with whoever slipped it through."

Hooksett Town Meeting

Hooksett town budget up 14 percent this year

By TIM RYAN
Staff Writer
editor@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Voters will head into the town's deliberative session of Town Meeting with a number of warrant articles to debate, including a plan to utilize the Hooksett Village School as a community center and town hall space.

The meeting will take place Saturday, April 3, at 1 p.m. at Cawley Middle School; the vote on the budget and warrant items will be Tuesday, May 11. The deliberative session is the last point where voters can amend the ballot before it goes to a vote.
Voters will be deciding on the $12,883,164 town operating budget, which has a $1,577,856 increase over last year's budget of $11,305,299. That's an almost 14 percent increase just for the operating budget.

They'll also consider 28 other warrant articles.

Town Councilor George Longfellow said there is a lot on the ballot, but the items are there for a reason.

"I would rather not see a default budget," he said. "The things wouldn't be in there if they weren't important."

Article 10, which was unanimously supported by the council, asks voters to approve acceptance of the Village School and more than 15 acres of land for governmental, civic and public education use. The measure would also include $75,775 for the maintenance and utilities for the site.

Longfellow said the measure would ease the strain on existing town buildings.

"It's a great opportunity," he said. "Now we have to see how the people decide."

Article 3 asks voters to approve $460,000 in bonds for the construction and expansion of the sewer system on Deerhead Street, Bartlett Street, Fairview Circle and Castle Drive. The measure was submitted by petition, and is recommended by a council vote of 4-2.

Several articles were unanimously recommended by town council. Article 5 asks voters to approve a withdrawal of $85,000 from the solid waste disposal special revenue fund to purchase a replacement tractor for the trailer that hauls solid waste.

Other articles the council unanimously recommended include a plan to place $20,000 into the town's computer development fund; to place $16,800 into the transfer station live-bottom trailer capital reserve fund; $10,000 for the establishment of a capital reserve fund to update assessing records to meet certification criteria; $25,000 for the town's emergency radio communication system capital reserve fund; and $65,000 for the library HVAC system development capital reserve fund.

Also recommended by a majority of the council is $150,000 for the establishment of a capital reserve fund; $70,000 for the fire department's air packs and bottles capital reserve fund; $90,000 for a six-wheel dump truck with a plow and sander for the highway department; $10,000 for the establishment of a fire department computer capital reserve fund; $15,000 for the police computer system development capital reserve fund; $10,000 for the parks and recreation facilities development fund; and a measure to enter into a lease/purchase agreement for a vacuum sweeper/catch basin cleaner for the highway department, with $32,960 as the first payment.

Recommended by the council in a 4-2 vote are $54,294 for pay increases to non-union town personnel; $25,000 for establishing a capital reserve fund to build containment sheds for recyclables at the transfer station; $40,000 to establish an expendable trust fund for repairs on town buildings; $91,822 for a full time engineer; $23,000 for a staff car for the fire department; $50,000 from the parks and recreation capital reserve fund to reimburse the Hooksett Youth Athletic Association for lighting at Peterbrook Park; and $15,013 for a part time purchasing agent.

By a 5-3 vote, the council recommended $60,000 for the establishment of a capital reserve fund for the design of a municipal town building.

A few items on the ballot received even 4-4 votes and thus were not recommended by a majority of the town council. Those include $34,086 for a part-time building inspector/ code enforcement officer; $30,000 for the establishment of a capital reserve fund for aerial photography; $25,000 to purchase a pickup truck with a plow for the highway department; and $59,680 for 10 call firefighters.

Several items that will go before the voters were not recommended by a majority of town council members. The council did not recommend, by a 5-3 vote, $61,588 for the first year's payment of a fire engine truck; by a 6-2 vote, $40,000 to establish a capital reserve fund for Access TV equipment; and by a 6-0 vote, a petition for the town to rescind the prior authorization to raise funds to add a composting operation to the existing wastewater treatment plant.

Auburn, Candia

Snowstorm forces birth on highway

Candia woman has fifth child on Route 101 in Auburn

By JUDITH DIONNE
Staff Writer
jdionne@yourneighborhoodnews.com

The snow fell heavy and steady outside. The two women sat quietly inside the maroon mini-van. It crept along Route 101 west in Auburn heading towards the Elliot Hospital in Manchester. The driver concentrated on the road, the passenger was wracked with labor pains, which had been steady since before they left the house at 6:15 p.m on Tuesday, March 16.

The passenger, Denise Perry of Candia, was kneeling, facing the rear of the car, holding the backrest of the seat. The contractions intensified, coupled with incredible pressure. She knew what she was feeling meant one thing: Her fifth child was coming, now, in the van.

"I never expected anything like this to happen," she said. "With my previous four labors, I had two cesarean sections and two V-BACs, (vaginal births after cesarean). Although, compared with my other children, Leah was pretty small, weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces. My fourth child, Michael, was 10 pounds 2 ounces," said Perry. Earlier in the day, when Perry began feeling contractions, she wasn't sure it was labor. It felt more like stomach cramps than contractions, she said. When she was certain it was labor, around 3 p.m., she was so busy getting things in order for the family, she lost track of time and didn't pay attention to timing her contractions, she said. "I knew when I called the doctors they would want to know how far apart the contractions were," said Perry. "When I finally stopped to time them before 5 p.m., they were under five minutes apart." Shortly after she spoke to someone at the doctor's office,, she called close friend Katie Bard of Manchester and waited for her arrival, said Perry. Because Denise's husband, Michael Perry, is serving in Iraq, Perry is staying with friends in Candia. They weren't home, so she called Bard.

IS THAT A SMIRK? Denise Perry holds her little surprise, Leah, one week old, while big brother Michael, 1-1/2, leans over his sister to give her a kiss. (Judith Dionne Photo)

"Before we left the house we really didn't talk much, Denise was in a lot of pain. I wasn't thinking we should stay and call an ambulance. I had one thing on my mind and that was to get Denise to the hospital," said Bard.

"I knew I had to have been 10 centimeters dilated (ready for delivery) when I left the house because of the amount of pressure I was feeling, but I just had to go," said Perry.

They got in Perry's Ford Windstar minivan because it was better in the snow than Bard's small Honda car. Unfortunately they were traveling during the heaviest part of the storm, in rush hour traffic, and they weren't making very good time, said Bard.
"Because of the traffic and the snow, it was very slow going," she said. "I couldn't be urgent during a situation where you needed to be urgent. I just felt like there was nothing I could do, so I just kept driving."

Within minutes of leaving the house, Bard said Perry was quiet, then suddenly said she wasn't going to make it and asked her to call an ambulance, which she did.

"I called 911 on my cell phone and just kept driving. I couldn't do anything else. Then the baby was born right there on the front seat," said Bard.

"I gave three pushes," said Perry. "After the second one, I reached down and held Leah's head and eased her out."
After the baby arrived, Bard pulled over into the breakdown lane just before Exit 1 and kept talking to the 911 operator. They wrapped Leah in some of the clothes Perry was bringing to the hospital and waited for help to arrive, she said.

"The 911 operator told us to tie off the umbilical cord," said Perry. "Katie and I took a shoe lace from my sneaker, although I had a knot in it so it was kind of hard to unlace. I tied it off and held Leah on my lap and waited," said Perry, smiling.

Auburn Fire and Rescue arrived before the ambulance did, said Auburn Fire Chief Bruce Phillips. They asked Perry if she wanted to cut the baby's umbilical cord and she did.

"My husband Mike got to cut the other baby's cords, so it was kind of nice I got to cut Leah's," said Perry.

Next, Phillips said, they made sure mother and baby stayed warm until the ambulance came. They also draped the van in blankets, so they could have privacy, he said.

After the ambulance arrived and took the pair to the hospital, Bard said she followed along to make sure everything was all right with her friend and the baby.

Since they've been home, Perry said they've been in touch with Mike, a medic in the military. Sad he missed the delivery, Mike's pretty excited by the whole thing, she said.

"Although, I think if he'd been home this wouldn't have happened because he's so in-tune to me, he would have gotten me to the hospital on time," said Perry.

Candia

Public's last chance for input on Master Plan is March 30

By JUDITH DIONNE
Staff Writer
jdionne@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Growth is an inevitable offshoot of life. Plants and animals, people and communities grow. However, if growth is not monitored, it can be overwhelming. If a garden is not watched, it will be overrun with weeds and die. If a person does not watch what they eat, obesity and poor health are inevitable. The same goes for growth of a community ­ if it is not monitored, congestion, pollution and overpopulation will ensue.

The apparent question however is: Who monitors the growth? Obviously, the garden is watched by the gardener and a person must govern their own wellbeing. Watching a community is tricky, however; the wrong people can restrict a community and make it uninviting or leave it completely unchecked.

In the case of Candia, a group of dedicated volunteers emerged from the "Envision Candia" steering committee and the planning board's master plan subcommittee. These groups formed the Master Plan Committee, which is in the final stages of updating the town's Master Plan, a document that guides growth in town.

The committee is holding its final public meeting on Tuesday, March 30, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Henry W. Moore school. Following the meeting, the group plans to present their work to the planning board at its April meeting for one last hearing.

"The committee needs final input on the 10-year implementation plan, which will be the focus of this meeting," said Ron Thomas, committee chairman. "We need the community's reaction to it, suggestions and criticism of it."

"To be successful, the committee will need decisive input on corrections to the plan and last-minute suggestions and comments," agreed Candia resident and committee member Al Couch.

The result of the committee's two years of work is a master plan that covers three key areas of the town's natural, built and social infrastructures, said Thomas. Its two volumes include the vision statement and land use implementation plan, which will be the primary focus of this meeting.

To put the finishing touches on the Master Plan and make certain it will work for the town, the committee needs a large number of residents to turn out and participate, said Thomas. They hope to have a wide cross section of people to make certain everyone has a final say in readying this document.

A draft of the Master Plan was handed out at the Town Meeting, said Thomas, and they told everyone about the meeting. He also said they'll be serving refreshments and even have door prizes, hoping that will encourage a larger turnout.