The Hooksett Banner ­ August 12, 2004

 

Hess: 'Guilty' Man forced to enter hospital after his house burns down Councilors approve ceiling on impact fees Rezoning Four Corners holds up master plan OK Stay-at-home mothers find support with Moms Club	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/

Hooksett/Weare

Hess: 'Guilty'

Weare man gets suspended sentence, admits guilt in Barney evidence case

By RUSS CHOMA Staff Writer rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com A Weare man pleaded guilty to a felony charge of evidence tampering in connection with the investigation of the brutal kidnapping and torture of a small dog last summer. Stephen Hess, 19, of Buxton School Road, Weare, pleaded guilty Monday, Aug. 9, to the charges in Hillsborough County Superior Court. Hess could have faced five and a half to seven years in jail, but because of his plea, he was given a one-year suspended sentence. He was also given two years of probation and ordered to complete drug and alcohol abuse counseling.

Barney the poodle

Last summer, a toy poodle named Barney disappeared, then was found several days later after being duct-taped and dragged behind a vehicle across pavement. Hess was arrested Aug. 25 of last year, after police discovered several pieces of evidence from the investigation ­ two pieces of duct tape with Barney's fur on them ­ in Hess's Weare trailer.

Barney's owners, Ruth and Lou Mariano of Hooksett, who said their pet is once again thriving, heralded the guilty plea as a positive step.

"We were gratified to see Mr. Hess in court, entering his plea," they said in a released statement.

Weare police have not filed any charges for the actual torture of Barney, but in affidavits filed at the time of his arrest, police suggested Hess might have had motive to torture Barney.

Prior to Hess's sentencing, the Marianos read a statement in court, telling Hess that if he wanted to heal old wounds, he would "stand before this court and in the presence of his family and will finally speak the rest of the truth."

Hess' lawyer, Anthony DiFruscia, denied his client had anything to do with the torture of Barney.

"He has made it clear that he knows nothing about the actual 'dog-knapping,'" DiFruscia said.

DiFruscia referred to Barney's torture as a "hideous thing" and suggested Weare police had not been thorough in their initial investigation.

"I'm not faulting them necessarily," he said. "But had they done their own investigation quickly and thoroughly to begin with, heavens knows what would've happened."

DiFruscia also refused to acknowledge his client's guilt in the tampering case. The plea bargain had been made, he said, because there "was sufficient facts that if a jury believed it, he could be found guilty."

"(Hess has) got a 14-month-old child, he's gotten married and he wanted to put this behind him," DiFruscia said. "That's the reason for his plea ­ the family, himself and getting on with his life."

The Marianos praised Weare police for continuing to investigate the torture case.

"We have been assured that the Weare police are still aggressively pursuing this aspect of the case," their statement said.

Weare police did not return calls for comment on the status of the investigation by press time.

Auburn

Man forced to enter hospital after his house burns down

By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer
dcormier@yourneighborhoodnews.com

The director of the town library, Edie Cummings, said Joe Sholomith, who often went to the library, seemed like a nice, quiet guy.
"He's very quiet and very pleasant," Cummings said. "He never bothers anybody."

Now, Sholomith is in an area hospital after an involuntarily emergency hospitalization following the discovery that his house burned down, said Auburn Police Chief Edward Picard. The hospitalization came after his house at 311 Chester Road burned down on Tuesday, Aug. 3. An investigation as to how the fire started is being conducted by the state fire marshal's office. Auburn Fire Chief Bruce Phillips said the fire was reported at 9:04 that morning, and fire trucks arrived two minutes later. The fire started in the garage and the only resident, Sholomith, was not home, Phillips said. Dogs were used to sniff for fire accelerants but found none. Sholomith and neighbors were interviewed in the investigation, but how the fire started remains a mystery. Cummings said she arrived at the library a little before 10 a.m. Tuesday morning and opened everything up before going outside to retrieve some items from her trunk. Sholomith apparently arrived at the library while Cummings was around the corner at her car. She said suddenly the police were inside and they urged Cummings to wait outside for a few minutes.

NOTHING LEFT ­ Joe Sholomith's house at 311 Chester Road in Auburn was burned to the ground on Tuesday, Aug. 3. Nothing is left except for rubble and a few melted trash cans. The fire is under investigation. Sholomith was not home at the time. (Devon Cormier Photos)

"It was very strange ­ everyone telling me not to go in and no one would say why," Cummings said.

Cummings said it was between 9:45 and 10 a.m. when this all happened. She said Sholomith came out in handcuffs and was put in a cruiser before being uncuffed and getting in the car with Picard.

Picard said Sholomith was not arrested, but went readily with Picard to discuss the burning of his house over coffee. Sholomith was then involuntarily admitted to a nearby hospital. Sholomith's sister went to retrieve his cat, who neighbors had been inconsistently feeding since the fire. The cat was friendly but hungry, and she took the cat to her home in Massachusetts. Aside from the cat, nothing was left of Sholomith's home, a one-floor house tucked on a hill a few hundred feet from the street, except for a few melted trash cans and three chairs. The chairs near his home were surrounded by empty water bottles. Animal Control Officer Jarlene Cornett said Sholomith was a strange and quiet man who spent time reading at the library and sitting at the end of his driveway. Sholomith's age is unknown and he didn't appear to have a job or a driver's license, but was seen around town riding on his bicycle or walking around.

HOMELESS ­ Neighbors fed Sholomith's cat, which was left homeless after the fire. Empty cans of cat food sat in the trash can and the cat stood crying by her empty bowls. Sholomith's sister took the cat home to Massachusetts with her when she found out it had been left behind.

The investigation is ongoing. Firefighters came from Derry, Chester, Sandown, Hampstead, Hooksett, Bedford, Candia and Manchester to put the blaze out.

"It was a good combined effort by all of the departments," Phillips said. "We just had to protect the surrounding properties and sheds and keep the fire from spreading to the woods."

Hooksett

Councilors approve ceiling on impact fees

By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer
dcormier@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Town councilors voted 5-2 to put a ceiling on commercial and industrial impact fees at their last meeting in an attempt to squash excessively high price tags on new development.

Councilors Michael DiBitetto and Phillip Fitanides voted against the ceiling, claiming the number, $35,000, was arbitrary and unfair.

DiBitetto said he understands that fees can become too high (hundreds of thousands of dollars) for large buildings. Now, his concern is that a smaller building will pay the same amount as an extraordinarily large one, tipping the scales in the bigger business's favor.

"I felt that the cap was arbitrary," DiBitetto said. "We had developed a fee schedule based on a study by a consultant and all of a sudden we just amend it? There was no rationale for making that determination."

Hooksett Town Planner Charles Watson said the numbers could probably be more fair, but that he doesn't think they are unfair.

Watson compared it to tickets you would buy at a carnival or fair. Children pay less than adults, but unusually small adults still pay the same adult price.

"There is an element of unfairness there," Watson said. "I don't think it is possible to get it refined much more, but I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible."

Watson spoke in favor of the ceiling, and said he believes it will help attract bigger businesses. Watson said the problem with high impact fees came to light when Huttig, a window and door manufacturer, was approved to build a 150,000-square-foot building for its headquarters.

Huttig was not aware of the fees and is reluctant to pay. Watson said he is unsure if the ceiling will now apply to Huttig, citing that there may be legal issues involved in that decision.

There are impact fees for new schools, parks and recreation and public safety. The planning board is now considering adding fees for roadways. The only impact fees for industrial and commercial development are public safety impact fees that go directly to capital costs, such as new fire trucks or a new police station.

The fee schedule for schools that applies to residential development was implemented in 2001, and the public safety and parks and recreation impact fees were implemented in October 2002. The fee per square foot for commercial and industrial development ranges from $1.03 to $1.14. The ceiling is now $35,000, leaving a 35,000-square-foot building with the same fee as a 200,000-square-foot building.

Councilor Doug St. Pierre Sr. said the cap is necessary to keep larger businesses from bypassing Hooksett and going to neighboring towns, such as Pembroke, which have no impact fees.

"It was just a detriment to community development," St. Pierre said. "We felt that because the public safety issue didn't impact the town all the way out to 250 square feet, this would be the best level to offset the costs but won't be detrimental to development."

DiBitetto fears the young plan is being killed too soon, and suggested other ways to lower fees. He suggested looking at each building separately to decide the impact on public safety, which some councilors said would be tedious.

St. Pierre said they will be reviewing this issue again after the first of the year to see how things are going.

Candia

Rezoning Four Corners holds up master plan OK

By JENNIFER CLAISE
Staff Writer
jclaise@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Proposed zoning changes at the Four Corners and along Route 43 seem to be the main hitch in approving the town's master plan, according to Planning Board Chairman Mary Girard.

Girard said about 75 people turned out earlier this summer at the last public hearing about the proposed changes, and several expressed their concern that rezoning could change the rural character of the town.

According to a draft of the master plan, the Four Corners ­ formed at the junction of routes 43 and 27 ­ would be considered for "small to medium-scale commercial, residential and institutional development."

Currently, Girard said that the land is zoned as a "mixed use" area, consisting of both commercial and residential developments.
The corners are currently occupied by the Maiden-Petrin Funeral Home, Precision Trucking, a private home and Candia House of Pizza.

Girard said that those existing businesses, along with any others in the town, would be protected by a grandfather clause should rezoning occur.

Candia resident Viktor Nafranowicz said he's doubtful that the rezoning will occur.

"Only if it's in our budget," he said. "If we can't afford it, then no. I don't think it's going to happen anyway because a majority of people in town don't want it."

The planning board will meet for a work session to discuss the issue on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at town hall.
Girard said it is her hope the board will be able to make headway in resolving the issue at that work session.

"I certainly hope we can come up with something," she said. "I really don't want to see this thing go on forever."

Candia

Stay-at-home mothers find support with Moms Club

By KAREN BRAYNARD
Correspondent

When Debbie Barbuto moved to Candia from Massachusetts several years ago, she was a stay-at-home mom with small children, and felt out of touch with her new community. She decided to reach out toward other stay-at-home moms for companionship. After three-and-a-half years of sharing and support with Derry-area moms, she decided it was time to start her own group closer to home.

The Candia Area Moms Club held its first official meeting Wednesday, July 7, at the Auburn Safety Complex. Locally, this group supports mothers in Candia, Raymond, Hooksett, Manchester, Auburn and Chester. Internationally, the Moms Club is a nonprofit group that strives to bring stay-at-home moms together. Barbuto is the local chapter president, with a membership of eight so far. She anticipates membership to go up in the fall when families get back into their school-year routines. Although mostly run in an informal manner, the Moms Club does have a charter and by-laws. Each chapter holds monthly business meetings and performs at least one annual community service project. "There is no other similar support group in the area," said Manchester resident Nancy O'Leary, mother of three children under the age of 5. "I have looked for years for a structured group of stay-at-home moms. Now I have a group to schedule play time, activities, and even have a Moms Night Out with."

Moms Club President Debbie Barbuto (standing) reviews the agenda of the club's first official meeting on July 7th. New members Sue DeMannche (center)and her children 2-month-old Louis and 2-year-old Gabriel of Candia, and Laura DiMaggio of Hooksett and her 2-year-old daughter Kayleigh prepare for the meeting. (Karen Braynard Photo)

The organization began in 1983 and has grown to over 1,500 chapters with more than 75,000 members across the United States. Their charter provides a support group for mothers who choose to stay at home to raise their children; to provide a forum for topics of interest to mothers; to help children in the community; and to perform at least one service project yearly for children in need.

"There are many advantages to belonging to a support group like the Moms Club," said Barbuto. "You can learn a lot about your community and your way around town because of all the activities and events your chapter might have."

Another advantage is the group discount members receive when they take children to scheduled activities. While a few moms work part time, most of us are single-income families and group rates make it much more affordable for families with several children.

"But, probably the best advantage is that you make really good friends," said Barbuto. "You help one another and you realize there are many women out there who share that common thread of staying home with their children."

Although there are children present at their meetings and part of their focus is to provide activities for the children, Barbuto stresses that the club is for the moms, for their support, morale and well being.

For more information about the Candia Area Moms Club, feel free to contact Debbie Barbuto at 483-8183.