"Your Hometown News"	Forms Obituaries Pick up a paper Advertising Info Photo Reprints Subscribe! Contact Us
Bedford Bulletin - Bow Times - Goffstown News - Hooksett Banner - The NH Mirror - Salem Observer

A new library plan IRS: guilty Bus monitors sought by former bus driver Budgeters keep Auburn school requests to the bare minimum Pembroke schools ask for $18 million budget Classical radio station WCNH to sign on Feb. 29 Learning to fly

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/

Epsom

A new library plan

By RUSS CHOMA Staff Writer rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com The debate over whether to build a new Epsom library has gone on for years ­ decades even. But one fact has remained constant throughout. The present library is much too small. Sometimes it seems so small, it's almost funny. A full-grown man can barely fit between the stacks. If one person sits down, there is no reading area. It only takes six children to reach capacity during summer reading programs. Of course there is nothing funny about any of that. The building is inaccessible to those with disabilities, it is difficult to navigate the stacks, and children simply have nowhere to go. This year, supporters of a new library are hoping things will change. Over the past several years, two warrant items to build a new facility have narrowly missed the mark, and this year supporters think they have a winner. The new library plan is a pared-down design, without any town offices included, and will cost $800,000 ­ less than half the cost of the proposal made in 2002. To make it even more appealing to voters, the total cost to town taxpayers will be $250,000. The remaining money would come from a capital reserve fund and private fundraising efforts which have already collected almost $200,000 in pledges.

TIGHT SQUEEZE ­ Chris Porter stands between the stacks at the Epsom Town Library, where there's barely enough room for a man to fit between. (Russ Choma Photo)

Harvey Harkness, a library trustee and member of the fundraising campaign, said he feels Epsom is finally ready to support the library proposal.

"At this point, there seems to be the feeling there's a lot of support," he said. "You're getting a brand new library for a quarter of a million dollars."

Current frustrations

Valerie Long, the head of the Capital Campaign Committee, is confident about this proposal. And she's frustrated with people who seem to believe Epsom is a "poor" town that cannot afford a new library.

Long said she joined the effort to get a new library when she volunteered to help out at the current library and came to a jarring realization.

"The library doesn't even have a public bathroom!" she said, laughing, but then turned serious. "I could not believe a town of this size did not have a library. This is not a poor town, so I keep saying, 'How come? How come?'"

Margaret Porter, another Epsom resident participating on the library planning committee, said she's a writer and regularly uses the library for research. She said she has always been impressed with how much the current library has been able to do with so little.

"I was amazed the staff was so friendly and they do so much in such a small space," Porter said. "With the growth of the town, there are more and more children and more adults coming in and wanting to use the computers. There's limited space and it just becomes more and more apparent."

Chief among the library supporters concerns are the cramped shelves ­ there are only 24 inches between some shelves ­ as well as the lack of a bathroom and a dangerous parking situation.

Additionally, the library's 18,000-volume collection has outgrown the current 1,300-square-foot space, and a portion of the collection is now being kept in a storage trailer.

Nancy Claris, library director, said not only is this inconvenient for visitors, it's causing damage to the collection.

"It's always damp, and there have been some squirrels in there," she said. "I think we may be losing some."

Porter said she sympathizes with voters who are concerned about their pocketbooks when they go to the polls, but said at some point this problem will have to be addressed.

"If people think the town can get by with the present library, they're kidding themselves," she said. "(The limited parking and traffic situation) is hazardous and the location is unsafe. The upkeep and the rental on the storage trailer are costing money. Building projects don't get cheaper over time, they just get more costly."

A chance to vote

Voters will have a chance to voice their opinion by voting on Articles 1 and 2 on the warrant in March. Both items approve funding for the library, but in different ways.

Article 1 seeks to bond the $250,000 and repay it over five years, while Article 2 would allow voters to pay it all off in one year.

Library supporters say they do not have a preference for one over the other, but strongly urge all voters to vote "Yes" for both.

"You don't need to split the vote," said Chris Porter, a member of the capital campaign. Porter explained that if both articles pass, Article One will go into effect. The warrants have also been carefully worded to make sure that if one passes and not the other, there will not be a conflict.

Since 1981, when the first Epsom library concept was proposed, it's been a long road. But by presenting a smaller library, funded largely by private donations, and by giving voters a choice on how to fund, supporters, like Margaret Porter, are cautiously optimistic.

"It really does seem like time to finish the job," she said.

Auburn

IRS: guilty

Auburn's Steven Swan faces jail time for breaking tax laws

By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Two hours after the jury went into deliberations, it convicted Steven Swan on 18 felony counts of violating the laws of the Internal Revenue Service.

Swan, who lived in Auburn and moved to Manchester after he had to sell his house, was charged with filing false and fraudulent tax returns, preparing false returns for others, and interfering with the administration of the Internal Revenue Laws.

Swan said he doesn't believe he is guilty of the violations because he believed in the theories of income tax protester Irwin Schiff at the time he filed and prepared the returns.

Schiff said the income tax charged by the federal government is a voluntary tax, and has published books and held seminars on the topic that tell people how they can claim they owe no income on federal tax returns.

From 1996 to 2002, Swan said he shared the tax theories of Schiff with others through his own seminars and a Web site. He also prepared tax returns for other people.

Congress changed the tax appeals process in 1998, according to Swan, and he said it became more difficult to defend a no-income tax return in court. A person filing a no-income tax return is entitled to a hearing before the IRS can claim money from them, he said. Some legal research made it clear to Swan that the reasons for claiming no income wouldn't stand up in court.

"A lot of the stuff I had just taken for granted from Irwin Schiff," he said.

Despite the lack of legal standing, Swan still believes that income tax is voluntary and said he is innocent. He said he didn't intend to violate the law when he filed his own tax returns and prepared the tax returns of others.

Swan was arrested in March of 2003, and was allowed to live in Auburn and Manchester because he wasn't considered a flight risk. Sentencing is scheduled for May 19, and each federal charge could mean a sentence of up to three years and a fine of $250,000.

Swan said he plans to appeal the ruling and will continue to represent himself in court.

Candia

Bus monitors sought by former bus driver

By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com

A $40,000 warrant article is one local woman's answer to what she said are discipline problems on school buses.
If it passes, monitors would be hired to ride each of Candia's five buses on the morning and afternoon runs, keeping an eye on students, handling discipline situations and leaving the bus driver free to drive, said Cathy Rohrs.

But school board officials do not support the petitioned article, saying reports of discipline problems on the buses have decreased dramatically this year.

"If the numbers were there, we'd do something, but we've got less than half of the number of discipline slips we had last year," said William Zarges, chairman of the Candia School Board. "Unless there's an undercurrent we're missing, we just don't feel that we need to spend that kind of money."

Rohrs approached the school board last year about her concerns over student behavior on the buses.

As a former bus driver, Rohrs said she saw crowded buses dotted with a few trouble-making children as a recipe for disaster.

"As a bus driver, you're driving this big commercial vehicle and you're in charge of dozens of kids," she said. "It's an inherent problem."

Rohrs said she regularly had 60 children on her buses ­ sometimes more.

Board members, after working with school administration to beef up the bus riding rules and start keeping a close watch on the numbers of students on the buses, suggested Rohrs pitch the idea of bus monitors through a warrant article.

"The idea is to have five people riding on the buses, for approximately two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon," she said.

She said a monitor could also lend a hand with a new bus driver, helping to guide him or her along the route.

And while board members encouraged Rohrs to submit the warrant article, Zarges pointed to statistics coming out of the Henry W. Moore School this year.

Assistant Principal Jim Lewis said he collected 135 slips over the 10 school months last year. That's an average of 13.5 slips a month, he said.

"This year, I have personally only taken 18 slips," he said. "Are all the slips getting to me? I don't know, but there is a process of filling out forms and the drivers are all aware of it."

Lewis said school officials are happy to see an improvement in student behavior on the buses, chalking some of the change up to the new Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program that encourages and rewards good behavior.

Bus drivers, along with teachers, administration and other school staff, are all allowed to reward good behavior with tickets that can be redeemed for prizes.

"I see bus drivers handing out tickets and that could be part of this, too," he said.

And if they're confronted with bad behavior, the drivers now use carbon copy discipline slips. Copies are given to Lewis and Dianna Morency, terminal manager of Goffstown Truck Center, which hires the drivers.

Morency said all drivers are trained in student management, including how to deal with behavioral issues.

"We tell them to remember that they're the adult and to not get into arguments with the students," she said. "Everybody's different and everybody has a different tolerance level."

For Rohrs, the issue isn't so much about the politics involved with getting bus monitors as it is about student safety.

Another pair of adult eyes could make an enormous difference on the buses, she said.

"I like it that it's coming up this way so people talk about it and decide if it's something they want," she said.

Auburn

Budgeters keep Auburn school requests to the bare minimum

By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Program space is an undeniable problem at Auburn Village School, but the budget committee doesn't want to see another portable classroom added behind the building.

Balancing the educational programs with available space at the school is an issue the school board and administration have struggled with for at least the past five years, according to budget committee member Lew Theos. When Eric Wigode, assistant superintendent of schools for SAU 15, presented the final budget and warrant requests to the committee on Thursday, Feb. 12, Theos was firm in his belief that the school shouldn't put up another portable classroom.

"They should have put an addition on four or five years ago," he said.

Two portable classrooms and a modular building extension already occupy land behind the original school building off of Eaton Hill Road. Another portable classroom would take up part of the playground. It would cost the school $128,526 for the first year of a three-year lease agreement and costs associated with building set-up and classroom staff.

A Space and Needs Committee at Auburn Village School started looking for land for a new school building over a year ago, but have encountered obstacles with every parcel of land or regional plan they believe would work for a school. Budget Committee Chairman Bert Ouellette talked about the needs of the school after the budget meeting. He didn't participate in the budget presentations, but said he has watched the school add programs when space was already at a premium in the building.

"Take some drastic measures until you've solved the problem," he said.

The total school operating budget request is $8.56 million, and both the budget committee and school board support it.
Financial Director for SAU 15 Sally Waterhouse said she won't know the exact amount of the local school tax until the state releases the grant and aid amounts on Friday, Feb. 20.

Tuition to Memorial High School in Manchester and health insurance for school faculty and staff have caused most of the budget increase.

Student tuitions have gone up $575,000, due to increased per-student tuition and high school enrollment.

Per-student tuition to Memorial High School went from $6,700 for 2003-04 to $8,260 for 2004-05.

Building costs from Manchester are responsible for part of the increase because Manchester won't receive state aid toward building improvements until 2005-06. But the city's school system has to make the first payment on the bond principal this year.

A percentage of the bond payment is included in tuition costs for sending towns. Without the state aid, Manchester increased tuitions to cover the bond payment.

Students at Auburn Village School should see a new face in the library if voters approve the school budget. School board member Kathleen Porter said the budget includes a request for a part-time librarian so the regular librarian can have more time to include teaching in the library schedule.

Requests for a computer/ technical instructor, high school coordinator and media specialist were cut from the original budget request.

Town Meetings

Pembroke

Pembroke schools ask for $18 million budget

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

There are few items to discuss at the annual School District Meeting this year.

When voters head to the meeting on March 6, they won't see one of the biggest ticket items on other district's budget and warrant articles ­ a teacher's contract and the raises that come with it.

Negotiations between the school board and the teachers' association reached an impasse in late January, so voters will not have the opportunity to vote on a contract until next year.

As it currently stands, there are 11 warrant items, with only six relating to money. The largest item will be Article 9, the district's operating budget.

If approved by voters, $18,000,153 would be appropriated for the district. This is an increase over last year's budget by $510,234 or 2.9 percent.

School board chairman Clint Hanson said the budget did not contain many disputed issues.

"Because we don't have a collective bargaining agreement, the budget issue is pretty straightforward," Hanson said. "There's nothing that's particularly controversial or of concern."

Hanson also noted the budget committee and the school board are both recommending the operating budget as it stands.
Hanson described the rest of the warrants as "mundane." The single largest article besides the budget is Article 4, which seeks $100,000 for a special education trust fund.

The only petitioned article on the warrant is Article 8, which if approved, would put the official ballot law, commonly called SB2, into effect.

Under the official ballot law, the old style of School District Meeting would still take place, but voting on articles would be done at the polls a month later. At the meeting, called the deliberative session of School District Meeting, voters would have the power to amend any warrant articles but not vote on them until later.

The term SB2 comes from the law's designation as Senate Bill 2 before it was adopted as law and became RSA 40:13, or the offical ballot law.

Classical radio station WCNH to sign on Feb. 29

HOOKSETT ­ A new radio station run by a Hooksett group will sign on the air Sunday, Feb. 29.

WCNH-LP, to be known as "Classical 94.7," will play classical music 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The station should be audible in Concord, Pembroke and Bow, as well as in parts of Allenstown, Hooksett and Hopkinton.

The low-power FM station is the culmination of more than three years of work by Highland Community Broadcasting, a nonprofit organization committed to returning classical music to the local airwaves.

"Many generous people who love good music have made this possible," said Harry Kozlowski, president of Highland Community Broadcasting, and station manager of WCNH.

The noncommercial station was built and will be operated solely with listener contributions and underwriting support from local businesses.

To mark the occasion, a reception for contributors and guests will take place in Concord beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 29. Light fare and refreshments will be served, and members of the Concord Chorale will perform. At 2 p.m., after a brief ceremony, WCNH will officially begin broadcasting.

More information about WCNH, including information on how to make donations, can be found online at www.wcnh.org.

LEARNING TO FLY ­ Acting like a night creature can look a little rehearsed without practice. First-grader Ethan Landry, right, "flew" across the stage during a rehearsal for the play "Oliver Twist," which was organized by the traveling acting school Children's Stage Adventures. Landry and Sophia Shay, left, were two of about 50 students who participated in the week-long program before performing two shows on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Auburn Village School. (Lara Skinner Photo)