He would like to have people send him a note or a card, or give him a call and catch him up on what's been going on for the past four months or so. He is in the Catholic Medical Center in Room F-213, and his telephone number is 663-7913.

Miles has been told he'll be transferred to another facility as soon as a bed is available, and he's hoping it will be to the Hillsborough County Nursing Home so people from Goffstown can get in to see him.

During the past week, he's started to have some strength and feeling returning to his left leg, which was the one affected by the stroke. His left arm was also affected.

So if you've been watching the planning board on Goffstown TV lately and you've missed Miles, now you know where he is.

He resigned from the planning board recently because obviously he cannot serve in his condition, but he's hoping to get well enough to once again be a planning board member someday. Let's hope he does.
Marie Boyle, Goffstown

We currently have a budgetary Town Meeting form of government, and would continue to have, but instead of its being directed by citizen part-time selectmen through a town administrator, Goffstown governance would be directed by a trained, experienced, full-time professional town manager.

The manager would be carrying out the policies of, and enforcing the ordinances of the town council. Instead of five selectmen there would be seven councilors.

The town meeting would be in two parts, as at present, a deliberative or ballot-determination session, in which items are discussed and possibly amended, and a voting session, in which town elective offices are decided, as well as budgetary and zoning items.

New would be a board of election officers, but not really different in most aspects from what we have now. The moderator would continue to have the same duties and responsibilities, but would add the responsibility, very rarely used, of naming people to fill multiple vacancies in the supervisors of the checklist.

If there is only one such vacancy to fill, the two remaining supervisors would appoint someone until the next election.

The supervisors would also add a new duty, likewise once held by the selectmen, of naming someone to fill the vacancy in the office of moderator, also until the next election.

Keeping the checklist up to the minute and helping to oversee elections would still be their major responsibility. With the moderator and the three supervisors of the checklist, the fifth election officer would be the town clerk. This is in addition to the myriad of duties the town clerk already has, but is not a new duty to the office.

Elections would still be by non-partisan ballot; polling places would remain as is, hours would stay from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and people in line at closing time would still be able to vote.

Recounts and notices of election, etc., would remain the same, as would the handling of absentee voting.

Ballots would contain, as appropriate - candidate for offices, annual operation budget, bond articles, collective bargaining agreements, petitioned initiatives and referenda, zoning articles, charter amendments, special articles for special purposes, and other articles as approved by the council. You still have a great deal to say about how the town runs.

Except as otherwise provided in this charter, all powers of the town shall be vested in a town council. And, of course, you the voters, elect the seven members and can control how many terms each has in office.

Three-year terms will be staggered, 2-2-3. What the council is, and what it does is set out in the charter, from their organizational meeting, the election of their chair, requirements for office, filling vacancies (which they do themselves), conflicts, salaries (which the voters determine), exercises of powers, meetings, rules of procedure and so on. This is all pretty much as it is now.

Also, as the selectmen determine ordinances, so will the council, starting with existing ones. State law very much determines the matters of introduction, form, distribution and filing, publication, hearings, and enactment of ordinances, including zoning ordinances, building codes, emergency ordinances and emergency appropriations.

Even the recording, indexing, printing and maintenance, and revision of codification are regulated by the state. However, all this is already done as per state statue, and so remains unchanged.

The next letter will be very largely about the proposed town manager. Watch for it!
Charles W. Carr, Goffstown

It wasn't long ago that the shelves at the food pantry were bare. Through various food drives held by local schools as well as increased support in supermarket donations and local church contributions, our shelves are once again stocked to help take us through the months of winter.

The last couple of months were a very busy time at the pantry as we continued to service over 50 families a month in addition to coordinating our annual holiday program.

This year the holiday program provided assistance to more than 150 families, helping more than 500 of our neighbors during both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

A special thank you to all the organizations that held food drives, including the Goffstown public schools, The Villa Augustina, Trinity High School, various pre-schools, YMCA Schools Out Program and the office of this very paper.

All of the drives helped to stock pantry shelves to levels not seen in quite sometime.

The success of the holiday program is a result of generous donations as well as a dedicated group of volunteers that somehow manage to pull it all together year after year.

We would like to recognize the following: The Goffstown High School student body donating all the nonperishables for our Christmas program, Crystal Boyd for her assistance in setting up for Thanksgiving, Pinardville Lions for their donation of Thanksgiving turkeys. The continued support we receive from Cumberland Farms and the Devriendt family. Thank you to Rick Simons and the trusty PSNH truck for providing the necessary transportation at Christmas, as well as Al Packard for organizing the Christmas program at St. Lawrence Church.

To all the volunteers who showed up at both Thanksgiving and Christmas to pack and distribute food, nothing gets done without you.

Once again, thank you to the community and all those who support Network throughout the year. May you enjoy a happy and healthy New Year.
Kristin Shaw, president

During my tenure, the state's unemployment rate decreased from 5.1 percent to 3.1 percent, far below the national average of 5.4 percent. New business startups reached a record high. We even produced the first surplus in five years without any new taxes or tax increases. Indeed, the New Hampshire advantage is alive and well. However, there is more to what makes New Hampshire great than just statistics.

I would like to share with you one of the highlights of my tenure as governor. Over the past two years, I have met with, corresponded with or interacted with literally thousands of New Hampshire citizens; however, one of these interactions will stay with me forever.

My first interaction with Sara (let us call her Sara for anonymity purposes) occurred during the normal course of state business. I initiated a program through my office by which I send a citation to every honor roll student in the state as a means of recognizing his or her academic achievement. Sara was an honor roll student and received one of my citations. Sara wrote me a thank you note. In her note, Sara expressed gratitude for the citation but also concern about missing her family.

You see, Sara was living in a foster home at the time she wrote me. It turned out that Sara was removed from her parents by the state a year earlier. Sara's note to me said she was sad and that she missed her parents. She had trouble sleeping at night, and she asked if I could help her get back to her parents.

I immediately called the commissioner of Health and Human Services, the state agency responsible for child protection, and inquired about Sara's case. Indeed, Sara was removed from her home, but after a thorough investigation of the matter it was determined that Sara could return home, yet Sara still was not able to go home. Why? Sara was the victim of the bureaucracy. The state bureaucratic process required a judge to determine if Sara should go home or not. Sara was forced to wait, desperate to return home, for the "process" to work its way out. I simply couldn't let the situation continue without doing something. I made a few calls to resolve the matter immediately. The next day, Sara was reunited with her parents. I spoke to Sara by phone a few weeks later and she was doing great.

It is not the fact that I had the power as governor to help Sara that makes me share this story with you. It is the fact that state government often fails to protect the people who pay for it. Sara should not have had to ask me for help. When I took office, it was with a mandate to change the culture that allowed Sara to be separated from her mom for so long. I vowed to fight for the citizens of the state to ensure government worked for them, not against them. I am proud to say, together, we have made progress.

We have used technology to improve services to the people. We have fundamentally changed our court system to ensure it is focused more on the "family." We have initiated a change in health care that will allow our senior loved ones to live out their lives in their own homes. We have improved the safety on children through the amber alert system and my child protection task force. We have initiated programs to stop drug addiction, and passed tough laws to prevent DWI fatalities. We have stood up to big drug companies by allowing for the re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada. We are the only state in the country suing the big oil companies to remove MTBE in our ground water.

My administration has stood up for and fought for the taxpayer. We have fought for all the Saras out there. Indeed, we have accomplished much and have proven that the solution to our problems doesn't always come from the taxpayer's pocket.

We live in the greatest state because we are unique. Our live free or die attitude must continue in order for us to maintain our New Hampshire Advantage. We must continue to fight the status quo for the other Saras in New Hampshire. I thank you for giving me an opportunity to fight for our great state.
Craig R. Benson, Governor

The school system, SAU 19 and the families are a wonderful, wonderful caring group. I will miss you.

I would especially like to thank the past and present administrators, teachers and support staff with whom I have had some great times and made many friendships.

Laurel and Cheryl, what can I say? You are the best.

To all the people I have met in Goffstown, Dunbarton and New Boston, I would like to quote the late, great Bob Hope and say, "Thanks for the memories."
David F. Osborn, Milford

Enough is enough. And where is the fair trade? NAFTA was a disaster. Stop the FTAA. Phil Rose
N.H. Fair Trade Campaign
Goffstown