By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Time flies when you're having fun working in local government, and the Feb. 3 filing deadline for 13 open positions throughout the town is fast approaching.

On the town side, Weare voters will be selecting a town moderator, a supervisor of the checklist, a library trustee, a cemetery trustee, a trustee of trust funds, and two members of the board of fire wards.

Two selectman seats – one currently held by Chairman Laura Buono and the other held by Leon Methot – will also be open.

Recent history suggests that the selectman seats will be contested. In 2004, two people ran for one available seat. Last year, five Weare residents ran for two available seats.

Selectman Heleen Kurk offered some advice for those who may seek a three-year seat on the town's primary governing board.

"You have to have a commitment to the town without having a personal agenda," she said. "You need to treat people with respect and treat them fairly."

Kurk, who is in her second year as a selectman, said the job requires a considerable time commitment if only because "there's a lot to learn."

Kurk used the current board as a model for a well-functioning board with a diversity of opinions, but a common goal of bettering the town.

"Everyone brings a different talent in," she said, citing Methot's extensive experience working with the town's planning and zoning boards, and Buono's extensive experience with municipal government.

Kurk said she's also learned that no matter how hard public employees work toward the singular goal of improving a town for its residents, critics will invariably surface.

"You have to have a bit of a leather back," she said.

On the school side, two Weare School Board seats and one John Stark School Board seat are up for election. The Weare School District Moderator seat is also up for grabs.

Current Weare School Board members were integral in getting an $18 million plan for a new middle school passed last March.

Weare School Board Vice Chairman Marjorie Burke testified about the recent impact of the board.

"It's rewarding," she said. "I feel like I'm giving back to the community in which I live."

The seats currently held by the board's chairman, Matthew Thomas, and board member Paul Levandowski will be up for grabs this year.

Burke described the current Weare board as "well-balanced."

"If you're just sort of a one agenda focus person, that might not be what the district needs. "You have to have a balance; it can't be one sided."

The John Stark School Board has one seat – currently occupied by Richard Ludders – opening in March. The three-year seat is at-large, meaning it can be filled by someone from either Weare or Henniker.

Residents can file for open town and school elected positions beginning Wednesday, Jan. 25, until 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, at the town office. Those interested in school board positions may file at any of the town's schools or at the SAU 24 office.