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This week's stories: (click on the headline
to jump to story)
 Kindergarten
foes take fight to court
Traffic
snarled as car slams into utility pole
Zoners
put off ruling on mill development
News,
police to do battle in charity softball game
It's
not the simple life, but it's a living
New
Boston-style Fourth of July
In top photo, Jake Noonan hands
a cup of fresh vanilla ice cream to a little girl. He also collects
the money, counts out change and chats with the locals. In middle,
the annual tradition of firing the Molly Stark Cannon went off
with a bang this year while (above) a crowd is entertained by
a juggler. (D. Cormier Photos)
Goffstown
Kindergarten
foes take fight to court
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
The plan to build a kindergarten on Tibbett's
Hill Road was approved by the town's zoning board of adjustment
this week, which means neighbors opposed to the plan will now
take their fight to court.
At the annual School District Meeting in March, residents voted
to approve the construction of a $3.3 million kindergarten building
off Tibbett's Hill. The land chosen for the kindergarten site
is part of a larger residential development of 23 homes proposed
by Timberstone Realty of Bedford.
The planning board approved Timberstone's proposal, including
the kindergarten parcel, in mid-April. Several neighbors to the
development filed an appeal with the zoning board, which voted
unanimously at the July 6 meeting to uphold the planning board's
decision.
The plan was approved as an "open space development,"
a specific type of development which town ordinances say should
be used to preserve "rural character."
In their appeal, neighbors argued that a kindergarten is not
allowable in such a development.
In addition to their ZBA appeal, the neighbors have also taken
their fight to the Hillsborough County Superior Court.
With this week's rejection by the ZBA of the neighbors' appeal,
all local avenues for opposing the plan have been exhausted.
Attorney Mike Ryan, representing Bob Wike, as well as the McRae
and Garrison families, said the next step would be to appeal
the ZBA's decision to the superior court.
No court date has been set, but earlier in the day on July 6,
the town filed its official response to the lawsuit. A copy of
the response was unavailable July 7. Following the ZBA's decision
Tuesday, school officials and one of the developers had angry
words about the pending lawsuit. SAU 19 Superintendent Darrell
Lockwood was defiant about the possibility of any appeals derailing
the district's plans to open a kindergarten.
"We're not going away," he said. "So if it takes
another year (to get through all the appeals), we'll be here.
We're going to build a kindergarten."
Tony Marts, a principal in Timberstone, said his company had
gone out of its way to appease the opposition.
"You've got a developer who has bent over backwards to make
this work for the town and school," he said. "What
more can you say to people trying to improve the community? We're
being told to go to hell (with the lawsuit.)"
Marts is chairman of the ZBA, but recused himself from the decision-making
process.
Since filing the appeal, Ryan has contended that his clients
have no objection to building a kindergarten. But after hearing
Ryan and several abutters speak at Tuesday's ZBA meeting, school
officials disputed this.
School Board Chairman Scott Gross said the entire appeal is based
on opposition to the kindergarten's placement in the development.
"The McRaes, the Garrisons and Wike clearly don't want a
kindergarten," Gross said. "They didn't object to the
subdivision."
Ryan contended that it was the placement of the kindergarten,
not the school itself, that his clients are opposed to.
"They're not against the kindergarten, they're against it
going in this type of development where it doesn't belong,"
Ryan said.
"Darrell (Lockwood) and Scott (Gross) just don't get the
message, and that's the bottom line," he said. "And
I'm tired of them twisting everything because they made a mistake
and don't want to admit it."
"We have two arguments," Ryan explained. "One
is that the kindergarten doesn't belong there, and the other
is that the design is not an open space design. It's a regular
subdivision they're trying to clothe as an open-space division."
Both Gross and Marts said they had made several attempts to negotiate
an agreement with the abutters to satisfy their concerns without
taking the issue to court. Lockwood said that following the filing
of the appeal in Superior Court, the district had received a
letter requesting they make no further attempts to contact the
abutters.
Marts said the Garrisons had signed an agreement with Timberstone
shortly after the planning board's April decision.
According to Marts, that agreement included provisions to plant
$10,000 worth of trees to create a natural barrier and grant
the Garrisons access to proposed open space within the development.
"The developer intends to sue the Garrisons over the contract
they made over this development," Marts said.
Ryan said the Garrisons had only signed an agreement regarding
a buffer area.
"It had nothing to do with the rest of the development,"
Ryan said. "There's nothing in the agreement that says the
Garrisons won't participate or be opposed to the project."
"So, if Tony wants to threaten a lawsuit he can because
it's baseless," he said.
Delaying the kindergarten
Following the meeting, Gross said the rest of the town will suffer
because of the three abutters' complaints, which he chalked up
to "NIMBY-ism," otherwise known as the "Not In
My Back Yard" syndrome.
Although the district intends to open the kindergarten by September
of 2005, Gross said the appeals could delay the eventual opening
date.
"As these three abutters stall, the social consequence is
a couple hundred kids without a kindergarten education,"
he said. "The financial cost is higher costs the longer
we wait."
Under the proposal approved by voters in March, Goffstown taxpayers
will only have to chip in $256,000 of the estimated $3.3 million
in total construction costs. The state agreed to chip in 75 percent
of the cost, or $2.2 million. The balance will be paid through
money set aside by the district.
Lockwood said the district is going ahead with plans to open
in September of 2005, regardless of the appeal.
"We didn't intend to get into the ground until the fall
anyway," Lockwood said, explaining the district is still
in the planning phase.
The next steps will be putting the final design out for bids,
securing a final cost and then beginning work.
This is the last year the state granted kindergarten construction
aid to local communities, but Lockwood said that money is secure
even if the groundbreaking is pushed back.
"(The state) indicated to us, that if we had any delays,
we simply had to send them a letter notifying them," he
said.
He did say that Goffstown would only receive $2.2 million even
if delays lead to higher costs.
"They're paying 75 percent of what we said we'd spend,"
Lockwood said. "If the price were to go up, the town would
have to come up with the difference or downscale the project."
Goffstown
Traffic snarled
as car slams into utility pole
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
An early morning accident near Tibbet's
Hill Road last week gave commuters a headache and left residents
without utilities for hours.
At approximately 7 a.m. on July 1, a Ford Explorer, driven by
Jason Keraly, 30, of Manchester, struck a utility pole near the
intersection of Tibbet's Hill and Center Street.
Police said Keraly was evacuated to the hospital with non-life
threatening injuries.
Although the accident was cleared up quickly, the pole Keraly
hit was badly damaged and left utility crews scrambling for most
of the day to clean up the mess and return service to residents.
Goffstown Police Captain Glenn DuBois said the snarled mess of
electric, telephone and cable wires kept Back Road closed until
after 3 p.m. when one lane of traffic was finally opened.
"It held all the main lines," DuBois said. "It
snapped, popped out and an enormous amount of the wires sunk
down in the middle of the road, which prevented any access."
According to DuBois, no lines were severed, but utility crews
still had to do the tedious work of sorting out the mess of lines
and installing a new pole.
"You couldn't pick a worse one to hit," DuBois said.
"And you couldn't pick a worse time of day to have an accident."
DuBois said the accident was still under investigation and Keraly's
condition could not be confirmed.
Goffstown
Zoners put
off ruling on mill development
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
GOFFSTOWN A proposed redevelopment
of the vacant downtown mill buildings has been put on hold until
at least September.
At their July 6 meeting, members of the zoning board tabled three
out of the five zoning variances requested by the Auburn developer
hoping to redevelop the riverfront area at the south end of Goffstown
Village.
Developer Elmer Pease and his firm, PD Associates, are proposing
to redevelop the vacant mill and surrounding property off Factory
Street.
PD Associates' plans have changed significantly since it first
floated the idea, but the most recent proposal calls for the
existing mill building to be converted into office and retail
space, and two additional residential units be constructed.
The plan has been opposed by a group of residents calling themselves
Goffstown Re-sidents for Sensible Development.
The group claims that the size of the proposed new buildings
and the suggested 60 condominium units would have a negative
impact on the Village. They also are opposed to Pease's plans
to simultaneously develop a 230-unit elderly housing modular
development off Tirrell Hill.
Pease has said that he cannot complete one plan without the other.
At the July 6 ZBA meeting, board members focused on five requests
for zoning variances and heard from an attorney representing
Pease, as well as numerous residents opposed to the plan.
For more than an hour, board members discussed exactly how tall
the proposed new buildings would actually be.
According to Pease's blue-prints, the actual roof of the building
will be 44.6 feet tall just short of the 45 foot maximum
allowed under the zoning ordinance.
However, resident Nick Campasano told the board several side
towers had sloped roofs several feet higher than the limit.
Board members debated whether those tower roofs should be counted
as part of the main roof. They eventually voted 3-1 to support
zoning code officer Derek Horne in his decision that it was the
main roof area, not the towers, that should be considered.
Because of this decision, no variance is needed.
On a related topic, the ZBA tabled the PD Associates' request
for a variance allowing four levels in the residential buildings.
The matter will be discussed again on Tuesday, Aug. 3, after
the fire department submits a letter stating its opinion on the
matter.
When it came to the two final requests for variances, addressing
the building's size and population density, the board tabled
the matter until September.
The board's decision to table the matter was based on Pease's
proposal to put 60 units in the buildings. According to town
ordinances, any more than 12 units requires that the planning
board issue a special exception.
Until the planning board makes the specific decision said Tony
Marts, chairman of the ZBA, his board will wait to consider any
variances.
"We're asking the planning board to address these issues
and come to some decision about what they want for the site,"
Marts said. "This will give them the opportunity to provide
those specific recommendations."
The ZBA will take the issues up again at its Tuesday, Sept. 7
meeting.
Goffstown
News, police
to do battle in charity softball game
By MARC THALER
Staff Writer
mthaler@yourneighborhoodnews.com
In T-minus 22 days, Villa Augustina Field
will be the center of the Neighborhood softball universe.
The worst, the cursed, the best and all the rest will take the
field on Friday, July 30, in the annual charity softball slugfest
to benefit Crispin's House.
Many of the usual suspects are expected to take the diamond,
including Gof-fstown's police and fire departments, the department
of public works, the Main Street Board of Directors, the Lions
and Rotary clubs as well as the athletically challenged members
of Neighborhood News.
In last year's nightcap, Team Neighborhood nearly pulled off
the upset over the Goffstown Police Department, taking a slim
lead into the late innings before coughing up its cushion en
route to a devastating defeat.
When asked how he felt about his players taking the team to the
brink of victory, only to let it slip away, Neighborhood News
sports editor and player-manager Jerry Liptak responded in a
manner similar to Terry Francona, the wildly unpopular skipper
of the Boston Red Sox.
"I'm extremely proud of the people in that dugout,"
Liptak said last year following the loss. "I've never been
so proud of a group of players in my life.
"We just need to get better," he added. "Once
we do that, things will get better for us."
Liptak's comments elicited plenty of laughs from the members
of the Goffstown Police Association, who recently revisited last
year's big win along with those head-scratching post-game remarks.
"You can stay home and write the story now," said Detective
and Crispin's House board member Mark Bodanza with supreme confidence
and no hesitation. "Goffstown News loses for another year."
With the game still roughly three weeks away and the verbal sparring
match already heating up, league commissioner Laurie Hambleton,
also executive director of Crispin's House, called for both squads
to stop talking.
The ban issued on both sides is already in effect, but team officials
from the two clubs have said they're making no guarantees they'll
continue to obey the imposed gag order.
In addition to the heated rivalry on the field, there are several
other planned activities scheduled for the evening.
Adding to the fun will be a pitching booth where attendees can
discover how fast they can throw.
There will also be another booth, but of the dunking variety.
Folks can take their best shot at soaking their favorite face
from around town.
Other activities include a ball-throwing contest, where a prize
will be awarded to the individual whose toss lands closest to
the target, as well as the award ceremony for the Neighborhood
News T-shirt design contest.
Tug-o-war, Max the Monarch, and a limousine ride for the kids
of Team Crispin, who raised money to donate to Goffstown High
School's Peer Outreach camp scholarship, are also scheduled.
To date, however, all eyes are on Hambleton and how she'll deal
with the squabbling squads.
New Boston
It's not the
simple life, but it's a living
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By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer
dcormier@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Roger and Lori Noonan had always dreamed
of having their own farm.
Four years ago, that dream came true when the Noonan family bought
the farmhouse on Colburn Road and began their adventure in farming.
Middle Branch Farm belongs to Local Harvest Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA). The CSA is a farmer's cooperative, where about
200 customers order shares in local harvests ahead of time. Eleven
farms meet after orders are in and decide who will grow what
to provide the customers with what they've paid for.
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DOWN ON THE FARM Roger Noonan enlists
the help of his daughter, Heather, 15, and his son, Jake, 10,
in the family's farming operation. (Devon Cormier Photo)
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Roger Noonan said getting paid for his
shares ahead of time is a key reason why it works. If Noonan
relied on farmers' markets or a farm stand to sell all of his
produce, he wouldn't know how much to plant and wouldn't have
the money to get through the planting season.
"What I do is get food to people to families
in a sustainable way," Noonan said. "I can't grow this
stuff on speculation; I cant' afford it."
Noonan sells his surplus at local farmers' markets, but the money
he gets from the CSA is how he manages to plant and harvest his
vegetables.
"The idea of farming for the money is gone," Noonan
said.
Still, if there was no CSA, Noonan said he would still farm his
land. The 160 acres are brimming with rolling pastures and filled
with herds of pigs, cows and chickens.
"It was just always in the back of my mind to do this,"
said Noonan. "I always wanted to work for myself."
While Noonan's wife, Lori, is working for an engineer doing computer
graphics, the rest of the family works the fields in the summertime.
Fifteen-year-old Heather helps out with the work on the farm,
as does 10-year-old Jake. Supervising is Sadie, the rambunctious
and friendly yellow Labrador that accompanies the family to work
each morning.
This year's harvest at Middle Branch Farm will bring a bumper
crop of cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, lettuce, beets,
potatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons and more.
The CSA offers an even wider variety of vegetables and produce,
and Middle Branch farm also produces pork, beef, poultry and
turkey.
"I'm trying to bring back the system of the community around
you supplying each other with food," Noonan said. "You
have to learn how to eat in season it's a different way
of looking at food."
Work hasn't been too tough, the harvesting season is just beginning,
and the CSA is starting to put together the big shares customers
have been waiting for.
The CSA works in an 18 week period. Farmers bring their harvest
to the Unitarian Church in Concord once a week, and those who
have bought shares come and pick up their fresh food.
Roger and Lori both grew up on farms, so it was no wonder they
both wanted one of their own. They looked into going to Maine
or Vermont, but the markets aren't very strong there.
Roger farmed part-time for about 15 years while he worked as
a commercial pilot and a land surveyor. Then his friend purchased
the Colburn property and asked if he would like to farm it.
"When you want to do something and you get the opportunity,
you have to go for it," Noonan said.
The Noonans are only the second family since the 1700s to live
in their house. Generations of Colburns preceded them. Now at
42, Noonan is reaping the benefits of his opportunity.
"It's a vanishing landscape," Noonan said. "People
love to see it, we have a good market in New Hampshire."
Pointing at a valley filled with baled hay and surrounded by
trees, Noonan said, "I mean, this is my office."
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