Auburn
Memorial honors little
Samantha Smith
Tree planted in Auburn
park for girl who died in boating accident
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By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer
dcormier@yourneighborhoodnews.com
AUBURN Purple balloons tied to the
fence and trees around the Circle of Fun Playground drifted away
on the summer breeze, while the sound of bagpipes filled the
air with mourning.
Community members gathered to remember
8-year-old Samantha Smith at a memorial organized by the Auburn
PTA, the Auburn Fire Department and the Auburn school system.
"This day was not put together by a single person or organization.
It was put together by a few dedicated townspeople that share
the same spirit," said Bruce Phillips, Auburn's fire chief.
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FOR SAMANTHA Kim Smith (above) draws
her son, Blake, to her while husband Dan stays close by. Many
tears were shed at the memorial for 8-year-old Samantha Smith,
who died as a result of a boating accident on the Fourth of July
weekend. Laughter was also shared as community members gathered
together to remember the good times with Samantha.
(Devon Cormier Photos)
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On Saturday, July 31, a tree was planted in Samantha's memory
at the playground. Samantha died in a boating accident in Meredith
on July 3. Those in attendance were given the opportunity to
shovel dirt over the tree roots before it was blessed by Father
C.P. Dumont.
Up in the front was fourth-grader Leah
Trickett. Leah went to the Auburn Village School with Samantha
and was part of her Brownie troop.
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"It was sad, but it was nice that
they planted a tree for her," Leah said.
The day was marked by tears but also with laughter, as Samantha's
friends and family remembered her as a passionate hockey player
and friendly classmate.
Samantha's younger brother, Blake, and cousins Nolan and Cullen
held books for Father Dumont's readings. Samantha's principal
and father were among those who spoke in her memory.
Samantha's father, Dan, listed some of
his fondest memories of Samantha before inviting everyone in
attendance to a cookout at the Smith home, where friends could
write their memories in a book. Kim Smith, Samantha's mother,
listened and cradled Blake as Dan spoke.
"We all remember her differently,"
Dan said. "I remember her big smile with blue eyes running
to the school bus. Playing at recess laughing and joking with
classmates. Fishing off the deck in Maine and New Hampshire.
Sitting on a log in the Maine woods waiting to see a deer. Pushing
Blake on the swing set and riding waves in Jamaica."
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A tree was planted at the Circle of Fun
Playground in Auburn to stand in remembrance of the Auburn Village
School fourth-grader. Children gathered in the front of the crowd
with Samantha's younger brother and cousins for readings and
speeches by friends and family.
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The crowd reached about 50 as friends and neighbors spoke about
their memories of Samantha and took turns shoveling the dirt
over the tree roots.
"The loss is such a tragedy," Father Dumont said. "I
hope it grows strong and beautiful as Samantha was."
Skip Hebert from the Professional Firefighters of New England
marked the end of the ceremony with the same bagpipe music that
welcomed the community into the playground.
As a tear trailed down his cheek, Phillips said he was pleased
with the outcome.
"It's good we got a lot of people out," Phillips said.
"It shows what a tight-knit community we are. We look out
for our own. It is also good to have the kids here, and we let
them interact a little by shoveling the dirt."
Dan Smith said there will be both an academic scholarship fund
and a hockey scholarship fund for any New Hampshire hockey player
in Samantha's name. Also to be held in Samantha's honor is this
year's Granite Cup hockey games in Exeter from Aug. 27 to 29.
Allenstown
Maxed-out sewage treatment facility backs
up growth
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
With no immediate solution to expand the
Allenstown sewage treatment facility, town officials have reaffirmed
a decision to virtually halt any new hookups.
Earlier this summer, members of the Allenstown Sewer Commission
voted to severely limit the number of new hookups each year.
Commissioners reported that the sewage plant, shared by Allenstown
and Pembroke, was dangerously close to capacity, so restraint
on new hookups was necessary.
The new restrictions could possibly derail any immediate plans
for a proposed downtown condominium development.
A Concord developer, J.H. Spain Builders, has proposed constructing
an 86-unit condominium complex on a 27-acre parcel of land near
downtown Allenstown. Earlier this spring, the zoning board of
adjustment had ordered the developer to meet a number of conditions
before receiving the go-ahead.
The developer had already run into a roadblock when the selectmen
voted against allowing an undeveloped town road to be used as
a second access route to the development. Now, J.H. Spain Builders
may be forced to shelve their development plans for the immediate
future.
Richard Uchida, the attorney representing J.H. Spain, was unavailable
for comment, but the parcel's owner confirmed that plans were
currently on hold.
The land, located between Route 3 and Main Street, is owned by
Joan MacNamara Bailey, but is being developed by J.H. Spain.
At an Aug. 3 public hearing on the sewer commission's new restrictions,
MacNamara Bailey said she was concerned about the length of time
before any new capacity at the sewage treatment facility opened
up.
"I was hoping it would only be a two- or three-year wait,"
MacNamara Bailey said. "But it seems like it might be longer
now."
During the public hearing, Jim Rodgers, chairman of the sewer
commission, suggested it may be four to five years before any
expansion of the facility is complete.
"We're hoping to get (a proposed expansion) on the ballot
this year," he said. "But there's a lot of work to
be done first."
Rodgers said if it doesn't appear on this year's ballot in March,
it would definitely be on the following year's.
Currently, Rodgers said, the sewer commission was still completing
an evaluation of the facility and was attempting to work out
a plant-usage deal with Pembroke.
When the facility was built in the 1970s, Pembroke and Allenstown
signed an inter-municipal agreement to divvy up the facility's
treatment capacity. However, as both towns have grown in recent
years, the sharing scheme has slowly broken down.
Currently, Allenstown is using more of the plant's capacity than
allowed under the original agreement. This fact, as well as concerns
over dwindling capacity, fueled a bitter dispute between the
Allenstown and Pembroke sewer commissions.
Although the spat led to litigation between the two boards, both
sides have more recently pledged to cooperate. Rodgers said they
were close to reaching a new inter-municipal agreement
a necessity before expansion of the current facility can be seriously
proposed.
Because the new limitations on additional sewer hookups could
affect new development, the guidelines have stirred some controversy.
The policy, first approved June 7, and officially affirmed Aug.
3, allows for only 10 new hookups each year for the foreseeable
future. Adding an additional limitation, a single developer may
only receive two permits in one year.
Although these limitations would obviously limit a proposal such
as the 86-unit condominium plan, Rodgers said the limitation
wasn't meant to stop development.
"We do not have the authority to, nor do we want to, control
growth in town," Rodgers said.
During the public hearing, Rodgers called the restrictions a
"tough pill to swallow" and said it pained him to have
to enact them.
"It is agonizing to see Allenstown lose anything,"
he said. "We are in desperate need for commercial and industrial
growth."
Allenstown is facing a crisis in terms of maxing out the current
sewage treatment facility, he said.
"We may be in favor of the project," Rodgers said.
"But (maxing out capacity) has been looming over us. Everyone
in town knows this has been looming over us."
Candia
Forest-thinning work to begin this summer
By JENNIFER CLAISE
Staff Writer
jclaise@yourneighborhoodnews.com
The town of Candia has contracted with
a forester to conduct timber stand improvements in the North
Road woodlands, a 15.5-acre site made up of forests and wetlands.
The town hired Charles Moreno, a licensed forester of Moreno
Forestry Associates, to manage and supervise the project in the
North Road woodlands late this summer, and in the town forest
on Flint Road next summer, according to Candia Conservation Commission
member Richard Snow.
Ed Fowler, chairman of the commission, described the project
as a "weeding and thinning operation," where dead or
unhealthy timber is removed to improve the health of the living
trees in the area.
He said that some people may be critical of the idea, since they
might mistakenly envision a logging operation where the land
is clear-cut and left in terrible shape.
In fact, he said that one member of the commission, Paul Lamie,
was originally skeptical of the idea for that very reason.
The commission is aware of the permanent environmental damage
that can occur with improperly managed operations, Snow said.
But, when properly managed, forest harvests not only improve
the health of the remaining trees, but they also "open up
the land for improved wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities,
improve the water quality and make the site more aesthetically
pleasing," Snow said.
Fowler, who said he has had timber stand improvements done on
his own property, agreed that they are beneficial.
"The conservation commission was charged with managing that
property, and forest management is a conservation tool,"
he said.
He added that the commission is looking into holding a forest
management workshop in town, so that private owners of forested
lands can learn about the benefits of forest harvesting.
Both Snow and Fowler said that the commission is trying to get
the word out about the project.
"We're trying to notify the public about what's happening
and why it's happening so that they can be aware of it,"
Fowler said.
Snow said that the abutters of the land were notified by mail
in July, and the selectmen decided that no action should take
place until 30 days had passed since the notification.
"That makes it almost time for the possibility of action,"
he said. "The ball is in the forester's hands. Whenever
he finds time, it'll happen."
Hooksett
Nashua acquisition of
water company may affect rates
By JENNIFER CLAISE
Staff Writer
jclaise@yourneighborhoodnews.com
A controversy brewing between
the city of Nashua and Pennichuck Corp. over the ownership of
the city's water system could affect Pennichuck customers in
parts of Bow, Bedford, and Hooksett.
According to court documents, the city wants to acquire the water
company through eminent domain and hire a private company to
operate and maintain the system.
But exactly how this proposed takeover could affect customers
in other cities and towns is unclear.
According to Stephen Densberger, executive vice president of
Pennichuck, there are no prescribed steps that would occur should
the city win the legal battle and acquire the company.
"Those customers could be affected in a whole number of
ways," Densberger said. "If Nashua did acquire the
systems, they would be obligated to provide service to those
areas and operation of those systems. So technically, on the
surface, there would be no regulatory change."
However, the real question is who would set the rates, Densberger
said.
Pennichuck, as an investor-owned corporation, is currently regulated
by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.
But if the city of Nashua took control of the company, thereby
earning the power to set rates, it would not be subject to the
same commission regulations.
Densberger also confirmed that Nashua officials have said that
they plan to hire a contract operation firm to maintain the day-to-day
systems.
Pennichuck has put its name in as one of the possible operators,
he said.
"If it's not Pennichuck, I don't know whether it will be
better or worse than it is now," Densberger said.
Currently, Pennichuck is the largest investor-owned water company
in New Hampshire, made up of three private water utilities, according
to the company's Web site.
The western portion of Bedford is served by Pennichuck Water
Works Inc., while Bow and Hooksett are served by Pennichuck East
Utility.
The companies operate systems for about 190 residential units
in Bow many in the White Rock Senior Living Community
and about 92 residential units in Hooksett, Densberger
said.
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