By Jodi Wolfe
Staff Writer

Pembroke’s biggest change in 2004 was losing David Stack, who was the town administrator for 18 years. The police department moved out of the station Pembroke’s biggest change in 2004 was losing David Stack, who was the town administrator for 18 years. The police department moved out of the station on Union Street and options for that building are up for debate. And, after more than six months, the Pembroke teachers’ union and the school board approved a three-year contract with a raise.

NEW SAFETYCENTER – Replacing an aging and out-of-code police station on Union Street and expanding the fire station, the new 27,154-square-foot Pembroke Safety Center became home to the town’s police and fire departments on April 19. (File Photo)

Town issues
• In January, selectmen and state legislators begin working together to get funding for a traffic light at the dangerous intersection of Route 3 and Pembroke Hill Road.

From 1998 to 2001, there were only nine accidents, but from 2001 to 2003, there were 21 accidents, said Pembroke Police Chief Wayne Cheney.

Neighbors had made an inquiry with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, but were told that the amount of traffic didn’t merit a traffic light.

The selectmen sent a letter to the state legislators to work with state officials to “rethink the situation.”

• Pembroke residents Glorie LaFond and Ruth Ann Esch put together a petition for official ballot voting, often called SB2. It is unanimously rejected by selectmen at their Feb. 2 meeting, but a petition warrant article is included on March ballot.

• At the beginning of February, $25,000 worth of antiques are taken from three Pembroke residents on Route 3 and North Pembroke Road.

• On March 9, the town votes down SB2. Daniel D. Crean and Larry W. Young Sr. are elected as selectmen. An operating budget of $6,111,735 is up for approval as well as a change in elderly exemptions.

• At Town Meeting on March 13, the town votes to keep the the police station building on Union Street for town use. The sewer commission proposes adding $20,000 to its budget so it can move into the old building as it is losing its space at the Department of Public Works. Voters turn down the sewer commission’s amendment, but grant a request for an additional $20,000 to go into the operating budget for the commission’s possible moving costs.

The town also passes a bond for $100,000 to repaint the interior of a 1-million-gallon underground water tank on Brickett Hill Road.

• On April 9, a 19-year-old Pembroke man is stabbed behind the Suncook House of Pizza where he worked. He is taken to Concord Hospital where he is treated for injuries and released.

• In May, Manchester-based grocery distributor Associated Grocers looks to relocate its distribution center to Pembroke near the intersection of Routes 106 and 3. The land, owned by Manchester Sand, Gravel and Cement, is zoned as a development district. Associated Grocers is expected to have a positive impact on the town’s tax base.

• Pembroke resident Eugene Mallove, a well-known scientist, is murdered near his childhood home in Norwich, Conn. on May 14. He was educated at both Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. He was an advocate of the cold fusion theory and very active at Temple Beth Jacob in Concord.

• Town Administrator David Stack earned a Credentialed Manager designation from the International City/Town Management Association.

• Pembroke resident John Strachan is arrested by police in connection with a series of obscene phone calls and mail sent to a number of young women in Pembroke, Allens-town and Bow after he was caught on a pay phone near the Allenstown Bi-Wise market. Bow police continue to investigate Strachan’s activity.

• In July, Grace Capital Church is constructed and opens on Route 3 with state-of-the-art acoustics and sound, two large multimedia display screens, complete with seating for 500. One of the church’s features is serving Starbucks coffee.

• On Oct. 15, David Stack, the town administrator for 18 years, steps down from his position after it is reconstructed.

Stack said he met selectmen and is told they would be revising the job expectations for his position. In addition to the redesigned job description, Stack said he is told there would be a significant reduction in pay. Stack is also told he can apply for the new position if he wants to.

Brian Tufts, chairman of the board of selectmen, said Stack’s position was rearranged because of the town and the town administrator’s growth.

• Troy Brown, 37, of London-derry, is hired as the new town administrator. Brown has a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Maine at Orono. He has worked in Londonderry the last eight years as an administrative support specialist.

• Members of the Pembroke community discuss what to do with the former police station on Union Street.

The Pembroke Economic Development Committee and the Meet Me In Suncook committee, a volunteer organization, worked together and received a project development grant from the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance. Through the grant, the organizations hired Peterborough architect and preservationist Rick Monahon to do a study on the town’s options for the building. In 2005, Pembroke residents will be faced with two options for the former police station: sell it for commercial development or keep it for the town to maintain and possibly lease.

• In December, Pembroke police assist Allenstown police and other police with the seizing of 400 to 500 pieces of stolen property in Allenstown in connection with a greater Manchester crime ring.

School issues
• In January, the Pembroke teachers’ union and the Pembroke School Board were attempting to negotiate salaries after December 2003 mediations had failed. The teachers’ union wanted salaries to match the surrounding towns, with a 13 to 15 percent increase over three years, while the school board wanted a less than 10 percent increase over three years.

• Also in January, the budget committee proposes to make several cuts in the school district’s budget, including a new school bus, school supplies, computer software, part-time instructors, and aides. With those items, there would be an 8 percent tax increase. Without those items, there would only be a 3 percent tax increase. A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 24 to give the committee input on its decision.

• In turn, the Pembroke teach-ers’union cannot meet a Jan. 27 deadline to reach an agreement on the teachers’contract, so they work without a contract for the 2004-05 school year.

On Jan. 27, the union offers to accept a one-year contract on the school board’s salary sale, but the board rejects the offer. School board Chairman Clinton Hanson says the school board rejected the contract because he didn’t think voters would have accepted it. Because of the contract’s absence, town officials predict the meeting will be “mundane.” Both school and town meetings will vote on SB2.

Five warrant articles include money. Those are: appropriating $25,000 from surplus to add to the school building capital reserve fund; $100,000 to be moved from surplus into a special education fund; $40,603 for some maintenance costs including replacing the boiler at Pembroke Village School and $26,350 for the creation of an additional parking area and bar control for the old entrance at the Hill school. It also would be for traffic control painting at the Hill School, Three Rivers, and Pembroke Academy. Another item, $5,319, is to replace a dumpster and the replace emergency medical and safety supplies. The proposed operating budget is $510,234 higher than last year’s budget.

• The school district votes down SB2, but the budget of $18,000,153 passes.

• In June, the Pembroke teachers’ union agrees to a contract proposal from the school board with a 11.99 percent salary increase overall and 4.12 percent in the next year.

• The $2 million grant for Pembroke’s Renaissance Program runs out on June 21, but most of its projects are continued and look for other ways of funding. Later on, two programs are approved to be part of the 2005-06 operating budget for the Pembroke School District. Those programs are the Pushing Your Limits program and the Adult Education/ High School Diploma program, both at Pembroke Academy.

• Both the Three Rivers School and Pembroke Academy failed to meet the standard in state testing for the second year in a row. Under No Child Left Behind, they have both been labeled as a “school in need of improvement.” They must develop a formal plan to improve their scores.

School board Chairman Clinton Hanson says the testing is unfair because it expected the same from special education students.

• On Sept. 11, the town votes in a court-ordered special election to approve the teachers’ contract, which calls for $938,166 in raises. Including school, town, county and state property taxes, residents will have a tax rate of $44.76.