By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

January
. A group of more than 20 residents banded together to discuss Hooksett's master plan, which town planning officials were in the process of updating. The Hooksett Citizens/Taxpayers and Volunteers, or HCTV, aimed to sort through the plan's 14 chapters and more than 200 documents.

The intersection of Routes 3/28 and Bypass 28 underwent total reconstruction over the past year. The construction was all but finished by December, and traffic seemed to be flowing more smoothly. (File Photo)

. Hooksett Library Director Amy Lapointe announced she was leaving to head the library in Amherst. Lapointe led Hooksett's library for six months.

. A sign popped up at the Village School announcing it as the future home of new town offices.

. Hooksett Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis was placed on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation. The investigation was spurred by a personnel complained filed with the Hooksett Police Commission. Agrafiotis became the department's head in 1999.

. The Hooksett Town Council voted to include a $1.5 million warrant article on the March ballot. The money would be used to renovate the Village School for town offices and a community center.

February
. The town council again considered a warrant article that would support community access television. A $400,000 warrant article for local television was rejected a year earlier.

. A Concord man was arrested after exposing himself in the juniors section at Kohl's. Police used surveillance tapes leading to the arrest of David Mandigo.

. A group of citizens called for a recess at the annual school district deliberative session, and called for amending Article 2 to give priority to renovations at Underhill School.

March
. The West High School Power Knights took top state honors by winning the FIRST robotics competition's Chairman's Award.

. Due to nasty weather conditions, few voters showed up for the annual school district vote. Those who did were in a disapproving mood, rejecting both the district's operating budget and a request to use $1 million in surplus funds to renovate Underhill Elementary School and the SAU 15 administrative building. The school budget would be voted on a second time two months later. It passed the second time, and school officials were spared a second default budget in as many years.

. Seven Cawley Middle School musicians received All State honors. They were Jake Desharnais, Angela DeFreest, Danielle Ithier, Claire Penney, Teri Goyette, Jesse Greene and Andrew Ang.

"I try to give them incentive and encourage them," said music director Andrew Lalos. "If I had it my way, everybody would do this."

. Moni Sharma announced his resignation from the town administrator position after less than a year on the job.

. Some 40 residents attended a planning board meeting in hopes of supporting the sprawling lawn in front of the library and Mount Saint Mary's apartment building. Brady Sullivan Properties, which had purchased the property, agreed to mark the area as open space.

. Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis was placed back in duty after a two-month investigation by the Hooksett Police Commission. The investigation was spurred by internal complaints, leading the commission to place Agrafiotis on paid administrative leave.

April
. Christopher Bernard, 36, pleaded guilty on Friday, April 8, to three counts of first-degree murder of a Hooksett family at Hillsborough County Superior Court.

Bernard was charged with killing his sister, Tricia Doyle, 30, and her two young children, Gillian, 4, and James, 2, all of Hooksett, on Oct. 4. All three were found dead in Bernard's home at 61 Johnson St. in Manchester. Bernard waived his right to an indictment by a grand jury and his right to a trial. He was sentenced to serve three consecutive life sentences without parole.

. At the annual deliberative session of Town Meeting, residents made one change to the 21 proposed warrant articles

. Adding $50,000 to the parks and recreation budget to be earmarked for renovations to the Kids Kaboose playground.

. 12-year-old Hooksett prodigy Nicholas Amadeo placed first in the New Hampshire Geography Bee, and headed to Washington, D.C., for the National Geographic Geography Bee.

. With the election fast approaching, members of the Community Economic Development Corporation of Hooksett, or CEDCOH, laid out their plans for a Village School community center to about 30 people in the public library. Several residents spoke out against the group's control over the town-owned building.

May
. David Jodoin was announced as Hooksett's third town administrator in 18 months.

The Hooksett native had been Allenstown's town administrator since 2001, and Hooksett town councilors had been eyeing him for the position since 2003. "It feels good," said Jodoin. "It's a big town and a big challenge, but I'm very excited."

. The $1.5 million warrant article that would have turned the vacant Village School into half town offices and half community center was narrowly rejected by voters. The article needed 60 percent of the vote to pass, but gathered only 58 percent.

. Voters overwhelmingly supported a growth management ordinance that was submitted by petition. The ordinance is currently being challenged in court by multiple developers.

. As allowed by state law, school board members presented a slimmed down of the operating budget that voters had already rejected in March. The budget - shaved by about $100,000 - gained approval on its second go round.

. Many residents were perplexed by postcards popping up in their mailboxes. The cards showed property valuations that were a result of a software update in the assessing department, and not reflections of another revaluation. Hooksett's latest full revaluation was in 2003.

June
. After the second vote on the school budget, Town Councilor Philip Fitanides filed a petition for a recount.

Seventy-three votes were found uncounted, but the result stayed the same.

The uncounted votes were attributed to incorrectly marked ballots that were not read by the counting machines.

. Wal-Mart and Lowe's filed preliminary proposals with the town to construct two new stores in an unused gravel pit off I-93's Exit 10 and Hackett Hill Road. The two companies have since gotten variances from the planning board and now face the planning board for site reviews.

. Four hundred sixty-two Manchester Central graduates strolled across the stage of the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester to collect their diplomas.

"Whatever you do after you leave here tonight, do it with passion," urged Principal John R. Rist. "Don't be boring." - The Hooksett School Board voted to renew the contract of Cafe Services Inc. as the district's lunch provider. The move was met by criticism from the Healthy Lunch Committee, a group of parents who suggested the food the private company served was unhealthy, and their billing system flawed.

. Two members of SAU 19, serving Goffstown, Dunbarton and New Boston, went east to join SAU 15, serving Hooksett Auburn and Candia. Assistant Superintendent Gail Kushner replaced Eric Wigode, and business manager Karen Lessard replaced Sally Waterhouse.

. The town council asked the Amoskeag Rowing Club to draft a formal agreement regarding their use of the town-owned boat ramp, off Merrimack Street, behind the district courthouse. The request came after some complaints that the group was monopolizing the location, especially during high school crew regattas.

The council is in the process of establishing new guidelines for the ramp, despite promises from the rowing club that there would be no future access issues.

July
. As construction labored on around Route 3 and the 28 Bypass, the effect was debilitating for many local businesses. "Business has been lousy," said Ray Verley, a manager at the Route 3 Mobil station. "People will come into the store and say, 'I didn't know if you were open or closed.'"

The state has since wrapped up current construction along the corridor, easing traffic flow.

. The town council approved a revision of the town's six voting districts. It was the first modification to the districts since the town's charter took effect in 1989.

Though most agreed that the restructuring was long overdue, some involved questioned the use of 2000 census data.

"I've been telling councilors for years that it's going to be ugly," said Bryan Williams, then chairman of the Supervisors of the Checklist. "And it's ugly."

August
. A Hooksett man was charged in the heist of a DHL Worldwide Express delivery truck. The theft occurred in Londonderry, during last year's Christmas season.

. An estimated $50,000 to $75,000 in damage was caused during three days of break-ins at Manchester Central High School.

Vandals, who were later apprehended, destroyed a room full of computers, wrecked offices and spilled paint on the floors.

. Hooksett became the first New Hampshire town to be celebrated by First Lady Laura Bush as a Preserve America Community.

Preserve America is a White House initiative aimed to encourage local preservation efforts.

Kathie Northrup, chairman of the Hooksett Heritage Commission, spearheaded the application process.

"For a town our size, it's really nice to have so many people interested in preserving what we do have," said Northrup.

September
. Four Hooksett firefighters flew south to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina. Lt. John Drew, Assistant Chief Dean Jore, Lt. James Anderson and firefighter Dennis Desrochers made the trip.

. Firefighters from 28 departments throughout the state banded together for more than three days to fight a seven-alarm brush fire covering 11 acres off Hackett Hill Road. The fire spread throughout a wooded area adjacent to a granite quarry, but many Hackett Hill homeowners were uneasy as firefighters worked on containment.

"My biggest fear was that the wind was going to blow towards my house," said Karen M. Lord- Shultz, a neighborhood resident. "We all would have been in trouble if the wind were blowing another way."

. Hooksett Old Home Day went off without a hitch. Despite threats of rain, hundreds of people attended the event, which ended with a fireworks display.

. An 80-year-old Hooksett man, Edwin R. Stephens, died of eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, a mosquito-borne disease that claims the lives of about one third of affected humans. It was the sixth reported case of EEE in New Hampshire.

. The town council approved a committee to research methods relating to beautifying the town. "The main idea is to foster enhancements that will spread throughout the town and the community," said the committee's chairman, Yervant Nahikian.

Committee members have been meeting with several town planning officials in hopes of establishing a charge and composition.

October
. Emergency management officials throughout southern New Hampshire battled days of heavy rains causing monumental flooding.

Several Hooksett storm drains were backed up, causing floods to overtake multiple roads. A section of Lambert's Park, off Merrimack Street, was completely submerged for a day.

- Four Hooksett firefighters attended the National Fallen Firefighters memorial in Emmitsburg, Md. Stephan David, Daniel Silva, John Hill and Earl Lincoln all made the emotional trip. They honored more than 100 of their fallen brethren, including Mark Miller, a lieutenant in the Laconia Fire Department who drowned during a training exercise.

"With the brotherhood of the fire department," said David, "it makes you feel like you've lost a brother.

November
. Town Councilor Pat Rueppel left her seat to take care of family matters in Norfolk, Va. "She'll be missed on the town council for sure," said Council Chairman Michael DiBitetto. Her thoughts added immeasurably to the council."

. With the restructuring of the voting districts some unexpected resignations, it became clear that five seats on the town council would need filling during the March 2006 election. David Jodoin commented on the impact of the redistricting on the council's three-year election cycle.

"It could be a nightmare for a couple years," he said. . Wal-Mart and Lowe's moved ever closer to constructing two new stores off I-93 and Hackett Hill Road, getting several key variances.

. Some dogs and cats saved from the ravaged remains of Hurricane Katrina found a temporary home at the Barking Dog kennel in Hooksett. The dogs were placed for adoption.

. Manchester police officers struggled to remove a loaded handgun from a 14-year-old boy in the hallway of Manchester High School West.

. SAU 15 Superintendent Armand LaSelva introduced a plan to consolidate the special education departments within each of the district's three towns. The plan would have one special education department working under the auspices of the district, and would need approval from each of the town's school boards.

. Members of the Harvest Baptist Church, on Hackett Hill Road, celebrated a groundbreaking for the church's new building. The church opened in 1994 with 11 members. One hundred thirty people attended the groundbreaking.

December
After only a year and a half as SAU 15's top administrator, Armand LaSelva announced his resignation, effective at the end of the 2005-06 school year.

LaSelva declined to make public specific reasons for his resignation. "I think a lot of people need to digest this," SAU 15 Board Chairman Bill Zarges said shortly after LaSelva submitted his resignation letter. "I know, from Candia's perspective, we hope he'll reconsider."

. Hooksett's Mark Brunelle was charged with trafficking $380,000 of counterfeit goods. The U.S. Attorney said, in court charges, that Brunelle packaged computer hardware in counterfeit Compaq packages in 2001 and 2002. The goods were later used by two atomic power facilities, according to the charges.

. A Hopkinton man was charged in the 20-year-old murder of Hooksett's Daniel Paquette. Paquette was shot once through the heart with a .270 caliber rifle. He was welding in front of his 898 Whitehall Road at the time.

An affidavit recently released by Merrimack Superior Court alleges that Windhurst was accompanied by Paquette's stepdaughter, Melanie Paquette Cooper, during the alleged murder. Windhurst pleaded innocent and a trial date should be set Jan. 3.