Activists question if Keene's part of effort to create demand for natural gas infastructure

Area climate change and renewable energy activists plan to hold a vigil ahead of Thursday’s Keene City Council meeting to highlight what they say are contradictory discussions likely to take place.

The 15-member City Council, provided it suspends its rules of order, is slated to discuss a resolution submitted by seven councilors last week to have Keene join other U.S. cities in the Climate Mayors network “in adopting and supporting the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

Councilors are also expected to decide whether to accept a recommendation from a council subcommittee to discontinue part of Production Avenue so Liberty Utilities can install a temporary compressed natural gas facility.

It’s the final approval the firm needs for the project, which the planning board gave the go-ahead to last month.

Instead of a natural gas system, Keene has a decades-old propane-air distribution system that has been problematic in recent years.

Liberty Utilities purchased the system in January 2015 from N.H. Gas Corp.

In December of that year, a malfunction at the system’s production facility caused by a power outage led to pure propane being distributed to customers.

The result was a city-wide emergency that included four people being taken to the hospital, more than 1,000 homes and businesses being checked for carbon monoxide exposure, and 75 fire departments from across New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, as well as several state agencies, responding to the city.

The system experienced a similar, but smaller-scale, malfunction in February 2016.

Liberty officials have said they eventually want to replace the temporary facility with a permanent one.

Stances at odds?

“It will be an odd juxtaposition if the City Council simultaneously affirms a commitment to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement while approving plans to install new fossil fuel infrastructure throughout the city,” Kathryn R. Eiseman, president of Pipe Line Awareness Network for the Northeast Inc., said in an email to The Sentinel.

The nonprofit group works at the state and federal levels to prevent the overbuild of fossil fuel infrastructure, including natural gas. It formed in opposition to the proposed Northeast Energy Direct pipeline project, which would have crossed a broad swath of southern New Hampshire.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, proposed the pipeline in November 2014 to carry fracked natural gas from the shale fields of northern Pennsylvania to a hub in Dracut, Mass. The firm withdrew its application for federal approval for the project in May 2016, saying that not enough customers had signed up to buy natural gas from the pipeline.

Monadnock Region residents Stephanie Scherr and Susan L. Durling — members of ECHO Action, a local group that formed to fight the pipeline project and promote the use of renewable energy — agree with Eiseman’s assessment.

“It’s crazy they could pass this in one breath, and then consider the Paris Climate Accord in the next,” Durling said.

ECHO Action is coordinating Thursday’s vigil, which will start at 5:30 p.m. outside Keene City Hall, and is also encouraging people to attend the 7 p.m. meeting in council chambers. They’re also asking people who oppose Liberty Utilities’ Keene project and the expansion of natural gas infrastructure statewide and nationally to contact Mayor Kendall W. Lane with their concerns.

Scherr noted that the city has a climate action plan and a climate adaptation plan. And it has been at the forefront in the region and state for combating climate change and promoting the conservation of electricity and use of renewable energy sources, she said.

While backing the Paris Agreement is much in the city’s character, supporting the Liberty Utilities project, is out of line for the community, Scherr said. And she described Liberty Utilities’ proposal as part of a larger effort to make New England and the nation more dependent on natural gas.

Eiseman, Scherr and Durling say city officials, residents and others must look at the larger picture — specifically, at what they say is an effort by Liberty to create a demand to restart the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline project.

Liberty Utilities through its spokesman, John Shore, denied the claim. Kinder Morgan spokesman Richard N. Wheatley said he didn’t “have a comment to offer.”

“Looking at Liberty Utilities’ expansion plans throughout southern New Hampshire, it’s hard to conclude that new natural gas infrastructure is a bridge to anything other than more natural gas dependence and infrastructure,” Eiseman said.

Other projects

Liberty is the largest natural gas distribution utility in New Hampshire. It has more than 90,000 customers in more than 30 cities and towns. It’s also the subsidiary of Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp., which was participating in the development of the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline.

Besides the Keene project, Liberty Utilities is expanding natural gas service to Windham and Pelham off existing pipeline infrastructure in the region.

Liberty also has a petition pending before the N.H. Public Utilities Commission to construct a natural gas distribution system to serve Hanover and Lebanon.

Last year, the N.H. Public Utilities Commission approved Liberty Utilities’ $1.9 million purchase of Concord Steam’s assets, including its customer information, provided customers gave consent.

According to the Nov. 10, 2016 order, Liberty planned to use the information in “facilitating conversions of Concord Steam customers to gas service in an orderly fashion.”

Concord Steam, which was created in 1938, operated a system that burned wood chips at a power plant to make steam sent throughout underground pipes used for heating. Facing financial difficulties and unable to fund necessary upgrades to its power plant, the company and its system shut down on May 31.

As a result, many of the company’s customers, including the N.H. State House, 25 state office buildings, and Concord School District having to find an alternative heating source. Both the state and school district have chosen natural gas.

“None of these projects you listed are in any way an attempt by Liberty to create artificial need in order to revive the NED project. It is important to look at each one of these projects on their own, as they each have their own set of circumstances,” Shore said in an email.

When Liberty purchased the Keene franchise, it stated its intent to convert the system to natural gas, he said. The franchise has 1,250 customers.

“It will lower pricing for customers and it will increase reliability. The fuel will be provided by a third party, who was selected by a competitive solicitation. The third party will truck in natural gas that will be taken off pipelines unrelated to the withdrawn NED Project,” Shore said.

He also noted that former Concord Stream customers have “a number of choices on what fuel to use to heat their buildings. They are under no obligation to use natural gas.”

Pipeline opponents aren’t convinced.

“Personally, I do not think it is a coincidence that Liberty Utilities has focused on the most powerful economic centers in New Hampshire to expand their offerings. If the export plans go through, those towns; Concord, Pelham, Keene, Lebanon, and Hanover will be clamoring for pipelines to relieve the pressure on pricing,” Martin wrote in a letter Tuesday to Keene Mayor Kendall Lane, which she shared with The Sentinel.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Winchester superintendent to leave next month

The Winchester School District is looking for a new leader.

Superintendent James M. Lewis informed the school board earlier this month that he’s resigning, effective June 30.

He has been with the school district for eight years, the first three as Winchester School’s principal, and then as superintendent.

Lewis, who lives in Hopkinton, said Monday he began seriously thinking about moving on from the Winchester School District in January.

The daily drive of 54.5 miles from his house to the parking lot of the Winchester School has been getting more difficult, he said.

“It takes me just over an hour one way to get there,” he explained. “Much longer in the winter.”

The recent debate over the future of the ACCESS before- and after-school program at the kindergarten through 8th-grade school has nothing to do with his decision to step down, he said.

In March, Lewis sent a letter to program officials saying the school district wasn’t renewing ACCESS’ agreement to operate in the school for the 2017-18 school year. He received heavy pushback for his decision from program supporters and families who rely on it for childcare. The issue has been resolved, with an agreement to let the program stay at the school as long as it meets certain conditions (see related article).

School board Chairman Kevin Bazan said Monday that Lewis’ resignation and the ACCESS program continuing at Winchester are unrelated.

Lewis said he makes $92,006 as superintendent. His duties also include being special education director, a section 504 coordinator and a homeless liaison, he said.

During his tenure, Lewis said he has enjoyed solving problems by analyzing data and has seen the positive effect of that in Winchester.

“I feel the current Winchester administration shares my ideas and philosophies, so I’m confident they will continue to do well after I’m gone,” he said.

The school board is interviewing candidates to fill the superintendent post and reviewing the job description, according to Bazan.

Board members haven’t determined if the position will be part-time or full-time, as it is now, he said.

An advertisement for the job posted May 11 on School Spring, an education job-search website, lists June 15 as a starting date for a new superintendent. It notes that the position is for 32 hours a week, but may require additional hours, with salary and benefits negotiable.

The advertisement says the school district would like the candidate to be able to work with the current superintendent through June 30.

Best practices: Towns should have checks and balances on all public accounts

Sentinel Editorial

Winchester's Selectboard would do well to pay heed ...  

 

 

In small-town New Hampshire — and other states, for that matter — a small group of civic-minded individuals often takes the reins of local government. These people are known to everyone in town, often elected to their roles, and serve in positions few others seek to take on, such as deciding local zoning, budget and waste disposal issues. And often, they have control over public funds, sometimes sole control, which can be problematic.

That was brought home in a recent audit of the town accounts in Troy. As noted in a report today by staff writer Meghan Foley, the town of roughly 2,100 residents has, like many towns its size — or smaller — a town treasurer who oversees municipal accounts. In fact, she’s the only one with access to at least one account, meaning there’s no check on her work. And as Treasurer Janet McCullough herself notes, other town officials have pretty much sole control of other accounts.

This, according to auditing firm Vachon Clukay and Co., is a less-than-ideal setup. Neither McCullough’s ability or honesty is at issue. And the town did well in its audit. It’s just not a good model to have one person in charge of accounts with no oversight, the firm said. The dynamic — repeated in small towns all over the state — is similar at many small businesses and nonprofit agencies, which have few staffers trained to go over the books.

For decades, this has been the model in many, if not most, New Hampshire communities. Perhaps that’s due to the assumed honesty of Granite Staters, the trust we have in each other’s motives and character. And there was nary a case of that trust being breached. But all good things must end. For some reason, in the 1990s and early this century, several cases cropped up of municipal embezzlement in towns and school districts.

The N.H. Municipal Association has advised, since 2005, that towns put in place internal controls to ensure no employees have sole control of accounts or payments. But in many smaller communities, that still hasn’t happened. As the Municipal Association notes, having sole access to funds provides the opportunity for theft or fraud, even if there’s no intention. Having additional eyes on accounts lessens that opportunity. The state Department of Revenue Administration also advises against it, although no law mandates multiple access to accounts.

We’d guess in some cases, the situation persists because no one has ever stolen public funds in town before, and if local officials are your friends and neighbors, you might be reticent about putting in place policies that might make it seem they’re not trusted. It’s also because in many towns, there aren’t that many qualified people willing to serve in official roles. Some people can look at a ledger and follow where money came from and where it’s going, and others can’t. And there’s finding the time to do it.

Putting a process in place to solve the problem comes with costs. Either people must be trained and take time to periodically examine accounts, or more staff must be hired. In a best-case scenario, volunteer officials, such as selectmen or budget committee members, might take on that job. But someone should, even in the tiniest of towns.

Though the issue exists in many communities, the lesson should resonate particularly in Troy, where former administrative assistant to the selectmen and town welfare officer Cynthia Satas was sentenced to 30 days in jail in 2015 after stealing almost $20,000 in town money. In fact, part of Satas’ sentence was to pay the town back $19,000 she took, plus $10,000, which was to be used for a forensic audit. Asked about it recently, town officials said none of that money has been spent.

Plans would allow Winchester program to continue after school

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 
WINCHESTER — District administrators and representatives from a before- and after-school program have hashed out a plan that would allow the afternoon portion of the program to continue to use the town’s school beyond this school year.
But the future of the morning program remains in limbo.

ACCESS supporters, for a third consecutive week, attended a Winchester School Board meeting Thursday night to continue to question officials about the decision to evict the program from the kindergarten through 8th-grade Winchester School, and to learn about the latest proposal.

ACCESS is an acronym for All Children Cared for Educated Supported and Successful, and is a nonprofit organization with a local board of directors. The day care program, which began in 2000, provides homework help, activities, clubs and snacks for the children enrolled. It also provides dinner for some students whose parents can’t pick them up until 6 p.m. during the week.

Superintendent James M. Lewis told the Winchester School Board Thursday that school officials met with ACCESS’ board of directors Tuesday for two hours, and one of the items they discussed was concerns with the afternoon program that need to be addressed.

Those include making sure ACCESS staff knows how to deal with issues students are facing before the school day starts, having scheduled times for ACCESS representatives and school officials to meet, and having the program pay a fee to use the school.

He believes those matters can be solved, and recommends allowing ACCESS to use the school building for its afternoon operations, with some changes, he said.

However, the morning portion of the program remains a concern for school officials, as student problems that arise during the morning can continue into the school day, he said.

“Students do not tell adults or resolve issues then because they want to play,” he said. “But once school begins, those pent-up concerns overflow into the school day.”

That affects the school’s ability to educate students, he said.

There is also no transition time for students going from the ACCESS program in the morning to the classroom, he said.

Last month, Lewis sent a letter to ACCESS, which serves about 75 families with students in kindergarten through 8th grade, saying the program had to leave the school by June 30.

The letter didn’t explain the reasons for not renewing the organization’s agreement with the school, but Lewis has repeatedly said it has to do with space concerns as the school continues to grow.

Lewis clarified Thursday that school officials don’t plan to turn the ACCESS office in the school into a classroom, but most likely will give it to an information technology employee. The employee’s current office could be used for a classroom, he said.

He also wanted to clarify that ACCESS and Winchester School aren’t the same entity, as there has been some confusion about that, he said.

As she did last week, Missy Calderwood, drug-free community coordinator for Winchester, pressed board members about how school officials came to the decision to remove part of the ACCESS program, and if it really had to do with space problems at the school.

She again referenced nonpublic meeting minutes from Feb. 2 that state Lewis and Winchester School Principal Michael Duprey advised the board there were “too many problems” with the program, which “seems to be a daily thing.”

According to those minutes, Lewis and Duprey said they want to be fair and give ACCESS time, “but it’s time to say enough.”

Lewis then said he was looking for the school board’s “blessing” to end having ACCESS at the school, which he received, the minutes state.

“I’m curious if the problems stated in the meeting notes have anything to do with this, and why wasn’t it brought up to Beth prior to getting ACCESS out,” Calderwood said.

Beth A. Baldwin has been executive director of ACCESS since August 2016.

School board Chairman Kevin Bazan said space is definitely an issue, and the administration had brought up ACCESS at the Feb. 2 meeting and at previous meetings for which the minutes are still sealed.

Bazan said the board stands by school administrators that what they’ve decided for ACCESS is the right way to go, he said.

“The school needs to be a school first before it’s a place for ACCESS to operate,” he said.

The likely institution of a facilities use fee for ACCESS brought up concerns from some audience members if other groups, such as the Winchester Community Band, would also be charged for using the school.

Jeremy Miller, former executive director of ACCESS, argued against fees for community groups. The renovation and addition to Winchester School some years ago, was sold to residents as a way to make the school a community hub.

“I’m sad as a citizen, I’m sad as a former ACCESS employee, and I’m sad as a former school district employee,” he said.

Lewis said school and ACCESS officials will meet again April 25 for a phone discussion with the state.

The phone call is expected to focus on what is required in a memorandum of understanding between ACCESS and the Winchester School so the groups can partner, school district Business Manager Elisha Jackson said.

The most recent agreement is dated June 2016.

“We want to work together for what is best for the students,” Lewis said, “not what’s best for the school, ACCESS or even parents.”

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley @keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Painted pole at Winchester salon polarizes shop owner, state

Sarah Lounder is seen outside her shop, Cuts on Main, in downtown Winchester Wednesday. She is next to the painted bricks that have resulted in a fine from the state’s Board of Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics, on the grounds that they appropriate the sign of barbers to advertise. Lounder says the bricks predate her occupancy of the building, which she doesn’t own.

By Isaac Stein Sentinel Staff

 

WINCHESTER — There’s an ongoing conflict here that’s small in dollars and size, but pits a local business owner against the state of New Hampshire. The dispute is over some bricks on the outside of a hair salon. They’re painted red, white and blue — the colors of a barber’s pole.

But the state — specifically, the Board of Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics, which is an arm of the N.H. Office of Professional Licensure and Certification — takes issue with the idea that a licensed cosmetologist has those painted bricks outside her shop.

Their claim? That she’s appropriating the sign of barbers to advertise, which is misleading, as barbering requires its own certification.

Sarah Lounder, who owns Cuts on Main at 128 Main St., says the bricks are “not deceitful, and not willfully misleading,” and that she doesn’t own the building. She added that the paint predates her occupancy, and that the previous business in the space was a barbershop, but said she doesn’t know whether the barber applied the paint.

He did, however, have a physical barber’s pole, which Lounder said he took with him when she moved in.

To back its argument with respect to the paint, the board points to Bar 302.05 of its organizational rules, which states that “if a licensee chooses to advertise, the licensee shall not advertise or solicit clients in any form of communication in a manner that is false or misleading.”

For the paint, the board gave Lounder a three-point fine after its February inspection of Cuts on Main, according to Kathryn Wantuck, the board’s executive director.

That translates to $3.

However, as per state statute, the board is entitled to assess a range of penalties upon licencees for offenses that include “failure to observe the requirements of any rule adopted by the board.”

Sanctions can include warnings, license suspensions or revocations, or administrative fines of up to $500 per offense.

Wantuck explained that the board — whose website indicates it has six members— oversees roughly 2,000 establishments, all of them inspected on a regular basis.

Lounder, of Warwick, Mass., said she isn’t concerned about the dollar amount of the fine. But, she said, enforcing such rules “is just so silly,” and discourages people from starting businesses in New Hampshire.

“People don’t know or care about the (legal distinction between) barbers and cosmetologists; they just want a haircut,” Lounder said.

Among other distinctions, barbers are allowed to use straight razors without guards, while cosmetologists are not, according to Lounder, who has been in business in Winchester since last June.

New Hampshire law defines barbering as shaving or trimming the beard or cutting the hair; giving facial or scalp massages or treatment with oils, creams, lotions or other preparations, either by hand or mechanical appliances; or shampooing, arranging, dressing or styling the hair.

Cosmetology is a bit different. That means arranging, dressing, curling, waving, cleansing, cutting, bleaching, coloring or similarly treating the hair of any person, and performing other work customarily done by a cosmetologist, such as giving facials, manicures, pedicures and artificial nail enhancements, applying makeup or eyelashes and removing superfluous hair, according to the statute.

Both are licensed professionals who can cut hair.

In an email to Lounder dated Tuesday, Wantuck addressed the specific point about the exterior paint “not (being) a barber pole in the traditional sense,” but said the board voted and decided it was still misleading.

A quick web search shows that the sign barbers use to identify themselves has evolved over time.

Since the medieval period, the barber’s pole has been used to identify those in the hair-cutting trade, though the precise colors varied by place and the services offered, according to a 2013 article in the U.K. edition of “The Huffington Post.”

The article reports that “the pole’s red and white stripes represent the bloodied bandages,” back when barbers were also sometimes the go-to surgeons in town.

Conversely, the report notes that red, white, and blue barbers’ poles in the U.S. might “have more to do with the colours of the nation’s flag than anything else.”

In any case, it appears the parties in the Winchester dispute are at an impasse.

Wantuck said Lounder has not been given a date for when she must comply with the board’s notice about the painted bricks. While the point penalty could be reassessed, she added that the board could decide on a new penalty if Lounder declines to comply with its direction to remove the paint.

For her part, Lounder said she’d “rather not paint it over.”

Isaac Stein can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1435, or Istein@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @ISteinKS

 

Can it get any sillier in NH ?  What's next, does the owner of the building sue her for defacing his property if she complies with this mandate ?  This all seems a bit suspect .. 

PARENTS BE AWARE FOR YOUR CHILDREN:

On 01/23/2017,  Rep. King, Steve [R-IA-4] referred  H.R. Bill 610 to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.


The new Secretary of Education is the biggest threat to your children's future. For those of you not in the education field, you may not understand a lot of the educational jargon and the foundation of the American education system.
Having a school voucher system (proposed by Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos) doesn't just mean you can choose any school you want your kid to go to. Let's be clear here, just because you choose that school does NOT mean they have to accept your child. It also means the public education program will be dismantled. Let me explain...

If your child has an IEP, frame it. Then kiss it good-bye. For those of you not familiar with the term, the IEP, is a document that is developed for each public school child who needs special education. The IEP is created through a team effort, reviewed periodically. In the United States, this program is known as an Individualized Education Program If you have a job in special-education, meaning if you're a: special education teacher, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, a para, or a teacher's aid, you're in the same boat. If you are an ESL teacher, you'll go first.

House Bill 610 makes some large changes. Inform yourselves. This bill will effectively start the school voucher system to be used by children ages 5-17 and starts the defunding process of public schools.

The bill will eliminate the Elementary and Education Act of 1965, which is the nation's educational law that provides equal opportunity in education.
ESSA (The Every Student Succeeds Act is a US law passed in December 2015 that governs the United States K–12 public education policy)  is a big comprehensive program that covers programs for struggling learners, advanced and gifted kids in Advanced Placement classes, ESL(English as a Second Language)  classes, classes for minorities such as Native Americans, Rural Education, Education for the Homeless, School Safety (Gun-Free schools), Monitoring and Compliance, and Federal Accountability Programs. Yes, there are all of these programs happening in our education system, in addition to just academics.

The Bill also abolishes the Nutritional Act of 2012 (No Hungry Kids Act) which provides nutritional standards in school breakfast and lunch.
The bill has no wording whatsoever protecting Special Needs kids, no mention of IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act , is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation ) , and FAPE ( Free Appropriate Public Education, is an educational right of children with disabilities in the United States that is guaranteed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act )
Some things ESSA does for Children with Disabilities:
-Ensures access to the general education curriculum.
-Ensures access to accommodations on assessments.
-Ensures concepts of Universal Design for Learning.
-Includes provisions that require local education agencies to provide evidence-based interventions in schools with consistently under-performing subgroups.
-Requires states in Title I plans to address how they will improve conditions for learning including reducing incidents of bullying and harassment in schools, overuse of discipline practices and reduce the use of aversive behavioral interventions (such as restraints and seclusion).

Please call your representative and ask him/her to vote NO on House Bill 610 (HR 610) introduced by three Republican reps.

The full text of HR 610 can be read here:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/610/text

Winchester board to discuss decision to evict ACCESS from school

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 
WINCHESTER — The school board will discuss a decision by administrators to force a popular before- and after-school program to leave Winchester School by the end of June.
School board Chairman Kevin Bazan said at Thursday night’s meeting that board members would speak about the ACCESS program’s relationship with the school at their meeting next week, as they weren’t prepared to discuss it that night, or answer questions.

However, the board did take public comment, of which there was a lot, all in support of the program and keeping it at the school.

“ACCESS has taught me almost just as much as I learn in school,” said Soleil Laganiere, a 6th-grader at Winchester School.

Through the program, she’s learned about agriculture, cooking and “police things,” and the importance of being prepared for high school and college, she said.

She’s also had an opportunity through the program to attend a camp at Keene State College focused on science, technology, engineering and math, she said.

In addition, ACCESS staff are positive role models for students, she said.

“Though ACCESS, I’ve learned the importance of standing up for what you believe in, and I believe in ACCESS,” she said, to applause.

ACCESS is an acronym for All Children Cared for Educated Supported and Successful, and is a nonprofit organization with a local board of directors. The day care program provides homework help, activities and snacks for the children enrolled.

It has an agreement with the Winchester School District to use the kindergarten through 8th-grade school for its programming, and has an office in the building.

However, on Monday, ACCESS received a letter signed by Winchester Superintendent James M. Lewis saying the school district wouldn’t renew the agreement.

The letter didn’t explain the reasons for not renewing the agreement, but says ACCESS should vacate the school with all its property no later than June 30.

Lewis said Wednesday the school needs more space to grow because the budget passed last week allows it to add classrooms and programs. Because the school needs to reclaim the space, ACCESS has to find another place to run its programming.

Despite Lewis’ explanation, there was suspicion at the meeting among ACCESS supporters that there are other reasons for administrators wanting to give the program the boot.

One woman who spoke Thursday night referenced nonpublic meeting minutes from Feb. 2, which say Lewis and Winchester School Principal Michael Duprey advised the board there were “too many problems” with the program, which “seems to be a daily thing.”

The school board didn’t vote on the matter, but did give its blessing to the administration to end the program at the school, according to the meeting minutes.

Lewis said Wednesday the decision to have ACCESS leave had nothing to do with the program or its leadership.

“Every single time I’ve approached (ACCESS Executive Director Beth A. Baldwin) that there has been a problem, she has dealt with it,” he said.

But Lewis’ decision didn’t sit well with several parents, students and ACCESS staff members, about 30 of whom attended Thursday’s school board meeting.

Jane Cardinale, a special education teacher at Winchester School, is a volunteer with ACCESS and a past member of its board. She said the program, while providing day care, has enriched the lives of her family and her son.

Many of those enrichment opportunities, such as her son participating in a drama program and playing basketball, she wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford, she said.

She believes the school district’s decision not to renew its agreement with ACCESS was short-sighted, she said.

“I believe the partnership the Winchester School has with ACCESS benefits students greatly,” she said.

ACCESS, which started in 2000, serves children in kindergarten through 8th grade from about 75 families, Baldwin said Wednesday. Besides providing activities for children before and after school, it also has a summer program, she said.

About two-thirds of those families receive scholarships because they couldn’t otherwise afford the program, she said.

Besides having its office in the school, ACCESS uses the cafeteria as the main hub to conduct its programs, with some classrooms used for breakout sessions with students, she said.

The program’s annual budget is about $250,000; $80,000 of that comes from a federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, she said. The rest of the funding comes from other small grants and fees.

Regardless of whether ACCESS is allowed to continue operating in Winchester School, the program, as well as others in the region and nationwide that rely on the federal grant to cover some expenses, faces an uncertain future.

President Donald J. Trump has proposed eliminating funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant in the federal budget be presented in mid-March.

Missy Calderwood, drug-free community coordinator for Winchester, told school board members the prime time students engage in risky behavior is between 3 and 6 p.m., and the ACCESS programs runs during that time frame.

“Without the program, you possibly could have kids going home to empty houses, which is of concern,” she said. “That’s when kids start experimenting with alcohol, drugs and sex.”

The program is a way the community can prevent students from engaging in risky behavior, she said, and without it, she’s concerned it will give them more opportunity to do dangerous things.

Karren Stetson said she became a single parent unexpectedly, and has a child in kindergarten who attends ACCESS.

“I think it says a lot about a program when your child asks you to come later to pick them up,” she said. “I can’t express how valuable this program is for a single parent.”

The Winchester School Board is next scheduled to meet on Thursday, April 6, at 6:30 p.m. in the Winchester School library.

Election fortunes change in Winchester following recount

By Ethan DeWitt and Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 

WINCHESTER — Two election results were overturned in a recount Tuesday, in a process that revealed a broad discrepancy in vote counts. The recount saw Ben Kilanski elected to a three-year term on the Winchester School Board, and Kenneth Berthiaume to a one-year term as a Thayer Public Library trustee. Both had been just shy of victory on election night last week; both filed for recounts soon after.

In the original vote on March 21, Kilanski finished two votes behind Nicole Pelkey, with 295 votes to Pelkey’s 297, for one of two, three-year terms on the school board. Incumbent Kevin Bazan took the other seat with 321 votes.

Following the recount, Kilanski received 296 votes to Pelkey’s 295 votes, thus winning by a single vote.

But the bigger upset came from Berthiaume’s race. The original tally showed Berthiaume, who was seeking re-election to the library trustee post, receiving 271 votes to challenger Janet Marsh’s 276 votes.

After the recount Berthiaume received 309 votes to Marsh’s 304 votes. The discrepancy in that race is sizable — 66 fewer votes were counted on election night than in the recount.

Town Clerk Jim Tetreault said that all of the extra votes counted in the recount were a result of ballots that had not been properly marked the first time around. The AccuVote machines that Winchester and other New Hampshire towns use can pick up only votes in which the bubbles are entirely filled in, he said.

In cases where voters circle options instead of filling them in, the machine will not count the result; in situations where both options appear filled in because the voter changed his or her mind, the machine will also not count the result, Tetreault said.

Tetreault said he didn’t know why the library trustee race had received so many more unreadable votes than other races. In an interview, Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said he also didn’t know why.

Tetreault added that he didn’t see the case as evidence that the machines are faulty, an opinion shared by Scanlan.

Rather than a fault with the machines, Scanlan said that the wide difference in vote counts was likely a result of an addition error by those working the polls.

“On a discrepancy that big, I would definitely take a look at the human factor,” he said this morning, speaking on Winchester’s results.

Keeping closer track of the overall vote count would have allowed Winchester election workers to notice that one race had received substantially fewer votes than the other races, Scanlan said.

Tetreault agreed with the diagnosis, saying that the long working hours on election day may have caused officials, who are volunteers, to make some addition errors during the original ballot count and not see the machine wasn’t counting a number of votes.

“This is a great learning opportunity that our team has to review things a bit closer than we did,” he said.

Space crunch puts Winchester before- and after-school program in jeopardy

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 

WINCHESTER — A popular before-and-after-school program is being forced to find a new home after nearly 20 years operating out of the town’s elementary school. In a letter Monday, Winchester Superintendent James M. Lewis wrote to ACCESS Chairman Nicholas Raymond that the school district won’t renew the nonprofit organization’s agreement to run the program at the elementary school.

The letter didn’t explain the reasons for not renewing the organization’s agreement, but says that ACCESS should vacate the school with all its property no later than June 30.

Lewis said Wednesday that ACCESS was told it must leave the kindergarten through 8th-grade school because the school needs more space to grow.

ACCESS is an acronym for All Children Cared for Educated Supported and Successful.

The program, which started in 2000, serves children in kindergarten through 8th grade from about 75 families, Executive Director Beth A. Baldwin said Wednesday. Besides providing activities for children before and after school, it also has a summer program, she said.

About two-thirds of those families receive scholarships because they couldn’t afford the program otherwise, she said.

The program has an office at the school, and uses the cafeteria as its main hub to conduct its programs, she said. It also uses some classrooms for breakout sessions with students.

ACCESS has an annual budget of about $250,000; $80,000 of that comes from a federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, she said. The rest of the funding comes from other small grants and fees.

Every family pays something to have their students attend the program; payments are based on how much a family can afford, she said.

By using the school, ACCESS doesn’t have to pay rent or utility costs, and that helps to keep the costs of running the program low, according to Baldwin.

At this time, ACCESS doesn’t have another place to go, and other than the school there aren’t a lot of spaces available in town that could accommodate the program, she said.

“I’m concerned a lot of families who rely on this program won’t have child care next year,” she said.

The decision to have ACCESS leave the school was made administratively, and had nothing to do with the program or its leadership, according to Lewis.

“I feel terrible about it, but we need space, and that’s what it comes down to,” he said.

One possible solution to this problem is to reopen some space at the former Thayer High School, which closed in 2005, according to Lewis. However, doing that would cost money and, from a logistical perspective, couldn’t happen right away, he said.

With the $11,270,287 operating budget voters passed earlier this month, the school district will be able to add the much-needed positions of a health teacher and a foreign language teacher to better prepare students to attend Keene High School, he said.

School officials are also mulling hiring a third 6th-grade teacher, given the large number of students in the current 5th-grade class, he said.

“It’s a pretty exciting time for us and the school. It’s been my priority to get the school to be as good as it possibly can be,” he said.

However, Lewis’ decision, which the school board backed last month, is now taking some heat from those involved with the ACCESS program as not being in the best interests of the school district and its students.

Baldwin said she’s concerned about how school officials made the decision without involving ACCESS staff and community members.

She said that when she started working for ACCESS in August, she began corresponding with Lewis by email about making changes to the organization’s agreement with the school because she wanted it to have more details.

At some point, the emails stopped, and in February, Baldwin said she asked Lewis about it. He said he wanted to meet with her, Baldwin said.

Eventually, she said, Lewis told her school officials had decided to sever ties with the program.

ACCESS’ board of directors met with Lewis and Winchester School Principal Mike Duprey on Monday, but attempts to negotiate other solutions weren’t successful, Baldwin said.

“I’m new here, and my goal is to provide services to families that depend on the program, and also make it a good program. I want to work collaboratively with the school, and I just feel I haven’t been given that opportunity,” she said. “I’m willing to make whatever modifications we can make so that we can continue to provide services. The indication we got on Monday was that this was a done deal, and there was no negotiating.”

Lewis said he and other administrators didn’t approach ACCESS personnel to let them know what would happen if the budget passed at the school district’s annual meeting. In retrospect, maybe that notification should have been done before the annual meeting, he said.

He added that he hadn’t expected voters would pass the school district’s 2017-18 operating budget, and was pleasantly surprised when they did.

Baldwin said ACCESS will appeal its case to the Winchester School Board tonight at 6:30 at the school board’s meeting at the school library. She and other ACCESS officials are encouraging parents to attend the meeting to speak in support of the program and the importance that it continue at the school, she said.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Conservation Commision Meeting Minutes

By law, meeting minutes are to be published within 5 business day.. Guess our Conservation Commission didn't get the message or perhaps they just don't want people in town knowing what they are up to. Not up to date or complete.

Meeting Minutes posted here:

http://www.winchester-nh.gov/Pages/WinchesterNH_ConCommMinutes/

( simply highlight the link and right click on it, then choose OPEN IN NEW TAB )

Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes

Like the Town's Planning Board Meeting Minutes, slow to be posted and incomplete.

Viewable here:

 http://www.winchester-nh.gov/Pages/WinchesterNH_ZBAMinutes/

 ( simply highlight the link and right click on it, then choose OPEN IN NEW TAB )

Planning Board Meeting Minutes

Never up to date and never complete and always being "updated", which by the way is ILLEGAL

Viewable on the Town of Winchester's website, here:

http://www.winchester-nh.gov/Pages/WinchesterNH_PlanningMinutes/

 ( simply highlight the link and right click on it, then choose OPEN IN NEW TAB )

BOS Meeting Minutes 3-15-17

If you are having trouble reading what is posted you can view on the town's website here:

http://www.winchester-nh.gov/Pages/WinchesterNH_Selectminutes/

 ( simply highlight the link and right click on it, then choose OPEN IN NEW TAB )

Hypothetically speaking on Ridgeline application

Because the Winchester Zoning Board of Adjustment chose to create threatening zombies out of Ridgeline’s applications for a special exception and a variance, Winchester residents can’t forget about potential risk to their peaceful well-being, and just move on. The neither-dead-nor-alive determination of the ZBA only invites further anxiety, scrutiny and most of all ... questions.
Did town counsel advise the ZBA to act on a hypothetical situation (land sale may be reversed) rather than on the actual situation (legal landowner requested withdrawal of the applications from consideration)? That would seem odd ... perhaps even suspicious.

Yet the board, upon leaving a nonpublic session in which they discussed only “legal information regarding Ridgeline application,” voted (without discussion) to table the applications. It would be even more odd for the board not to follow legal advice received.

When Ridgeline filed its lawsuit requesting a reversal of the land sale, the terms of its sales agreement became public. Ridgeline originally asked for 45 days to acquire all necessary permits (plus a 30-day extension) before closing. That was later extended multiple times.

I look forward to reading the arguments of the plaintiff and defendants as the lawsuit proceeds, and I can’t help but ponder some of the questions that may arise.

One question screams out above all others. Why would a business, obviously backed by big money, represented by a top-tier law firm that surely knows the intricacies of land-use laws and permitting processes, believe that it could sail through the ZBA, receive approval for a site plan before the planning board, acquire a wetlands permit from the N.H. Department of Environmental Services, perform soils tests and acquire septic approval, and obtain all other permits required, in a mere 45-75 days?

Ignorance? Arrogance? ... Assurance?

In theory, the court will administer justice. What would that entail?

What would be the consequences of a property sale reversal? The seller would have to return the purchase price to the buyer. What if that money had already been expended and the seller was unable to comply? That might leave the buyer with no recourse but to sue a bloodless stone. Would that be just?

Would the court consider the seller’s ability to refund the sale price in arriving at its decision? Is Ridgeline suing the new owner in attempts to undermine its right to equal justice as an innocent party?

Certainly a court couldn’t require a seller to not only lose a proven buyer, but also pass up other potential buyers, for an indefinite period of time. Would that be just? No.

So a court would have to limit the amount of time the seller would be mandated to let Ridgeline hold its property hostage. What would be a fair and reasonable time to deny a seller access to its wealth, particularly in the face of what are arguably steep — and more likely insurmountable — odds for permitting success? Three months? Six months? Two years? Ten years?

It really all boils down to one question. How responsible is a property seller for the ignorance, arrogance or confidence of a potential buyer?

I know what my answer would be.

But I am neither a lawyer nor a judge. I don’t know the legal weight of the phrase “for now” added to the agreement termination notice, nor do I know if “seller’s agent,” from whom the words came, was legal counsel or just a real estate agent expressing a personal hope that another buyer would back out and the Ridgeline agreement would be revived and yield a commission.

SUSAN M. NEWELL

Winchester

Winchester school board, library trustee races headed to recounts

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 

WINCHESTER — Two races from Tuesday’s town and school district elections are headed to recounts. Town Clerk James Tetreault said this morning that recount requests have been filed in the race for a three-year term on the Winchester School Board, and the one-year term as a Thayer Public Library Trustee.

Incumbent Kevin Bazan, and challengers Ben Kilanski and Nicole Pelkey all vied for two, three-year terms on the school board during Tuesday’s election.

While Bazan received 321 votes to be re-elected, Pelkey received 297 votes and Kilanski got 295 votes.

Kilanski said Wednesday he had filed for a recount because of the slim margin of votes separating him from Pelkey.

Incumbent Kenneth Berthiaume, who ran against Janet Marsh for the one-year term as a Thayer Public Library trustee, has also filed for a recount, Tetreault said.

Marsh received 276 votes, while Berthiaume got 271 votes.

Tetreault said he is in the process of scheduling those recounts, and is tentatively looking to hold them Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m. at Winchester Town Hall.

School district Moderator Henry A.L. Parkhurst and town Moderator Denis V. Murphy 2nd will oversee the recounts, Tetreault said. They are in the midst of appointing the recount board and working out other details, he said.

The deadline for anyone who wants to file for a recount from Tuesday’s election is today at 5 p.m., he said.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Close scrutiny of nuclear waste move needed

A risky procedure is planned for this spring at a nuclear waste dump in Vermont that’s 3 miles from Massachusetts and a stone’s throw from New Hampshire. If the operation goes wrong, thousands of people could be killed. A group based in Shelburne Falls, Mass., near Greenfield, will probably organize a march to call for children at the elementary school directly across the street from the dump to be taken further away during the procedure, which involves moving hundreds of tons of nuclear waste from a water-filled pool seven stories above ground into so-called “dry casks” at ground level.

Another goal of the march would be to get the government to come up with a realistic plan to notify people in case of an accident, and to evacuate school children, people at nursing homes, and others who don’t have a car. The group is called Citizens Awareness Network. It has a web site at www.NukeBusters.org.

The nuclear waste dump was formerly known as the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. The reactor was closed in 2014, thanks to thousands of people who attended marches and rallies, and hundreds who were arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience.

CAN helped organize a protest against Vermont Yankee in Brattleboro in 2012 that drew 1,500 people, 137 of whom were arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience. A CAN worker recently contacted the newly elected Vermont attorney general, and the relevant employees of the newly elected Vermont governor, about these issues.

Nuclear waste is the most deadly material on earth. The waste is so dangerous that it must be guarded 24 hours a day for the next 1 million years, according to the federal government. The prevailing wind is from the west, which would blow radioactivity toward Keene.

A serious accident at the Indian Point nuclear power plant near New York City would kill 50,000 people and result in 100,000 “radiation injuries” and $300 billion in property damage. That’s according to “Calculation of Reactor Accident Consequences (CRAC 2),” a study prepared by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for Congress. It was cited by Elizabeth Kolbert in her article “Indian Point Blank,” which was published in The New Yorker magazine on March 3, 2003.

The same study says a major accident at Vermont Yankee would cause 7,000 “prompt fatalities.” There is at least 10 times more nuclear waste at the Vermont Yankee site now than when the study was released.

EESHA WILLIAMS

Dummerston, Vt.

Taxes to rise 1.6 percent under new Cheshire County budget

By Ethan DeWitt Sentinel Staff
 

Cheshire County taxes are rising, again. But after months of deliberations and meetings, members of the executive committee for the N.H. House county delegation say they’ve brought that increase down to a minimum. In a 14-0 vote Monday night, the 23-member delegation approved a $45,366,304 county operating budget for fiscal year 2017-18. That total is up $1,462,249, or 3.33 percent, from the budget legislators approved last year.

Taxes will rise $382,641, or 1.6 percent, from their total last year.

The causes of the budget increase vary. A bulk of it is due to higher employee wages, according to N.H. Rep. Bruce L. Tatro, D-Swanzey, chairman of the executive committee. A total of $240,000 was added to wages and $150,811 to employee health insurance across the county, he said. An additional $211,330 was included this year to meet an increased need for Medicaid Assistance for nursing homes and home-based health care.

Monday's vote solidifies the second county tax hike in two years. But the rise, Tatro is quick to argue, is contained. A budget proposal by the Cheshire County commissioners had asked for a 2.35 percent tax increase for a $46.5 million budget; the executive committee whittled that down over a series of hearings with commissioners and department heads.

“After several months … we are pleased with the budget we are presenting,” Tatro said in a letter to the delegation.

Voting to approve the budget were Reps. Richard Ames, D-Jaffrey; Paul S. Berch, D-Westmoreland; John Bordenet, D-Keene; Delmar D. Burridge, D-Keene, Daniel A. Eaton, D-Stoddard; Barry Faulkner, D-Swanzey; John B. Hunt, R-Rindge; James McConnell, R-Swanzey; David R. Meader, D-Keene; John O’Day, R-Rindge; Marjorie J. Shepardson, D-Marlborough; Franklin W. Sterling, R-Jaffrey; Bruce L. Tatro, D-Swanzey; and Lucy M. Weber, D-Walpole.

The same group then voted to increase taxes accordingly, 14-0. Absent from both votes were Reps. Michael Abbott, D-Hinsdale; Donovan Fenton, D-Keene; Cathryn A. Harvey, D-Spofford; Gladys Johnsen, D-Keene; Douglas A. Ley, D-Jaffrey; John E. Mann, D-Alstead; Henry A. L. Parkhurst, D-Winchester; William Pearson, D-Keene; and Joseph P. Stallcop, D-Keene.

Ethan DeWitt can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1439, or edewitt@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EDeWittKS