New Hampshire Wind Watch sent out a press release hailing a vote in the town of Groton. Seventy percent of the town’s registered voters cast ballots in an effort by the town’s planning board to determine whether or not there was support for additional industrial wind turbines in town. Groton, already home to Groton Wind, which has twenty four four hundred foot tall windmills, voted heavily against allowing Energias de Portugal to add to its facilities by constructing the proposed Spruce Ridge Industrial Wind Project, with sixty two percent opposed. The Groton vote was in response to reports that E D P plans to seek N H Site Evaluation Committee approval for Spruce Ridge in Canaan, Orange, Dorchester, Alexandria and Groton and will be moving forward with town meetings as now required by law.
If built, Spruce Ridge will contain twenty nine five hundred foot tall industrial wind turbines, which are one hundred feet taller than those of Groton Wind which can be seen from Mount Cardigan, Newfound Lake and other locations within a 50-mile radius.
Spruce Ridge proposal rejected by Groton
The Groton Planning Board created the ballot to determine if residents support future industrial wind projects in their town. The ballot was sent to registered voters along with a stamped return envelope addressed to the Planning Board. All ballots were serially numbered to ensure polling integrity. To guarantee voter anonymity, the ballots were randomly inserted into the envelopes. Based on this vote, the board will send a letter to the site selection committee stating Groton’s position. The Groton Board of Selectmen also stated they will send a letter expressing its opposition.
Wind Watch President Lori Learner called on E D P to move on saying that a company that says it would only move forward if it had local support should move on as every community in which it wants to build has overwhelmingly rejected it.
Green: Budget defeated, taxpayers lose
The Timberlane Regional School District Budget Committee met last night and, well, it was another tough one for the taxpayers. We got late word of the results, so we still have more info to get, but Arthur Green’s proposed sixty five million dollar budget didn’t pass. No surprise there. What did pass was a sixty seven point seven million dollar budget that’s four hundred thousand dollars higher than the flat line budget once demanded by the budget committee. This is likely to produce another tax increase given the reduction in non-tax revenues. The budget could be boosted by another hundred grand if a collective bargaining agreement containing pay raises is approved by voters. Question is, with the added funds, will administrators still try to shut down the Sandown Central Elementary School? I’m guessing they will and that the deliberative session on this budget is going to be a whopper. Can’t wait.
LPD: Overkill?
Police officials in Londonderry issued an interesting press release yesterday. They say they responded to South School at about twelve fifteen for a report of a man dressed in military style fatigues attempting to gain entry to the building. A school employee reported hearing three bangs as if someone was trying to force their way into the school. This came shortly after a notice was sent to the schools from the Londonderry High regarding a man dressed in military fatigues, who had been at the high school a short time ago to visit, but signed in with a name that was not familiar to the school. All schools were put into lock-down. South School was searched as was the area around the school and no one matching the original description was found. There were no signs of forced entry.
Officers determined that the name used by the visitor at the high school was legitimate were able to locate him at his home. They descended on the home, closing the road to his house and, as they wrote, “made contact with the male subject, who was wearing military fatigues.” He was briefly detained (read that as arrested and brought to police headquarters) and fully cooperative with the officers on scene as were all occupants of the house. It was determined that there were no crimes committed and that the subject was never at the South School. (So, where’s the complaint for filing a false report?) He had been at the high school to visit, having just returned home from boot camp. As no crime was committed, at least by the subject, the police released no names.
Lysars: Asking for joint school boards meeting
Hooksett School Board Member John Lyscars has sent a request to Hooksett School Board Chair Joanne McHuge and Mayor Ted Gatsas, Chairman of the Manchester Board of School Committee for a joint meeting of the two boards to approve a long term tuition contract. In an email to both, Lyscars attached a modified version of the long term contract with Pinkerton Academy that the Hooksett board is sending to a public forum on January sixth. Lyscars altered the language to reflect Manchester’s willingness not to have a required minimum number of students and also to reflect Manchester’s desire for a surcharge of ten percent over actual tuition costs. Lyscars believes that any other details that need to be hammered out can be done by both boards in the requested joint meeting so that the resulting contract can also be presented at the public forum schedule on January sixth and placed on the ballot this March. Wrote Lyscars in his email, quote “We have all worked hard this year for our constituents. This last effort will simply show all of our constituents in Manchester and Hooksett that we are all ready to put the past behind us, and work towards a better cooperative future for our communities, and continue the over 100 year relationship that was started well before any of us were elected to office, and will continue well into the future.”
Can’t show what was painted at HQ…lots of 4 letter words!
In a follow up to the story we broke about the McKelvie School in Bedford being graffitied with some really nasty stuff, Girard at Large has learned that Bedford’s S A U headquarters was also tagged. Police are asking residents to say something if they see something, even if they don’t think it’s anything, especially if it involves kids that might look out of place with backpacks or other items that might carry or conceal spray paint cans.
That’s news from our own backyard this Christmas Eve! Girard at Large hour ___ is next!