FRIDAY, JANAURY 13, 2012
VOL. 20 NO. 174
BERLIN, N.H.
Inauguration takes place Monday BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN – Inaugural ceremonies for Mayor Paul Grenier and the new city council will take place this Monday, Jan. 16 at the city hall auditorium. It was be a historic moment in the city’s history as the council for the first time ever will have four women serving on the eight-member board. The program gets underway at 6:30 p.m. with opening remarks by Grenier. The mayor will then call the old city council into order one last time to handle some unfinished business. There will be a special presentation to out-going Councilors Tom McCue of Ward II and Mark Evans
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of Ward III. Both men will have an opportunity to make brief remarks. The council will then adjourn for the last time. City Clerk Debra Patrick will swear in Grenier and the new council. Councilors-elect are Lucie Remillard and Russell Otis, Ward I; Dori Ducharme and Denise Morgan Allain, Ward II; Peter Higbee, Ward III; Diana Nelson and Roland Theberge, Ward IV. Higbee and Morgan Allain will be taking the oath of office for the first time - Remillard, Otis, Ducharme, Nelson, and Theberge were all incumbents. The only member of the council who was not up for election last fall was Ward III Councilor Michael Rozek. see INAUGURATION page 7
John Wacker
Public invited to unveiling of final Moving Downtown Forward plan
Gayle Theberge and Peggy Blais staff the Adult Learning Center at 166 Main Street, Berlin, where people can prepare to take and complete the General Educational Development (GED) test to earn high school equivalency certification. Classes are free. Behind Theberge and Blais are some of the workbooks used in the classes. The GED program will change on Jan 1, 2014. By then, students who have already invested time in their studies will need to have taken their GED exam or start everything all over again, says Blais. (GAIL SCOTT PHOTO)
Changes to GED tests are being made BY GAIL SCOTT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN—The General Educational Development tests are being revamped and a new set will be inaugurated in 2014. These tests, popularly known as the GED, certify that the taker has high school-level academic skills. The goal of the change in the GED is to create a suite of tests that are computer based, as most jobs and further academic work will require computer use, said Berlin Adult Learner Services Director Peggy Blais.
Many of the students presently working on the GED courses at the ALS do not have computers but the office now has a set for the students to learn to use. “We may have to add keyboarding to our courses,” Blais remarked. While the change is expected to benefit those who take the tests, the problem is that people who are now slowly qualifying under the old test system will have their scores wiped out as of Jan. 1, 2014 if they haven’t passed the test before that date. see GED page 8
BERLIN -- After two public hearings and months of work, the public is invited next Wednesday to attend the unveiling of the final report outlining an action plan to redevelop the downtown. The Moving Downtown Forward plan will be outlined Wednesday, Jan. 16 in the Berlin council chambers at 5:30 p.m. Put together by a team of top consultants, the plan sets forth recommendations for both an economic action plan and a design action plan for the downtown. “The plan provides a “What, When and How” for downtown vibrancy relative to real estate development, streetscape enhancement to include the PSNH Park, communication and marketing,” according to a press release issued by the Berlin Main Street Program and the Berlin Planning Department. The consulting team consists of Stuart Arnett from Arnett Development Group, John Wacker & Associates, Landscape Architect and Planner, and Jay Poulin, of HEB Engineers. As proposed, the plan calls for investing $15 million in the downtown over the next decade, with the city asked to contribute ten percent of that total. Other funding would come from Public Service of N.H., grants, tax increment financing, and private investment. The area covered by the plan runs from Veteran’s Park to St Anne Church. The Neil & Louise Tillotson Fund granted the primary funding for the hiring of the consultant group matched by funds from PSNH and the Berlin Main Street Program. Questions on the initiative should be directed to City Planner Pam Laflamme at 752-8587.
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