TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012
VOL. 20 NO. 183
BERLIN, N.H.
752-5858
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Environmental clean up of former Notre Dame high school complete BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN – The effort to convert the former Notre Dame high school into senior housing reached a major milestone this month. The city has completed the remediation of the building and soon plans to turn it over to TriCounty Community Action Program. CAP is working to secure the financing to allow it to turn the historic building into senior housing. “The city has gone as far as it can in moving the building forward,” said Housing Coordinator Andre Caron. “We’ve taken the environmental risk out of that building.” Two representatives from the N.H. Department of Environmental Services conducted a final inspection of the building on Jan. 18. Keith DuBois and Ralph Wickson, of DES’s hazardous waste remediation bureau, said they were impressed at the job the city has done. “We’re very pleased and encouraged to see the progress that’s been made,” said DuBois. “The cleanliness of the building is really impressive.” Wickson said once the city’s
environmental consultant, Nobis Engineering Inc., submits its final clean-up report, DES will issue a ‘Certificate of No Further Action’ and a ‘Ready for Reuse’ letter for the city. He said the two documents close the regulatory file for the site and certify that all the necessary remedial actions have been completed and the site is ready for reuse. Once the city receives the DES certificate and letter, the property will be turned over to CAP. CAP Housing and Economic Development Director Max Makaitis said the plan is turn the building into either senior housing or senior assisted housing. He said both options are still being explored. In either case, he said they are looking at 33 1-bedroom apartments for low and moderate-income seniors. Makaitis said there is a demonstrated need for senior housing as the baby boomer generation is aging. He said there currently are waiting lists for the senior housing projects in the city. The estimated cost of the see CLEAN UP page 9
City Housing Coordinators Linda White and Andre Caron joined state officials on a final inspection tour of the former Notre Dame High School building. The city has completed its remediation of the building and it will soon be turned over to Tri-County Community Action Program for conversion into senior housing. Left to right are: Berlin Housing Coordinator Linda White, Karl Asmundsson of Nobis Engineering, Ralph Wickson of N.H. Environmental Services, Berlin Housing Coordinator Andre Caron, and Keith DuBois of NHDES.
Woman arrested for Budget committee members attempt DWI with child in the car to defund Gorham town manager post GORHAM -- Police are crediting an alert bystander for helping to get a drunk driver off the road this weekend. The caller reported a possible drunk driver on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. He told police he believed a woman who had been drinking had just gotten behind the wheel with a young child in the vehicle and was traveling on Main Street in Gorham. According to police, the caller stayed on the phone with the dispatcher and followed the vehicle south on Main Street while police were dispatched. He reported that the vehicle was operating erratically and
almost drove off the roadway as it entered the town of Shelburne. The caller then stopped the vehicle and waited until police arrived, moments later. Sharon Wood, 35 of West Lebanon, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated second offense, as well as two felonies, falsifying physical evidence and possession of controlled/ narcotic drugs. Wood’s juvenile son was in the vehicle. Police also noted officers found she concealed drugs from the officers at the
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BY MELISSA GRIMA THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
GORHAM — In an attempt to send a message to Town Manager Robin Frost, a number of budget committee members attempted to defund the executive office portion of the Gorham town budget last week. The measure failed to pass on a vote that split the committee down the middle, 5-5. Committee member Robert Balon proposed zeroing out all lines of the executive office section of the proposed appropriations for 2012, “based on the fact that the town manager has made her position clear on the committee and I feel we should make our position clear and leave it up to the voters.” Balon stipulated that his motion excluded the $300 stipend for the budget clerk. Balon’s reference to the town manager’s
position on the committee was directed at Frost’s comment from a previous meeting that she would have signed a petition to place an article on the warrant that seeks to abolish the budget committee if she had been able. Other town employees and citizens have signed such a petition and the matter will be on the ballot at the March town meeting. The executive office lines include the town manager’s salary and benefits, the stipends for the selectmen and stipends for the town moderator, along with professional dues, training and travel expenses for the selectmen and town manager. The lines proposed to be removed totaled $75,533, according to town budget documents dated Jan. 24. Balon was unable to get a majority of his colleagues to agree to the symbolic vote, with
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