TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2011
VOL. 20 NO. 127
BERLIN, N.H.
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Route 110 demolition work to get underway soon BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN -- The state has completed purchase of all 31 properties slated for demolition as part of the Route 110 upgrade and is scheduled to demolish 11 of the buildings this fall. Newly appointed Department of Transportation Commissioner Christopher Clement joined Executive Councilor Raymond Burton Friday on a tour that included a stop at the Route 110 project site. Also on the tour were Kirk Mudgett, head of the design team for the project, and senior group leader Mike Hazlett. Mudgett said the state has completed purchase of all 31 properties - only one is still occupied. DOT has gone out to bid for the demolition of 11 of the properties with bids to be opened early next month. The cost of the demolition is estimated at about $300,000. The other 20 properties will go out to bid for demolition once the department has cleared any historical and asbestos issues. That is expected to be next spring. While the demolition is on-going, the department will continue the design work and finalize right-of-way and utility easements. The project is scheduled to go out to bid for construction in January 2013, with construction to get underway that spring. The project is the second phase of the Route 110 upgrade. Phase I, the rehabilitation of the Green Street, was completed in 2008. After extensive discussion and debate, the city and state settled on what was called Alternative 4E for the .6 mile stretch of Route 110 from Green Street to Wight see RIUTE 110 page 9
Absentee landlord assessed fine, cleanup costs for oil leak
BERLIN -- An absentee landlord with a history of tax liens has been hit with a fine and clean-up costs for failing to report and clean up an oil spill in the basement of an apartment building at 566 Burgess Street. Coos County Superior Court Justice Peter Bornstein assessed a fine of $80,000 against Brian Yee of 12 Crosby St., in Londonderry. Half of the fine was suspended provided there are no future environmental violations. He was also ordered to pay double the clean-up costs, which are currently $3,633. But the remaining work is estimated at $16,633, meaning he could ultimately pay $40,532 in clean-up costs. Adding in the fine, his total cost would come to $80,532. On July 26, 2010 Pyrofax Energy pumped approximately 550 gallons of fuel oil into the basement of the vacant tenement building owned by Yee. A press release issued by New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney and DES Commissioner Thomas S. see LEAK page 7
Mike Hazlett (l) and Kirk Mudgett of the state Department of Transportation explain the proposed route for Phase II of the Route 110 upgrade in Berlin during a tour of DOT projects hosed by Executive Councilor Raymond Burton (r) Friday. (BARBARA TETREAULT PHOTO)
Consolidating educational systems favored by majority at forums BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN -- More than half of the people who attended the recent forums on the future of education in the Androscoggin Valley favor combining SAU 3 and SAU 20 into a single supervisory administration unit and consolidating Berlin and Gorham middle and high schools. Overwhelmingly people who attended the six public forums favored some form of consolidation of education systems. Combining the two SAUs and merging the middle and high school schools was the choice of 52 percent of the 152 residents who participated in a straw poll held at the end of each forum. Another 15 percent split their votes among three options - 1) combining SAUs, 2) maintaining separate SAUs but regionalizing middle and high schools, and 3) retaining separate SAUs and regionalizing grades eight through 12. Fifteen percent said they were undecided and another six percent wanted to see a study group
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formed. Facilitators Cheryl Baker and Kathy McCabe of Plymouth State University noted there was not one vote for doing nothing or continuing the current status of sharing some limited services. The findings from the sessions were outlined at a public meeting last Wednesday at the Berlin Junior High auditorium that attracted a small crowd. A second debriefing is scheduled for tonight, Tuesday, Oct. 25, starting at 7 p.m. at the Gorham High School gym. Forums were held in Berlin, Randolph, Shelburne, Gorham, Milan, and Errol. At the sessions, attendees were asked to list arguments in favor of consolidating educational efforts and in favor of remaining separate. Arguments in favor of consolidating included enhanced and more course offerings, increased sports and extra-curricular activities, decreased per pupil costs, consolidation of administration, staff,
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