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VOL. 20 NO. 146
BERLIN, N.H.
752-5858
FREE
Three men indicted for sex Hearing on crimes against children city seal set BY MELISSA GRIMA THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
LANCASTER – Three men were indicted last week by a Coos Grand Jury on charges they sexually assaulted young children. Randall Whiting, 39 of Stratford, Wade Lawrence, 46 of Berlin, and Nathan Wert, 41 of Lancaster, were all indicted on numerous charges related to inappropriate interactions with youths. Lawrence is accused of assaulting a child
in Berlin over a period of four years. He is charged with six counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, one count of attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault and a misdemeanor charge of simple assault. The indictments allege that between 2002 and 2006, he engaged in a pattern of various sexual acts with a child who was between the ages of 12 and 15 at the time. Whiting was indicted on four charges of see INDICTED page 14
Council considers tax incentive for commercial/industrial development BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN - The city council is considering a tax incentive that it hopes will foster commercial and industrial construction in Berlin. City Manager Patrick MacQueen said there are interested parties looking at both industrial and commercial development in the city. Kestrel Aircraft is still considering locat-
ing a facility on the former mill site near the Burgess BioPower biomass plant being constructed. Mayor Paul Grenier reported that demolition of the block of Rite-Aid-owned buildings on Main Street is scheduled to get underway next week. At the urging of the city, Rite-Aid has agreed to remove the four buildings that remain from the block it purchased back in see COUNCIL page 12
BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN -- The city council Monday night approved two grant applications to the federal Environmental Protection Agency and held a first reading on a resolution to bring back the old city seal. Two weeks ago, a majority of the council voted to restore the original city seal with the smoke stack in the background. The public will now have an opportunity to weigh in on the issue with a public hearing scheduled for the Dec. 5 council meeting. The council is expected to take a final vote on the resolution after the hearing. Under then Mayor David Bertrand, the council voted to redesign the seal to eliminate the smoke stack to project a new image of the city, different than that of a smelly mill town. The change had been strongly opposed by Mayor Paul Grenier who argued the smoke stack represented the city’s paper-making heritage. Councilor Mark Evans, who voted for the redesign, said he had changed his mind because of the work involved see HEARING page 19
Major Irene repairs expected to start next week BY MELISSA GRIMA THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
Time Warner Cable personnel, recently assisted the Berlin Main St program in preparing for the holiday season.Ron Doyle of the company’s maintenance department was one of the Decorating Main Street in time for tonight’s Parade of Lights festivities. Time Warner has volunteered to do this project every year for over 30 years.
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GORHAM -- Repairs to the major damage from Tropical Storm Irene are expected to begin as early as next week. That was the message from the Gorham town office after the Selectmen awarded the bid for work to a North Conway based firm. At their Nov. 21 meeting, the board of selectmen awarded the job to Nelson Company to complete road and riverbank repairs at two locations on White Birch Lane and one at the soccer field at Libby Pool. All three work sites require repair to damage caused by the rising Moose Brook during the late August storm. The bulk of the cost of repair is being covered by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Nelson Company was the low bidder out of nine bids sent in at a cost of $448,340. FEMA will pick up 75 see REPAIRS page 12