Story Time- Week #3

I only say number three because I had both 1 and 2 last week. Without further ado, here are my stories for the last week, any comments, constructive or otherwise, please feel free to make in the Comments area (Note- because of the way I copied the text, there maybe some unnecessary hyphens in words where they were extended over two lines in the paper. I tried to get as many as I could, but if you see any odd hyphens, that's why):

Selectmen Deny Rumors of Secret Meetings
(This is the semi-controversial one, the one that prompted my high-horse post of Tuesday)
By Jim Shilander
Staff Writer
NEW DURHAM - Rumors can run rampant, and there's one running through town politics right now.
The newly elected Board of Selectmen recently fielded questions about un-confirmed allegations that the board has been meeting in se-cret.
The allegation is that the Board of Selectmen had dis-cussed town business outside of meetings, a violation of state "Right to Know" laws. Town Administrator William G. Herman said that he had been told of anonymous calls to local media outlets regarding this issue when a reporter from a local paper called to get his comments on the rumor. Selectman Dwight Jones denied the rumor and said, "There aren't any illegal meetings going on." He also stated flatly that he and newly elected selectman Ron Gehl, who could not be reached by deadline, had not been meeting at other board mem-bers' homes.
"I've never been to Ron's house and he's never been over to mine," he says, decrying what he sees as an effort to undermine the board in the local press. Jones reported that he had heard about the anonymous calls to local media outlets as well. Jones was adamant that no discussion of town business was going on outside of meetings.
Town Administrator William G. Herman said that he had become aware of the rumors through a reporter from Foster's Daily Democrat, who called him seeking comment, but said that he "couldn't say it was actually happening." One thing that does concern Herman about the ru-mor is that, "There is a perception that a majority of the board is communicat-ing outside of meet-ings." He was also concerned about what he termed a "gray area" of selectmen attending other meetings, such as the Planning Board, in their capacity as selectmen representatives, pointing to a meeting of the New Durham Planning Board, where selectmen who attended were asked a question as selectmen and not as members of the general public. Herman speculated that this sort of exchange may have led to the rumors.
The most senior member of the Board of Selectmen, 25-year-member Dwight Stimpson, deemed the rumors of secret meetings, "a complete surprise to me."
"As far as I'm concerned it certainly is not happening," he says, adding that he "didn't know if someone's trying to cause trouble," by spreading it. He reiterated that he has not met outside of meetings and that he has no reason to believe the other members are.
"It's a real ugly rumor, that's for sure," said Stimpson.
State statutes prohibit communications related to town business outside of meetings, except in certain cases. Stimpson added that some issues could also be discussed in non-public sessions as well, but that non-public sessions were totally different from secret meetings.

Community TV goes dark
(I liked this one, and it was very easy to write, because the source was very open and got back to me.)
By JIM SHILANDER
Staff Writer
WOLFEBORO - Equipment failure has led Wolfeboro Community Television (Metrocast Channel 25) to essentially shut down. While currently showing the Channel 24 Bulletin Board, this is the limit to which the station is able to broadcast at the present time, according to WCTV Coordinator Peter Pijoan.
Pijoan says that the equipment, which sends the television signals of Channel 25 to Metrocast for cable distribution, failed April 23, sometime in the night.
The equipment was shipped to California for potential repairs this week. However, because the equipment is antiquated, and in fact, no longer manufactured by its original company, there exists a very real possibility that new equipment will need to be purchased.
The Governor Wentworth School District has agreed to cover $4000 of the potential $7000 cost, according to Pijoan. Still, he is unsure at the present time where the remaining funds will come from.
If the new broad-casting equipment is needed, that updated equipment would be able to provide greater accessibility and programming to the area. While the programming on Channel 25 would be re-stored, Channel 26 could also be used to broadcast school programming for the Gov-ernor Wentworth district, including sporting events and school produced programming.
Channel 25 services Wolfeboro and New Durham. It broadcasts community events, such as last weekÂ’s New Durham Planning Board meeting and the presentation of the Natural Resources Outreach Coalition to New Durham residents. The Planning Board had talked last week about using Community TV to greater effect in increasing awareness of its activities and events in New Durham.
Pijoan also added that anyone with questions should please call 569-0219, and that any assistance with the purchase of new equipment would be greatly appreciated. He also added that the station is endeavoring to return to the air-waves as soon as possible.

Selectman keeps people fed, saves town money
(This was the story I worked on Tuesday tha took me out to Basnstead. Jack O'Neil used to be in the Army, doing Special Ops.)
By Jim Shilander
Staff Writer
BARNSTEAD -Jack O'Neil has many jobs in Barnstead. He' a member of the Board of Selectmen, and also welfare director for the town. Still, much of his day he spends in the base-ment of the town hall, working to help local families and fight against hunger.
Since February of last year, O'eil has used donations to put together a food pan-try large enough to provide 2,000 meals a year for Barnstead folks in need. After a town Christmas drive in 2003 had left a significant amount of donated food unused, it was suggested to O'Neil that he start a pan-try to provide for needy families year-round.
With donations ranging from $7 to the $750 check he received last week from summer resi-dents, as well as donations of time and equipment (including the $1,800 refrigera-tor/freezer donated by a local resident after they decided to replace their own) O'Neil is extraordinarily proud of the community for the efforts they've made, "It's a wonderful community, the way they come together (to help)," he says.
The pantry, which sits in the town hall basement, provides "everything a family would need," according to O'Neil. Cans of coffee sit next to a dozen bags of dry milk, and everything from Spaghetti-O's to rice milk and soups and meats are pro-ided at discounted rates by local gro-cery stores, includ-ing the Barnstead Country Store; and Dani's and Twin M Market, both of Pittsfield. O'Neil uses proceeds from donations from supporters to buy this food, and there is a public hearing as to how the money is be-ing spent. The checks are then made di-rectly to the mar-kets, what O'Neil calls "vendors" and the pantry receives the discounted food. The pantry also receives shipments from the US Department of Agriculture as part of its community action program. Food such as pudding, dried figs, yams, peaches, peanut butter and dried milk all come in these shipments, along with other necessities including baby food and diapers.
O'Neil says that 10 to 12 families a week take advantage of the pantry's services. As town welfare director, he says that one of the best ways to keep people off the welfare rolls is through programs like the pantry, because the families would otherwise spend a great deal of money on food. The pantry then, has saved the town thousands and that the pantry has helped reduce the welfare budget of the town by $1,000.
Families are recommended by word of mouth, such as from local churches, and from O'Neil's personal knowledge of the people and their situations. In almost a year and a half, O'Neil says, he has only rarely said no to families in need of help.
O'Neil is aided in his efforts by volun-teers, as well as by kids doing community service as part of the Juvenile Restoration Program. He has received significant help from local busi-ness, especially Bill and Hazel Holmes of Holmes Firewood and Logging, who donated wood for the shelves, and made important donations of time and money to help with this year's Christmas drive, including pur-chasing handmade quilts, mittens and hats.
O'Neil, a Vietnam veteran, feels the need to act primarily, he says, because he sees the needs of people in the area. He says that being a selectman, "because a good percentage of it is helping people." As long as families meet his guidelines, and especially if there are children involved, he says, he won't refuse help to anyone.
Donations to the Barnstead Food Pantry can be made out to "Barnstead Food Pantry", PO Box 11, Ctr. Barnstead, NH 03225. For any questions about the pantry please call Jack O'Neil at 776-8253

Local UNH student is "Not Too Sharp," but right on key
(There would have been more to this story, but because the subject didn't get back to me before deadline, I had very little to go on.)
By James Shilander
Staff Writer
ALTON - Dave Snell, a 2003 graduate of Alton Central High School, will be performing with his co-horts in UNH's "Not Too Sharp," an all male a capella and barbershop singing group, at a benefit concert to raise money for the American Cancer Society next Friday, May 6 at 7 p.m. The group, which has been on campus for several years, has made this charity concert an annual event filled with their take on contemporary songs as well as old favorites. Snell, who is concentrating on math education at UNH, joined the group earlier this school year.
The group recently competed in the semi-finals of the International Championship of Collegiate a capella, which were held in New Haven, Conn. on the campus of Yale University. Not Too Sharp made it there by placing third in a competition in Hartford, Conn. held in November, and was chosen to be among the eight New England groups at the competition.
The Concert will be held at the Municipal Union Building on the campus of UNH. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Municipal Union ticket office at 862-2290.

New church brings two congregations together
Construction on schedule, dedication in July
(This one was difficult to write, because the section on the students was going to be a bigger focus, but because the schools are on break, I couldn't get in touch with anyone before deadline)
By Jim Shilander
Staff Writer
ALTON — The new St. Katharine Drexel church building, which is located off of Route 28 in Alton, is proceeding apace, according to pastor, Fr. George Ham. The formal dedication of the building will take place on July 30, but there is still significant work to be done on the church building, including the raising of the steeple, which, Ham says, will be happening soon.
It's been a long and difficult road for the parish, which was recently, established when St. Cecilia's in Wolfeboro (where masses still take place) and St. Joan of Arc in Alton were combined by the diocese of Manchester. St. Joan of Arc church burned to the ground in 2000, and it was felt that St. Cecilia's lacked adequate facilities, especially for handicapped parishioners. When plans for the new church were announced, many at the former St. Cecilia's resisted, because they were used to having their church in town. Ham understood saying, "Everyone wants the church down the street. But there aren't enough priests to have one in Wolfeboro and one in Alton. In addition, neither place (St. Cecilia's and St. Joan of Arc) had adequate facilities, in terms of serving the needs of the handicapped." That access will include basic necessities such as ramps and accessible bathrooms, as well as elevators to take disabled parishioners to the basement and to the choir loft.
Ham also gives credit to the former parishioners of St. Joan of Arc for coming together after the fire. "For many in the Alton area, the fire was a bless-ing in disguise. They realized that a church isn't a build-ing, it' the people. They banded together as a community."
In addition, both former churches will have some of their traditional pieces taken over to the new parish. Ham says that several of St. Cecilia's stained glass windows, along with the church's stations of the cross and the refurbished tabernacle, will be coming from St. Cecilia's. A reproduction of one of the stained glass windows that was lost in the fire at St. Joan of Arc will also be added. Each side of the church will also feature a large, round, stained-glass window that features either St. Joan or Arc or St. Cecilia.
Also being con-structed are church offices next door to the new building. Ham wants to use that space to offer classes and, he says, "opportunities for young people and young couples to have activities." "There are going to be religious education classes as well as a lot of young families looking for new programs." He says that such programs will be a focal point in the new church.
Ham says that a committee has been set up to sell the land currently occupied by St. Cecilia's. A similar committee was able to sell the land in Alton where St. Joan of Arc had stood, and the new Profile Bank in Alton sits on that land today. In a nod to original users of the land, Profile Bank has commissioned local artist Marcia Kiley-LeMay to recreate the church in several paintings. Said LeMay, "it is very important that the memory that the memory of St. Joan of Arc be commemorated."
An interesting note about the new office building is that high school students are helping construct it. Students from the Region 9 Vocational-Technical Education Center (at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro), who have put up several houses in the area, are responsible to putting up much of the office and class-room spaces. John Deloia, project manager for Eckman Construction, who is building the church, says that the vocational school students, "have worked fine. The whole set up has worked fine."
Due to new diocesan rules, there will be no rectory space, other than for offices, so the parish priests will be living at another location.
Ham believes that this is a new start for the church, coinciding with the election of the new Pope, Benedict XVI. "We can say that this is an exciting time, the church is constantly renewing itself, but the basis of our faith haven't changed." Ham believes that the church, which will attract parishioners from across the Lakes Region, will serve as a central point for Catholics throughout the area.

Number one in acohol consumption
(Another story that proved difficult to get sources for)
By Jim Shilander
Staff Writer
WOLFEBORO - Sgt. Dean Rondeau of the Wolfeboro Police Department does not mince words when it comes to what he believes is the worst part of his job. "When you have to tell someone, a father, mother, wife, girlfriend, son or daughter that someone's been in a fatal accident, and then having to tell them that that person had a little too much to drink, and that's why they aren't coming home."
Over the last year, Rondeau says that he and the police de-partment have seen a rise in alcohol related incidents, in-cluding Driving While Intoxicated, Minors in Possession, and other problems. There was even, he says, a fatal motor vehicle accident involving alcohol. Sometimes, he says, police have had to take people into protective cus-tody because, Ron-deau, says "We can't have drunk people walking around in traffic." This especially is true in the winter, he says, because of the added danger of the elements, where, if they passed out or fell asleep, they could die from exposure.
Nearly everyday at Huggins Hospital, someone is admitted to the ER for symptoms related to alcoholism, Terri Hooper, director of Volunteers said. These people are usually referred to their primary care physician, but some of the more extreme cases can end up with the police or with mental health agencies. The hospital does host Alcohol Anonymous meetings on its premises to make use of the AA program to combat alcohol in the community.
According to state statistics, New Hampshire ranked first in the nation in per capita in consumption of alcohol in the year 2000, though that might also be somewhat attributable to people coming from out of state to buy alcohol. The state is making it a goal to decrease those year 2000 levels of consumption by half, from four gallons per person (over age 14) to two gallons.
Rondeau attributes some of the rise in alcohol related ac-tivity to a growing population in town, and greater population density. While he's concerned about the rise he and the department has seen, and in fact would be concerned any time that such statistics are rising, he believes that the factors of population do play a major role, and that there is not likely a crisis in the community regarding alcohol.
There are some state statistics that are encouraging, especially the decrease in binge drinking among underage drinkers, and an overall decrease in that same groups consumption of alcoholic beverages.