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This week's stories: (click on the headline
to jump to story)
 Greetings
from Japan
A little
Hollywood takes hold in town
Town explores preschool
Town's
growth sparks PSNH improvements
Design
session for trail project is Saturday
Voters
get ready to elect charter commissioners
Goffstown
Prison halfway house opposed
Residents, one Manchester alderman vow
to fight proposal
to house 25 federal inmates in building on Pinardville line
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By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
GOFFSTOWN Pinardville residents made
no attempt to hide their emotions during a meeting with officials
proposing to put a halfway house in their neighborhood.
Representatives from Comm-unity Resources for Justice (CRJ) announced
late last month that they had selected the old St. Edmund's convent
building at 48 Henriette St. as the future home for up to 25
federal inmates nearing the end of their sentences.
The building, located in both Manchester and Goffstown, currently
has nine apartments zoned for elderly housing, and a number of
single rooms rented on a weekly basis.
The current owners have placed the building on the market, and
CRJ, a Boston-based nonprofit, said it is in the process of purchasing
the property.
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NEW USE St. Edmund's convent building,
which straddles the line between Goffstown and Manchester, could
be the new location of a halfway house for federal prisoners
finishing out their sentences. (Russ Choma Photo)
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Under the proposal, the nine apartments
would continue to be rented while the boarding house portion
would be renovated and reopened as a halfway house.
On May 5, approximately 50 neighborhood residents attended an
informational presentation given by CRJ executives.
For the nearly two hours that they met, residents peppered CRJ
executives with questions and expressed near unanimous opposition.
Dan LaRochelle, a neighborhood resident and owner of King Lanes
bowling alley which abuts the proposed site, organized the gathering.
"I think the program is a good program, but is it the right
location?" he asked at one point, to which a number of residents
in the audience shouted no.
Most who turned out to hear the presentation opposed the plan
for their neighborhood.
Several residents who stood to speak complained that neighbors
had already been deceived about whether a new apartment complex
on Pinard Street would be low-income housing.
"We have already pretty much been lied to," said one
speaker, who identified identified herself only as a Goffstown
resident. "So, now you're going to try and add a halfway
house and add to the number of strangers walking around."
Another resident complained that Goffstown is already home to
the State Prison for Women. "We do not need to support this
too," she said.
"Residents should have the right to say we don't want it,"
said Barbara Godbout, a Goffstown resident and neighbor of the
proposed site. "We should have the right to say what happens
in our neighborhood."
CJR's presentation
Leading the presentation was John Larivee, chief executive officer
of CRJ. Larivee told residents his company operates a number
of halfway houses around New England, and is confident the Pinardville
one will be as successful as the others.
Larivee and other company officials showed residents slides of
several facilities the firm already operates in Boston, which
are similar to the one being proposed in Pinardville.
Residents at the proposed facility would be supervised and will
have to abide by a number of requirements. These will include
getting a job within 15 days of arrival and weekly drug testing.
Inmates will not be allowed to drive. Some will be allowed to
ride the bus, while others will have rides provided for them
by CRJ.
"People aren't able to just stroll around," Larivee
said. "They would either be at work or in the home."
Larivee said there will be no security personnel on the site,
but staff will track residents' whereabouts. Staff will also
conduct random checks at the residents' place of employment to
make sure they are following the rules once outside the house.
Neighbors of the proposed site fear the facility will put their
children in danger and disrupt the quiet atmosphere of their
neighborhood.
"Right now, our neighborhood is very safe," one resident
said. "We all look out for each other. And you're talking
about putting convicted felons in our neighborhood with my five
children."
Larivee said that at CJR's 120-bed facility in Boston, there
have only been five calls for police service over the past six
years. Of those, only two were for residents being involved with
criminal activity. Both times, the residents were charged with
nonviolent, credit card related crimes.
Larivee said other CJR facilities have contributed to a drop
in crime rates in the past.
"There is indeed a reduced level of crime in the neighborhoods
when we move in," he said. "It's often a property that's
causing problems."
The safety of the neighborhood's children was raised multiple
times as residents demanded that Larivee promise no sexual predators
be housed at the facility. Larivee said he could not make any
definitive promises about what type of criminal would be live
at the facility.
He did, however, note that all residents would be referred to
CJR by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which applies a screening
process to limit the type of criminal allowed in.
"It's a very objective and intense screening process,"
Larivee said. "Included in that is screening out sex offenders
who they've deemed to be dangerous folks. That, to me, would
be (a sexual) predator. They'd also be screening out people who
are at risk of a violent offense."
Larivee and other CJR officials on hand were also quizzed about
the possibility of facility residents re-offending. One neighbor,
brandishing statistics on recidivism, told CRJ officials the
threat was real.
"Statistically, you will have someone re-offending there,
even if it's only one or two," he said. "Yeah, you
can have some fantastic rules, but these people did not go to
jail for following the rules."
Larivee said that based on the screening process and the rehabilitative
nature of the program, it's not likely residents would use the
facility as a base for criminal activity.
"Because of the screening that goes on, these are not people
who are preying on other people," Larivee said. "I'm
not saying none of them don't ever get back into crime, but they're
not looking at this as a wonderful opportunity to prey on a nice
neighborhood."
Asked for his opinion on the proposed plan, Manchester Police
Chief John A. Jaskolka, said it's difficult to avoid the fact
that federal convicts would be returning to Manchester one way
or another.
"As the chief of police, I'm not going to open my arms and
say, 'Send us your felons!'" he said. "The harsh reality
is that they're going to come back, they're from here."
However, Jaskolka said, the fact their return is unavoidable
doesn't mean his department won't crack down on facility residents
who might be inclined to re-offend.
"Are we going to arrest them again? Oh yeah," he said.
"And we're going to arrest them again. And again."
Opposition vowed
Regardless of the argument that a halfway house in Manchester
is inevitable, residents and several Manchester officials vowed
stiff opposition.
George Smith, Manchester city alderman for Ward 10, told residents
that he is opposed to the proposal and would try to block it.
"From what I understand, if there is enough opposition,
they'll look for alternatives," he said.
Already, Smith said a letter of opposition, signed by 12 of the
14 alderman, had been sent.
Following the meeting, Larivee said CJR has not specifically
targeted the Pinardville location and had pursued other locations
around the city prior to choosing St. Edmund's.
"We did search and we looked at many properties in Manchester,"
he said. "But for one reason or another, and it wasn't because
of neighborhood opposition, the properties didn't work out."
Larivee said CJR is in the preliminary stages of purchasing the
land, but would not rule out other alternative locations.
"At the same time (as the pending purchase), we're looking
to work with city officials to identify something that's preferable,"
he said. "But right now, there's been nothing. So, at this
time, we have the property in Pinardville."
New
Boston
A little Hollywood takes hold in town
Federal grant of $271,000 would help pay
for sidewalk, road fix, antique-style lights
By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com
When most people go to the beach, they
don't care whether the tide is high or low as long as the ocean
is there.
It was two weeks before producer and director Bill Millios and
his production crew would head to the ocean, and director of
photography Marc Vadebo-ncoeur wanted to know when the tide would
be up near the deck of Brown's restaurant in Seabrook.
He didn't want to film one take, only to start another later
in the day and not have the water in the scene.
The bare-bones crew is planning to get to Seabrook around sunrise
to start an eight- to nine-hour day of filming.
"You always want to start early anyway," Millios said.
"Because you don't want to compromise a shot."
Anything can happen: It could rain when they need sun; while
they're filming, someone could drive by and yell, so they have
to start the scene again; or actors could get a case of the giggles
over a flubbed line.
With only 12 days to shoot Millios' second feature film, "Dangerous
Crosswinds," they want to prepare as much as possible before
the cameras start rolling.
It may sound like a Hollywood discussion, but some of the production
crew, which is comprised of 15 local people, was meeting in Millios'
home in New Boston. Most of the seven men at the meeting have
years of experience making movies or local television shows.
And while they're largely local people, Hollywood isn't an entirely
foreign experience. Producer Karen Sampson wor-ked for a prop
company in California for a few years.
Egos and ambition, she said, were a common occurrence at the
different temporary agencies and studio offices where she tried
to make her way in production.
Working with Millios has reminded Sampson of why she wanted to
work in production in the first place to tell a story through
film.
"I'm having so much fun with this, I can't even believe
it," she said.
Producers in Hollywood were interested in "Dangerous Crosswinds"
long before Millios decided to resurrect his screenplay for a
local audience. He wrote the story, which deals with the ambiguous
nature of trust, in the early 1990s.
His connections in California wanted to make the characters "more
likable," among other changes, and telling the story became
secondary to selling the film, he said.
"Once you eliminate all these rules, it frees you up,"
Millios said about waiting to make the film on his own.
Documentary style films are the bread and butter of Millios'
production company, Back Lot Films Inc. "Dangerous Crosswinds,"
however, is a full-length feature film, and a chance for Millios
to show that local doesn't mean less than professional.
Actors will have to worry most about their lines and making the
characters of the film believable.
People on the production crew are going to wear many hats. They've
rented equipment to film with for only 12 days, and will film
in about 12 different locations, from Peterborough to Hampton
Beach.
Different days will mean different crew members, depending on
the schedule.
Before they even get to the first location, though Millios wants
all of the crew members to get familiar with each piece of equipment,
and how it is unpacked and then packed back up again.
Some of the places where they'll film scenes will get shot "guerilla
style," with a camera man, actors and maybe one extra crew
member.
It's a schedule and style that R.J. Norton is looking forward
to.
Norton is a cable access channel veteran, and has produced a
history show in Manchester for the last eight years. Before that,
he produced a commercial show called "Blues on Fire"
that was broadcast in Medford, Mass., because there weren't any
access channels in New Hampshire.
As a member of the movie crew, Norton is known as the best boy,
which is someone who picks up stray camera cables, or maybe runs
out and gets coffee for the crew.
"Mainly, I'll just give advice," Norton said.
Working with Millios was a chance Norton couldn't pass up though.
He saw Millios' first feature movie, "Old Man Dogs,"
a few years ago and knew he had to meet him.
Scenes in "Old Man Dogs" were very challenging, Norton
said, because of the point of view that Millios tried to present.
The fact that everything was produced and filmed with local talent
really impressed Norton.
When he heard that "Dangerous Crosswinds" was in the
works for Back Lot Films Inc., Norton called Millios right away.
Norton's enthusiasm is just what Millios is looking for. Filming
"Old Man Dogs" was a struggle from start to finish,
he said. Part of the problem is that New Hampshire doesn't have
a strong film community yet.
Building a team to put "Dangerous Crosswinds" to-gether
meant Millios and Sampson were pretty careful about choosing
people to work with.
"Everyone from the crew on down is doing it
for the right reasons," Millios said.
And because work on the film continues long after the cameras
are put away and the editing is complete, a film community, beyond
the one Millios has created in New Boston, is needed.
"Exhausting the project" is one of the most important
aspects of making a film, Millios said. He and Sampson worked
to secure locations for the film before going out so they could
stay ahead of the project. This way, Sampson said, they should
still have some steam left to promote the film to local theaters.
"It's not always easy to get theaters interested in local
films," added Millios.
After filming "Old Man Dogs," Millios said he felt
separated from other film resources in the community because
no one seemed interested in the film.
New Boston doesn't have a town theater, but anyone interested
in seeing a bit of town captured on film should watch the local
theater listings over the next year just in case. Millios
and his crew will film on Cemetery Road sometime in June to close
out their shooting schedule.
A cemetery doesn't present the same tide problems as filming
near the ocean does. But anything that comes up can be fudged.
"You can fake a lot of stuff when you go wide to close-up,"
Marc Vadeboncoeur, director of photography, said.
But there will be nothing fake about bringing a bit of movie
magic to town. Millios said he hopes to show that a film company
doesn't need Hollywood to make a first-class production.
Dunbarton
Town explores preschool
By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com
For the past 13 years, Dunbarton preschoolers
have attended New Boston Central School to get prepared for kindergarten.
And while the arrangement is working for both towns, School Board
Member Rene Ouellet wants to weigh the pros and cons of opening
a preschool in Dunbarton.
"You start to wonder about where's the balance with cost
effectiveness," he said.
Talk of opening a preschool in Dunbarton has been heard before
by the school board.
But by the time school board members got around to seriously
exploring the possibility, the school year would end, explained
Ouellet. This time, however, he's decided to take the initiative
himself.
Ouellet started looking into the district requirements earlier
this month, but said it will be a while before he can present
an argument either way for a local preschool.
What is apparent, he said, is that the number of children in
Dunbarton who need a preschool is growing. Last year, there were
approximately three students and this year there are six, Ouellet
said.
How many students are enrolled in any school is only a small
part of the equation, however, Principal Charles Gaides said.
"I could have a family with five kids move in tomorrow morning,"
he said.
Keeping the children in town and in the same school as long as
possible, he said, can help children as they graduate through
the system.
For special education facilitator Karen Kulick, that means ensuring
preschool will stay in town for a long time.
If the school board decides to start a local preschool, the first
thing it would have to do is find a space for it.
Classrooms at Dunbarton Elementary School are full right now,
Gaides said. Available buildings depends on where the town goes
with the one-building plan for the town offices and library on
the common. If the services are combined into one building, then
a preschool could open in the building where the town offices
are now, he said.
Hiring certified staff and creating integrated programming is
also important for a successful program, Kulick said.
Students in a preschool are usually a mix of those who have been
identified by Community Bridges as students in need and typical
tuition students.
Community Bridges is an agency that contracts with the state
to ensure that children under 3 with developmental or physical
disabilities get the help they need before starting kindergarten.
Tuition students are children who live in the area whose parents
want them involved in a community program before entering kindergarten.
New students would get a good start on their development because
teachers are working to identify educational goals and encouraging
social interaction, Kulick said.
Some teachers for a preschool could come from the Dunbarton Elementary
School system, too, Gaides said. They would need to hire a teacher
and a teacher's aid, he said, but the school's current occupational
therapist, physical therapist and language therapist could work
at the preschool.
"Our people could just walk over there and provide those
services," he said.
Whether or not the therapists will walk between buildings depends
on what Ouellet and Foster learn about what it will take to open
a preschool in town.
Goffstown
Design session for trail project is Saturday
If you're hooked on the design makeover
shows on TV, here's your chance.
A group of professional design experts will be listening to ideas
on Saturday, May 15, for the proposed Goffstown Rails to Trails
conversion. The meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
at the Villa Augustina Rosary Hall on Mast Road.
The public is invited to present ideas on the use, assets, safety
issues and construction of the 5.9-mile stretch of trail that
will eventually connect the Village and Pinardville to points
east.
According to Ron Johnson of the Piscataquog River Local Advisory
Committee, co-sponsors of the event, a design charrette of this
sort brings together users and neighbors of the trail to identify
issues and solutions to create a design that works for the community.
"Participants will have the opportunity to weigh in on three
major topics," said Johnson. "In the session on community
vision, we'll look at the community assets that are along the
trail as well as how to integrate the trail with other initiatives
in the town. In the session on neighborhood connections, participants
will identify important community resources and neighborhoods
to link with the trail. A third group will look at trail design
issues, including construction standards."
Dan Reidy, office administrator and community development educator
for the University of New Hampshire, will be the lead facilitator
for the event.
The UNH Cooperative Extension is another of the co-sponsors of
the charrette, along with the town and Friends of the Greenway.
Reidy's team of organizers has been working for the past several
years on community vision projects for many of the surrounding
communities.
In addition to the discussion groups, participants will be able
to walk parts of the trail and watch the designers put their
ideas to paper.
The designers will take the information gleaned from the public
input and give a preliminary report at the end of the day.
Goffstown
Voters get ready to elect charter commissioners
By HENRY METZ
Staff Writer
hmetz@yourneighborhoodnews.com
GOFFSTOWN Voters will head to the
polls on Tuesday, May 18, to elect nine candidates for a new
charter commission.
On March 9, voters approved the creation of a charter commission
that will examine whether Goffstown's current form of government
should be changed.
Currently, Goffstown is governed by a five-member board of selectmen.
The decision to create a charter commission came after residents
initiated a petition to get the charter commission question placed
on the March ballot. The last time a charter commission was convened
was more than 10 years ago.
In approving the creation of a commission, Goffstown will look
at whether to shift from the current board of selectmen form
of government to perhaps a town meeting form, which might incorporate
a town council, town manager or possibly a mayor.
Organizers of the petition drive to get the question placed on
the March ballot said no decisions have been made about which
form of government Goffstown should adopt.
On Tuesday, voters will see 18 names of people seeking a seat
on the nine-member commission. Most of the candidates' profiles
can be seen on pages 2 and 3 of this week's edition.
Voting takes place at Goffstown High School and Bartlett Elementary
from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Beauty
to behold> |
Daffodils
have taken over Donna Dunn's front lawn on Gorham Pond Road in
Dunbarton, and that's just the way she likes it. "People
stop on Sundays to take pictures," she said. She has planted
more than 5,000 bulbs in the past two years, and allows the flowers
to naturalize on their own for a brilliant show every spring.
(Lara Skinner Photo) |
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