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The Hillsborough selectmen proposed a 3.5 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for all town employees at last Tuesday’s meeting. According to town administrator John Stetser, the federal government set the regional COLA for New England at 5.6 percent.

Although the proposed COLA is not as high as the regional number it is higher than last year’s 2.2 percent municipal employee raise.

Although the police department had proposed a Collective Bargaining Agreement – which included items such as Longevity pay, Educational Incentives, Overtime and compensatory Time starting at 40 hours – the selectmen decided to forego any discussion of those issues this year due to concerns over meeting budget demands.

“The year 2009 looms ahead of us with dark fiscal clouds that may call for strong actions the Board must take to stay within budget,” chairman Paul Haley said in a letter to the police department. “The coming year promises little except falling revenues, tax liens, unpaid water/sewer bills, increased welfare and overtime reductions. Many towns are already moving into a belt-tightening mode, as is the State of New Hampshire.”

As a result of a meeting between the Hillsborough selectmen and the water/sewer commissioners on Dec. 9, the town may be moving toward paying its share of the water/sewer fees, just as any of the other approximately 900 customers who pay for the service.

According to town administrator John Stetser, the meters that reflect water usage on municipal facilities will be recorded throughout 2009 so the town will have an idea of how much to budget for the service.

“I need a year of history reading the meters, so that we know what to put in the budget for 2010,” said Stetser. “Beginning in January, water and sewer will begin reading the meters to start making an estimate fro the 2010 budget. The other [customers] are bearing the cost of subsidizing the municipal buildings.”

Although the town facilities have enjoyed the service free of charge since the water and sewer services have been available in town, the school district has already been paying their fair share for many years.

“I don’t know why,” said chairman of the selectmen Paul Haley in regards to why the town was not paying its share. “I think we should pay as we go.”

Pam Hopkins and Rick Gore and two other family members were displaced by a fire in their home on French Pond Road on Thursday, Christmas Day. No one was injured in the blaze.

The family is currently staying at the Henniker Motel, and are looking for an apartment in town so that they can keep their eight-year old in the Henniker Community School.

The fire began around 3:20 p.m. with flames and smoke spewing from the house. A two-alarm fire, the Henniker Fire Department was joined by firefighters from Hillsborough, Hopkinton, Bradford, Warner and Weare to contain it. Within 40 minutes the blaze was under control.

According to Henniker firefighter Mick Costello, the house was not entirely consumed.

The Granite State Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family with temporary lodging, food and clothing. All their Christmas presents were lost in the fire.

Community members have been rallying to their aid.

The Antrim selectmen met with representatives of Quantum Construction Consultants LLC and contractor Scott Burnside on Monday to challenge the rising costs of replacing the North Main Street Bridge. Change orders mounting up to $174,000 were questioned, as well as why selectmen were not informed within a 15-day period of the extra costs.
The selectmen are considering whether to have Burnside halt work on the project until spring to allow local traffic to use the bridge until then, or continue working on the project despite the extra cost of working in winter.
Both the selectmen and Quantum representatives agree that Concrete Systems Inc. (CSI) is at fault for delays that led to contractor Scott Burnside incurring $24,000 for winter work costs. Other change orders, or unexpected costs, were due to the nature of the soil under the bridge where a large H-shaped footing was poured. The soil was full of boulders and other unacceptable material that had to be replaced.

Having officially opened Dec. 22, A Precious Pet Resort in Henniker is the fulfillment a lifelong dream for owner Mary Green.
For twenty years Green has been working in grooming salons, shelters and rescues, and after relocating to New Hampshire a year ago she decided to build her dream kennel.
The resort is located on Old Concord Road and, according to Green, is a high-end kennel geared toward a stress free vacation for the pet, like their owners will have when they go away.
“The whole kennel was designed so it would be a place where I would want to leave my dog, because I’ve seen the kennels around and I wouldn’t want to leave my dog in any of them,” Green explained.
Currently, Green and her husband are parents to a mastiff, two cats and an adopted one on the way, and 17 rescue birds, from macaws to doves.
Having exotic birds, Green has found it difficult in the past to go away because no one could take care of them. Because of this, Green decided the resort would be open to boarding exotic birds and cats as well.
Although she’s constantly surrounded by animals now, Green maintains it’s not stressful.

Although it has been in existence for a couple years, the teen clinic sponsored by the Hillsboro-Deering Family Health Center has undergone a bit of a face lift in an attempt to make their services more available to local teenagers.
Under a new name, Teen Wellness Center, and with new hours, Physicians Assistants Kathryn Wrynn and Jennifer Story hope they can get the word out to more teens about the clinic.
Every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m., the H-D Family Health Center offers a clinic that features confidential visits for birth control, STD testing, pregnancy testing and other health information.
While it is not a “free clinic,” Wrynn highlighted that reduced fees are available for those who qualify, and no one will be turned away due to inability to pay.
The clinic’s fee scaled system is based on the student’s income.
“Most of the teenagers end up getting full feescale, so ultimately they don’t end up paying a lot out of pocket,” Wrynn said.
Attendance at the clinic varies each week—some days they can see five teens, and at other times they may go a couple weeks without seeing a single teen.

Tim Grass of Deering was appointed to fill the seat left by Kathy PepperTim Grass as the Deering representative on the Hillsboro-Deering school board on Thursday night. Grass was competing with Stuart Huggard for the seat, but the board chose Grass by a 4-0 vote.
Huggard and Grass were the only two Deering residents to submit a query for the position. Grass will serve until March. Grass’, Rich Pelletier’s and Pam Butler’s seats will all be on the ballot in March.
Butler has decided to step down after fulfilling a three-year term. Pelletier, who was appointed to the board after Babette Haley stepped down in June, has not yet thrown his hat into the ring. And Grass has not made any mention of whether he will run to keep his seat in March.

As the Hillsboro-Deering school board began looking over the budget proposed by the administration for the coming year, two philosophies about how to go about trimming and adjusting it emerged. One is to come up with a figure to cut from the budget and allow the administration to decide where cuts should be made to accommodate it. The other is for board members to decide where individual cuts should be made.

With board members Pam Butler and Richard Pelletier in favor of giving the administration a number to cut, and Paul Plater and John Segedy in favor of deciding where individual cuts should be made, the board is evenly split on the issue.

The newly appointed Deering representative, Tim Grass, will be getting his first chance to voice his opinion at the Jan. 5 meeting, when he will be sworn in. Meanwhile, he has been given the proposed budget to look over by that date.

Currently, the budget is set at about $200,000 more than the default budget. The default budget uses the numbers from the current year’s budget, plus any contractual obligations, to set a number for the default if the proposed budget is defeated in the March vote.

As the Hillsboro-Deering school board began looking over the budget proposed by the administration for the coming year, two philosophies about how to go about trimming and adjusting it emerged. One is to come up with a figure to cut from the budget and allow the administration to decide where cuts should be made to accommodate it. The other is for board members to decide where individual cuts should be made.

With board members Pam Butler and Richard Pelletier in favor of giving the administration a number to cut, and Paul Plater and John Segedy in favor of deciding where individual cuts should be made, the board is evenly split on the issue.

The newly appointed Deering representative, Tim Grass, will be getting his first chance to voice his opinion at the Jan. 5 meeting, when he will be sworn in. Meanwhile, he has been given the proposed budget to look over by that date.

Currently, the budget is set at about $200,000 more than the default budget. The default budget uses the numbers from the current year’s budget, plus any contractual obligations, to set a number for the default if the proposed budget is defeated in the March vote.

As the Hillsboro-Deering school board began looking over the budget proposed by the administration for the coming year, two philosophies about how to go about trimming and adjusting it emerged. One is to come up with a figure to cut from the budget and allow the administration to decide where cuts should be made to accommodate it. The other is for board members to decide where individual cuts should be made.

With board members Pam Butler and Richard Pelletier in favor of giving the administration a number to cut, and Paul Plater and John Segedy in favor of deciding where individual cuts should be made, the board is evenly split on the issue.

The newly appointed Deering representative, Tim Grass, will be getting his first chance to voice his opinion at the Jan. 5 meeting, when he will be sworn in. Meanwhile, he has been given the proposed budget to look over by that date.

Currently, the budget is set at about $200,000 more than the default budget. The default budget uses the numbers from the current year’s budget, plus any contractual obligations, to set a number for the default if the proposed budget is defeated in the March vote.