Deering

Deering selectmen and residents are looking at the possibility of taking over the lease to Camp Tuckernuck to use as a recreation facility. The Camp was being leased from the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests by the Hopkinton Independent School until the school recently went into bankruptcy.

The Camp also has a beach front that may be used for swimming.

Deering selectman J.P. Marzullo wrote about the possibilities
and the complications in his column, The Deering Hot Line, last week. He pointed out the lease is currently in the hands of the Bankruptcy Court, which will ultimately decide its fate. The Forestry Society may be able to purchase the lease back and then resell it, or the Court may auction it off. Either way, the Court’s aim is to raise money to help pay off the school’s debt.

Forty cats and one dog were rescued from a Deering residence within the last three weeks, and three residents were arrested as a result.

Three cats had to be euthanized because they were infected with what Maureen Prendergast, Animal Cruelty Investigator for the Animal Rescue League of NH, called “feline AIDs.” The remaining 37 cats will have to be quarantined for two months until it is determined whether they are also infected with the feline AIDS virus before they can receive intensive care and needed surgeries.

Randy Emery Sr., 58, Phyllis Emery, 56, and Randy Emery, 36, of 2352 2nd NH Turnpike in Deering were arrested at on June 28 and charged with one count of Cruelty to Animals each. The three were released on Personal Recognizance Bail and ordered to appear for arraignment in the Henniker District Court on Sept. 16 at 8:15 a.m.

“The specifics of the elements are more towards negligence in failing to provide a safe, healthy and humane environment for the animals to live in,” said Police Chief James Pushee of the charges.

All of the cats had Upper Respiratory Infections (URIs), which have also infected many of the cats eyes.

Carnivals and Candy Land weaved a colorful backdrop to a decidedly festive Hillsboro-Deering High School graduation ceremony Friday evening, as the largest class in the school’s history was persuaded to continue blending a passionate drive with playful enthusiasm.

That the graduates were the victors during a trio of separate Winter Carnivals was mentioned no fewer than three times, and keynote speaker and retiring school nurse Candice Garvin made note of the ongoing game of Candy Land the graduates continue to play in their lives, with a nod toward embracing their H-D colors and pedigree.

“We’ve taken our turns and used the slides up and used the slides down. We’ve gotten stuck and now we’re unstuck,” Garvin said. “It’s not a simple game, but it’s on to the next version of Candy Land for us all. We’ve landed on that last space, and it’s red, white and gray in our version.”

Superintendent Dr. Barbara Baker informed the crowd at the Hillsboro-Deering Senior Awards Ceremony last Thursday night that this will be the school’s largest graduating class ever. A total of 127 students will receive their diplomas; 99 were recognized at the Senior Awards.

Dr. Baker said she checked through records as far back as she could, which brought her through paper files dating from 1959, when only 44 students graduated from the high school.

The tables were more crowded than ever, as 96 awards were given out, 43 of them for scholarly work. Dr. Baker pointed out that 38 seniors had earned college credit during their high school career, and that 19 had taken Advanced Placement classes. Twenty-seven seniors will graduate as New Hampshire Scholars.

“These data are significant,” said Dr. Baker. “We know what you students are capable of. As you leave us remember the importance of hard work and patience.”

The Hillsboro-Deering school board decided on Monday to join the federal Race to the Top competition, a program that sets states competing with each other for funds to improve their lowest achieving schools.

According to a Department of Education representative, who spoke at the meeting, Hillsboro-Deering high school is now slated as one of the state’s five Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools. This status gives the district the option to join in the reforms that would be mandated to improve the school, if New Hampshire is one of the states awarded Race to the Top funding.

Although the school district just exited District In Need of Improvement status this year, the high school did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in its New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test scores in Reading for the third year, and is a School In Need of Improvement (SINI) in Reading. In Math, the high school did not make AYP this year, but is not yet a SINI in Math. It will be next year if it doesn’t make AYP in Math again.

The Hillsboro-Deering school district is no longer a District In Need of Improvement (DINI). As of April 7, the district was notified that because it had made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years it has exited that status.

The No Child Left Behind Act demands that schools make AYP, or be slated as Schools In Need of Improvement, or SINI status, or DINI status if more than one school in a district doesn’t make AYP. Eventually, if a school does not rebound, it may lose funding by the state and federal government.

No Child Left Behind aims to have students in all schools across the country 100 percent proficient in Reading and Math, by 2014, a goal that has been often criticized for being overly optimistic and untenable.

“We were only one of two districts in the state to make it off the list,” superintendent Dr. Barbara Baker pointed out to the school board at Monday’s meeting.

The Milan school district, north of Berlin, also exited DINI status this year. There are 67 other districts in the state still in DINI status.

The Deering selectmen voted unanimously to sign the Parks and Recreation contract with Hillsborough at an emergency meeting at 8 a.m. Thursday to beat a May 1 deadline set by Hillsborough selectmen. The contract is good for three years.

They also voted to offer Hillsborough $5,000 for the 2010 year to provide access to the Genesis Teen Center in Hillsborough.

The Youth Services contract at issue included both Court Diversion and access to the Genesis Teen Center. It is unlikely that Hillsborough selectmen will accept the $5,000 offer, because they voted not to “piecemeal” the Youth Services program or the Parks and Recreation program.

Hillsboro-Deering superintendent Dr. Barbara Baker, also a Deering resident, asked for specifics on the Antrim Court Diversion program, which Deering selectmen voted two to one to participate in.

Deering selectman John Greene promised to be “vigilant” in regards to minding how the Antrim Court Diversion program works for Deering kids who get in trouble. Greene was the dissenting vote on the Deering board against going with Antrim, and would rather have seen Deering remain with the Hillsborough Court Diversion program.

The Deering selectmen voted two to one to do without Hillsborough Teen Court Diversion on Wednesday. Because the Hillsborough selectmen voted on Tuesday to not allow Deering to separate out parts of either Hillsborough’s Youth Services or Recreation programs, Deering youth who are arrested in Hillsborough will not benefit from the Hillsborough Diversion program.

Youth Services Director Peter Brigham said he will finish up the Diversion program with those Deering youth who have begun the program, but two recently arrested Deering teens will not enjoy the benefit. Brigham and his staff have already begun the process of letting Deering teens know they cannot use the Hillsborough Teen Center.

The Hillsborough selectmen met with Deering selectmen to negotiate contracts for Deering’s use of the Hillsborough Transfer Station, Parks and Recreation Services and Youth Services. Although the Transfer Station contract was completed and signed by all parties, the Hillsborough selectmen gave Deering until May 1 to complete negotiations for the other two contracts. If the contracts aren’t settled by then, Hillsborough will go its own way.

Hillsboro-Deering school district superintendent Dr. Barbara Baker nominated Dixie Bacallao Tremblay as her pick for high school principal. The school board will formally address confirming her at their next meeting. However, it is obvious the board is in full agreement.

“It’s a matter of formality,” said Dr. Baker on Tuesday. “We discussed it last night and we are all on the same page.”

The school board wrapped up the last of its interviews with finalists for the position on Monday night. Dr. Baker and incoming superintendent Dr. Alan Genovese made their decision shortly after and informed the board in a non-public session. Dr. Baker then offered the job to Tremblay on Tuesday, and she accepted.

“I’m thrilled to be going to Hillsboro-Deering,” said Tremblay. “I found the students to be open, honest and delightful. The staff seemed to be very open to new experiences and seemed to have the students’ best interest at heart. The board seems very committed to the students of the high school. And I found both the outgoing and incoming superintendents to be open and friendly, and very focused on students.”

Contracts for services to Deering provided by Hillsborough have not yet been settled between the towns’ two boards of selectmen. Although Hillsborough selectmen expected Deering selectmen to join them in Hillsborough at Tuesday’s meeting, the Deering selectmen did not attend. They did, however, provide their recommendation for a new Transfer Station contract, and Hillsborough selectmen intend to meet with them for further negotiations in Deering at their Wednesday meeting next week.

Contracts for the Transfer Station, Youth Services, and Parks and Recreation programs which were in place for ten years to provide services to Deering terminated at the end of 2009. So far, the Town of Deering has not made any payments for 2010 services for any services, although negotiations are ongoing.

The Hillsborough selectmen expressed their frustration with the slow-going negotiation process during Tuesday’s meeting, unanimously agreeing that it is now time for Hillsborough to “move on.”