Hillsborough

An anchor store and several retail outlets make up the plan a developer has for a 17-acre lot on the east end of Hillsborough, the same site Wal-Mart nearly built on several years ago. But realtor Rex Gray of Hometown Realty says of the new plan, “It’s not Wal-Mart.”

And that is about all Gray can say at the moment, due to confidentiality between the agency and the developer, except that he is fairly close to having the contract signed and negotiations, which have been ongoing for about a month, completed.

“I’d say it’s 90 percent,” said Gray of how sure the deal is. “We’re very close to signing the contract on the old Wal-Mart site with a national retail developer. Their intent is to build a shopping plaza with an anchor store and several retail outlets.”

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.”

Joe LeVangie, A Navy Veteran now 88 years old, fought for the Stars and Stripes in World War II, and isn’t about to let anyone tell him not to fly the flag – especially not outside his own front door. For nine years, Joe has brought his flag out every morning and placed it in its bracket, stood at attention and saluted.

“I fought for that flag. Why should I give in to somebody who tells me I can’t fly my own flag?” Joe wondered. “Is he American or what?”

Five years ago, Joe complained that the flag at the Maple Leaf apartments in Hillsborough, where he lives, was flying all night long in the dark. Joe saw that as a problem and called EJL Management.

“I brought it to their attention that if they were going to have the flag flying all night, they better have a light on it,” said Joe. “They did do that. A fellow who worked for the company came by and hooked up the wires. He said: There’s your flag. I told him it was his flag and I was glad to see the light on it.”

That same year, EJL Management cracked down on people displaying flags in general.

The Very Reverend Mark Dollard of the Manchester Diocese, Pastor of both St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Henniker and St. Mary’s in Hillsborough has been called to be the Pastor of the Berlin and Gorham Catholic parishes. A reception for him will be held on June 6 at St. Theresa’s at 4 p.m.

“The hardest part about moving is the thousand families who love me, and I love them,” he acknowledged. “But the hardest part about being a priest is being sent, knowing that you have to go where you may not choose. But I believe God has a plan for me in Berlin. Wherever I’ve gone there’s been good people and I look forward to meeting people in Gorham and Berlin.”

Father Mark, as people know him, is in the Diocese of Manchester. He has presided over 800 families in Henniker for ten years and 200 families in Hillsborough for three years. He is the Dean of the Capital Deanery, which reaches from Hooksett to Penacook, and from Northwood to Hillsborough, including Washington, Windsor, Deering, northern Weare, Webster, Warner and Bradford. Supervising those parishes is what he does in his “spare time,” as he puts it.

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.”