Hopkinton

The flame first flickered for Rebecca Lavoie in the break room at work. It was there, the day after Hopkinton resident Eric Windhurst’s 2005 arrest for the 20-year old murder of Danny Paquette, that a co-worker made it clear what everyone thought was a shocking revelation wasn’t – at least to a certain faction of people – a revelation at all.

“The key moment for me was in the break room, there was a paper laying out that said he’d been arrested, and someone I worked with said, ‘Oh, they finally got Eric for that,’” Lavoie said. “I asked what she meant and she said she was from Hopkinton, she knew him, and [a lot of people] who knew him knew what he had done. It was a secret everyone was keeping.”

But it wasn’t until Lavoie answered a casual question during a conversation with a magazine editor that the flame turned into an all-out blaze. The editor asked if Lavoie, a Hopkinton resident herself, had any stories she was interested in developing, and she recalled the Windhurst case.

Residents aired a mix of approval, doubt, and constructive criticism regarding the plan to implement a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) waste disposal system in Hopkinton at a public hearing on the issue, held during Monday’s selectman meeting. About 40 people filled the town hall to hear an implementation proposal.

Some points of contention the audience brought up with the plan included calculation of the price per bag, practicality of sharing the transfer station with non-PAYT town Webster, and whether the plan should go forward at all. One concern echoed by several residents was the town’s currently narrow range of recyclables.

Tom Herbert said there “are too many things not on the list as recyclable,” and other residents agreed that increasing the capacity would do a lot to encourage recycling.

Selectman Tom Congoran, a member of the implementation committee, said the issue of adding more recyclables is “under discussion.”

The Economic Development Committee (EDC) came before the board of Selectmen on Monday night with ideas on developing Burnham Intervale and Bio Energy’s West Hopkinton power plant site.

Committee member Glen Ohlund presented the findings of the EDC’s investigation into the cost-effectiveness of various rental options in Burnham Intervale – either renting to a single large user, multiple tenants in an office or industrial park setup, or mixed-use tenants including retail, housing, and office or industrial space.

Ohlund estimated that the area could bring in $122,000 in real estate taxes, but cautioned that it might be difficult to secure tenants in this economy. Ohlund predicted a 5 to 10 year build-out phase before a multiple-tenant space would begin returning revenue, and 3 to 5 years in the case of one large tenant because of needed upgrades to the site.

Chairman Tom Congoran prompted Ohlund for his recommendations on prioritizing work to be done on the site: “If we could do something to help, where would you go with it?”

Ohlund advised that some initial soil removal and creating access to Rt. 202-9 would make the site more appealing to businesses.

With two three-year terms open on the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen, four candidates are vying for those two seats. Current Chairman Tom Congoran is running to retain his own seat, while Scott Flood is stepping down to run for the Budget Committee. Bryan Pellerin, Kenneth Soucy and Jason LaCombe are also vying for the two open seats.

With three three-year seats open on the Budget Committee, Karen Irwin is running to keep her seat while Timothy Carney, Sam Delgado, Janet Kryzaniak and Flood are all running for either opening.

Running unopposed for a one-year term on the Budget Committee is former selectman Don Lane.

Jeff Eitreim is running unopposed for a three-year term as Library Trustee.

Christine Barton is running unopposed for a three-year term as Trustee of Trust Funds.

Richard Gourley is running unopposed for one-year term as Trustee of Trust Funds.

Gary Richardson is running unopposed for a two-year term as Town Moderator.

Sue Strickford is running unopposed for a three year term as Town Clerk and Tax Collector.

Carol McCann is running unopposed for a six-year term as Supervisor of the Checklist.

School District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reminds area snowmobilers that snowmobiles are prohibited from crossing all frozen bodies of water at the Hopkinton Everett Lakes Project in Hopkinton.

This includes Hopkinton Lake, Drew Lake, and Everett Lake. All of these lakes are regulated by flood control dams. Because their water levels are subject to reis and fall at anytime, dangerous ice conditions that may not be readily apparent to snowmobilers can occur.

For more information, contact the Hopkinton Everett Lakes Project Office at 746-3601.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT) announced plans to finish work started on the Route 127 Bridge over the Hopkinton Dam Spillway Channel this summer. The DOT will be repainting the state-owned steel bridge.

All the bridge steel will be blasted clean and repainted with three coats of non-lead paint, with a dark green finish color.

Although the bridge will not be completely shut down this summer, it will be reduced to one lane for six to eight weeks.

Jerry Zoller, of the DOT, gave assurances that the project would be completed before the State Fair, by August 27th.

"There's not a whole lot from my point of view that's controversial other than the impact to traffic," Zoller assured Hopkinton Selectmen at a recent meeting.

Chairman Tom Congoran questioned when the DOT thought construction would begin, but Zoller couldn't answer, saying it would be up to the contractor's personal schedule.

Selectman Chris Lawless questioned why the repainting wasn't done when the DOT had the bridge closed last year.

After reading The Boy Who Dared, a group of eighth grade English students in Hopkinton were able to converse with the book’s author, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, through Skype, a computer program that allows the students to talk on the phone and see who they are talking with.

The Boy Who Dared is a novel based on a true story about Helmuth Hubener, a German schoolboy who stood up against the Nazis.

The students were part of a book club, an enrichment activity initiated by English teacher Alicia Cross and conducted by librarians Donna Zecha and Janet Moore.

During one lunch period a week, the book club met to read Bartoletti’s book as well as Epic, another book.

The Skype session last Wednesday was the second the students participated in, after having Skyped with the author of Epic in December.

Bartoletti, a Newbury Honor Book Author, treated students to a presentation of how she collected her information for The Boy Who Dared as well as her non-fiction piece based on the same era, Hitler Youth.

Afterwards, students were able to ask Bartoletti more questions.

Hopkinton residents will be asked to contribute $200,000 less towards the Bohanan Farm conservation easement after the project received additional funds.

The monies will come from the state's Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), which is funded partially through the sale of moose license plates.

"We're absolutely delighted; couldn't be happier," expressed Dijit Taylor, Chairwoman of the Open Space Committee who spearheaded the Bohanan Farm project.

Voters approved expending $360,000 towards the project at a special town meeting in December. LCHIP grant proceeds will offset that cost, reducing the tax impact to approximately 2 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

According to Taylor, the project was ranked the best in the state in this grant round application.

"I feel really fortunate," stated Mark Zankel, Chairman of the Five Rivers Conservation Trust. "I think it's a really great testament to how important this project is."

Zankel also emphasized the great news this is for taxpayers in Hopkinton, as it will significantly reduce the amount of the town bond.

Hopkinton's Municipal Operations Improvement Committee recently presented the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen with a proposal for selling the Horseshoe Tavern.

Although the town has been trying to lease out the building, it has remained vacant for the past year.

The committee proposed selling the building with a parcel of town-owned land, to which the tavern could then be moved in order to make the building more appealing to potential buyers. However, the purchaser would not be required to move the building.

Committee member Arnold Coda highlighted their reasoning for packaging the land as two primary concerns with the building where it stands: a lack of parking and a lack of a real septic system.

"I think it's a great idea," commented Selectman Chris Lawless. "Get it off the dole so we can put it back to the tax payers."

Selectman Scott Flood questioned whether the building, which started as a blacksmith's shop and has since been added on to, could even be moved.

"Anything is possible," quipped committee member Lester Cressy.

On top of an operating budget of $16,103,592, the Hopkinton School District will be asking voters to approve an additional $238,468 on the warrant. Those monies are for expendable trusts and two collective bargaining agreements.

Coupled with the budget, these monies would have a tax impact of $0.39/1,000.

Hopkinton residents voted against the past two HEA agreements, which covers teachers, guidance counselors and nurses, the district has brought forth, at the March District Meeting and a Special Town Meeting in October.

The district responded to those failures by bringing forth a two-year CBA with a total cost in 2010-11 of $61,209, half of what they asked for in October and a quarter of what the district asked for in March.

In 2011-12 the cost of the agreement would be $47,755, and under Evergreen the cost in 2012-13 would be $45,459.

Those covered by HEA would remain on the same salary schedule in the first year as 2008-09, with a $750 Cost of Living Adjustment.

In the second year, teachers would receive their step increase or a $1,050 COLA.