Police Contract Shows Raises, More Health Premium Sharing
Matt Rittenhouse
Tri-Town Times

SANDOWN - The police union has been working without a contract since its last agreement with the town expired in 2009, but another agreement will come before voters this year at town meeting.

The union's wages have been frozen since 2009.

The proposed  contract includes various wording changes, but the main difference lies in compensation.

The first year of the contract represents an increase to current year spending of $5,911.99. It's a little confusing because the contract runs on a fiscal year and the town runs on a calendar year, but the total increased cost for the contract, running from April 1, 2012 until March 31, 2013, is $6,018.40. The next contract year totals $8,802 and the third year's increases total $9,037.11. more

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Hampstead School Board Urged to Fight HB 1201
Penny Williams
Tri-Town Times

HAMPSTEAD - School Board members heard about House Bill 1201, which would assess property taxes on Pinkerton Academy, with the money going to the Town of Derry, and about HB 543, which concerns objectionable material in public school courses.

The Pinkerton bill would remove the school's tax exemption and would require Pinkerton to be assessed property taxes on the market value of its property. The bill singles out Pinkerton Academy and does not involve other schools. It includes the following: "Any shortfall in revenue of the Derry Cooperative School District due to increased tuition costs resulting from this act shall be reimbursed and made whole by the town of Derry."

The bill has no such protection for the sending towns to Pinkerton - Hampstead, Chester and in 2013, Auburn.

The board learned that the Chester School Board has committed to sending a letter expressing its objection and concerns about the bill to the Municipal and County Government Committee. more

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Routes 102 and 121 Intersection Under Study
Matt Rittenhouse
Tri-Town Times

CHESTER - In 2009, an annual average of 8,900 vehicles per day traveled on Route 102 south of its intersection with Route 121, and in 2010, 4,300 cars per day traveled east of that convergence on 121. And from Jan. 1, 2008 until July 1 of last year, the juncture had 24 accidents.

Those figures, according to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), contribute to the intersection's being considered in the top 5 percent of New Hampshire locations that exhibit the most severe highway needs.

Led by the Highway Safety Committee and in conjunction with the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC), the state Department of Transportation (DOT) is reviewing the intersection and determining whether changes would be appropriate. On Jan. 20, representatives of DOT, along with the Highway Safety Committee and private engineering firm CHA Company, met to discuss the intersection, see it first hand and consider potential changes. more

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