Ordinance committee to meet
AMESBURY
ORDINANCE COMMITTEE TO MEET -- The Ordinance Committee will meet at 7:30 tonight at Town Hall, 62 Friend St. The agenda includes rezoning, zoning bylaws, a property transfer, animal control ordinances, and a request to see if the Municipal Council will vote to file a home rule petition with the Legislature for the formation of the Amesbury Economic Development Corporation. -- Meredith Goldstein
GEORGETOWN
TRAIL OPENING DELAYED -- The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation announced that there will be a delay in the opening of off-road vehicle trails at the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest because of ground conditions that increase the potential for trail damage. If drier conditions prevail over the next week, it is expected that the trails will open for use on May 15. Those who use the trails before they officially open will be fined $50. For trail conditions, call 978-887-5931.-- Meredith Goldstein
GROVELAND
ALL OVERRIDE BIDS PASS -- All five Proposition 2 override proposals passed and challenger Maria Piccolomini led all School Committee candidates in the Mondaytown election. Piccolomini garnered 1,212 votes to take one of two vacant seats, along with incumbent Carol Grazio with 851. They defeated incumbent Doreen Blades (769) and sticker candidate Sandra Fudge (452). Incumbent Road Commissioner Robert Arakelian defeated Terry Clifford, 999 to 956. Write-in candidate Mary T. Farren won a five-year seat on the Planning Board with 70 votes. Override questions included the Pentucket Regional Schools budget ($519,968), road maintenance ($190,000), firefighter gear ($80,000), repair of a fire station door and purchase a cemetery mower ($17,500), and the Community Preservation Act (a 3 percent property tax increase, with exemptions). The regional school override vote now must be supported at Merrimac's town election to be enacted.-- David Rattigan
HAVERHILL
CELLPHONES BARRED FROM COURT -- As of this week, cellphones are not allowed in Haverhill District Court. According to Chief Court Officer Rick Bevilacqua, cellphone use had been prohibited in the courthouse already but the rule was often broken. Those who bring cellphones to the court will now be asked to either leave the phones in their cars or with security. Bevilacqua said the rule was also created because many new phones have the ability to act as cameras and recording devices. He said the court does not want people recording or taking pictures without the permission of the judge. -- Meredith Goldstein
MERRIMAC
3 OVERRIDE QUESTIONS PASS -- The town voted in favor of three Proposition 2 override questions at special Town Meeting Monday at the Sweetsir School. The proposals supported a police officer position ($48,000, including salary and benefits), the Pentucket Regional School District ($560,285), and operations at the new library ($35,034). All three must pass in the town's election Monday. Residents also approved zoning bylaw revisions as the meeting, which drew 488. After the special Town Meeting, the annual Town Meeting was opened and then recessed. It is scheduled to reopen on Monday also at Sweetsir, where residents will vote on the omnibus budget for FY '05 plus 23 articles. -- David Rattigan
NEWBURY
MASTER PLAN DISCUSSION -- The next master plan event will be Saturday. Residents are invited to PITA Hall on Plum Island Boulevard from 9 to 11 a.m. to discuss traffic and how it should be managed. Master plan surveys completed by townspeople will be used in the discussion. -- Meredith Goldstein
NEWBURYPORT
PANEL STUDYING PRESERVATION APPLICANTS -- The Community Preservation Act Committee is determining which city groups will get $800,000 in funds raised through a property tax surcharge. The committee has heard from the applicant organizations and is in the process of conducting site visits. While the committee gave preliminary approval to some of the requests at the end of April, final decisions will not be made until the Tuesday meeting, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 60 Pleasant St. -- Meredith Goldstein
ROWLEY
BEE ISSUE NOT ON AGENDA -- As of earlier this week, Hillside Street resident Pat Watson is not on the Board of Health agenda regarding her concerns about bees coming to town. Watson was told by selectmen that while they would not pass her public nuisance complaint involving her next door neighbors' plan to bring 80,000 bees to their property for an apiary, she could put her name on the Board of Health agenda herself. Watson, who says she has a severe bee allergy, said last week that she would wait to see how the bees and the apiary affected her before bringing her case to health officials-- Meredith Goldstein
SALISBURY
WARRANTS ON TOWN WEBSITE -- The warrants for the special and annual town meetings are on the town's new website, www.salisburyma.gov/. The annual Town Meeting agenda includes a request from the Community Development Plan Committee to accept their report and create a zoning review committee, and an article from the town manager that asks to remove the police chief's position from the state's civil service program. The meetings begin at 7 p.m., May 17, at Salisbury Elementary School, 100 Lafayette Road.-- Meredith Goldstein
WEST NEWBURY
CUSHING REELECTED SELECTMAN -- Selectman Richard Cushing retained his seat and a Proposition 2 override for the Pentucket Regional School District passed by a vote of 795 to 548 in the Monday town election. The override vote also was supported in Groveland, and now must be supported at Merrimac's election to be enacted. Cushing led the voting in the selectman's race with 750 votes, beating Glenn Kemper (519) and Barry Zaneski (91). In the other contest, for three constable positions, incumbents Charles Courtemanche (920) and Glenn Coffin (893) were the lead vote-getters, with Richard Connolly winning the third seat with 696 votes, and Theodore Szmyt with 466 votes.-- David Rattigan
NEW HAMPSHIRE
DURHAM
FORUM ON OCEAN POLICY REPORT -- New Hampshire Sea Grant will hold a panel discussion on the recently-released report by the US Commission on Ocean Policy from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Monday in the University of New Hampshire Memorial Union Building. Andrew Rosenberg, a member of the commission and a UNH professor of natural resources, will give an overview. "New Hampshire and the Sea: What Will the Ocean Commission Report Mean to Us?" is free and open to the public, with free parking in Lot C on Mill Road. To view the report, visit www.oceancommission.gov. -- Clare Kittredge
EAST KINGSTON
STUDENTS PERFORM "CINDERELLA" -- "Cinderella," a musical by grades 4 and 5 directed by music teacher Nancy Leavitt and fourth-grade teacher Lynne Walker will be performed at 7 p.m. today and tomorrow at East Kingston Elementary School, 5 Andrews Lane, according to principal Jim Eaves. The show will go on in the school's multipurpose room. -- Clare Kittredge
EXETER
GETTING TOUGH ON CHARTER SCHOOLS -- While plans for one of the state's first charter schools move ahead in Exeter, the state Board of Education will vote Tuesday on procedures that would provide closer review of charter school proposals. The board has approved four charter schools, including Exeter's Seacoast Charter School, under a law that would allow 20 pilot charter schools by 2013. -- Clare Kittredge
HAMPTON
SPRING CLEANUP -- Spring cleanup is set for next week for residents with rubbish collection Tuesday through Friday, and the week of May 17 for those with collection on Mondays. Place items on the curb. Call 603-926-4402. --Clare Kittredge
SUMMER SCHOOL STARTS JUNE 21 -- The Seacoast Results Academy will hold summer school from 8 a.m. to noon June 21 to July 30 for grades 4 through 12. The school is a private Christian school that describes itself as serving "creative right-brained students that have difficulty within the traditional educational setting." The school also offers a computerized high school diploma program Monday and Wednesday. Call 877-926-1771. -- Clare Kittredge
KENSINGTON
SCENIC ROAD RULES TO BE DISCUSSED -- The Kensington Planning Board will continue its discussion of changes to the town's scenic road ordinance when it meets today at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall at 95 Amesbury Road. Call 603-772-5423. --Clare Kittredge
KINGSTON
ANGER MANAGEMENT SEMINAR -- The Sanborn Regional High School guidance office will host a free presentation on anger management at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the school library at 13 Church St. The presentation will be repeated at 7:30 a.m. May 13 Call 603-642-3600. -- Clare Kittredge
NORTH HAMPTON
MEETINGS TO BE BROADCAST -- The public meetings of selectmen, planning, and zoning boards will be broadcast via cable in several months, under a recent agreement between
PORTSMOUTH
HOTEL DEAL TO BE DISCUSSED -- The Portsmouth Economic Development Commission will discuss a possible partnership between the city and the owners of the Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth Hotel & Conference Center to expand conference space, hotel rooms, and parking in the North End when it meets at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow in Conference Room A at City Hall, 1 Junkins Ave. Call Nancy Carmer at 603-431-2006, ext. 220. -- Clare Kittredge
RYE
JOB APPLICANTS SOUGHT -- May 14 is the deadline to apply for a summer parking enforcement job for the town. The pay is $11.50 an hour for a flexible schedule of 20 to 30 hours a week, from June through Labor Day. Applicants must be 18 or older with a driver's license. Call 603-964-7450. -- Clare Kittredge
SEABROOK
POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS -- May 21 will be the last day on the job for Seabrook Police Chief Bill Baker after his abrupt resignation April 28. Baker, 48, became chief in December, taking over for deputy police chief David Currier. Baker resigned amid disagreements with two of the town's three selectmen, board chairman Asa Knowles, and new selectwoman Cora Stockbridge. Stockbridge, a former police department secretary, this spring defeated another Selectman Oliver Carter, Jr., who had wanted Baker hired over Currier, according to Knowles. -- Clare Kittredge
STRATHAM
FAIR OPENS JULY 29 -- This summer's Stratham Fair will feature an antique tractor pull and other amusements. The fair will run from July 29 through Aug. 1. Efforts are underway to hold a monster truck show, helicopter rides, a high-wire act, and various crafts, according to a fair committee. . -- Clare Kittredge
