Derry
Derry Town Council approves land purchase
Town will pay $240,000 for 132 acres
DERRY — After heated debate, town councilors approved spending $240,000 for 132 acres of property near Ballard Pond, owned by Robert and Benjamin Low.
The money will come from the town's Land Acquisition Fund, established for the purpose of buying and protecting land in Derry.
But before they approved the land purchase, councilors butted heads about motives and a possible lack of objectivity toward certain conservation issues.
"We have to preserve some of these properties," Councilor Neal Wetherbee said. "It's an ecological issue and a fiscal issue for the town."
Wetherbee urged certain councilors, including Kevin Coyle, to recuse themselves from the final vote because of personal feelings about certain conservation land issues.
"I believe they are biased," Wetherbee said.
Coyle shot back that he was entitled to his opinion. He said he was tired of the town not working together better with the Conservation Commission and Recreation Department to market some of the open land in Derry for more recreational use, specifically soccer fields.
"I have certain opinions, as do you, as to what we should be purchasing," Coyle told Wetherbee.
The land purchase price supplements federal grant funding to the owners under the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service's Wetland Protection Program, put in place to restore and protect wetland areas in exchange for retiring eligible land from agricultural use.
A permanent easement will be placed on the property and the owners will then have to follow federal grant regulations governing wetland protection.
Properties like this offer safe harbor for fish and wildlife, Conservation Commission Chairman Margaret Ives said. It also helps improve groundwater quality by filtering chemicals and other sediments out of the water stream, she said.
In addition, opportunities for educational programs, science and other recreation are possible once the land is protected, Ives said.
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Woman celebrates 109th birthday
ALLEGRA BOVERMAN/Staff photos A birthday party for Catherine Dion, who just turned 109, was held at the Pleasant Valley Nursing Center in Derry on Monday afternoon. She was surrounded by many members of her family and residents of the center. She is blowing out the candles on the cake that spell out her name.
Derry's oldest resident was pretty in pink when she celebrated a milestone birthday Monday. Catherine Dion turned 109 on July 26 at Pleasant Valley Nursing Center, where she is a resident.
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