Save the Met
To the editor:
I am writing to express sadness and astonishment at the impending closure of The Children’s Metamorphosis here in Derry, which was reported in the July 20 edition of the Derry News.
I was particularly stung to realize it was the first I heard of their difficulties, not because I would ever be able to personally save a museum just by hearing about its struggles, but because I strongly believe that a popular museum that reportedly draws 30,000 visitors and boasted up to 800 members could pull together ground-level support to save it.
Unfortunately, the nonprofit world is often a cash-poor place to be, and it is difficult to stay afloat. Obtaining and maintaining funding is a constant and draining endeavor, similar to that faced by small businesses (most of which fail in the first two years).
However, The Met has been with us for 16 years. It is such a positive force in this community, and I truly believe that people want this organization to survive and thrive. The Met has a lot to offer, including momentum and many successes.
As former members whose children have somewhat outgrown the exhibits and offerings, we have fond memories of my daughter’s 4th birthday party and fun afternoons spent watching the kids play dentist and shimmying down the fire pole dressed in full firefighter gear. Many families we know have held or attended birthday parties there, much to the enjoyment of children, parents and grandparents alike.
The Children’s Metamorphosis museum has a wealth of name-recognition far and wide and is a destination attraction for families. It also appears to have a decent Internet presence and full program offerings for younger children, providing a ripe environment for corporate sponsors to gain recognition and benefit from supporting this community resource.
In addition to the quality of life factor, with the loss of this community gem, the Derry Economic Development Corporation will lose a wonderful tool to put forth in its efforts to attract new businesses to the area and shift the town’s economic base a little bit closer to being balanced in the commercial/residential ratio.
According to the Derry News’ article, The Met’s executive director expects an “outcry of support once museum regulars and friends find out what is happening.” I personally would like to extend an offer of support to join a "Save The Met" campaign, if it is not too late to turn the eviction process around.
Amy McLaughlin
Derry
Preserve West Derry
To the editor:
The majority of Derry’s approximately 35,000 residents live wedged between Route 28/Bypass 28 and Interstate 93 (for simplicity, West Derry) in an area of town that also hosts two elementary schools, one middle school, a high school, a post office, the downtown and surrounding business district, gas stations, supermarkets, the movie theater, Wal-Mart, the old town landfill and the transfer station, Derry’s municipal building, Derry District Court, Parkland Medical Center and surrounding medical office buildings, the water treatment facility, Derry Police Department, one branch of the Derry Fire Department, and Derry’s only access point to Interstate 93.
Chances are that if you live in Derry, then you visit this area of town on a daily basis.
Besides the businesses that line Route 28/Bypass 28, there is little development in the eastern part of town (for simplicity, East Derry). In fact, with the exception of properties that line Route 28/Bypass 28 and Route 111, there are no industrially or commercially zoned properties in East Derry.
Yes, there are homes, several schools and fire stations, the town cemetery and some convenience stores and gas stations in East Derry, but there are also large tracts of protected land. According to the Derry Conservation Commission’s Web site, there are currently eight town-owned parcels of land in East Derry that total 827 acres; 135 acres of state-protected property, including Ballard State Forest and Robert Frost Farm; and three parcels totaling more than 279 acres protected by conservation easements.
The only protected open spaces in West Derry are what remains of Alexander-Carr Park, Hood Park, a 17.6-acre parcel at Tigertail Circle, and Sybiak Farm, the land recently acquired by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to mitigate the damages that will result from the widening of Interstate 93.
Rumors and misguided statements recently printed in the letters to the editor would have Derry residents believe that I am using my personal influence to protect open space near my home.
Yes, as a resident of Derry, I organized neighborhood meetings, wrote letters to the editors and contacted anyone at the town, state and federal levels who would listen to my concerns when I learned that the heads of the Derry Town Council and Derry Conservation Commission had approached the NHDOT and asked to have the choice of mitigation lands in Derry changed from Sybiak Farms -- a large, beautiful parcel that abuts Interstate 93 and would protect neighbors from noise, air and groundwater pollution -- to one that is over three miles from the highway.
Yes, I organized a petition to prevent the town from razing the tennis courts at Alexander-Carr Park and placing a new fire station on park lands. And, as a taxpaying resident and private citizen, I will continue to fight to preserve every possible remaining parcel of park land and open space in West Derry. If these environmental injustices were happening in your neighborhood, wouldn’t you do something about it?
For the record, I did not attend last week’s Conservation Commission meeting. I do, however, support the Derry Conservation Commission’s acquisition of the agricultural easement on J&F; Farms. I feel that agricultural soil protection is in all of our best interest: We should be planting our farmland with crops, not 3,000-square-foot homes.
But let’s be fair. Every time money is spent protecting lands in East Derry, an opportunity is lost to protect land in the more environmentally threatened part of town. If there is any land left preserved in West Derry (whether or not it has been previously designated as industrially or commercially zoned), in the interest of justice for those of us who live here in West Derry and pay taxes that support the purchase of open space in this town, it should be preserved now, before it, too, becomes developed. We are running out of time over here.
Donna Thompson
Derry
Obama not presidential
To the editor:
Sen. Barack Obama is a novice politician with naive concepts of the world’s geopolitical and security issues.
He downplays any Cold War threats from Russia and China, and says this country overstates its concern with terrorism. He comes across as the last great hope for salvation of the United States through weakness. Obama thinks we should significantly cut the Defense Department budget and not worry so much about terrorism.
Does he have any idea about what is going on in the world? Russia and China are dramatically expanding their military forces, Venezuela and Cuba are fomenting unrest in Central and South America, North Korea continues to rattle its nuclear sword, Iran and other Middle East countries are bent on promoting Islamic fundamentalist extremism in their region and throughout the world, and al-Qaida is making a comeback in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Can anyone envision Sen. Obama effectively negotiating with the leaders of Russia or China or North Korea or Venezuela or Iran on issues of world and national security? Or see him aggressively pursuing the al-Qaida threat?
The United States presidency requires a person with proven experience and knowledge of domestic and world affairs, a person with good judgment, someone with analytical skills -- a worldly leader. Sen. Barack Obama is not this person.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry
Councilor's attacks cover for her own inaction
To the editor:
Janet Fairbanks attacked the Derry Conservation Commission again at a public hearing on several land conservation proposals on Monday, July 25. Are Janet’s attacks meant to cover her own complete lack of action on land conservation? Or are the attacks meant to give her a political whipping boy?
Janet doesn’t want the public to know that the Conservation Commission can’t buy any land, and in fact never has. I’ve been a member of the commission for 13 years, and we only recommend purchasing land and easements. The Town Council, which includes Janet, has the sole authority to purchase land or easements. And by the way, the council doesn’t need the Conservation Commission to recommend a parcel of land before purchasing the land or easement. The Town Council negotiated and purchased an easement on the Grinnell property without input from the Conservation Commission. Where are your proposals, Janet?
The Conservation Commission recommended retaining land taken for nonpayment of taxes off Tigertail Street, and creating the West Derry Conservation Area. The commission requested and received a donation of land off Magnolia Drive along Beaver Brook from a developer. The commission requested and received an access way from another developer to a town-owned parcel of land off Rockingham Road. The commission also recommended protecting the Sybiak parcel on Windham Depot Road. All of the aforementioned parcels are in the western part of town. Has Councilor Fairbanks proposed protecting any land in West Derry?
She accused members of the Conservation Commission of a conspiracy to buy land within a mile of our homes. Untrue. Derry is only about 6 miles wide. There are 11 members on the commission, all living in different parts of town. Just about anywhere in town is one mile or less from a commission member’s house.
She accused the Conservation Commission of allowing a large over-55 development to be built next door to her house. She claimed that this development would soon claim a hardship and be able to sell to anyone under 55, further burdening the schools. Janet, you as an official legislator have the power over this, not the Conservation Commission, which is an advisory commission. As a taxpayer, I want you to make sure that the over-55 development does not sell to people under 55. We don’t ask the recreation department to build sewer lines. Why ask the Conservation Commission, a commission with only advisory powers, to stop an over-55 development?
The fact of the matter is not all land is created equal. Try buying land on a lake or on a golf course -- that land will cost much more than land next to a gravel pit or junkyard. The Conservation Commission recommends protecting what we think is the most valuable land based on our criteria. Proximity to Councilor Fairbanks’ house is not one of the criteria.
Is there valuable land in Janet’s district? Of course there is. Is it the most valuable land for conservation purposes in Derry? If the scope of our efforts was limited to Janet’s district, our choices would be different than if we looked at the whole town. If our scope included all of Rockingham County, our choices might not include any parcels of land in Derry. The focus of the Conservation Commission is on the most valuable conservation land in the entire town of Derry.
Janet Fairbanks has stated that she will not approve the purchase of any land unless it’s in her district. Isn’t that the same bias that she accuses the Conservation Commission of? She has voted against reappointing current members of the commission. Was it because of her conspiracy theory, or perhaps because some members of the commission actively opposed her friends in the East Derry secession movement?
Janet claims to support preserving open space, but her antics have derailed conservation efforts.
To end on a positive note, Janet has done some good things. I applaud her opposition to using Alexander-Carr playground land to build a new fire station. The playground and land are a valuable resource for the entire town. Breaking the trust of the donor would only make it more difficult to convince future land owners to make donations to the town.
Mrs. Fairbanks, I hope we can work together on land conservation which most people in Derry want. I’m willing to talk, are you?
William Hoyt
Derry
Decision needed on private roads
To the editor:
In a recent article, Councilor Beverly Ferrante stated that the private road subcommittee was the catalyst for the discussion on private roads. I too thank the subcommittee, but it is important to set the record straight.
The catalyst for the present private road debate and the catalyst for the private road subcommittee was a petition filed by the residents of McKinley and Lakeshore avenues. The petition was filed in August of 2006, and the council has been negligent in dealing with this petition. It’s truly a shame that Councilor Ferrante has formed her own personal opinion rather than representing the hardworking people of her district concerning this issue. The voters will have their chance in March to tell her how they feel.
The McKinley Avenue petition was filed because of a very large pothole that was reported to town officials in the spring of 2006. The Public Works Department responded by stating the road was private.
Residents then filed their petition with overwhelming evidence that their roadway is public: a town memo from Alan Swan stating the town had plowed and patched the road, and a variance document that says there appears to be enough room for the road if the “town” should wish to rebuild it at some future time. Our road also appears on the town’s GIS road index as public.
This evidence, along with subdivision plots dating back to 1937, should be enough to get a pothole fixed. Unfortunately, ordinary residents paying the bills are left waiting for an answer.
Some good Samaritans temporarily filled the hole almost a year ago. But with the passage of time, the roadway is continuing to deteriorate. The council would prefer that residents fix the road.
The problem is the town has a permanent 20-foot easement for the sewer line under the road. Residents would need permission from the town to perform repairs because the loose pavement would need to be removed to correctly patch the road. Also, residents do not have the legal authority to repair a public right-of-way and could be held liable for any damage done to the sewer line by inadequate road repairs. What is considered a minor repair for a municipality is a far more costly undertaking for individual residents.
The council should be careful when discussing safety issues, because they’re not at all concerned with the elderly and children living on our roadway. Our residents range in age from the mid-80s to 11 months. Call it safety for some, but not for our most vulnerable. The council delaying this issue further will push these needed road repairs off until next spring, as the weather for road repairs will soon be past. Let’s hope no one gets hurt before then, or the town will be facing more legal action.
I would like to thank Councilor Kevin Coyle, the first councilor to physically look at the road. I would also like to thank Councilor Brent Carney for his valiant effort in bringing this issue to an end, and Councilor Janet Fairbanks for answering my many e-mails and for her great questions to town officials.
The council accepts roads on a regular basis. They made a decision on a similar petition within 45 days. The residents of McKinley Avenue filed their petition over a year ago, and have only asked this council to make a decision and give us an answer based on current state law so that our safety concerns can be addressed. Unfortunately, it’s not on “their” agenda.
Paul Kimball
Derry
Fairbanks' accusation lacks merit
To the editor:
As a resident of District 1 in Derry, I witnessed on TV Councilor Janet Fairbanks’ accusation regarding the Conservation Commission and this publication's entire coverage of the matter. It does indeed require comment.
It strikes me as very odd that any publication would write a story touched off by comments from anyone without offering the comment itself. For your readers' benefit, at the July 10 Town Council meeting, in response to the council chairman’s explanation of the criteria for conservation land acquisition recommendations, Councilor Fairbanks said, “It’s a criteria that they have created based on properties that abut the conservation members’ homes.”
I have read the actual criteria; there is no requirement that prospective properties abut conservation members’ homes. In that light, your headline would have been far more accurate if it read, “Councilor Fairbanks makes false accusation.”
On another level, Councilor Fairbanks did not offer any basis for the intended and implied accusation that conservation members have sought out personal gain in their recommendations.
In fact, assuming that this dark conspiracy is accurate and that property values go up when nearby land is conserved, a property owner would have to sell in order to reap that personal benefit. To my knowledge, none of the people she has personally accused have sold their property | as such, their windfall has simply been paying higher property taxes for many years.
Most importantly, the two letters published on July 18 by Councilors Brent Carney and Janet Fairbanks presents a stark dichotomy. While Councilor Carney made a plea for people to become involved in Derry, Councilor Fairbanks, in my opinion, was discouraging the same.
Perhaps Councilor Carney can take a leadership position and call out those who discourage community service through false and disparaging accusations of dedicated volunteers.
Mark Grabowski
Derry
Grass-roots support for Hillary growing
To the editor:
This past Monday evening, door-to-door visits, strawberry shortcakes, Mack’s Apples and grass-roots activism combined to show support for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Twenty-five or so community members gathered in our Londonderry living room for a CNN/YouTube debate-watching party and some delicious desserts. During the debate, Hillary convinced American voters, along with many folks at our home, that she is the leader our nation needs. Hillary showed us that she is the most qualified candidate to be president of the United States, and she is ready to step in now and take charge.
Watching my daughters hand out invitations, both in our neighborhood and at the Londonderry Democratic Social at Mack’s, made me proud that they are involved and engaged at a young age in the political process. I believe it is important for girls and boys alike to know that a woman can be president.
Our debate-watchers nodded with enthusiasm and clapped when Hillary said, “We may be able to finally break the hardest of all glass ceilings, but obviously I’m not running because I’m a woman. I’m running because I think I’m the most qualified and experienced person to hit the ground running in January of 2009.”
I’m hopeful that you will have the opportunity to see Hillary here in New Hampshire. I’m convinced that once you see and hear her, you’ll know that she has the experience, knowledge on the issues, wisdom and strength to be the next president of the United States.
Get involved and take advantage of New Hampshire political activism and involvement.
Katie Wolff
Londonderry
Obama's the real deal
To the editor:
Are you sick and tired of listening to our elected officials and so-called “political activists” engaging in petty bickering, instead of working to solve problems and govern effectively? It seems like this is the mode of politics in Washington and closer to home, despite a strong message from the American people that we want statesmanship, competence and leadership rather than bickering, inaction and attempts at one-upmanship.
There is a bright light on the horizon, and that bright light is Sen. Barack Obama. Known for respecting others and showing the type of statesmanship that we are looking for from our leaders, Sen. Obama has recently broken all of the records in his campaign to become president of the United States.
While raising a record amount of money this year, incredibly, more than 250,000 donors from all walks of life and all political persuasions have supported his campaign. The explanation is clear: Sen. Obama is a different type of candidate who inspires people and who is willing to work with all stakeholders, regardless of their politics.
A quarter of a million American citizens have contributed more than $58 million to his campaign. PACs and federal lobbyists have contributed zero.
Now, more than ever, we need a president who really is a uniter and a statesman. Keep your eyes open for Sen. Obama. He’s the real thing.
Robert Spiegelman
Londonderry
Shea-Porter getting the job done
To the editor:
I've been listening to all of the hoopla about Carol Shea-Porter. The information on how she voted is on the Web, and I've looked it up. She has voted responsibly on everything that she has voted on.
She has voted on every article just as I would have if I was in her place. She is batting a thousand, in my estimation.
Keep up the good work, Carol. I'm with you.
Constance Dimmock
Derry
Hillary's the one
To the editor:
I was a teenage pregnancy statistic. I, however, was one of the few lucky teenagers who went on to start law school, live on my own to raise my child and garner a steady job with great pay.
That should be the expected result of every teenage pregnancy, and only one presidential candidate is capable of reducing teen pregnancies to ensure that every teen receives the future that I did. Sen. Hillary Clinton founded the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, which contributed to a one-third decrease in the teen pregnancy rate between 1995 and 2005. And that is just the beginning of what she has done.
Hillary has always put everyone else first, and as someone who has been in the White House and experienced it first-hand as a mother, wife, lawyer and senator, I trust no one else with my family or this country.
Jenny Milana
Derry
Playground by the numbers
To the editor:
Money raised at Project P.L.A.Y.’s second annual Touch-A-Truck: $5,300.
Money raised by Project P.L.A.Y. since fundraising began: almost $30,000.
Money needed to build a playground: about $200,000.
The smiles and laughter of children playing on a playground: Priceless.
We all know that there is a need for a decent playground here in Londonderry. For a town of more than 25,000 residents, about one-third of whom are under the age of 14, there really ought to be at least one.
Project P.L.A.Y. has done just about all of the legwork needed to make this playground a reality. We have completed surveys of townspeople and site analyses of three possible playground locations given to us by the town’s Recreation Commission.
The resounding answer was that the existing location at Nelson Road, behind Londonderry’s Central Fire Station, would be the best spot. It is centrally located, has existing parking and portable toilet facilities and has enough space and existing landscaping for a decent-sized playground.
Project P.L.A.Y. has already selected a playground equipment vendor and has worked on the design of the play area, which has a unique farm theme that harkens back to our town’s agricultural roots.
All we need to do now is purchase the structures, safety surfacing, fencing and other materials so that we can hold a “community build” and get this playground built. However, we cannot do this until we raise the necessary funds. We need your help now.
Would you like this playground built this fall? Then send in your contribution today. Can’t find a stamp to send your donation by mail? Then please call me at 432-6051 or e-mail Project P.L.A.Y. at fundraising@projectplaylondonderry.org. A Project P.L.A.Y. member would be happy to arrange a time to pick up your donation either at your home or business.
Time is running out. If you want to be a part of this community effort, if you’d like to have a lasting legacy at the playground for your family or potential customers to visit, please send in your contribution by Aug. 31 so that you can help enrich the lives of so many people who live here in our town and beyond.
Thank you for your consideration, support and financial help.
Lara McIntyre
Chairwoman
Project P.L.A.Y.
Londonderry
Environmental injustice
To the editor:
Recently, District 1 Councilor Janet Fairbanks has been criticized for expressing her feelings about the lack of conservation land on this side of Route 28. I will explain the reasons behind this displeasure.
Newspaper articles report that the Conservation Commission plans to purchase more land in the eastern part of Derry. The old Derry Master Plan had earmarked areas along Windham Road to be preserved as open space. Since that has not been the will of the town officials, they have revised the Master Plan. I served on many of these committees. In the end, the report was written to accommodate the view of the town officials who mostly reside on the other side of Route 28.
One only needs to look at the Derry Web site and look at where the town-owned conservation land is located and it will become very apparent what is going on.
Al Doolittle, conservation member, abuts the Young Road area also known as the Broadview Farm parcel. Paul Dionne, conservation member, abuts Phil Fernando’s farm and has the Caras property a stone's throw from his home on Wortherly Road. Also on Wortherly Road resides Neil Weatherbee, conservation member alternate, who also benefits from the Caras parcel recently purchased by the town.
Most recently, several town officials, including Paul Dionne, approached the Department of Transportation to swap land that was to be preserved in western Derry on/off Windham Road for land abutting Dennis Wiley, conservation member. The state had approvals in place so there was not the opportunity for them to change this, thank God.
Properties abutting and near conservation land have higher property values, so although the Conservation Committee members give their time, they do get rewards, aesthetically and monetarily. What about those of us on this side of town? OK, the town has given us 17 acres of land that is all rock and ledge and hills and vales. If it could have been developed, it would have been.
Yes, the land we have been given is better than nothing. But the town has spent several million dollars of taxpayers' money on land elsewhere. Despite numerous requests, there are no signs downtown showing where these conservation lands are. If we cannot find them, then we cannot use them.
Three-acre zoning in East Derry affords more open space without land purchases. This side of town has 1- and 2-acre zoning. More development is possible, which will bring more children. Shouldn’t this be where the land is preserved? On Fordway, 17 acres of land were developed to allow 119 residential units. Four acres at Shute’s Corner will allow a gas station with six pumps, a Rite Aid, a bank and a convenience store with a Dunkin' Donuts. That land abuts the Alexander-Carr Park.
Land is bought with funds from tax monies and from development-paying to impact or modify wetland requirements -- Wal-Mart will be giving the town $100,000 to impact a conservation easement off Ashley Drive, even if there were several pocket parks around the neighborhoods.
These residents will suffer congestion, noise and air pollution, not to mention a decline in their quality of life. There is now talk about putting recreational offices for the town on the Alexander-Carr Park. This land has already been impacted by the hospital's numerous expansions. Recently, the town tried (and failed) to put a fire station on the Alexander-Carr property. Why can we not have open space of our own?
Maureen Rose
Derry
A lack of compassion
To the editor:
As a recently separated mother of one son, I have an experience I need others to be aware of. I went to the Department of Health and Human Services office in Manchester for some assistance. I wasn't asking for the world, just something to help me get my feet on the ground. I was denied for a few reasons.
The first: I make too much money.
Second: My spouse hadn't been gone a full month yet.
Third: My spouse pays me for day care, and that is counted as income.
I think it's pretty sad that I work full-time, 40 hours a week, need some assistance and can't get anything. The maximum a family of two can make a month to be eligible for assistance is $560. What a joke.
My next step was to approach this great town of Derry. The two ladies in that office were the most unpleasant people I've ever met. It's not easy to walk into the office and admit you need some assistance, but to then be insulted and treated horribly.
I will figure out my own way to pay my rent and bills. I don't need your help. The Derry office is lacking in manners, a pleasant attitude and most of all, compassion.
Brigitte Lopez
Derry
