Winchester's taxpayers Would Also Like To Know

There was a very interesting letter published in the Opinions Section of the Keene Sentinel Today and for those of you who may not subscribe to the Sentinel or who may have missed it, we thought it important that should should have the opportunity to read it. Seems we are not alone when it comes to questioning the acts of Winchester's new SAU 91.

Truth or not?

That’s a good question. When most SAUs are trying to make cutbacks, what has happened in Winchester?


Well let’s see. Ten percent increase (that’s $1 million). Some how they are still short $800,000.

Now they have sent out pink slips. Can anyone tell me what’s going on. I’d like to hear the truth if it’s out there. Somehow I just don’t think I’ll get a honest answer.

BRIAN MOSER

168 Clark Road

Winchester

So What's Sharra Up To Now ?

Town of Winchester Planning Board Notice of Public Hearings 5-02-11 The Winchester Planning Board will be meeting at 7:00pm on 5-02-11 on the Main Floor of the Town Hall for the following public hearings: 1. The board will hold a hearing on the suggested changes to the Site Plan Review Regulations and checklist. 2. The board will hold a hearing on the suggested changes to the Rules of Procedure. Copies of the proposals are available for review at the Town Hall during regular business hours. Respectfully, Margaret Sharra, Land Use

Pay Attention ! ... Be Aware!

There has been a recent outbreak of vandalism and home break ins recently in the southern area of town. Just recently a homeowner on Burt Hill came home to discover their house broken into and many items missing and another came home from work to discover someone had attempted to either burglarize their vehicle or steal it as the hazard lights were flashing from obvious tampering. Please keep your eyes open for any suspicious behavior in your area and be ever vigilant to strangers or strange vehicles cruising your neighborhood. Please contact the police department if something seems amiss. It's better to err on the side of caution than to have your neighbor come home and discover they have been victims.

Think Pink-Not!

Did They or Didn’t They? 

The two largest school districts in the area, Keene and Monadnock, announced last week that they were reducing or “pink slipping” staff. 

New Hampshire law states that staff, teachers and paraprofessionals, must be notified of this change in their employment for the next school year on or before April 15^th of the current school year. If this notification is not received then the school district must issue contracts for the next year to these employees. In some cases the district will opt to rehire certain staff that has been pink slipped.
 

Monadnock chose to “pink slip”  forty paraprofessionals. They did this as the district is experiencing declining enrollment and they do not need this entire staff. Keene on the other hand chose to “pink slip” thirty-eight teachers that did not have tenure. Tenure in New Hampshire is received after a teacher has taught in a district for three consecutive years. Keene’s reason for “pink slipping” this staff was the state of New Hampshire informed the district that they had not collected enough funds for the state’s retirement fund. Keene needs to collect this additional money and deposit it immediately into the state’s account to satisfy the deficiency balance. The state also told the district that this money cannot be part of this year’s school budget. The Keene district needs to “RIF” or “pink slip” these teachers to cover this money.


This prompts the informer to ask this question, “How did the Winchester school district avoid this issue of “pink slipping?” One could conclude the following through deductive reasoning:

1. The Winchester School district has a great business manager
2. The Winchester School district got lucky
3. The Winchester School district had a premonition that the state would be short of money and this is why the district added the funds back into the budget

The informer remembers Mr. Whippie telling those at the school meeting that if “we don’t need this extra money we won’t use it”. One can only think that the board had prior knowledge of the state being short of retirement funds and lacked the courage to tell the voters the real reason that they needed this money. This extra money in our school budget ensures that the teachers and paraprofessionals in Winchester would not receive “pink slips”. The informer understands that the voters in Winchester have the knowledge to vote for money that is necessary to support the school. The informer also understands that if this is the case then the school budget should drop at least $1.1 million next year. 

General Dollar Store

Margaret Sharra is proposing to tear down the historic yellow home at 71 Main Street (located between the ELMCC & VFW) in order to build a 9,100 square foot GENERAL DOLLAR store.
What is your opinion?

Historic District Commission meeting scheduled for Monday, April 25th at 7 PM.

Garden Talk at the Thayer Public Library

"Planting with Color"

given by Cherie Rowe

Former Master Gardener for

Langdon Place of Keene

gardening enthusiast, and  Winchester resident

TUESDAY, APRIL 19th at 7 PM

Thayer Public Library

3 Main Street

Ashuelot Village

Invite your friends! 

Lets get the season going with some garden ideas.

For more information, contact Library Chairman, Julia:

239-6830

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBEsfNYxST0

Even After Being Notified, Boards and Committees Ignore The Law

What does it take to get information to the public in a timely manner as required by law? Winchester's Town Clerk sent out a reminder to the following people to remind them of their duty  to provide minutes of their board's and committee's meetings within 5 days of said meetings and yet they continue to ignore him and the law, why? What compels public employees and appointees to act this way? Is it a lack of leadership or do we simply have people in a position that they simply don't belong?  Below we have attached the Town's "New Policy" regarding meeting minutes; something they should have adhered to long ago and still don't follow.

If you are having issues viewing these documents, follow this link to download a photocopy of them;

http://www.fileserve.com/file/4XBwWhM