WINCHESTER, N.H. -- The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said they are investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting in Winchester.
It happened around 9 p.m. Monday. Early Tuesday morning, officers could still be seen at the apartment building at the corner of Keene Road and Mechanic Street where the shooting took place.According to the Attorney General's office, the incident began when four police officers responded to a family dispute at the apartment building. Officers said a woman on the scene said her husband was inside, armed with a knife and suicidal.Officers tried stopping the man using tasers as he advanced toward them with the knife, but the man did not stop. One of the officers shot and killed the man. His identity has not yet been released.
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Board of Selectman's Meeting Wednesday June 29th, 2011
This coming Wednesday evening the BOS will be hearing testimony from two of our state representatives in regards to the proposed asphalt plant being constructed on the grounds of the old P&G gravel pit. They will speak out about the hazards to the people in the area and the effects it will have on the lives of residents of Winchester and Swanzey.
We ask that all those who oppose this project please attend and voice your concerns and support the efforts of our state reps to convince the BOS that this proposed project not be allowed to go forward.
The DES had until last Friday, June 23rd to make a decision on the concerns of the people who attended the earlier hearings and who wrote letters to the department. No answers have been received from the Board of Air Quality yet and there is a window of 10 days to file an appeal of any decision that is handed down.
THIS MEETING HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL JULY 6TH-NO MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT
DES WILL GRANT MITCHELL A TEMPORARY PERMIT JULY 5TH WHICH WILL BE GOOD FOR 18 MONTHS TO SEE IF THEY ARE WITHIN AIR QUALITY STANDARDS BEFORE A FINAL PERMIT IS ISSUED.
AN APPEAL OF THEIR DECISION WILL BE FILED WITHIN THE 10 DAY WINDOW
We ask that all those who oppose this project please attend and voice your concerns and support the efforts of our state reps to convince the BOS that this proposed project not be allowed to go forward.
The DES had until last Friday, June 23rd to make a decision on the concerns of the people who attended the earlier hearings and who wrote letters to the department. No answers have been received from the Board of Air Quality yet and there is a window of 10 days to file an appeal of any decision that is handed down.
THIS MEETING HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL JULY 6TH-NO MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT
DES WILL GRANT MITCHELL A TEMPORARY PERMIT JULY 5TH WHICH WILL BE GOOD FOR 18 MONTHS TO SEE IF THEY ARE WITHIN AIR QUALITY STANDARDS BEFORE A FINAL PERMIT IS ISSUED.
AN APPEAL OF THEIR DECISION WILL BE FILED WITHIN THE 10 DAY WINDOW
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Panel votes to hire consultant
WINCHESTER — The town’s Historic District Commission wants extra help on a tough decision.
The commission voted Monday to hire a consultant to review the historic value of the house at 71 Main St.
A developer has applied to the commission for permission to demolish the building, which is in the historic district, and replace it with a Dollar General store.
The commission voted to hire Lynne Emerson Monroe, a Kensington historic preservation consultant, to report on the history and architecture of the building, according to Vice Chairwoman Julia Ferrari.
Applicant Zaremba Group of Cleveland still has to confirm that it will pay Monroe’s fee of $2,500, Ferrari said.
The commission is scheduled to vote on the application on July 11.
Controversy over the proposal has pitted those who say the vacant, derelict building should be replaced with a new business against those who say the store doesn’t fit in the historic district.
The building is owned by Margaret Sharra, a member of the town’s planning board, and her two brothers.
The commission voted Monday to hire a consultant to review the historic value of the house at 71 Main St.
A developer has applied to the commission for permission to demolish the building, which is in the historic district, and replace it with a Dollar General store.
The commission voted to hire Lynne Emerson Monroe, a Kensington historic preservation consultant, to report on the history and architecture of the building, according to Vice Chairwoman Julia Ferrari.
Applicant Zaremba Group of Cleveland still has to confirm that it will pay Monroe’s fee of $2,500, Ferrari said.
The commission is scheduled to vote on the application on July 11.
Controversy over the proposal has pitted those who say the vacant, derelict building should be replaced with a new business against those who say the store doesn’t fit in the historic district.
The building is owned by Margaret Sharra, a member of the town’s planning board, and her two brothers.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Board denies Pembroke asphalt plant .. So what's wrong with our ZBA?
PEMBROKE — Relying in part on Merriam Webster’s College Dictionary, a judge has affirmed Pembroke’s move to block construction of an asphalt plant near Concord’s backup water supply.
Last fall, Pembroke’s zoning board denied Continental Paving’s request to build a new asphalt plant on North Pembroke Road. It based the decision on two factors: the land in question is not zoned for manufacturing and the plant would sit near a portion of the Soucook River that Concord sometimes uses for drinking water.
When Continental Paving appealed, saying it would change its plans to address concerns about fuel spills contaminating the water, the zoning board denied the company’s request, saying even if the possible threat to the aquifer were addressed, the area was still not zoned for manufacturing. Continental Paving argued its new plant would be for storage, not manufacturing.
Continental Paving sued the town in Merrimack County Superior Court this past winter, and on May 31, Judge Richard McNamara dealt the company a third blow by affirming the zoning board’s decision to deny Continental Paving a second hearing. In his decision, McNamara called the board’s denial “reasonable and legal.”
In his six-page decision, McNamara discussed a range of procedural legal issues. But part of the decision stemmed from the definition of the words “manufacturing” and “processing” because the area in which the company wants to locate the plant permits the former but not the latter.
Attorneys for Pembroke cited a 1994 edition of Webster’s dictionary to differentiate between the two words, and McNamara depended on those definitions to rule.
“The function of the asphalt plant will be to take the raw materials . . . and join it with the liquid asphalt and heat it to create a new material: paving asphalt,” he wrote. “Under the circumstances . . . it appears CPI (Continental Paving Inc.) would be engaged in ’manufacturing’ if it operated an asphalt plant.”
The city of Concord intervened in the case because of its concerns about the plant’s proximity to the aquifer.
“The city of Concord was very concerned that their aquifer would be poisoned by an asphalt plant,” Bonney said.
The firm has 30 days to file an appeal with the N.H. Supreme Court.
Mitchell's asphalt plant is being built in the agricultural zone, which is deemed NOT appropriate for business and right in the aquifer protected zone. We can't even vote these people off this board; they are appointed by the dimwits we call our selectboard. Hopefully citizens who vote in Winchester will someday smell the coffee, wake up and elect people who have the town's best interests at heart and not their own.
When Continental Paving appealed, saying it would change its plans to address concerns about fuel spills contaminating the water, the zoning board denied the company’s request, saying even if the possible threat to the aquifer were addressed, the area was still not zoned for manufacturing. Continental Paving argued its new plant would be for storage, not manufacturing.
Continental Paving sued the town in Merrimack County Superior Court this past winter, and on May 31, Judge Richard McNamara dealt the company a third blow by affirming the zoning board’s decision to deny Continental Paving a second hearing. In his decision, McNamara called the board’s denial “reasonable and legal.”
In his six-page decision, McNamara discussed a range of procedural legal issues. But part of the decision stemmed from the definition of the words “manufacturing” and “processing” because the area in which the company wants to locate the plant permits the former but not the latter.
Attorneys for Pembroke cited a 1994 edition of Webster’s dictionary to differentiate between the two words, and McNamara depended on those definitions to rule.
“The function of the asphalt plant will be to take the raw materials . . . and join it with the liquid asphalt and heat it to create a new material: paving asphalt,” he wrote. “Under the circumstances . . . it appears CPI (Continental Paving Inc.) would be engaged in ’manufacturing’ if it operated an asphalt plant.”
The city of Concord intervened in the case because of its concerns about the plant’s proximity to the aquifer.
“The city of Concord was very concerned that their aquifer would be poisoned by an asphalt plant,” Bonney said.
The firm has 30 days to file an appeal with the N.H. Supreme Court.
Mitchell's asphalt plant is being built in the agricultural zone, which is deemed NOT appropriate for business and right in the aquifer protected zone. We can't even vote these people off this board; they are appointed by the dimwits we call our selectboard. Hopefully citizens who vote in Winchester will someday smell the coffee, wake up and elect people who have the town's best interests at heart and not their own.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Dollar Store Hearings Delayed Again
The decision concerning the controversy over the construction of a new "Dollar Store" in Winchester has been delayed by 23 days, to July 11th.
The first hour of a public hearing, which started at 7:30 Tuesday evening, was largely devoted to negotiations between the town's HDC board and the lawyer representing the applicant regarding the qualifications of the consultants the commission wanted to review the application.
About 35 people waited patiently through the discussion. When the public was invited to speak, a steady stream of speakers spoke in defense of the town's historic character and master plan.
...more info to come
The first hour of a public hearing, which started at 7:30 Tuesday evening, was largely devoted to negotiations between the town's HDC board and the lawyer representing the applicant regarding the qualifications of the consultants the commission wanted to review the application.
About 35 people waited patiently through the discussion. When the public was invited to speak, a steady stream of speakers spoke in defense of the town's historic character and master plan.
...more info to come
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Shady Dealings On Store
Letter to the editor in Saturday's paper;
This is directed to the selectmen of Winchester and the head of the planning board, who is trying to play a shell game on the town and its residents, by trying to put a Dollar General store downtown, in out protected historic district.
Any selectman who allows this should be removed from office and the head of the planning board should step down immediately for trying such an underhanded tactic. It is immoral and unethical and is exactly why Winchester is laughed at by the entire state.
JOSEPH
Main St.
Winchester
This is directed to the selectmen of Winchester and the head of the planning board, who is trying to play a shell game on the town and its residents, by trying to put a Dollar General store downtown, in out protected historic district.
Any selectman who allows this should be removed from office and the head of the planning board should step down immediately for trying such an underhanded tactic. It is immoral and unethical and is exactly why Winchester is laughed at by the entire state.
JOSEPH
Main St.
Winchester
Wrong Spot For a Store
I would just like to say that I have lived in Winchester for many years.
I moved here to get away from the city life; I fell in love with the quaint main street and country feel of this small town. But now they want to put a dollar store in the center of town and that would be a shame.
I thought we had a historic district to preserve our beauty and character.
What is going on in our town hall and how can this happen?
AGNES
Winchester
I moved here to get away from the city life; I fell in love with the quaint main street and country feel of this small town. But now they want to put a dollar store in the center of town and that would be a shame.
I thought we had a historic district to preserve our beauty and character.
What is going on in our town hall and how can this happen?
AGNES
Winchester
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Who’s on which side?
For those of you who don't read the Sentinel but do read our blog, here's another Opinion letter that was published in the paper in regards to the destruction of 71 main Street.
Let me get this straight:
In Winchester, there’s an old house in the historic district that’s owned by a woman who works for the town and is on a number of boards, who wants to tear this house down and put up a Dollar General.
The property is on Main Street and sits between the community center and the VFW. The house is one of the first buildings in Winchester (from the 1700s) and she wants to put in its place a monstrosity of a building that looks like any other strip mall store in the country.
When she bought the property, she knew it was in the historic district, but now she wants the historic district board to ignore the fact that her building would disrupt the historical cohesion among the district’s buildings.
There is also a brand new Family Dollar store in town that was built outside of the district in an existing shopping center.
She sent her lawyer to a historic district meeting who asked that a certain historic district board member not be allowed to deliberate on her application because of possible “animosity” that could spill over from the planning board, where both women serve and where the woman who has the building has started the process to have the other removed from the planning board.
This is the same lawyer who represented the applicant of the asphalt plant that came before the planning board last year. The woman who voted for the asphalt plant is the one who wants to put up the Dollar General. The woman who voted against the asphalt plant is the one they’re trying to remove from the planning board.
From where I sit, the “animosity” is coming from the woman who wants to put up the Dollar General, not the historic district board member. And I think it’s directed to every Winchester resident who wants to protect our town from becoming just another ugly backwater town.
MARIA
ASHUELOT
Let me get this straight:
In Winchester, there’s an old house in the historic district that’s owned by a woman who works for the town and is on a number of boards, who wants to tear this house down and put up a Dollar General.
The property is on Main Street and sits between the community center and the VFW. The house is one of the first buildings in Winchester (from the 1700s) and she wants to put in its place a monstrosity of a building that looks like any other strip mall store in the country.
When she bought the property, she knew it was in the historic district, but now she wants the historic district board to ignore the fact that her building would disrupt the historical cohesion among the district’s buildings.
There is also a brand new Family Dollar store in town that was built outside of the district in an existing shopping center.
She sent her lawyer to a historic district meeting who asked that a certain historic district board member not be allowed to deliberate on her application because of possible “animosity” that could spill over from the planning board, where both women serve and where the woman who has the building has started the process to have the other removed from the planning board.
This is the same lawyer who represented the applicant of the asphalt plant that came before the planning board last year. The woman who voted for the asphalt plant is the one who wants to put up the Dollar General. The woman who voted against the asphalt plant is the one they’re trying to remove from the planning board.
From where I sit, the “animosity” is coming from the woman who wants to put up the Dollar General, not the historic district board member. And I think it’s directed to every Winchester resident who wants to protect our town from becoming just another ugly backwater town.
MARIA
ASHUELOT
Monday, June 6, 2011
Historic District Commission Agenda 6-9-11
Town of Winchester
Historic District Commission
Notice of Meeting
June 9, 2011
Historic District Commission
Notice of Meeting
June 9, 2011
The Winchester Historic District Commission will be meeting on 6-9-11 at 7 PM on the main floor or the Town Hall, 1 Richmond Road for the following:
1. Call meeting to order.
2. Review minutes of 5/23 meeting.
3. Review application of the United Church of Winchester - 99 Main Street
4. Public Hearing of General Dollar Store - 71 Main Street
5. Old or new business.
6. Adjourn.
Planning Board Notice of Meeting 6-6-11
Town of Winchester
Planning Board
Notice of Meeting
6-06-11
Planning Board
Notice of Meeting
6-06-11
The Winchester Planning Board will be meeting on 6-06-11 at 7pm on the Main Floor of the Town Hall, 1 Richmond Road for the following:
1. The board will review the minutes of 5-16-11 for approval.
2. The board will review the update on the building of the asphalt plant.
3. The board will discuss upcoming projects.
4. Any old or new business.
5. Adjournment.
Cronyism in Local Politics
From the Opinions page of the Sentinel ..
I was recently informed that a person who is employed by the town of Winchester and heads the planning department, owns a house and piece of land next to the VFW.
She is campaigning the town to allow her to sell it to the Dollar General store chain, so that that may build another dollar store in town.
Mind you that this property sits right in the heart of our historic district and that we already have one dollar store, a flea market, many junk stores.
I’m asking fellow residents to comment on their thoughts of this backroom deal that will alter the face of our town for good.
Contact your selectmen and voice your opinion, let them know your future vote will depend on their actions.
But beware, for I am told this is a done deal, that the select board are turning their heads and pushing this through, without any concern of our towns image, the historical society’s input, traffic and safety hazards, are all being ignored.
I ask you, if this property was not owned by the head of the planning department, would anyone else even be considered?
Typical Winchester politics!
RICHARD
WINCHESTER
I was recently informed that a person who is employed by the town of Winchester and heads the planning department, owns a house and piece of land next to the VFW.
She is campaigning the town to allow her to sell it to the Dollar General store chain, so that that may build another dollar store in town.
Mind you that this property sits right in the heart of our historic district and that we already have one dollar store, a flea market, many junk stores.
I’m asking fellow residents to comment on their thoughts of this backroom deal that will alter the face of our town for good.
Contact your selectmen and voice your opinion, let them know your future vote will depend on their actions.
But beware, for I am told this is a done deal, that the select board are turning their heads and pushing this through, without any concern of our towns image, the historical society’s input, traffic and safety hazards, are all being ignored.
I ask you, if this property was not owned by the head of the planning department, would anyone else even be considered?
Typical Winchester politics!
RICHARD
WINCHESTER
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