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An Independent Weekly Newspaper
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Hudson~Litchfield
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Volume 20 Number 40 April 16, 2010 12 Pages
Music Director Gerry Bastien Nabs
NHMusic Educator
of the Year Award
Radziewicz Family
Settles Lawsuit
with Hudson
by Doug Robinson
Peter Radziewicz, 49 Burns Hill Road, went before the Hudson Board of Selectmen on April 13 to “pay the settlement” over the fence issue. Within the Stop and Shop plastic bag sitting on the floor next to him, Radziewicz had filled the bag with one- dollar bills—one for every voter who voted for their cause during the March elections this year.
from January 23, 2009 to March 1, 2010. Not one [Selectman] had the courtesy to respond to the letters.”
$2141 in $1 bills, in addition to a personal check, was presented to the BOS as a settlement payment to end the ongoing lawsuit
Gerry having fun where he likes to be the most—with the kids. Gerry enjoys the moment in teaching, performing, and mentoring the next generation of great AHS musicians
by Doug Robinson
Known as Gerry to his friends, and as Mr. B. to the students at Alvirne High School, Gerry Bastien, Music Director and educator for Hudson, was recently honored as being New Hampshire’s Most Distinguished Music Educator of the Year Award by the New Hampshire Music Educators Association. The Mission of the New Hampshire Music Educators Association (NHMEA) is to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music by all, and improve the quality of music teaching and learning. NHMEA achieves their mission by providing leadership in advocacy for
music education and improved communication program effectiveness.
“NHMEA wishes to annually recognize an
individual as the Distinguished Music Educator of the Year. [Those nominated] are evaluated on their teacher effectiveness, professionalism, and service to NHMEA. This is an effort by the Executive Board to recognize some of the very dedicated educators that the State of New Hampshire is fortunate to have.” Nominated by Alison Yankowskas of South Londonderry and by Nancy LaPorte of North
continued to page 13- Music Educator Award
Hudson Memorial School Starts a
‘Food Revolution’
Hudson has been in litigation with the Radziewicz family as a result of a fence that was erected by the Radziewicz family during December 2008. According to the Town, the fence exceeds the six-foot maximum height stated by the Hudson Zoning Ordinance and, thus, is subject to a fine. Disagreeing with the Town Ordinance, as well as the fine they had received from the Town of Hudson, the Radziewiczs wrote two petition warrant articles and received the necessary signatures to place the petitioned warrant article on the March ballot. One petition warrant article concerned the zoning regulations, while the other concerned stated for Hudson “to cease and desist” their lawsuit against the Radziewiczs. With regards to the “cease and desist” petition warrant article, the voters of Hudson voted 2,141 in favor of the Selectmen stopping the lawsuit, and 1,224 voted to continue the lawsuit. The Board of Selectmen voted to continue the lawsuit during a non-public meeting. “This has been going on too long,” stated Radziewicz. “We’ve been in front of the Board over the past three years and I have always been respectful, honest, and open- minded. I feel that I have not been treated the same. At the Deliberative Meeting, [the BOS] deliberately tried to mislead the public and portray us as liars. To say that my wife and I never tried to contact the BOS over this issue … to clear something up, I have nine letters, which were sent to the BOS dated
Radziewicz continued to state that “it disgusts me to pay a dime, and I know it disgusts many people. We were all about teaching how to go about democracy. We tried to do it the right way. The voters came out. They said
you guys are right. The BOS taught our kids a stronger lesson. You cannot fight Town Hall, which is very disappointing.” “I hope you use the money for the
children. Use the money for the Rec leagues or the cheerleaders. They could use it. I recommend you do that,” he continued. Radziewicz then presented the BOS with his plastic bag full of money. He had settled the lawsuit in $1 bills, one each for the 2,141 votes “from the town,” and the balance was written in the form of personal check. “We appreciate the votes and we want them to know that their vote counted to us a lot.”
During a future Board of Selectmen meeting, Chairman Ken Massey stated that upon the advice of their attorney’s review, that they may release their discussions of their non-public meeting.
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Peter Radziewicz has a discussion with the Board of Selectmen regarding the ongoing lawsuit
Hudson Searches to See
‘Who is Smarter than a Fifth Grader’
Luke Martel hands out healthy recipe samples for HMS students to try
by Sue LaRoche
For those of you who watch the Food Revolution, a television show where a cook attempts to improve the nutritional value of the school lunches that kids eat, it has nothing on the students and staff at Hudson’s Memorial School (HMS). This past Friday was a fun- filled day when Luke Martel, a representative from Favorite Foods, one of several food suppliers for the Hudson School District, came to Memorial School and provided free samples of Vegetable Lo Mein to the students of Memorial School. “It was awesome!” exclaimed most of the students who sampled the cuisine.
When asked if he enjoyed his sample of food, sixth
grader Matt Maher enthusiastically replied that if it were served as a meal, “I would eat every bit of it!” Fellow sixth grader Taylor Lambert felt “it was good, but maybe they should have some soy sauce in case anyone wanted it.” Erin Ruigrok just flashed a smile when asked if she would rather eat her bag of baked Doritos or the Lo Mein.
The nutritional sampling idea was cooked up in a collaborative session that included the Student Government Council; Carla Anger, Hudson Food Service Director; and Elaine Dauber and Andrea Donovan, the Manager and Assistant Manager, respectively, for the Memorial kitchen. This sample day is just one of several in the district. Martel explained that “we are getting more requests for healthier food, including vegan dishes and gluten-free meals.” The task is to provide this healthier food, but to still make it work logistically for the kitchen staff. Dauber, who came to New Hampshire from New
York, makes things happen in a New York minute. She has only been the manager at the HMS kitchen for two years, and she explained how since her arrival, things have changed significantly. Together with her assistant, Donovan, they explained how the program has significantly improved. “The District got rid of the fryolators several years ago; some of the recipes that we had have been altered
continued to page 13- Food Revolution
Dan Lisowsky with fifth grader Ryan Kielma
by Tom Tollefson
Do you remember the days of paper airplanes, dodgeball, and climbing on the monkey bars? Those were the memories of our elementary school days. Last Saturday evening, several Hudson residents took a brief trip back through elementary school class material to see how much they remembered from those paper-bag lunch days.
Dan Lisowsky was the only one of the
seven contestants on the second annual “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader” fundraiser, held at Alvirne High School to raise money for Hills Garrison’s new playground, who could say he was “as smart as a fifth grader.” To win the game, he answered all 10 questions correctly, with the help of a few fifth graders, of course. The fundraiser followed the format of the popular, same-titled game show hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. All seven adult contestants were quizzed on basic material in grades 1-5 in subjects such as Math, English, Science, Art, and History. Hills Garrison teachers developed the questions from their
curriculum. “We wanted them to be curriculum-
related,” Jeremy Griffus, Chairman of the Playground Committee and student support staff at Hills Garrison said about the selection of questions. “I love the fact that the kids can come up and show what they learned, and that it brings all the fifth graders (students were chosen from Hudson’s three fifth grade schools) and community together.” The contestants were aided in answering the 10 questions by a panel of five fifth graders (15 in total, as only five were on at a time) from Dr. H. O. Smith, Nottingham West, and Hills Garrison. A total of 30 students applied for the show by submitting essays about why they would be good contestants. “They weren’t too bad,” Lisowsky said about the questions. “I do homework with my kids all the time, so I expected the level of difficulty.” Lisowsky’s final question, “What is the
continued to page 10 - Fifth Grader
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staff photos by Doug Robinson staff photo by Len Lathrop staff photo by Tom Tollefson
staff photos by Doug Robinson
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