An Independent Weekly Newspaper


Hudson~Litchfield News


Candidate’s Night Leaves the Voter Questioning,


by Doug Robinson Candidates running for the


various elected positions on the upcoming 2011 ballot left the voters looking for answers during GFWC Junior Women’s debate, which held at the Hudson Community Center.


While Board of Selectmen (BOS) candidate Marilyn McGrath spoke of Hudson as a town where she has “witnessed dramatic change” and Board of Selectman Candidate Ted Luszey spoke of Hudson as a “struggling community,” neither candidate spoke directly as to how they could improve Hudson. While both agreed that Hudson needed to expand the tax base by getting business in the economic development zones, McGrath stated that the BOS needs to “think outside the box” and Luszey stated that the town needs a “new set of eyes and the tax rate needs to be kept in check.” Neither candidate commented with regards to the current BOS, which established a deficit budget. Also, Luszey did not address his participation as a Budget Committee member, which approved the $1 million dollar increase with his approval of the 2012 school budget. Luszey and McGrath differed in opinion with regards to their priorities for the Town. Luszey listed the business climate and tax rate, Senior Center, and increasing youth activity in the town as his three priorities. McGrath listed “revitalize the industrial area” and “traffic issues” as her priorities. Luszey believes that zoning and land concessions need to be addressed to bring more businesses to Hudson, whereas McGrath stated that the land and zoning regulations have been established by the voters and


Hudson~Litchfield News ‘Where’s the Beef?’


Volume 21 Number 32 March 4, 2011 20 Pages


Cardboard Sled Race Fundraiser for ‘Mals Pals’ Draws Crowd


by Jay Hobson


that Hudson is business-friendly. Both stated that the building of the Senior Center rests with the voters of Hudson, not the Board of Selectmen. “It’s up to the voters” commented McGrath. Luszey stated, “It is dual use, and [costs] will have to be offset by cable TV.” Both candidates stated that


town employees were Hudson’s best asset.


When asked as to what their plans were for cost savings for the town, Luszey commented that he would “combine resources that are duplicate [such as IT]” between the schools, town, and library. McGrath stated she would perform energy analyses of town buildings and town vehicles to make them more efficient. The School Department ballot hosts four candidates for two open seats.


Candidate Amy Sousa stated during her introduction speech that there is a general mistrust between politicians and the public. Neither trusts the other. As a result, we lose sight of what is important to have our children “be successful in the 21st century. We need to innovate and find funds.” She proposed the finding of grants, as well as partnerships between the private sector and the schools to generate more funds for the school system. Sousa commented that in her opinion, the “positive changes in schools” would be the decrease in the drop-out rate, programs, and the raising of teacher salaries. “We need to be competitive,” she said. Lee Lavoie, current School Board member, will be running to regain his seat. “As a local boy, I have spent my entire life in Hudson,” he said. Lavoie stated that the repair and the maintenance of the school


continued to page 8 - Candidate’s Night


On a hill between Alvirne High


School and Hills Garrison School, 21 contestants slid, tumbled, and laughed their way to a finish line spray-painted in red on the snow. The event was used to raise funds for an amphitheater to be built at Benson Park to remember and honor Mallory Lynn Gray, a seventh grader who tragically succumbed at age 13 to leukemia on Oct. 18, 2009. Mallory was born Feb. 7, 1996, and was an honor roll student at Hudson Memorial School. An avid reader, Mallory was awarded the Super Reader Award from the town of Hudson. With the words MALS PALS emblazoned down the slope, sledders with fertile imaginations, judging by the cardboard constructions they used to compete, braved the cold and snow.


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Pam George and Emily Farmer from Salem Northeat Rehab carry their sled—Flip-Flops Ann Desrosiers and her sled


“The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe,” a cardboard shoe painted red, didn’t quite make it down the hill. Halfway down, her sled tumbled and volunteers raced to her aid and pushed her the remaining distance to the finish line.


It seems most of the sleds that were


anything more than a flat piece of cardboard were destined to roll (over, that is) as well as slide. Two sliders, Pam George and Emily


Farmer from Salem Northeast Rehab, who used a flat piece of cardboard designed by Louanne Hall to resemble


a pair of “flip flops,” slid quickly and without tumbling to the finish line. They even wore makeshift “bikini” tops over their coats for added effect. Jeffery Griffus, one of the organizers of the


race, said that turnout was “great” and that the organization was only about three months old. “We want to create a lasting memorial; something more than just a tree on some land,” Griffus said.


Contestant Ann Desrosiers’ Old Woman in a Shoe entry runs into difficulty on the course Hudson Promotes Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention


by Doug Robinson Research shows that more than half of all


children are, at least on occasion, directly involved in bullying as a perpetrator, victim, or both, writes Education.com. Bullying affects all of our young children, and bullying is violence. Cyberbullying has taken school bullying out of schools and has now entered the privacy of our children’s homes. Bullying not only affects the individual child, but it has dramatic effects on those who are victimized, those who witness bullying, and those who participate in the bullying process. The Hudson School District has defined bullying as “a single significant incident or pattern of incidents involving a written, verbal, or electronic communication, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at another student which: § Physically harms a student or damages the student’s property


§ §


§ Causes emotional distress to a student


Interferes with a student’s education opportunities


Creates a hostile educational environment


§ Or, substantially disrupts the orderly operation of the school. Like Hudson, school districts across America


have spent millions of dollars educating our teachers, leaders, and our children’s mentors with


ways on how to combat the bullying problem. In the world of a grown-up, bullying is often referred to as workplace harassment. Those who harass in the workplace often find themselves quickly out of a job, or for more serious offenses, behind bars in a local jail cell.


But the problem of bullying in our schools has


grown so large that our educators have had to find ways and methods to deal with the problem as those who bully are minors. As early as in primary grades, students are taught about bullying, how to handle a bully, as well as ways to help other students who are believed to be bullied. Hudson’s educators and administrators recently held a Cyberbullying Awareness and Prevention Night in an effort to provide more information to get the word out and to educate parents, students, and the community to the seriousness of bullying and how the School District addresses bullying. School Board Member Laura Bisson stated that “Cyberbullying is the #1 type of bullying. Kids now communicate on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, via their iPods, and even on Xbox 360, and kids now communicate electronically.” In addition to hosting the Cyberbullying


Awareness and Prevention Night, all of Hudson’s schools have been hosting assemblies and involving the students in small groups to educate them about bullying awareness and that bullying will not be tolerated.


FairPoint Glitch Stops Litchfield Vehicle Registrations


by Lynne Ober It started as a statewide glitch on FairPoint’s


high-speed lines on Thursday, February 24, and it managed to stop vehicle registrations in Litchfield for more than a week. According to Town Clerk Theresa Briand, most of the state returned to normal functioning the next day, but Litchfield did not. When Briand contacted the state, she found out that there had been damage to FairPoint’s network that connected them to the state and that this portion of the network had to be rebuilt. “This was a horrible inconvenience for our


residents and I want to apologize for all the disruption,” said Briand, who noted that Hudson Town Clerk Barry had been very helpful. “The state portion of the car registration could not be completed as normal. People really rely on


the technology and so do we.” When the glitch occurred, there were vehicle registrations in progress. Briand got the state to agree that they would complete those if she would organize the data in a set way and drive it to Concord. “I stayed in the office one night until 10:30 p.m. and got everything organized like the state wanted. The next morning, I drove all of the registrations to Concord and they completed them for our residents.” As of 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 1, FairPoint


has resolved the problem and Litchfield’s system is back up and operational. “It was a tough week for our customers and for us. We’d like to thank those people who were so understanding during the outage and, again, apologize to all of our customers,” concluded Briand.


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Educators, Administrators, HPD, parents, and students attend the Cyberbullying Awareness and Prevention Night hosted at the Hills Library


As a result of these informative meetings, students are learning that they do not have to feel helpless—that there are specific ways to deal with a bully and that the Hudson School Board and School Administration are committed to providing all students and staff with a safe and secure learning environment, which is free of any form of bullying or cyberbullying, according to the


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Hudson School District. The district will ensure that all school community members, including students and staff, treat each other with respect and eliminate all forms of disruptive behavior so that our students will achieve their personal and academic potential and become successful members of our society.


staff photos by Jay Hobson


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