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Hudson~Litchfield News
Hudson~Litchfield News Volume 21 Number 40 April 29, 2011 20 Pages
Alvirne Earns Well-Deserved Second Excellence Award Home Improvement
by Len Lathrop
Principal Bryan Lane accepts gifts from School Board member Laura Bisson
In New Hampshire, there are 78 high
schools. The New Hampshire School of Excellence has been a program of the New Hampshire Department of Education (DOE) for 18 years, during which time Alvirne has been chosen twice. A school has to wait five years between winning, so you do the math—the answer is WOW! When Michael Jette, chairman of the selection committee and principal at Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook, announced that Alvirne was the top high school in New Hampshire for a second time, the building shook with excitement. Jette outlined many of the reasons that Alvirne shines, from the relationship
Clockwise from top left: Robbie Diamond, Deanna Trearchis, Caleb Donnelly, Christina Guessferd, and Jenna Giannelli hold the banner presented to Alvirne
between students and the faculty and staff and all the extra programs and activities. As McDonald’s Corporation sponsors the New Hampshire School of Excellence program, the DOE also presented Alvirne with a generous $2,000 check. The assembly promoted to honor National Jazz Week and the beginning of school vacation filled the Steckevicz gym, and students appeared to know that something was up, as there were suits on the stage and press in the wings. There was no hiding the excitement as Principal Bryan Lane took the microphone. “I couldn’t be prouder,” he said, and the noise that followed was spontaneous and continued
for three to four minutes. Lane spoke from the heart to the students and faculty, pointing out how all the hard work and extra effort with the evaluation team truly made a difference. Laura Bisson, Patty Langlais, and Amy Sousa, School Board members, presented Lane with a bag full of gifts that relates to his role at the school, like a Box of Captain Crunch, as he was the “captain.” The students hooted and howled about each gift. The audience eventually got to listen to the Alvirne B-Naturals and the Jazz Band, and at one point a conga line broke out, and it was not just students who participated.
Tony Clements, Kurtis Garnick, Peter Dubois, and Nathaniel Morse open the assembly before the announcement of Alvirne being the top high school in NH
Easter Egg Hunt at Benson Park
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Te conga line just broke out during the celebration, and the four in the front of the line are teachers
by Lynne Ober
Hudson Recreation Department held its first Easter Egg Hunt at Benson Park this past weekend. “Dave Yates got 1,500 eggs for each age group,” said Selectman Ben Nadeau, who was attending the event with his son, Logan. The first group was to gather eggs at 6 p.m. and then children in second grade and older would gather eggs at 7 p.m. Long before the event was to start, Yates and his Easter egg helpers had placed the eggs on the field next to the A-Frame at Benson Park. Colorful eggs dotted the field.
Children and their parents arrived early—
cheerful chattering filled the air as the children saw the eggs in the field. Although it was a cool evening, the sun was shining and everyone was very excited
Benson Park’s largest crowd since the grand opening
about the event. The parking lot was filled long before the event was to start and people were parking in the street and in the over- flow parking area. Benson Park Committee Chairman Harry Schibanoff said that he hadn’t seen so many people in the park at one time since the grand opening. “It is really nice to have events like this and have the people come and enjoy them.” As the time approached, Yates led a countdown and then shouted “go!” Youngsters raced onto the egg-filled field and began scooping up eggs. In only a matter of minutes, all eggs were gathered and the youngsters were busily opening the eggs to get the treats inside. If you missed this year’s event, watch for it
next year. Te race was over in minutes Trojan Worm Virus Causes Complete Shutdown of Town Computers
by Doug Robinson About one half of Hudson’s computers remain
shut down as a result of a Trojan horse virus, which affected the system on Wednesday, April 20. Hudson’s Information Technology (IT) Department ordered all 200 Hudson computers to be disconnected from the network until they have had the opportunity to personally inspect every Hudson computer and server system. “On the morning of April 20, the IT Department
Nute. “Though anti-virus software trapped and deleted the virus, configuration files were locally stored on several systems and then passed between departments.” Anti-virus software presently on the system
took all computer systems and the town Website off line to investigate and prevent the network-wide spread of a Trojan worm that was introduced into one department,” according to IT Director Lisa
Area Newspaper Group 3x3 ANG31
categorized this as a “low-risk” virus; however, “it was high-risk in our eyes, and we are taking no chances,” said Nute. “We must be extra cautious in verifying each server, system, and USB device before it is reintroduced into the network. We began that diligent, but arduous task as soon as we were aware of the problem.” Emergency services activated a manual back-up system until computer services were restored to
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both Police and Fire dispatch centers. “Emergency service was our priority, and we had Police Dispatch back online by 9 p.m. and Fire Dispatch back by 1:30 a.m. Our second priority was to get the Town Clerk and Water Clerk back online. This occurred by midnight on the 21st,” continued Nute. Unconfirmed sources have stated that the
Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA, and the Southern Regional Medical Center in Nashua were also affected by the Trojan virus. Southern Regional Hospital would not confirm the information. The Hudson IT Department did confirm that if
the Trojan virus had been given the opportunity to spread, the entire Town of Hudson computer network, including emergency services, could have been compromised and “shut down.” Hudson’s IT Department states that they are
“diligent in ensuring all systems are up-to-date on anti-virus subscriptions and have the necessary firewalls in place. The Trojan that came in was a new release on an old virus that hit us before our anti-virus subscription had the necessary patches for it.
a new virus.
specific, must be tested to ensure that the computer can once again be attached to the network. “It is our due diligence to ensure we’re totally confident with each system before it’s brought back online. That’s been the reason for the delay and why many systems are still unplugged from the network.” Hudson’s Assistant Town Administrator, Mark
Pearson, stated, “at no time was there any breach of any information from any department. As we clean the machines, we are prioritizing the departments which are to be completed first. Employees have shared computers with those who have been on vacation, as well as for those who have already had their computers cleaned.” While the timetable for completion of the
It’s very difficult when you’re at the front of It was a re-release of an old virus that
was rewritten to spread in a more sophisticated manner than before. Trojans are dangerous because they hide their presence and come back after reboot.” The process of “cleaning” each computer system
can take up to three hours or longer. Several different software programs are used to verify that the entire system has been completely cleaned. Once cleaned, programs, which are department-
cleaning has not been announced, University of New Hampshire Computer Professor and NH State Representative Lynne Ober said, “A virus is a computer program written to do malicious work on your computer. When a company gets a virus spread via e-mail, it can affect all the organization’s computers in mere minutes. The problem with a virus is that someone has to write a program to counter it.
If you get the virus early; i.e., before
the program to counter or ‘fix’ the virus has been written, you must send the virus-infected file to your anti-virus software vendor and wait for a fix. Depending on the severity and the length of time it takes to get the fix, it may be a week or more until computers are cleared from the virus.” Currently, e-mail service and access to all
documents for the public may be delayed. The source of the Trojan virus is currently under
investigation.
staff photos by Lynne Ober
staff photos by Len Lathrop
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