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Pelham - Windham News | December 9, 2011 - 5


Palmer Gas/Ermer Oil Supports the New Hampshire Food Bank with Holiday Donation


submitted by Beth Innarelli Palmer Gas/Ermer Oil recently visited the New Hampshire


Food Bank to present them with a donation to support their efforts for the holiday season. Palmer Gas/Ermer Oil stepped in to help those in need when they learned that the Food Bank is citing an unprecedented low in donations, while demand continues to rise. “Demand is up 15 percent over last year, when we distributed six million pounds of food,” said Melanie Gosselin, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Food Bank. “The rising price of food, coupled with a drop in donations, is making it difficult for emergency food programs across the state. This donation from Palmer Gas/Ermer Oil comes at a perfect time and we are incredibly grateful for their support.” “We feel it is our responsibility, as a local business to support the communities in which we live and work to make a difference in the lives of others,” said Bill Ermer, President and Owner of Palmer Gas/Ermer Oil. “As a company, it is gratifying to know that we helped put holiday meals on the table for many families that otherwise would have been without.” About Palmer Gas/Ermer Oil Palmer Gas/Ermer Oil Company is a family-owned and


Fred Loonie (right), Sales Supervisor at Palmer Gas/Ermer Oil presents a check to Bruce Wilson (left), Director of Operations at the New Hampshire Food Bank.


Sprinklers-continued from front page


cause an unpleasant taste to water as well as lead to pipe corrosion, despite being at safe levels for consumption. Taking out the private water system will also leave more physical space to address the septic issues at the high school. The existing system, which was replaced in 1996, is undersized for the current school population.


Installation of sprinklers would also address one of the items on the report from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) issued in February 2011. The report specifically notes the need to “take immediate steps to address the lack of egress through undersized building windows that do not meet code requirements.” A sprinkler system would make the installation of new windows unnecessary. There has been discussion in the past about whether the building could even support a sprinkler system. Business Administrator Adam Steel had a structural engineer assess the structure. In a memo to the Budget Committee, Steel stated, “Sprinkler system construction is much more involved at PHS than it was at Memorial primarily because of two factors: the large amount of space between the roof deck and the sprinkler head installation location and the fact that most of the school has a suspended ceiling system. This combination of factors will require that most of the suspended ceiling is replaced at the same time of sprinkler system construction.”


Larry Hall, the Chair of the Budget Committee, was the deciding


vote against recommending the warrant article for the sprinklers. “The building still meets code without the sprinklers; it seemed like an awful lot of money to spend when we don’t know, ultimately, how that building is going to be used in the future; and I just don’t think the timing is right,” said Hall. Steel says that even if the building is not used as a high school in the future, it will still be owned by the school district and will be used for another purpose. The 4-school model that has been proposed in the past would use the building for seventh and eighth grades. And given the recent approval by the state regarding the split of SAU 28, Pelham will need to find its own home for the administration.


In light of the “not recommended” vote by the Budget Committee, Adam Steel says that he will be recommending other options for


this article to help the boards move forward. He will suggest that the School Board amend its warrant article to seek only the piping of the water from PES to the high school, with the actual sprinkler installation occurring the following year. Hall has indicated that he might be in favor of the change to the


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warrant article. “I do support bringing the town water line over there to the high school,” said Hall. The Budget Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday, January 12, for its final reconsideration hearing on amended warrant articles.


operated propane and fuel oil company located in Atkinson, New Hampshire. Since 1932, its quality trained staff and licensed field technicians have provided the best in energy- saving products and services to over 61 communities throughout southern New Hampshire. About the New Hampshire Food Bank The New Hampshire Food Bank, a program of New Hampshire Catholic Charities, has been working to relieve hunger in the Granite State since 1984. As the state’s only food bank, each year the New Hampshire Food Bank efficiently procures and distributes over 6.5 million pounds of emergency food to needy people through more than 415 non-profit registered agencies. Agencies include food pantries, neighborhood centers, low-income housing sites, senior nutrition centers, family crisis centers, hospices, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after school programs, and day care centers. For more information on the New Hampshire Food Bank, visit www.nhfoodbank.org


Outdoors Charlie Chalk with


New Law Will Allow Rural Communities to Flourish


President Barack Obama recently signed the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011, which permits year-long recreation opportunities on U.S. Forest Service ski areas, boosting rural economies while continuing to maintain stringent environmental safeguards. The year-long recreation season is estimated to annually sustain up to 600 extra jobs and is expected to bring in an additional $40 million to local communities in direct spending. “The Forest Service is taking steps to promote job growth


every day,” said USDA Under Secretary Harris Sherman. “We look forward to welcoming hundreds of thousands more visitors throughout the entire year to their national forests.” The new legislation amends the National Forest Ski Area


Permit Act of 1986, which allowed only Nordic and alpine skiing. Under the new legislation, other snow sports may be permitted on National Forest System lands, as well as year- round activities. Potential permitted activities may include zip lines, mountain bike terrain parks and trails, Frisbee golf courses, and ropes courses. Contact the WMNF to see what is coming our way.


Charlie Chalk can be reached at outdoorswithcharlie@areanewsgroup.com


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