Throughout New England, citizens gather each spring to hold one of the most sacred rituals of democracy—the town meeting. With only minor variations, the town meeting is the same form of government set up over 350 years ago. It is a government of and for the people, but most of all it is government by the peo-ple. In NH 220 towns, 140 school districts and 90 village dis-tricts follow the annual meeting form of government.

Most town meetings are called by the Board of Selectmen which issues a warrant or warning of the place date and time of the meeting. The warrant also contains a fixed agenda of business articles to be acted upon by the assembled voters Some feel the town meeting is not a representative body be-cause in many towns the majority of eligible voters do not par-ticipate. Attendance ranges from an average of 9 pecent in Connecticut towns, to 26 percent in Vermont towns.

Proponents of the town assembly emphasize that it is the pur-est form of democracy that ensures that all policy decisions are in the public interest since no intermediaries are placed between the voters and the public decisions.

Critics of the institution claim that in practice, it is not the pur-est form of democracy. They point to low turnout of registered voters, and the alleged domination of the meetings by special interest groups.

The system of New England town governance has been modi-fied in a number of towns over the years. In the late nine-teenth century, a number of towns established a finance com-mittee to advise the town meeting.

More recently, fifty one towns have adopted a charter provid-ing for a representative town meeting (RTM) in which voting on warrant articles is restricted to elected town meeting mem-bers. An additional thirty four towns retain the town meeting only to appropriate funds.

Thirty-five New Hampshire towns and eight Vermont towns hold only a deliberative town meeting, with voters subse-quently going to the polls to vote on warrant articles by the Australian or official ballot.

Volume 11, Issue 1 Belmont, NH Spring 2005

This issue of Belmont Better Times is your Official Guide to Belmont’s

Town and School District Meetings . Inside you will find explanations of the issues to be voted upon as well as lists of candidates seeking office.

“To make democracy work, we must be a

nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote, has no

right to complain.” Louis L’Amour

best selling author, 1908 -1988.

• Tuesday, March 8

Town Elections

• Saturday, March 12 Town Meeting

• Friday, March 18 School District Meeting

The “Belmont Better Times” is a quar-terly community newsletter written

and edited by volunteers. It is distrib-uted by bulk mail to all residents with the Belmont zip code 03220.

Articles are accepted by individuals, organizations, town departments and

our schools. Letters to the Editor, comments, suggestions and ideas for articles are welcome. Please contact

editor, Jacqui McGettigan at jacquimc@metrocast.net with your

information. The deadline for our summer issue will

be May 5, 2005

History of Town Meetings

Belmont Better Times

Greetings From Afar

To the Editor:

Greetings Belmontites, from Cowboy Country in Socorro, New Mexico. I had intended this to be a Christmas greet-ing, but I suddenly realized that I had missed the cutoff date the for winter issue. My wife and I greatly enjoy this publication because it keeps us abreast of the news in Belmont. One of our friends who still lives in Bel-mont send us a copy of each issue. We certainly appreci-ate receiving it. We have been living in New Mexico for the past seven years and consequently have gotten a little out of touch with things in the Lakes Region. Our adopted town of Socorro is situated in a beautiful mountainous setting along the Rio Grand in central New Mexico. It is one of the old-est continual communities dating back to 1598 and still retains its slow and easy life style. Oddly enough, So-corro is one of the few really nice areas still left in the west that has yet to be discovered by the masses. With our best wishes to all, John and Pauline Jewett (formerly of Belmont)

P A G E 2

AQUIFER PROTECTION ZONING ORDINANCE

To the Editor: This March we will have the opportunity to vote for an Aquifer Pro-tection Ordinance for our town. This is a water protection ordi-nance which would require our Planning and Zoning Boards to rule against allowing anything to be built over the aquifer that would ei-ther pollute our drinking water or use up too much of the water. This ordinance has been presented by a petition from 37 Belmont residents who believe that it is important to protect our underground water supply . In November 2002, when the town Master Plan was being developed, one the objectives was to "Protect the water qual-ity of our existing aquifer." The Master Plan outlined that this should be done by adopting an ordinance to protect the aquifer. The biggest objection to passing this ordinance comes from indi-viduals who live elsewhere, yet own property in town, which they hope to develop for industrial purposes. The greatest supporters of this article are homeowners who recognize the importance of keep-ing the water supply that feeds their wells in an unpolluted condi-tion. We thirty-seven petitioners ask the Belmont residents to vote for clean water for all of us. Clean water is the very essence of life it-self. Once it has been polluted it can often times never again be re-stored to its original pristine state. We are very fortunate to have a vast store of underground water. As more towns and cities allow their water supplies to become polluted our clean water becomes more of a valuable commodity. The Planning Board has voted not to support this ordinance be-cause they believe it is too restrictive and will prevent people from doing what they want to do on their own property. They are cor-rect! If someone wants to use or store toxic or hazardous materials over the aquifer, they will not be permitted to do so. All existing uses will still be allowed and new uses will be allowed as long as the Planning Board looks at them first and determines that they will not endanger our water supply. Reasonable uses, such as additions, may be allowed if the land owner seeks a vari-ance from the Zoning Board. This is a very important ordinance for our Town's protection. READ, THINK and then VOTE for CLEAN WATER for BELMONT. Submitted by Susan Condodemetraky

Letters To the Editor

Letters To the Editor Conservation Commission

Supports Open Space Ordinance Dear Editor:

One can barely open our local newspaper lately without coming across an article con-cerning growth. Belmont residents must come to understand the issues and weigh the facts logically. The Master Plan provides a vision for our community’s future. It outlines smart growth, maintenance of an economi-cally viable community and a place for recrea-tion and beauty.

The proposed open space ordinance supports smart growth by bolstering our local economy, preserving critical environmental areas, pro-viding recreational opportunities and guiding new growth into our community. Preservation of open space can have a profound impact on Belmont’s quality of life and therefore, on this region’s economic prosperity.

Studies have shown that owners of small companies ranked recreation, parks and open space as the highest priorities in choosing a new location for their business. Networks of preserved open space and waterways, known as “green infrastructure” help frame new de-velopment in the most cost-efficient places where roads, sewers, water lines and other utilities currently exist. Green infrastructure also ensures that the preserved areas are connected so as to create wildlife corridors, preserve water quality and maintain economi-cally viable working lands.

Open space can increase local property val-ues, provide tourism dollars and reduce the need for local tax increases by reducing the need for construction of new infrastructure.

There is a sense of urgency to saving critical environmental areas. The Conservation Com-mission is working on innovative techniques to make open space preservation a reality. The open space ordinance is a good beginning for Belmont’s future.

Denise Naiva Conservation Commission

Vote No on Limited Retail To the Editor:

Tuesday, March 8th voting on proposed zoning changes will affect Belmont in many ways for many years. One change is irreversible. Allowing “Limited Retail” in selected Rural zones opens a very big barn door, with likely unintended conse-quences down the road.

We respectfully ask you to Vote NO on "Limited Retail" Ballot Question for the following reasons:

Good planning does not spot zone. Belmont Routes 107 and 140 are key Rural residential town corners. All Belmont Comprehensive & Master Plans (1970, 1992 & 2002) have had major rural preservation goals. Route 107 is historic Province Road, a 1700s byway from the Seacoast, still home to the Province Road Meetinghouse, the first Lakes Region house of worship over three centu-ries ago, old Grange and three historic cemeteries. Home-based businesses of many kinds have been good “grandfathered” neighbors for nearly twenty years. Possibilities of limited retail busi-nesses include mini-malls, used car and boat salesrooms and convenience stores with alcoholic beverage licenses. Brightly lit, flashing, twenty four hour signage would be possible as well as bill-boards up to twenty five feet high. Building code and land use has lots of regulations, but lim-ited enforcement, with visible violations. Safety is-sues from traffic to policing will drastically change with this ordinance change to current Rural zones. This badly-defined ordinance regulates by excep-tion: an inconsistent and poor policy.

Numerous home and internet based enterprises exist on all Belmont roads. We believe the advantages and heritage of this longstanding Rural zoned land will be seriously and negatively impacted by al lowing the proposed changes. Please join us on Tuesday, March 8th at the Belmont Middle School and vote No on "Limited Retail." Thank you!

Julia Perkins Nancy & Neil McCurry Wallace Rhodes Diane Marden Karey Naomi Caldwell Linda Frawley

P A G E 3

Photo by Alan MacRae/or the Belmont Better Times) P A G E 4

Seeks Support for Parks and

Recreation Director

As Town Meeting time ap-proaches we are excited at the prospect of a part-time Director being hired. The Parks and Recreation Com-mittee has many exciting plans for 2005. A Director will ensure the further development of rec-reation programs to enrich our community in the future. Upcoming programs are:

• Sledding behind the Gale School, February 19 from 7-9 p.m. Hot chocolate, spiced cider, and water will be pro-vided. The Belmont Fire De-partment will provide lighting.

• Free Skate Night at the Laco-nia Ice Arena. The date will be set in March. Watch look for further details.

• Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Belmont Police Depart-ment and Parks and Recrea-tion with assistance from the Police Explorers. This activity will be Saturday, March 26 at Sargent Park. Time to be an-nounced.

Don’t forget to exercise your right to vote and attend the Town Meeting. You can’t make a dif-ference if you don’t vote. Tina Fleming Parks and Recreation

Letters To the Editor Heartfelt Thanks From

The Belmont Fire Department I would like to take this opportunity to say “Thank You” to eve-ryone who participated in the structure fire in the town of Bel-mont on January, 18-19, 2005. This fire is one that will be re-membered for many years to come. There were approximately thirty eight Engine Companies, six Ladder Companies, two Rescue Companies, and four Ambu-lance Companies with a total of approximately 207 personnel and eighteen businesses that we know of assisting us in the minus fourteen degree weather from 7:00 p.m. until 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. All of this would not have been possible with-out the proficiency and professionalism of the Lakes Region Mutual Aid and Capital Area Mutual Aid Systems. I am very proud to be part of the Mutual Aid system. It is possi-ble that without the timely response, team effort and coopera-tion of the many mutual aid departments we would not have been able to save the second building in the Major Brands Plaza. As it was the six alarm fire destroyed six businesses. We were also very fortunate to have had only two minor inju-ries with no loss of life. The officers and personnel of the Belmont Fire Department will be ever thankful for all the personnel, equipment and time dedi-cated to us. We are also thankful to all businesses and people that responded to assist us by bringing warm drinks and food during our time of great need. I would also like to extend a very special thank you to those who responded on Wednesday morning to assist with the removal, picking up and sorting out the many lengths of frozen hose and helping to get it back in-service. If we can ever be of any assistance to you or your town, do not hesitate to call us. Truly thankful, Richard K. Siegel, Chief

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If you haven’t already registered to vote you may do so at the Clerks office in the Town Hall, Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Items you need to bring with you are: • Proof of US Citizenship • Proof of Belmont residency • Drivers License or some other identification Please remember that Saturday, Town meeting day is the second session, a continuation of Tuesday’s Election Day. If you are not already registered to vote you may not participate in the voting on Town Meeting day on March 12, 2005. Last year we had a fan-tastic turn out for residents coming out to vote and registering to vote. We began the 2004 year with 3,276 registered voters and ended the year with 4,268. Hopefully all of you will come out to vote on Election Day and Town Meeting Day. Supervisors of the checklist: Brenda Paquette , Donna Shepherd, Nikki Wheeler

P A G E 5

Candidates for 2005 Town Elections

SELECTMAN (1) Three years

Ronald Cormier, Jr.

FOR TRUSTEE OF TRUST FUNDS (1)

Three years Suzanne S. Roberts

FOR TRUSTEE OF PUBLIC LIBRARY (1) Three years Dawn Kidd

FOR SEWER COMMIS-SION (1)

Three years Richard A. Fournier

Ward Peterson

FOR CEMETERY TRUSTEE (1)

Three years Norma L. Patten

FOR PLANNING BOARD (2) Three years Gary Flack Peter Harris

Pleasant Oberhausen

FOR ZONING BOARD OF AD-JUSTMENT (2) Three years Peter Harris

Pleasant Oberhausen Norma L. Patten

FOR BUDGET COMMITTEE (2)

One year Gary Flack

FOR BUDGET COMMITTEE (4)

Three years Ronald Cormier, Jr.

David F. Morse Norma L. Patten John P. Rowe, III

DON’T FORGET TO REGISTER YOUR DOG!!! All dog licenses are due by April30. If they are not licensed by June 1, there will be a forfeit of $25 and a fine of $1 per month. License fees are as follows: Male or Female $10.00 Spayed or Neutered Dog $6.50 Puppies—3 months to 7 months $4.50 1st dog for owner over 65 $2.00 Current rabies certificate should be presented at

time of registration

The Belmont Water System is now the responsibility of the Public Works Department.

Correspondence should be directed to:

Public Works/Water Department P.O. Box 310

Belmont, NH 03220 267-8301

P A G E 6

ZONING BALLOT QUESTIONS The following amendments will appear on the ballot on Tuesday, March 8th. The full text of the

amendments is available at the Town Hall, Library and at www.belmontnh.org. Inquiries regarding the proposals can be made to the Land Use Office at 267-8300.

The Planning Board SUPPORTS AND RECOMMENDS the following Amendments:

Create an Open Space Residential Development Overlay Zone. Lots within the proposed Zone consisting of twenty or more acres and to be subdivided into three or more lots for residential housing purposes would be required to design the subdivision as an Open Space subdivision, whereby lot sizes may be reduced, but perma-nently protected open space is also created. Amend the standards for Open Space Residential Development to include the addition of a density bonus for projects that are determined by the Planning Board to provide exceptional public benefits. Revise existing stan-dards for permanently protected open spaces. Allow only one in-law apartment per lot in zones where in-law apartments are currently allowed. Adopt a Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) to regulate the timing of residential growth. Under the proposed Ordinance the Planning Board may limit building permits for new residential hous-ing units and/or may require that new residential subdivisions and residential site plans be built out over more than one year. The re-strictions would be implemented only at times when Growth Indica-tors, based on building permits and/or the rate of increase for the full value tax rate, are present. Under the proposed Ordinance, permits for pre-existing lots of record and lots and sites approved by the Planning Board prior to the enactment of the GMO are exempt from the permit limitation. Define and regulate new limited Retail Store use. The proposed use would be a retail use limited in size and scope and allowed only by special exception on lots in the Rural Zone that have frontage and access on a State Highway The use would also be allowed in zones where Retail Stores are currently allowed. Adopt standards for the protection of vegetated buffers within 50’ of Public Waters, Prime Wetlands, Ponds, and Perennial Streams, and within 35’ of Wetlands larger than 3,000sf. Amend setbacks for parking lots, fill materials and commercial earth excavation. Amend setbacks to Wetlands (any size) to be to Wetlands larger than 3,000sf. Amend wetlands data certification requirements. Amend/create definitions for Certified Wetland Scientist, Intermittent and Perennial Streams, Streams and Vegetated Buffer.

Why Manage Growth? The Planning Board is re-questing voters adopt a Growth Management Ordi-nance (GMO) on March 8th based on findings that are a result of a combined commu-nity effort over the last four years, which included updates of the Master Plan and Capital Improvements Plan as well as the adoption of a one-year In-terim Growth Management Ordinance in 2004.

Why would a community need to manage growth?

Growth needs to be managed when the current or pending demand for services outpaces the community’s ability to pro-vide or finance those services. All development requires ser-vices from the community; fire, police, medical, highway, solid waste and administra-tion. Residential development may require additional ser-vices such as schools, recrea-tion and library; and a com-munity’s capacity to provide services must continually ex-pand to match the rate of growth it experiences.

Doesn’t all growth result in more tax revenue to the

Town? The cost of services is primar-ily paid by the taxpayers. But everyone does not pay the same share of the cost of the services they receive because of the difference in the value of properties and in the level of services used.

(continued on page 7)

Residential properties tend to demand more services. Non-residential as well as different types of residential development help offset costs and may pay less of their share for those services than commercial and industrial proper-ties. This is one important reason that a com-munity plans towards balanced growth, which will include non-residential as well as different types of residential development to help offset costs.

What purpose does a GMO Serve? A GMO is one tool that a community can use to regulate and control the timing of development to balance growth with competing economic, fiscal, environmental and social needs both within the community and its region.

What does the law say?

NH law does not allow communities to stop growth or simply exclude outsiders and it re-quires that communities pay the cost to in-crease services that accompany normal growth. But it also allows communities to “time” growth by using temporary tools such as requiring new developments to be built out over more than one year (phasing), limiting the number of build-ing permits and/or limiting the number of new building lots. Why not just charge an impact fee to cover

the cost of new development? An impact fee is another tool that may help pay a portion of the initial cost of new development that does occur. However, other than increas-ing the construction cost, it does not help limit or time growth. Impact fees are collected from new development to help fund capital projects such as new schools, fire, police and highway buildings and recreation facilities in order to ex-pand service capacity. However, once the new facility is built, the annual cost of providing the now expanded service falls back on the tax-payer. If the rate of growth has been allowed to exceed the community’s ability to pay for the services, taxpayers may be severely impacted. The collection of an impact fee is also not a guarantee that it can be spent, because it must be refunded if the project isn’t constructed within 6 years. For instance, if the Town charges an impact fee towards the construction of a new school, the impact fee that each new

home would pay would only be that one home’s fair share of the total cost of the school. Within six years the taxpayers would have to fund the remainder of the project or the impact fee would be refunded. There is also a significant cost to the Town to administer impact fees. So impact fees do require a financial commitment on the part of the Town to be a successful tool.

Why does Belmont need a GMO? Belmont has grown at a faster rate than both the Lakes Region and the State of NH since 1980. That trend is projected to continue with a 40.11% increase in population projected to oc-cur between the years 2000 and 2025. Police and Fire calls have increased 216% and 209% respectively since 1983. In October, 2004, the Belmont Elementary and Middle Schools were above capacity by five and eight-een students respectively and the High School was within seventeen students of capacity. The Capital Improvements Plan already indicates a need to upgrade/expand some existing munici-pal service facilities. At the time the 1-year growth moratorium was adopted in 2004, subdi-vision projects resulting in the creation of some 150-200 lots had already been discussed with the Town. It is anticipated those and more re-cent projects will be presented when the mora-torium ends in 2005.

How will this GMO “time” growth? • By limiting the number of new homes that

can be built in one year in new subdivisions and new multi-family structures during times of unusual growth.

• May require new subdivision and multi-family dwelling build-out to be phased. For instance a twenty-lot subdivision may only be able to build four homes per year.

• May annually limit the number of building permits available for new residential lots.

• Commercial and Industrial development will not be affected by this Ordinance.

• Building permits for lots that existed as of March 8, 2005 will not be affected

The Planning Board proposes this Ordinance as a tool allowed by law to balance residential growth in Belmont with the ability of Belmont taxpayers to adequately fund the services such growth demands. P A G E 7

PETITIONED AQUIFER ORDINANCE NOT SUPPORTED BY PLANNING BOARD A petition Aquifer Ordinance signed by thirty-four voters will be included on the ballot of zoning amendments. The Planning Board held a public hearing on the petitioned Ordinance. By law they must now place the Ordinance on the ballot and also state on the ballot whether or not they support the proposal. After a thorough review of the proposal by the Board as well as the NH Department of Environmental Services along with the input received at the public hearing the Planning Board voted unanimously to not support the petitioned Ordinance.

What is Belmont’s aquifer and where is it located?

It is a naturally occurring area composed of lay-ers of sand and gravel that store and yield water underground to wells and springs. Belmont’s aquifer is over 7,000 acres in size. Thirty-five percent of the entire community is located on top of the aquifer. It extends down the entire length of Silver Lake to the Northfield line and all the way across Rte 140 to the elementary school. It covers almost the entire length of Lake Winnisquam and part of US Rte 3. The entire village area as well as areas of Rte 106 both north and south of the village are located on the aquifer. Areas of Union, Hurricane, Horne, Seavey and Brown Hill Roads as well as Wildlife Blvd and Sargent Lake are located on the aquifer. A great deal of the Province Road area including Durrell Mountain, Rogers and Hoadley Roads and Middle Route are included.

Isn’t maintaining the quality and quantity of our drinking water an

important Planning Purpose? Absolutely, and the Planning Board has taken several steps to help protect this valuable re-source. They have participated in a Tri-Town initiative with Tilton and Northfield to develop educational tools and to share information and ideas on protective measures. During 2004 the Planning Board adopted Aquifer Protection Standards in both the Site Plan and Subdivision Regulations. The Board is currently working with Lakes Region Planning Commission to-wards the development of a Best Management Practices Handbook to direct safe development practices. So why doesn’t the Planning Board support

this petitioned Ordinance? There are several issues that are apparent to the Board and that resulted in their vote of No Support:

Because Belmont was originally laid

out without knowledge of the need to protect this resource: • The entire village area is located on the aq-

uifer • Over 20% of the aquifer area has already

been zoned for commercial or industrial uses

• Municipal water and sewer have already been extended to support higher density de-velopment in areas over the aquifer

• Major roads, both State and Town, have been constructed and developed over the aquifer

• As a result, any significant restriction on the use and/or development of lots in the zone will have an impact on a very large number of property owners, residents and a major part of the Town’s tax base.

The Ordinance:

• Restricts lot coverage to 10% of the total lot size. That means that all buildings, concrete and pavement cannot exceed 10% of the total lot size. Many, many lots already ex-ceed the 10% and will be prohibited from adding decks, sheds, patios or paving drive-ways.

• Restricts snow from being dumped off-site within the zone. All snow would have to re-main on each lot unless it is trucked out of the zone.

• Changes the minimum lot size to three acres. Even in the Village and Multi-family zones where there is municipal water and sewer and where a higher density should be encouraged three acres would be required for each lot/home.

• Requires that all new septic plans be stamped by an Engineer as well as a Septic Designer although there is no additional standard included for the Engineer to review. This will simply increase the cost of septic plans to homeowners.

(continued on page 9) P A G E 8

Loudon Lions Club Seeks Volunteers and

Organizations/Individuals In Need Submitted by Judy Larrivee

The Loudon Lions Club is seeking organizations such as senior, school or church groups who need assistance with projects within their com-munities. The Lions Club can help to raise funds or assist in reaching out to people who could benefit from your project.

During our meetings, we also review requests from groups or individuals who are seeking fi-nancial assistance. When possible, we will pro-vide cash donations. We will also sponsor fund-raisers to help offset costs associated with a devastating loss, accident or illness.

We have started a scholarship fund, donated hats and mittens to schools, provided blankets and money to a family whose home was de-stroyed by fire and found scouts that are going to do some painting for their community. We are here to serve others.

Please join us on the third Wednesday of each month at Loudon Library at 7:00 p.m., or contact Joan 783-9063 or Judy 267-7556 for additional information. Have You Ever Wanted To Make A

Difference in a Child’s Life? Submitted bySheila Radziewicz

The Friends Program

The Junior Senior Friends Program has joined forces with the Belknap County Citizen Council on Children and Families and nine local school districts to provide a mentor for 100 or more school aged children and youth attending Belknap County schools.

The program is currently accepting applications for volunteer mentors. Volunteer mentors pro-vide friendship, encouragement and develop life long memories with a child. Mentors meet with children once a week at a school or in the com-munity. Opportunities are available to fit your schedule.

Call today to learn how you can make a differ-ence by helping a child experience the powerful benefits of mentoring. Contact us at (800) 536-1193 or jfs@friendsprogram.

P A G E 9

.

• Prohibits the storage or use, in any amount, of gasoline and propane even for lawnmow-ers and gas grills.

• Prohibits car washes, laundromats and filling stations.

• Requires the Town to employ a septic sys-tem inspector and test pit witness.

• The NH Department of Environmental Ser-vices (DES) finds no scientific basis for the standards used in the Ordinance. An Ordi-nance must be based on legally supportable evidence/fact.

• Appears to be an anti-growth measure dis-guised as aquifer protection.

• Eliminates reasonable commercial and in-dustrial development within the zone.

• Requires the Planning Board to review pro-jects for the amount of groundwater with-drawal even though that authority is clearly pre-empted by the State of NH.

In considering options for this valuable resource, the goal should be to allow responsible develop-ment that provides opportunity as well as protec-tion. Any restrictions imposed on property own-ers and residents within the zone should ad-dress the complex and often conflicting needs of the community. Don’t be misled by those who say, “It’s water or nothing!” Difficult issues are rarely that simple.

You are hereby notified to meet at the Ro-land S. Kimball Auditorium, Belmont Middle School, Belmont, New Hampshire on the 12th day of March 2005 at 10:00 o’clock in the forenoon to act upon the following subjects:

Article #1. Reports of Boards and Committees.

Article #2. John M. Sargent Trust Fund.

Article #3. Create an expendable trust fund to be known as the Province Road Meetinghouse Fund, for the purpose of preserving and reno-vating the Province Road Meetinghouse.($14,745)

Article #4. Establish a Heritage Fund for the purpose of allowing the Belmont Heritage Com-mission to accept and retain funds acquired by appropriation, gift or otherwise in a non-lapsing account, to be expended by the Heritage Com-mission for its purposes without further approval of voters.

Article #5. The reconstruction of highways, to be funded by $166,790 from Highway Block Grant funds provided by the State of New Hampshire. ($166,790 )

Article #6. The operating budget, exclusive of all special and individual warrant articles. ($5,634,167)

Article #7. Operation and maintenance of the Sewage Collection and Disposal System for the ensuing year, said sum is to be offset by user’s fees. ($237,200)

Article #8. Approve the cost items included in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the Town of Belmont and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Em-ployees, AFL-CIO, Council 93, Local 534 for the term April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2007, which calls for the following increases in salaries and benefits:

Year /Estimated Increase 2005 80,047

Year /Estimated Increase 2006 73,389

Year/ Estimated Increase 2007 56,378

and further to raise and appropriate the sum of eighty thousand forty-seven dollars ($80,047), which represents the additional costs attribut-able to the increase in salaries and benefits for the first contract year over those of the appro-priation at current staffing levels paid in the prior fiscal year. ($80,047)

Article #9. Shall the Town of Belmont, if article #8 is defeated, authorize the governing body to call one special meeting, at its option, to ad-dress article #8 cost items only?

Article #10. The operation and maintenance of the Water Distribution and Treatment System for the ensuing year, said sum is to be offset by user’s fees. ($154,758 )

Article #11. The purchase of new fire/ambulance/rescue equipment and to fund this appropriation by authorizing the withdrawal of said amount from the Fire/Ambulance Equip-ment and Apparatus Special Revenue Fund. ($35,000 )

Article #12. Winnipesaukee Scenic Trail Phase 1, to be funded by a grant from the State of New Hampshire Department of Transportation in the amount of $282,720 and the balance to be raised through taxation. ($353,400)

Article #13. Design and engineering for Phase II of the Winnipesaukee Scenic Trail. ($10,000) Article #14. Establish a Capital Reserve Fund for the purpose of Lamprey Cemetery Restora-tion and to raise and appropriate the sum of fif-teen thousand dollars ($15,000) to be placed in this fund, and further, to designate the Select-men as agents to expend money from this fund. ($15,000) Article #15. Establish a Capital Reserve Fund for the purpose of a Road Inventory Layout and to raise and appropriate the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to be placed in this fund, and further, to designate the Selectmen as agents to expend money from this fund. ($25,000)

Town of Belmont Annual Meeting Warrant Summary

P A G E 1 0

Article #16. Establish a Capital Reserve Fund for the purpose of Digital Radio Equipment and to raise and appropriate the sum of fifteen thou-sand dollars ($15,000) to be placed in this fund, and further, to designate the Selectmen as agents to expend money from this fund. ($15,000)

Article #17. Establish a Capital Reserve Fund for Emergency Power Supply and to raise and appropriate the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to be placed in this fund, and further, to designate the Selectmen as agents to expend money from this fund. ($25,000)

Article #18 Establish a Capital Reserve Fund under the provisions of RSA 35:1 for the pur-pose of Property Revaluation and to raise and appropriate the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to be placed in this fund, and further, to designate the Selectmen as agents to expend money from this fund. ($25,000)

Article #19. Purchasing a dump truck with plow and wing, said appropriation to be funded by the withdrawal of sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000) from the Highway Department Heavy Equipment Capital Reserve fund and the bal-ance of sixty-five thousand ($65,000) is to come from general taxation. ($130,000)

Article #20. Town Drainage Projects Capital Reserve Fund previously established. ($15,000)

Article #21. Police Vehicles Capital Reserve Fund previously established. ($65,000)

Article #22. General Cemetery Maintenance Fund for the purpose of cemetery maintenance, said amounts to be expendable at the discretion of the Cemetery Trustees. ($2,000)

Article #23. Town Bridge Repair and Mainte-nance Capital Reserve fund already estab-lished. ($25,000)

Article #24. non-capital reserve account previ-ously established for the purpose of Information Technology. ($58,000) Article #25. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of thirty thousand dol-lars ($30,000) to be placed in the Sidewalks Capital Reserve fund already established. ($30,000)

Article #26. Highway Department Heavy Equip-ment Capital Reserve fund already established. ($40,000) Article #27. Architectural plans for a Library Building Addition. ($30,000) Article #28. To see if the Town will vote to adopt the Solid Waste Management Ordinance as proposed by the Board of Selectmen. Among other provisions, the Ordinance requires that commercial entities doing business in the Town shall pay the costs to collect and dispose of their Solid Waste. Also, all persons who col-lect, transport or deliver Solid Waste from com-mercial entities are required to be licensed an-nually by the Board of Selectmen. Article #29. To see if the Town will vote to au-thorize the Board of Selectmen to grant a drive-way and utility easement to Matthew and Sta-cey Erlick to access their single family resi-dence located on their property at 77 Woodland Drive and depicted as Tax Map 116 Lot 33 across property owned by the Town, depicted as Tax Map 116 Lot 32. This easement is condi-tional upon the Erlick’s providing a survey of the proposed easement area. Article #30. To see if the Town will vote to au-thorize the Board of Selectmen to grant a 50’ wide easement for access, utilities and drainage to the “Parent Pit” property owned by Parent Brothers, LLC, depicted as Tax Map 242 Lot 4, across property owned by the Town on Shaker Road, and depicted as Tax Map 242 Lot 5. This easement is conditional upon the transfer of a drainage easement, along with construction and maintenance easements, to the Town across land owned by Malvina Cherrette, depicted as Tax Map 126 Lot 26, from Concord Street to Clough Brook, also known as Pumping Station Brook. See a plan of a Boundary Line Adjust-ment For Malvina Cherrette, by Fred Wheeler, LLS, dated October 2004, revised November 30, 2004, for a more particular depiction of the two easements. Article #31. To transact any other business that may legally come before the meeting. !

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The Planning Board and Land Use Office remained busy dur-ing 2004 even though an In-terim Growth Management Or-dinance that prohibited residen-tial subdivisions was in effect. This was primarily due to an increase in the number of major Site Plan proposals and to sub-divisions approved prior to 2004 continuing to build out.

Approvals for new commercial construction included a 5,080sf dental facility on Laconia Road and a 30,000sf indoor recrea-tional facility on Higgins Drive. On Daniel Webster Highway, commercial projects were also approved for a 22,724sf retail/professional office facility and a 10,016sf retail/restaurant com-plex.

With the assistance of the Lakes Region Planning Com-mission (LRPC) and a Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Subcommittee, the Planning Board adopted a new six-year CIP to assist the Selectmen, Budget Committee and Voters to better balance the tax impact of future capital purchases by recommending a multi-year schedule for those purchases.

As a result of the recent Master Plan initiative, the completion of the 2004 CIP and their evalua-tion of growth in the commu-nity, the Planning Board has recommended to the voters several zoning amendments for the 2005 Town Meeting. The Board also received assistance on the natural resource propos-als from the Conservation Commission. The amend-ments are intended to preserve

open space, protect natural re-sources and to limit the rate of residential growth

During 2004 the LRPC com-pleted a regional housing needs study and the Planning Board has committed to prepar-ing a local housing needs evaluation during 2005. The study will not only identify the current housing needs of the community but also include a plan to provide a balanced housing stock that, along with non-residential development, is necessary to adequately fund the services that are required for all types of development.

Also during 2004 LRPC com-pleted the data section of a Master Plan Economic Devel-opment Chapter for the com-munity. During 2005 the Plan-ning Board will work towards developing a complete chapter including recommendations for future economic initiatives.

There is currently one open-ing for an alternate member on the Board. No prior land use experience is necessary, and the Board encourages interested individuals to ap-ply. For assistance or further information on these or other land use issues, please feel free to contact the Belmont Land Use Office, 143 Main Street, P.O. Box 310, Bel-mont, NH 03220, (603) 267-8300x19, (603) 267-8307-fax, landuse@belmontnh.org

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News From Faith Christian

Academy Faith Christian Academy is pleased to announce the stu-dents who made our High Honor Roll and Honor Roll for the Second Quarter: Grade 1 High Honors: Larry Allard, Daniel McKinney Grade 1 Honors: Andrew Allard Grade 2 High Honors: Amy Allard, Meaghan Aubut, Noelle Benavides, Jacob Fox, Brett Mele, Josie Taylor Grade 2 Honors: Brittany Neff Grade 3 High Hoors: James Jason Grade 4 High Honors: Mary Allard, Christina Crandall Grade 4 Honors: Malcolm Benavides, Allie Taylor Grade 5 Honors: Cassondra Fox Grade 6 High Honors: Jenni-fer Ortakales, Hannah Weller We celebrated School Spirit Week February 7 - 11 and ended all the fun and activities on February 14 with Red & White Day and Valentine's Day parties. We will be hosting our Annual Open House/Art Show/ Science Fair on Thursday, April 14, 2005 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Everyone is invited. We will also begin to accept enrollment of students for next year (Preschool 3-year-olds through Grade 8) at that time. Come see our school, see what the kids have worked on in art class and meet the staff at FCA. We are located at 87 Horne Road in Belmont. If you have any questions, give us a call at 524-3900.

Belmont Planning Board Annual Report

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Shaker Regional School District Serving the communities of Belmont and Canterbury

Shaker Students and Staff Help Those In Need

♥ BES grade two students have again made a very generous donation to the St. Jude’s Chil-dren’s Research Hospital. The students raised $2,740.50 through a Math-a-lon.

♥ BMS students collected 4004 pounds of food and CES students collected hundreds of pounds of food which was donated to needy families in the communities of Belmont and Canterbury.

♥ BES and BMS students and staff have been collecting money to help those affected by the Tsunami disaster. BES students donated to a collection held during lunch times, while BMS grade five students sold popcorn one day a week to raise funds for the victims.

♥ BES Student Council raised nearly $200 for the American Red Cross and the Lakes Re-gional Santa Fund through a Christmas stock-ing raffle.

♥ Barbara Cleveland, BHS school nurse, coordi-nated efforts with St Vincent De Paul Caring Connection and the St. Joseph’s Giving Tree to bring gifts to fifty one children on Christmas Day.

♥ The annual BES Christmas Elf project sup-plied gifts and food baskets to forty two fami-lies. This project was financed with donations from BES staff as well as local area busi-nesses and organization.

Community Computer Class Schedule

The following classes are available free of charge to any Belmont or

Canterbury resident. Pre-registration is required. Please call 267-9223 to reserve a space.

Class size is limited.

March 9 Surfing the Internet I CES March 16 Surfing the Internet II CES March 23 Intro to PowerPoint BES

March 30 Intermediate PowerPoint BES

April 6 Intro to Word BES

April 13 Intermediate Word BES April 20 Advanced Word BES

May 4 Excel I CES

May 11 Excel II CES

May 18 Excel III CES

May 25 Creative Projects with Microsoft Publisher

BES

June 1 Into to Desktop Publishing with Microsoft Publisher

CES

June 8 Intermediate Desktop Publish-ing with Microsoft Publisher

CES

Calsey Fontaine, Eric Christie and Vanessa Moses pre-pare for their weekly popcorn sales to

benefit tsunami victims.

What can you find on our website? www.shaker.k12.nh.us

Technology Teacher, Gerry Ryder, has created some links from the BES website to some very interesting sites where children and families can gets lots of infor-mation and play educational games.

We have posted a variety of information regarding the school district budget and upcoming annual meeting.

The 2005-2006 school year calendar is now available for viewing and printing.

The Master Calendar of Events lists all events within the district—we encourage you to participate in all school events.

On January 3, 2005 the Shaker Regional School District had 1,546 student enrolled in our four schools. This represents an increase of only eight students over the figure recorded at the same time last year. The largest classes are our seventh and ninth grades, which have 142 and 143 students respectively. Our smallest class is our present sixth grade, which has only 96 stu-dents. The graduating class presently has 102 students. Fortunately, at least for now, we have some small classes interspersed with the larger classes. This has kept any one school from go-ing over its design capacity. However, a large influx of students at any one level could quickly place our schools in jeopardy of being over ca-pacity. A great deal of time has been spent this year working on the proposed Standards for Public School Approval. This is a document which de-fines all of the standards that our schools must meet in order to be approved by the New Hamp-shire Department of Education. At the time you will read this report, the document will be in the rulemaking process. The revisions proposed present a significantly different way of doing business for our schools. Specifically, it requires personalized learning strategies for every stu-dent and will offer extended learning opportuni-ties beyond the school walls for our middle and high school students. While this provides some exciting opportunities for our children, it also may come at a substantial cost in funding and time. I encourage all of you to follow this debate closely as our State Board of Education studies the in-put of parents, educators and taxpayers through-out the state and determines what draft they will ultimately approve and send forward. Our district has continued its commitment to the maintenance of its school buildings. In addition to annual painting and cleaning projects, we have held to the schedule of floor, ceiling and lighting replacements. We have also continued the replacement schedule of windows through-out the Belmont Elementary School, a school

that is now twenty years old. There were few capital improvements at Belmont High School, as one would expect with a building that is only six years old. Several major projects loom on the horizon, including redesigning the entryway to the middle school, resurfacing the track, and irrigating Bryant Field. Soon, we will need to re-place the roofs at our two elementary schools and we continue to make an effort to add to the expendable trust fund, which was created for that purpose. Our students and staff take pride in our buildings and we think it is evident. We con-tinue to receive compliments on the condition of these buildings from people who visit from other schools. Please walk through our schools and we think you will agree. As reported earlier this year, the Shaker Re-gional results of the state assessment, the New Hampshire Education Improvement and Assess-ment Program (NHEIAP), included some good and bad news. The good news is that our two elementary schools both had results higher than the state average. The Canterbury Elementary results, in particular, were extraordinary, placing them among the very highest in the state. At the middle school level, our students scored above the state average in language arts, but slightly below the state average in mathematics. How-ever, the school did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as determined by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Although the student body as a whole met AYP, the subgroup of stu-dents with educational disabilities did not make the target, thus the school is considered not hav-ing met the requirement. At the high school, our students scored at the state average in language arts and slightly below in mathematics. As with the middle school, the student body met their AYP target, but the subgroup of students with educational disabilities did not make the target in mathematics, thus the entire school is consid-ered as not having met the requirement of NCLB. We fully understand that there are many ways to determine the success of our schools and that NHEIAP provides one important piece

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Shaker Regional School District News From Mr. Cozort’s Corner

From the Superintendent March 2005

of information for parents and community mem-bers to evaluate our schools. We continue to examine our curriculum and instructional prac-tices in order to further student achievement in the classroom and on these state assessments. We encourage our constituents to check out the Shaker website: www.shaker.k12.nh.us This website includes school directories, calendars, athletic schedules and forms. Our strategic plan, district policies and even bus routes can be found through this site. We also have a link to the results of our annual parent surveys, a list of community computer classes and district job opportunities...and there is much, much more! Special thanks to our webmaster, Jacqui McGettigan for maintaining this site and provid-ing so much useful information in order to im-prove communication between the schools and our residents. The past year has continued to bring accolades to our schools, students and staff. You may al-ready know some of the following, but great news bears repeating:

• Belmont High School was selected as the 2003-2004 New Hampshire High School of the Year

• Canterbury Elementary School was se-lected as the 2003-2004 New Hampshire Elementary School of the Year.

• Belmont High School Mathematics

teacher, Randy Wormald, was selected as the 2004 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year

• Belmont High School English teacher, Brian McNabb, was selected as a finalist for the Treat Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Humanities.

• Belmont Middle School Assistant Princi-pal, Tim Saunders, was awarded the New England League of Middle Schools Administrator’s Award

• Based on their proposal to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, BHS students Matt Crevier and Cayle Castor went to Tucson, Arizona to use infrared and solar telescopes to study the Ever-shed Flow.

• Four BHS students (Matthew Buckle, An-nie Clock, Brendan Collins and Rebecca Dole) were accepted into and attended the St. Paul’s Advanced Studies Pro-gram.

Obviously, such recognitions are not possible without the combination of great students, sup-portive parents, dedicated teachers and a com-mitted administration. We are very fortunate to have all of those ingredients in our district. In closing, I would like to thank the residents of Belmont and Canterbury for this support, for without it we cannot raise the bar of student achievement for our children.

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Dpohsbuvmbujpot!up!pvs!Tiblfs!Tubst…!

♦ On February 2, BHS Varisty Girls Basketball Coach,Jeri Blair earned his 300th win.

♦ BMS assistant principal, Tim Saunders, was selected to receive the New England League of Middle Schools

♦ Administrator’s Award. This award recognizes adminis-trators who understand how young adolescents learn, promote middle level educa-tion, build community sup-port and supports and mod-els effective middle level phi-losophy.

♦ After a day at the Boston University De-

velopment Meet, Brendan Collins earned the #1 rank-ing in the 800m event on the NIKE LIST which is a list of the top high school track per-formances nationwide.

♦ BHS student Seth Macomber and Jim Karas placed 1st and 2nd respec-tively in Belmont’s American Legion Oratorical contest.

♦ BES parent Lynn Hall was honored as the January “Hats Off” volunteer.

♦ This year’s BMS Geography Bee winner is seventh grader Lu-

cas Knapp. Peter Chynoweth, sixth grader, was the runner up.

♦ The 2005 CES Spelling Bee winner was Dakota McPher-son. The runner up was Samantha Puckett. Class-room winners were Kristian Blackford, Emily Ashey, Karl Wieck, Megan Bailey, Jill Carr, Leanna Travis and Holly Julian.

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BHS Junior Varsity Softball/Baseball Home Schedule

Date Opponent Time 4/13/05 Newfound 4:00 4/18/05 Winnisquam 3:00 4/20/05 Berlin 4:00 4/25/04 Sanborn 1:00 5/2/05 Interlakes 4:00 5/4/05 Gilford 4:00 5/13/05 Prospect Mtn. 4:00 5/16/05 Frannklin 4:00 5/20/05 Littleton 4:00

BHS Varsity Softball/Baseball Home Schedule

4/11/04 Franklin 4:00 4/22/05 White Mtn. 4:00 4/27/05 Gilford 1:00 4/29/05 Sanborn 1:00 5/11/05 Prospect Mtn. 4:00 5/18/05 Mascoma 4:00 5/25/05 Interlakes 4:00 5/27/05 Somersworth 4:00

BHS Track Home Schedule 4/16/05 Home Meet 10:00 a.m. 5/5/05 Home Meet 3:30 p.m. 5/10/05 Home Meet 3:30 p.m. 5/17/05 Home Meet 3:30 p.m.

CES Students Enjoy “I Love To Read Month”

Two New Hampshire authors visited CES to help celebrate “I Love To Read Month.” Julie Brillhart brought her latest book, Molly Rides the School Bus, to the students on February 7th. Ms. Brill-hart did research for her story by riding the Can-terbury school buses and an illustration of CES is Molly’s destination in the story. On February 22nd, author/illustrator Chris Dem-erest shared his stories about the adventures of fire fighters, smoke jumpers and the coast guard. Finally, former teacher and wonderful storyteller George Radcliff shared some of his fascinating Slumgullion Tales with the children. In addition to these special guests, CES stu-dents also welcomed over 60 parents and com-munity members who shared their favorite books throughout the month.

Update from the BMS PTO The BMS PTO is having a wonderful year. Over two hundred parents, guardians and relatives completed the volunteer registration process, setting a new BMS record. The magazine drive brought in a profit of $8,872, the second highest amount in BMS history. The PTO also sponsors three year round fundraisers: Box Tops for Edu-cation, Tyson Labels and Cartridges for Kids. Any of these items can be dropped off in the BMS office. With the money raised, the PTO has helped to fund the greenhouse project, the school recy-cling program and the Lego robotic team. The PTO has also purchased vision impaired glasses for the Drug and Alcohol Education Program and a large projection screen for the gymnasium. PTO volunteers supply refreshments for many BMS events, run an in-school bank savings pro-gram, work in the classrooms and participate in many of the sports programs. For more information, contact Doreen Plimpton at 524-2432 or 4plimpon@metrocast.net

Kingergarten Registration From March 28 through April 1 (9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.) , parents/guardians of children who will be entering kindergarten or first grade in the fall should plan to stop into the elementary school to register their child for the upcoming school year. Students who have attended kindergarten this year at either Belmont Elementary or Canter-bury Elementary, do not need to register for Grade 1. A copy of the child's birth certificate and immu-nization records are required for registra-tion. Children registering for Kindergarten must be 5 years old as of September 30, 2005. Children registering for Grade 1 must be 6 years old as of September 30, 2005.

You are hereby notified to meet at Belmont Middle School, in the gymnasium, on the 18th day of March 2005 at 6:00 in the afternoon to act on the following subjects. The polls will be open for balloting on Article I, Article II and Article III at 6:00 p.m. All other articles will be acted upon commencing at 7:00 p.m. ARTICLE I. To choose, by ballot, a moderator for the ensuing year. ARTICLE II. To choose, by ballot, three school board members, ARTICLE III. Are you in favor of changing the term of the moderator from one year to two years, beginning with the term of the moderator to be elected at next year’s regular school district meeting? (RSA 671:11-a I.) [Ballot vote re-quired.] ARTICLE IV. Authorize the School Board to make application for, to accept, and to expend on behalf of the District any and all advances, grants or other funds for educational purposes. ARTICLE V. Authorize the School Board to ac-cept and expend on behalf of the District private gifts and contributions for educational purposes. ARTICLE VI. Authorize the Treasurer, with the approval of the School Board, to appoint a Dep-uty-Treasurer, to act on behalf of the Treasurer in the event the Treasurer is unable to perform the duties of the office. (RSA 197:24-a.) ARTICLE VII. To see if the School District will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of fifteen million nine hundred seventy five thousand two hundred ninety eight dollars ($15,975,298) for the support of schools, the salaries of school district officials and agents, and for the payment of statutory obligations of said district, and to authorize the application against said appropriation of such sums as are estimated to be raised from the State’s equalized and building aid funds together with other in-come. The School Board shall certify to the se-lectmen of each of the towns of Belmont and Canterbury the amount to be raised by taxation of each of said towns. This article does not in-clude appropriations voted in other warrant arti-cles. (The School Board recommends pass-ing this appropriation.) [Majority vote re-quired.]

ARTICLE VIII. To see if the School District will vote to authorize the School Board to enter into a 4-year lease agreement for the purpose of leasing Office Equipment (copiers), and to raise and appropriate the sum of twenty seven thou-sand ($27,000) for the first year’s payment for that purpose. This lease agreement contains an “escape” clause. (The School Board recom-mends passing this article.) [Majority vote required.] ARTICLE IX. To see if the school district will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of up to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), to be placed in the School Facilities and Grounds Mainte-nance Expendable Trust Fund, which was estab-lished at the March 21, 1997 Annual District Meeting, with such amount to be funded from the year end undesignated fund balance (surplus) available on July 1 of this year. (The School Board recommends passing this article.) [Majority vote required.] ARTICLE X. Whereas NH School Districts face ever tightening budgets; and Whereas NH School Districts are finding it increasingly difficult to raise and appropriate sufficient dollars on the local level to provide their students a quality edu-cation; and Whereas NH School Districts are faced with state funding uncertainty; and Whereas Federal monies to the District are not sufficient to address the demands of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act: Be It Therefore Resolved: That the voters of the Shaker Regional School District declare the State of New Hampshire and the Federal Gov-ernment must fulfill their obligation to fully fund all legislative and regulatory acts pertaining to educational funding, including but not limited to: RSA 186-C:18 III State Special Education Aid; RSA 198:15-a, -b School Building Aid; RSA 198:41 Determination of Adequate Education Grants; as well as funding for newly proposed Standards for School Approval and the Federal No Child Left Behind Act. (The School Board recommends passing this article.) ARTICLE XI. To transact any other business that may legally come before this meeting.

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Shaker Regional School District Warrant For Annual District Meeting March 18, 2005

A Bit of Belmont History THE BADGER HOMESTEAD Submitted by Wallace Rhodes

Located on Hackett Road, off Route 140 between Bel-mont Village and Gilman-ton Corners, this impres-sive two story home was the residence of Belmont’s most noted citizens of the nineteenth century. The house, situated on the crest of a hill, offers im-pressive views of the coun-tryside and exhibits fine de-tails that only a person of con-siderable wealth could have ac-quired. The front parlor is decorated with imported Eng-lish wallpaper for which William Badger is said to have paid $100 and carried from Ports-mouth in saddle bags. Title to seventy acres of this property, a portion an eventual 600 acres, was given to Joseph Badger Jr. by the proprietors of the town in 1772 as compensa-tion for collecting the taxes as-sessed to construct the Prov-ince Road. Joseph Badger Jr. had first set-tled in the town of Gilmanton in 1766 and originally occupied the 100 acre lot located where the present village of Gilmanton Corners is located. The exact date that he moved to the Badger Homestead property is not documented. We do know that the road leading to the site dates from 1774 and since it did not continue toward the pre-sent Belmont Village until 1789, the property must have been a destination.

The ell portion of the present house may well be the first building constructed on the property. We do know that a cape style dwelling was built on the site around 1784. Joseph Badger Jr. held offices in the New Hampshire militia for a period of thirty years passing from the rank of Captain to Brigadier General. During the Revolutionary War he was at Crown Point and Bennington and was present at the surren-der of General Burgoyne. There is a story told that Badger, at the request of Gen-eral Gates, along with three other soldiers undertook the capture of a British officer to gain intelligence. When near-ing the village they came upon an officer who was dressed for a ball and proceeded to take him prisoner, whereupon Badger appropriated his uni-form and attended the ball where he obtained valuable in-formation. The men along with the prisoner then returned to General Gates. Joseph Badger Jr. died in 1809 and his son William inherited

the property from his father. The two story house was p robab ly bu i l t around 1818. To make room for the new house the older cape style d w e l l i n g w a s moved aside and eventually was moved to Belmont

Village where it still stands. William Badger was undoubt-edly the most prominent man to come from Belmont during the nineteenth century. In 1825 he acquired the Fellows gristmill and in 1829 acquired the Fel-lows sawmill as well. These mills thereafter were referred to as Badger’s mills. Having ac-quired water rights through the purchase of these mills he was instrumental in constructing the Belmont Mill. In politics he was a Jefferson-ian Democrat and attained sev-eral high offices including the office of governor in 1834 and 1835. His home was said to have hosted many prominent people of the time, including Benjamin Pierce and his son General Franklin Pierce, who became the 14th president of the United States. The property remained in the Badger family until 1928 when, after the death of Francis Badger, the buildings and con-tents gathered over several generations were sold at auction.

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Spring is just around the corner and that means baseball! The Bel-mont Baseball Organization has been working hard over the last few months to prepare for the up-coming Little League season.

Elections were held at the November meeting, with some new faces taking the seats of depart-ing officers. This year’s board consists of Presi-dent – Bill North, Vice President – Bill Clary, Treasurer – Mary Cozzens, Secretary – Tracey LeClair, Player Agent/Coach Coordinator - Stephanie Derosier, Safety Officer – John Thur-ber and Information Officer – Dave Wilder. Registrations began in February for Tee Ball, In-structional, Minor/Major League Baseball and Minor/Major League Softball. The program is open to all Belmont residents ages five through twelve. Late registrations will be accepted up until tryouts, when players will be evaluated and placed on teams based on their age and ability. In order for B.B.O. to enjoy another successful season, we will be looking for additional help from the public. Umpires and coaches are needed, along with volunteers for the concession stand, field and equipment maintenance and many other tasks. Clinics will be held to train umpires and coaches as needed. Each team will be responsible to cover the concession stand on assigned days, and parents will be asked to

help. Please “pitch in” however you can! In addition to the traditional calendar fundraisers and pictures, there will be a new fundraising event this year. B.B.O. has teamed with Uno’s Restaurant in Tilton for a special Belmont Base-ball Day, scheduled for March 17th. Uno’s will donate a percentage of each party’s purchases to B.B.O. when a special coupon is presented on that day. Coupons were handed out at registration, and are available from B.B.O. board members as well. They can also be printed directly from the web site at www.eteamz.com/bbo/handouts. We hope that everyone can come out on St. Patrick’s Day and help support baseball in Belmont. Other important dates to remember: March 19 - Minor and Major League Baseball / Softball tryouts at the Belmont High School April 16 – Field Cleanup Day at Bryant Field and Belmont Ele-mentary School April 30 – Opening Day! Please refer to the B.B.O. web site at www.eteamz.com/bbo for up to date information on events, clinics, monthly meetings and Belmont Little League in general. Hope to see everyone at the fields for another exciting season of softball and baseball!

B.B.O. Little League 2005 Submitted by Dave Wilder

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It has been a long year, but the majority of the soldiers from the 2/197th FA Battery C will be returning home in the next few months. Please continue to display yellow ribbons out-side of your home and the troop support mag-nets on your cars. We want to let these return-ing heroes know that we appreciate all that they have done. If you are looking for a way to say thank you to these brave men and women for the sacrifices they have made while deployed overseas, why

not consider gift certificates to local restaurants, bowling alleys or move theaters? These gifts would give the soldiers the greatest gift of all--time with their families.

If you would like to make a donation, please contact:

Kelly Pinette 2/197th Battery C

Family Readiness Group 524-3451

Kevkel4k@metrocast.net

Please Continue to Support our Troops

Allstaff Contract Services of Rye, NH has recently ap-pointed Bonnie Kelley, Re-gional Director, of their new Belmont office located at 930 Laconia Road, Suite Six. All-staff currently has offices lo-cated in Rye, NH, Littleton, NH and now Belmont, NH. Kelley brings seventeen years of human resource, recruiting, hiring and management as well as seven years of experience in the staffing industry in the greater Laconia area.

Cheryl Flanders has also joined the staff of the Belmont office as a recruiter. Flanders, an Air Force Captain and registered nurse with twenty-three years of experience, has recently re-turned to New Hampshire from Florida. She has traveled all over the country using her nursing skills and brings a vast array of management, recruit-ment and retention in the medi-

cal industry. Kelley is thrilled to have Flan-ders join her staff with her skills and professionalism. Allstaff Contract Services is a temporary and permanent placement service providing administrative, technical and industrial employees all over New Hampshire. If you need information about our placement services call Cheryl at (603) 267-7492 or e m a i l u s a t b o n -nie@allstaffcorp.com

ALL STAFF CONTRACT SERVICES OPENS NEW OFFICE Submited by Bonnie Kelley

Now Open

“Baby Threads is a volunteer, non-profit organization that provides hundreds of layettes and quilts for area

newborn babies and their parents.”

Baby Threads, a local volunteer organization whose mission is to provide necessary items to local families in need, is continuing work on its thrift shop, Get your things Out of the Closet and into our Thrift Shop is located at 345 Sun-cook Valley Road, Chichester, NH. Did you know... • The thrift shop is run completely by volun-

teers which means that there are no salary costs impacting profits.

• Baby Threads works with every local preg-nancy center, hospital, homeless shelter and visiting nurses association who request lay-ettes. (If there are any centers who are not benefiting from our services, please call Dorothy at 267-8554 to be added to our list.)

• Through our thrift shop, we help those in our area who need low cost clothing and house wares.We offer a great selection of merchan-dise at very reasonable prices.

• We have new items arriving daily.

• We don't waste anything. Any items that aren't needed here or that don't sell in the shop are used to stock the free clothes closet in Coos County. This facility serves at least ten towns in that area whose residents are facing difficult economic situations.

You can help... • WE NEED more volunteers to work in the

thrift shop. We often need someone for just four hours a week to fill a spot !

• WE DESPERATELY NEED a reduced rate for a box type truck to go North a few times a year.

Feel free to contact Bonnie Champagne (279-9922), Daryl Hoit (267-1271), Ruthie Ture (435-8163) and Dorcas Chisholm (435-8230) with any questions or offers of assistance. If you would like to visit the shop, just go to the end of Route 107 (South), take a right onto Route 28 (West) go 2.7 miles through 3 lights and watch for the plaza on the right immediately after the Chichester town line. We are in with Debbie's Country Kitchen - on the far right side of the Blueberry Hill Plaza.

Baby Threads Continues to help our Community

Submitted by Daryl Hoitt

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When I returned from Vietnam and was asked to join the American Legion, I declined because I believed the

American Legion was a social club. Was I ever mistaken! In the ensuing thirty years, the legion has shown me just how much it does for our community, state and nation. Just as they put family and nation before personal well being when they served in the military, the veterans of The Legion continue to put service before self. Belmont’s Legion Post #58’s main function is to serve the community. Although membership has dwindled in numbers over time, Post #58 spon-sors several local, state and national programs. Here are some of the ways we help our commu-nity: • The Post has “adopted” 8 WWII veterans at

the NH Veterans Home in Tilton, keeping in touch and providing personal support .

• Post #58 has made donations to the Recrea-tion Fund at the Veterans Home in memory of a departed member.

• Representatives from the legion attend and assist at the funeral of any veteran.

• Members coordinate a program that matches used medical equipment with those truly in need. Hospital beds, walkers, wheelchairs, canes and similar equipment have been pro-vided at no cost, not just to veterans, but to anyone who cannot afford such equipment.

• Post #58 has donated college scholarships, sportsmanship awards and awards to help with the cost of college texts to local stu-dents

• They have donated to the Belmont High Ath-letic Booster Club and have provided support to many local students to cover their ex-penses for participating in special athletic, academic and community programs and competitions. The Legion has also supplied trophies and prizes for a number of these competitions.

• Post #58 also sponsors the American Legion Oratorical Contest in its local high school an-nually. This year’s contest was held in Janu-ary. Local prizes are $100, $50 and $25 US

Savings Bonds for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place win-ners, respectively. Belmont High School win-ners have competed at the District, State and National level for increasingly higher levels of prizes and scholarships. State winners get a $2500 scholarship and national finalists can win up to $20,000 in scholarships.

• Belmont’s Legion Post sponsors for an ad every year to support the Old Home Day pro-gram. Its Commander, Pete Poire, his wife Linda and their fireworks crew have set up and conducted the fireworks program for free, saving the Town a lot of money.

• The Post donated approximately $300 for concrete for Alan Bartlett’s Eagle Scout pro-ject at the Belknap Mill Community Center.

• They also purchased a microwave for the Senior Center, paid $110 for cleaning all the carpet in the Center and donated $500 to help pay for a driver for the van which pro-vides transportation for our elder citizens.

• They gave $600 food certificates to each of our local churches to support their food pan-tries for the needy and gave $100 to the Girl Scout Troop to help with Thanksgiving Bas-kets.

• They support the Special Olympics with do-nations.

• The Post donated the funds to provide a flag in every classroom. The Legion puts flags on the graves of all veterans in town cemeteries every Memorial Day, participates in the pa-rade and makes a donation to the Belmont High School Band for its participation.

The Post encourages any veteran who has served in an eligible “wartime” period to join us. . Our American Legion is doing a lot of good while enjoying that camaraderie that is so special among our nation’s veterans. Further informa-tion can be obtained from the Post Vice Com-mander, Woody Fogg, or on line at www.legion.org. We are all terribly saddened by the sudden passing of our long time Post Commander, Pete Poire. We will all miss Pete, his big heart and his unflagging support for our American Legion Post and community.

BELMONT’S AMERICAN LEGION POST #58 Submitted by Post #58 Vice Commander Woody Fogg.

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Thinking of warm summer days, road races, pa-rades, and fireworks? We are! This year’s Old Home Day is only five months away. It will take place on Saturday, August 13th and will once again be a celebration to remember. The Old Home Day Committee is hard at work planning events and booking entertainment. Two activities that proved very popular last year are coming back for some fun again this year. The Shriners’ Drum and Bugle Corp will be back for its second appearance in our parade and the portable climbing wall will once again be avail-able free during our evening activities. In the last couple of years, we have held an Amateur Talent Show in the afternoon. The feedback on this event has been very positive. If you would like to participate in this year’s Talent Show, the application for participation will be up-dated and available on the Town’s website (www.belmontnh.org) soon. It’s a wonderful op-portunity to showcase your talent, or the talent of your friends or organization in front of a live audi-

ence. Last year we tried the idea of providing free ven-dor space to non-profit groups. We believed this was a great way to help promote these local or-ganizations and to provide them with a wonderful fund raising opportunity. Several groups took us up on our offer, and we hope to have even more of them this year. As always, we will offer ven-dor space to area residents and businesses for a nominal fee. If you are interested in vendor space for this year’s Old Home Day, please call Gretta Olson-Wilder at 524-2782 for more infor-mation. As details are finalized, they will be posted under the Old Home Day tab on the Town’s website at (www.belmontnh.org), so please check it periodi-cally throughout the coming months. The June publication of the Belmont Better Times will also have more details of what exciting events we have planned for this year’s celebration. Mark Saturday, August 13th on your calendar now, and come celebrate Belmont Old Home Day with your family, friends, and neighbors!

Plans are Underway for Old Home Day Saturday, August 13th

By Gretta Olson-Wilder

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HARLEM ROCKETS ARE COMING TO BELMONT!! Submitted by the Belmont Police Department

The Belmont Police Relief Association will be hosting the Harlem Rockets on Sunday March 6, 2005 at 4:00 p.m. at the Belmont High School Gymnasium. The Harlem Rockets, a talented group of bas-ketball entertainers who combine incredible skills and hilarious comedy will face two opposing teams—the Belmont Town Team and The Belmont School Team. The Harlem Rockets boast not one, but two engaging and natural comedians. Everyone (except maybe the referee) laughs at the banter and ear-to-ear grins of headliner Kevin “Showboat” Jackson and the silly and improvisational antics of Dwane “Swoop” Simpson. Standing 6/6” and 6/7” respec-tively, these two young talents can also “lace them up” when necessary. The Harlem Rockets incor-porate the audience, especially children, into the show and are always available to meet the fans and give autographs at half time and after the game. Tickets are available through the Belmont Police Department by contacting Detective Judy Estes or Officer Richard Mann at 267-8351, or through the Belmont High School or Middle School by contact-ing School Resource Officers Richard Bryant or Officer Sean Sullivan. Tickets are on sale now for the low price of $10.00 per ticket. Tickets WILL NOT be sold at the door. All tickets will be pre sold and there will be no telephone or

mail solicitations. Thank you for your continued support.

Belmont’s Master Plan calls for protecting rural character in Belmont as the town grows. The Zoning Ordinance encourages the most appro-priate use of land and the conservation of natural resources. In 2002, Belmont voters amended the zoning purpose to include preserving signifi-cant wildlife habitat and habitat links and buffers. In late 2004, Jordan Institute and NH Audubon Society (NHA) received a grant from Lakes Re-gion Charitable Foundation, a region of NH Charitable Foundation, to take the next steps to implement that purpose. During 2005, Jordan and NHA will work with town planners and the Lakes Region and Rockingham Regional Plan-ning commissions to develop specific language for: Voluntary development practices

Subdivision and site plan regulations that could help the Town to protect natural re-source and wildlife habitat values and maintain rural character. Once model language is available, Belmont can choose to adopt either a voluntary or a regula-tory approach to a given issue. The project will focus on issues rarely addressed by zoning, sub-division, or site plan review, such as: • Habitat connectivity • Recreation areas/trails • Cultural features

• Natural vegetation • Road and building orientation • Significant wildlife habitat The issues were chosen through discussions with Town Planning staff, and can serve as use-ful indicators of rural character. This exciting opportunity to develop new strate-gies for local development has two parts:

Jan-July 2005—Development of best prac-tices and language

July-Dec 2005—Community outreach with Planning staff to Town boards and

local developers This work builds on an earlier collaboration be-tween the Belmont Conservation Commission and NH Audubon in 2003 to identify important areas for conservation and social activity in town through a Three Infrastructures Analysis. The areas proposed this year for the Open Space Residential Development Overlay zone were in-formed by this analysis. For more information, please contact Candace Daigle or Rick Ball at the Belmont Town Offices (267.8300), or Katherine Hartnett, The Jordan Institute’226.1009, khanett@thejordaninstitute.org) or Carol Foss, NH Audubon 224.9909, foss@nhaudubon.org).

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Town of Belmont to Work With State and Regional Organizations on Practices to Balance Development and Rural Character

Submitted by Candace Daigle

Bonnie Kelley, Regional Director Allstaff Contract Services, Inc.

930 Laconia Rd., Suite 6, PO Box 288 Belmont, NH 03220

www.allstaffcorp.com Email: bonnie@allstaffcorp.com Specializing in Temp, Temp-Perm and Permanent placements in a wide

variety of industries. Phone: 603-267-7492 Fax: 603-267-8745

U job!Gmfnjoh!Sfdfjwft!Bxbse!In December, Tina Fleming was awarded Bel-mont’s Volunteer of the Year Award. She says this was an unexpected honor that would not have been possible without the hard work of the rest of the Recreation Committee members. “I appreciate being recognized for such an honor, but I share it with these other members, Rob Court, Brian Loanes, Jeff Marden, Phil Wardner, Teri Wardner and Gretta Olson-Wilder,” Fleming said.

According to Ms. Fleming, when the Recreation Committee came together in the spring of 2004,these seven members brought unique per-spectives and backgrounds that helped to de-velop many great programs and projects last year, as well as to begin plans for the year to come. Ms. Fleming also reflected on volunteers who are no longer with us. “We have lost volun-teers in our community recently such as Pete Poire, Hyman Steiman and Arthur Horan. They also gave many volunteer hours to make Belmont a great place to live.”

Uif!OI!Tubuf!Dpnnjuuff!po!Bhjoh!!

xfmdpnft!Kvez!Qjmmjpe The State Committee on Aging (SCOA) repre-sents the needs of senior citizens to state admin-istrators and policymakers, facilitates participa-tion by consumers in the program planning proc-ess and works closely with other advocacy groups on senior issues. A graduate of the Laconia Hospital School of Nursing, Judy Pilliod’s extensive nursing experi-ence included 12 years of work with persons with disabilities. She has been active in many senior groups and community organizations in Belknap County and in the town of Belmont and currently serves on the board of Community Health and Hospice of Laconia. Pilliod chaired the Belknap Area Committee on Aging and also Co-Chaired the Senior Collabora-tion Committee, which coordinates the common concerns of New Hampshire’s Area Committees

on Aging. Currently she serves as a member of the Steering Committee for Belknap County Ser-vice Link and is on the advisory board of the Ag-ing and Disability Resource Center for Service-Link. Commenting on her appointment to SCOA, Pil-liod said: “This is a time of change for residents of New Hampshire, and I feel that we should ap-proach change with an open mind and a watchful eye. The State Committee on Aging is well placed to make a difference in the lives of senior citizens, promoting when needed, and protecting when threatened, I am honored to have this op-portunity to work with the members of SCOA, the staff of Elderly and Adult Services, and our legis-lators.”

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At the Greater Laconia/Weirs Beach Chamber of Commerce's 86th Annual Meeting and Dinner, John Bancroft, owner of J&J Printing, received the J. Bart Connors award. Jim Cailler, 2004 chamber president, presented the award to John for his outstanding volunteer efforts. John has played a key role in producing the Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory, Tourism Bro-chure and Annual Dinner invitations. This one time board member has also volunteered in the preparation and coordination of many major Chamber events.

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Belmont Celebrates It’s Volunteers

Mr. Bancroft accepts the J. Bart Connors award during the Chamber of Commerce’s

Annual Meeting and dinner.

Our trip began in San Diego where we visited with our daughter Amy and son-in-law Shehan for a few days before departing on our overseas adventure. We arrived in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka in the early hours of December 23rd. We went immediately from the airport to She-han’s parents’ farm in Maningamuwa, a very small village northeast of Colombo. Shehan’s parents, Asoka and Chandra, live in Colombo but spend much time in the villages of Maninga-muwa and Yakwila where they have another farm. Asoka is a retired doctor who loves experi-menting on his farms. He grows mostly coco-nuts and pineapples and also selectively har-vests teak . He is currently experimenting with new processes to extract coconut oil. Our trip to the interior included visits to Anarad-naopura, the first capital of Sri Lanka, dating back to 500BC, Pollanaruwa, the second capital, from 10,000to 12,000 AD and Sigiriya, a fortress built on top of an incredibly huge and high rock. We also went on a jeep safari, looking for ele-phants. It was after this excursion that we first heard of the tsunami. The local news was vague and it was not until we heard from our daughter Jenn that we had an idea of the extent of this disaster. We had planned to visit Yala, the game park on the southern coast that was destroyed by the tsunami. Ironically, after we made our initial travel plans , we had to change them by four days, due to a conflict in Amy and Shehan’s schedule. Our original plans would have put us in Yala the day the tsunami hit! Amy and Shehan lost a dear friend, a Sri Lankan woman who they met when they lived in Chi-cago. She and her daughter were visiting rela-tives and they were on the train that was swept off the tracks by the tsunami. Her daughter was able to get out, but she didn’t make it. Her death, for all of us, truly personalized the trag-edy.

Although all of us were willing to help in any way, everyone but emergency workers were asked to stay away from the devastated area, We spent our remaining days at Asoka’s home in Co-lombo, and the farm at Maningamuwa. We had a wonderful experience on the evening of New Years Day. We all went to the Buddhist temple near the farm, for a traditional evening ceremony. There were about a hundred villag-ers and they all graciously involved us in their ceremony! It was very moving! Although we visited several historic sites, our best days were spent with the native villagers. In spite of their poor living conditions, they are friendly and open. We met a world-class mara-thon runner who can’t afford to buy more than two pair of second-rate shoes a year. Amy was able to connect him with the San Diego Track Club who will find ways to provide him with enough good shoes. Craig met a wood worker who has trouble finding building plans. It is such an easy thing for Craig to send him shop draw-ings from his woodworking magazines and Ra-nasingha is so appreciative. We also met a young man, Krishan, who volunteers his time to work with village children whose public school English instruction is inadequate. We have been corresponding with him, to find ways to help with that effort. Sri Lanka , like so many other affected countries, was a poor country before the tsunami hit Friends have asked us how they can help. We have given them a website to check out, http://www.sarvodaya.org/donate.html. This is a Sri Lankan based charitable agency that has a very good reputation. The recovery effort will take several years. . We hope that people will remem-ber to continue to help in any way they can in the coming months. We look forward to going back soon. It is truly a beautiful island, with beautiful people.

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Local Couple Describes Visit To Sri Lanka Submitted by Jan Briggs

Note: Jan Briggs was the music teacher at Belmont Elementary School for many years.

What do you expect to find when you go to a library? Books, books and more books? Anti-quated card catalog files and a hushed environ-ment? Along with the history and traditional en-vironment, Belmont Public Library also offers a variety of services, materials and technology to assist library patrons. The building itself, built in 1927, is on the Na-tional Register of Historic Places and is beauti-ful, with finely detailed woodwork and lovely fire-places. History and antiquity have an important place in the community, but libraries need to move forward and be able to offer new tech-nologies and more diverse services to the pub-lic. New ideas and technology create new ways of sharing information. Books comprise the largest part of the Library’s holdings, numbering about 13,000 in print for-mat and new titles are being added constantly. The children’s collection is continuously up-dated as new illustrators and authors release wonderful new books. The format of the books changes also. Non-print books, such as audio books on cassettes and on compact disks are always being added. Large-print books are available. A wide variety of magazines with topics such as consumer ad-vice, national and world news, fashion and cooking trends are also available to borrow or to enjoy in the library. Daily newspapers bring the latest world and local news to library patrons. We also have a modest collection of videos, in VHS format for adults and for children. But wait!! There’s more!! The Library has com-puters with internet access, numerous data-bases, virtual libraries, search engines and word processing software available to the pub-lic. The “card catalog”, once a library necessity, is now on a computer as well, and is quick and easy to use. For people who are not comfortable with this technology, there is help. Though there is not

space to actually set up classes, a member of the Library staff can show anyone how to use the online-catalog, set up a word document, start an e-mail account or just navigate the “web”. Need to send a fax? Make photocopies? The Library has a fax machine and a photocopier for the public to use. The small fee of twenty-five cents or a dime helps defray costs of printing and there is assistance for anyone who is unfa-miliar with the mechanics. Besides all that, we offer story times for pre-schoolers and help with research. If you need something from another library, we can request it for you. When you are unable to leave your home, we can bring books to your door. The Library belongs to everyone in the community. In order to continue to improve our services, we need your input? What would you like to see changed? How can the Library best serve you? Extended hours? Expanded collections of books or non-print materials? More programs? Better accessibility? Some changes would re-quire adding on to our existing building. This would allow us to acquire more materials, add more computers, have more room for programs and gatherings and improve our accessibility for all residents. Other changes are simpler and could easily be incorporated into our current building and programs. Please share your ideas and your time and be-

come an active part-ner in Belmont Pub-lic Library’s move into a bright future. After all, it’s YOUR Library!

The Belmont Public Library— A Wonderful Resource For All

Submitted by Jackie Jackie Gardner

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• Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10 a.m. –4 p.m.

• Tuesday & Thursday 12 noon – 7 p.m.

• Saturday 9 a.m. –1 p.m.

• Children’s Preschool Story Time is on Wednesday at 10:30.

We hope to see you soon.

Library Hours

Community Calendar of Events March 6 Harlem Rockets Game Belmont High School 4:00 p.m.

March 7 Selectman Meeting Corner Meeting House 5:00 p.m.

March 8 Town Elections Belmont Middle School 8:00 a.m.— 7:00 p.m.

March 10 SRSD School Board Meeting Belmont High School 6:00 p.m.

March 12 Town Meeting Belmont Middle School 9:00 a.m.

March 15 BMS/BHS Chorus Concert Belmont Middle School 7:00 p.m.

March 17 BBO/UNO’s Fundraiser Uno’s Restaturant All day

March 18 School District Meeting Belmont Middle School 6:00 p.m.

March 19 BBO softball/baseball tryouts Belmont High School 8:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.

March 19 Hypnosis Show Belmont High School 6:30 p.m.

March 21 Selectmen Meeting Corner Meeting House 5:00 pm

March 23 Cabaret Concert Belmont High School 7:00 p.m.

March 23 Zoning Board Meeting Corner Meeting House 7:00 p.m.

March 26 Easter Egg Hunt Sargent Park TBA

March 28 Planning Board Meeting Corner Meeting House 7:00 p.m.

March 28 Kindergarten Registration Week Belmont Elementary School 9:30 a.m.—11:30 a.m.

March 30 Colossum Chorus Concert Belmont High School 7:00 p.m.

April 1/2 BMS Drama Presentation Belmont Middle School 7:00 p.m.

April 4 Selectmen Meeting Corner Meeting House 5:00 p.m.

April 13 SRSD Monster Concert Belmont High School 7:00 p.m.

April 14 School Board Meeting Canterbury Elementary 6:00 p.m.

April 14 Open House/Art Show/Science Fair Faith Christian Academy 6:30—8:00

April 15 BEST sponsored Family Dinner Belmont Elementary School 5:30 p.m.

April 15/16 BHS Drama Production Belmont High School 7:00 p.m.

April 16 BBO Field Clean Up Day Bryant Field/ BES Field TBA

April 18 Selectmen Meeting Corner Meeting House 5:00 p.m.

April 20 Grade 4 Drama Presentation Belmont Elementary School 6:00 p.m.

April 25 Planning Board Meeting Corner Meeting House 7:00 p.m.

April 27 Zoning Board Meeting Corner Meeting House 7:00 p.m.

April 30 BBO Opening Day Bryant Field TBA

May 2 Selectmen Meeting Corner Meeting House 5:00 p.m.

May 12 School Board Meeting Belmont Middle School 6:00 p.m.

May 16 Selectmen Meeting Corner Meeting House 5:00 p.m.

May 18 Spring Pops Concert Belmont High School 7:00 p.m.

May 20 Senior Class Auction Belmont High School 6:00 p.m.

May 23 Planning Board Meeting Corner Meeting House 7:00 p.m.

May 24 BES Spring Concert Belmont Elementary School 6:00 p.m.

May 25 Zoning Board Meeting Corner Meeting House 7:00 p.m.

Please note these dates and times are subject to change. P A G E 2 7

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