TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012
VOL. 20 NO. 195
BERLIN, N.H.
Delegation will hold public hearing on county budget Friday March 2 BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
COOS COUNTY – In a break from tradition, the Coos County delegation has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed 2012 county budget for Friday, March 2, at 1 p.m. at the North Country Resource Center in Lancaster. The commission held a public hearing on the budget back in December. The delegation historically does not hold a separate hearing on the budget. But Delegation Chair John Tholl (R-Whitefield) noted the commission has made a lot of changes in the budget it originally presented. He said the delegation wanted to give the public another opportunity to comment on the budget before the body meets in Berlin on
Saturday, March 10 to approve a final budget. “We just wanted to have another meeting to go over that,” he said, stressing that the delegation wants to be as open and transparent as possible. In December the commission presented a proposed budget of $31.51 million. Since, then the commission had made a number of adjustments, increasing expenditures by $170,575. Many of the changes had to do with increases in worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance. The commission voted not to grant any wage increases although employees will receive step increases. The commissioners also revised revenue figures including a $600,000 increase in surplus to reduce taxes. Overall, the changes resulted in a see HEARING page 8
Telephone, Internet service out over six hours Friday BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
ANDROSCOGGIN VALLEY – Telephone service was out throughout most of the Androscoggin Valley for over six hours Friday night after a logging truck is believes to have clipped some fiber lines on Route 2 in the Riverton section of Jefferson. The outage also affected Internet customers of Fairpoint Communications and some cell phone providers as well. Telephone service was knocked out from Jefferson to Errol. The outage came near the end of the business
day for many local businesses. One woman reported her bank issued written deposit slips. Local restaurants posted signs advising customers they could not accept credit cards and people could not use credit cards at gas pumps. Most people were philosophical about the loss of phone and Internet service but expressed concern about the inability to make 911 emergency calls. Fairpoint Communications spokesman Jeff Nevins said the lines were cut sometime around 3:30 p.m. Sersee SERVICE page 8
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Higgins nabbed in drug bust Heather Higgins
BY MELISSA GRIMA THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN — A Berlin woman has been arrested and charged following an investigation into narcotics trafficking in the city. Heather Higgins, 28, of Cheshire Street in Berlin, faces charges of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute. Higgins was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 16, after the Berlin Police and NH Attorney General’s Drug Task Force executed a search warsee HIGGINS page 8
The 2012 State Welding Competition was hosted this year by Berlin High School. Participants included Mt. Washington Valley Career-Tech Center, Pinkerton Academy, Portsmouth Career-Tech Center, Seacost School of Tecnology and Berlin Regional Career & Technical Center. Students performed five practical exercises and were then judged on their work. The State Welding Competition helps student prepare for the nationals competition that happens later this year. (RITA DUBE PHOTO)
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