THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012
VOL. 21 NO. 3
BERLIN, N.H.
Group formed to target Gorham economy BY MELISSA GRIMA THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN — Ask and you shall receive. That’s what Gorham residents found out happens when you make specific suggestions for economic improvement. In response to requests from some Gorham citizens for more targeted economic development in their community, Housing and Economic Development Director for Tri-County CAP, Max Makaitis has formed a volunteer committee to do just that. “This is great because it will focus specific attention on the town of Gorham” he said. With 11 voting members and three ex officio members, all with ties to Gorham, the newly formed committee is set to have its first meeting on Monday, March 26 at 4 p.m., in the Gorham Public Library. Makaitis said the suggestion was made by Don Provencher at a meeting of the Gorham Selectmen in recent months. After that, Makaitis met with selectman David Graham and Provencher to
talk more about forming the committee and then he interviewed community leaders who suggested possible volunteers for the group. “I was very thrilled that everyone that I asked accepted,” Makaitis said. Since the committee is made up of community members and will create its own mission, objectives, rules, etc., Makaitis said that it is early to say exactly what the specific goals of the group will be. “The committee is going to determine everything,” he explained. Their first hurdle, he said, will be working through the process of establishing their mission and goals. Then the key to success will be to stay focused toward achieving those established goals. “The effort that the committee collectively puts in is going to determine the outcome,” Makaitis said. Noting that Gorham has a very different demographic than Berlin, Makaitis said he believes this will be a beneficial move toward growing the the tax base by attracting business, creating jobs and retainsee ECONOMY page 15
Fourth grade highlights Eco-Friendly efforts BY MELISSA GRIMA THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
GORHAM – A group of fourth graders from Ed Fenn School showed little trepidation on Tuesday evening as they presented their plans to make the elementary school more ecologically friendly, in front of the GRS Cooperative School Board. The students sang and danced, acted and presented posters that summarized their feelings on a number of problem areas and suggestions to improve the school’s carbon footprint, overall habits and outdoor habitat. The project was undertaken as part of the Eco-School pro-
gram, an international movement that is sponsored in the US by the National Wildlife Federation according to volunteer, Clare Fox. Fox is one of a team of people who worked with Patty Wethers’ fourth grade class to take steps toward becoming certified as an Eco-School. Certification comes through the progressive awarding of bronze, silver and green level awards, she explained. In order to qualify for the program the school put together a team that includes children from every grade, members of the staff, and community memsee ECO-FRIENDLY page 14
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kevin Smith is making the economy the top focus of his campaign. He stopped by the “Berlin Daily Sun” office for an interview yesterday while campaigning in Berlin and Gorham. (BARBARA TETREAULT PHOTO)
Smith campaigns for governor
in the Berlin-Gorham area BY BARBARA TETREAULT
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THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN-GORHAM – One day after releasing his economic plan for the state, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kevin Smith brought his economic message to the Berlin-Gorham area yesterday. Smith has made the economy the focus of his campaign and he spent the day touring the Gorham Paper and Tissue mill, attending an economic briefing at Tri-County Community Action Program, and visiting Androscoggin Valley Hospital and Gill’s Flower Shop. Smith said economic development has to occur across the state and that includes the North Country, which has struggled economically in recent years. He noted this is his seventeenth trip to the North Country since announcing his campaign for governor last November. Smith said he is learning about the economic challenges facing the region as well as some of its successes. In the latter category, he put Gorham Paper and Tissue, saying he was thrilled to see the volume of paper going through the mill and the new tissue
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machine being installed. Smith said the work ethic of the people in the North Country are its greatest asset and said he believes in government offering both tax and infrastructure incentives to get companies to invest in the state. “I don’t mind investing money upfront if it results in job creation,” he said. Smith said a long term vision for economic growth is needed and said he can offer that. Earlier this week, he released the first part of a four-part plan he said is designed to strengthen the state’s economy, create real and sustained job growth, and improve the state’s fiscal condition. He is calling for gradually reducing the Business Profits Tax from 8.5 percent to 5 percent and the Business Enterprise Tax from 75 percent to .25 percent over the period from 2013 to 2020. He would increase from $150,000 to $250,000 the revenue threshold for business to have to pay the BET and would eliminate the tax on small businesses with less than see SMITH page 14
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