THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011
VOL. 20 NO. 25
BERLIN, N.H.
752-5858
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Shaheen urges funding for prison Selectmen seeking BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen is calling on the federal Department of Justice to find funding in its current budget to open the newly completed federal prison in Berlin. In a letter to Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Shaheen urged the department to include funding to activate the 1,280-bed facility in its spending plan for the remainder of fiscal 2011. The department said the compromise budget passed by Congress earlier this month did not include funds to open the prison. Shaheen said the department should prioritize funding to include money for the Berlin facility.
“We have a warden just waiting to hire staff. We have a prison system that is overcrowded. We have a community that desperately needs new jobs and an economic boost,î Shaheen said. ìYet, because of Washington’s broken budget process, the Bureau of Prisons is spending $4 million a year to keep a stateof-the-art prison empty.” Shaheen pointed out the federal prison system is 35 percent overcrowded and the Berlin facility would help address safety concerns by easing the overcrowding. In a phone interview, Shaheen said the continuing resolution passed by Congress last month contained see SHAHEEN page 8
to restart winter festival in Gorham BY CRAIG LYONS THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
GORHAM— The Gorham selectmen are seeking support for an idea to start a winter festival in town. To help further the idea of starting a winter festival in town, Selectman David Graham is starting to reach out to local businesses to see if they’d get behind the proposal. The idea behind the plan is to create another event in town for residents and attract people into the community. “The more people we can attract to the area the better it is for us,” said Graham. The idea for starting the winter festival, Graham said, came from all the things he heard about similar events in Lancaster and Jefferson. “People are always talking about these winter festivals,” said Graham. “Why don’t we have one of those, I thought.” Gorham has the facilities, including the common and the town hall, not to mention the restaurants, motels and shops to sustain a winter festival, said Graham. see FESTIVAL page 17
Route 110 charrette starts this Friday BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
The ever popular Brewtopia is set for Friday, April 29 at the White Mountain Chalet. Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce official Diana Nelson shows off some of the prizes for the Beer Crawl game. Each Brewtopia ticket holder will be eligible to receive a Beer Craw game card on the night of the event. Game card holders will have until May 31, 2011 to visit 12 chamber member establishments that serve the frosty cold beverages distributed by Brewtopia partner, White Mountain Distributors. Players who return their completed game card to the chamber office by the deadline will be entered into a drawing to be held June 1 for five valuable prizes including a golfing package, backyard BBQ package, tailgate BBQ package, Beer Crawl package, and a Buy Local-Be Local package. While no purchase is necessary to play, the chamber hopes participants will patronize local chamber member businesses. North Country Transit will be providing rides to and from Brewtopia. Call the chamber office at 752-6060 to schedule a pick-up from North Country Transit.
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BERLIN – A design charrette for Phase II of the Route 110 upgrade is being held Friday and Saturday and public participation and input is encouraged. The state Department of Transportation has hired Jeffrey Taylor and Associates to conduct the charrette, which will focus on ways to lessen the impact of the new truck route. After years of discussion and debate, the city has prevailed in getting its preferred route selected for Phase II from Wight Street to Green Street. The new route will skirt the neighborhood and consolidate the traffic in a more direct route, following the railroad corridor. It will require the taking of 29 properties and the potential relocation of 48 housing units. City Planner Pamela Laflamme said the new route will remove some of the curb cuts onto Route 110 and allow the neighborhood to feel more like a neighborhood than a truck route. “It will make that area feel very different than it does now,” she said. see CHARRETTE page 17
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