PLYMOUTH — Members of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) are receiving ballots by mail as voting opens for four seats on the company's Board of Directors.
Members have until Wednesday, June 5 at 4:30 p.m. to return their completed ballots to NHEC headquarters in Plymouth. A postage-paid return envelope is included in the ballot mailing. Winners of the Board election will be announced at the 74th Annual Meeting of Members, to be held June 11, 2013 at Prospect Hall on the campus of Plymouth State University.
Five candidates are seeking election this year to four seats on the Co-op's 11-member Board of Directors. All five candidates were nominated by the NHEC Nominating Committee, which reviews the qualifications of each candidate and recommends those it feels would best contribute to the successful operation of the Cooperative. All candidates are required to be members of the cooperative.
This year's candidates selected by the Nominating Committee include incumbent Board members Earl Hansen of Holderness, Jerry Hopkins of Moultonborough, Joseph Kwasnik of Jackson and Georgie Thomas of Intervale. Also nominated was Gerard Maughan of Tuftonboro, who has not previously served on the NHEC Board of Directors. NHEC members are receiving statements from the candidates in support of their candidacies along with a ballot.
Ballot counting will take place Thursday, June 6, 2013 at Co-op headquarters in Plymouth. Newly-elected Board members will be seated immediately following the Annual Meeting on June 11 and will serve three-year terms.
NHEC is a democratically controlled, not-for-profit electric distribution company serving 83,000 homes and businesses in 115 New Hampshire communities.

LACONIA — Police are investigating the Saturday night/Sunday morning theft of a pickup that is owned by a local business.
The truck was recovered in the Fireworks of Tilton parking lot early Sunday morning by a Tilton Police officer who was on routine patrol and thought the truck parked by itself was unusual.
The officer ran the plate and learned it was registered to Laconia Ice Company.
When Laconia and Tilton Police contacted the driver of the truck after it was recovered was when the victim first learned it had been stolen.
Tilton Police said Monday that they don't know why the truck was stolen from Laconia and dumped the same night in Tilton but said there have been incidents of vehicles being stolen and used to commit thefts and burglaries in the general area.
Laconia Police confirmed yesterday the truck was stolen and said the driver's door and the ignition switch had been tampered with. The investigating officers estimated the damage to be about $1,000.
Belmont Police confirmed yesterday there has been one theft of a motor from a boat at the Winnisquam Boat Storage and another call reporting a suspicious person in the area.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Laconia Police at 524-5252, the Belmont Police at 267-8350 or the Tilton Police at 286-4442. People can also call the Greater Laconia Crime Line at 524-1717.

TILTON — After serving as one of three commissioners of the Tilton-Northfield Fire District for the past 25 years, Tom Gallant tendered his resignation this week, citing his differences with Commissioner Pat Clark and "the antagonistic tenor" marking the last year.
Clark was re-elected to another term on the board in March.
In a letter to the commission released to the media, Gallant said that it has never been "my willful intention to act as an impediment to the district," then added that others view him differently. He noted that he considers his election to eight consecutive terms an indication that the voters believe he has done his job and done it well.
However, Gallant continued, "what I am faced with and ultimately what the district is faced with is illogical people who have had and are having illogical influences on the district." He said that the interests of the district have taken "a back seat and have become threatened by those who would seek to punish it because of a personal vendetta against Chief Ober." He praised Ober's leadership of the Fire Department, which he called "second to none in the entire Lakes Region, whose accomplishments have been achieved "in spite of the tenor that has been set by the majority of the Board of Commissioners."
"With the re-election of Commissioner (Pat) Clark," Gallant wrote, "it is brutally obvious that nothing will change," adding that Clark has contributed to an atmosphere that is "not only unproductive but unhealthy." He acknowledged his relationship with Clark is not healthy, professional or professional and that he could no longer be "a positive force" on a three-member board "heavily leveraged against me."
Resigning effective immediately, Gallant closed by remarking "it has been an honor to serve and I can assure you that I am not going away. I may not continue in an official capacity, but I will be present."
Gallant's differences with Clark arose over the imposition of a requirement that Ober, upon being appointed chief, reside within the district. When Ober was unable to sell his home in New Hampton, a deadline was set over Gallant's objections, and the chief, apparently facing dismissal, resolved the issue by renting an apartment inTilton at the eleventh hour.
The two then quarreled over the preparation of the district budget.