LACONIA — The City Council this week joined with a number of other municipalities across the state in urging Governor Maggie Hassan to restore funding for the State Aid Grant (SAG) program, which assists cities and towns in financing wastewater and drinking water projects as well as landfill closures.
Administered by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the program defrays between 20-percent and 30-percent of the principal and interest payments on borrowings to finance these projects.
In October 2008, the Legislature suspended appropriations for the program, which has gone without funding for the past four fiscal years. Some 124 eligible projects, including 100 wastewater projects worth $46-million, 17 drinking water projects worth $7.5-million and seven landfill closures worth $800,000.
As a member of the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program, Laconia bears 40-percent of the cost of its capital projects and has received no assistance in servicing the debt on its $1,080,000 share of a $2.7-million wastewater project.
The council unanimously resolved to urge its representatives and state senator to restore the funding and, in a separate letter to the governor, asked her to include the necessary appropriation in the budget she will present to the Legislature next month. Myers said that the appropriation would be more secure as part of the governor's budget than if it had to be added to the budget in the course of the process.

MEREDITH — Jack Carty, veteran member of the Inter-Lakes School Board, will not run for a fourth consecutive term as a representative of Meredith. His term expires in March.
One of the seats representing Center Harbor is also up for re-election this year.
Mark Billings has registered to run for the seat being vacated by Carty. Sally Whalen, the incumbent board member from Center Harbor, has registered to run for re-election. Both seats are for three-year terms.
Other residents of Center Harbor or Meredith who wish to register their candidacy with the Inter-Lakes School District office have until the close of business on Friday to do so.
Carty traced his interest in education back to his 20-year service in the U.S. Navy. Education, he said, "was part of the fiber of the Navy. We were always training, always learning, because we were in the real world." He first served on the Inter-Lakes School Board in the mid-1980s as an appointee to fulfill a partial term. He won re-election to a full term, serving about four and a half years during that decade, all in the role of the at-large representative.
Carty's recent tenure, representing Meredith, began nine years ago. Yesterday, he said that serving three full terms was enough. "I've been at it for nine years now. If you do it right, it takes a tremendous amount of dedication and time. In my mind, if you're going to do it, you jump in and get all wet... It's time for other people to step up and do it."
Asked about the possibility of being succeeded by Billings, Carty said, "Mark is a very smart guy and he's very dedicated to his community." Carty also thought it would be beneficial for the district to have someone like Billings, who comes from a business career, as a balance to the retired educators on the board. "I think that somebody that comes from the community at large, from the business community, it brings a great deal of opportunity for the school system."
Looking back on his school board career, Carty said he was pleased to see Inter-Lakes graduates become recruited and accepted by prestigious post-graduate institutions. For those looking to transition from school to employment, Carty co-founded, with Sen. Jeannie Forrester, the Career Partnership Program. Another accomplishment he had a hand in was the construction of the state-of-the art athletic field at the high school. During his tenure, he enjoyed seeing Steve Kelley named the state's Principal of the Year, the Inter-Lakes Elementary School as the 2009 School of Excellence, and this year, teacher Deborah Dixon recognized as one of the best teachers in the state.
Beyond administrators, schools and teachers, though, Carty said, "The bottom line is kids. Are we getting there? Are we motivating and educating and challenging the kids? Because life is not going to be easy for them."
Looking forward, Carty expected his successor to have to wrestle with the perennial challenge of budget construction as well as increasing federal regulation, and to figure out what the right staffing levels are for a school district that has seen slow but steady declining enrollment. "We have to be very vigilant about employee bloat," he said.
He also hoped to see the school district become lighter on its feet. "The education system has to be more nimble in addressing how the world is — they tend to get locked into things and change comes slow." Late-breaking world events, such as the revolutions of the Arab Spring, he said, are shaping the world graduates will enter although the lessons may not yet be incorporated into curriculum. "The world is not going to sit and wait while we study traditional, older stuff."
Carty said he considered himself "lucky" to have had so many years on the Inter-Lakes School Board. "I consider it a privilege to serve the community," he said.

GILMANTON — Former Selectman Elizabeth "Betty" Abbott has filed to run again for a three-year term. The seat is currently held by Rachel Hatch who, as of Wednesday morning, has not signed up to try for another term.
According to the Town Clerk-Tax Collector Office, the two incumbents on the Budget Committee, Steven Bedard and Lynn Page, have both signed up for re-election.
As of yesterday, there were no candidates for a 1-year term for Library Trustee and the 1-year position for Town Treasurer. Thomas Scribner is running again for the 3-year seat on the Board of Library Trustees and Robert Burdett is running again for the position of Trustee of the Trust Funds.
On the Gilmanton School side, Kristyn Fishcev and Robert Carpenter have signed up for the two 3-year openings on the School Board and incumbent Malcolm McLoud has signed up for the one 2-year term.
School District Moderator Mark Sisti is running for re-election.
Candidates interested in running for local elections have until Friday at 5 p.m. to sign up at the Town Clerk-Tax Collector Office.