Newfound recall's Ross's license plante, which spoke volumes about her
BRISTOL — Nearly 300 people gathered at the high school here Saturday to honor the life and career of Dr. Marie Ross, an award-winning educator whose trademark signature was her "Be Kind" license plate, which, for most of those assembled to pay tribute to her, summed up what kind of person she was, what her true character was and what her goals were in life.
Ross, 58, had served as superintendent of schools in the Newfound Area School District since the fall of 2005 until she suffered what was an apparent stroke in late September while visiting with family members in Maryland. She appeared to be recovering when it was found that she had terminal cancer and she died on January 12.
Awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Science and the N.H. Elementary Science Teacher of the Year, Ross raised four children and was a stay-at-home-mom before before beginning her teaching career in the late 1980s at Grace Christian School in Merrimack as an elementary school math and science teacher. She would later teach in public schools in Merrimack and Nashua before becoming a school administrator and was assistant superintendent of schools in Laconia from 2002-2005 before becoming superintendent in the seven-town Newfound District.
Her tenure there came during tumultuous times in the school district, which culminated last year with a $2 million, 10 percentcut in the district's operating budget and the district becoming the first in the state to adopt a property tax cap. She had been interviewed for the superintendency of the neighboring Inter-Lakes School District in April of last year and was one of two finalists for that position.
Pastor Scott Mitchell of the New Hampton Community Church, which Ross attended, said that she had had ''a profound impact on our lives and this community'' and accomplished that through ''a fantastic display of love and caring.''
Newfound High School Assistant Principal Paul Hoiriis, said that she had profoundly touched his life through the confidence she had shown in him and read from a letter he had sent to her on Nov. 25 last year, which she had requested that he read at her memorial service and in which he had written ''you are one of my heroes.''
"Not many people can say they had 1,500 students and she knows all of them by their first name," said Hoiriis.
Eric Chase, principal at Newfound Memorial Middle School, likened Ross to ''the big sister I had never had'' and joked that she had smacked him on the top of his bald head when he had tried to tell her that but had mistakenly said ''mother'' instead of ''sister.''
Chase also said that she was ''the caretaker of everyone that she ever met and passionate about a life that makes a difference.''
He said that the superintendent's role often puts that person in the forefront of controversies, making them targets for people who viewed them ''much like a dog regards a fire hydrant'' and that had happened in the school district in recent years.
He said there was ''lingering resentment over the way she was treated. But if she could forgive the dart throwers, as she would, then we should follow her example.''
Chase said that he had at first been skeptical when he saw Ross's ''Be Kind'' license plate but grew to realize that was who she truly was.
"That phrase preceded her by seven feet everywhere she went. For Marie, 'Be Kind' was core, not artifice,'' said Chase.
Tears flowed freely throughout the ceremony and boxes of facial tissues were distributed throughout the audience.
Family members spoke at the ceremony, including her daughter Erin Watson who said her mother ''wanted there to be lots of hugs and lots and lots of food at the remembrance ceremony."
Another daughter Marina MacDonald, said that family members, after discovering that her illness was terminal, asked is there was one special wish that she had and Ross said she wanted to buy three pianos for her grandchildren.
''She said she wanted to watch them play from heaven,'' said MacDonald.
CAPTIONS
Nearly 300 people attended a ceremony at Newfound Regional High School Saturday honoring former School Superintendent Dr. Marie Ross. (Roger Amsden photo for the Laconia Daily Sun)
Newfound High School Assistant Principal Paul Hoiriis, right, fights back tears at a ceremony at Newfound Regional High School Saturday honoring former School Superintendent Dr. Marie Ross. With him are Eric Chase, Newfound Memorial Middle School principal, and Andrea Chase. (Roger Amsden photo for the Laconia Daily Sun)
Ross, 58, had served as superintendent of schools in the Newfound Area School District since the fall of 2005 until she suffered what was an apparent stroke in late September while visiting with family members in Maryland. She appeared to be recovering when it was found that she had terminal cancer and she died on January 12.
Awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Science and the N.H. Elementary Science Teacher of the Year, Ross raised four children and was a stay-at-home-mom before before beginning her teaching career in the late 1980s at Grace Christian School in Merrimack as an elementary school math and science teacher. She would later teach in public schools in Merrimack and Nashua before becoming a school administrator and was assistant superintendent of schools in Laconia from 2002-2005 before becoming superintendent in the seven-town Newfound District.
Her tenure there came during tumultuous times in the school district, which culminated last year with a $2 million, 10 percentcut in the district's operating budget and the district becoming the first in the state to adopt a property tax cap. She had been interviewed for the superintendency of the neighboring Inter-Lakes School District in April of last year and was one of two finalists for that position.
Pastor Scott Mitchell of the New Hampton Community Church, which Ross attended, said that she had had ''a profound impact on our lives and this community'' and accomplished that through ''a fantastic display of love and caring.''
Newfound High School Assistant Principal Paul Hoiriis, said that she had profoundly touched his life through the confidence she had shown in him and read from a letter he had sent to her on Nov. 25 last year, which she had requested that he read at her memorial service and in which he had written ''you are one of my heroes.''
"Not many people can say they had 1,500 students and she knows all of them by their first name," said Hoiriis.
Eric Chase, principal at Newfound Memorial Middle School, likened Ross to ''the big sister I had never had'' and joked that she had smacked him on the top of his bald head when he had tried to tell her that but had mistakenly said ''mother'' instead of ''sister.''
Chase also said that she was ''the caretaker of everyone that she ever met and passionate about a life that makes a difference.''
He said that the superintendent's role often puts that person in the forefront of controversies, making them targets for people who viewed them ''much like a dog regards a fire hydrant'' and that had happened in the school district in recent years.
He said there was ''lingering resentment over the way she was treated. But if she could forgive the dart throwers, as she would, then we should follow her example.''
Chase said that he had at first been skeptical when he saw Ross's ''Be Kind'' license plate but grew to realize that was who she truly was.
"That phrase preceded her by seven feet everywhere she went. For Marie, 'Be Kind' was core, not artifice,'' said Chase.
Tears flowed freely throughout the ceremony and boxes of facial tissues were distributed throughout the audience.
Family members spoke at the ceremony, including her daughter Erin Watson who said her mother ''wanted there to be lots of hugs and lots and lots of food at the remembrance ceremony."
Another daughter Marina MacDonald, said that family members, after discovering that her illness was terminal, asked is there was one special wish that she had and Ross said she wanted to buy three pianos for her grandchildren.
''She said she wanted to watch them play from heaven,'' said MacDonald.
CAPTIONS
Nearly 300 people attended a ceremony at Newfound Regional High School Saturday honoring former School Superintendent Dr. Marie Ross. (Roger Amsden photo for the Laconia Daily Sun)
Newfound High School Assistant Principal Paul Hoiriis, right, fights back tears at a ceremony at Newfound Regional High School Saturday honoring former School Superintendent Dr. Marie Ross. With him are Eric Chase, Newfound Memorial Middle School principal, and Andrea Chase. (Roger Amsden photo for the Laconia Daily Sun)
Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 03:44
Hits: 294
State union asks Worsman for any records pertaining to GOP budget caucus
LACONIA — The State Employees' Association of New Hampshire (SEA) has asked Rep. Colette Worsman (R-Meredith), who chairs the Belknap County Convention, to provide copies of any and all records of her meetings with members of the convention about the 2013 county budget that were held without public notice.
The SEA represents employees of the Belknap County Sheriff's Department, Corrections Department and Nursing Home in contract negotiations currently underway and has followed the convention's public deliberations of the county budget proposed by the County Commission.
Brian Hawkins, government relations coordinator of the SEA, said yesterday that the request under the "Right-To-Know" law was filled out of concern that decisions about how to conduct the budget process and deal with specific appropriations were discussed and reached out of the public eye.
Worsman said that she had not seen the request and could not comment about it.
Worsman and other Republicans have acknowledged they held one private caucus to discuss county budget matters but point out that the Right-To-Know law specifically exempts caucuses held by members of the same political party, if the office holders were elected on a partisan basis.
The SEA represents employees of the Belknap County Sheriff's Department, Corrections Department and Nursing Home in contract negotiations currently underway and has followed the convention's public deliberations of the county budget proposed by the County Commission.
Brian Hawkins, government relations coordinator of the SEA, said yesterday that the request under the "Right-To-Know" law was filled out of concern that decisions about how to conduct the budget process and deal with specific appropriations were discussed and reached out of the public eye.
Worsman said that she had not seen the request and could not comment about it.
Worsman and other Republicans have acknowledged they held one private caucus to discuss county budget matters but point out that the Right-To-Know law specifically exempts caucuses held by members of the same political party, if the office holders were elected on a partisan basis.
Last Updated on Saturday, 19 January 2013 04:37
Hits: 219
Reps want county to pay legal bill for registrar of deeds; committee adds $5,200 to 2013 budget
Written by Roger Amsden
LACONIA — A subcommittee of the Belknap County Convention voted Friday morning to add a line item to the Register of Deeds budget for $5,200 to pay legal fees incurred by Registrar Barbara Luther in her dispute with Belknap County Commissioners over accounting procedures.
The unanimous vote of the subcommittee came after a brief discussion in which Rep. Richard Burchell (R-Gilmanton) said that the county should pay the bill ''out of elemental fairness.'' Burchell said the explanations offered by the commission about the eventual settlement which was reached were ''disingenuous.''
County Administrator Debra Shackett said that the county took legal action against Luther to compel her to adopt procedures recommended by the county's auditors which would have required her to close the registry's bank accounts and deposit the taxes and fees it collects directly into the county general fund.
''The county asked for cooperation but didn't get it,'' said Shackett in defense of the commissioners' decision to file legal action.
But Burchell said that the settlement which had been reached last summer didn't really change anything. "To our knowledge the same procedure she had been following remained in place. $18,000 later and we're no better off than we were. She (Luther) continues to hold all the money collected and cuts one check at the end of the month to the state and one to the county.''
During the dispute, which began in May of 2011, Luther, maintained that the state law only required her to transfer funds from the registry's account to the county treasurer every month. She also balked at claims of the commission's authority over her office, maintaining that she was an elected official and that the registry was independent, not a department of county government.
The settlement which was announced last August allowed the existing checking account used by the Register of Deeds to be continued and required that any checks or withdrawals from that account be signed by the Register of Deeds and the Belknap County Treasurer.
It also established procedures for the daily handling of payments and operations at the office.
Commissioners said at the time that the settlement was consistent with recommended best accounting practices and removed a negative comment from the county audit.
Attorney Paul Fitzgerald represented the county in the negotiations while Luther was represented by attorney Philip McLaughlin.
Last month Luther requested that the county pay the $5,200 in legal fees that she had incurred and the commissioners said that was being negotiated by Fitzgerald and McLaughlin.
The vote on a motion by Rep. Ruth Gullick (D-New Hampton) to add a line item to the budget under the heading legal for $5,200 was unanimous with Burchell, Rep. Frank Tilton (R-Laconia) and Rep. Robert Greemore (R-Meredith) in support.
Commission Chairman John Thomas, who attended the subcommittee meeting, said after the meeting that the commission looked on the additional line item as a request from the County Delegation and that it has a history of accommodating such requests.
The subcommittee also increased the revenue estimate from the Registry of Deeds office from $600,000 to $700,000 after Tilton, who chaired the subcommittee, asked ''is it realistic or can we be less conservative?''
The subcommittee also reduced the amount budgeted for heat in the county maintenance budget from $98,000 to $90,000. Dustin Muzzey, facilities manager, said that a switch to natural gas boilers at the county courthouse is helping to lower heating costs.
The convention holds a public hearing on its overall budget recommendations on Monday night at 5 p.m. at the county complex.
The unanimous vote of the subcommittee came after a brief discussion in which Rep. Richard Burchell (R-Gilmanton) said that the county should pay the bill ''out of elemental fairness.'' Burchell said the explanations offered by the commission about the eventual settlement which was reached were ''disingenuous.''
County Administrator Debra Shackett said that the county took legal action against Luther to compel her to adopt procedures recommended by the county's auditors which would have required her to close the registry's bank accounts and deposit the taxes and fees it collects directly into the county general fund.
''The county asked for cooperation but didn't get it,'' said Shackett in defense of the commissioners' decision to file legal action.
But Burchell said that the settlement which had been reached last summer didn't really change anything. "To our knowledge the same procedure she had been following remained in place. $18,000 later and we're no better off than we were. She (Luther) continues to hold all the money collected and cuts one check at the end of the month to the state and one to the county.''
During the dispute, which began in May of 2011, Luther, maintained that the state law only required her to transfer funds from the registry's account to the county treasurer every month. She also balked at claims of the commission's authority over her office, maintaining that she was an elected official and that the registry was independent, not a department of county government.
The settlement which was announced last August allowed the existing checking account used by the Register of Deeds to be continued and required that any checks or withdrawals from that account be signed by the Register of Deeds and the Belknap County Treasurer.
It also established procedures for the daily handling of payments and operations at the office.
Commissioners said at the time that the settlement was consistent with recommended best accounting practices and removed a negative comment from the county audit.
Attorney Paul Fitzgerald represented the county in the negotiations while Luther was represented by attorney Philip McLaughlin.
Last month Luther requested that the county pay the $5,200 in legal fees that she had incurred and the commissioners said that was being negotiated by Fitzgerald and McLaughlin.
The vote on a motion by Rep. Ruth Gullick (D-New Hampton) to add a line item to the budget under the heading legal for $5,200 was unanimous with Burchell, Rep. Frank Tilton (R-Laconia) and Rep. Robert Greemore (R-Meredith) in support.
Commission Chairman John Thomas, who attended the subcommittee meeting, said after the meeting that the commission looked on the additional line item as a request from the County Delegation and that it has a history of accommodating such requests.
The subcommittee also increased the revenue estimate from the Registry of Deeds office from $600,000 to $700,000 after Tilton, who chaired the subcommittee, asked ''is it realistic or can we be less conservative?''
The subcommittee also reduced the amount budgeted for heat in the county maintenance budget from $98,000 to $90,000. Dustin Muzzey, facilities manager, said that a switch to natural gas boilers at the county courthouse is helping to lower heating costs.
The convention holds a public hearing on its overall budget recommendations on Monday night at 5 p.m. at the county complex.
Last Updated on Saturday, 19 January 2013 04:14
Hits: 147
New Huot Center building is about half-way home
LACONIA — The construction portion of the Huot Regional Technical Education Center addition is more than half completed, reported the construction team to the Joint Building Committee yesterday.
The construction phase of the project was budgeted at $13,940,273 and to date $7,338,116 or 46.19 percent of the budgeted amount has been spent.
Of the $550,000 contingency fund, change orders have amounted $90,085 leaving $459,925 to see the project through to completion.
The JBC also asked for an artists rendering for retrofitting the windows in the front of the existing buildings to be more compatible with those in the new building. The window replacement, that could cost between $300,000 and $500,000 depending on what contractors find when they remove the old windows, will be more energy efficient and may result in rebates from the gas company.
The rendering and estimated costs will be made available to the JBC next week and contractor said they would like solicit bids for the windows.
As for the actual construction, Superintendent Bob Champlin said the roof top units have been lowered on to the top of the building and are similar in size to the ones at the Laconia Middle School.
Inside, work continues apace and Champlin reported that construction companies began installing windows yesterday.
Tomorrow, Harvey Construction will have 10 sheet metal workers inside and the staging will come down from the front of the new building next week.
City Councilor Matt Lahey said the capital campaign, which has raised so far between $750,000 to $800,000 will begin in earnest now that the holidays are past.
He said there will be a presentation on January 24 at 3 p.m. at the Taylor Community and one at a later day at the Congregational Church.
An open house of the already renovated spaces in the old Huot Center is scheduled for February 12, in the afternoon.
The construction phase of the project was budgeted at $13,940,273 and to date $7,338,116 or 46.19 percent of the budgeted amount has been spent.
Of the $550,000 contingency fund, change orders have amounted $90,085 leaving $459,925 to see the project through to completion.
The JBC also asked for an artists rendering for retrofitting the windows in the front of the existing buildings to be more compatible with those in the new building. The window replacement, that could cost between $300,000 and $500,000 depending on what contractors find when they remove the old windows, will be more energy efficient and may result in rebates from the gas company.
The rendering and estimated costs will be made available to the JBC next week and contractor said they would like solicit bids for the windows.
As for the actual construction, Superintendent Bob Champlin said the roof top units have been lowered on to the top of the building and are similar in size to the ones at the Laconia Middle School.
Inside, work continues apace and Champlin reported that construction companies began installing windows yesterday.
Tomorrow, Harvey Construction will have 10 sheet metal workers inside and the staging will come down from the front of the new building next week.
City Councilor Matt Lahey said the capital campaign, which has raised so far between $750,000 to $800,000 will begin in earnest now that the holidays are past.
He said there will be a presentation on January 24 at 3 p.m. at the Taylor Community and one at a later day at the Congregational Church.
An open house of the already renovated spaces in the old Huot Center is scheduled for February 12, in the afternoon.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 21:12
Hits: 107
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