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...next Dre then 50
AP article..." New Hampshire town sees economic potential of timber as fuel"
hit the BDS today.
“The biomass plant is like cod liver
oil,” he said. “If we have to take it,
how can you sweeten it for us?”
even the hot dog salesman can't stop it now
........state ethics board?
gee.........only a coupla mill :(
someone is neck deep in $hit.....
from byte and chew...
Jon - It doesn't matter where the lie originated from but that you are knowingly repeating it. I am still waiting for the retraction in the BDS. Here is some more information you can add to your paper trail. Are you showing malicious intent well that is for a court to decide?
In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel, slander, and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. Slander refers to a malicious, false and defamatory spoken statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against groundless criticism. Related to defamation is public disclosure of private facts, which arises where one person reveals information that is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person. Or an untruthful oath.[1] "Unlike [with] libel, truth is not a defense for invasion of privacy."[2]
False light laws are "intended primarily to protect the plaintiff's mental or emotional well-being."[3] If a publication of information is false, then a tort of defamation might have occurred. If that communication is not technically false but is still misleading, then a tort of false light might have occurred.[3]
On Friday, February 13, 2009, the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case of Noonan v. Staples, that even a true statement, if made with malicious intent, could stand as the basis of a defamation suit. This ruling was based on a specific clause in Massachusetts libel law, allowing libel suits for true claims made in "actual malice." It does not, therefore, represent a precedent to overturn defamation jurisprudence in other jurisdictions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation
Also why do you think that every poster here is named Mike pretty strange if you ask me?
VOR
Posted by: Voice of reason | February 18, 2009 at 08:27 AM
as an elected official, has he burried Berlin too?
and an elected official......
http://www.berlinnh.gov/Pages/BerlinNH_BComm/assessors
MY PANTS ARE TIGHT!!!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEE!
wow... dude sorry to hear. the city fathers boned everyone with their latest round of taxes
My Pants Are Tight! Go LLEG!!!!!
you betcha baby!!!!!!! time to raid the piggy bank
Laidlaw officials express desire to work with city
BY BARBARA TETREAULT
THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN — The head of Laidlaw Energy
said his company wants to work with the city
in developing a 66-megawatt biomass plant
that can help pave the way for additional
economic development in Berlin.
Michael Bartoszek and three top company
officials spent about 90 minutes at Monday’s
council meeting discussing their company’s
plan to convert the former pulp mill boiler
into a state-of-the-art biomass energy facility.
Bartoszek said the project will convert a
brownfi eld site with signifi cant environmental
issues into a working asset for the city
and help make Berlin a leader in the production
of clean renewable energy.
He said converting the boiler to a biomass
facility will cost over $100 million. Laidlaw
has an agreement with local labor unions
to make sure a signifi cant portion of the
construction work goes to New Hampshire
workers.Once operating, Bartoszek said it will
employ 40 people with an annual payroll of
approximately $2 million. It will also spend
up to $25 million annually to purchase
the 750,000 tons of biomass the plant will
require. He estimated the facility will pay
about $1 million in property taxes annually.
Laidlaw has a memorandum of agreement
with Fraser Papers to sell the Cascade paper
mill hot water produced as a byproduct of
the biomass process.
Bartoszek offered to work with the city
to acquire the remaining 60 acres of the
mill site from North American Dismantling
Corporation. He proposed forming
a nonprofi t organization with a board of
directors, selected from a cross section of
the local business leaders and offi cials,
overseeing a redevelopment plan for the site. Bartoszek said Laidlaw is willing to
provide seed money for the entity and use
its resources to obtain additional funding.
The meeting attracted a crowd of
approximately 50 people - most supporters
of the proposal. Bartoszek said it took Laidlaw
longer than the company expected to
acquire the 60-acre site from North
American Dismantling Corporation
because of the environmental issues
and various obligations and encumbrances
on the site.
He noted that despite the distressed
national economy, Laidlaw was able
to close on funding for the project in
December. He said that fact “supports
both the merits of the project and the
people developing it”. He said the
funding is coming from a group of private
investors.
Bartoszek said Laidlaw is working
on its application to the N.H. Site
Evaluation Committee for a certifi cate
to construct and operate the biomass
plant. He introduced Attorney Barry
Needleman of Concord, an expert in
environmental permitting and compliance,
to explain the SEC process.
Needleman said projects over 30
megawatts are permitted by the state
Site Evaluation Committee which
consists of representatives of various
state agencies and departments. The
applicant must demonstrate adequate
financial, technical, and managerial
resources to both construct and operate
the proposed project. Needleman
said the entire process takes about
nine months.
Frequently, Needleman said the
host community and applicant will
negotiate a written set of stipulations
that become part of the certificate. The
host community can also chose to fi le
as an intervenor in the SEC process.
City Councilor Tom McCue said he
understood some issues still remain
until the control of the local zoning
and planning boards. Needleman said
that was not correct - he said the state
process pre-empts all local authority.
McCue said there are concerns
locally about noise, dust, and truck
traffi c if the biomass plant goes forward.
Since the pulp mill closed, he
said residents have gotten used to the
quiet.
Laidlaw Vice President of Planning
Louis Bravakis said those issues will
not be problems. He noted biomass
plants exist in tourist areas like Burlington,
Vt.
“Power plants are not a pulp mill,”
he said.
McCue said he was skeptical the
biomass plant will pay full property
taxes since others in the state do not.
He also questioned what happens if
the project does not go forward and
five years from now the boiler is still
sitting in the middle of the community.
He said the city has already lost
a “couple of years of opportunities”
because of the uncertainty over the
boiler.
“We just have a problem with the
location and use,” McCue said.
Bartoszek said the parties can stipulate
to property taxes but repeated
that he expects Laidlaw will be the
largest property taxpayer in the city.
He said Laidlaw is wants to work
with Berlin to jump start redevelopment
of the mill site. He said 40 of the
60 acres of the Laidlaw property will
be available for other businesses that
may benefit from steam and hot water
from the biomass plant. Bartoszek
noted his earlier offer to help form
a nonprofit entity to purchase the
remaining 60 acres owned by North
American Dismantling.
McCue asked about Laidlaw’s $ 10
million civil rights suit against the
town of Ellicottville, N.Y. He said it
appears the company’s legal counsel
has filed to withdraw from the case
over legal bills.
“That whole thing really bothers
me - the tenor of that whole thing,”
McCue said.
Bartoszek said his company has
spent three years and hundreds of
thousands of dollars working in good
faith on the Ellicottville co-generation
plant. He said Laidlaw feels it has
been treated unfairly by the town and
has sought to protect its rights.
Councilor Tim Cayer asked if Laidlaw
plans to burn anything other than
biomass in the boiler. Bravakis said
the company may burn some sawdust
and bark. Bartoszek said the air
permit that is issued will specify what
the company can burn.
Councilor Dick Lafleur asked why
Laidlaw had not met with the council
sooner. Bartoszek said the company
felt it was premature to come to the
council before they owned the site.
They closed on the purchase in late
December. But he noted they have
met with various local officials.
Mayor David Bertrand raised the
issue of whether Laidlaw has had a
wood study done to verify the availability
of wood for the plant. Bartoszek
said that will be performed as part of
the SEC process. Bertrand asked if the
study would take into account existing
facilities as well as potential projects.
Bartoszek said it would look at
the existing wood supply and demand
as well as future projections. He noted
the pulp and paper industry continues
to face hard times which may impact
future wood supplies.
Bravakis pointed out that pulp
prices have recently gone from his-toric highs to historic lows. He said Laidlaw would
encourage long-term contracts with loggers to stabilize
the logging industry.
Bartoszek was asked about Laidlaw’s relationship
with Public Service of N.H. He said the two parties
are in the process of finalizing a 20-year power
agreement.
“That is the extent of our relationship,” he said.
Bartoszek and Bravakis wrapped up the meeting
with the council by urging city officials to call with
questions and concerns.
“Our door is open,” said Bravakis, to a round of
applause from the crowd
Done Deal!........only he left out the part of the round of applause by the public
...................hupphhhh
any ever make their own home brew and how long it actually takes? you could drink pi$$ water after two weeks or ferment it properly and have a brew that would know you socks off. me i'd want my socks knocked off, you others can drink the pi$$
i found that out a few years back. that is if you hold a margin account and those shares are in the account, that your own broker will shorts your shares against you if they are not up for sale. dont just do it for DKAM but do it for all. and good till cancel. everyone checks them here everyday anyway
...........and just in case some sucker hits market hehehehe
Holders of DKAM, make sure every share you hold is up for sale. If you hold a margin account and they are not up for sale your own broker can short those shares against you. they must be up for sale at 4 times the ask. if everyone did this,,,,,,watch the fireworks
Boston..........hurrumph!!!!!
HURRRUMMMMPPPPPPUUUUUHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Berlin's gonna lose crap.....
Grenier warns city could
lose two big sewer customers
BY BARBARA TETREAULT
BERLIN — Former City Councilor
Paul Grenier warned the city is at risk of
losing two potentially large customers for
the wastewater treatment plant because
of the actions of its engineering consulting
fi rm.
Grenier said he worries that no one is
keeping an eye on Wright-Pierce and as
a result both the Bureau of Prisons and
the Androscoggin Valley Regional Refuse
Disposal District may decide not to connect
to the city’s sewer system.
He said at risk is as much as $600,000
a year in additional sewer revenue that
could cut sewer user rates.
“It seems like nobody in the upper
levels of the city is paying attention,” he
said yesterday in a phone interview. “I’m
attempting to save the city council from
themselves for the benefi t of the taxpayer.”
At Monday’s city council meeting, Grenier
charged Wright-Pierce with deliberately
raising issues during negotiations
with the AVRRDD to scare the district.
As a county commissioner, Grenier sits on
the board of the solid waste district.
The solid waste district is in the middle
of deciding how to handle the leachate
produced by the Mount Carberry landfi ll.
Grenier said the facility produces 75 gallons
of leachate per minute. He noted the
district has spent more than $18,000 to
hire Wright-Pierce to look at the cost of
having the leachate treated at the city’s
wastewater treatment plant.
Grenier said the district would have to
pretreat the leachate to remove some of
the ammonia before it could go into the
city’s system. But he said Wright-Pierce
has suggested the leachate also has arsenic
levels that must be addressed. Grenier
said arsenic levels are well below what
the N.H. Department of Environmental
Services will allow and charged Wright-
Pierce raised the issue of arsenic to scare
the district.
He questioned why Wright-Pierce feels
the city would have to add a 20-hour a
week position at the treatment plant to
handle the small fl ow generated by the
district’s leachate.
Wright-Pierce is estimating it will cost the district $5.5 million in capital costs to pretreat
the leachate, remove the heavy metals, and
do the upgrades necessary to connect to the city’s
system. Annual operating and maintenance costs
for the district would be $776,000.
With those estimates, Grenier noted it is
cheaper for the district to build and operate its
own facility. The district’s engineering fi rm, Sevee
& Maher, is estimating AVRRDD could build a
wastewater treatment facility at the landfi ll for
a capital cost of $5.17 million and annual operating
and maintenance costs of $519,000.
The district is also getting cost fi gures from its
consultants for restoring the former Burgess mill
treatment plant.
Grenier said the district is under pressure from
the federal Environmental Protection Agency to
make a decision soon. He said if the city handled
the district’s leachate, it could mean up to
$250,000 in new revenue for the sewer department.
Grenier also alleged there was inaccurate
information in some of the documents prepared
by Wright-Pierce. He said he has the documents
on Wright-Pierce letterhead.
For instance, Grenier said the city’s consultant
said sewer customers are not charged for the
fi rst quarter of use because of the city’s running
water program. In fact, Grenier said residential
customers are billed at 80 percent of water usage
because the city estimates 20 percent of water
does not go into the sewer system. He pointed out
that metered industrial users, however, are billed
at 100 percent of usage.
The city and BOP are still at an impasse over
whether the prison will connect to the city’s sewer
system.
Grenier noted that one of the selling points for
siting the federal prison in Berlin was it would
be a large customer of both the city’s water and
sewer systems. Both systems lost major revenue
when the pulp mill closed.
While Berlin water works has reached an agreement
to sell water to the federal prison and the
work to connect the systems is underway, the city
has not been able to reach agreement on handling
the federal prison’s wastewater. The city and
bureau are far apart on a fi gure for the bureau’s
share of upgrading the sewer system. The BOP is
looking at building its own treatment system.
In a report to the district, Grenier said Wright-
Pierce wrote the bureau has already decided to
build its own system.
He said he fears that only an eleventh hour
effort on the part of the city will prevent that
from becoming true.
“In my opinion, Wright-Pierce has to go and
they have to go yesterday,” Grenier said. “This is
very, very serious.”
City Manager Patrick MacQueen asked to get
together with Grenier to discuss the issues he
raised. Grenier said he would provide copies of
the documents in question.
Posted: Saturday, 31 January 2009 1:04PM
Obama official: Gregg leading candidate for Commerce Secretary
Posted by F.M.
Washington (AP) -- An Obama administration official says that Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire is the leading candidate to become commerce secretary.
The official says that an announcement of Gregg's nomination could come as soon as Monday. The official spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to discuss administration deliberations.
Gregg's appointment to the post could give Obama and his Democratic Party a victory in the Senate, clearing the way for them to pass legislation without fear of a Republican filibuster.
However, it's not clear if New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch would appoint a fellow Democrat as a replacement.
Gregg has confirmed that he is under consideration for the Cabinet post.
http://wbz.com/Obama-official--Gregg-leading-candidate-for-Commer/3761586
what about the rest of the state who are going to have to put up tax money, like myself, to keep Berlin on welfare because Berlin has a new vision?
every share i own is up for sale for 4x the ask, not that i'm lookin for a buck, i'm a greedy bastard!
big change in less than 2 weeks.....
Posted by: cautionupahead Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009 4:18:01 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 1402130
DKAM, don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself. It's a real company with industry leaders in management positions and on the BOD, working with companies you've heard of such as Universal Interscope Geffen, and people you've heard of such as Dr Dre, 50c, Kid Rock, Donald Trump.
Posted by: cautionupahead Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 9:07:33 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 29575
I've posted this a long time ago, seems right to post it again. If your girlfriend/wife or boyfriend/husband continually lied to you, said they were going to do something but didn't and never communicated with you about that, you had to find out through other sources, said they would pick you up at 8pm but always showed up an hour late, gave you your birthday present a month after the fact if they remembered at all, you would get over them pretty quick and would kick them to the door. Yet when a CEO does the same stuff, isn't even close to doing what he says, 1 out of 5 things at best, you make excuses for him, doesn't make any sense to me. If you say Olifant will be closed by the end of the year, then it better be closed by the end of the year, especially if it's December now. Now if he said it would be closed by the end of the year and it June, well 15 days late aint bad, but 15 days late when you predict it will be closed within a month is bad. Dre drinks were supposed to be out in August, now it's almost Feb and no one here can buy them in a store, which tells me they are not out yet, so that's 5 months late, that's inexcusable! How late will the Kid Rock Beer be? How much later on spark vodka? How much later on cognac? How much longer before Trump gets proper distribution? Why does Drinks even have any of those other products, they seem to be generating virtually no sales and probably taking up someones time that could be used to push Trump. Come on guys, this management may be good on paper, but they sure aren't showing it by their actions or in the quarterlys. And were supposed to believe a company that got strangeled during the recent bank crisis is somehow going to come up with enough money to buy Labatts, give me a break, looks more like they're just barely able to keep it afloat. Hell, they can't even keep enough glass available to fill orders, and that's amazing management? IMO
Posted by: cautionupahead Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009 4:18:01 PM
In reply to: None Post # of 1401113
DKAM, don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself. It's a real company with industry leaders in management positions and on the BOD, working with companies you've heard of such as Universal Interscope Geffen, and people you've heard of such as Dr Dre, 50c, Kid Rock, Donald Trump.
talks out both sides of the mouth...........
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=34855633
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=34855690
last year it came out in march...
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/sec?s=DKAM.OB
kinda glad henniker didn't go. there are mills all over the north country that are shut down so why build from scratch.
thats a shocker!!!!!!!
Obama Stimulus Package to Include $25 Billion for Renewable EnergyLast update: 1/15/2009 7:30:00 AM
WASHINGTON, Jan 15, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Congressional leaders together with Barack Obama's new Cabinet are planning a $25 Billion stimulus package in order to meet the President-elect's goal of doubling renewable energy production in the next three years, according to a report in Sunday's Washington Post. President-elect Obama's Cabinet favors an $8.6 billion extension of the Federal Production Tax Credit, a program that speeds-up the building of new wind power generation projects. In addition, a bi-partisan initiative first backed by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) for a National Clean Energy Lending Authority, is likely to be approved by the Obama team. The new agency could receive as much as $10 billion to extend low-interest loans, grants or guarantees to wind, solar and other renewable energy projects...
I left the rest out because tickers followed
This is a chance to reverse some tragedies
To the editor:
A letter in Friday’s paper
said the Laidlaw transactions
was a tragedy and here
is my opinion on the subject.
I have been a resident of
Berlin Gorham area for 37
years. What brought me here
was the beauty of the area
and the fantastic hard working
people who live here. I
have been through a few economic
down turns and here
is my view on how this area
handled them.
The recession of 1974/1975
had little effect on the area.
We had a diversifi ed pulp and
paper mill with an Absorbent
Products Division. We also
had a vibrant shoe making
plant and even tough we
where in a recession, both
places had an increase in
hiring. Many people who
work at the Gorham plant
today have seniority which
starts in this period of time.
The recession of 1981/1982
was more severe to the area.
James River, who owned the
mills, had some temporary
layoffs with little negative
effect. It was fashionable for
corporation to increase profits,
take the shoe making
operations overseas. Granite
State, the shoe company,
was hurting. The government
at the time said it was
okay to take jobs like shoe
making overseas, they will
be replaced by high tech jobs
which never happened. This
is the start of the tragedies
for the Berlin/Gorham area.
The absorbent products kept
the mills in fair shape.
The recession of 1990/1992
was bad but again the diversifi
ed pulp, paper and absorbent
products kept over a
thousand people working
good paying jobs, which kept
the area’s economy from falling
into a real bad mess.
The real tragedy began in
1995, James River spun off the
Berlin Gorham operation with 600
million dollars of debt into a separate
company called Crown Vantage. In
the process, they shut down and eliminated
the absorbent product division
in Gorham resulting in the loss of 150
jobs and the cushion which mitigated
the effects of recessions Crown Vantage
could not make it in good times
and quickly folded when economic
conditions changed.
Pulp and Paper of America took over
the mills but folded during the recession
of 2001/2002. Mostly because
they did not have the diversifi cation
Brown and James River had.
Fraser Papers bought the bankrupt
mills with the promise they would not
break the complex up. The fi rst thing
Fraser did was to start selling assets
of value like the landfi ll and power
plants. Allowing this to happen was
also a tragedy but it kept the jobs in
the area,
In 2006 Fraser pulled off the big
one. Because of economic conditions
they had to shut down one of the three
pulp mills they owned, They selected
the Berlin mill because the Canadian
government would not let them shut
down the Canadian plants. Fraser
made no effort to sell the mill to
another company to run. They wanted
the pulp mill which was their best
running pulp mill to stop production
and be torn down, so there would be
no competition.
This was the worst tragedy to ever
hit the Berlin/Gorham area. Now,
in 2009, there is chance to reverse
some of these tragedies and a Power
plant supplying some badly needed
good paying jobs with other economic
stimulus can do it. There is a vocal
minority opposition against the plant
becoming a reality and this is a real
tragedy.
In my opinion large diversifi ed
companies give the the foundation
for smaller business to feed on and
thrive. Not all areas of this country
are hurting as bad as we are. The
big difference they have large strong
diversifi ed companies supporting the
economy. Like building a home, you
need a strong foundation to start.
Frank Borowski
Gorham
i think i've seen your posts on byte & chew and dont blame you for being pissed. i own property in the lakes and have a friend in colebrook
150K a year you gotta be $hitting me?! for 9500 pepple!
must be why property taxes trippled
no kidding!!! with what people are paying on property taxes they could buy the stock, sell half on the double, pay off the taxes and be invested in their local business
here we go!!!!!!!!
finally a little luvin!
A cheap house can come with a big tax bill
Monitor staff
January 04, 2009 - 12:00 am
At first glance, they look like great deals: houses on lots of their own for less than the cost of a moderately-priced new car. The homes are in Berlin, a city that's been under the heels of hard times for a decade or more. Still, a three-bedroom home with a bath and a half on town water that "could be cute and charming with some elbow grease" for $19,900? Or, how about a three-bedroom home near a park with enclosed porches and hardwood floors, that, thanks to water damage, is only $17,000.
Those homes have been through foreclosure, as have plenty of others in Berlin, which now has more houses than families to live in them. They are worth what the market is willing to pay, but that's not the way they are taxed. The 2008 tax bill on the $17,000 property is $1,913. On the house offered for $19,900, it's $2,280. That's because both homes are assessed at more than $70,000.
Most taxpayers know that tax bills don't go down just because home values drop. The more values drop, the more tax rates have to rise to balance local budgets - unless municipalities spend less. Most also know that property values are determined by looking at "comparables" - what similar properties sold for in the past year or so. But homes that go through foreclosure aren't counted as comparables when property values are determined. That's because the state doesn't consider foreclosure sales to be "arm's length" proceedings. They're treated like a private sale to a relative at a bargain price. That rule probably makes sense most of the time, but not in real estate downturns like this one.
First of all, unless illegal meddling is involved, it's hard to imagine a more arm's length transaction than a public auction. They are deals made publicly, usually between strangers, in the presence of concerned observers.
Second, the foreclosure value when the gavel bangs is the current market value. But when Berlin's home values are set next year, they won't be lower for neighbors living near the foreclosed-upon homes.
Let's say, on a street with 10 homes, three are in foreclosure, empty and in disrepair. That dramatically lowers the values of the rest of the homes on that street, but not their tax bill. And even for people willing to move that far north at a time when jobs are scarce, there is still another catch: At $29.82 per $1,000 valuation, Berlin has the second highest combined property tax rate in the state. It's exceeded only by the rate in Claremont, which is a wallet-pounding $32.59. Such tax rates are one of the reasons home values in the state's communities with high tax bills but modest services and struggling schools are so low.
Many lawmakers, led by Gov. John Lynch, continue to insist that New Hampshire's unique reliance on property taxes is an asset, not a liability. But the dramatic downturn in real estate values, the deepening recession and the increasing inequities in tax bills between and sometimes within communities, should force lawmakers to find a fairer way to raise revenue.
The highest equally adjusted tax rates in the state, with few exceptions, are levied by the communities that are poorest both in the level of services they can provide and the ability of average citizens to pay their bills. Berlin is not alone. The tax rate in Troy is $29.03. In Winchester it's $28.27; Allenstown is $27.19; Pittsfield, $26.37. But in Newington the tax rate is $8.97; in Lincoln it's $8.50; in Tuftonboro, $7.95, in Moultonboro, $7.66, and in New Castle, where the sea breezes blow through the yards of million-dollar homes, it's $4.68.
That's the New Hampshire way, but it doesn't have to be.
This article is: 10 days old.
We should be rolling out the red carpet
To the editor:
I am once again disturbed
by the fact the Berlin City
Council, during these tough
economic times, continues
to discourage the economic
development of the city and
the surrounding region. I
cannot quite grasp why they
would support the federal
prison and a casino, and not a
business which has roots tied
to the area.
The wood products industry
is one which has been the life
blood of the region for years,
and continues to be, but is
holding on by a thread. Cities
across the country, and world
for that matter, would love to
be in a situation like the one
Berlin fi nds itself in right now.
A business, willing to purchase
an industrial site in
the middle of their city, and
start something which will not
just boost the economy of their
city, but surrounding communities,
as well.
I can only imagine, White
Mountain Lumber, Isaacson
Structural Steel and many
other local businesses, would
welcome another large taxpayer
to the community, since
they probably feel they are
being driven out by the city
council’s overwhelming tax
burden.
Of course, much of the city
council, as well as the mayor,
were elected by campaigning
to keep Laidlaw out. They
feel the facility to be a “monstrosity”,
and to be “impeding
their ability to draw in real
economic development”. Wake
up!
No other business wants to
buy your downtown superfund
site. The demolition company
is gone, so we should
work to fi ll the vacant building
they left for us. Laidlaw is
the answer!
I, like many others, feel
there is not enough raw material
for Laidlaw to purchase in
the surrounding area. However,
if mills continue to fold,
and markets do not change,
perhaps having Laidlaw in
the area will prove to fi ll the
void, and be the economic
stimulus the region has been
looking for.
I have always been a supporter
of the federal prison
project, and feel this has been
a huge boost for the local economy.
However, if you want to
speak of a “monstrosity” just
take a look at the prison from
across the river, or from Cates
Hill. Add a casino, along with
the ATV park, which has had
“so many visitors”, and you
will fi nd Berlin has a lot more
to worry about than its downtown
appearance.
I am just glad at least Councilor
Poulin has a head on his
shoulders, and sees a casino
would be bad for the city. I
enjoy to spend money gambling
once in a while, but to
have this in Berlin, along with
two prisons and several low
income housing units, even
the councilors would agree,
Berlin might be the “monstrosity”
of the entire state. I
know, many of you will probably
read this, and see I am
“from Milan”, and I should
“mind my own business, and
let Berlin do as they please”.
However, residents of Berlin
should really think about
what is happening. You really
do affect the surrounding
area with your decisions. A
few years ago, when the mill
went out of business, we were
looking to bring any business
in, who could possibly bring
jobs. Here we have it, and
we see local offi cials driving
them away.
We should be rolling out the
red carpet, and hoping they
don’t change their minds. It
really is best for the community.
Scott Rineer
Milan
Geeeee..... sounds like the ship of fools in city hall got an earful