Tag Archive for: NH State Senate

Senator Carson Honored for Protecting Small Business

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Saying she was like a “pit bull on a bone”, the Oil Heat Council of New Hampshire and the NH Motor Transport Association (NHMTA) have honored Senator Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, for her commitment to protect the small business community. The groups cited her work on Senate Bill 157 that pertained to the issue of weights and measure, but had an overall goal of controlling costs and eliminating unnecessary government mandates. The legislation became law earlier this year.

Bob Sculley, president of both the Oil Heat Council and the NHMTA said this is only the second time these groups have honored a legislator. “Senator Carson deserves to be recognized because she went out of her way to ensure that small business had a voice on this issue. We applaud her commitment and determination. She is a true friend to small business,” he said. They presented Carson with an engraved wooden truck filled with flowers.

With the miniature vehicle displayed prominently on her desk, Carson thanked the Oil Heat Council and the NHMTA for the award saying, “SB 157 was all about making sure that small businesses are treated fairly. These are the companies that drive New Hampshire’s economy so as a legislator, I want our state to be business-friendly, free of cumbersome regulations that kill productivity, investment and job creation.”

Sen. Carson encourages public input on state’s ten-year highway plan

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Meetings scheduled for Derry, Manchester and Bedford

(Concord) Citing the importance of the Interstate 93 project, Sen. Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, is encouraging public input regarding the State’s Ten Year Transportation Improvement Plan. The Governor’s Advisory Commission on Intermodal Transportation will be holding several public hearings over the next two months concerning the plan in Derry, Manchester and Bedford.

Under state law, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation proposes a revised plan for improvements to the state’s transportation system every two years. These revisions become part of the Ten Year Plan that develops and implements a strategy allowing New Hampshire to fully participate in federally-supported transportation improvement projects. It also outlines projects and programs funded with state transportation dollars.

Carson said, “Our ten year plan for 2013-2022 focuses on highway, bridge, rail, transit, and airport projects totaling more than $3.5 billion with a major priority being the reconstruction and widening of I-93 from Salem to Manchester. I want to be sure that those individuals and businesses that will be impacted the most by this much-needed public works project have an opportunity to both listen and be heard.”

Public Hearing Schedule for the 2013-2022 Ten Year Highway Plan

District 4

September 21 7:00pm Derry Municipal Center, 4 Manning Street, Derry, NH

October 5 7:00pm Aldermanic Chambers 3rd Floor, City Hall, 1 City Hall Plaza, Manchester

October 19 7:00pm Bedford Cable TV Meeting Room, 10 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford

Education Reform Symposium Held at UNH

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A symposium on education reform was held at the University of New Hampshire’s Durham campus on Wednesday, December 7, 2011. Organizers challenged aspiring teachers, and those currently in the classroom, to present their best ideas for improving those areas in education that tend to be somewhat controversial.

Senator Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, served as one of several elected officials on the panel who listened to, then offered feedback on the presentations. Carson, who is also a member of the Senate Education Committee, said the proposals ranged from high stakes testing and merit pay for teachers to school day/year organization and corporate involvement in schools.

“I appreciated the creativity that went into each of the presentations. All the presenters were thinking out of the box and were clearly dedicated to being agents of change when it comes to school reform. I hope my questions to them reflected support for their ideas as well as my real-life concerns as an elected official and those of my tax-paying constituents,” Carson said.

The event was organized by Dr. Sarah Stitzlein, Assistant Professor of Education at UNH, who teaches a course called “Education Structure and Change” that most of the presenters are currently enrolled in. “My goal for the symposium has always been to get policy-makers and teachers talking,” Stitzlein said, noting that there is often a divide between how the two sides see each other and perceive issues.

Joining Senator Carson on the panel were Representative Mary Gile, D-Concord, and Representative Barbara Shaw, D-Manchester, both of whom are members of the House Education Committee.

The Evils of Supporting Candidates, Imagination or Reality?

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A recent letter to the Londonderry Times and Hudson-Litchfield News shows exactly what is wrong with today’s party politics. Instead of talking about what WE can do as a community or a nation the letter writer chose to pull imaginary issues from the darkest regions of there anatomy in an attempt portray a candidate as somehow evil for having more people interested in having her represent them in Concord than her opponent. Lets remember that the voters and the taxpayers are one and the same and when there is a friend to the taxpayer, people out side the district, realizing that it takes more than one vote to accomplish a goal, will contribute to candidates in hopes of spreading a message of fiscal responsibility and an understanding of the plight of working men and women.

Senator Sharon Carson has been recently deemed by opposing party political’s as evil in the sense she has a wide range of support from both individuals and business’s who fear for their very survival. In an attempt to dissuade voters from looking at the facts the writer notes contributions coming from all over and deems contributions from those in business to be an evil deed that the public should use as a reason to support the oppositions candidate. Said candidate who by the way cannot find enough people to agree with her positions to fund any furtherance or dissemination of her ideas to the general public.

The idea of a free election system includes allowing for those who support a message to also support that messages ability to reach all the people. A bad message, a bad plan for the state of NH, gets little if any attention and little if any financial support to broadcast that bad idea.

Sharon Carson has worked hard as a legislator in the House and even harder as a Senator for the district. She has asked local constituents to donate to a local charity rather than her campaign on many occasions and the local community has done just that. For Senator Sharon Carson its about the issues, about the people, and about doing what is right for NH. People who believe she is fair , open and honest have contributed to her campaign. They believe integrity is as important to the process as the ideas that will be debated. Sharon has the highest level of integrity one could ask for. You may not always agree but you can never deny she is open and honest making her decisions in the light of day. Her work on behalf of the people she serves both locally and statewide is well known and very much appreciated.

No person running for a voluntary job paying $100 a year should ever have to be subjected to the party politics that seem to creep into every election at the last minute. Sharon Carson deserves to be respected for her record as a veteran of our armed forces, a mother of two wonderful daughters, a teacher of our youth at the college level a phenomenal wife according to her husband and a member of her community who over the years has given hundreds of hours with no expectations other than to hope to have assisted others in their time of need.

Sharon Carson deserves our support and she deserves our thanks as someone we have been able to count on to serve with honor and distinction whenever the call for volunteers has been made. I will be voting for Sharon Carson for Senate. She demonstrates the kind of leadership we need to work together to find our way. I hope you will look at what Sharon Carson has done over the years and join me in asking her to serve by voting for Sharon Carson for Senate in November.

Sen Bob Clegg
Hudson NH

Senator Bob Clegg represented Londonderry, Auburn and Hudson prior to Sen Sharon Carson’s election two years ago.

Purchase of Four Lots on brookview set Poor Precedent

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This story was originally published in the Union Leader Tuesday Morning and was not available online. It is reprinted here with the written permission of the author.

By Alec O’Meara

Residents of Brookview Drive asked the Conservation Commission to help finance the destruction of their homes for the greater good last night.

However, reaction to the proposal was mixed from the handful of Commissioners present for the discussion.

Brookview Drive Flooding“It (Brookview Drive) has been mentioned a few times in the past, but no one is sure what to do about it,” Conservation Commission Chair Deb Lievens said.

Three separate times this spring, the four properties at the end of the south Londonderry cul-de-sac have found their homes surrounded by at least foot of water due to the heavy rains that have soaked the state. Neither flooding event was considered a surprise for residents or the town’s public safety officials, as Brookview has now flooded five times since 2006. Altogether, 30 separate flooding events have been recorded on the street over the last 36 years.

On the eve of the third storm, residents met with State Senator Sharon Carson, Town Manager Dave Caron and State House Representative Al Baldasaro to discuss potential options to find a permanent solution to the flooding issue. General consensus during the meeting was the best solution would be to raze the four homes at the end of the street and create a larger drainage area. Caron said one possible option would be to secure funding for the purchase of the four lots through open space money used by the Conservation Commission to buy conservation easements. Conservation purchases are made though funding from the town’s land use change tax, a different revenue source than the rest of the municipal budget.

The cost of purchasing the four lots has been tentatively estimated at $800,000-$900,000, by Caron.

Last night, Brookview Drive resident Carmen Zavorotny met with the commission to suggest such a purchase. Only three commissioners were present: Lievens, Gene Harrington and Ben Lebrecque.

“It is a beautiful, beautiful area. I just wish it was three feet higher,” Zavorotny said.

Carmen Wessel-Zavorotny sent in this photo from March 31st at 8am

Lievens said the Commission would consider the request when the full board was present at a future meeting. However, Lievens said she was unsure whether the board had the funding currently to cover the cost. Other commissioners not present for the meeting had expressed a concern the purchase of the four lots would set a poor precedent for the community, she added.

“Those are the two issues we will have to mull over,” Lievens said.

Harrington said on top of the cost, more studies may be needed to see whether razing the four properties would make a significant difference to the flood plain.

“Looking at that area, it may make an inch difference, if that,” Harrington said.

Without a quorum present, no vote was taken by the Commission. Lievens said the issue would likely be brought up again at the board’s next meeting, which is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 11.