In the April 2017 print edition

I use to really hate winter and everything about it, not so much before the holidays, but once they were over, and I steadily grew more miserable and depressed from January through March. I couldn’t wait for April and nice weather to roll around. Then I tried cross-country skiing and fell in love with it.

I bought the appropriate clothing (what a difference when you actually dress for the season.) Now I don’t hate winter anymore. I’m actually one of those people I used to despise, praying for snow. The joke is on me that I when finally grow to love something that my husband’s been trying for 25 years to get me to do, global climate change steps in and completely alters our weather.

We don’t get the volume of snow around here that we used to, at least not for the last few years. So now we have to travel north to ski and, even then, you have to check the conditions first, because it may not have snowed there either. In the past, snow in northern NH and VT was simply a given.

All of this is a long way of saying that I’m not cheering for April like I used to. But I do enjoy the warm weather, too, so I’ll get over it.
 
Along with April comes the beginning of town election season. All of the nomination papers have been turned in and the dust has settled. What it boils down to is three races: the 3-year Selectman’s seat, and one seat each on the Planning Board and the School committee. (There is no contest for the 1-year Selectman’s seat—two openings, two candidates; same goes for the Library Board of Trustees.)

The three people running for the 3-year seat on the Board of Selectmen are the two incumbents, Michael J. Soter and Donald Martinis, and Stuart Leclair. (There was another potential candidate, Joseph O. Fleuette, but he never returned his nomination papers.)

The two people running for the two 1-year Selectman seats are Michael Connor and Cynthia McNulty; since Linda Glassey didn’t return her nomination papers either, they are running with no opposition. (Connor is a former Selectmen who resigned last year while seeking the position of school athletic director, a position for which he was, in fact, hired. According to www.mass.gov/ethics, he may serve as Selectmen as long as certain guidelines are followed.)

There is one seat open on the Planning Board for a term of 3 years. Incumbent William F. O’Connell, Jr. is facing off against James Dunlea, who also sits on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

There are two 3-year positions on the Library Board of Trustees open, and since Lisa Cavossa did not return her nomination papers, candidates Laura Howard and Rebekah Tracy are running unopposed.

In the School Committee race, both Lori Colombo and Francis Cartier are facing off for the single 3-year seat. (Cartier has previously served on the school board.)

The April print edition of the Bulletin has profiles from some of the candidates in contested races (a couple of candidates chose not to submit profiles). Read them over so you can make an informed decision when you vote May 2. (Remember, all precincts in town now vote in the BHS gym, 7 a.m.—8 p.m.)

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Following are some highlights of the April print edition. If you’d like to view the paper in its entirety, simply scroll down and click on the newspaper icon.