WELLS RIVER—“This year has been like no other for the chamber,” Cohase Chamber of Commerce Board President Andrew Barter said at this year’s annual meeting held on Jan 19.
The organization pivoted in response to the pandemic from its regular lineup of activities and tackled projects that strengthened its foundation. Although it produced at least one annual event along with a virtual summit, the overall theme for 2021 was organization and a new level of leadership.
The first big change of the year came in the first quarter with a new executive director, Ruth Ann Hacking.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article refers to statements using explicit language. Readers should be aware that the explicit language is quoted in full in a paragraph on page 8.
HAVERHILL—A furor erupted on social media last week after Haverhill Town Manager Brigitte Codling was caught on video using profanity to describe some of the town’s residents.
The comments were made after the conclusion of a budget advisory committee meeting on Jan. 12. The meeting was streamed live via Facebook and a recording was later posted to the town’s Facebook page.
After the meeting formally concluded, the voices of both Codling and finance assistant Jennifer Boucher, who are both off-camera, are heard. While some of the audio is garbled or inaudible, the two appear to discuss town meeting warrant article petitions circulating in town.

WOODSVILLE—School board members were told last week that they may need to raise an additional $1.6 million in revenue even though they have a mostly level-funded budget proposal for 2022.
Meeting on Jan. 11, board members reviewed a budget proposal that was $85,000 over the current year’s of $14,568,446. In spite of a nearly level-funded budget, the loss of current one-time revenues, including state adequacy funding, could result in a significant increase to the tax rate. As is, the increase is nearly $5 per $1,000 in assessed valuation.
But board members voted a series of changes, including relying on a potential $700,000 surplus, during the Jan. 11 meeting to reduce that by $2 per $1,000.

MOUNTAIN LAKES—A North Haverhill couple and their three children are homeless after fire ripped through their split-level home at 111 Hilltop View Drive in the Mountain Lakes district on Saturday.
Officials said Anne Foldeak, Robbie Schmead, and three children ages 8 to 15, were not home when the fire was reported at 11 a.m., prompting a large-scale response by local and mutual aid departments.
“There was heavy fire coming from the front half of the house,” said North Haverhill Fire Chief Phil Blanchard when crews arrived. “Things went as good as they possibly could given the logistics and getting water” to the scene.
Initial reports were that all three children were trapped inside the basement of the split-level home, which were unfounded.

ORFORD—Citing a potential “unconscionable” spending increase, Rivendell Interstate School District board members last week asked administrators to prepare a draft 2022 budget that would eliminate as many as five full-time equivalent staff positions.
After approximately two hours of discussion during a regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 5, board members deferred finalizing a figure to put before community members at a budget hearing later this month. They instead scheduled a special meeting for Jan. 12, after this edition’s press deadline.