Valley News from West Lebanon, New Hampshire • 2

Page A2 Valley Monday April 5 2004 -1 I Ludtke complained that the department was devixing iwv much tinio arid expense to IVpin's case It's clear thuf Administrative Services Commissioner Don Hill will find himself in the spotlight at the upcoming hearing Hill who supervised D'Alcssandros work Was cleared of wrongdoihg in the attorney general's report lust month But in papers filed with the? insurance department Volinsky claims thutHill aVi-' year State Htxise veteran know exactly what Pepia wax doing und even arranged the -nwthod by which she collected the fees In her affidavit and again in an interview with Channel 9 earlier lost week Ptepin said Hill directed her work on the contract neguti-: atkxis i tiouul documents would the Case in undue conjiplexiy!" And since the insurance department hearing is essentially an administrative bearing LUdtkc argued FVpin docs not enjoy the same due process rights that she would in a court trial' RuSsHilliurd the hearing officer said he would decide hxlay whether to postpone the dale Of the official hearing Though the details of the case were nordis- cussed in depth Friday Volinsky indicated the defense' he will mount: that Pepin never knowingly broke any insurance laws and-thut she was assured by several experienced state empkiyecs that she was acting properly in adjecting the eommlsskm 1 fact Volinsky said Friday IVpih even received advice mm the insurance depart- ment'sdcputyaimmisskincr AlexFcklycbel who knew of her mie ns a negotiator oh the state employees' health contract When IVIdvcbek who was at Friday's hear- ing began responding to Volinsky's claim Ludtke cut him off saying that such utgu- ments should wuit for the actual hearing Ludtke and Volinsky have been adversaries before: the two faced eadnxhetin the Clare- moot school funding cose Volinsky repro- sented the five propcrty-pixir towns that sued the state over its education funding system Ludtke was the assailant aitorncy general who represented the state job is not to make the Departnjent of Insurance happy and 1 intend to" Volinsky said with a gnn at one point after to Pkipin through a Straw hum" a third-party broker The Department of Insurance lias charged FVpin 3U2MO in fines for collecting those commissions The otficial hearing for those fines is scheduled for this Friday but in a con- ference with IVpin's lawyer Andru Volinsky and the department's lawyer the facts behind unclear Yol insky argued that he' needed more time to sort thmugh thousands of documents front the attorney general's investigation into Pepin The attorney general and the insurance department did hot work together in their -investigations but their findings reinforce eachitther'seonclusktns Leslie Ludtke the insurance department's towyer: countered that waiting for the addi- By ANitiBAaRtcx 'JJ' Concord Monitor 'j ChnoOkd ''Any smooth resolution to the cuse of Linda Pepin seemed unlikely last week as Pepin's lawyer and officials with the state insurance department sparred over every thing mm the date of hearing to the witness 'v fVpin a firmer volunteer udvlser to Gov Craig Benson has been charged with violating state insurance laws by collecting broker's fees for negotiutingthe state employee health contract without a broker's license the Attorney Cienerjl's Office in a report released last month concluded that Pepin and former state personnel director Joe D'A- lessa v'ro funheled $I870(X) in commissions Restoring the 1930's Some NE By Lisa Rathke Ralph Feriand left of Claremont hies to get the engine started on the 1930 Ford Model A that he arid Richard Wood right of Cornish are restoring "Henry Ford knew how to build diem right' Feriand said They expect the restoration to take shout a year The car is being worked on outside of Wood's home CmmstophcxPowsm In Greensboro the Lakeview Union School will lose 21 sixth graders this year and gain only four kindergartners next year is making people rather her- vous" said Principal Linda Aiken have been commcnts made we going to be looking at closing the sch(X)ir That does not help staff morale" Bclvidere is ncgiitiating to send its stwients four miles avwiy to Waterville Elementary School starting this fall in response to an enrollment drop from 40 students in 2000 to just 21 this year Tuition at Waterville will be around $8000 per student excluding transportation costs compared with a per-pupil cost of $20000 if the school remains open said Robert McNamara superintendent of Lamoille North Supervisory Union Changes made last year to education funding law have helped Under Act 68 property taxes are expected to go down in many towns this year That has eased the debate about school spending in fVacham The school budget that was voted down twice two years ago passed this year it's a relatively long term downward People arehaving fewer children" Phillip' Education Official 'Associated Pren Writer Pkaciiam VT t-- A decade after the Peacham Elementary School was enlarged to accommodate 100 students the school has half that number didn't anticipate that it would be temporary" Principal Margaret MacLean said of the growth in numbers that has since disappeared The K-6 school has laid off two teachers -combined classrooms reduced programs and cut the principal's job in half about as lean and mean as it can get" MacLean said Peacham is mx alone in facing the challenge of educating fewer students: Many small rural schools across Vermont and parts of the Northeast also are looking at a declining -strident population it's a relatively stable long-term downward trend People are having fewer children" said Patrick Phillips deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Education Between 2000 and 2003 Ver- mont had the greatest decline the number of children from birth to age 14 according to recent figures from the US Census "Overall stable trend Patrick Main cuts in personal income tax rates He also proposed paying for Cuts in the corporate taxes of Vermont-raed businesses by dosing loopholes that allow mullistale corporations to avoid state taxes In his budget address Ik promoted two tax changes intended to private health insurance market His recently released telccommunlcations plan pushes a tax incentive to spur improvements in cel- lular telephone service and Internet linkaacioM the M(jnitkijkr (ap) Republican Gov Jim Douglas be getting all the tax changes lie wanted from the legislature this year and the chief roadblock is Republican House Speaker Walter Freed Freed worries that if the Republican House approves a tax measure such as the pro-posal to' eliminate the exemption for capital ins to pay for reducing personal income tax rates for middle-income Vermonters the Democratic Senate will transform it from a tax reform to a tax increase governor has lobbied me every week on these tax Freed of Bennington County said Friday is somebody standing in the way you can look to Walt Freed" he said not here to raise Democratic Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Welch of Windsor County has been clear about his intentions He wiwld welcome a bill carrying out Douglas' suggested elimination of the capital guns exemption but he wouldn't use the money lb cut pcridnal income taxes Instead he suggests setting aside the new revenues estimated at $13 million Republicans Block Capital Gains Hike to help make up a $40 million shiirtfall projected next year for die state's subsidized health programs have a problem we know is coming" Welch said might make a kx more sense to prepare for it by putting that money in the rainy-day Tax changes are risky business especially in a politically divided legislature in an election year Douglas decided to plunge ahead this year wjth several modest proposals "These are important he said is unfortunate that some political ccnsiderations are entering into the debate" The tax proposals are part of a strater gy to make Vermont more attractive to businettcs He identified tax reform as this legislative priority in his State of the State address outlining how die opital gains exemption could be traded for sentiment is that they want The number of children under to keep the school" said MacLean On Friday thrce mnmhs into the legislative sev sion the House hadn't voted on a single tax mea- sure The Hrxise Ways and Means Committee voted Friday to endorse one measure the (ax credit to incourage small businesses to offer health insurance The credit is part of a larger health bill that could come in the House floor later this week Only the House can initiaK tax bilh but the Sea: ate must approve them before they become law Time is running short ni dus session Legislative -leaden say they are on track to adjourn in early May' The larger issue she said is rising property values that are changing the demographics is becoming a very expensive place to live so young families can't find affordable housing" she said families we've got in the last few yean have been families who have moved from out of state and come from substantial means" For now small schools keep a close eye bn moving in having babies and who's moving out' had a family this year from Atlanta Ga and next year two boys from the said MacLean the next couple or yean the projection is low but following that it appears that we will have several little people said Aiken Next week school officials in Morgan Brighton Charleston and Holland in the northeast corner of Vermont will meet to brainstorm about how they Alight share resources and teachers: really want to see the local school said Morgan School Board Chairman Robert Cargill who sent bis two boys there- "And I also live in town and pay taxes' an emotional he have to take time with it We have to really look at best for the kids and the town know that maybe we have to change our perspective and look at the wider community but that's a lot of changing for everybody" age dropped by 87 percent the decline in children from age 5 to 13 was 91 percent After Vermont the nine states with the greatest declines in chil- dren under age 5 include Connecticut Maine New Hampshire New York and Rhode Island 1 an issue of how you manage the school in an era of declining revenues associated with declining enrollments and at the same time try Jo provide high quality educa-: tion" said-Jeff Francis executive director of the Vermont Association The decline is more Of a regional than a national problem Between 2Q0I and 2013 enrollment in the Northeast is projected to fall by 2 percent! with a 32 percent drop in Vermont 14 percent in Maine and Q2 percent in Mew Hampshire while nationally enrollment in elemditary and secondary schools is expected to Increase 5 percent according to the National Center for Education Statistics'': Maine Gov John Baldacci has offered financial 'incentives to encourage schools to become more efficient share costs or consolidate said Phillips The impact will be fewer school expansions more multi-age clavk rooms less pressure on high schools and local discussions about whether to keep small schools often the center of the community open said Vermont Education Cothmissioner Richard Cate a pretty hard social decision for people he said RocHHrru NH (ap New Hampshire Episcopalians' who opposed the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson say they want to be reorganized by a more orthodox bish- OPv They are looking for a tuslinp from another diocese or even another country so they can remain a part of the church whhout recognizing Rnbinsrn as their leader left the church Wto still part of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire and the piotv said Lisa BdL a vestry member of the Church of the Redeemer in warn to follow Gene Robinson7 Robinson the first openly gay bishop in church history has ben at the center of international controversy since New Hampshire Episcopalians nominated him untsummer Saturday 75 people met in Rochester marking the first gathering of the New Hampshire cluster of the Anglican Communion Network a national orthodox organization started in response to appointment The' network coordinates parishes and individual Episcopalians who feel the church has strayed too far from the Scripture "We're raising do voice of loyal Episcopalians throughout the state of New Hampshire who have had no opportunity to voice their dissent in the said the Rev William Murdoch rector of the All Saints i Episcopal Chinch in Massachusetts and head of the New Eng land chapter Robinson said Saturday he was against the idea of organizing bishops on ideology not genjgraphy because it would reverse the hniory of Anglican Cbmmunionorganizattrin Plus he said it would be entirely impractical begim to be completely chaotic to try to organize completdy under ideology he told the Cmcad Mad-tor Robinson said he is willing to offer conservative parishes like-minded bishops for counseling and leadership But in the end he said hen still In charge'- willing to do all kinds of -things to provide the pastoral care they think they need mduding letting another bfchop come in but he have jurisdiction over that Robinson said Some conservative churcb menv ben already are turning away from NewHampshire southern New Hampshire cofr tingent has split off from several Ejcopal churches to form the Sea-coast MiMioriary FeUowship Conservative parislnraiensay they accept gay memben their church-es but cnmjder homosexuality a sin that demanth repentance Robinson plans to meet with the Rochester board of directors tonight lo dans how they mht patch up relations "Tnl going tositdown with the peo-pie of the parish of Rocnter and going to talk about how we can Ihe with one hesaid MrnrrriWJrv Vt Search teams lonkh for missing lT-yearnAl Brianna Maitland of Sheldon prepared yesterday fora winter -storm expected to latfurml tomorrow morning just trying to cover aa much of the high ground as we jnwibiy can today and we can fall back info (he valleys said Brad Derma director of the Klaas KrdsSearchGenter yesterday group is coordinating the search and It training wrlufltem About300 people searched teams on foot for Maitland in Franklin County on Friday and Sator-day Dennis said He estimated anrxher 100 turned nu yesterday Some groups cOme fromas far away as New York Montreal arid Piostxigh Pa he said "tfs a beautiful young gbi nmdng and evcrymwm to bring her saMDenmt -Maitland has been nuMing since the nigbt of Match 19afkr she fmhiwd her wenfc a dhb- washer at the Bbcfc Lantern tm Her abanduied ar vas found a mile west of town oo Vermont 118 the following day ted beta dri-eabadcwardinto tt abandoned home.