Concord Monitor from Concord, New Hampshire • 7

Local State Community News B-4 Opinion B-6 CONCORD MONITOR Tuesday May 22 2001 CONCOR 1) Noteworthy Board reconsiders behavior policy Penalty for students in presence of drugs alcohol debated By JAMES VAZNIS Monitor staff the compromise toward the end of a three-hour meeting last night devoted to working on the policy The document originally was crafted by a committee of high school staff parents students and a school board member after a group of parents nearly two years ago complained that the current policy was unfair because it applied only to student athletes The the presence of clause was added to students from lying School officials typically cannot verify whether a student has been drinking at See POLICY Page B-3 -being consumed to face the same consequences as students caught drinking or using drugs The punishment would have ranged from a 1 4-day suspension from extracurricular activities for the first violation to suspension from all extracurricular activities for the year for repeat offenders But many school board members felt the penalties were too severe for students not using those substances Instead school officials would meet with students and parents to discuss alcohol and drug abuse and the risks involved in attending parties I are subjected to pressure to drink and eventually many will" said school board member Claudia Damon The school board will vote on the proposed policy at its June 4 meeting Members hope the latest revision of the document which has undergone 1 1 drafts will appease parents and students who found the punishment unfair The school board decided to explore Concord High School students on sports teams and in clubs who are caught in the presence of alcohol or drugs be suspended from extracurricular activities under a new version of a behavior expectation policy the school board is considering The policy had called for students who attend parties where those substances are No trouble finding Granite quarter The millions of collectors trying to snag quarters from all 50 states have to worry about New Hampshire The Granite State which joined the quarter-boasting group of Delaware Pennsylvania New Jersey Georgia Connecticut Massachusetts Maryland and South Carolina last year has more than a billion representative quarters in circulation according to the US Mint In a news release yesterday announcing the launch of the Rhode Island quarter the Mint reported that 1169214000 New Hampshire quarters are in circulation about 4 million more coins than Massachusetts can claim and almost 400 million more than those coming from the first state Delaware New York and Virginia top New quarter circulation by more than 100 million each Since New debut Virginia New York and North Carolina have joined the coinage club The Rhode Island quarter which completes the 13 colony set- will be produced for 10 weeks only the Mint announced The coins are part of the 50 State Quarters Program a 10-year initiative which plans on releasing a quarter for each state in the order they joined the union According to the Mint nearly 125 million people are collecting the coins Stephanie Hanes House may reconsider (again) minimum wage A bill that would raise the $515 an hour minimum wage by $1 over the next two years appears headed back to the House floor for the third time in the space of one month The rate increase failed by seven votes on April 26 But last week the House heard a motion to reconsider the question and in an unexpected reversal passed the wage increase by 43 votes But Rep Marc Pappas a Republican from Manchester and the vice president of the Republican State Committee filed a motion last Friday to reconsider the question again Lawmakers did a double take: The House rules do not permit more than one motion to reconsider a question But the House clerk quickly determined that there was a difference: The first request was a motion to reconsider a vote on whether to kill the bill request is a motion to reconsider a vote on whether to pass the bill The House could hear the reconsideration motion as early as its next session on Thursday Lisa Wangsness Back to the 40s Expect delays on 1-89 HOPKJNTON Drivers on Interstate 89 should expect delays south of Exit 5 in the next three weeks During this time the state Department of Transportation will be painting the South Road bridge The construction will restrict traffic on 1-89 to a single lane during the day Officials are asking motorists on the interstate and South Road to drive through the construction zone with caution Keith Meatto Above: Kingswood Academy students (left to right) Gregg Bowers Christine Beckwith and Carey Black all Key Club members prepare to model period military clothes at a 1940s fashion show and luncheon held last week at the Wright Museum in Wolfeboro The event kicked off the museum's Community Scholarship Fund which will assist local students who excel in history Left: Carole Wright wife of museum founder David Wright strolls down the runway in her 1940s burgundy taffeta dress while carrying a 1941 Richard Healey mink stole More than 150 guests attended the show This day in New Hampshire histoo Last year BEN GARVIN Monitor staff Embattled UNH trustee: State is wasting money Georgopoulos cites university construction projects After 60 years of busi-ness on Man-Chester Street WM Diner is removed from its foundation Its destination is Providence RI site of the American Diner Museum scheduled to open in 2002 1985 Gov John Sununu threatens to veto a bill reforming the system for sharing its tax money with local school districts Sununu is concerned that the bill obliges the state to spend too much money on education He also opposes a section in the bill saying it will be the policy all children in New Hampshire be provided with equal educational opportunities" 1879 The Monitor editorializes against a fountain in the State House plaza: fountain continues to squirt water all over those who have the temerity to walk in its vicinity as in the days of ypre Its location ought to be In 1914 it is discarded to make room for the statue of Franklin Pierce Study: State is tops in well-being of kids Poor marks given on child poverty however By STEPHEN FROTHINGHAM The Associated Press By HARRY WEBER The Associated Press aid Trump and ask him if he uses construction management" the retired busi nessman said He said he objected to the use of construction management for the remodeling of Pettee Hall at the University of New Hampshire The $43 million project was finished last year The trustee's finance committee has approved using the same proposal process for the cop struction of new dining and housing projects at UNH he said Georgopoulos said he has sent "hun dreds" of faxes to Gov Jeanne Shaheen and members of the Executive Council many of them alerting them to overspending on university construction projects have a record of two letters from Mr Georgopoulos One was a on an See TRUSTEE Page B-3 comparison the situation is actually said Candice Leonard director of policy analysis for the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire There was an 1 1 percent increase over the eight years studied in the number of children in New Hampshire who live in poverty During the same period the national child poverty rate was unchanged Also the study says the number of New Hampshire children who live with parents who do not have full-time year round jobs increased by 15 percent while the national rate decreased by 13 percent obviously not something to be proud Leonard said has been a period of great economic prosperity for the country but not everyone has benefit See CHILDREN Page B-3 The state is wasting money by not putting University of New Hampshire construction projects out to bid a univer sity system trustee charged yesterday Louis Georgopoulos under fire for missing trustee meetings and living half the year in Florida said the university system is the only state agency not required to use competitive bidding to hire contractors for major projects With the approval of the board of trustees the system asks for proposals from contractors under a system called construction management "If you do competitive bidding you know who is out there who is willing to do this job at a lower he said He said there is no incentive for the contractor to keep costs down Don New Hampshire is taking better care of its young than any other state in the country but has done poorly in trying to stem the tide of child poverty a national study released yesterday says The 2001 Kids Count Data Book ranks New Hampshire No 1 among states in the well-being of children Maine ranked 10th Vermont 13th In the 10 indicators measured New Hampshire showed improvement in six areas and deterioration in four between 1990 and 1998 Child advocates said the ranking is good news for the state but there is still a long way to go to improve the lives of New Hampshire children you compare ourselves to ourselves which is a much more meaningful Daily numbers: 9-3-8 5 6-3-3.