Albany Town Column Mary Leavitt 447-1710/Dorothy Solomon 447-1199 [02/04/2006]

By Mary Leavitt Dorothy Solomon

The budget hearing for the municipal part of the town budget will be held in the selectmens office this Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. Please attend and get your early look at the upcoming budget in March.The school board meeting scheduled for Feb. 14 will be held in the planning board room at 5:30 p.m. Remember, this is the time to get an important early look at what will be voted upon in March.The two sitting supervisors of the checklist, Harold Richardson and Cathy McKenzie Ryan, were in to discuss with the selectmen and town clerk the changes in the law (RSA 654.7) regarding election procedures. In order to facilitate getting the records up to date, any missing information (usually party affiliation) will be done in two ways. Some who have recently registered may get a call from either Cathy or Harry to fill in the missing information, or when you come to vote in March you may be asked to stop at the desk of the supervisors of the checklist to fill in the missing data.The selectmen have reviewed and signed a three-year contract with the Conway Fire and Rescue Department.As of Wednesday, Feb. 1, the following people had signed up to run in the upcoming elections in March: Bob Mathieu for selectman, Kathy Vizard for town clerk and tax collector, Harold Richardson and Cathy Ryan for supervisors of the checklist (one more person is needed), Mary I. Leavitt for treasurer, Kim Guptill for trustee of the trust fund and school board clerk, and Jennifer Sabina for the board of education. There are still several open positions. Write-in candidates are accepted on the day of election. Please consider this option.Watch here for dates of important election information on Valley Vision television. The town hopes to get time on Channel 3 to showcase those who are running for office.The sled dog races have been postponed due to the warm weather in January. The conditions on the trails and ice made it hazardous for the dogs and the recent snow had just hidden danger spots. The races have been rescheduled to March 4 and 5.Those interested in film making can enter the annual White Mountain Film Festival. The deadline for entering is March 1. There will be awards for different age groups and genres. The festival will be held Saturday, March 18, at the North Conway Twin Theaters, where the films will be shown beginning at 3 p.m. Awards will be given out at an awards banquet following the showing. Settlers Green Outlet Village is presenting the events, and the proceeds will go to benefit Conways Project Succeed. Call Christine Thompson at 447-6158 for entry forms and rules or visit www.projectsucceed.com.Today is the celebration of Cain Drouin and Kyle Drouins birthdays. Jim and Tina Drouin are giving the party for Cain, who was born on Jan. 18, and Kyle, who was born on Feb. 2. Happy birthday to you both.Set aside Thursday, March 9, at 6:30 p.m. for a good meal and great stories. Andy Davis will be weaving his tales at The Corner House in Center Sandwich once again. If youve ever had the pleasure of listening to Andy tell a story, youll go again. If you havent yet, take advantage of this opportunity. The full dinner and stories cost $14.95 and reservations are recommended. Call 284-6219.Sarah Sweeney is home recuperating from an accident she had at school, UNH. She will be home for the week. Get well quickly, Sarah!People are bemoaning the warm winter weve been having so far. For those facing huge increased heating bills, the warm weather has been a blessing. However, the weather, as always, is predicted to change, so keep warm and have a great week.