Coos Conversations

What part of NO don't you understand?

There seems to be a fair amount of speculation over on Investor's Hub about what the citizens of Berlin were actually saying when they voted a few weeks ago. Clearly the day traders that frequent that particular site are only interested in "Pumping and Dumping" the stock, and have no interest in the truth since any reference to facts is either deleted or ignored.  The Laidlaw CEO Mike Bartozak is telling them that the election wasn't a referendum on his company's plans to put a biomass facility in the middle of our downtown. He's assuring his investors that the project is going forward as if nothing happened. And who knows what machinations he and Charlie Bass have cooked up. But the reality is, something did happen. Berlin residents expressed their feelings, first in a survey and subsequent comments, and then in the voting booth. If you have any doubts, check out the results of the survey and the comments from residents that are posted on the Citizens for a New Vision site.

Some very good advice that the people at Laidlaw should be listeing to

This blog post makes some great points about the Laidlaw plant that lots of people should be listening to!.

Nice wrap up on the political changes in Berlin

New Hampshire Business Review has written a nice, and quite hopeful piece on the recent election and the opposition to the biomass plant.

Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas if for everyone to read my blog

 Children can mail in their letters to Santa by dropping them into the decorated mailboxes at four

Berlin

locations. The first box was placed at the Guardian Angel Credit Union and other locations include JC Penney’s, Gills Flowers, and Pleasant Street Irving/Mainway. Volunteers from the Parade of Lights Committee will pick up letters and have them delivered to Santa so that each child will receive a letter from Santa in the North Pole. “This is lots of fun for the kids and gets our community excited for the holiday season; we hope you encourage your kids to participate,” said Barbara Guay from Gill’s Florist. 

 

The boxes will be available during the hours of operation at each of the participating locations. For more

info

rmation on this or any of the upcoming downtown holiday promotions, contact the

Berlin Main Street Program

at 752-6246.

 

Tonight's forum in Berlin

We hope lots and lots of people turn out to make themselves heard at tonight's forum. While the agenda does make one wonder if there will be enough listening time to make sure that the citizen's voices are heard, we hope that the messages will come across in any case loud enough for Laidlaw, North American Dismantling and the new City government to hear.

Since I'll be in Houston, I'll put my thoughts down here:

Given that I’ve been calling for a open conversation about the future of

Berlin

for some time, it seemed the ultimate irony that I was forced to choose between being part of that conversation in person, or be in

Texas

 on a sales call that will, I hope, lead to more work for our team in

Berlin

. I decided that the future of

Berlin

would be better served by my bringing in more business. It is my belief that

Berlin

has two prime assets that make it the most desirable place I know of to start or grow a business

 The first asset is its workforce. As you know, we’ve created some two dozen jobs here in the last year, and I’m pretty sure we’ll create at least that many if not more in 2008. It’s not hard to be enthusiastic about a community that provides us some of the hardest working, most dedicated employees I’ve ever encountered in my 30 years of business experience. Last week was a perfect example. I was on the West Coast and had a major client crisis that broke on Friday night, LA time. My staff was in first thing Saturday morning and worked until late Monday night to fix the problem. The client was thrilled with our response and will expand her contract with us as a result. That’s the sort of workers any employer would kill for. And that’s what all incoming employers will look for first – whether they’re bringing in jobs  in retail or manufacturing or service or software – the first question they will ask is: Can I find the people I need? My answer to them is a resounding yes. Whether they worked at the mill or at a bar – I don’t care, I’m going to have to train them anyway. What I look for is attitude and a willingness to learn. The people of

Berlin

have the best attitude I’ve ever seen anywhere.

 
The reason they’re here is the second major asset that

Berlin

offers. It’s amazing  environment.  My employee are  no dummies. Where else can you be on the ski slopes or catching a fish 30 minutes after leaving your desk? Where you can go out for a breath of fresh air and hear the

Androscoggin

roaring past. It’s a commute and a view that most of Americans would kill for.

 Yes, I know that I’m still a flatlander from “away” – but what I saw a year and a half ago, and what I still see today is an area full of natural beauty, with views that take your breath away, and waterfront that just screams for a camera, or a kayak.

Please, for a minute, put yourselves in the shoes of the new employers you’re trying to attract. First, make sure that  that view, that water and that environment are protected.

 Secondly, you need to do whatever you need to do to support your wonderful, dedicated,  flexible, hardworking work force. They want clean air and clean water and town that doesn’t smell. Get rid of that last smokestack and reward the great people of Berlin for their years of hard work with a town that lives up to their hopes and dreams. A town that boasts a mixture of retail shops, service companies and sustainable non-polluting industries.  A place that those that children who left will want to return to, and those that have stayed will want to raise their children in.

Thanks for listening.

 

Katie Paine

Good news, N.H. brain drain down to a trickle

Miracles do happen. A recent study by UNH shows that the N.H. brain drain has slowed to a trickle.
It's what we've been saying for a year. We have the shortest commute, the most beautiful scenery, and the last affordable housing in New England. What's not to love?

Congratulations Berlin!

It's wonderful to see democracy at work. We knew when we saw the data coming back from the Voice of Coos County survey that KDPaine & Partners did last spring, that change was in the air. In survey after survey the citizens spoke to us, saying "status quo isn't working. Yesterday the citizens of Berlin took action, electing a new mayor in what even the Union Leader is calling a " Berlin landslide". Congratulations to the new leadership team in City Hall and to the citizens of Berlin. You've spoken, now its up to your newly elected representatives to listen. On November 13th you'll have a chance to tell them what you see for the future of Berlin. Come out to the Forum and continue the conversation.

How we look in Decatur

Check out this story on about climbing Mount Washington in the Decatur Daily

Beyond Brown Paper

This is a very cool project about the history of Brown Paper that will be taking place in Berlin, NH

Wausau Paper Mill Closing--What should we do now?

Everyone I've talked to seems to have a different reaction to the recently announced closing of the Wausau Mill in Groveton, but few were truly surprised. Sure, some people expressed shock that it was Groveton closing not Goreham, but almost everyone I talk to seems to see that the paper-driven economy of the North Country probably ended a year ago, and the destruction of the stacks in Berlin was the symbolic final curtain. The question on everyone's lips is: what's next?  If Portsmouth can become the "e-Coast" why can't Coos County become the e-Notch?  with the "e" standing  for everything from electronic to extreme(as in weather, sports, heights, climbs, paddles or rides).  Your thoughts?