Town Warrants 2013, Annotated

The following are the warrant articles that the Andover Town Meeting 2013 will vote on. Background information is provided, where appropriate, in square brackets []. Voting for the election of officials will be open on Tuesday, March 12, from 11 AM to 7 PM at the Andover Elementary/Middle School gym. As soon as the polls […]

2013 Budgets Set for Annual Meetings

Overall increase of about 4% compared to 2012 budgets

By Charlie Darling, Beacon staff
2013 Budgets Set for Annual Meetings

Budgets for 2013 for the Andover School District, the Town, and the Fire Departments have been finalized by the Budget Committee and will be presented to voters at the annual meetings. The finalized budgets are the same as discussed in detail in the front-page article in the February issue of the Beacon. The net 2013 […]

Candidates – School Treasurer: Shirley Currier

I am running for a seventh term as Andover School District Treasurer. I am a graduate of Hesser Business College and did the accounting for the Andover Village Store and Currier and Phelps Garage for 30+ years. I have also been the treasurer for the Andover Fourth of July Committee for over 25 years, as […]

Candidates – Library Trustee: Susan Chase

Candidates – Library Trustee: Susan Chase

I’d welcome the opportunity to serve on the Library Board of Trustees, helping the libraries confront the challenges of the digital age and continue to develop as vital community resources. Now that we live just up the street from the Bachelder Library in East Andover, we’ve given up our membership in the New London Library, […]

Issues at Town Meeting: What You Need to Know About the Warrant Articles

By Vicky Mishcon, Board of Selectmen

This introduction of Andover’s 2013 Town Warrant will give you important background information and justifications of an unusually long list of warrant articles. (Unusually long for Andover, that is. Many towns have much longer lists!) The first five articles are housekeeping. Some will be familiar (Article 1: “To choose all necessary officers…”), and others are […]

Issues at School District Meeting: Full-Day Kindergarten

School District Warrant Article 6

By Judith Turk, AE/MS Assistant Principal
Issues at School District Meeting: Full-Day Kindergarten

According to current research, about 20% of our children come to the kindergarten classroom at age five with the reading and math skills of a three-year-old, and another 20% possess the skills of a four-year-old upon their entrance. For this reason, kindergarten teachers begin the first day of school attempting to supplement and remediate the […]

Issues at Town Meeting: Highway Maintenance Study Committee

Selectmen to be requested to form a study committee

By Andy Guptill

As many of you know one, of the largest portions of our town budget is our highway system. Our road agent and his predecessors, in conjunction with the Board of Selectmen, have on numerous occasions pointed out that next to our school, it is our largest investment and biggest chunk of our tax bill. In tough […]

2012 Town Report Published in New Size

Letter-size format provides more room for easy-to-read text and numbers.

By Carly Strathdee, Beacon intern

The Andover Town Report underwent apparent and essential changes this year, increasing from 5.5 by 8.5 inches to 8.5 by 11 inches, the size of standard letter paper. The Board of Selectmen made the decision as a solution to a major problem: how to fit considerably more information in the Town Report without spending significantly […]

Candidates – Selectmen: Duncan Coolidge

Candidates – Selectmen: Duncan Coolidge

I’m Duncan Coolidge, and I’m running for Selectman. I have been a resident of Andover for more than 30 years, so many of you may already know me. I’m running because I care greatly about this town and with my judgment, experience, and willingness to tackle complex problems, I would like to offer my service. […]

Candidates – Selectmen: Howard Wilson

Candidates – Selectmen: Howard Wilson

In that the Federal Reserve has been ordered to keep the printing presses running night and day printing as much inflation as the economic ignoramus at the top of the federal heap doesn’t know a thing about, the expenses of the Town will continue to climb even while the value of the dollar declines. I would thank the Budget […]