By Paul Tennant
Staff Writer
—
GROVELAND — When voters go to the polls on Monday, they will decide who will represent them on the Pentucket School Committee and whether to spend an extra $350,000 for schools.
They will also decide whether Groveland's longtime road commissioner will continue to oversee the town's network of street or to replace him with someone new.
In the annual election, Road Commissioner Robert Arakelian is being opposed by Robert O'Hanley, a Board of Health member and onetime Highway Department foreman. School Committee member Joseph D'Amore faces the challenge of Douglas Gelina, a member of the Bagnall School Building Committee.
Voters will also act on a $350,000 Proposition 21/2 override. Town Meeting approved the measure Monday night, but the final decision will come at the ballot box on Monday.
Residents who go to the polls at Bagnall School from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. will also weigh in on whether to increase the number of selectmen from three to five. The question is nonbinding, however. Town Meeting voted against that idea, so the issue is moot, said Nancy Lewandowski, administrative assistant to the Board of Selectmen.
In other races, Selectman William Darke, Town Clerk Anne Brodie and Moderator Valerie Osborne are unopposed. An assessor, a Housing Authority member and a third library trustee will be elected by write-in votes because no one filed papers to get their names on the ballot for those offices.
Road commissioner race seen as biggest battle
Brodie said the race for road commissioner, with a term of three years, will likely be the biggest draw. Signs for Arakelian and O'Hanley have appeared all over town.
Arakelian said he's done a good job since he was elected 15 years ago.
When he first took the job, Groveland had "the worst roads in Essex County," he said. The Postal Service "wouldn't deliver mail in some places," he added.
Arakelian said he obtained a $550,000 grant that paid for improvements to Main Street. That ended the severe flooding that formerly plagued that road, he said. He also acquired two salt sheds and developed a compost heap at the town garage, he said. Arakelian said he applied for $11 million from the state to rebuild 21/2 miles of Route 97 from Georgetown to Groveland center.
"I want to complete this job," Arakelian said.
O'Hanley said he thinks he can do a better job than Arakelian. He said the present road commissioner has not supervised projects effectively.
As a Planning Board member, O'Hanley said he has made sure roads in subdivisions "are built to last." O'Hanley has served two stints as Groveland Highway Department foreman — 1966 through 1968 and 1976 to 1978.
He also oversaw the Plaistow Highway, Water and Landfill departments from 1980 to 1985.
School candidates: Pentucket needs change
D'Amore is running for a second three-year term on the School Committee. If re-elected, he said he wants to "create a positive environment" that will attract "the best candidates for superintendent."
The current Pentucket superintendent, Paul Livingston, is widely expected to retire when his contract expires in 2013. Livingston could not be reached for comment.
D'Amore said he intends to focus his efforts on the School Committee's Finance Committee, so he can build a better relationship between school and town leaders. Noting the district was "barely compliant" with the No Child Left Behind law, D'Amore said he wants to improve that picture.
While D'Amore backed extending Livingston's contract, both he and Gelina have expressed concerns about the administration in the Pentucket district, which serves Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury. Gelina said the administration has engaged in "bullying and harassment" and "I want it to stop."
"The no-confidence vote of last year is indicative that more work is needed to align the interests of teachers with that of administration," D'Amore said.
He said he has worked to "mediate the discussion" through his roles on the Policy and Grievance subcommittees.
D'Amore, a financial adviser for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., backs the district's Regional Agreement and has been critical of the steady decrease in state aid to education.
Gelina formerly worked for the Pentucket School District and is now the building and grounds foreman for West Newbury.
"I don't like the direction the School Committee is taking," he said of why he is running.
"Positive change" is needed to rebuild the relationship between the administration and teachers, as well as other staffers, he said.
"Principals need to be empowered to run their schools," he said.
Gelina said Pentucket has had five different business managers in five years.
"The administration's management style needs to change," he said, no matter what it takes to achieve that. Heavy-handed management practiceshave resulted in expensive legal fees for the district, he said.
'Long night' of vote counting expected
Brodie said she expects a "long night" on Monday because she and other workers will have to count write-in votes.
To win an office by write-ins, a candidate must receive at least 10 votes, she said. Furthermore, a write-in vote must include the candidate's name, exactly as he or she is registered on the voters list, as well as his or her address, to be considered valid.
Brodie said she expects about 1,500 voters to cast ballots Monday. The town has about 4,700 registered voters.
Other unopposed candidates are Cheryl Cleary, Board of Health, three years; Richard Sciacca, cemetery commissioner, three years; Kermit Cross, light commissioner, three years; Mark McCabe, tree warden, one year; John Willett, water commissioner, three years; and Barbara Ann Gauvin and Kathy Prunier, library trustees, three years.
