Contract impasse

MILFORD – The Milford School Board and the Milford Teacher’s Association were unable to come to terms during this year’s contract negotiations, according to a brief press release Tuesday from Superintendent Robert Marquis.

“Despite many negotiation sessions, mediation and efforts made by both sides, the parties were unable to resolve outstanding issues, and mutually declared an impasse. They will reconvene again, either in late spring or early fall, to begin the process.”

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Visitor

MONT VERNON – Michael Norman and his family discovered a moose on the back deck of their Mont Vernon home on Jan. 2.

Norman was at home with his wife and 4-year-old son when they discovered the moose just outside their back door, and Norman posted a video of the animal looking into his home on the Storyful social media website.

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Pizza parlor closes

MILFORD – Foodee’s Pizza, the last of what was once a regional chain, is gone. The voice on the phone message last week said the restaurant is closed “while we explore other options. Thank you for your support over 30 years.”

Peter Bragdon, a former state senate president and Milford School Board chairman, bought the shop at 167 Union Square about a year ago from John Bowen, who had owned and operated the restaurant for more than a quarter century.

The pizza was once named the best in New England by WBZ and known for its whole-wheat, organic six-grain and gluten-free options and international varieties.

Bragdon, the longest-serving Milford School Board member in its history and chairman for many years, bought the restaurant after leaving his job as executive director of HealthTrust Inc., the risk pool that provides insurance for local public employers and employees.

The regional chain was said to have started in the town of Hillsboro by a group of pilots who wanted to create the kind of food they discovered all over the world, hence the slogan, “A World of Pizza.”

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Chilly school

MILFORD – There will be cold areas of the middle school until a new heating-ventilating-air conditioning system is installed next summer, Superintendent Robert Marquis told the school board last week.

Around 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, the middle school students had to moved out of the cafeteria and the water flow shut off after a pipe apparently burst. There was no water damage to the building.

Intake valves allow air to come into the building no matter what the temperature, and “it was very, very cold out,” Marquis said.

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New zoning

WILTON – The Economic Development Committee, a panel formed two years ago, has suggested that the downtown area needs a study to update zoning and other regulations. They are proposing several changes, particularly banning residences from ground-level buildings on Main Street.

The Planning Board has discussed the question and agreed, but said they are not at a point where they can propose changes to this year’s town meeting.

On Jan. 2, the Board of Selectmen approved a one-time expense of $7,000 for the development of a “comprehensive zoning plan for the downtown area.”

Selectmen agreed that such plans are the work of the Planning Board, but Selectman Kermit Williams said, “There are bigger issues than the Planning Board deals with.”

He suggested involving the Nashua Regional Planning Commission “since they help us write ordinances.”

Michelle Decoteau, the town’s new building and land use administrator, could also be involved with research. The EDC, he said, while not an official town agency, “has done a lot of work, and they say we need to involve all the stakeholders.”

The selectmen agreed to write a letter to the Planning Board stating that this is, in their opinion, a high priority.

“We need to place a high priority on the protection of Main Street,” Williams said.

– By Kathy Cleveland and Jessie Salisbury