ARRAY OF LIFT CHAIRS, READY FOR SALE

The chairs from the old ski lift from the Balsams-Wilderness Ski Area were among the items lined up and tagged for sale at Saturday's auction. With the hotel's main entrance in the background, Dem's Dog House from Cornish, Maine, was set up to feed the crowd of preview visitors and buyers. (Karen Ladd photo)

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After weeks of sorting, labeling and setting up, and more than 12 hours of nonstop barking by two auctioneers, everything designated for sale at The Balsams Grand Resort auction on Saturday was sold.

"Everything sold," confirmed Balsams View LLC spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne on Monday. "There were about 2,500 people on the site. About 915 registered on Saturday, and several hundred also showed up who were already qualified bidders with North Country Auctions. They estimate there were between 1,300 to 1,500 bidders on site."

Locals, former hotel employees, and those who traveled from afar for the auction wandered all over the hotel during preview hours on Thursday and Friday. With no power in the building, extension cords snaked from generators outside to hanging temporary lights indoors. A row of portable toilets stood out in the parking lot, and a food vendor from Maine set up just outside the main entrance to keep the crowds fed.

For the past several weeks, employees of owners Daniel Hebert Jr. and Dan Dagesse, along with North Country Auctions staff and several longtime hotel employees, had worked to sort through what was important to keep and what could be sold. Wicker furniture from the sunroom, virtually all of the kitchen equipment, a 1967 fire truck and the ski area's first chairlift were all for sale, along with most of the guest rooms' furniture and linens, light fixtures and chairs from the dining room, and countless pieces of equipment large and small.

By Saturday morning, the line for bidder registration extended out into the main lobby and reached the managers' offices. North Country Auctions owner Charlie Ames Jr. was determined that the sale could be completed in one day, and it took from 9 a.m. to after 9 p.m. to accomplish his goal. "I talked to him at 11 p.m. and there were still 200 to 300 people there," Mr. Tranchemontagne said. "His staff were helping people load their things up."

Many of the buyers came ready to haul their items away, and all manner of trucks and trailers lined both roads into the hotel and packed the parking areas. The rest could come back within 14 days to pick up their buys, but security was on them--there were reports of several locks broken and items taken in the days after the sale.

The auction included a lot of curious items, such as a copper water-cooling system that went for $850, and presidential primary and election tally boards that sold for $125 to $575. A wooden Balsams sign went to Doug Ellis, son of Steve Ellis of Pittsburg, for $600; the much-reported barber chair sold for $1,600. "The guys who got it own a barber shop in Concord," Mr. Tranchemontagne said. "They're going to use it, and hopefully leverage it for great publicity for their barber shop."

There were some celebrities in the crowd, including Common Man chain owner Alex Ray, who bought some items from the kitchen, and former guest and WTPL radio personality "Bull-dog" Brian Tilton, who bought some dishes.

The auctioneers were hoping to sell the biomass plant in once piece, but it wasn't going as high as they'd hoped, so they started breaking it up. "They were selling generators and turbines individually," Mr. Tranchemontagne said, "but before the auction ended in the evening, the gentleman who bought most of the pieces came back and made an offer for the entire plant. They bought back pieces from a couple of other bidders, and sold the package as one unit."

The resort now awaits the outcome of next Thursday's Colebrook planning board meeting (see related story) before plans for demolition and rebuilding can move forward. When asked about the golf course, Mr. Tranchemontagne said the owners' intent is to open it on a limited basis this summer, as the staff is already there to maintain it.

"The problem is with thewplanning board's action, when we say everything's on hold, that includes the golf course," he said. "As of today, it won't be open--let's see what develops over the next week or two with the planning board, and maybe we'll have different news for you on the golf course."

(Issue of May 16, 2012)

A SPECIAL EVENING

Colebrook Academy seniors Clorese Johns and Sebastian Young step toward a milestone of their high school memories, during the grand march of their senior prom on Saturday night. Area proms are being held at different locations this year now that The Balsams is closed for renovation, and the C.A. students and their families enjoyed a buffet dinner and dancing at The Spa in Stewartstown. (Chantal Griffin photo)

A special planning board meeting concerning a proposed subdivision application filed by owners of The Balsams Grand Resort will be held on May 22.

The public hearing will center on a 28-acre parcel that has been identified by the N.H. Deparment of Environmental Services as a liquid waste dump. At its meeting on May 1, the planning board voted to continue the hearing on the subdivision until receiving more information. The board expressed concerns about liability and the types of chemicals that were there.

Balsams View, LLC released a statement two weeks ago following that meeting, saying partners Dan Dagesse and Dan Hebert had "been forced to place the resort's renovation project on hold indefinitely after the planning board refused to approve a subdivision plan that is essential for the project."

Planning board chairman David Brooks said last week that DES will be at the May 22 planning board meeting, and also said he has received positive feedback on the board's decision. At least one DES employee will be at the meeting, and he said another may be there as well.

Balsams View spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne of Motagne Communications said he believes that DES will tell the board that there will be no issue or concerns regarding liability. "The DES will have all the technical information," he said. "The overall message is that the town will not be liable."

He added that the DES will give all the information they can, but it will still be up to the planning board. He said he is "cautiously optimistic"that the project will be able to go forward.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. in the courtroom at the town hall.

(Issue of May 16, 2012)

CONTINUING THEIR JOURNEY

Christopher Tunstall (left) the great-grandson of former Boston Red Sox owner and former Balsams owner Joseph Lannin, passed through Stewartstown on Saturday morning during his 410-mile walk from Lac-Beauport, Québec to Boston. He is retracing the path his great-grandfather took in 1880 when he left in search of the American Dream. While in the area he stayed with John Harrigan in Colebrook and attended Saturday s auction at The Balsams. Chris is joined by videographer Malcolm Norton, and www.lanninwalk.com is updated daily with new posts, photos and videos. (Jake Mardin photo)

The U.S. Postal Service anounced on Wednesday that it will implement a new strategy designed to keep smaller post offices open, including those in northern New Hampshire and Vermont.

The plan keeps the existing post offices in place, but will reduce the retail window hours at many locations. A press release states that access to retail lobbies and post office boxes will remain unchanged, and ZIP codes will remain the same.

According to a preliminary plan, seven local post offices that are open eight hours a day are proposed to see a reduction in retail hours. Stratford, Pittsburg and Canaan will be reduced to six hours; and Errol, West Stewartstown, Beecher Falls and Norton will be reduced to four hours. Colebrook's post office hours will remain as they are.

Last July the Postal Service announced that Beecher Falls was one of 3,700 post offices being considered for possible closure, but now states that the new options are the result of many meetings and surveys. The new strategy will be implemented in a multi-phase approach and will be completed in September of 2014.

"We've listened to our customers in rural America and we've heard them loud and clear--they want to keep their post office open," stated Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe.

"We believe today's announcement will serve our customers' needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability."

(Issue of May 16, 2012)

PRIMARY ELECTION MEMENTO

This voting tally from the 2008 First in the Nation Primary sold for $575 on Saturday, as seen here during the bidding action in the hotel dining room. This was one of two auction areas where bidding went on for over 12 hours, and is where most of the indoor items were sold. (Karen Ladd photo)